Chapter 1
Weird.
Definitely weird. There are lots of ‘weird’ things about my brother that are
actually pretty normal for him – he likes to put Marmite on Pop-Tarts, he’s
never seen Game of Thrones and, the
thing that baffles people most, he is a knitting obsessive with his own yarn
shop. But not replying to three texts and two emails in a row from me is super
weird for JP. With not even seven minutes before my next meeting, I’m
scratching the back of one leg with my new leopard-print loafers and firing off
a quick text.
Hey.
You’re scaring me. OK?
Other
siblings might talk more on the phone rather than just batting messages back
and forth like ping-pong balls, but it works for me and JP. My full-on, frantic
job means that spare time is usually only found in lifts or canteen queues or
during a particularly dull budget forecast. And experience has only too
painfully taught me that if you get JP on the phone and onto the wrong subject,
your ear could be throbbing forty minutes later and you still wouldn’t have
worked out why a customer buying sock yarn for a blanket pattern was quite so
hilarious.
Nothing hits my inbox in reply. No JP is typing reassuringly whispering to me at
the top of the screen. Weird. Really weird.
‘We’re up, Dee. Unless you’re too
busy sexting your boyfriend?’ Ben Cooper appears at my office doorway. He has
just as much experience in management consultancy as me – we graduated in the
same year, his birthday is only a few months behind mine, for goodness’ sake
(I’ve worked it out from the mandatory office cake celebrations) – but somehow
he puts on the air of a total industry leader who begrudgingly gives me the
time of day. And I never invited him to use my nickname – when it comes to
work, I am Delilah. Only friends, family and non-nobheads get to call me Dee,
thanks.
I’m working very hard not to roll my
eyes. I catch the eyes of my assistant, Clive, who nods just a tiny nod to let
me know that he’s just as irked. Clive is such a lifesaver in so many ways –
not just helping with the mountains of projects we tackle but making sure I
don’t forget family birthdays or overdue dentist trips. He’s a legend.
As I know Ben’s just itching to put
me in an annoyed, harried mood before a big client meeting; I let out a long,
calming breath. At the same level of seniority, we’re always looking to get one
over on each other. Like the time he ‘offered’ to shadow me on the Shenwood
project, as a ‘unique learning experience’, even though everyone knew there was
nothing for him to learn there except new ways to wind me up. Not that I let
that stop me working it like an absolute boss. And maybe I sent him to the
wrong meeting room a few times along the way. Maybe.
Which reminds me. A quick swipe of
the screen. But still no reply from JP.
So I plaster on my work smile – not
too big as to be fake and cheesy, not too small as to seem nervous or meek. And
just smug enough to show Ben he is having no effect on me whatsoever. Ha!
‘Born ready, Cooper. Born ready.
Can’t wait to catch up with Guy from TechBank. Did you know we play squash
together? He said he won’t sleep at night until he finally wins a game.’
Ben’s sour expression tells me that
my artfully placed throwaway comment has hit the mark – he doesn’t know how
much overtime I’ve been putting into bonding with this huge new client. My
mates, family and JP certainly know – they won’t stop grilling me for putting
work first and everything else second – but I know that if I can make this
client mine it will give me the most massive boost up the corporate ladder.
And, not that I’m competitive at all, Ben can just scrabble around for a bottom
rung in my dust.
***
With
the meeting under way, posh coffees and pastries laid out by the brilliant
Clive in our slick Canary Wharf office, I can feel myself leading more and more
of the discussion points, and it feels good. There is a problem at TechBank’s
Brussels branch – no worries I already have a flight booked for Monday morning.
Staff in the investment teams in head office are unhappy that consultants have
been coming in and telling them what to do – I’ve already engaged a
party-planning firm to throw a top-of-the-line Vegas theme night at the end of
the month. You can always distract the investment bankers with a good gamble…
My boss Devon nods sagely as I talk the client through my action plan, as if
he’s personally helped me devise the whole thing. Well, he personally held the
door open for me this morning and that’s about as useful as he gets. I can’t hate
Devon if I want to be Devon, I remind my inner grump, challenging the positive
mantra of the business book on my bedside table.
Just as I’m expanding on how we’ll
implement the next round of employment cuts, my phone vibrates on the glass
table, sending a grumble of noise into the meeting. If it was my work phone I
would ignore it, never wanting to show a client they are anything other than my
every waking thought, but it’s my personal iPhone – and a cold twist in my
stomach makes me turn it over and unlock the screen.
JP:
Can’t
move. Arms. Not. Worry here. Come.
The breath catches in my throat as I grab at my
things with clammy hands. ‘I’m so sorry, personal emergency, my brother… I have
to go. Sorry!’ I call over my shoulder as I leg it for the door, Devon’s weary
head shake and Ben’s wide eyes are the last things I see as the doors slam behind me.
Book Blurb: Finding
happiness one stitch at a time
When Dee Blackthorn’s brother, JP, breaks both wrists not only is he
in need of a helping hand – or two – but the knitting shop he owns can’t
function. Sisterly duties take Dee away from her demanding job and she is
unceremoniously fired amidst rumours of inappropriate behaviour. Dee is certain
that her hot-shot nemesis, Ben, is
behind it all but has no proof.
When Dee bumps into an old friend who is new mum to a
premature baby she convinces JP to enlist his knitting pals to make lots of
tiny woolly hats. Then Ben turns up denying involvement in Dee’s sacking and
she ropes him into helping the knitting cause.
But before long Dee’s good intentions backfire and she
risks losing her friends, her family and Ben, who’s turned out to be not so bad
after all…
A feel-good
romantic comedy about learning what life is really all about, The Woolly Hat
Knitting Club is perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Tilly Tennant and Carole
Matthews.
Links to Book:
Author Bio:
Poppy Dolan is in
her mid thirties and lives in Berkshire with her husband. She's a
near-obsessive baker and a keen crafter, so on a typical weekend can be found
moving between the haberdashery and kitchenware floors of a department store, adding
to her birthday wish list. She has written three novels: The Bad Boyfriends
Bootcamp, There's More to Life than Cupcakes and most recently The Bluebell
Bunting Society. The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp made it into the Amazon top 100
bestseller chart, so clearly someone other than her mum must have read it.
She's currently working on her fourth novel – it's about friends, siblings and
crafty things – and drinking far too much tea.
You can get in
touch with Poppy on Twitter @poppydwriter and on Facebook at PoppyDolanBooks. She doesn't bite. Unless you are a dark
chocolate digestive.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: @PoppyDWriter
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