Doing the Right Thing

by Barbara Elsborg

  “Poor thing.” Addie tried to sound sympathetic.

  Since Daisy had plenty of time to do her nails, plan her week’s TV viewing in fluorescent orange marker and spread gossip on Facebook, no wonder the prospect of working a full day appalled her.

  “Still, they are gorgeous,” Daisy whispered. “Even the older guy. He’s worth millions. Magelan’s is one of the largest travel and leisure companies in the country. I’ve been on Google. Jack’s married with seven children. He’s a devout Catholic. Seven boys. Fucking hell.”

  “Yep,” Addie said. “It probably was.”

  Daisy got that after a moment and giggled.

  “What about the other two?” Addie asked.

  “Management consultants from London. Brothers. Not married. Will’s the eldest. He’s the one with dark hair and grey eyes. They’re on contract to Magelan’s ’til Christmas, but they have another job in Leeds so they’ll be in and out of the office. Ed’s lovely. I really like him. Mr Sexy Eyes. Parents live in Shropshire. No pets. Apparently, they’ve rented a house in Alwoodley. Will’s favourite colour is black. Ed’s is red. Will drives a Lexus. Ed has a Porsche. He said he’ll let me have a ride in it. They both like Thai food, but Ed doesn’t like bony fish…oh, or jelly.”

  “God, Daisy, do you know their collar size as well?”

  “Both seventeen.”

  Addie laughed.

  “I was going to check on shoe size, but I didn’t want them to get the wrong idea,” Daisy said.

  Addie guessed they already had the right idea.

  “So what’s going to happen? Should I ring the Jobcentre?” Addie asked.

  Daisy shrugged. “Everyone’s been called in, including drivers and the managers from the travel agencies. Genghis said they’re going to speak to us all this afternoon. Bob’s buggered off to buy a yacht and Jack Magelan’s gone back to London. I bet it’s Will who does the sacking.”

  Daisy moved on, spreading the Ebola virus and Addie sighed. How much did she need this job? Working two days a week in the language school didn’t pay enough to live on, but she couldn’t work alongside Will Mansell. He and his brother were probably sniggering over poor desperate Addie, who’d not only invented a boyfriend, but paid a guy to sleep with her and then exploded when he kissed her.

  The Chinese whispers in the office reached epic proportions. Charlotte the harlot joined Daisy in the scaremongering. They were all going to lose their jobs. Anyone over twenty-five would be sacked. Less than two years on the job? You’re out. Anyone wearing green would join them. Over twenty-five, with less than two years service and wearing green, Addie was doomed. The only believable whisper was that those who’d managed to get their tongues up Genghis’ backside would survive. No wonder Graham looked unconcerned.

  Addie opened a new document, typed a few words, fiddled around with the font for several minutes in an attempt to fill the paper, realized it looked as though a child had done it and then reduced it back to normal size before she let it print.

  Dear Sir,

  Please accept my resignation, effective immediately.

  Yours faithfully,

  A. Winter

  She signed it, dated it, folded the paper in half, folded it again, side-tracked by thinking about the rule that said you could only fold any piece of paper a particular number of times. When Addie looked at the chunk in her hand, she groaned in frustration. Lisa and her bloody origami.

  “What you got there?” Graham asked, looking over the partition.

  Little escaped Graham’s attention unless it was work that needed doing.

  “Shopping list.” She pushed it into her pocket.

  Addie couldn’t face Will Mansell every day and she was sure he didn’t want to face her. He hadn’t even wanted to acknowledge he knew her. How could she maintain a professional relationship with someone who’d jammed his thigh between her legs and seconds later given her a knee-trembling orgasm? She couldn’t. It was time to leave. She knew she was a dogsbody. They took advantage of her because she was part-time, and if it wasn’t for the fact that groups of day trippers asked for her by name, she doubted she’d get to do the coach work, which was the only fun part.

  Her life was a mess. She worked two jobs she didn’t much like, to earn money to live a life she didn’t much like. Her mother hated her and Addie was too afraid of losing the little love she had from her brothers to tell her mother what she thought of her. But if this morning’s embarrassment wasn’t a push to tell her to get off her backside, she didn’t know what was.

