Thanks to my lovely fiancé, who is typing this to my dictation. Anyway; anyone who can tell which film the quote is from in the last chapter (I'm not telling you which quote) and lets me know, I'll either create a character of your name (so you have to tell me it) or include a word of your choice. The same reward for anyone who notices my little sneaky trick in this chapter. Yes this is bribery to get you to review. Please respond to my bribery. Story now anyway.

Carolyn pulled up into the driveway and parked the car, glancing up at the house, before heading towards the door. Before she'd even pressed the doorbell, a young woman opened the door, smiling.

"Come in Ms Knapp-Shappey." Carolyn recognised the voice as the one she'd spoken to on the phone.

"Urm, thank you." He coat was taken and hung up, and she was led into the conservatory where a teapot and cups waited. Carolyn took a seat and fidgeted a bit before sitting still. About five minutes late (but it felt like longer) a reasonably young woman entered, dressed in a white formal dress, her hair partially pinned up.

"Pleased to meet you Ms Knapp-Shappey." Irene held out her hand and Carolyn shook it.

"Pleased to meet you too Ms Adler." Irene smiled and seated herself before pouring the tea. She sat back in her seat, saying nothing, and waiting for Carolyn to speak. Although Carolyn tried to wait her out, her awkwardness and impatience overcame any previous decisions and she spoke: "I'm here about the letter and contract you sent me." Irene inclined her head in acknowledgement, but said nothing, so Carolyn continued. "It is a generous offer, but MJN is a loss making company and £10,000 a year is hardly likely to bridge that gap."

"Are you asking me for more money?"

"Well, I suppose I am."

"I told you I have contacts. I've spoken with some of them and I could guarantee you an extra 7 bookings, either for a full plane or a private flight, within a month. They would not clash with you other flights and would still allow the required 12 hours in between flights." Irene continued speaking, not allowing Carolyn to say anything. "I can make MJN profitable and you already know my only offer." Carolyn was actually speechless, and Irene took a moment to enjoy it before saying, "I know you've already decided to accept, so let's sign the contract and save ourselves the trouble. I will complete the training to become a steward, and will come with the cabin crew on the next refresher course. Is it as Ipswich again?"

Again Carolyn was speechless, this time because of the knowledge Irene had, yet couldn't possibly have. However, she collected herself quickly and came to the realisation that they should just sign the document so she could leave – staying here any longer would have no benefits.

"Alright. Let's just sign it then." Irene smiled and produced a pen and three copies of the document, all of which Carolyn signed, and then Irene signed. Irene handed one copy to Carolyn and filed the others away.

"Give your bank details to Kate on the way out and she'll arrange the initially transfer and the direct debit." Irene pressed a buzzer, then stood. "It was good to meet you Ms Knapp-Shappey, I look forward to seeing you next week when I avail myself of a seat on your flight to Rio." Carolyn nodded: the flight was only half full of businessmen, so she reasoned it would be a relatively safe flight in which to introduce this investor to MJN. "And your flight to El Paso the week after. Also, any flights to Nepal or Egypt in the next few months – they're places I've always wanted to go." Carolyn dumbly nodded and followed Kate out the room, leaving the house 3 minutes later.

Martin came to the window just in time to see a car driving away, but not who it was. He'd been sitting in a swivel chair in the spare bedroom, which Irene had had laid out as an office for them to share (though Martin knew it was mainly because Irene knew he'd always wanted one).

"Who was that?" Martin shouted down.

"I've made an investment in a company, and that was the company's CEO." Irene came up the stairs. "Nothing important, I'm sure you can meet her sometime. I'll be away on a business trip with that company at the time you're flying to Rio." Martin nodded and sat down in his comfy chair, dismissing the matter from his mind.

Finally typed up and uploaded! A little puzzle I've put in – why should Carolyn know that this mysterious investor is Martin's girlfriend/how does Irene tell her? If you work it out I'll name a character for you. Don't worry if you can't though – it is hard – this is what happens when I read the Sherlock Holmes IQ book! Yes this is bribery to get reviews – I'm sure nobody minds.