?My, your life is full of little intrigues, isn?t it. So, who am I up against? What?s his name? I?ll have him.?
?No, you idiot. It?s a work thing.?
?Right.? Mike has never been interested in what I do at work. I wish I?d let him think it was another man now.
?So, anyway, about Rome.?
I hold my breath. For a moment I think he?s going to say it?s all off, that it was a mistake, that he?s taking someone else and no hard feelings. To my astonishment I?m almost relieved. I suppose it?ll be one less thing to worry about.
?What about Rome?? I say, trying to sound cool.
?Well, how do you fancy meeting me there on Friday instead of us going together? I?ve got some business stuff to do first, so I thought rather than you having to hang around on your own, I could get it all done on Thursday and Friday, and then meet you in the evening.?
Well, that?s okay then. Actually I?m really pleased we?re still going. Obviously I wasn?treally relieved when I thought Mike might be calling it off. This trip is going to be the best.
?Sounds good to me,? I say enthusiastically.
?So, I could meet you at the station at nine-thirtyP.M . Italian time. There?s a Eurostar at five and you change at Paris. Sound all right to you??
?Okay, I?ll just book the tickets shall I??
?You?re gorgeous. Oh, one other thing. Would you mind taking a bag for me? I have to go straight from the airport to a meeting and I don?t want to be lugging loads of stuff with me. I thought you could maybe pop round to my offices later and pick it up.?
?But . . .? I?m about to tell him that I?ve got enough luggage to bring myself and won?t have room for any of his stupid papers, but then decide against it. I mean, one bag?it?s not that much to ask, is it?
?Okay, that?s fine.?
?You?re a star, thanks Georgie. I?ll see you later then? I?ll e-mail you the address of my office. Bye, honey.?
And he?s gone. I am sufficiently buoyed up by the prospect of a weekend in the city of romance to ignore the fact that now, apparently, I am buying my own ticket, which isn?t quite what I had in mind when Mike said he?d ?take me.?
As I put the phone down, Nigel reappears. He walks over to my desk and bends down so his face is at the same level as mine. I meet his eyes, but, as always, my attention is drawn by a large red protuberance just to the right of his nose. What a nightmare to still get loads of spots at Nigel?s age. I mean, I get the odd one or two every so often, but Nigel?s skin is truly adolescent. I wonder if he?ll have really young-looking skin when he?s older?you know, because of all the natural oils. It occurs to me that I have no idea how old Nigel is. Somewhere in thirty to forty territory I would imagine, but who knows?
?Georgie,? he says in a loud, jovial voice, ?Guy was very impressed with your report on Pensions Bulletin. Do you have another copy you could give me?
?Pensions Bulletin?? I look blankly at him. I?ve already e-mailed the report to Guy, and who knows where I saved it to on my computer. Me and filing don?t really go too well together.
?Um, couldn?t you just use Guy?s copy??
?No. Could you just give it to me now??
Nigel is looking at me strangely. Why does he want it? I thought we?d finished with all that mundane sort of work now. And anyway, doesn?t he know that I totally ripped off his report?
?Nigel, could you, um, just give me a while to dig it out, and then I could e-mail it to you??
?I want thehard copy.?
He wants me to give it to him now, and he wants the hard copy. Is Nigel flirting with me? Is this his idea of office banter?
?Nigel, really, I had no idea . . .? I grin at him. But he doesn?t grin back.
?The report that we were working on earlier,? he hisses, and I suddenly twig.
?You mean the HG stuff??
Nigel looks at me as if I am a complete idiot. Humbled, I pass over the printouts, sandwiched between myMarie Claire and a random pile of files.
?Thank you, Georgie, much obliged,? says Nigel loudly in a ?nothing untoward going on around here? kind of voice, then he gives me a thin little smile before going back to his desk. I?m not entirely sure I?m wild on this ?getting to know Nigel better? lark. Still, at least he?s going to be absorbed in those files for the rest of the afternoon, which means I can get on with more important things.
My trip to Rome is proving problematic. I can?t get a seat on Eurostar?apparently there is some special offer on or something and all the tickets have gone?which means I?ll have to fly instead. Flying?s okay; actually it will be quicker than taking the train, but there aren?t many cheap flights to Rome, and I also need to get from the airport to the train station in time to meet Mike.
Nigel looks over and I give him a big smile. The great thing about the Internet is that you can be buying flights for a fab weekend away, and as far as everyone else is concerned you?re sitting at your desk working incredibly hard. David thinks a constructive day in the office is one where he?s performed really well and got things done. I think a constructive day in the office is one where I?ve paid all my bills online, booked a holiday, and compared ten different horoscope readings.
I find a flight for ?60 that gets in at 8P.M ., which will give me loads of time to get to the station in time to meet Mike. Relieved, I fill in my credit card details and press ?Buy Now.?