  Addie worked herself up into such a state of anxiety, she pressed an odd combination on her keyboard and faced a blank screen. In trying to sort that out, she knocked her files to the floor and in bending down to pick them up banged her head on the desk. She was going to throw up. She jumped to her feet with a hand pressed against her mouth, and fled past Will’s brother.

  “Do I look like a tarantula or something?” Ed asked Graham as they watched Addie sprint away.

  “Addie’s weird.”

  Ed frowned. He was tempted to ask in what way, but as Graham brushed crumbs of dandruff off his tie and shirt, Ed decided he didn’t want to know.

  “So how do you like working here?” Ed pulled up a chair.

  Within two minutes Ed knew all he needed to about Graham Dixon. The only thing that interested Graham was Graham. It was Ed’s job to chat informally to staff while Will did the formal bit and provided them with a copy of Jack’s mission statement for Magelen’s. Ed was glad they hadn’t been the ones to come up with “Working the Dream”. It sounded like a buzz phrase for a theme park. In addition to finding out a few home truths, Ed knew those already doing the job often had the best ideas on how to improve efficiency. In Graham’s case, Ed doubted it. Graham knew how to talk, knew some of the signal words, but didn’t know how to make sense.

  “Of course it’s difficult to overstate the essentiality of maintaining practical continuity,” Graham said. “Obviously all my staff should be emotionally responsive to the changes this takeover will bring. We need to ensure we remain open-minded to the working procedures that will undoubtedly have to be instigated. Indeed I look forward to the challenge.” Then he beamed.

  Ed wondered if he’d spent a long time practicing or whether bullshit came naturally. He suspected the latter.

  “What’s your opinion on the post-processual situation in the marketing of holidays?” Ed asked, not having a clue what that meant, if indeed it meant anything.

  Graham paused. “Er…a good thing,” he said.

  Ed frowned. “Really?”

  “In some circumstances,” Graham added, “but obviously not in others.” He pulled at the knot in his tie.

  Ed began to enjoy himself. He leaned back in his chair. “Tell me more. What post-processual situations have you been involved with?” Ed watched Graham’s face turn bright red.

  “Excuse me while I go drain the didge…the didgeridoo,” Graham said.

  Ed suspected Graham didn’t need to take a leak, but probably intended to text someone and find out what post-processual meant.

  Chapter Eight

  By the time Addie slunk back to her desk, Ed was chatting to Charlotte the Harlot who did sales and admin like Addie. Charlotte was nineteen, dumb as a rock, but soft and sweet as cotton candy. Addie could hear Ed talking about profiles, areas of experience and positive attitudes and she saw the way Charlotte smiled and the way Ed smiled. Charlotte was as lazy as Graham except when it came to pulling guys. In a choice between her and Charlotte for a job, Addie knew she wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Just as Ed headed in Addie’s direction, Daisy called her to see Will. Addie’s feet felt encased in lead.

  “He’s all right. A bit miserable,” Daisy said when she finally got there. “He’s not as cute as Ed.”

  “Isn’t he?”

  “I haven’t seen him smile yet.”

  Will had a lovely smile. She sighed.

  “You’ll be fine, Addie.
Imagine you’re talking to Noah.”

  Addie made a strangled noise.

  “What did I say?” Daisy asked.

  “We’re not going out anymore.”

  “Oh. Well, Will’s nice. He won’t eat you. Take him his coffee.”

  Of course he was nice to Daisy. He was Mr Perfect and Daisy was Miss Perfect— petite, pert and pretty with curly blonde hair, though she wasn’t perfect at her job. Addie had stood in for her once, and when she handed Genghis two pages of phone messages, there had been an outpouring of vitriol because Daisy never bothered her boss with that quantity of calls. Addie knew Daisy worked under the impression that if it was important they’d ring back, so why bother taking a message.

  If Daisy made a mistake, every male within hailing distance fell over themselves to tell her it wasn’t her fault, she shouldn’t blame herself. Last June she’d booked Bob on a plane to Londonderry when he’d told her, “London, dearie.” She’d burst into tears and Bob just smiled and told her not to worry. If that had been Addie, they’d have had the guillotine erected in the yard and the knitting needles clacking before it was time for another coffee break.

