‘You know, you murmured Dad’s name when you were sleeping,’ Estelle said, smiling.
‘I did?’
Marge smiled and closed her eyes again, hoping the dream or the memory would return.She was about to open her eyes again, but then she saw him.Ian was waiting right there for her, and he looked exactly the way he had on the day they had first met over thirty-five years ago.
‘Excuse me, I have an appointment today with Professor Kelaney?’
Marge discreetly swallowed the aspirin that she’d just popped under her tongue, and greeted the visitor with her usual warm professionalism, despite the queasiness she was feeling.The previous night, she’d been at a reception for the recently graduated surgical class, and had been persuaded by Kenneth Manson to drink way too much champagne.He was already tipped as being a future star.They’d met at several functions over the previous couple of years, and she’d long ago realised that he was incredibly difficult to say no to.Now she wished she’d stuck to one glass of bubbly, because she was paying for it this morning.
She focused on the visitor who was now standing in front of her desk, wearing a very smart navy suit and a Paisley pattern tie that was just the right side of muted for a business appointment.He wasn’t a tall man, perhaps five feet ten or so, but with his brown curly hair and cute face, he reminded her of that actor fromWhen Harry Met Sally.Billy Crystal.Yes, that was it.
‘Of course.Can I have your name please?’
‘Ian Drummond.I’m interviewing for the chief accountant position.’
‘Please take a seat and I’ll let Professor Kelaney know you are here.’
‘Thank you.’
Marge’s first thought as she watched him make his way to the brown leather Chesterfield sofa next to the floor-to-ceiling Georgian windows was that he had a kind smile.Her second was that her boss at the Scottish Society of Surgeons, Professor Kelaney, hated doing interviews almost as much as he hated ‘bean counters’, as he called them, so this was bound to put him in a terrible mood.Just what she needed when she was already feeling under the weather.
She wasn’t wrong.The interview barely lasted half an hour, before it was over and Ian was passing her desk on his way out, his expression a little downcast.
‘Good luck,’ she said, trying to make him feel better.‘I hope you’re successful.’
‘Thank you.’That kind smile again.He kept on walking, and Marge popped a Polo mint into her mouth.It wouldn’t help with the nausea, but at least it would mask any traces of last night’s overindulgence.The last thing she needed was Professor Kelaney questioning her professionalism.So that probably meant putting her head on the desk and having a hangover nap was out of the question.
‘The thing is…’
She was so surprised by the interruption that she almost choked on the Polo.She hadn’t even seen the interview candidate backtrack to her desk.
‘I don’t think the interview went very well.In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that I won’t be back, given that his disposition had all the warmth of a polar expedition…’
The Polo slid into her left cheek as she smiled.
‘And I promise I don’t make a habit of this, and, actually, have never done something so spontaneous before…’
Marge could not for the life of her work out what he was trying to say, unaccustomed to any kind of personal chat in the halls of this ancient old building.
‘But would you like to have a drink with me sometime?’
Her response was instant.‘Oh no…’
He immediately put his hands up in surrender.‘Right.Sorry.I shouldn’t have asked.Very unprofessional of me.I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.I’ll just go and this time I’ll make it all the way to the lift.’
‘No!I mean… Sorry!’
‘That’s quite okay.Like I said, I shouldn’t have asked…’
Marge was suddenly aware that this was descending into one of those farce comedy sketches where everyone got the wrong end of the stick.On top of that, it was all very odd.Would she normally accept a drinks invitation from a stranger she met at work?No.But then, hadn’t she already learned that she had a weak spot for intelligent men in suits?
‘Yes!’
Confusion crossed his face.‘Yes, I shouldn’t have asked?Or yes, you’ll have a drink with me?’
Even if her original answer had been a rejection, the way his brows rose and the twinkle in his eye would have made her change her mind.Besides, Professor Kelaney would be passing by on his way to his next meeting shortly, and she didn’t want him to see her having informal chats and giggles with a potential employee.He definitely wouldn’t be impressed.
‘Yes, I’ll have a drink with you.Sorry.The reason I said no initially was to the drink, not the date.I have a slight hangover, not something I’m accustomed to, so I was going to suggest a coffee instead.’
