He didn’t.
‘Is it common knowledge?’ she asked, still with that edge of disbelief.
‘It’s not a subject of gossip at all, if that’s what you mean,’ he said. ‘Look, Megan, forget I mentioned it. It’s none of my business, anyway.’ He brightened suddenly. ‘Have you seen Peter Mahoney recently? He’s got a new receptionist, can’t be more than seventeen.’
‘She’s on a work placement scheme,’ Megan said, glad that she at least knew something. ‘She was expelled from Westminster for selling cannabis. She sells it in the office instead.’
‘She’s stunning, isn’t she?’
‘Don’t look now, but Pierce Brosnan’s just walked in.’ Forget Lisa; she could tell that that, more than anything, had made Harvey’s day.
*
Zelda was in the interview room when Megan got back to the office. Nigel was at his desk. ‘Oh, Megan,’ he said, ‘something’s come in that might interest Larry. BNM are looking for a group head.’
‘Really?’ She brightened instantly. ‘Does Zelda know?’
’Yes, she suggested Larry. It would have to go through the usual channels, of course.’
Megan gave him a reproving look. ‘Nigel, I’m sad you even thought you had to say it.’
‘And you’re to give Trevellyan a ring. They’ve taken on Paul Salisbury and they’ve got a new assignment for you; looks like you’ve hooked us another client, Meg. Xylus don’t need us any more — they’ve filled their group head position internally. And Triton have approved our initial brief.’ He looked at her coyly. ‘Guess who’s joining our little team tomorrow to help out?’ Nigel stroked his beard to a point. ‘Aren’t you pleased to know you’ll have a dogsbody around?’
‘I’m not sure Lisa Ashridge will settle for being a dogsbody, are you?’
‘You could have a point.’
Zelda hurried in, looking pleased. ‘That was Mick Baker, you remember, Nigel, we saw him as a graduate. I was just interviewing him to update his file when we had a call from Capital about a job that’s tailor made for him! Oh, Megan, talking of which, Trevellyan rang. Well done.’
‘Thanks. Nigel told me they’d been in touch. I was just going to give them a call. I hear you might have something for Larry?’
‘Yes — I’ll arrange an appointment for him. When is he free? If push comes to shove, Nigel can work on the assignment, but if I could see Larry in the next couple of days, so much the better. Is he at home now?’
Not only at home, but probably in bed, Megan thought. ‘Should be,’ she said. ‘Do you want me to try him?’ And then, ‘Zelda — before you leave — have you actually rung Lisa Ashridge yet?’
‘Yes, I have as a matter of fact. She starts next week but she’s popping in tomorrow to get the feel of the place. She’d already handed in her notice, that’s confidence for you. She said the job felt good.’
‘She’s not so smart after all then, is she,’ Megan said sourly.
‘You love it really,’ Zelda said.
Megan stared out of the window at the fire-escape. Thinking about it, there was absolutely no doubt about Lisa’s high confidence rating. Still, she’d taken a risk, handing in her notice before she’d been formally offered a job.
She wished Harvey had kept his thoughts to himself. She was going to have to work with Lisa, like it or not. She should have known there was no smoke without fire.
And she couldn’t get it out of her mind that there was, of course, substantially less of a risk in Lisa handing in her notice if someone in the know had already given her the nod.
17
The following day Megan was late getting in, mainly because she and Larry had been arguing, over breakfast, about exactly where the best place was to meet Zelda.
In her hurry she’d dropped the coffee and a few other things out of the cupboard. More haste, less speed and all that.
Megan had suggested he meet Zelda outside the office, but Larry was stubbornly opposed to the idea, on the grounds that if anyone saw him with Zelda they’d assume that Megan had fixed it up for him. Megan tried to convince him that it wasn’t true and that one of their researchers would have picked up on him in any case, but Larry dug his heels in.
Still exasperated by his stubbornness, she got to work to find Lisa Ashridge not only in the office but already on the phone, sitting back in Nigel’s chair, her legs crossed, her skirt riding high and her voice so softly seductive that Megan was utterly convinced she was making a personal call. Surely she wouldn’t ring Gerry when Zelda was around?