  With her heart well and truly in her mouth, Addie went through Daisy’s office and into the one beyond. Will sat at his desk.

  “Take a seat,” he said in a gruff voice.

  Addie put the coffee in front of him, trying to look anywhere other than his face. She reached behind her for the chair and sat at an angle, bending the arm over with her bottom so the whole thing tipped up, sending both her and the chair crashing to the floor. Addie sprang to her feet, ignored the raging pain in her side, and tried to put the chair right again, but it was in two halves. She stood there with a piece clutched in each hand as Will stared in disbelief.

  “Sorry. I’ll pay for a new one.”

  He walked around, took the pieces out of her hands, tossed them into the corner and pulled over another chair.

  “Sit down. Don’t move,” he said. “Don’t even breathe.”

  She pulled the wedge of paper from her pocket, began to get up, thought better of it and tossed it toward the desk. It flew straight into his coffee. If Addie had aimed, she’d have missed. Will flicked it out and the mug tipped over, flooding his desk and keyboard.

  “Oh God.” She dashed out of the room to fetch the kitchen roll from the side of Daisy’s coffee machine.

  Will grabbed it from Addie’s hand. “Let me,” he snapped. “You sit down and don’t move.”

  But Addie hovered, flapping her arms like an enormous hummingbird as he mopped. Daisy came in with a wet cloth.

  “Thank you, Daisy.”

  Will smiled at Daisy, but when he turned to Addie, he looked like he’d taken a mouthful of sour milk. Addie shrank a little. In the end, the mess was gone and Daisy was gone. Addie wanted to follow her, but Will shut the door.

  “I have to go.” Addie was desperate to leave the office, but when she moved, Will blocked her way. Addie stepped sideways.

  “Wait,” he said.

  He reached out and as his hand latched on to her arm, Addie stiffened. She wasn’t sure how long passed before she realized he wasn’t going to let her go. She made a tiny mewing sound of distress and he released her so suddenly, she stumbled backwards. Will jammed his hand into his pocket.

  “Please sit down while I read this,” he said, and Addie sat.

  He undid the wet mess. Addie got to her feet.

  “Sit,” he said and she dropped back on the chair.

  “You don’t need to bother talking to me. If you don’t mind, I’ll wait ‘til the end of the day before I go.” She jumped up again.

  “Do you ever keep still, just for a minute? You’re not resigning.”

  “You can keep my month’s wages in lieu of notice and the holiday pay as well and maybe take the money out for the chair…oh, and if you need a new keyboard…if there’s not enough I could give you a cheque. Only maybe you could wait a few weeks before you cash…” Addie slowed as she registered what he’d said. She bristled. “You don’t need to sack me. I’m leaving. I said it first.” She winced. That sounded very adult.

  “I’m not firing anyone or making anyone redundant. At least not today. No exceptions. Not even for you, though I have to admit you tempt me.”

  “You can’t stop me resigning.” Addie stared at his mouth.

  “No, but I can make you work your notice, and according to your file, that’s a month. You’ve no vacation days left, so like it or not, you’re here for another four weeks. Sit down.”

  Addie hesitated.

  “Please,” he said more gently and smiled.

  Addie sat, thinking she’d have rolled over, sat up and begged when he asked like that.

  “Now, let’s pretend we’ve never met,” he said.

  And all at once, there was no air in the room. “Tell me what you do and what you think of Booth’s.” Addie wished she was dead.

  By the time Will let Addie leave, her tan had vanished. He had the feeling it had shrunk back under her skin in terror. She was scared of him and he didn’t like it. From the moment she’d walked into the room, his heart felt as though it had been put in a vice. She wanted to resign because of him. When she tried to leave the room he’d grabbed her. What had he been thinking? She could have accused him of assault or sexual harassment. He should have released her.

  Will had told himself to, but his fingers hadn’t moved. The only thing moving was his pulse, jumping like a panicking frog. He imagined his thumb stroking her skin, and only when his brain registered what he was about to do, did he let her go. Then he’d been plain mean. He’d opened his mouth and spoken without letting his brain do a quality-control check. He was an absolute idiot.

