---

There had to be a way to tell the other mums about The Undercover Mother. Jenny just needed to work out how to phrase it.

‘Can you believe we’ve all been friends now for over six months? Hey, I know what I meant to say – I have been writing about you all online without telling you and now my editor is going to put it in a magazine!’

No. Too flippant.

‘I have been offered a column writing about motherhood and I’d love to feature you all. You’ve all been so fantastic these last few months… new mothers everywhere could learn so much from you!’

Too sycophantic. And a lie.

‘I really need this to keep hold of my career.’

Too pathetic.

‘Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your meeting with Eva?’ Dan appeared in the doorway.

‘What are you doing up? I was going to let you have a lie in.’ Jenny raised her head from where she was lying on the sofa with Henry, watching some inane baby programme. They’d been up since 5.30 a.m. and she was doing her best to tune out the beaming weirdos on the TV and doze off.

‘I thought you’d need some time to get ready. I know it takes longer these days.’ Shifting random toys and baby gear out of his path with his foot, Dan scooped Henry from Jenny’s arms, avoiding the kick she gave him. She glanced down at her washed-out maternity pyjamas, stained dressing gown and chunky bed socks. He had a point.

‘So, when the column goes into the magazine, will you tell the others that you’ve been writing about them?’

Jenny grimaced. ‘I haven’t made my mind up. Maybe they won’t realise it’s about them?’ She looked at him hopefully. ‘Do you think I have to tell them?’

Dan shrugged his shoulders and settled down next to her on the sofa. ‘You haven’t used their real names, so probably not. But they’ll definitely recognise themselves, so you might wake up next to the severed head of Sophie the Teething Giraffe.’

Jenny closed her eyes, then opened them and pushed herself upright. ‘I’d better get in the shower.’

Getting dressed for work put her in a different frame of mind. This was the digital age. Everyone put their whole lives online nowadays. And it wasn’t as if she had written anything hugely controversial about the other mums. She hadn’t even used their names.

But she hadn’t told them what she was doing.

She pulled a brush through her hair. Okay, then. She just needed to tell them and get it over with. Worst-case scenario, they would be angry, stop speaking to her and that would be the end of it. It wasn’t as if they were really friends, anyway.

So why did that make her feel sad?

She was getting ahead of herself, anyway. Eva hadn’t confirmed that she wanted the column at all. In fact, after Naomi’s suggestion, Jenny had been researching baby magazines. Quite a few of them could benefit from a column which gave a healthy dose of reality. But Eva had been the one to ask for this meeting. Dared she hope that this was a good sign?

---

Normally, the office was a buzz of activity at this time of the morning. Today, it was almost empty. Jenny was both disappointed and relieved: disappointed by the lack of her old buddies but relieved not to see Lucy sitting at her desk.

Eva looked really happy to see her. She even came out from behind her desk and gave Jenny a hug, before kissing her on both cheeks.

‘Jen! I’m so pleased you’ve come in. It’s been too long. You’re looking fabulous. Sit! Sit!’ She indicated a chair and sat back down. ‘How is that wonderful little boy of yours?’

Eva was never this gushing and complimentary. Jenny began to get a horrible sinking feeling. Was she trying to soften some kind of blow?

But Eva had a big surprise.

‘I have a proposition for you.’

Jenny felt a wave of relief. Even the thought of touting herself around to other editors had been exhausting. She loved this magazine. She loved working for Eva. She loved everything and everybody. This was going to work out.

‘The Undercover Mother? You want it?’

But the shake of Eva’s head was emphatic. ‘God, no! I’ll admit the blog reads pretty well, but it’s still not for us. I know—’ she held up her hand to prevent Jenny from interrupting ‘—that a lot of our readers are mothers themselves. But they buy our magazine to escape the humdrum, not to be reminded of it.’

Jenny bristled but kept quiet. So, what was Eva proposing?

Eva began to shift paper around on her desk, looking uncharacteristically wrong-footed. She coughed a couple of times and replaced two pens into a chrome pen pot. Then she looked up again and took a breath. ‘Actually, I was hoping you might like your old job back.’

Now Jenny was confused. ‘My old job? “Girl About Town”? But what about Lucy?’ Eva had extolled Lucy’s virtues on more than one occasion. She’s enthusiastic. She’s hardworking. She meets her deadlines. Plus, Jenny had read enough of the columns to grudgingly recognise that the woman could write. How had she fallen from grace so suddenly?

Eva picked up one of the pens from the pot and tapped it on the desk. ‘Lucy’s gone. She works for Mark McLinley now.’

‘Oh.’ So, Jenny’s writing talents weren’t so unique after all. All that smooth talking over lunch about Jenny being the writer he wanted. Turned out, he just needed a willing female. No change there, then. He really was a prick. She forced a smile. ‘She might well live to regret that move.’

Eva raised an eyebrow. ‘Indeed. I had heard that he offered the job somewhere else first.’ She paused to make her point, then leaned forwards so her elbows were resting on her desk, hands clasped together. ‘So, how about it? Can you start back next week?’

‘Next week?’ Jenny stopped smiling.

Eva nodded. ‘Lucy offered to work her notice but I told her she could go – we don’t want her saving her best pieces for him whilst we’re paying her wages. We have enough to cobble something together in the short term, but there’s no one else on staff who is ready to make the step up. That’s why I need you.’

Jenny’s heart began to beat quickly. This was the last thing she’d expected. She’d been devastated to lose ‘Girl About Town’: she’d loved it. But could she still do it? She needed time to think.

‘I have to admit, I’m surprised.’

‘I don’t see why.’ Eva shrugged. ‘You’re the obvious choice. Plus, I remember you telling me that I was wrong to give Lucy your job when you were only going to be gone a few months.’ She put her head on one side. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve changed.’

Jenny’s mind raced. She was out of the habit of thinking on her feet. Nowadays it took her at least five minutes to choose which biscuit she wanted to dip into her tea. This was too big a decision to rush, but she didn’t want Eva to think she wasn’t grateful. She needed to say yes without saying yes. She took a deep breath.

‘I’ve got an idea.’

---

It would be a gross exaggeration to say that Eva was keen on Jenny’s plan. She’d sold it to her as ‘Girl About Town: On Tour’ – a whole weekend in Brighton which would give her enough material for two, maybe even three, issues of the magazine. At the worst, she’d argued, if she decided not to take the job afterwards, Eva would get another few weeks’ breathing space to find someone else. At best, Jenny would agree to take her old job back. Either way, Eva would benefit.

It hadn’t been the weekend away itself that Eva was dubious about, as they had done specials like this before: Jenny had visited Edinburgh, Cardiff and Manchester in the last two years. No, Eva’s sticking point was that Jenny wanted to take the other mums away with her this time, and she wanted the magazine to foot the bill for all of them. After a bit of negotiation they’d agreed Flair would pay for travel and other costs, on the proviso that the five of them found somewhere to stay themselves, which seemed fair to Jenny.

A weekend away for the five of them – no babies, no husbands and a shedload of alcohol – might reap a rich reward of the revelations which Jenny knew were bubbling beneath the surface. When she returned from Brighton, she would give Eva the ‘Girl About Town’ columns she had promised, but she would also present her with an Undercover Mother column that would blow her away.

Now all she had to do was persuade the other mums to come with her.