Maid for Advertising - Susie Tate Page 0,17

at worst.

Yes, Mr Blight was an arsehole, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. I still hadn’t told him or anyone else that I had diabetes, so when he’d refused my requests to go on a proper break so I could eat an actual meal he didn’t know that I’d just injected insulin and needed to eat a meal, not just a few canapés and leftovers “on the go”.

I knew now how stupid it had been not to fill in the health questionnaire I was sent before arriving here correctly. But leaving out information didn’t seem like such a big lie, and I was worried that if I declared my diabetes it could jeopardise my place on the boat. I was well aware that some travel insurance companies declined to cover diabetics. What if the policy covering the boat has a similar stance? Often it was a case of them not wanting to take the risk. And I needed the money.

Kira had been watching me with concern and trying to cover for me so I could go on breaks, but it wasn’t working. And anyway, I didn’t want her to worry so I was hiding how difficult everything was. A couple of times I’d even lied about my blood sugar readings to assuage her concern.

But today I was going to be more organised about my condition. It didn’t have to hold me back and it didn’t have to get in the way: I refused to let it.

Chapter 6

Are you drunk?

Jack

“I may die from old age before I can bloody well drink this mojito at this rate, darling,” Stella said to me in a stage whisper, and Urvi’s back stiffened. She was just transferring some crushed ice into the tall glass, but seemed to be hindered by a slight shake to her hands.

“So sorry,” Urvi muttered, placing the drink on the bar in front of Stella and then pushing some tendrils of hair off her forehead that had been stuck down with the light sheen of sweat on her face.

“Ah, wonderful,” Stella said, giving Urvi a tight smile. “No offence but you don’t look terribly well.”

The fake concern in her voice grated on my nerves and I resisted the urge to drag her away from Urvi. I really just wanted Stella to bugger off so I could ask Urvi if she was okay. My policy of avoiding Urvi had been going well until today when I’d run into her on the way to lunch in corridor. We’d nearly collided and she then took a while to get her balance back, swaying precariously on her feet despite her flat shoes. I’d caught her shoulders to steady her and noticed those dark circles were even more pronounced, her cheeks were hollower and that spark I’d always seen in her eyes was almost completely extinguished. It had been such a shock to see her like that that after she was no longer in danger of falling, I dropped my hands from her shoulders and took a step back. By the time I’d managed to find my voice she’d disappeared into the staff cabins and I couldn’t follow her there.

Liz had then intercepted me, clearly furious. She wanted our company to drop George as a client – she didn’t think it did our reputation any good doing business with him. Unlike Stella, Liz did not relish this side of the business. She was not comfortable schmoozing clients on my fancy boat. She would rather let our work speak for itself. After a drawn out debate I ended up losing my temper and telling her to “live in the real bloody world”. The final straw though was when Stella found us in the lounge area mid-argument and proceeded to speak to Liz in a tone so patronising that it even put my teeth on edge. Liz had stormed out and was now on the next flight back to London. So the rest of my afternoon was spent trying to make sure we didn’t lose my most talented creative director, and it was only now I’d had a chance to track Urvi down. But when I came over, Stella was already digging her claws in.

“I think Brent Mitchell was looking for you, Stell,” I said and watched her eyes light up. She’d been chasing that account forever. I turned to Urvi as Stella hustled away. She was already making another vile-looking cocktail for another pretentious wanker who’d just asked her for a “Porn Star Margarita” and given her