Clara's Last Christmas (Clara Andrews Series - Book 9)

by Lacey London

  ‘So, what else do you in here all day?’ Lianna yawns and hops up onto the counter.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Clearing away the remnants of Lianna’s disastrous attempt at wrapping, I dive into my apron pocket and pull out a hand sanitizer.

  ‘Like, what do you do all day?’ She twirls a strand of hair around her finger and looks around the shop.

  I frown at her and try to work out if she’s joking. ‘This is a florist. We sell flowers. That’s pretty much all there is to it.’

  ‘Oh…’ Lianna blows a giant bubble with her chewing gum and raises her eyebrows. ‘What time do you get off again?’

  I let out a giggle and check my watch. ‘Just under an hour. You don’t have to stick around if you’re bored. Why don’t you hit the shops and meet me back here later?’

  ‘With that crazy bunch?’ She points over her shoulder to the busy street and shakes her head. ‘I almost got trampled on getting my sandwich earlier, so I think I’ll pass.’

  Changing the till roll, I rack my brains for something for her to do until my shift finishes. ‘Oh, I’ve got an idea!’ Motioning for her to come closer, I pull the door to the workshop closed and lower my voice to a whisper. ‘We still need to plan a hen night for Dawn. I’m thinking a spa day, maybe?’

  Nodding along, Lianna twists her hair into a knot before letting it fall around her shoulders. ‘Or we could do an activity fun day? Paint balling, rock climbing…’ Lianna’s voice transcends into silence as she realises I look less than impressed at the idea. ‘Spa day it is.’

  ‘We can discuss it later.’ I hiss, as Eve and Dawn step out of the work shop.

  As I am finishing work early, I am going to Lianna’s place for an hour before Noah finishes nursery. I would usually head straight home, but Oliver seemed so in the zone when I left this morning that I don’t want to disturb him. The second my alarm went off he practically threw himself out of bed and has been hammering away at his computer ever since.

  ‘I’ve got some good news for you!’ Eve sings, skipping onto the shop floor and holding a piece of paper in the air like it is the winning lottery ticket.

  Gathering around like a trio of schoolgirls, Dawn, Lianna and I stand to attention.

  ‘I am pleased to announce that Floral Fizz is going to be hosting its very first Christmas party!’ Clapping her hands with glee, she proudly hands over the sparkly sheet. ‘It’s going to be held at Satin. I have arranged for canapes, champagne, music…’

  ‘Is this an employee only kind of party?’ Lianna grumbles, sticking out her bottom lip.

  ‘I’m afraid it is, although close friends and family members are also welcome.’ She reaches out and tickles Lianna’s chin playfully.

  ‘This looks amazing!’ Scanning the text, I feel a frisson of adrenaline run through me. ‘When did you arrange this?’

  ‘I had the idea last night and made the booking with Satin this morning.’ She lets out a squeal as the three of us do a happy dance. ‘It’s next Saturday, so make sure you put it in your diaries!’

  ‘What made you do this?’ I ask, folding up the sheet and placing it into my back pocket. ‘You’ve never mentioned a Christmas party before.’

  Eve looks down at the ground and shrugs her shoulders. ‘I just thought that we could do with a little festive cheer being injected into the group, you know, with everything that has been going on lately…’

  She brings her eyes up to meet mine and I feel my cheeks burn. A small part of me is mortified that Eve is feeling sorry for us, but I can’t help being extremely overwhelmed at the kind gesture. She’s right. She’s totally right. We have been so upset over the loss of Oliver and Marc’s jobs that we have totally lost sight in what the festive season is all about.

  ‘I think it’s a fantastic idea.’ I reach out and pull my three friends towards me. ‘Thank you.’

  Squeezing them all tightly, I bury my face into Lianna’s hair and find myself feeling a tad emotional.

  ‘Right…’ Eve adjusts her blonde bob and sighs. ‘You get yourself off, Dawn and I can manage here.’

  ‘Really?’ Not waiting for her to answer, I whip off my apron and hang it on its hook.

  ‘Yes, really!’ Eve laughs and passes me my handbag. ‘You could do with a break.’

