Free The Desperate Wife’s Survival Plan by Alison Sherlock Page A

downstairs when she unexpectedly bumped into Gerry Benedict, who was wearing only a dressing gown. Charley had no idea where he had been hiding all this time and didn’t really care.
    ‘Hello,’ she said, eager to leave before he recognised her.
    ‘Hello,’he said, breaking into an oily smile. ‘You must be the new cleaner.’
    He didn’t know who she was, Charley realised. Out of her designer dress, to him she was just the cleaner. She found herself quite grateful not to have explain her circumstances once more.
    But when she tried to move around him to go downstairs, Gerry Benedict blocked her path. She watched in slow motion as he slowly untied thebelt on his dressing gown and opened it up to reveal his naked glory.
    The creepy smile remained fixed on his face as he asked, ‘What do you think?’
    Charley took a beat before replying, ‘I think it looks like a penis only smaller.’
    She quickly brushed past him and headed downstairs.
    She spotted Mrs Benedict in the kitchen, eating her lunch and leaving crumbs all over the counter Charley hadonly just cleaned. But she didn’t care. She just wanted to get the hell out of there.
    ‘I’ve finished,’ said Charley, grabbing her handbag.
    ‘There’s your money,’ mumbled Mrs Benedict through her full mouth, pointing a finger at the kitchen table.
    Charley picked up the notes and stuffed them into her bag.
    ‘We’ll see you next week, I hope. For some reason we seem to have terrible trouble keepingcleaners from one week to the next.’
    Charley stared at the woman. ‘Well, if your husband keeps flashing at them all, I’m not surprised.’
    And she quickly ran out of the house.
    Later on, she received a phone call from her new boss.
    ‘Look,’ said Patricia with a sigh, ‘you’re gonna get perverts. But they’re paying perverts, okay?’
    ‘I can’t go back there,’ said Charley, still feeling somewhathysterical. ‘I won’t and you can’t make me.’
    ‘All right. Keep your knickers on.’
    ‘Thank God I did,’ replied Charley with a shudder.
    ‘Men!’ grunted Patricia down the line. ‘From monkeys to morons in four million years.’
    Charley put down the phone, grateful that her husband’s only shortcoming was his business sense.

Chapter Fifteen
    ‘ SO? HOW’S THE first week of cleaning gone?’ asked Samantha, as she topped up everyone’s glasses.
    It was her turn to be hostess. The flat was modern, with wooden floors, big white sofas and lots of glass tables. The kind of place where no mummy could ever bring her toddler.
    ‘Exhausting,’ said Charley, slumping back on to the leather sofa.
    She could feel every muscle in her bodyaching, and she had only cleaned for four hours that day. Patricia hadn’t warned her how tiring it would be. Lord knows what it would be like the following week when she would be cleaning for eight hours every day.
    By the time she had arrived home, she could barely walk. Then she had had to endure a freezing cold shower because Nick was now living with Julie and secret showers there had becomea thing of the past for Charley.
    Samantha wrinkled her nose. ‘I don’t know how you can do it, what with all that scrubbing and vacuuming.’
    Charley sighed. ‘It’s money. That’s the only reason I’m doing it.’
    ‘Yes, but it must be so humiliating,’ carried on her friend. ‘Cleaning people’s toilets, I mean.’
    Samantha’s tactlessness had always been one of her worst faults, thought Caroline, who hadspotted Charley squirming in her seat.
    ‘Your new cushions are lovely,’ said Caroline brightly.
    ‘They’re only ikea,’ said Samantha, stroking the fluffy fabric. ‘But I wanted to give the place a bit of an update, so I’ve replaced the curtains and bought some new tea lights too.’
    ‘Teal is very in this year,’ said Caroline.
    ‘I presume this makeover isn’t just meant for our eyes?’ said Julie, raisingher eyebrows.
    Samantha grinned. ‘Hopefully not.’
    ‘What’s the plan?’