Skinny Dipping

Over Advertising

"Bradley called her. Barney's Chocolate Bars is reconsidering, and they have asked Kelly to come in. There's this rumour going around that he made Kelly redundant but then asked her back."

"Hmm..." Sophie said. Bradley hadn't called her to give her job back. "What's she supposed to be sick with?"

"She's lucky to have a job, so she's sucking it up, like you should."

"Well she can't be too sick if she's going to the party."

"I don't know. She just called in sick, like you," Jessica said.

"So she's not really sick."

"Like you, you mean?" Jessica insisted. "Not really sick."

Sophie hung up the phone and wandered around the flat in her pajamas. She slumped onto the leather lounge next to Carol, who sat sprawled on the sofa, eating ice cream.

"What are you doing?" Sophie asked, looking pointedly at the ice cream. Carol didn't eat much, and she certainly didn't eat ice cream.

"Josh..." Carol dipped her spoon back into the container and ate another mouthful. "He's off to Australia."

"Oh my God."

"Want some?"

"Why?"

"Because it's delicious."

"No." Sophie shook her head in frustration. "Why is he going to Australia?"

Carol sighed. "He's a lifeguard and he doesn't want to waste his life at a pool. He wants surf, sand, wind in his hair, all that kind of stuff."

"I see. Are you going with him then?"

"My agent called." Carol made a face. "I've got another job."

"That's wonderful news in a recession. Yet I don't know if I should be saying congratulations, because you don't look ecstatic."

"I'm not crying. I'm really happy with the new job." Yet Carol wiped a tear from her eye. "There's no possible way I can go to Australia when my career's just started to take off. Thanks for the help with that, by the way."

"No problem."

"Josh says he understands, and I guess we'll break up when he goes abroad." Carol sniffed. "What are you wearing to the wrap party tonight?"

"I'm not going."

Carol shot Sophie a long, hard look. "You're not going? No way. You can't drag me out of bed at four o'clock in the morning, convince me to become a national star, and then decide not to show up for the wrap party."

"I'm sick."

"No way you're sick, you big fraud," Carol hollered. "Don't think I'm not onto you. I'm your flat mate."

"I can't go. I got made redundant, so I'm taking all the sick days I can. I called in sick today, so I can't possibly go to the wrap party tonight. It would be too obvious."

"It's not like they can fire you."

"I suppose, but I'm not going."

"What's going on with you? What's happened to that persistent, positive, go-getter attitude? Are you sure there isn't any way to save your job?"

"There might be." Sophie shrugged. "But it doesn't mean much anymore, does it? I mean, if Bradley made me redundant, even if he reinstated me...well, I'm not worth very much to Clarks, am I? They don't really want me."

"But you love that job."

"I love advertising, maybe not that job," Sophie said in a very soft voice. "Besides, I don't want to see Matthew ever again. It's too embarrassing."