  Tugging on my coat, I smile gratefully and push Lianna towards the door.

  ‘And Clara?’ Eve takes a step towards me and offers me a small smile. ‘Make sure that you take five minutes for yourself, yeah?’

  I lock eyes with her and reply with a quick nod of the head before stepping out into the cold. Life might not always be an easy ride, but with great friends around us we can deal with just about anything…

  * * *

  ‘It’s upside-down.’ I utter in confusion, tipping my head to the side and staring at the Christmas tree in shock. ‘Why is it upside-down?’

  ‘Because it’s in vogue, darling!’ Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Lianna winks and adjusts one of the black branches. ‘Isn’t it amazing?’

  ‘Like I said, it’s upside-down…’ Shaking my head, I clutch my teacup to my chest and turn my attention back to Vernon. ‘I’m guessing this wasn’t your idea?’

  Vernon lets out a deep laugh and holds his hands in the air. ‘That thing was all her. I wanted a real tree for my first British Christmas, but I came home from the gym last week and it was already here, dressed and everything.’ Giving the tree a sideways look, he hands over a plate of scones. ‘Damn thing reminds me of Edward Scissorhands.’

  Lianna scoffs and hits him on the arm. ‘It does not!’

  ‘It kind of does…’ I chip in, quickly moving out of her reach so that I don’t get a dig too.

  ‘Anyway…’ Li glares at the pair of us and curls up on the couch. ‘We have work to do.’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ Taking a bite out of my scone, I swoon at the taste and pull a notepad from the depths of my handbag. ‘Although, I don’t think planning a hen-do for Dawn counts as working, do you?’

  ‘Sounds like work to me.’ Vernon chuckles and places a quaint pot of tea in the centre of the coffee table.

  I hold my cup up for a refill and swallow the giggle that is tickling my throat. Bless him. Ever since they made the move back from Barbados, Vernon has filled his days with everything quintessentially British. I’ve told him that us Brits don’t wear tweed jackets and drink out of charming teacups all day long, but it just falls on deaf ears. With him being a Barbados native, Vernon finds Britain fascinating. Believe it or not, Vernon spends his weekends visiting all the tacky tourist attractions and he loves every second of it.

  ‘I’m going to leave you girls to it.’ Vernon grabs his keys from the table and smiles. ‘If you get a chance, take a look at the plans in the office.’

  ‘Already done.’ Lianna fires back, wiping crumbs from her chin. ‘I’m not feeling it.’

  ‘Really?’ His brow creases as he waits for her to elaborate.

  ‘I just think it’s a bit risky. The safest option is to invest in something that we already know about.’

  ‘I guess you’re right.’ Slowly nodding, he scratches the tip of his nose and looks deep in thought. ‘How’s Oliver doing with the job search?’

  Putting down my teacup, I reach for one of the scones. ‘We applied for a whole bunch of positions yesterday, so I’m really hoping he has had some feedback.’

  ‘It must be hard for him…’ Lianna muses, chewing on the tip of her pen. ‘Just imagine being head hunted from America, winning numerous awards for your work and then in the blink of an eye you’re back to applying for jobs. I feel so bad for him, Marc too, but especially Oliver.’

  I look down at the other half of my scone, suddenly not feeling very hungry. I haven’t thought of it like that before. My main concern has been how we are going to maintain our lifestyle with Oliver out of work. I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t spared a thought for how Oliver must be feeling. Having an overwhelming urge to get back to my husband, I force myself t
o snap out of my daydream and focus on the task in hand.

  ‘So, this hen-do…’

  To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold…

  Chapter 10

  Rolling onto my back, I gently move Noah’s feet from the base of my spine and try to get my tired eyes to focus. It’s another day and I’ve had yet another broken night’s sleep. This time we made it until five o’clock before Noah started screaming about his hairy monster making an appearance. I’m trying to convince myself that it’s getting better, but secretly I am starting to worry. Despite my efforts to convince him that it’s nothing more than a figment of his imagination, Noah is still utterly convinced that his visiting monster is going to eat him alive. I did joke that I would leave a bottle of ketchup by his bed, but he didn’t find it funny in the slightest.

