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My voice quivered. I was on the verge of bursting into tears. I desperately bit down on my lip, trying to pull myself together.  
    My weekend had been hideous. Mel had been working for the majority of it and the remainder she had spent shacked up with the university professor type that she had met at Carl's party. Unlike Edward, he had had the manners to call and ask her out.  
    I sat down at my desk and eyed up the double chocolate chip brownie Ronnie had left on a napkin. Even the sight of the gooey, warm centre wasn’t giving me its usual rush of lusciousness.
    Samantha set down a coffee in front of me and perched herself on the end of my desk. Dressed head to toe in black – perhaps it was a Goth day – she looked fiercely at Ronnie and shook her head in a desperate bid to stop him pursuing the matter further. I made a mental note to thank her later for her unusual display of female solidarity.
    I took a sip of the lukewarm coffee, trying to hide a grimace 'Mmm nice, thanks' I lied , nodding gratefully.
    Samantha stood up and grinned at Ronnie.
    'Tell Lizzie your news. That’s sure to put a smile on her face.'
    I couldn’t help but shoot daggers at Samantha who was now rubbing her arms excitedly in anticipation. It wasn’t natural to be so upbeat all of the time and it certainly didn’t work well with her morbid outfit.
    'What’s this news then?' I said turning to Ronnie and trying not to sound as uninterested as I felt.
    Ronnie's eyes lit up and suddenly I was intrigued. I picked up the chocolate brownie in preparation for some juicy gossip and took a bite.
    'Well, you know I have a son, Teddy' he began.
    'Yes?'   I sighed. My spark of interest instantaneously diminished. I was bored of hearing about Teddy. It was enough that I had to be subjected to a photo of fourteen year old Teddy on a regular basis.  He was the image of his father. Dark hair, a chunky build and not so fortunate looking. Poor boy. Although I would guess that judging by the aged, dog eared photo that Ronnie carried in his wallet, Teddy would be some unfortunate woman’s husband by now.
    The mystery and tragedy of the father and son estrangement had been dispelled a few weeks beforehand when Samantha had told me that the death of Teddy's mother had caused the great rift. No further details had been imparted, despite my subtle prodding and I'd eventually given up on the soap drama of it all.
    Ronnie took on a serious tone. 'Sources have confirmed that Teddy is involved in a new hotel development in Marbella, Southern Spain. Apparently it’s been under construction for the last two years but there'll be a grand opening in three months time' he stopped to scratch his upper lip.
    'My thoughts are that it would be a good idea for RJ Travel to do a feature in Time & Travel magazine putting forward Marbella as this summer’s top destination and incorporating the hotel as our recommendation and main focus' he was looking at me expectantly.
    'What do you think?'
    I nodded slowly. If I understood correctly, Ronnie was proposing spending a large sum of the marketing budget bribing the Travel Industry's largest publication to focus on a destination and hotel, purely because it had links to his estranged son. Undoubtedly he hoped it would bridge the gap in some small way.
    I swallowed my last piece of chocolate brownie and washed it down with a sip of cold coffee.
    'If you'd like it to be something RJ Travel is involved in, then I don’t see why we shouldn’t go ahead with the idea' I said tactfully.
    I knew only too well that mixing both personal life and business was a risky strategy. Mine had got me fired. Ronnie's could potentially lose him his son forever.
    Ronnie smiled encouraged. 'Actually Lizzie, I was hoping that as your mother already lives in Marbella, you might be interested in combining a visit with work, courtesy of the company?'
    My ears pricked up. As much as I loathed visiting my mother on a regular basis, it was something I