“Anywhere other than in my office.” She sighed.
“Unwanted admirer?” Rosie looked unsure what she should do with the arrangement she currently held.
“Yeah, kind of, but I think I may have brought this on myself. Just put them next to the others please.” Steph decided she was going to have to put a stop to Chris and his flowers, for his sakeas much as hers, or at least his career. Plus Jon’s were the only flowers she wanted.
“Are you going out for lunch or do you have something with you?” asked Rosie.
“Neither. In fact,” said Steph looking at her watch that showed the time as half one, “I have a meeting scheduled for now.”
Sonia suddenly appeared behind Rosie who was frowning at Steph’s lack of lunch.
“Sorry I’m late.” she smiled before she was joined by Rod, the accountant.
“Not a problem, you are bang on time, come in and Rosie, could you get us some tea or coffee please?”
Rosie nodded, scurrying off to get their drinks, leaving the three of them alone while Steph explained, “Miss Marley is late, but we should start without her if she can’t be bothered to be on time.”
The other two shrugged and then nodded before Rosie returned with drinks and some sandwiches for Steph. “Shall I call Miss Marley for you?”
“No thanks, she shouldn’t need unnecessary reminders and when she does arrive let me know please,” replied Steph.
It was another half an hour before Rosie phoned through to announce Miss Marley’s arrival and as Steph and the other two had already gone through the original deal and verified what would be possible in terms of negotiating, Steph thanked them for their time before allowing them to go back to their own offices and then she called for Sophie to come in.
Steph was surprised that as she entered her office Sophie immediately sat down and made no attempt at an apology for her lateness.
“Where have you been?”
“Yeah, sorry, my lunch date ran over,” replied Sophie.
“Your priority was here, with me, at the meeting you had agreed to attend,” said Steph firmly.
“As it was my deal we were discussing I thought you couldn’t start without me and lunch may have been more important,” she replied smugly.
Steph stared at her disbelievingly and was about to remove Sophie from the deal when she spoke again.
“Mr Brooker has to take priority over you and we enjoyed a lovely lunch in his office and it would have been rude to leave before dessert.” She grinned like the proverbial Cheshire cat.
Steph was beyond furious now, with her unprofessional counterpart and also with Jon. How dare he entertain this woman in his office with lunch, any woman for that matter. Steph considered exactly what to say but knew her face was betraying her feelings already by Sophie’s increasing smugness. She was fighting a near overpowering urge to launch herself at the other woman and wondered whether Sophie knew about her and Jon, such as it was or just suspected, but knew what? Steph herself had dumped Jon just weeks before and had introduced herself as his ex-girlfriend to his dad and step-mother, but they had both acknowledged that they still loved each other and remained determined to make things work. Would it always be this way, that every time Steph thought she’d gained clarity on their relationship, something or someone threw a spanner in the works and confused things again?
Steph fixed the other woman with a cold stare. “I will expect the Montague file within the hour and as of now you are off the account.”
“You can’t do that!” the other woman protested.
“I just did,” she replied triumphantly.
“I will be speaking to Mr Brooker about this. His father and mine are very close friends and there was always anunderstanding that we were perfect for each other so you may have to rethink your decision,” said Sophie almost snarling.
Steph found her even more annoying now and resented the fact that she not only used Daddy being friends with Jon’s dad, but also implied that they could be more, maybe had been more to each other. That had totally infuriated Steph in one way, but also reassured her that there was a reason for his familiarity with this woman. Steph got to her feet and opened the drawer containing the framed photo of her and Jon at Lindsay’s wedding looking every inch the couple.
“You speak to Mr Brooker if you feel the need, but I have made my decision and will not be reversing it.” She held the photo facing away from Sophie. “Mr Brooker will not approve of your poor time keeping and the fact that there were three people waiting on your attendance makes you tardy and unprofessional, both qualities that Mr Brooker despises professionally and personally.” She placed the photo on her desk, ensuring it was easily seen from both sides of the desk.
“Oh, I erm, look I didn’t mean to imply,” waffled Sophie, her glance flitting between the framed image and Steph herself, satisfying her hugely.
“I think you meant to imply completely, but unlike you I like to keep my work and home life separate. So the file is to be on my desk within the hour,” maintained Steph, “But feel free to discuss it with Jon if you prefer.”
“Are you sacking me?” Sophie asked concerned.
“No, not yet. I told you this morning I am a nice person, unless you try and put one over me, then I am not, so let’s hope this is the first and last time you try.”