‘Any chance of you getting to a phone where you can talk?’ she was asking. ‘Sure...sure. I’ll wait to hear from you.’ She replaced the handset, saw Megan and instantly stood up.
‘I’m not a schoolteacher,’ Megan said, ‘you don’t have to keep doing that whenever I walk in. Where’s Zelda?’
‘In her office.’
‘And she’s let you loose in here on your own?’
Lisa tilted her head slightly. The light caught her cheekbones like mother of pearl. ‘I suggested joining the researchers but she put me in here. Insisted on it.’ She shrugged with one shoulder.
‘Oh yeah?’ Megan kept her jacket on and went into Zelda’s office to yell some more.
Zelda was leaning heavily on her desk, wincing and rubbing the base of her back so hard that her fingers were white. ‘Meg,’ she said, looking pained. She edged to her chair and sat down slowly.
Megan felt her heart skip. The annoyance burst like a bubble and was replaced by concern. She hurried over and touched her arm. ‘Zelda, are you all right?’
No, not really,’ Zelda said ruefully. ‘My back feels as if it’s breaking apart.’ Her mouth went into an ‘oh’, and she blew out in short jerks as though she was lifting weights. Then she took a deep breath and sighed. ‘There, it’s gone now.’
‘Zelda, this is not the place to be. Let me ring Gerry.’
‘It’s all right, I’m not going into labour yet.’ She smiled at Megan ruefully. ‘Too much to do.’
The phone rang, making Megan jump.
‘See?’ Zelda picked up the handset. ‘Hello? Larry!’ She gave Megan a ‘wouldn’t-you-know-it’ look.
Megan raised her hand. ‘I’m going,’ she said quietly, and backed out into the corridor. ‘Shit,’ she said, and kicked the skirting. She might be lumbered with a man-eating novice and no one to complain to, but she sure as hell didn’t have to like her.
She went back to her desk, avoiding Lisa’s gaze, and looked up the candidate profile screen to check on Jeremy Squires, a possible candidate for the Triton assignment. She tapped out his number. ‘Jeremy? Meg Lawrence, the Colgin Partnership. Just thought I’d give you a ring. We’ve got a client who is looking for a high flyer and I was wondering if we could meet and throw a few ideas up together. You would? Any particular time good for you? Friday...’She flicked through her desk diary and checked her schedule. ‘I can’t make lunch. Tea? Yeah, tea’s good. At the Savoy, three o’clock?’ Satisfied, she replaced the phone. That was how it was done. Softly, softly...
‘So what’s wrong with just coming out and saying it?’
Meg swivelled her chair. ‘Pardon me?’ she said coldly.
Lisa loosened her shoe. It dangled on her toes, the heel stabbing back and forth with the movement of her foot. ‘It’s always the way with headhunters, isn’t it? A little dance, and we’re talking barn dance, not rave — one step forward, one to the left — and finally you get together and go for it. Whereas you could cut the bullshit and say, look mate, we want you —and get an instant answer.’ She put her foot down and the shoe slipped back on. ‘But no tea at the Savoy, of course.’
Megan breathed in carefully. Anyone else and she would have gone to great lengths to explain why it wasn’t a good idea, as Lisa so elegantly put it, to cut the bullshit. But Lisa wasn’t asking out of ignorance or even out of curiosity. It suddenly occurred to her with the kind of clarity you feel on touchdown when your ears pop that Lisa
was having fun with her.
Megan looked at her steadily. ‘Well, you’ve got the job. And you went to some lengths to get it. So now’s your chance to do things your way. Find out if it works.’
There was no change of expression on Lisa’s face. Her pale green eyes continued to hold Meg’s steadily. ‘I always do things my way. It’s the only way I know,’ she said softly.
Both their phones started ringing at once. Megan grabbed hers with a small sigh of relief. She was still on her call when Zelda came in. ‘I’ve got an interview in half an hour which I think you should sit in on,’ Megan heard her say to Lisa. The annoyance niggled back into her.
When she put down the phone, Zelda had gone back into her office and she went after her. ‘Are you having Lisa sit in on your interview with Larry?’ she asked abruptly.
