had been during her tenure there, because he changed the subject. ‘So, has it been hard adjusting to being back here again?’
‘Nah.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve known all of this crowd for yonks -apart from young Cassie, of course - and the work’s exactly the same, over there or back here. But the coffee and doughnuts were better.’
Meanwhile, she was guessing at his age. Difficult to tell with someone so reptilian, but almost certainly the unfashionable side of forty. Not that it mattered, but she liked to ground her assessment of people in basic data, and as she got older herself she found age increasingly significant. ‘Fine,’ the reptile said. ‘Now I’d like to talk a bit about how you feel about your place in the team.’
‘Which team?’
He frowned. ‘Well, JWW, of course. I don’t’
‘Sorry,’ Connie said brightly, ‘thought you were talking about the pub quiz. We have a showdown with Mortimers twice a year; deadly serious stuff, as you’d expect. We lost last year, so obviously next time it’ll be to the death. Sorry, I interrupted you.’
So he didn’t know who Mortimers were; she could tell from his expression. Interesting.
‘We like to think of JWW as a team,’ the reptile said, broadening his smile until Connie was sure that his teeth were about to fall out. ‘All of us pulling together, working for common goals on a level playing field. We believe’
‘Sports imagery,’ Connie interrupted. ‘I get you. Jolly good. Go on.’
He subsided for a moment or so, just a little. ‘Ms Schwartz-Alberich,’ he said, ‘where do you see yourself in, say, five years time?’
‘Oh that’s an easy one,’ Connie said cheerfully. ‘Let’s see, quarter past eleven, so at this precise moment, five years from now, I’ll be wheeling my little wire trolley round Tesco’s, filling it up with cat food. I haven’t got a cat,’ she added, ‘but I’ve always promised myself I’ll get one when I retire. Mysterious old hags living alone in remote country cottages always have cats, it’s traditional.’
The reptile blinked. ‘Ah. So you’re planning to retire at’
‘Sixty,’ Connie said promptly. ‘Till then, I guess I’m just clinging on limpet-fashion for my pension.’ She smiled. ‘And there you have it.’
‘I see.’ The stranger breathed out slowly through his nose. ‘Well, I appreciate your frankness. Of course, we like to see a fresh, achievement-oriented attitude in our team players, which’
‘Well, of course you do,’ Connie chirruped. ‘And if you care to look at your bit of paper there, top left-hand corner, more or less where your watch is, you’ll see exactly how much I achieved for the firm in the last fiscal year. Fourteen per cent up on the previous year, and that was when Dennis was doing most of it himself. I like to keep busy,’ she added. ‘It helps pass the time.’
‘Impressive,’ the stranger said sourly. ‘Nevertheless, one thing we do insist on in our team is commitment, a hundred and ten per cent’
‘Absolutely,’ Connie interrupted. ‘I’ve always said, there’s nothing so boring as sitting behind a desk picking your nose all day. Trouble with me is, I work so fast - wonderful powers of concentration, it’s a knack I was born with, I guess - I get through it all so quickly that it’s hard to make it stretch out to five-thirty sometimes. We’re all a bit like that here, really.’
‘Moving on,’ the stranger said, ‘what would you say is your greatest weakness?’
Connie thought for a moment. ‘Kryptonite,’ she said. ‘Other than that, I can handle most things.’ She paused. ‘That’s the green kryptonite,’ she went on. ‘The red stuff used to bother me a bit but these days I can just sort of shrug it off, mostly.’
Long silence. ‘Thank you,’ the reptile said, ‘this has been extremely useful, and I hope’
‘Oh, is that it?’ Connie pulled a sad face. ‘Pity. It’s ever so much more fun than
‘Nah.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve known all of this crowd for yonks -apart from young Cassie, of course - and the work’s exactly the same, over there or back here. But the coffee and doughnuts were better.’
Meanwhile, she was guessing at his age. Difficult to tell with someone so reptilian, but almost certainly the unfashionable side of forty. Not that it mattered, but she liked to ground her assessment of people in basic data, and as she got older herself she found age increasingly significant. ‘Fine,’ the reptile said. ‘Now I’d like to talk a bit about how you feel about your place in the team.’
‘Which team?’
He frowned. ‘Well, JWW, of course. I don’t’
‘Sorry,’ Connie said brightly, ‘thought you were talking about the pub quiz. We have a showdown with Mortimers twice a year; deadly serious stuff, as you’d expect. We lost last year, so obviously next time it’ll be to the death. Sorry, I interrupted you.’
So he didn’t know who Mortimers were; she could tell from his expression. Interesting.
‘We like to think of JWW as a team,’ the reptile said, broadening his smile until Connie was sure that his teeth were about to fall out. ‘All of us pulling together, working for common goals on a level playing field. We believe’
‘Sports imagery,’ Connie interrupted. ‘I get you. Jolly good. Go on.’
He subsided for a moment or so, just a little. ‘Ms Schwartz-Alberich,’ he said, ‘where do you see yourself in, say, five years time?’
‘Oh that’s an easy one,’ Connie said cheerfully. ‘Let’s see, quarter past eleven, so at this precise moment, five years from now, I’ll be wheeling my little wire trolley round Tesco’s, filling it up with cat food. I haven’t got a cat,’ she added, ‘but I’ve always promised myself I’ll get one when I retire. Mysterious old hags living alone in remote country cottages always have cats, it’s traditional.’
The reptile blinked. ‘Ah. So you’re planning to retire at’
‘Sixty,’ Connie said promptly. ‘Till then, I guess I’m just clinging on limpet-fashion for my pension.’ She smiled. ‘And there you have it.’
‘I see.’ The stranger breathed out slowly through his nose. ‘Well, I appreciate your frankness. Of course, we like to see a fresh, achievement-oriented attitude in our team players, which’
‘Well, of course you do,’ Connie chirruped. ‘And if you care to look at your bit of paper there, top left-hand corner, more or less where your watch is, you’ll see exactly how much I achieved for the firm in the last fiscal year. Fourteen per cent up on the previous year, and that was when Dennis was doing most of it himself. I like to keep busy,’ she added. ‘It helps pass the time.’
‘Impressive,’ the stranger said sourly. ‘Nevertheless, one thing we do insist on in our team is commitment, a hundred and ten per cent’
‘Absolutely,’ Connie interrupted. ‘I’ve always said, there’s nothing so boring as sitting behind a desk picking your nose all day. Trouble with me is, I work so fast - wonderful powers of concentration, it’s a knack I was born with, I guess - I get through it all so quickly that it’s hard to make it stretch out to five-thirty sometimes. We’re all a bit like that here, really.’
‘Moving on,’ the stranger said, ‘what would you say is your greatest weakness?’
Connie thought for a moment. ‘Kryptonite,’ she said. ‘Other than that, I can handle most things.’ She paused. ‘That’s the green kryptonite,’ she went on. ‘The red stuff used to bother me a bit but these days I can just sort of shrug it off, mostly.’
Long silence. ‘Thank you,’ the reptile said, ‘this has been extremely useful, and I hope’
‘Oh, is that it?’ Connie pulled a sad face. ‘Pity. It’s ever so much more fun than
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