by Kate Hardy
Team-building exercises definitely sounded like Sally’s cup of tea. She had loved that sort of thing at school.
‘Just choose the response that feels natural to you,’ Janet said.
Already smiling, Sally glanced at the first few questions on the quiz sheet.
You find it difficult to be the centre of attention. Yes? No?
You trust reason rather than emotions. Yes? No?
You rarely get excited. Yes? No?
‘Oh, goodness!’ Janet’s sharp cry interrupted Sally’s concentration. ‘Where’s the little girl?’
One hasty glance at the abandoned toys in the corner and Sally’s stomach plummeted. The office door was ominously ajar and a quick look around the room revealed that Rose had disappeared.
Launched to her feet, she hurried outside with Janet close behind. The carpeted corridor was empty.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Sally said, feeling sick. ‘Rose has been so good. I forgot to keep my eye on her.’
Janet shook her head. ‘She can’t be far away. She couldn’t have got into the lift by herself, so she must still be somewhere on this floor. You try the offices on the right-hand side and I’ll take the left.’
‘Thank you.’ Sally realised she was shaking. How could she have forgotten about Rose? Poor Anna had trusted her. She shouldn’t have been so caught up with wanting this job. What kind of aunt lost her niece on the twenty-seventh floor of a skyscraper?
The first door on her right bore the brass-lettered sign:
Accounts. Sally swallowed a knot of fear and stepped forward but, as she lifted her hand to knock, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a tall dark shape at the end of the corridor.
She caught a flash of golden hair and she whirled about. Rose. In the arms of a man.
Oh, gosh. Not just any man.
This one looked formidable. One glance and Sally’s impulse to run forward, arms outstretched, a grateful smile on her lips, was stifled. Big-shouldered, long-legged, dark and frowning, he came towards her, striding down the corridor with Rose at arm’s length in front of him, as if the poor darling were a bag of extremely unpleasant garbage.
Janet, who had seen him too, let out a groan and Sally received the distinct impression that Rose couldn’t have chosen a more unsuitable saviour.
As the frowning man approached, Sally noticed details beyond his scowl and his athletic physique. He was undeniably handsome, but there was a steely edge to his looks that sent unwelcome shivers scampering through her. His hair was thick and dark and already, before noon, there were signs of a five o’clock shadow on his jaw. His eyes were dark too, and penetrating, even at twenty paces.
Memories threatened, but Sally forced them back. She was no longer afraid of every new man she met. Those days were behind her.
She smiled at this man in his expensively cut dark suit, crisp white business shirt and smart navy and silver striped tie. He had the air of a commander. Executive material, Sally supposed.
By comparison, Rose looked tiny and fragile. But so-o cute. And, thank heavens, completely unharmed.
The darling. Sally held out her arms and Rose was thrust immediately into her embrace. If she hadn’t had so much experience in receiving her brothers’ football passes, she might have dropped the poor child.
‘Thank you.’ She offered the frowning figure her warmest smile. ‘Thank you so much. I’m so grateful you found her. We were just about to start a search party.’
‘Was Rose in your office, Logan?’ Janet asked. ‘I can’t believe she got so far.’
‘I found her under my desk.’ He spoke without the faintest glimmer of warmth. ‘What on earth’s going on, Janet? You haven’t started a crèche here, have you?’
‘Oh, that’s my fault,’ Sally butted in quickly, anxious that Janet Keaton shouldn’t take any blame. ‘There was a family emergency at the last minute and I had to bring Rose with me,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry if she interrupted you.’
Janet added diplomatically, ‘At least Rose is too little to have done any harm.’
‘She disconnected my computer.’
‘Oh, Rose,’ Sally scolded softly.
To Janet he said, ‘I’ll need someone from IT up here straight away. I’ve lost an entire morning’s work.’
Now it was Sally’s turn to frown. ‘Surely you’d already saved most of it?’
‘Sally,’ Janet intervened in a strange little voice, ‘let me introduce Blackcorp’s Managing Director, Mr Logan Black.’