  My shoulder blades start to throb and I try to reach behind me in a poor attempt at releasing the knots. In addition to moisturising and brushing my teeth, a daily massage is now part of my morning routine. I’m genuinely considering giving up and letting Noah sleep in our bed permanently. The way I feel right now I would gladly swap places for a night in Noah’s race car bed, with or without his monster.

  Realising that I could do with some help untangling my twisted spine, I glance to my right to ask Oliver for help.

  ‘Oliver?’ I whisper, only now noticing that he isn’t in bed.

  Scanning the room, I usher Pumpkin to the floor and grab my dressing gown. The fairy lights that Noah insisted we drape along the windowsill shine back at me as I shove my feet into Oliver’s slippers. Hearing voices in the living room, I pull the gown tightly around my body and throw open the door.

  ‘Marc? What are you doing here?’ I mumble, looking down at my wrist for the time and realising that it’s bare. ‘What time is it?’

  ‘Six thirty…’ Oliver replies over his shoulder, his hair in disarray as he frantically taps at his phone.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I try to wake up properly.

  ‘Suave’s gone into administration.’ Marc declares, pressing his phone against his ear and exhaling loudly.

  ‘What?’ I reply, thinking that I haven’t heard him correctly. ‘Say that again…’

  ‘They’ve gone into administration.’ Oliver confirms, turning to face me and frowning. ‘We just found out right now.’

  Feeling my jaw drop open, I look between the two of them and try to regain the use of my tongue. Administration. The words ring in my ears as I try to process what exactly this means. From the looks on both of their faces, I know that whatever it is, it isn’t good.

  ‘I finally got through to Nicola. She knew it was going to happen weeks ago, which is why she didn’t try to save our positions.’ Marc is talking so animatedly that he is tripping over his words.

  ‘This is crazy! I don’t believe it.’ I gasp, suddenly feeling wide awake. ‘How? How has this happened?’

  ‘Just like any other business that folds.’ Oliver puts down his phone and walks over to the coffee maker. ‘If you can’t pay your creditors then there’s only one way out of it.’

  Marc starts rambling into his handset and wanders out onto the balcony as the conversation turns heated.

  ‘Creditors?’ I screw my nose up and frown. ‘What debts could Suave possibly have? The company was worth millions.’

  ‘Was being the operative word.’ Taking three mugs from the cabinet, he reaches into the cupboard for the coffee pods. ‘They invested at least five million in the Giulia Romano collection alone…’

  I pull myself onto a bar stool and watch Marc pace up and down the balcony. The way that he’s throwing his arms in the air tells me that he isn’t liking what he is hearing. Accepting a steaming cup from Oliver, I watch the lights on the tree sparkle against the dark sky. How can one bad business decision make everything go so fundamentally wrong?

  ‘What does this mean for you guys? I ask, holding on to my mug for warmth.

  ‘It doesn’t mean anything. We just know now that it’s most definitely over. There’s absolutely no chance of going back…’

  A pang of sadness hits my stomach and I nod slowly in response. Things are going from bad to worse, aren’t they? From pay-cuts and redundancies to administration in less than a week. Talk about a run of bad luck.

  ‘Who were you talking to?’ I ask Marc, pulling a bobble off my wrist and tying up my messy curls.

  ‘Nicola.’ He tosses his handset onto the couch in anger and swears under his breath. ‘That’s it. It’s a done deal. Suave is gone for good.’

  Oliver shakes his head in disbelief and slides a mug across the table to him. Taking off his glasses, Marc exhales loudly and takes a seat next to me. The atmosphere in the room suddenly becomes excruciatingly uncomfortable and I stare into my coffee in silence.

  ‘I can’t believe it’s all over.’ I eventually whisper, feeling totally dejected. ‘Suave has actually gone.’

  Taking a sip of his drink, Marc rests his face in his hands and groans. ‘Apparently the remaining staff were told last night and the company is being passed to an insolvency practitioner as we speak.’

