Chapter 1
Allie waited in the hotel reception, checking her phone for E mails from the office. She saw a woman a little older than her cross the marbled floor. She was immaculately dressed in an olive coloured tailored dress and black jacket, and she carried a folder. Smiling the auburn haired lady approached, "are you Allegra .....?"
"Yes, Hi, I'm known as Allie, you must be Susan?" she said mirroring the smile, "thanks for meeting me".
Susan was surprised but managed to hide it. She was expecting an older, sterner Allegra then the small, delicate Allie that stood in front of her. It made her feel maternal, "shall we grab a coffee in the lounge and we can talk through the plan for the next couple of days?" Allie nodded, "Fab, I'm a bit jet lagged so the caffeine will definitely help"
They got settled in the lounge across from reception and ordered coffees. Susan had a good look at her new client. From the brief she'd been given she had conjured up in her mind a dark haired, serious British woman who would probably be hard to please. The girl in front of her was dainty with beautiful dark blue eyes, no obvious make up and caramel streaked mid brown hair. She was dressed simply in dark, wide legged casual trousers and a v necked pale pink linen top.
"So how was your flight?" she asked. Allie grimaced a little, "Long!" She laughed and said, "No, it was fine. I got some work done for the first few hours, so I can concentrate on getting all the practical stuff with the move sorted now I'm here."
"It must be exciting moving to another country?" Allie looked away for a second, "It is, but I'm a bit scared too. I don't know anyone here and everything will be new, the office, driving in a new city, new clients...." She broke out in a cheerful smile that didn't reach her eyes, "I'm sure it'll be fine." Susan's heart ached a little for her. She seemed vulnerable, and thinking of how she'd feel if this was one of her daughters she asked, "how do your family feel about you moving across the pond?" Allie replied quickly, "no close family really, parents gone and no siblings." Susan was sorry she'd pried and thought she'd best stick to what she was here to help with, "Oh honey, I see. Well how about we go see some great apartments I've found for you to look at. Hopefully they'll be somewhere you really like."
They spent the rest of the morning in Susan's car driving to various apartment blocks. "How are we doing so far Allie?" asked Susan as they drove to see the last one before she said they'd stop for lunch. "They were all nice to be honest and I can't see much to pick between them." Susan glanced over, "hmmm, well this next one I'm hoping may stand out. It's not as big as the others, but it's my favourite."
A few minutes later they pulled into another large apartment block and drove down a ramp to a private underground car park. Exiting the car Susan grabbed some keys and explained to Allie, "We live a few blocks from here, and one of our friends actually has the penthouse. It's a great area, nice coffee shops, bars and restaurants." They entered a corridor using a code and took a lift. Coming out they approached the door which led into the apartment. There was an open plan kitchen and living area, which was as Susan had said was smaller than the others they'd seen. As Allie tentatively looked into the two bedrooms and bathrooms Susan continued, "Our friend Michael who lives in this building is a lawyer too," she added quickly, "not your firm, but his office is very close to yours, so I know this would be a good location for commuting." Allie nodded and walked further into the larger of the bedrooms with the ensuite. Susan stepped in front of her and pulled the full length curtains back, "But this is what I thought you might really like." Allie gasped, pulling back the curtains revealed a small balcony looking over a beautiful beach. "Wow, that's amazing!" she said.
