An interview with Bradley

Today, I thought I’d stop by Riverley Hall and ask everyone’s favourite personal assistant a few questions. I’ve wanted to have a chat with him for a while, but it’s been hard to track down a man as busy as Bradley…

EN: Have you got a few minutes?

Bradley: How many is a few? There’s a man coming to measure up for a new sofa for the gallery in ten minutes, so it’ll have to be quick.

EN: I can work with that. What happened to the old sofa? I thought you only bought it a couple of months ago.

*Both take a seat on the sofa in the lounge, thankfully free from claw-marks.*

Bradley: Kitty used it as a scratching post. Honestly, that cat’s going to be the death of me. At least he’s house-trained. Can you imagine how messy it would get in here otherwise? 

EN: I’m not sure I want to. Anyway, I see you survived Mack’s bachelorette party.

Bradley: *Shudders* Barely. My favourite boots got scuffed, and let’s just say, we’re not welcome back at Cedar Ridge again. I can’t take those girls anywhere without them getting into trouble. 

EN: Aw, you love them really. What would you do without Emmy?

Bradley: I wouldn’t have to try and accessorise combat gear, that’s for sure. Do you have any idea how difficult that is? Everything has to be mud-proof, and Emmy hates anything that jingles. *Rolls eyes* Something about the enemy hearing her position.

EN: And Black? After all, you work for him too. 

Bradley: He’s easy enough to shop for, seeing as he only wears one colour, but he’s *whispers* scary. 

EN: But Emmy’s pretty scary too. 

Bradley: No, she’s not. Emmy may be a little trigger happy when it comes to bad guys, but she’s got a very definite sense of right and wrong. Black? Nobody every knows what he’s thinking. He wears the same expression whether he’s deciding what he wants for breakfast or plotting the overthrow of a foreign government.

EN: Has he done that often? Overthrown governments?

Bradley: Shh! I’m not supposed to know about that, and the walls here have ears. 

EN: Okay, got it. I guess there are a lot of people around in Riverley Hall at the moment. After all, the Blackwood family seems to be growing, doesn’t it? Nick’s got Lara, Xavier’s come back with a new girlfriend in tow, William’s arrived, Akari’s staying in the United States for a while, and what’s this I hear about Jed’s adventure in Vegas?

Bradley: *Blows out a long breath* Alcohol and Jed were never a good mix, but at least that’s Oliver’s mess to clear up rather than mine. I’ve got quite enough to do planning Mack and Luke’s big day. You wouldn’t believe the amount of work involved. The marquee, the band, the dresses… Just keeping Luke’s mother as far from Emmy as possible will be no small task. And now the caterers are complaining about the kitchen. For Freddie Mercury’s sake, we’ve catered banquets out of it, but now they’re saying we need to bring in bigger ovens. I told Mack, and do you know what she suggested?

EN: What?

Bradley: A barbecue! You can’t have a wedding barbecue. It’s like she hasn’t researched this at all.

EN: She’s been kind of busy with work lately. 

Bradley: Emmy wants to get her an assistant, but Mack’s too much of a control freak to let anybody touch her computers. I borrowed her laptop to watch Netflix once, and she went bananas.

EN: It’s not password protected?

Bradley: I might have watched her type it in. 

EN: In that case, I can understand her being a bit peeved. I’m surprised you had time to watch Netflix, though.

Bradley: Nothing gets between me and Gilmore Girls.

EN: Fair enough. It’s about time you took a break. I don’t know where you get all your energy from, anyway.

Bradley: Bridget got me started on these new smoothies. They’ve got nine different kinds of fruit in, and one portion contains my entire daily quota of vitamins. 

EN: Who’s Bridget?

Bradley: Oliver’s housekeeper. She makes the best chocolate eclairs this side of the Atlantic, but Toby’s banned them from the house because Emmy eats them all. *Looks at watch* The sofa guy’s late.

EN: You really never stop, do you?

Bradley: Nope. *Shrugs* But I’d rather be busy than bored. Just don’t tell Emmy, or she won’t feel guilty when I complain about all the stuff she asks me to do.

EN: My lips are sealed. What would you do if you did have some spare time?

Bradley: Hmm… I think I’d start a blog. Style tips, fashion trends, that kind of thing. Or maybe I’d move to New York and work with my friend, Ishmael. He’s asked me several times if I’d collaborate with him on an accessories range.

EN: Working with Ishmael would be a big deal. After all, he’s kind of revered in the fashion world.

Bradley: It would, but Blackwood’s home, and its people are family. I’ll never leave. 

EN: Let me guess, I shouldn’t tell Emmy that either? Not if you want to get a pay rise…

Bradley: Doesn’t matter—I do my own pay rises and she never minds. She’s not a bad boss, really. Oh, speak of the devil…

Emmy: There you are. Why is there a dude wandering around outside with leather swatches?

Bradley: *Leaps up* Finally! I’ve been waiting for him to arrive. Gotta go.

EN: *Watches Bradley run out of the room* That guy’s something else, isn’t he?

Emmy: He’s freaking nuts, that’s what he is. But we all love Bradley. How could anyone not? I mean, the last time he bought a sofa, he got the upholsterer to build in a secret compartment in so I could hide my chocolate stash from Toby. *Lifts sofa arm up* Fancy a peanut butter cup?

EN: Don’t mind if I do…

Huge thanks to the members of Team Blackwood for coming up with the questions for Bradley's interview!

If you'd like to read more about Bradley, he stars in his own novella, Neon – find out more by clicking the book cover below: