'Does that mean I'm sacked?' Bella asked without hesitation.
'The decision is up to my superiors. I shall give him all the information I have and – '
'And then I'll be sacked, I suppose,' Bella interrupted, her tone sarcastic. 'Well, I'll save you the trouble. If you aren't prepared to listen to my side of the story, then I wouldn't want to work in a place that doesn't value the truth. And there is someone here who will be clapping their hands at having got rid of me …' Bella turned slowly to stare at the other girls sitting at their desks, their faces all registering shocked fascination at the conversation going on before them. But it was Evelyn Donald who struggled out of her seat and hurried toward her boss in order to protest her innocence.
Bella put up her hand and smiled. 'Don't waste your breath on denials, Evelyn. You've got what you wanted at long last. The seat next to you will be vacant from now on.'
Bella kept the smile pasted to her face as she held her head high and walked over to collect her coat from the line of hooks on the far wall. Placing it over her arm and sliding the strap of her bag across her wrist she pulled open the door. Briefly she glanced back at the room in which she had worked for the past year. Each face reminded her of what a mistake it had been to try to better herself here. She had never fitted in from the word go and had hated every moment. Well, it was over now and she was glad.
She closed the door quietly behind her to a resounding silence. With her heart beating crazily inside her chest, she ran down the three flights of stairs exhaling a long sigh. Striding into the warm July evening she felt a wash of warm air roll over her. Even though her legs felt like jelly, she knew she had quit her job with dignity. She hadn't waited to be ousted by the powers that be, but gone on her own terms. And that was what counted. Evelyn Donald was welcome to her triumph. In Bella's book, it was an empty victory. They would die slowly of boredom up there and they were welcome to that.
The traffic was homeward bound from the city. The sky was a perfectly clear and radiant blue. Ray's car was parked on the other side of the road and Bella waved, standing on tiptoe to attract his attention.
He jumped out and after she had crossed the road, she threw herself into his arms. 'Oh Ray, I'm so glad to see you.'
Looking startled he gripped her tightly. 'What's all this about then?'
'I'll tell you later. Just lets go.'
He glanced at the deserted entrance of the building behind her. 'You've left before all the others and it's not half five yet.'
'So what,' she shrugged as she pulled open the car door and jumped in. She glanced back at Dixons as Ray started the car and they moved off. She didn't have any regrets, only a sense of relief that was growing by the minute.
Dixons was a part of her past. She looked at the puzzled driver and smiled. Tonight was going to be a very special night. Only Ray didn't know it yet!
'You did what?' Ray's puppy eyes bulged as his mouth fell open.
'I chucked my job in,' Bella said again, as she self-consciously pulled her blouse together, the same blouse that seconds ago Ray had opened with not so nimble fingers, searching for the naked skin of her breast. Tonight, after the film, when they had parked in the street by Island Gardens, she had allowed him to kiss her passionately and as a result, his hot hand had done what it had never managed to do before. But now he was staring at her as though she had just confessed she was an axe murderer.
'I thought you said that.'
'And I thought you'd be pleased but by the look on your face I'm not so sure you are.'
'I just can't believe it.'
'Why not?' Bella pushed herself up and looped the buttons of her blouse back into place. Ray's amorous dithering had been a clumsy encounter, but she had been prepared to suffer his inexperienced pawing tonight as he was always complaining she wouldn't let him touch her. Staring at him resentfully she shrugged. 'You know I wasn't happy there.'
'Yes, but not enough to pack your job in.'
'Shows how much you've listened to what I've told you.' Bella was upset at this unexpected reaction. All evening she had been longing to tell him of the argument and the way she had stood up for herself. Instead she'd had to suffer sitting in the back seat of the Troxy as he'd slid his hand under her skirt trying to find her suspenders.
'I have listened – mostly.'
'Then you'll know I've been the butt of their spiteful jokes,' Bella explained patiently, her irritation growing at his sullen expression. 'And today I just couldn't stomach anymore.' She looked at him reproachfully. 'Well, aren't you going to say something?'
'I don't know what to say.'
'Try congratulations or well done.'
'What for? You're out of work now.' He swallowed and she watched his Adam's apple go up and down like a ping-pong ball, a part of his anatomy that she really disliked. 'You haven't got any money.'
'Yes, I have. I collected my wages this morning.'
'I mean what are you going to live on?' he continued to press. 'Jobs aren't that easy to find nowadays. You can't just throw it all up and walk into another one. What about references for instance?'
'What about them? I'll never work in an
