LISA grimaced when the couple on the television screen started ripping each otherâs clothes off.
âAs if people really act like that,â she muttered as she reached for the remote.
If there was one thing Lisa couldnât stand it was over-the-top love scenes in movies. As much as she appreciated she might not be a typical viewer, Lisa felt pretty sure sex was never the way it was portrayed in Hollywood.
She literally cringed when the man lifted the by now half-naked woman onto the kitchen counter and thrust into her. Or pretended to. The camera was on their faces. When the grunting and groaning started, Lisa pressed her finger firmly on the off button. Sheâd had enough of watching such ridiculous goings-on, thank you very much. Time to go upstairs and make sure Cory was asleep. It was after nine oâclock and tomorrow was a school day.
Lisa was halfway up the stairs when the phone rang.
Darn, she thought as she hurried on up the stairs and turned left, popping her head into Coryâs bedroom on the way to her own bedroom.
Good, he was asleep.
Once in her bedroom, she closed the door behind herâso as not to risk waking her sonâand picked up the cordless phone.
âHello,â she said, fully expecting it to be her mother at this hour. All her girlfriends were married with children and were too busy each evening for gossipy chats.
âItâs Gail, Lisa,â a womanâs voice said down the line. âGail Robinson.â
Lisa decided sheâd best sit down. When one of her employees rang her on her personal line on a week night, it usually meant there was some problem or other.
âHi, Gail. Whatâs up?â
âIâve sprained my ankle,â Gail said dispiritedly. âSlipped down that rotten steep driveway of ours. Iâve been sitting here with my foot in a bucket of iced water for ages but itâs still up like a balloon. Thereâs no way I can do Jack Cassidyâs place tomorrow.â
Lisa frowned. Jack Cassidy was one of her newer clients. Sandraâher assistant-cum-bookkeeperâhad signed him up whilst Lisa was away with Cory on a weekâs cruise of the South Pacific during the recent school holidays. A bachelor, Mr Cassidy owned a penthouse apartment in Terrigal which apparently had acres of tiled floors and took ages to clean. He also liked his sheets and towels changed and his weekly linen washed, dried and put away, not something her cleaners usually did. Their standard service lasted four hours and covered cleaning all floors, bathrooms and kitchens, not doing laundry or windows. Laundry could be very time-consuming and windows dangerous.
But heâd apparently talked Sandra into finding someone who would do the extra.
Gail took five hours to do everything, for which Clean-in-a-Day was paid one hundred and fifty dollars, with Gailâs cut being one hundred and twenty. Their rates were very competitive.
âIâm really sorry to let you down at the last minute,â Gail said unhappily.
âThatâs all right. Iâll get someone else.â
âOn a Friday?â
Lisa knew why Gail sounded sceptical. Friday was the busiest day for housecleaning. Everyone wanted their homes to be clean for the weekend. Clean in a Day was fully booked on Fridays. Lisa had a couple of names she could ring if she was really desperate, but they were women who had not been through her rigorous training course and might not clean as thoroughly as she liked.
âDonât worry,â she said briskly. âIâll do it myself. And Gailâ¦â
âYes?â
âDonât stress about the money. Youâll still get paid.â
âAre you serious?â
âIâm well aware how tight things are for you at the moment.â
Gailâs husband had been made redundant a few weeks earlier. She really needed her cleaning money.
âThatâs very good of you,â she choked out.
Lisa winced. Dear heaven, please donât let her start crying.
âWill you be up at the school tomorrow afternoon to pick up the kids?â she asked quickly.
âYes.â
âIâll give you your money then.â
âGosh, I donât know what to say.â
âDonât say a word. Especially not to the other girls. Canât have my sergeant-major reputation tarnished. Theyâll think Iâve become a soft touch and start taking advantage.â
Gail laughed. âI canât see that happening. You have a very formidable air about you, you know.â
âSo Iâm told.â
âYou always look so perfect as well. Thatâs rather intimidating.â
âItâs just the way I am,â she said defensively.
Lisa had heard such criticisms before. From girlfriends. From her mother. Even her husband. When heâd been aliveâ¦
Greg had complained incessantly about her compulsive need to have everything look right all the time. The house. The garden. Herself. The baby. Him.