hardly nothing. I’m sorry to hear it. But if you were having second thoughts about the marriage then maybe it’s for the best.’
‘Oh, I wasn’t having second thoughts. I just found out Ed was doing a bit of last-minute sampling of other models currently available on the market, that’s all.’
‘I see.’ She put down her pen and pulled down the lid on her laptop, nodding sagely, as if she knew everything about being dropped from a great height. Which was highly unlikely. Nina was definitely the type of person to be doing all the dropping. Boyfriends. And now employees, by the look of things. ‘Look, Anna, why don’t you go home?’
‘Home?’ Oh God, my worst nightmares were coming true, but surely she’d have to give me some kind of warning, let me work my notice period. I know I’d been cocking up left, right and centre today, but nothing that warranted being sacked on the spot.
‘Take the rest of the week off. Your mind is clearly not here, which is perfectly understandable in the circumstances. We can do this meeting when you get back.’
‘So you’re not sacking me, then?’
She gave a wry smile.
‘I never had any intention of sacking you, Anna. I actually wanted to discuss a new opportunity within the company that I think might better suit your skill set, but it can wait until another day. You need to go home and get things sorted out.’
‘Thanks, Nina,’ I said, feeling totally wrong-footed by her uncharacteristic show of kindness, ‘but I haven’t got any holiday left. I’ve used it all up for my honeymoon. Well, exotic holiday for one now, I suspect!’ I said brightly, trying to inject a note of humour into the whole sorry saga.
‘I know. Don’t worry about it. Just take it as compassionate leave.’
‘Really?’ I felt a huge lump rise in the back of my throat and tears gather in my eyes. Nina was showing me compassion. I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I’d never really liked her, considering her uppity, hard-edged and tight-lipped, but for the first time I was seeing a softer side to her character. ‘Thanks, Nina. I really appreciate it,’ I said, feeling bad at having misjudged her.
I wondered for the first time if we could actually be friends. As I turned to walk out of her office, I wanted to say,
Hey, Nina, if you’re not doing anything on Saturday, why don’t you come along to the evening reception for a few drinks
, but I didn’t even know if there would be a wedding ceremony, let alone an evening ‘do’ now. I quashed the pang of guilt I felt for not having previously invited her.
‘Absolutely. You go and try to enjoy yourself. We can talk when you get back.’
‘Thanks.’ My hand grabbed the edge of the door, emotion threatening to overwhelm me. ‘You know, what everyone says about you, all that rubbishy stuff, it isn’t true. You’re absolutely lovely, you really are?’
I don’t know what my mouth was thinking of. It was working totally independently of my brain. I saw the look of incredulity spread across Nina’s face.
‘Not that anybody says anything too—’
‘You have a great time, Anna,’ she interrupted.
I walked out of her office with my dignity somewhere around my nether regions.
Obviously Nina didn’t bear grudges. Obviously I was a rotten judge of character. Sophie, Ed and, most surprisingly, Nina had taught me that these last couple of days.
Chapter 5
Ben was a complete sweetheart and rushed down to pick me up from work as soon as he received my call.
‘I said you should never have gone in the first place,’ he said, after I detailed the morning’s disastrous catalogue of events on our journey back to the cottage. ‘Look at it this way: you certainly made an impression on your appraisal day. Your boss will never be able to forget who you are now.’
‘That’s true,’ I said, smiling. ‘She was so lovely to me, though, Ben. Talked about offering me another job in the company. I wanted to jump across the desk and
‘Oh, I wasn’t having second thoughts. I just found out Ed was doing a bit of last-minute sampling of other models currently available on the market, that’s all.’
‘I see.’ She put down her pen and pulled down the lid on her laptop, nodding sagely, as if she knew everything about being dropped from a great height. Which was highly unlikely. Nina was definitely the type of person to be doing all the dropping. Boyfriends. And now employees, by the look of things. ‘Look, Anna, why don’t you go home?’
‘Home?’ Oh God, my worst nightmares were coming true, but surely she’d have to give me some kind of warning, let me work my notice period. I know I’d been cocking up left, right and centre today, but nothing that warranted being sacked on the spot.
‘Take the rest of the week off. Your mind is clearly not here, which is perfectly understandable in the circumstances. We can do this meeting when you get back.’
‘So you’re not sacking me, then?’
She gave a wry smile.
‘I never had any intention of sacking you, Anna. I actually wanted to discuss a new opportunity within the company that I think might better suit your skill set, but it can wait until another day. You need to go home and get things sorted out.’
‘Thanks, Nina,’ I said, feeling totally wrong-footed by her uncharacteristic show of kindness, ‘but I haven’t got any holiday left. I’ve used it all up for my honeymoon. Well, exotic holiday for one now, I suspect!’ I said brightly, trying to inject a note of humour into the whole sorry saga.
‘I know. Don’t worry about it. Just take it as compassionate leave.’
‘Really?’ I felt a huge lump rise in the back of my throat and tears gather in my eyes. Nina was showing me compassion. I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I’d never really liked her, considering her uppity, hard-edged and tight-lipped, but for the first time I was seeing a softer side to her character. ‘Thanks, Nina. I really appreciate it,’ I said, feeling bad at having misjudged her.
I wondered for the first time if we could actually be friends. As I turned to walk out of her office, I wanted to say,
Hey, Nina, if you’re not doing anything on Saturday, why don’t you come along to the evening reception for a few drinks
, but I didn’t even know if there would be a wedding ceremony, let alone an evening ‘do’ now. I quashed the pang of guilt I felt for not having previously invited her.
‘Absolutely. You go and try to enjoy yourself. We can talk when you get back.’
‘Thanks.’ My hand grabbed the edge of the door, emotion threatening to overwhelm me. ‘You know, what everyone says about you, all that rubbishy stuff, it isn’t true. You’re absolutely lovely, you really are?’
I don’t know what my mouth was thinking of. It was working totally independently of my brain. I saw the look of incredulity spread across Nina’s face.
‘Not that anybody says anything too—’
‘You have a great time, Anna,’ she interrupted.
I walked out of her office with my dignity somewhere around my nether regions.
Obviously Nina didn’t bear grudges. Obviously I was a rotten judge of character. Sophie, Ed and, most surprisingly, Nina had taught me that these last couple of days.
Chapter 5
Ben was a complete sweetheart and rushed down to pick me up from work as soon as he received my call.
‘I said you should never have gone in the first place,’ he said, after I detailed the morning’s disastrous catalogue of events on our journey back to the cottage. ‘Look at it this way: you certainly made an impression on your appraisal day. Your boss will never be able to forget who you are now.’
‘That’s true,’ I said, smiling. ‘She was so lovely to me, though, Ben. Talked about offering me another job in the company. I wanted to jump across the desk and
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