to do compared to the rest of you. I’m not in any position to nurse a new starter I’m afraid.’ She bent her head over her work and refused to be drawn any further into the discussion.
Mavin turned back to Lauren and shrugged. ‘Well, I heard they’ve decided you should take him, so it doesn’t matter what we say, does it?’ Pauline swept in through the lockable safety door and looked around at the bent heads, a picture of industry. She suppressed a smile as she noted the flushed faces and lack of paper in Lauren’s typewriter.
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘we did not get around to allocating the new officer in all this morning’s excitement. Up to now we have been trying to operate on a rota basis, in fairness to everyone. After all, there may be a lighter case load for a first year officer but there is a lot more hands-on work for the support person. Now Lauren, you have been very successful in this role over the past year or so and I am wondering whether you might like to take on responsibility for nurturing our new colleagues on a regular basis.’
There was a long silence as Lauren stared at her desk, at a loss how to answer. This was a tremendous compliment from Pauline who was notoriously difficult to please and in any other circumstance she would have jumped at the chance to take a role that offered more variety, more interest and relief from the seemingly endless grind of preparing court reports, but there was a downside. Finally, she raised her eyes and looked miserably at Pauline who was watching her closely.
‘Well, it’s a big decision, so perhaps you would like to think about it and come to see me later,’ said her senior with surprising gentleness.
Lauren took a deep breath and nodded. ‘Yes.’ Her voice was strangely high. ‘Thank you, I’ll do that.’
‘Right then, back to work.’ Pauline turned back towards the window, frowning at the empty yard. ‘I wonder where they all are?’ she added. ‘Last week we were virtually under siege but today – I don’t know what’s happening.’
Upstairs, Sue was also at the window, tapping her foot impatiently as the clock ticked away the minutes past the hour. ‘Where the hell has he got to?’ she fumed. Patience exhausted, she tugged her door open and headed for thestairs, narrowly missing Gordon who was coming back from his meeting with Garry.
‘Whoa! Slow down – you’re getting as bad as Alex,’ he said, steering her gently round by the shoulders.
‘Sorry Gordon, I just didn’t see you there. Oh, how did it go with Garry then?’ She flicked her chin upwards to indicate the top floor.
Gordon sighed. ‘I’m not sure to be honest,’ he said. ‘When I got there he was sitting at his desk and he acted as if nothing had happened. He listened to me and made some notes and then said to go ahead and organize things as I thought best. I’m really not sure he heard much of what I said.’
For almost the first time since she’d known him, Gordon looked genuinely worried and Sue hesitated, wanting to give him some of the support he showed to everyone else in the office, but there was a sudden bang downstairs, the sound of the front door being slammed, followed by loud voices, and instead she gave him a quick smile and took off down the stairs. Gordon gazed after her and shook his head before resuming his trek to the room at the far end of the corridor where his own problems waited.
In the reception area all was chaos. Pauline had come to the counter as soon as she heard the door slam and was remonstrating with an all-too familiar figure as a group of youths shoved one another and made mock wrestling moves before flinging themselves onto the chairs. Sue glided across the room, seized one young man by his ear and hauled him to his feet. There was a sudden hush as the rest of them saw her, and several pairs of feet slid down from the coffee table and came to rest on the floor as their owners sat up straight and tried to look away without
Mavin turned back to Lauren and shrugged. ‘Well, I heard they’ve decided you should take him, so it doesn’t matter what we say, does it?’ Pauline swept in through the lockable safety door and looked around at the bent heads, a picture of industry. She suppressed a smile as she noted the flushed faces and lack of paper in Lauren’s typewriter.
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘we did not get around to allocating the new officer in all this morning’s excitement. Up to now we have been trying to operate on a rota basis, in fairness to everyone. After all, there may be a lighter case load for a first year officer but there is a lot more hands-on work for the support person. Now Lauren, you have been very successful in this role over the past year or so and I am wondering whether you might like to take on responsibility for nurturing our new colleagues on a regular basis.’
There was a long silence as Lauren stared at her desk, at a loss how to answer. This was a tremendous compliment from Pauline who was notoriously difficult to please and in any other circumstance she would have jumped at the chance to take a role that offered more variety, more interest and relief from the seemingly endless grind of preparing court reports, but there was a downside. Finally, she raised her eyes and looked miserably at Pauline who was watching her closely.
‘Well, it’s a big decision, so perhaps you would like to think about it and come to see me later,’ said her senior with surprising gentleness.
Lauren took a deep breath and nodded. ‘Yes.’ Her voice was strangely high. ‘Thank you, I’ll do that.’
‘Right then, back to work.’ Pauline turned back towards the window, frowning at the empty yard. ‘I wonder where they all are?’ she added. ‘Last week we were virtually under siege but today – I don’t know what’s happening.’
Upstairs, Sue was also at the window, tapping her foot impatiently as the clock ticked away the minutes past the hour. ‘Where the hell has he got to?’ she fumed. Patience exhausted, she tugged her door open and headed for thestairs, narrowly missing Gordon who was coming back from his meeting with Garry.
‘Whoa! Slow down – you’re getting as bad as Alex,’ he said, steering her gently round by the shoulders.
‘Sorry Gordon, I just didn’t see you there. Oh, how did it go with Garry then?’ She flicked her chin upwards to indicate the top floor.
Gordon sighed. ‘I’m not sure to be honest,’ he said. ‘When I got there he was sitting at his desk and he acted as if nothing had happened. He listened to me and made some notes and then said to go ahead and organize things as I thought best. I’m really not sure he heard much of what I said.’
For almost the first time since she’d known him, Gordon looked genuinely worried and Sue hesitated, wanting to give him some of the support he showed to everyone else in the office, but there was a sudden bang downstairs, the sound of the front door being slammed, followed by loud voices, and instead she gave him a quick smile and took off down the stairs. Gordon gazed after her and shook his head before resuming his trek to the room at the far end of the corridor where his own problems waited.
In the reception area all was chaos. Pauline had come to the counter as soon as she heard the door slam and was remonstrating with an all-too familiar figure as a group of youths shoved one another and made mock wrestling moves before flinging themselves onto the chairs. Sue glided across the room, seized one young man by his ear and hauled him to his feet. There was a sudden hush as the rest of them saw her, and several pairs of feet slid down from the coffee table and came to rest on the floor as their owners sat up straight and tried to look away without
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