‘Howaya? Feckin’ freezing, isn’t it? Conal, stingy git, has turned the thermostat down on the central heating so the whole place is like Antarctica. I’ve been in my coat all morning. Don’t start me .?.?. Crystal comes in and announces to the coffee room that her nipples are like gravestones. Terry from Compliance does a big snort and his Earl Grey comes down his nose. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up. So, how’s the legal eagle?’
For just a moment Ally felt a pang of nostalgia for Celtic Concrete .?.?. which was really saying something.
‘It’s different. My job is fine, though I’m not banking on making any lifelong friends here.’
‘Great, I don’t want you going off and finding another BFF.’
‘Don’t worry, Rosie, no chance. I don’t suppose you’d be free for a drink tonight after work?’
‘Can’t. My quilting group have our Christmas party. Sorry. I’ve got to dash, bye!’
Ally clicked off the phone with a sigh. The truth was that she was feeling lonely. It always took a while to get used to a new job,though, didn’t it?
When she returned after her lunch break, Georgina met her at the door, looking extra stressed.
‘Oh, there you are, Ally, thank God. I was about to panic. There’s five people coming for a very important meeting with us this afternoon, so when they arrive, could you offer them coffee? And in the meantime, please set up the boardroom with water, pens, pads .?.?. all the usual – and hurry, they’ll be here by two thirty.’
Oh, sweet Jesus, talk about going from nought to a hundred. She rushed upstairs in search of the boardroom and all of the requisite items. Where in the name of God was anything? She’d only twenty minutes max. She could hear Vincent’s booming voice in one office and Georgina talking intensely on her phone downstairs. Eloise, the shy paralegal, had her door firmly shut.
Before she knew it, four individuals had arrived. She served them coffee and then showed them upstairs to the boardroom. That meant there was one person still to come, and she was to let them up as soon as they arrived. Fine. She went back to checking through a box of documents and marking them off on a list that Georgina had given her – a task which she was finding surprisingly rewarding. Just then the buzzer sounded, so Ally answered it and went back to her task.
‘Ally?’ A familiar voice cut through her concentration. She looked up to see pale eyes fixed on her.
‘Francis! What are you doing here?’
‘I might ask you the same thing. Have you been stalking me?’
‘If only I’d the energy, Fran.’ She smiled. ‘You’d better go on up, they’re all there. First floor, on the left. I’ll talk to you later.’
Working in this job was giving her a little bit of authority, she noticed. Also, Francis wasn’t trailing his brand-new plus-one, thank God. Actually, she could feel her heart beating a little faster. It felt almost like they were meeting as strangers, dressedprofessionally, detached and yet .?.?. It was oddly sexy.
The entire activity of the firm for the next two hours seemed to be focused inside the boardroom and she’d been given nothing to do, which felt like a free period at school. Well, it was Friday afternoon, so she might as well doss. She whipped out her phone and texted Rosemarie:
Never guess who turned up? Francis
Solo?
Totally
Shut up. Did u chat?
Not yet, will tho
Keep me posted
* * *
Ally could hear a hiatus from upstairs after five o’clock, as the group emerged from the meeting room and poured downstairs. Vincent, with his previous bonhomie, announced that he was off for a jar, and anyone who wanted to talk further could do so in the Horseshoe Bar at the Shelbourne Hotel. Georgina shook hands with everybody and then wearily went back to her office. Ally was tidying her work away, so she could leave bang on five thirty, when she heard the familiar voice from behind her. ‘Ally.Hi, still here?’
She turned to find Francis clutching his briefcase. He seemed quite keen to chat.
‘I’m afraid so. What was that all about? Seems very serious. I promise I won’t tell anyone.’
‘Ah .?.?. All very boring, I’m afraid.’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, it’s a big company merger that we’re handling, so it’s obviously involving contracts, blah-blah, and we’re making sure we’ve all our legal ducks in a row,’ he explained.
