She Too by Eve Thomson

Author:Eve Thomson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, legal drama, legal fiction, family drama, lawyer, media, women, legal thriller, modern fiction, contemporary fiction, defamation, law, celebrity, criminal defence lawyer, Australian legal drama, defence lawyer, law firm drama, law firm, defamation law, family dynamics, family secrets, power balance, power, legal profession, reputation, family, Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn, The Paris Apartment, Lucy Foley, Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty
ISBN: 9781760687632
Publisher: Echo Publishing
Published: 2023-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

At Home with Imogen

Imogen’s house was as hard-edged as the woman herself, all bright white render, shadows and glass. There was no sign of a bell on the enormous steel door, and it seemed improbable that a simple knock would stir anyone inside. Romola thought of the contrast with her childhood home. The front door was mostly left unlocked and often completely open behind the flyscreen, with the light at the end of a long corridor visible to all. The house had a ‘welcome’ doormat and climbing roses, and visitors would signal their arrival with a ‘yoo hoo’ as they came up the hall.

Romola was about to take out her phone when the heavy door swung open and Imogen appeared. She was wearing a lacy black cocktail dress and was perfectly made up, with her fine lips ruby-red. At her feet stood a screaming red-faced child, pulling on her hem. ‘Come in!’ she said. ‘Quick, before the other one gets out.’

As Romola obeyed, she noticed another, slightly bigger, child running back and forth across a light-filled living room. Wearing a torn Elsa costume, the child was dangling a spoon laden with chocolate custard perilously close to white leather couches while giggling like a maniac. ‘They’re so cute,’ Romola offered.

‘Don’t humour me,’ Imogen said flatly. ‘Mitch gave them juice boxes and then left the building. One ounce of sugar and it’s like they’re possessed.’ She dropped the smaller child into a beanbag next to her sister and pressed a button on a remote, bringing a larger-than-life yellow Wiggle onto the huge screen in front of them.

‘Wiggies!’ yelled the older child, clapping her grubby hands in glee.

Romola leaned in closer to the girl, who was now eagerly licking at the spoon, legs spread in front of her, eyes glued to the screen. ‘What’s your name?’ Romola asked.

The child ignored her, mesmerised by the woman in yellow bouncing across the screen.

‘Don’t bother,’ Imogen called over her shoulder. ‘If you must know, the bigger one’s Maude and the smaller one’s Constance. Fifteen months apart. We were running out of time so got them both out of the way. I don’t know what we were thinking.’ She grabbed a bottle of white wine and a couple of glasses from a sparkling kitchen bench, then started backing out of the room through a set of sliding doors. ‘Now if we’re very quiet we can walk away without them noticing.’

Adjoining the lounge was an enormous dining room. An arrangement of mauve peony roses sat upon a round marble-topped table. Floor-to-ceiling windows faced out onto an aquamarine pool.

Imogen poured out two enormous glasses of wine, handing one to Romola without asking if she wanted it, and taking one for herself. ‘I’m due at a function in half an hour. If Mitch doesn’t get home soon I might just break out the Phenergan and put them to bed.’

Imogen stared at Romola expectantly, and it occurred to Romola how rarely she’d seen her boss tell a joke. It didn’t suit her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.