“Hi Steph, Steve is on leave today so he arranged for you to use his office and I am at your disposal.” She smiled and curtseyed making Steph laugh.
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
She turned her laptop on and went to make some coffee for her and Hannah which is where Dave caught up with her.
“Miss Pryor,” came his voice from behind her causing a shudder to wash over her body. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wondering if he would just go again if she ignored him now, but he persisted. “Can we talk, well, can I talk? I owe you an apology and an explanation.” He sounded gentler and calmer than he ever had with her before.
She turned to face him and he looked friendlier than he had during their previous encounters, more genuine. “Okay. Would you like coffee?” she offered.
“Please.” He smiled. “Milk, no sugar.”
“Sweet enough, eh?” She immediately regretted her instinctive and tongue in cheek comment. “Sorry, that wasn’t meant to sound so bitchy. Shall we go back to Steve Cannon’s office? That’s where I am based today,” she explained.
They sat uncomfortably for a few seconds before Dave said, “I should apologise first, for my treatment of you. I have been a bit of a bastard to put it bluntly. I saw you as my biggest threat here but I think I am my own biggest threat. You are good at what you do and I could see that from day one, and the fact that Brooker values you so highly . . . anyway, I haven’t been doingmy job as I should have been and my figures were shit compared to yours and even the big boss man’s.”
Steph looked across at him unsure if she should speak or not because she couldn’t dispute anything he’d said so far. The pause suggested Dave was hoping for some input. “I never came here after your job, anyone’s job. I had a job when I arrived, one I was very happy with,” she said honestly.
“I know that now.” He laughed. “Brooker told me yesterday that you were never here to replace me.”
“What else did he say?” asked Steph curiously.
“He said that if I continued the way I had been then he would consider that as a sign that I was actually giving you my job. Look, I would like to explain, in confidence.”
“Of course,” agreed Steph and paused as she noticed Hannah loitering outside with a huge floral arrangement in a box. “Hold on a second, Dave. Are you okay, Hannah?”
“Sorry, these have just arrived for you, they were left at main reception,” she explained.
“Thank you, could you just put them down for me, and close the door?” She smiled, hoping to soften the obviousgo awaymessage. “Sorry, go on,” she said to Dave.
“My work has been well under par of late, including the Manchester deal that you spotted all the flaws in.”
Steph flushed and considered denying it.
“It’s okay. Brooker told me that he’d asked you to look at it and that you had met before then when your best friends got married to each other.”
“I see.” Steph smiled at Jon’s ability to be honest and yet still not reveal the truth.
“About nine months ago my wife got pregnant, after our third round of IVF, but at five and a half months she lost the baby. She had to deliver him,” said Dave, his voice breaking.
“Oh, how awful, I am truly sorry,” said Steph. “My brother Joe and his wife Chloe had four cycles of IVF before their baby was born, my niece, Emily. She’s three and a half now.”
“That’s nice, but it is such a tough thing to go through, then to think you’ve succeeded and boom, it’s gone. It was bad enough for me, but my wife fell apart completely and to be honest, I have struggled to hold us together. Work wasn’t top of my list, although I know that’s no excuse. Brooker made it clear yesterday that other people had voiced concerns about my treatment of you and that regardless of any sympathy or empathy he had for me, if it continued he wouldn’t hesitate to sack me.” He smiled sadly.
“I can’t think of a better reason to lose professional focus,” said Steph.
“Anyway, that’s why I have been so vile, my own insecurities and feelings of inadequacy compared to your absolute and utter professional ability and conduct along with your genuine niceness. Sorry again. Look, nobody knows about my wife and baby, just you and Brooker,” said Dave.
“You told him yesterday?”
“No.” A huge sigh left Dave’s mouth as he shook his head. “He found me drunk in charge of a calculator after it happened and I was forced to tell him, but he was brilliant. He insisted I took a few weeks off and offered me and my wife some counselling through the health scheme, but we thought we could get through it. We were wrong. I am using your figures to finish off with Brooker today and tomorrow and then I am on leave for three weeks and we’re going to pursue the counselling too, after a holiday. In the meantime Brooker has suggested you fill in for me, so if you want to take my office from tomorrow, I will come down after lunch and go through my workload unless you’d rather tell me to piss off.” He sounded more relaxed and looked less haunted than he had before.
“No, of course I’m happy to fill in for you. Not that you should see that as any kind of challenge.” She offered a wry smile. “I hope the holiday and the counselling help you both come to terms with everything or allow you to move forward or whatever you each need.”
“Thank you, Steph. I don’t deserve anything from you other than contempt,” he said, getting to his feet.
“Don’t be silly, I thought you were a dickhead, but now that I understand what was going on we should probably put it behind us and start again, especially as accounts is your castle and you are king of it.” She did nothing to fight the huge grin on her face and was pleased to see the man before her cringing.
“Yes, thanks for reminding me that I am a prat. Look, I had better get upstairs, I am meeting Brooker in half an hour,” replied Dave as he exited through the door.
