The Other Side of Us - By Sarah Mayberry Page 0,74

smile.

“Guess we should start looking for that file, huh?”

“There’s no rush.” They’d already agreed to stay the night in the city. The dogs were keeping each other company back in Flinders, ably assisted by two big, juicy bones and a local dog walker who had agreed to look in on them a few times. There was no schedule to adhere to. Not today, at least, although a part of him was constantly aware that his stay in Flinders was drawing to a close. The freelancer covering his workload at the studio was contracted till the end of July, which meant he had only ten more days before he was due home. He could push to extend the contract, of course, but Rex wouldn’t be happy, and Oliver wouldn’t blame him. He’d been covering email and bouncing things back and forth with Rex, but there was no denying that his partner had made a huge concession, allowing him this downtime to get his shit together.

All of which meant his time with Mackenzie was drawing to a close. Something neither of them had addressed, even obliquely.

“You know, you don’t have to actually help with the search. You could head into the city, check out the sights, leave me to it while I burrow through my boxes.”

It was a genuine offer, but he wasn’t about to take her up on it. He’d rather be with her, sorting through files, than wandering around the city on his own.

“This may shock you, but I have been to Melbourne before,” he said.

“It does shock me. Most Sydney-siders never bother. Which is why they remain safe in the delusion that Sydney is the better city.”

He grinned. The Melbourne-Sydney rivalry had been alive and well for centuries, and he wasn’t about to fall down in his duty to do his bit to preserve it.

“You’re so right. A handful of rattly old tramcars and some graffiti-covered laneways are more than a match for Sydney Harbor, the bridge and the Opera House.”

They continued to trade playful insults while they searched through the boxes in the study. When they had no success there, they descended to the parking garage and began a systematic search of the storage locker.

Two hours later, they were both dusty and hungry and speeding rapidly toward being done with searching—and the research still had yet to be located. Oliver was about to suggest they stop for a break when Mackenzie swore and pushed the box she was looking through away from herself.

“You okay?” he asked.

“No. Why on earth did I keep all this stuff? When will I ever need the scripts from a show that isn’t even on air anymore? Or a contract from ten years ago? Or my dental X-rays from 2005?”

She looked very cute, sitting there with dust on her cheek, frustration pleating her forehead.

“I think we have to face the fact you’re an administrative hoarder. It happens. It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said.

She made a rude noise but her mouth kicked up at the corner. “You think you’re so funny, don’t you?”

“I don’t think, I know.”

The strident ring of a phone interrupted whatever response she was about to make and they both reached for their hip pockets at the same time.

“Me,” Mackenzie said as she slipped her phone from her jeans. Her smiled faltered as she checked the caller I.D.

“Who is it?”

“My boss. My ex-boss, I mean.”

Only yesterday he and Mackenzie had been discussing the fact that even though she knew beyond a doubt that her role had been handed to someone else, she had yet to hear the news from the powers that be at Eureka Productions. A fairly typical scenario in television, Mackenzie had told him. Now, apparently, her boss had found time in his busy schedule to destroy Mackenzie’s hopes. Big of him.

“Hi, Gordon.” She answered the call, crossing an arm over her body, bracing herself for what she knew she was about to hear.

Oliver moved closer, resting a hand on her shoulder. He could hear someone talking, but couldn’t distinguish the words.

“Thanks, but I’d already heard the news,” Mackenzie said crisply.

He smiled faintly, understanding that she wasn’t letting her boss off the hook easily. Oliver squeezed Mackenzie’s shoulder. Good on her for giving the bastard a hard time, even if it wasn’t going to change the outcome.

More talk came down the line. Mackenzie shifted her weight impatiently.

“I understand that, Gordon, but I’m won’t pretend I’m not disappointed. You know how much I put into that show. I wouldn’t