Zelda smoothed back the white streak of hair and looked at her in surprise. ‘Yes, I am.’
‘I’d rather she didn’t.’
Zelda looked at her as though she was standing there naked. ‘What are you talking about? I want her to see how we do things, get a feel of the business.’
‘But Larry’s my husband.’
‘And he’s my candidate. What the hell’s got into you? This is the second time you’ve stormed in here. You okayed her, remember? Said you could work with her? So what’s your problem?’
Megan shut her eyes. ‘Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry.’
‘You didn’t answer me.’
She opened them again, blinked, trying to clear her head. ‘No. There’s no problem.’
‘I know what you’re thinking. You’re supporting Larry, things are stressful at home and you can’t even moan about him to me in case you jeopardise his chances as a candidate.’
Megan nodded ruefully. ‘On the pimple-dot.’
Glad that she was getting somewhere, Zelda softened her voice confidentially. ‘Lisa’s a people person. My suggestion is that we let her do an interview or two and get her to use her knowledge of people in the industry to our best advantage while she’s around. Don’t abuse her. Use her. What you’re feeling is transference. You can’t kick Larry so you want to kick Lisa.’
She could kick Larry, actually. But she nodded anyway. Zelda’s mouth formed an ‘ooo’ that was nothing to do with the headhunting business.
‘Zelda —’
‘It’s just a twinge,’ Zelda said impatiently.
‘Don’t rely on Larry to cope,’ Megan said.
The wave passed and her face smoothed. ‘Men shouldn’t be there at the birth,’ she said. ‘Gerry will be where he belongs — in the corridor, pacing.’
‘You old-fashioned thing, you.’
Zelda smiled suddenly. It was the warm smile of old friends. ‘Get out of here, and get on with Lisa. Swallow your pride —you’ve got things going for you that she couldn’t hold a candle to. You’ll make a great team.’
Megan raised her eyebrows cynically. Then she smiled, too. She was going to miss her.
*
Megan had briefed Laura to let her know the minute Larry was out of there. Laura was true to her word. ‘He’s gone,’ she said and Megan picked up a pen and went to join Zelda and Lisa in the interview room. She took the sofa while they shared the three-seater. Same as at the interview.
‘Go on, Lisa,’ Zelda was saying, adjusting a cushion behind her back. ‘I’d like to hear your observations.’
Lisa hadn’t taken notes. She lay back against the sofa, chin in the air, and shut her eyes. ‘He was nervous,’ she said. ‘It showed.’
She looks like a medium waiting for a message, Megan thought cynically.
Lisa crossed her legs. ‘You know, nervous people have tricks that they use to try to disguise it. Larry didn’t even bother sitting on his hands, so I would think he is usually confident, easy-going. This interview made him anxious. Maybe he’s really not that interested. Or maybe a lot rides on it.’ She paused. ‘There was good eye contact and he made sure we were both included when he was answering questions which means he would be good with people and wouldn’t only suck up to the boss. His track record’s decent enough, but he was a bit cagey about his last job. He only lasted two months at Burgess McLane.’
‘Xylus didn’t need him,’ Zelda said.
‘Xylus did need him,’ Lisa corrected. ‘They’re one of your clients. You’re doing a search for them to fill Larry’s job.’
Megan felt the hairs on her arms prickle. Where had she got this from? She swallowed hard, slightly reassured by the fact that Lisa Ashridge didn’t, after all, know everything. ‘You’re a bit out of date,’ she said. ‘They filled it internally.’ She shifted her position on the sofa. ‘Where did you get that information from?’
‘It’s on your computer,’ Lisa said. Her wide, green eyes gave nothing away.
I’ll check it, Meg thought. I don’t give a damn if she sees me do it.
‘So that’s your only reservation?’ Zelda asked.
‘Yes. He’s good-looking, presentable, a great guy. The scar on his eyebrow makes him look horny. He’d make an ideal husband.’ She turned to Megan, a slow smile curving her lips. She looked like a woman who knew too much. ‘Does he?’
*
The Xylus brief was still on the computer, so that was that. Megan took it off.