‘Oh.’
Managing Director. I’ve been acting the smart mouth with the head honcho. Good one, Sally.
Her confident smile slipped as she held out her hand. ‘Pleased to meet you, Mr Black.’
‘This is Sally Finch, Logan. She’s one of our applicants for the front desk position.’
At least Logan Black was polite enough to shake Sally’s proffered hand firmly, but his right eyebrow lifted and he eyed her with faint contempt.
She might have told Mr Black how very keen she was to work for his company, but her recent gaffe and the curl of his lip, plus Janet Keaton’s warning frown, ensured that she remained prudently quiet.
Rose chose that moment to grumble and rub at her eyes. It was getting close to her nap time. Sally rocked her gently and kissed the top of her head and Rose pressed her sleepy head against Sally’s breast.
Logan Black stared at them and his stern frown faded. Sally saw a softening in his expression, a fleeting hint of a different emotion that made her wonder if he was as tough as he made out.
But the moment was over quickly and, almost immediately, he gave a curt nod, turned abruptly and marched back down the corridor.
‘Well…’ Janet Keaton glanced at her wristwatch. ‘I’m afraid we’ve run out of time, Sally.’
‘But I didn’t finish your personality test.’
‘Don’t worry. You can always fill that in later. If you get the job.’
If you get the job…
Sally felt flat as she collected Rose’s things and bade Janet farewell.
‘We should make our decision within the next few days,’ Janet said and she smiled, but Sally didn’t find this very reassuring.
She’d always had good antennae, could pick up vibes very quickly, and she’d been sure that everything about the interview had been going swimmingly until Logan Black had arrived with Rose. Then, between them, the man and the baby had destroyed every ion of positive atmosphere.
Late in the afternoon, Logan Black ducked his head around Janet Keaton’s office doorway. She was working at her desk when she heard his knock, but she looked up and smiled.
He frowned at her. ‘Have you finished your interviews for that front desk position?’
‘All done.’
‘I assume the other applicants were less encumbered than the cheeky single mother I met this morning.’
Janet narrowed her eyes at Logan. ‘There were no cheeky single mothers among the people I interviewed.’
‘You know who I mean. The blonde with the runaway daughter.’
‘Sally Finch?’
Logan nodded. He was terrible with names, but yes, hers had been something to do with a bird.
‘I think Sally’s confident rather than cheeky. Anyway, she isn’t the little girl’s mother.’
‘She isn’t?’
‘No.’ Janet looked as if she was about to expand on this, but suddenly she folded her arms and leaned forward with her elbows resting on her desk. A thoughtful frown creased her brow. ‘Why the sudden interrogation, Logan? This isn’t like you.’
‘What do you mean? It’s in my interests to vet my company’s employees.’ His hand strayed to scratch the back of his neck.
‘But I’ve been your HR manager for almost four years and you’ve never interfered. You’ve always trusted my judgement.’
This, Logan knew, was very true. Janet had always consulted him about positions in management, but he’d let her have free rein with the recruitment of lower echelo
n staff and he’d always been happy with her choices.
‘I don’t think we should be too hard on Sally,’ Janet went on. ‘There was a medical emergency and she was doing someone in her family a good turn.’
Logan’s jaw set stubbornly. He wished he’d never started this silly conversation.
It was bad enough that all day he’d kept remembering the girl with her mass of blonde curls. Despite the unflattering fluorescent office lighting, her hair had shone like spun gold and he’d found himself thinking, ridiculously, that it must look incredibly pretty in sunlight. Worse, he kept seeing her with the child in her arms, couldn’t forget the sight of her dipping her head to comfort the little girl with a soft kiss.
What was the matter with him? She wasn’t his type at all, and he truly didn’t give two hoots if she got the job or not.
‘You’re quite right,’ he told Janet. ‘I’ll leave the selection of a receptionist in your capable hands.’