  ‘Maybe someone will rescue it!’ I blurt out, a wave of hope suddenly hitting me. ‘Remember what happened with Happy Homeware? It was all over the news when they went into administration and then some guy bought it and saved the day! Do you remember, Oliver?’

  He nods and stretches his arms out above his head. ‘I do remember, but that isn’t going to happen with Suave.’

  ‘Why not?’ I fire back, a little annoyed at his dismissive tone.

  ‘Because people don’t just buy companies with millions of pounds worth of debt attached to them. Think about it, who is going to want to own something that has catastrophically failed?’

  ‘Suave wasn’t a failure. Suave was a massive success!’ I reply defensively, looking at Marc for backup. ‘One bad business decision doesn’t equal a catastrophe.’

  ‘It does when it bankrupts you...’ Marc mumbles, biting his thumb nail and frowning. ‘If we wouldn’t have gone in for the Giulia Romano deal everything would still be OK. Suave would be riding high. We would still have our jobs. This is all down to me…’

  ‘Stop it.’ I say sternly, tapping him on the arm. ‘Don’t you dare blame yourself.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s not your fault.’ Oliver claps him on the back and leans on the kitchen island. ‘We all thought that collaboration was gonna be huge.’

  As the two of them start to discuss the doomed partnership, I wander over to the window and look down at the deserted street. Suave can’t just disappear into thin air. It would be such a waste of a fabulous company that means so very much to us. If only I had a million pounds I would buy it myself. Taking a seat on the couch, I lean back on the cushions and allow my eyes to close. Maybe someone will come along and see the huge potential that Suave has. Someone who knows how to turn this whole situation around. Someone who has been waiting for the perfect business venture…

  ‘I’ve got it!’ I shout, jumping off the couch and marching back towards them. ‘Lianna can buy Suave!’ My voice is ten decibels higher than it usually is as I talk animatedly with my hands. ‘Just think about it. Li and Vernon have been looking for something to invest their money in for months. This is perfect! Lianna knows Suave like the back of her hand. She would totally go for this. I know she would!’

  Marc and Oliver look at me as though I have lost my mind before shaking their heads and laughing.

  ‘Nice try, but it’s going to take a little more than a million pounds to get your hands on Suave.’ Marc slips his glasses back on and rubs his temples.

  ‘How much more?’ I demand, not willing to give up on my idea so easily.

  ‘I don’t know exactly, but I do know it will be a whole lot more than that…’

  My mind goes into overdrive as I pace back and forth across the living room.

  ‘What if we could get the money?’
I stammer, feeling the palms of my hands start to sweat.

  ‘Clara, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but we don’t have that kind of money…’ Oliver smiles sympathetically at me and motions for me to sit down.

  ‘Just for argument’s sake say that we could. We could totally turn this company around and get it back to the gold mine that it once was.’ The pair of them exchange glances and I know that I have pricked their attention. ‘Marc, you were the best manager that Suave could ever have hoped for. It was you that secured all their deals, right?’

  He nods slowly and purses his lips. ‘Yeah…’

  ‘And it was also you who won Manager of the Year five years running, correct?’

  His face turns pink and he shrugs his shoulders in response.

  My heart pounds in my chest as I turn my focus to Oliver. ‘You were head hunted from across the damn globe. Your designs sold out worldwide.’

  ‘We made a great team, that’s for sure, but there’s a lot more to running a company as big as Suave than managing and designing. There’s a hundred layers in-between that do stuff behind the scenes.’ Marc explains, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve.

  ‘And those layers are still there or at least they were. It’s not the people that have failed, it’s just the numbers in the bank account.’ I take a few steps forward and look between the two of them. ‘Correct?’

  They nod in unison.

  ‘OK, so let me ask you again. If we could get the money together, could we turn this around?’ The pair of them stare at me in silence and I can virtually see the cogs whirring in their brains. ‘Is that a yes?’

  ‘Yes.’ They answer simultaneously, both sounding rather sceptical.

  Covering my eyes so that I can think more clearly, I draw up a mental calculator. ‘How long would we have to put a plan together?’