LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER TWO

      EMILY gazed at the woman seated across from her desk, noticed how her fingers nervously pleated the rather wrinkled fabric of her cheap black skirt, a cautious smile brightening her lovely features. Helen Smith was a beautiful young woman, a few years younger than Emily, with a cloud of dark hair like a soft halo around her pale face.

      ‘So.’ Emily smiled encouragingly as she scanned Helen’s scanty CV. ‘You worked as a waitress up in Liverpool …’

      ‘And I temped for a while in an office,’ Helen offered helpfully. Her voice was soft and lilting. ‘I answered the telephones. Mr Kingsley thought I might do the same here. He said one of your receptionists was on maternity leave.’

      Emily wondered—not for the first time—just what Jason’s relationship to the lovely Helen Smith could possibly be. Did she have anything to do with this mysterious personal business? ‘Yes, Sally just had a baby boy.’ Emily returned the CV to her desk; there really wasn’t much to see there. ‘So Mr Kinglsey is right,’ she said with a smile. ‘We have an opening.’

      ‘He’s a nice man,’ Helen whispered, looking down at her lap. Her hair fell forward, obscuring her face, and Emily wondered if she’d ever seemed this young and … clueless. Probably. She felt a stab of sympathy for Helen Smith even as she glanced at her bitten, ragged nails and worn jumper. She could certainly use a manicure and a makeover.

      Could it actually be possible that Jason was interested in Helen? She was beautiful, despite the nails and clothes, although Jason’s dates had always been socialites or starlets. Still, he’d never taken them seriously. Maybe a woman like Helen Smith, lovely and fragile, would capture his heart. Why on earth did she care anyway? Annoyed, Emily turned back to Helen’s scanty CV. ‘He’s a very nice employer,’ she said firmly, and Helen nodded shyly.

      ‘It was good of him to listen to Richard about me.’

      Emily raised her eyebrows, curiosity sharpening inside her. ‘Richard?’

      Helen blushed, which made her look lovelier, her cheeks as pink as roses, her complexion like a china doll’s. Emily had never doubted her own basic attractiveness, yet right now she was conscious of her rather round-cheeked, healthful appeal, a bit different from Helen’s fragile loveliness. ‘My … well, he’s just my friend, I suppose. We grew up together, back in Liverpool, and.’ Helen’s blush deepened and she pulled the sleeves of her worn jumper down over her hands, just as Emily remembered doing as an angst-ridden teen. ‘Well, I’m older now,’ Helen continued hesitantly, ‘and Richard thought if I moved to London, and we spent a bit more time together …’ She trailed off, nibbling her lip. ‘Richard said that perhaps—in time—we might make a go of it,’ she finished almost apologetically.

      ‘He said that?’ Emily asked before she could stop herself. It sounded most unromantic.

      Helen stared at her with wide grey eyes that reflected every emotion, including now a woeful uncertainty. ‘Yes … you know, to see if we’re a good fit.’

      Like a pair of shoes. Emily suppressed a shudder. She could not imagine anything less appealing. Still, she was hardly one to judge. The two relationships she’d entered into in a spirit of cautious optimism had been, if not disasters, then surely disappointments. She most certainly wasn’t looking for a third. Still, if you were going to have a relationship, surely you wanted something a bit more than what this Richard was offering.

      ‘Sounds very sensible,’ she said. Too sensible. Where was the romance? The love? There was nothing sensible about either, as far as she was concerned, although she had no firsthand experience. She’d never been in love, not even close, and she doubted it would ever happen. True love matches—like her own mother and father’s—were rare, which was why Emily had been happy to help Steph and Tim along. She’d just about given up finding it for herself. ‘Does Richard work for Kingsley Engineering? ‘ she asked, mentally going through the several hundred employees Jason had on his payroll. There were several Richards.

      ‘Yes, he’s worked on a project with Mr Kingsley in Africa,’ Helen answered. ‘He just got back.’

      Emily nodded, for now she knew just who Helen’s Richard was. Richard Marsden, one of a handful of Jason’s protégés, a solid-looking engineer with an earnest expression, a nervous tic and absolutely no sense of humour. Of course he would suggest such a thing. She could just see him sitting Helen down on his sofa and outlining his five-year plan for their relationship, with accompanying PowerPoint presentation. It all sounded rather dreadful. ‘Well,’ she said diplomatically, ‘it will certainly be nice for you to be able to spend some time with him.’

      ‘Yes …’ Helen sounded hesitant and, although Emily didn’t blame her, she decided they’d had enough personal conversation. Part of her success in Human Resources was to know both when to employ and to curb the personal aspect of her position. ‘Well, since Mr Kingsley can vouch for you, I’m certainly willing to hire you. We’ll just fill out some forms and then I’ll show you around the reception area.’

      Helen beamed. ‘Thank you, Miss Wood.’

      ‘Please, call me Emily. We’re all friendly here.’

      Emily watched as Helen bent her dark head to fill out the forms, a sudden, gentle sort of protectiveness stealing over her. The girl really did seem terribly innocent. She would certainly need someone to look out for her, show her the ropes. And, more importantly, a bit of fun. Clearly Richard wasn’t going to do it.

      ‘Come on, then,’ she said when Helen had finished the forms. ‘We can grab a coffee before I show you ‘round. You can meet a few people.’ A few people other than Richard Marsden, she added silently.

      The rest of her first day as Head of Human Resources passed uneventfully enough, with no more than the usual common complaints and banal paperwork to round out the hire of Helen that morning. She was surprised to find it already past five o’clock and most of her department gone when she finally finished her last email and pressed send.

      ‘A successful first day, it seems.’

      Emily looked up to see Jason standing in her doorway, and she wondered how she could have missed his approach. Her heart certainly gave a sudden, surprising lurch now.

      ‘Jason, you startled me.’ She smiled up at him, noticing the deeper grooves from his mouth to nose, the faint fanning of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. The African sun had aged him a bit, but it was not unattractive. Jason could certainly carry off a rather dignified look. And he was quite a bit older … he was nearing forty. Time to think of marrying, perhaps. The thought was unsettling, only because she could not imagine Jason with a wife. He would probably pick someone to suit him just like Richard was with Helen. She could just see him compiling some sort of list. Must be handy with an iron, a golf club and a gardening spade… .

      ‘Yes, it was successful,’ she said, stressing the word lightly. ‘No less

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