Seas of CHANGE

Charlotte was excited by her new job but she began to wonder who she could trust

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The window of Charlotte's room at the guest house overlooked the sea, and she had become transfixed by the sight of the waves frothing against the strip of beach below.

Despite it being June, the sky and sea were both a stormy grey-blue, so it was hard to distinguish where one ended and the other began.

For a moment, Charlotte's mood matched the gloomy colour scheme. She suddenly missed her flat in London and wondered how she would cope with staying in a small seaside town in Norfolk for at least three weeks.

It wasn't the first time she'd been away from home on business. She enjoyed her jaunts around the country sourcing antiques and artworks for private houses and businesses. Only, this time, she had the added weight of dealing with the recent break-up from her long-term boyfriend, Sam. The end of the relationship had been inevitable. They'd been growing apart for months, maybe years. Even so, her heart was bruised and battered.

Taking a deep breath, she moved away from the window. She had a job to do, a new client to impress. Jack Lowman was an ex-City trader who was pumping his savings into a rundown hotel at the edge of town.

Jack had discovered Charlotte via her website, which had finally been completed a few months earlier. She had learnt, during her initial meeting with him at the hotel, that he had left the stress of the City behind when he inherited the business from his parents. Now he was focusing on relaunching the place.

Charlotte had found Jack friendly enough, but there was a detached coldness about him. The only time he had smiled broadly during their meeting was when his daughter, Sophia, had run up to him as he was walking Charlotte to her car.

At the sight of the cute six-year-old, his face had lit up and he'd scooped her into his arms, kissing the top of her head several times.