6 Blood, Stone & Partners

6 Blood Stone & Partners The building that housed her mother's accountancy firm always made Peanut feel tiny. It towered so high it felt like it might fall forwards and crush her at any second. 'Your mam won't be long and then you two can head off home,' said Nerys as she shuffled towards the building and triggered automatic sliding doors. 'We can go up and wait in her office. I'll get that kettle on. Peanut's mum had worked at Blood, Stone & Partners for just over three years. Peanut could clearly remember the day that

Mum had got the job, mainly because Dad had nipped to the shop to buy a bottle of champagne and some cream soda for the children: Peanut, Leo and their baby sister were never allowed to have fizzy drinks so this had been very exciting. Here's to my wife, the high-flying accountant!' Dad had shouted, beaming with pride as he and Mum clinked their glasses together. 'I always knew you could do it.' What a happy day that was. It seemed like a long time ago now.

Peanut and Nerys walked out of the lift and headed down the long glass corridor towards Mum's office. Peanut counted sixteen doors on each side, each one leading to an identical cube-shaped room housing an identical desk, an identical chair and an identical computer screen. They were all empty. She wondered how each member of staff remembered which one was theirs. At the end of the corridor was a large wooden door with a gold plaque on it. TRACEY JONES DIRECTOR OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING Nerys knocked and then walked in without waiting for an answer. Peanut followed. In contrast to the glass labyrinth outside, Mum's office felt very old-fashioned. For a start, the walls, floor and ceiling were all covered with exactly the same type of wood. It immediately made Peanut feel drowsy, as if she were being given a great big oaky cuddle. It was also slightly disorientating, as it was quite easy to forget which way was up and which way was down. This wasn't helped by the fact that the room had no windows. What little light there was came from either

the massive circular iron chandelier that held ten fake candles and looked like it had been stolen from the set of Game of Thrones, or the eighty-inch flat screen embedded into one of the walls. The TV only ever seemed to show one channel: BBN (Big Business News). As far as Peanut could tell, it exclusively featured very grey people, in very grey suits, talking endlessly about the never-ending river of seemingly random numbers that flowed along the bottom of the screen. What a waste, thought Peanut. If I worked here I'd watch Marvel films all day long. Mum was sitting in a dark-green leather swivel chair behind her desk, a massive mahogany monstrosity with edges inlaid with a mother-of-pearl Celtic knot design. She was furiously tapping away at a laptop. Without looking up, she said, 'Hello, darling. I'm nearly finished. Have a seat and Nerys will get you a cup of tea. We'll talk about your detention later. Peanut sat down in an armchair next to another much smaller desk in the corner of the room. Nerys approached the wall next to Peanut and pushed one of the panels. To Peanut's delight, it opened up to reveal a small but immaculate kitchen. Nerys went in and filled up the kettle. The desk Peanut was sitting next to was much messier than Mum's. Pens and pencils were strewn across it and several ledgers were lying open with corners of pages folded

over. At the front, there was what looked like a black plastic Toblerone bar with the words 'Nerys Jenkins, PA to DFA' printed on it. Peanut picked up a pencil and started doodling absent-mindedly on one of the pads. Then she noticed Nerys's computer. The screen was covered with yellow Post- it notes, each one completely filled with writing and little tick boxes. A wave of sadness hit Peanut. The sight of those small yellow squares of paper made her miss Dad terribly.