Sarah swallowed the last of her fish. “Oh Katie, I know I’m a born worrier and must get on both of your nerves at times but it’s just that I am concerned. I mean, you seem to be taking such a lot on board and all at once…”
Lisa giggled. “You, a worrier?” she teased putting a friendly arm along her shoulder.
Sarah patted Lisa’s hand but stressed. “I know, Lisa, but I work for myself and know how hard it can be?” she argued. Lisa mumbled an apology and fell silent.
Katie tried to make Sarah feel more at ease. “But, Sarah, I’ve done my homework with all the facts and figures and listened to everyone’s advice and I do have Chrissie’s contact list to get me started?”
"Which is great,” she said fiddling with a napkin. “But it is such a big step to leave a permanent job and go freelance in this economic climate and of course, this is all on the rebound from leaving Tim?"
She hated seeing her friend looking worried because deep down inside her Katie had no doubts whatsoever that she was doing the right thing and tried again to reassure her. "Well, leaving Tim wasn’t all my own choice and no matter what had happened in that situation I would still have had to find a new place to live,” she said confidently. “And I do love you for being so concerned but please stop worrying. I’m going to make this work - you’ll see. By this time next year I’ll be director of my own successful company." She smiled tentatively at her as if to say please just be happy for me.
“I do hope so,” Sarah conceded, smiling back at Katie who promptly leant across the table and planted a big soppy kiss on her cheek.
Katie joked. “Hey, Sarah, don’t you ever change. You’re our touchstone, don’t you know that?”
Sarah grinned shaking her head in mock disapproval. “Touchstone? Christ, Katie don’t you start with the bloody American sayings,” she said to which they all burst out laughing.
Before she knew where she was it was her last day at work and while sitting alone in the staff restaurant with a mug of hot coffee she prayed for the umpteenth time the completion date on the flat purchase would go through without any hitches on the following Monday.
“Hey there, the guys tell me it’s your last day?” a familiar male voice said and she looked up to see Alexander Jennings standing in front of her table.
Oh no, what on earth was he doing here, she thought and felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle with indignation. She couldn’t help but admire his expensively cut grey striped suit which even though he had one hand in his trouser pocket still hung flawlessly.
“Do you mind?” he asked, and before she could think of an excuse he slid onto the seat opposite her placing his mug of coffee down carefully onto the table.
Don’t let him get to you, she thought trying not to look into his eyes. When she spoke she looked past his shoulder towards the doorway. “Actually, I’m going shortly. In fact, I’ve got so many loose ends to tie-up I’d better take this coffee back up to my desk.”
He smirked the same all-knowing grin that he had on the night at the Savoy and she wondered if he’d known then that his uncle was going to give him the job and that was why she’d felt he’d been mocking her all along. Pulling the strap of her handbag onto her shoulder in readiness to get up she stared at him wondering what it was that irritated her so much - she’d worked with arrogant upstarts before and had always managed to get a handle on them so why couldn’t she with him. His long thin fingers curled around the mug of coffee and she noticed the meticulously manicured nails.
He stared intensely at her. “Yeah, it’s probably just as well you decided to leave, Katie, because I think we would have had a real problem working together?”
She loosened the grip of her bag and sat back in the chair. “We would? How do you make that out, then?” she asked raising an eyebrow in puzzlement.
He sipped his coffee and smiled cockily at her while she looked at him wishing he would spill the coffee down his marbled grey silk tie.