I want a princess

to a sports bra, with a bottle of Lucozade in hand, Cherry avoided physical exertion like the plague. Which was why she had perfected the art of pushing into the queue for the lift. And her c

ped through the system like battery hens, and woe betide anyone who fell below industry standard. Cherry wound her way through the rows of desks and occasional offices that filled the floor, greeting colleagues as she went. She didn’t bother with exaggerated wiggles and dimpled smiles up here. No-one was silly enough to fall for it, or dangerous enough to warrant her Darling Doll performance, anyway. She reached the HR office and paused, reading the sign blu-tacked to the door with a frown. CHERRY NEITA, KEEP OUT! With a shrug, she swept into the room. “Oh! Cherry! What are you doing here?” Inside the office, two women huddled protectively around Cherry’s desk. She struggled to place them. They were in finance, she thought… and the little, dark-haired one might be called Julie. The taller of the two women looked at Cherry as if she were a rampaging bull. “Didn’t you see the sign?” “No,” Cherry said blithely. “What are you doing at my desk, girls?” Across the room, seated neatly at her own desk, Rose McCall snorted. She raised one pale, wrinkled hand to her spectacles, peering at Cherry over their half-moon lenses. “What do you think, darling?” Cherry held back a sigh. It took great effort, but she managed.“Sorry, Cherry,” the tall one wheedled. “It’s just that Julie and I were talking, and she—” Cherry held up a hand. “You don’t have to explain. Have I ruined the surprise?” “A little bit,” Julie admitted. “I don’t know how you missed the sign.” “It’s a mystery for the ages,” murmured Rose. Cherry gave the older woman A Look. “Well, anyway,” Julie said. She tried for a grin, but it looked more like a wince. “Surprise!” The pair sprang apart like show girls, waving their hands towards Cherry’s desk. Or rather, towards the monstrous mess they’d made of it. Her neat and tidy workspace was covered in glitter and confetti. In the centre of the desk sat a huge, ceramic number ‘30’ in a screaming shade of pink. As if she didn’t know precisely how old she was. God, Cherry hated birthdays. They were so… unnecessary. “Oh, you two,” she said, pasting a coy smile onto her face. “You shouldn’t have.” “Really,” Rose echoed. “You shouldn’t have.” The woman was a bloody nuisance. A brilliant bloody nuisance, but a nuisance all the same. Julie’s hopeful face fell. “I know you hate a fuss, but—” “No!” Cherry said firmly. “This is lovely. I very much appreciate it. I—” she broke off as she caught sight of a little box beside the ornament. “Is that Hotel Chocolat?” “Yes!” Julie said proudly. Rose sat up straight in her chair. “Where?” She demanded, squinting across the room. “Never you mind.” Cherry stepped forward and swept up the box with a smile. “Really, ladies, thank you so much. What a lucky girl I am.”The admin staff persisted in sucking up to her purely because Rose, the Head of HR and mistress of all she surveyed, was impossible to suck up to. Usually it was rather annoying, but in this case, Cherry couldn’t pretend to mind. As the girls left, looking