Part 11 (1/2)

He asked the waitress for coffee then continued.

”Where are we going to find you a good man, then?”

I wanted to say Id found one, but I knew that it was not the right thing to say.

”Are there any left?” I asked.

”Oh, yes. So long as you know where to look.”

I was about to say that I thought he must be joking, but on this occasion I let it pa.s.s. I was not about to start another debate.

”Where?” I queried.

”Have you looked at work?” he asked.

”I dont think people react well to women in positions of authority having s.e.xual relations.h.i.+ps at work.”

”Why on earth not?” he reacted. ”Isnt that why people go to work?” he asked.

”What do you mean?”

”Why is work any different from anywhere else?”

”Its a place of work, surely?”

”Employerspeak!” he laughed. ”If not at work, where will you find Mr Right?”

His question was rhetorical. I could not think of any good prospects at work that were not already in relations.h.i.+ps and said so.

”And you know that they are happy and committed?”

”Well no, I dont,” I answered.

”Find out. Perhaps youve already met him?” he suggested.

”I can hardly ask them,” I said.

”You dont need to ask. All you need to do is get the person you are interested in talking about their life. Take an interest.”

We drank the last of our coffee and I paid the bill. Then, he drove me back to my house and walked me to the door. In the movies we might have kissed, but I just knew that we would not. At the door, he hugged me, pecked me on the cheek, then returned to the car and gave me a salute as he drove off.

I wanted him to come in, but I knew he needed to get back home to his family. Hed given up a whole Sat.u.r.day for me and it was important that I should not intrude further on his time. I find it difficult to describe how I feel now. Ive been more distraught today than I can ever remember, but inside I now feel like Im walking on water. This is not like the b.u.t.terflies of teenage love, but a tingling feeling burrowing into the darkest caverns of my soul, a warmth so spiritual that I can feel my humanity light up. He makes me want to be a better person, to live more, risk more, and share the best of myself. Is this, I wonder, how people feel when they first experience the deepest kind of love?

Chapter 18.

Due to a lot of demands on my time, when I got to work the weekend was purged from my mind. Phil was first to update me. He had been diligently taking lunch with Elonas team and learned that a number of the men enjoyed teasing her and flirting with her. According to them, Elona was pretty off-hand with all of them except one. Nathan was a lad in his mid-twenties and the general consensus was that she had a crush on him. Nathan himself was not that interested although he did join in some of the flirting. Phil thought this was more to bond with his mates than to pursue Elona.

”They are surprised that she accused Mike. Most of his team said that he was very gentlemanly. He was careful how he behaved and spoke around everyone, particularly Elona.

I was perplexed by this. It did not seem to fit. Even Mike had admitted to me that hed flirted with her. I nodded for Phil to continue.

”Then theres this Nathan!” Phil said.

”What about him?”

”He was quite cagey when the others were talking. He did not volunteer anything and I got the feeling that the whole conversation made him uncomfortable.”

”Dyou think I should talk to him?” I asked.

”Well. If you ask me, the relations.h.i.+p between Elona and Nathan is connected to all of this somehow. I dont understand how Mike fits in maybe he got jealous or something but I feel there must be a connection somewhere.”

”Okay. What about Mike and Sally?” I enquired.

”Yeah. I was right about that. He did live with her for a while. Shes one of the people who transferred with him to the new team. n.o.body is completely sure why they are so close, but they did live together for a few months. But they dont live together now, hes back with his wife. It all sounds kind of bizarre. If theyd had an affair and split up, why would she want to keep working with him? It doesnt make sense.”

I was puzzled too, but there was nothing to be gained by discussing it now.

”Okay. Well done. Ill have a word with Dave. We seem to be getting closer. Perhaps it is time for another chat with Elona. Then Ill speak to Nathan.”

I had to set this to one side for the moment. The marketing manager, Jo, had enlisted Mikes support to get his team some training in consumer behaviour. As I was up to my eye-b.a.l.l.s helping Dave bring on board some new inventors, I was keen to off-load this. She said that she had worked with a consultant several times and wanted to bring him in again. I could not see any reason to object, so I signed off a purchase order for 30 days consultancy and left her to get on with it.

I thought back to my weekend conversation. John had suggested I look for a partner at work for two reasons. Firstly, most people meet their marriage partner in a workplace setting. Secondly, he claimed that nearly half of all married women chose their job in order to find a partner. I told him the second one must be rubbish, but he provided me with a source. I promptly went to WH Smith and bought the book. Sure enough he was right. I found the statistics both staggering and appalling. In this modern age, after 40 years of gender equality, who would have thought this? To think that h.o.a.rds of women at work were actively looking for husbands. The thought actually annoyed me. Who, I wondered, was searching for a husband in our workplace?

”Come in Penny,” said Dave.

”Hi. So what needs doing today?” I asked.

”We need to draw up three contracts. Ive got Clive Preston coming over from London, Brian Thwaite from Birmingham, and Claire Nunn from Glasgow.”

”A woman?” I remarked. ”Rare that?”

”Yes. But a good find. Shes a remarkable designer and has a.s.sembled a small team of engineers to make customised kitchenware. They manufacture through companies in Sheffield. Shes ready for exposure and now has a large portfolio. Im sure youd be impressed.”

Id never pictured Dave as someone with either the inclination or ability to appreciate cutlery and kitchenware.

”Careful,” I commented, ”your wife will be asking for freebies.”

He gave me an odd look. I did my best to ignore it and returned to the issue at hand.

”Okay. Standard Terms?” I asked.