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‘Every week,’ replied Dennis smugly.
So much for keeping that night under wraps.
‘Nice work, boss.’ The edge to Dennis’s voice was sharp enough to cut chain wire. ‘I suppose we can skip the lecture on management probity and staff relations?’
Teeth gritted against a biting retort, Liam screwed the paper into a ball and tossed it across the office to the waste paper basket. He was grateful that it curved in a perfect arcand fell neatly into the basket, dead centre. ‘I know what you’re thinking,’ he said quietly.
‘That you started tom-catting with the staff the minute you hit town?’
Liam’s response was to move past Dennis, to reach for the door and to close it with deliberate control.
‘Sit down, Dennis.’ With a curt nod he indicated the chair by the desk. ‘You and I are going to have a little chat.’
Dennis sat. And his confident smirk began to wane as Liam took the high-backed leather executive chair and leaned back, watching him, without speaking.
Liam was damned if he was going to let this fellow launch a smear campaign. He knew that if he didn’t act promptly, Alice’s reputation would be dirt by morning-tea time.
With his elbow, he gave a file clearly markedDennis Ericsona surreptitious nudge towards the front of his desk and then he stabbed at his desk phone for front of house reception.
‘Sally,’ he said, enjoying the way Dennis’s eyes bulged when he read the name on the folder. ‘Hold all my calls please. And don’t send anyone through to my office. It’s most important that I’m not interrupted for the next twenty minutes.’
‘Morning, Dennis.’ Alice called her greeting as they passed in the hall outside her office.
‘Morning,’ he growled rudely, without making eye contact.
What was eating him?
Gulp.Had it started already? Was this because he’d seen the photo in the paper? The phone calls from her family had begun about five minutes after Liam left her on Saturday. Her mother and each of her aunts had rung, all demanding details about the strange man in the photo.
No one from work had contacted her, but she knew it was silly to hope that, by some miracle, none of them had seen the photo. She’d been dreading coming to the office this morning.
‘What’s the matter? I’m not late am I?’ She glanced at her watch. Shewaslate actually, thanks to traffic lights on the blink at a busy intersection, but not late enough to upset anyone, especially as it was well known that she often worked back or through her lunch hour without extra pay.
Dennis pursed his lips. ‘I’m sure you can be as late as you like from now on.’ He continued on, calling over his shoulder, ‘You’re sitting pretty now Alice.’
Oh, great. That more or less confirmed her fears.
There was only one way to play it this morning. Cool. Carry on as if it was business as usual.
She went through to the office she shared with two other travel consultants, Mary-Ann and Shana.
‘You know what’s eating Dennis?’ she asked. And then she realised that playing it cool was a good idea in theory... but the who’s-she-trying-to-kid look on her workmates’ faces made her stomach pitch.
Mary-Ann clicked a button to boot up her computer. ‘It’s not so much a matter ofwhat’seating Dennis, butwho,’ she said. ‘Actually, it’s who’s eating him and spitting him out into little pieces.’
‘And the answer is the new boss,’ added Shana. ‘First morning on the job and this Liam Conway’s kicking heads. He lined poor Dennis up for a performance appraisal.’
‘Oh.’ Alice sat down quickly, a split second before her legs began to shake.
‘Instead of kicking heads he should pull his own head in,’ muttered Shana.
‘Don’t tell me the new boss is an ogre?’
Shana rolled her eyes. ‘As if we need to tellyouanything about him. Why don’t you tell us?’
Taking in her workmates’ identical expressions, Alice released her breath with a soft sigh. ‘OK, you’ve seen the photo in thePost.’
‘Of course we’ve seen it.’
