Master of Her Virtue - By Miranda Lee Page 0,43

be happy to have a look at it,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘But Leo...’

‘Yes?’

‘Screenplays are not my field of expertise. Everything I said just now was just...you know...my personal opinion.’

‘Your very brilliant opinion, Violet. I can see why Henry values your judgement. You have a creative mind and great analytical skills. So, what is your email address?’

He put it into his phone as she relayed it to him.

‘I’ll need to know what you think as soon as possible,’ he said. ‘We start shooting late next week. Now, I don’t expect you to do this for me for nothing, Violet. I’ll put you on the payroll as a consultant for a flat fee of, say, two thousand pounds?’

‘Good grief! No, no, I don’t want you to pay me. I’ll be only too happy to do it for you for nothing.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Absolutely.’ No way could she have accepted money from him. It wouldn’t have felt right.

‘Very well. How’s the coffee? I hope you’re not letting it get cold.’

‘No. I have a sip every now and then.’

‘And the sandwich?’

‘It can wait.’ She wasn’t going to waste a second of this conversation by eating. ‘So when do you arrive back in London?’

‘Touchdown at Heathrow is scheduled for six a.m.’

‘That’s early. Will there be anyone there to meet you?’ Violet asked, wincing as she realised that might sound like she was pumping him for personal information. But it had crossed her mind—a million times—that Leo probably did have some lady friend back in London. Or possibly several lady friends. The man who’d taken her to bed last night did not live the life of a monk. But, truly, she’d rather not know. Ignorance was bliss, so they said.

‘No. I’ll take a cab home to Wimbledon. Which is a suburb of London, as well as a tennis tournament.’

‘I can’t play tennis but I love to watch it on TV. I’d love to go and watch it for real one day,’ she said rather wistfully.

‘Then why don’t you?’ Leo replied without thinking.

‘I guess I don’t have the courage to travel alone.’ Getting onto a plane again would take some doing as well. Though of course she would have to at some stage; Violet appreciated that.

‘That’s last year’s Violet talking,’ Leo said, exasperation in his voice. Though was he exasperated at her or himself? ‘Not the New Year girl. You should travel whilst you have the chance.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean before you settle down. Difficult to travel once you’re married with children.’

‘I have no intention of settling down for ages yet,’ Violet protested, marriage having never entered her head. ‘I’ve only just begun to live, Leo. Do you realise that before last night I’d never been on a date?’

‘I would imagine that status quo will change in the near future, Violet, especially if you keep on looking the way you looked last night. You’ll have men jumping out of the woodwork wanting to take you out.’ And take you to bed.

It surprised Leo how much that last thought bothered him, which was ridiculous. He should be encouraging Violet to take other lovers. How else would she ever be sure when and if she did fall in love? The only way to maturity and self-knowledge was through experience.

‘I do have a lot of catching up to do,’ Violet went on thoughtfully. ‘Most girls my age have had a dozen boyfriends by now and I haven’t even had one.’

‘I don’t think acquiring a boyfriend should be your first priority,’ Leo advised. ‘Dating is good, but exclusivity can be somewhat confining. You should go out with lots of different men whilst you’re still footloose and fancy-free.’

‘Oh, I do love the sound of that—footloose and fancy-free. It sounds so...exciting.’

‘It is exciting to be free to go where you like and do what you like without having to answer to anyone else.’

‘Is that what you do, Leo, now that you’re divorced and your only child is all grown up?’

‘To a degree. I do have work obligations, of course. Though I’m lucky that I enjoy my job.’

‘So do I. Enjoy my job, that is.’

‘Then you’re lucky too. Most people in this world don’t enjoy their work. Speaking of work, how soon do you think you might be able to read that screenplay?’

‘If you email it to me as soon as you get home I should have it finished over the weekend.’

‘That’s great. So, do you want to email me your opinion or would you prefer I rang you?’

Leo knew immediately that he should