  Ed stood outside his office talking to Daisy. Will pulled him in and slammed the door.

  “I need you to remind me how much I love what I do for a living,” Will said.

  “You love what you do for a living.” Ed stared in the corner. “What did you do to the chair?”

  Will paced round the office. “Addie did it.”

  “The one from the gym.”

  “She’s a walking disaster.”

  “So what’s she done?” Ed perched on the edge of Will’s desk.

  “Apart from hide in a cupboard, destroy a chair, make me tip coffee over my keyboard and resign on the day we arrive?”

  Ed gave a chuckle. “Right, apart from that?”

  “Does there need to be anything else?”

  “No, but clearly there is. Did you sleep with her?”

  “No…Yes… No.”

  “And you’re known for your decisiveness. Like to run that by me again?”

  “No,” Will said. “I don’t want to talk about Addie Winter. I don’t want to think about Addie Winter. I don’t want Addie Winter working here, but I don’t sack anyone on the first day. It’s one of my rules.”

  “Along with not sleeping with women from work, but you seem to have already broken that one.”

  “First of all, I didn’t know she worked here and secondly, I didn’t exactly sleep with her.”

  Ed laughed. “The sex was that good?”

  “There was no sex,” Will said. “Well, not really.”

  “Just as well.”

  Will glared at him.

  Ed glared back. “This was supposed to be an easy job. Why are you making it difficult?”

  “Get Genghis in here and find another chair.”

  Ed looked at him. “Genghis?”

  “Delia Carne. Addie told me.”

  Will thought how Addie had gabbled nonstop for ten minutes, without once looking at him. All he’d been able to think about was what she’d look like naked. He’d had to shuffle his chair further under the desk so he could adjust his cock. He hadn’t listened to most of what she’d said. He just heard the words Genghis and Carne and wanted to laugh.

  Ed brought in another chair and Genghis.

  “Good work on the press release, Ge…Delia,” E
d said. “I’ve amalgamated your paragraphs into Jack’s statement, so let someone do a final check and then hand it on to be distributed.”

  “Give it to Addie,” Will said. If she had a lot to do, she’d stop thinking.

  Addie intended to make use of her flexible lunch hour to disappear for sixty minutes after Will came back and so reduce the amount of time she spent in his vicinity, but the moment he returned, Genghis came straight to her desk.

  “Check through this press release and issue it to the usual agencies, bring me what you’ve done on Lincoln and have the monthly accounts on my desk within the hour.”

  “Shall I do the mail shots as well?” Addie mumbled under her breath. “And if you stick a brush up my backside I’ll sweep the floor while I’m at it.”

  There was no way she could take a break now. Daisy sidled over as Delia went back into her office.

  “Has she just given you the press release?”

  “Yes.”

  “I usually do it.” Daisy looked hurt. “I know the guy at the Yorkshire Post. He’s cute.”

  “Please, have it,” Addie said. “I have enough to cope with.”

  “What do you think of the Mansell brothers?” Daisy whispered. “Aren’t they gorgeous?”

  “Not bad.”

  “Ed is really nice. He smiles like an angel.”

  “Don’t underestimate them, Daisy. They may have the faces and bodies of gods, but they’re here to make sure Jack Magelan gets value for money. They’ll manipulate us until we fit whatever space they want.”

  “Sounds like fun.” Daisy giggled.

  “The Harlot shouldn’t have any problems. She can practically turn herself inside out.”

  “You’re just jealous.”

  Yes, Addie thought, she was.

  Joe took a late lunch and brought Addie a chicken salad sandwich, but since they were all forbidden to eat at their desks and Addie drew the line at eating in the loo, she hid the food in a drawer and took surreptitious bites while she worked. She’d just taken a large mouthful of bread and lettuce when Genghis and Will began walking in her direction. Dropping her head below the desk, Addie chewed as fast as she could. Swallowing while bent double was not easy, but when she sat up and they were in front of her, her mouth was empty. Fearing a stray crumb, she ran her tongue over her lips but stopped when she saw Will’s face. He looked as though he wanted to—no, that couldn’t be right.