Shortly afterwards she took a hysterical phonecall from Ruth. There was a mouse in the house and Larry had returned from his interview with four metal and wood mousetraps, the traditional kind, instead of the humane ones Ruth had suggested which led the mouse into a small comfortable box to be let free. Presumably to exercise its prerogative to return.
Probably it was the idea of the mousetraps which had made Larry nervous at his interview, Megan thought, and asked Ruth to go and fetch him so that she could talk to him.
‘Ruth’s cordoned off the section of floor with the mouse droppings on it,’ he said. ‘It’s like a crime scene in here. She’s all for giving it a fair trial.’
‘Never mind that, how did you feel about the interview? Was it all right for you?’
‘The interview? Yeah, fine. You were right, I shouldn’t have come to the office, I kept thinking of you just the other side of the wall. You live and learn.’
Megan forced herself not to come up with words of encouragement. She thought they would sound patronising. And premature. ‘Larry, watch Bill with those mousetraps,’ she said.
‘He keeps setting them off with cheese.’
Megan suddenly heard Zelda call out to her in an uncharacteristically shrill voice.
‘Better go,’ she said. ‘Speak to you later.’ She glanced at Lisa, who was on a call but who had also heard Zelda cry out. Lisa widened her eyes and Megan nodded. She rushed into her office for the third time that day.
‘My waters have broken,’ Zelda said calmly. ‘Fortunately I was sitting on my cushion. It’s in that bag over there.’
‘Don’t worry about the cushion — have you rung Gerry?’
‘He’s on his way here with my case.’
‘Have you rung the hospital?’
‘Yes.’ The end of the word was stretched out as she grimaced.
Megan held her hand. She found herself going through the story of the mouse and Ruth and the mousetraps.
The pain eased and Zelda laughed. ‘I like the sound of Ruth,’ she said. ‘What does Bill call you, Megan?’
‘Mummy. Sometimes Mum.’
‘Not Moom?’
‘Moom? No, not moom. Why would he?’
‘I thought you mentioned that Ruth was from Yorkshire. Hasn’t she got an accent?’
‘Yes, she has actually. I suppose I’m used to it now.’
Zelda looked distant. Megan wondered whether she was anticipating another contraction, and whether she should be timing them.
‘Anyway,’ Zelda said at last, ‘even if it was moom you wouldn’t have to worry. You could easily get it ironed out at pre-prep.’
The door opened and Gerry came in, breathing hard, his ti
e slightly askew as if he’d been tugging it.
Zelda shook off their helping hands. ‘I’m not ill,’ she said. There was a gathering of staff in reception, with good wishes called out in the atmosphere of general excitement.
‘Just get back to work,’ Zelda said grumpily, leaning on Gerry’s arm as the lift door closed.
Not that there was any option.
By the time Megan got home that evening, she’d forgotten about the mouse until she saw the taped-off area on the kitchen floor.
She bent down to have a look at the mouse droppings.
They were in the same spot as the one where she’d dropped some gravy granules that morning while getting the coffee out of the cupboard. The mouse must have been attracted by the meaty smell.
Ruth was watching from the door. ‘Can you see him?’
Megan got down on her knees for a closer look. Hell, the droppings were gravy granules. She licked her finger, touched one and put it in her mouth. ‘I despair,’ she said.
Bill came rushing into the kitchen, happy to see her. He pointed at the tape on the floor. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘Mickey Mouse lived here.’
Megan grinned and picked him up, cuddling him.
‘You can say that again,’ she said.
PART FOUR - Four’s a Birth
18
‘Yes, but seriously Gerry, where’s your mobile?’
Gerry pressed his fingers against Lisa’s lips. ‘I’ve got a pager in my pocket.’
‘Clever boy.’
‘Yes. Zelda’s a bit of a prude at heart.’
Lisa lay back on the bed and watched the circular reflections of the chandelier slither across the ceiling. She only had to tilt her head to see their reflection bounce from mirror to mirror into infinity, distorting into the diminished distance.
Men liked mirrors, as she knew; they liked them a great deal. Women didn’t. ‘Have you got mirrors in your bedroom at home?’ she asked him curiously, turning her head to look at his face.
Striking a Balance Page 10
