The World is Full of Divorced Women by Jackie Collins

The World is Full of Divorced Women by Jackie Collins

Author:Jackie Collins [Collins, Jackie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781849836203
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter Thirty-Six

Cleo woke early. She felt fresher, more alert, and more able to cope with everything. She ordered coffee, juice, scrambled eggs, and after gorging herself on that she sat down and wrote her piece on Daniel Onel.

Four down, only one to go, then her assignment would be finished and she would be free to do as she pleased.

She called the desk and told them it was OK to put through calls now. Then she phoned and requested a temporary secretary to do her typing.

The phone rang as soon as she put it down. Surprise, it was her mother, the impeccable Stella.

‘We haven’t seen you, darling,’ announced Stella. ‘Nikai is back from Athens so we thought a little dinner party would be nice.’

‘That would be lovely,’ lied Cleo. ‘When did you have in mind?’

‘Tonight, dear. About eight. Wear something pretty.’

The phone rang again. This time it was Mike. He was contrite. ‘I’m phoning for that appointment you promised me.’

‘That was before I had a heart to heart with your friend Ginny.’

‘Oh come on, Cleo, we have to talk.’

‘Why?’

‘Well . . .’ he stumbled for words, ‘I want to explain . . .’

She laughed flatly. ‘Explain what?’

‘You know what I mean, the things you’ve heard.’

‘And what about the things I’ve seen?’

‘Nobody’s perfect.’

‘I’m not looking for perfection, I’m looking for truth, and frankly, Mike, I don’t think that you’re the man who can give it to me.’

‘I can give it to you, baby, you know I can give it to you.’

‘Oh, Mike. It’s very sad. With you everything always comes down to sex and smutty innuendoes.’

There was a long silence, then he said, ‘I need you, babe, I can’t make it without you.’

‘You managed before I came along.’

‘You can be a hard bitch.’

‘So I’ve been told.’

There was another silence. Finally Mike broke it with – ‘I’ve been thinking about things. I’ve been thinking that maybe we should go back to the beginning.’

‘The beginning, Mike?’

‘Start again. Right back to square one.’

‘It’s a little too late for that.’

‘It’s never too late,’ he pleaded desperately. ‘We could do all the things you always wanted. Like maybe start a family.’

‘I’m sorry, things just aren’t the same any more.’

‘We could make them the same.’

‘Not me, Mike, not me.’

He hung up then, and Cleo sighed. It was going to end with bitterness. What was the point of letting him trot out all his lies and excuses? It would be a painful experience for both of them. It was better that he should think of her as a bitch, that way she could assume the burden of his guilt and he would feel better.

The phone rang yet again.

‘Cleo. This is Shep Stone. You’d better get that friend of yours off my back. She’s causing me a lot of problems, she’s nutty as a fruitcake, a real ding-a-ling.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Your friend, Dominique. She is some mad broad. She is accusing me, Shep Stone, of stealing her diamond ring.’

‘Stealing?’

‘You heard it right the first time. Look, I want to tell you the whole story, maybe you can clear it up.



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