The Little One [Quick Read 2012] by Lynda La Plante

 
Chapter One
    Barbara Hardy stared out of her office window at the heavy grey sky. It had been raining all day and London looked dreary and depressing. Without any warning, her heart
suddenly started to beat wildly and she found it hard to catch her breath. Before she knew it, she was in the middle of a full-blown panic attack.
    She tried to breathe deeply, she tried to empty her mind, but it was impossible. Instead she burst into tears. Too many things were going wrong in her life at the moment.
    Her relationship with Gareth had just broken up. Even thinking about the rat made her gasp for breath again. Barbara had really believed that this relationship might last longer than her usual
six months. And for almost a year things had been good between them. Then in the wine bar last night he told her that he’d met someone else.
    Not only was she losing Gareth, but that morning she’d also been cornered by her landlady. If Barbara didn’t pay the three months’ rent she owed, she would have to leave her
room.
    And now she had to worry about her job. As a freelance, it was tough getting work these days. At present she was employed by a women’s magazine and the editor, Mike Phillips, wanted to see
her. Apparently her most recent piece had created some legal problems. She hadn’t checked out the facts about a rock star’s pregnancy and the magazine was in trouble.
    Barbara was worried that this might affect her latest project. She had come up with an idea that she hoped would make her a great deal of money. She wanted to track down former soap opera stars
for a ‘Where Are They Now?’ series. Mike had seemed keen when she first mentioned it and she had already approached a photographer friend called Kevin Shorter. He was to take shots of
the actresses looking less than their glamorous best.
    Barbara was not exactly looking glamorous herself when she went into Mike’s office. It was hard to look good when she kept bursting into tears. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her nose was
running as if she had a cold. What’s more, her roots needed retouching.
    Barbara had chestnut hair cut in a short bob, with auburn highlights. She was actually rather pretty, with a heart-shaped face, big blue eyes and a snub nose. Only her tight-lipped mouth took
the edge off things. At thirty-eight years old she was still very skinny. She usually wore good casual clothes – short skirts, black tights and boots. Today she had chosen a tweed suit for
her meeting with the editor.
    Despite all her efforts, Mike barely looked at her. He simply told her that she was fired. What’s more, because of the legal problems she had caused, the magazine would not be paying her
the amount she had expected. Barbara was told to leave the building immediately.
    As she made her way through the rain to the tube station, Barbara called Kevin, her photographer friend. She had intended to tell him that her idea for the series would have to
be postponed. Instead, she found herself pouring out all her other problems.
    It took a while for the awful truth to hit her and then she flushed with shame. She was not talking to Kevin at all, but to his partner, Alan. Alan was an actor and he hardly knew Barbara.
However, he was a kind man and he told her that she could stay at their place. There was room just now because Kevin was away on an assignment.
    Barbara could not believe her luck. Here was a chance to live rent-free, probably with decent food thrown in. Both men were very good cooks, while she could only just scramble an egg. She had no
boyfriend, no job and only £250 in the bank. What’s more, she had no family or close friends to turn to. As far as she could see, other people had such easy lives. It was about time
something went right for her.
    She thanked Alan and hurried back to her rented room. Ignoring another demand from her landlady, she packed up her belongings and left.
    Alan and Kevin shared a small but lovely terraced house in Kingston,