Today I am happy to be sharing an extract with you all from 'Our Little Secret' by Claudia Carroll.
Publication date 8th February 2018
About the book
Sarah Dee has the perfect life. A high-flying job in a law firm, a beautiful daughter and a house to die for. So how does she find herself looking in through the kitchen window while another woman enjoys it all?
When Sarah takes pity on a struggling young graduate who can’t get a job, she thinks she’s doing the right thing. She’s being kind, generous and helpful to others, as she always is. But as Sarah allows the younger woman into her home, her law firm and even her family, is there more to this pretty youngster than meets the eye? And could this be a good deed that goes further than expected?
Claudia Carroll does it again with a sparkling new novel about what happens when your life becomes up for grabs…
Extract from the book
Looking back, it was that one single sentence that caught me.
I thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement, absolutely chiming with what Lauren had said. Because it had been a huge struggle for me too, back in the day. I didn’t come from a legal background, unlike so many in my class at college who had parents and relations practising as barristers and, in one case, even a High Court judge.
I remembered all too vividly how tough I’d found it to get a paralegal job – any kind of job, really – after I first graduated, all those years ago. How I’d had to graft away as a postgraduate, doing any kind of legal temping work that came my way. I had to shatter every glass ceiling I came in contact with all by myself, with absolutely no one to help me. Then eventually after years of that, an opportunity finally opened up for me at Sloan Curtis. It felt utterly miraculous to me that I’d managed to land an actual bona fide job there. I really couldn’t – then or now – believe my luck.
‘All down to my magic novena to St Joseph,’ my mother had preached at the time, wagging a triumphant finger in my face. Yeah, right. More to do with the fact that I invested years practically battering down the door of Sloan Curtis before I could even get an interview in the place.
Because Lauren was absolutely right. The legal world was then and is now a virtual closed shop, and it takes grit and iron determination to get a foot in the door. And that’s only if you happen to be one of the incredibly fortunate ones.
‘So where did you qualify?’ I asked, turning my attention back to Lauren, feeling guilty for not having engaged with her a bit more beforehand.
It struck me as strange that she didn’t even attempt to answer my question. Instead she flushed red with a coy, embarrassed little shake of her head.
‘Or did you study abroad?’ I persisted, confused by the silence.
‘It’s a long story,’ she said quietly.
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