who had so alarmed Barbara last week. Smiling slightly at the memory of her reaction, Zack dialed the number. He knew nothing about the girl, other than that she didn’t sound as if she wore crimplene.
It was picked up on the third ring. ‘Hello? Whoops.’ There was a clatter followed by a big thud. ‘Sorry about that. Hello.’
‘What happened there?’
‘I reached over to pick up the phone and rolled off the sofa. Who’s that?’
‘Zack McLaren.’
‘Oh! Look, can I just say I’m so sorry about last week? I really put my foot in it, didn’t I? Your poor PA, I hope you weren’t cross with her.’
Amused, Zack said, ‘I’m never cross. Listen, you sounded pretty enthusiastic before. I just wondered if you’d like to come over for an interview tomorrow morning?’
‘Really? Oh, wow, that’d be fantastic! But I can’t do tomorrow; I’m catching the first train up to Glasgow.’ She sounded genuinely apologetic. ‘It’s my gran’s eightieth birthday and she’s having a surprise party and I can’t miss it. But I’m back on Sunday night.’ Hopefully she added, ‘Could we make it next week instead?’
Damn. ‘Sorry, I’ve already seen all the other applicants. I promised to let them know by tomorrow.’
‘Oh.’ There was a pause. ‘Well, I’m not doing anything right now. Apart from falling off the sofa. How about if I just throw some clothes on and come round in thirty minutes?’ Another pause. ‘Um, that makes it sound as if I’m naked. I’m not naked, I’m wearing pajamas. Oh God, this is too much information. Shall I see you in thirty minutes, fully clothed?’
Zack caught sight of his reflection in the office window. He didn’t tell her that apart from the towel slung around his hips, he wasn’t wearing anything either. Anyway, that was beside the point. ‘I can’t do it. I have a business dinner this evening.’ He’d called her number on impulse but there was no way he would employ someone without meeting them first. And he was the main guest speaker at tonight’s dinner so he couldn’t be late. ‘Well, we gave it a try, but I guess we’ll have to leave it after all. Just a case of bad timing.’ Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was eight o’clock. Seeing as his car would be here in ten minutes, he needed to get a serious move on. ‘Thanks anyway.’
‘OK.’ The girl, Ellie, sounded disappointed. ‘Well, thank you too, for thinking of me. It was nice of you to call. It’s a shame we couldn’t meet up.’
She had an attractive voice, clear and musical, the kind that would be a joy to listen to. If you had time. ‘I’m sorry too. And good luck with finding another job,’ said Zack. ‘Bye.’
Chapter 10
‘How’s your new woman doing?’ Next to Zack in the passenger seat, Louisa pulled down the sunshield and checked her lipstick in the mirror. ‘Settling in?’
Zack nodded. He’d gone for Christine in the end, out of the six applicants, and she was proving every bit as efficient as Barbara. Christine was in her late fifties and uninterested in fashion; with bushy eyebrows and a penchant for pleated skirts, stylishness wasn’t her raison d’être. But she typed so fast her sausage fingers became an actual physical blur. She also brought packed lunches to work and ate egg mayonnaise sandwiches at her desk, swilling them down with weird-smelling herbal tea.
‘Still eating the egg sandwiches?’
‘Every day.’
‘Oh well, maybe she’ll move on, give cheese and tomato a try. Can you pull up over here?’ Waving her hand at the rank of shops ahead, Louisa said, ‘I need a couple of mags for the journey.’
Zack’s heart sank a couple of notches. He’d been seeing Louisa for almost three months now and she had a lot going for her—she was confident, glamorous, and strikingly attractive. But stopping at the newsagents, he had learned from bitter experience, meant that she would be spending the next couple of hours reading bits aloud to him from magazines. For some reason she thought he would be as fascinated as she was to hear the items of celebrity gossip, words of wisdom from relationship experts, and which brands of mascara made your lashes look longest. They were heading down the M4 to the wedding of one of Louisa’s friends in Bristol and if he tried to listen to the radio she would reach over and turn it down each time she needed to relay some new and vital piece of information, like had he