‘Thank you, Logan,’ Janet said dryly. As he turned to leave, she added, ‘But, while you’re here, can you take one of these personality tests to fill in? It’s part of my preparation for the next team-building workshop.’
‘Team-building? But that won’t involve me. I don’t have the time right now.’
Janet rose majestically and shook the stapled sheets of paper at him. ‘You promised your full support.’
‘But I didn’t…That doesn’t mean…’
‘It means you’ve signed up for the Blackcorp team-building workshop, Logan. You promised top down involvement in this one.’
Next morning the phone never seemed to stop ringing. Each time Sally heard its shrill summons, she thought it might be a call from Blackcorp and her stomach tied itself in anxious knots.
She tried to distract herself by entertaining Rose, who had stayed with her overnight while Anna slept on a folding bed at the hospital.
Warm sunlight filled the little paved courtyard that opened off the kitchen, so she took Rose out there and gave her a large cardboard carton to play with. Growing up in the Outback had taught her that the simplest playthings were often the best.
The baby had a delightful time crawling into the cardboard box and out again, then piling her teddy bear and stuffed rabbit into it and, of course, hauling them out once more.
Watching her, Sally gave a rueful shake of her head. ‘Why are you being so well behaved today, after what you did to me yesterday?’
Rose simply grinned and gurgled.
While the baby played, Sally went through the newspapers from the weekend, circling more jobs that she could apply for. Then she attacked the little garden that bordered the courtyard, pulling weeds and trimming overgrown shrubs, tying trailing vines of white star jasmine to a timber lattice.
Every time the phone rang, she had to dash, heart thumping, in through the open French windows to the kitchen, peeling off gardening gloves as she ran.
The first call was from Anna with an overnight report on Oliver, who was much better. Sally reassured her sister-in-law that Rose was fine and invited her to lunch, suggesting that she needed a break from the hospital and Anna accepted readily.
Two people phoned asking to speak to Chloe and Sally had to pass on the sad news of Chloe’s heart attack. Then there was a call from Sally’s mother, ringing long distance from Tarra-Binya to check that Sally was eating properly and not just buying those terrible take-aways that were on every street corner in the city.
Sally, who by this time had made a lovely Salade Niçoise for Anna’s lunch, assured her mother that she was not in danger of malnutrition just yet. But, as she replaced the receiver, she thought that she might be starving soon if she didn’t land a job.
Whenever she thought about yesterday’s interview, she cringed. In the cold light of another day, it was patently clear that she’d been too smart-mouthed. She’d been so determined that Logan Black mustn’t intimidate her, had needed to prove to herself that she was no longer afraid of hot-looking guys who were way too sexy for their T-shirts.
But she’d gone too far and she’d annoyed her potential boss and she’d shocked Janet Keaton. She should have remembered how vitally important it was to make a good first impression.
The problem was, she really wanted that job. She wanted, more than anything, to prove to her family that she was fine now, that she could stand on her own two feet and, in order to do that, she needed money. But her reasons for wanting the job went deeper than that, and they had nothing to do with a certain tall, dark and sternly handsome boss.
She’d seen Blackcorp’s sleek, modern front desk standing just inside the big glass sliding front doors and she’d visualised herself there, accepting important packages from the delivery man, relaying mail or visitors to various departments, getting to know all the employees and greeting them as they arrived at work each day.
She wanted that position so badly she couldn’t bring herself to follow up on any of the other advertisements she’d found. And that was silly. This afternoon, just as soon as she handed Rose back to Anna, she would have to resume her job-hunting in earnest.
Sally was enjoying lunch out in the courtyard with Anna and Rose when the phone rang again.
Her stomach tied itself into yet another knot as she darted inside and she was a little puffed when she picked up the phone. ‘Hello? Sally speaking.’
‘Hi, Sally. It’s Janet Keaton from Blackcorp.’
A blast of heat exploded in Sally’s chest, like a small bomb, sending flashes over her arms and up her neck.
‘Janet,’ she squeaked. Good grief, what was the matter with her? She’d never felt this nervous about anything. ‘How—how are you?’
