The Trailing Spouse by Jo Furniss

Author:Jo Furniss [Furniss, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503949218
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2018-08-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Camille’s hand shook as she reached for the mouse to put her computer to sleep. She didn’t want anyone in the press office to read the screen over her shoulder; this Reuters News report needed to stay off their radar for a few more minutes. “But you must retract the quote, Ruth,” she said into the phone, keeping her voice low but steady; whispering would only attract attention. When Ruth demurred in her little-girl tone, Camille felt her own growing harder. “Because it’s not true, that’s why. The quote is inaccurate and damaging. And we were off the record.” When the journalist continued to object, Camille could think of nothing else to do except slam down the phone. So she did that. Then she stood outside Josh’s office door and hauled in a deep breath. She had to tell him. Better he found out from her than someone else. She rapped three times.

“Wait!” Josh shouted from inside. “Unless it’s Camille, in which case, get in here.”

He already knows.

Camille went inside and closed the door. She sat on a red nylon chair at his desk, flinching when he thumped the coffee machine. It gurgled and he hit it again. He used language she never expected to hear from a diplomat, then went to the window, rubbing a coffee capsule against his thigh as though he might absorb caffeine that way.

“Ruth Chin,” Josh said at last. “Reuters News Agency.” His voice could have cooled the midday sun.

“I spoke to her last week.”

“The Straits Times just called. They want a statement in response to a story Reuters published a few minutes ago, in which the British High Commission demands that the Singapore government upholds UK standards of human rights for maids. Direct quotes coming from this office.” Josh hurled the coffee capsule across the room. Camille heard it bounce off the office door. “This is a storm of shit. A tropical typhoon of brown stuff. I have to brief the high commissioner in five minutes. In turn, he has been summoned to meet the foreign minister. Tell me that Ruth Chin plucked this quote out of the air and we can demand a retraction.”

“I just called her, and she says no retraction.”

“I’ll deal with her editor,” he said sharply. “Tell me it had nothing to do with your involvement with HELP.”

“I gave her general quotes about foreign influence in domestic affairs before I knew she was working on this story. At the same time, she asked me for a contact at HELP and I put her in touch with the lawyer—”

“You spoke to Ruth Chin about HELP?”

“Off the record—”

“No such thing as off the record.”

Camille pressed her lips together. Josh retrieved the coffee capsule, which he slotted into the machine, then stroked a flashing button. This time, the machine didn’t dare defy him.

“You promised me,” he said, watching brown stuff fill his cup. “I made it quite clear that your activities at HELP are incompatible with this job. But you used this

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