Read The Day We Disappeared for Free Online Page B

hundreds
     of other employees.
    Now someone I’d met twelve hours
     ago was on the phone offering me just that, at a place I could cycle to in
     twenty-five minutes.
It’s a blast, working in that office
, I
     remembered Kate saying.
It’s nicer than my house, Annie! I’d live
     there if I could!
    ‘You gave me the best massage
     I’ve ever had,’ Stephen was saying. ‘If everyone on my team had
     access to one of those each fortnight they’d fly. We’ll pay you very
     handsomely indeed and you’ll get all the employee benefits. At least come in
     for a visit.’ He hesitated. ‘I really hope you don’t mind me
     saying this, but you did rather strike me as someone who could do with a
     break.’
    ‘CAN YOU MOVE YOUR FUCKING BAG,
     PLEASE?’ shouted the owner of the pregnant belly. ‘I’M
     PREGNANT.’
    ‘Fat bitch,’ muttered a man
     on the other side of me.
    ‘Eat me,’ whispered the old
     man with the bobble hat.
    I could almost
     hear Kate Brady.
Are you MAD, woman? Go for it!
    ‘Yes,’ I said, to the voice
     on the phone. ‘I can come in tomorrow morning.’
    ‘And he just hired you?’
     Lizzy breathed. ‘Like, this morning?’ She was pink with excitement.
    ‘Yes. And for once I was actually
     capable of making a decision! I said yes on the spot!’
    Lizzy screamed.
    ‘It sounds like he is trying to
     get into your knickers,’ Claudine muttered. ‘He cannot just ’ire
     you like that! He knows nothing of you!’
    ‘It’s just insane,
     isn’t it?’ I beamed, ignoring Claudine. ‘And get this, he offered
     me nearly TWENTY GRAND more than I make now! CAN YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE IT? Then he
     showed me this incredible area on the top floor, where you can see all the way
     across London to the countryside, and he said they’d convert it into a bespoke
     Annie Kingdom. That was what really swung it. I mean, you couldn’t have
     designed a better place for a treatment room. Spectacular views and yet total
     privacy, it’s stunning!’
    ‘He called it this?’
     Claudine asked. ‘A bespoke Annie Kingdom?’
    ‘Yes. Isn’t that
     nice?’
    ‘It is.’ Claudine smiled
     reluctantly. ‘It is very nice indeed. But I still do not think I like the
     sound of him. This is not the behaviour of a good businessman!’
    I sighed. This sort of thing was not
     unusual with Claudine. ‘Claudie, I’m a massage therapist, not a
     hedge-fund manager.
I showed him I’m
     great at massage, and he wanted to hire me because he’s expanding his
     wellbeing service. Did you want him to interview me for five hours, or
     something?’
    ‘Yes.’ She
     humphed
.
    ‘Oh, Claudie, get over yourself,
     darling,’ Lizzy told her affectionately, and Claudine couldn’t help but
     laugh.
    ‘Sorry,’ she said, smiling
     apologetically at me. ‘I am the worst.’
    I loved my friends. When my therapist
     challenged me to socialize with more people, I often pointed out that Le Cloob
     contained the best people in the world, so why would I bother? She would say I was
     missing the point. I would pretend not to hear her.
    ‘So, what are the offices
     like?’ Lizzy asked. ‘I’ve heard they’re
     legendary.’
    ‘They are. And, most importantly,
     the food is ALL FREE! Stephen took me for breakfast with organic eggs and mangoes
     and stuff, and I got so excited I stole a Danish pastry. Plus just as I was leaving
     I bumped into Stephen’s wellbeing coach, who turned out to be Jamilla from
     next door to our old Hackney practice, Claudie. Remember her? It all seemed too good
     to be true. But maybe I’ve gone mad. I mean, it’s a massive corporate
     company.’
    ‘You mean, there’ll be
     people there who have proper jobs?’ Lizzy smiled. ‘Darling, you’ll
     have nothing to do with all that. You’ll just shuffle around in your own
     private practice, like the strange old lady you are, only this time you’ll
     have a stream of guaranteed clients.’ She threw more wine at my glass.
     ‘You’ll be