‘Very well, thank you, Sally. And I have some good news.’
‘Y-you do?’
‘I’d like to offer you our front desk position.’
Normally quite good at filling awkward silences, Sally was suddenly too shaken and surprised to utter a single syllable.
‘I assume you’re still interested?’ Janet eventually enquired.
‘Oh, yes,’ Sally managed at last. ‘I’m very interested. It’s fantastic news. I’m thrilled.’
Stunned would be a better word, but somehow she was able to listen carefully while Janet explained about her starting salary and details like superannuation and staff induction. She returned to the lunch table in a daze.
‘Have you had bad news?’ Anna asked.
‘No, on the contrary.’ Sally gave a shaky laugh. ‘I’ve got a job.’
‘Really? That’s wonderful. I hadn’t even realised you’d applied for one.’
Sally grinned. ‘It’s with Blackcorp.’
‘Blackcorp? Wow! They’re from the big end of town. When did all this happen?’
‘I had the interview yesterday.’
Anna’s eyes widened. ‘But you were minding Rose yesterday.’
‘I know.’ Sally suppressed a strange urge to giggle. ‘Amazing, isn’t it? They couldn’t change my appointment, so they let me take Rose with me. I hope you don’t mind.’
‘Of course I don’t mind. I trust you to look after my little sweetheart.’ Anna gave her daughter a proud motherly pat. ‘She must have been very well behaved.’
‘She was…quiet as a mouse,’ Sally assured her truthfully.
CHAPTER THREE
SALLY started work at Blackcorp on the following Monday morning and by lunch time she knew she was going to love it. Most of the employees were very friendly and many of them stopped at her desk to say hello and to introduce themselves before continuing on through the security doors.
The switchboard was modern, simple and efficient to operate, with a computer list of staff that was easy to access and connect. After the first few calls, Sally began to feel some of the initial stress leave her.
Logan Black strode in, briefcase in one hand, mobile phone in the other, all clean-cut and drop-dead handsome. He almost ignored her, but then he turned abruptly and stared at her with a puzzled frown. Sally wis
hed her throat didn’t feel so dry.
For rather longer than was necessary, her boss’s gaze settled on her. To Sally’s surprise, his frown melted and an unguarded light flared in his eyes, the beginnings of warmth and the promise of a smile—an exceptionally gorgeous smile, she suspected. She feared her legs might give way.
But the reckless moment was over in a flash and Logan Black quickly recovered. His frown returned, he gave her a curt nod and said, ‘Morning, Miss Sparrow.’ And he kept walking.
Miss Sparrow?
Sally opened her mouth to remind her employer, ever so politely, that her name was Finch. But she remembered her new resolution to be more circumspect, so she swallowed her pride, lifted her chin and smiled warmly as she offered a cheery, ‘Good morning, Mr Black.’
He’d already passed her and she was speaking to his back.
How annoying to feel so flustered by the brief encounter. Get control, girl. You’ll be seeing him every day.
Her work kept her busy and there was no chance to be bored. There seemed to be an endless stream of deliveries. All shapes and sizes of boxes were wheeled in on trolleys and important-looking express courier packets arrived, as well as bags of mail. When Sally wasn’t relaying these to various departments, she was answering phone calls, fielding general enquiries and connecting callers to the correct extensions.
By the middle of her first week she’d made firm friends with Kim, a young Chinese-Australian girl who worked in the accounting department, and Maeve, a bubbly redheaded environmental field officer, who’d once worked out west and knew the country around Tarra-Binya.
There were moments when Sally missed home, when she felt nostalgic for the smell of gum trees…the chorus of early morning bird calls…the low throaty growl of her dad’s tractor starting up…
But the homesickness didn’t last long, especially as there was a park close to the office. She soon made a habit of walking through the park every morning and afternoon en route between the train station and the Blackcorp offices. In the middle of the park, the rumble of the traffic became muted and she could enjoy the gentle splashing of the fountain in the pond, the cooing of a hundred pigeons.
