Chapter 15
‘Oh great, Ally, there you are. Do you know how to use the phone system?’
Thankfully, one look at the Nortel system told her it was pretty much out of the ark, and she needn’t panic about being up to date with the latest tech. Law firms were more into tradition than innovation, it seemed.
‘OK,’ Georgina went on, ‘Vincent is in today, Maurice is in and so is Eloise, who’s the paralegal.
It’s a Friday, so that’s always quiet these days.
Kitchen is down the hall . . . If anyone comes in for a meeting, offer them a coffee.
God, I’m so glad you’re here. I was sitting at home last night telling my husband that knowing I’ve a receptionist again has changed my life. ’
Ally smiled. It was nice to feel needed, just maybe not quite that badly.
At about 9.40 a.m. a booming voice reverberated through the hallway.
‘Well, bugger him and his claim of Bona Vacantia! Tell him he hasn’t a hope.
Anyway, I’m here now, I better vamoose. See you in the Shelbourne at five, and don’t be late like bloody usual, leaving me sitting on my own at the bar like some big tart, hah!
’ a man bellowed in hilarious tones, before practically hitting his head off the top of the door frame as he made his entrance.
He was a good six foot four, with reddish hair that was swept back and reached to his collar, like a theatre impresario.
‘Ah!’ he roared. ‘The new face of Hogget and Simpson, and very nice it is too, thank God. Nobody wants a horror show first thing in the morning. Vincent De Burca, how do you do?’
He held out a hand the size of a dinner plate, which she found herself shaking dutifully.
‘I know it’s not supposed to be the thing to compliment a woman, but I say bollocks to that! We should all be complimenting each other at every available opportunity, isn’t that so, Miss . . . Mariani? Very nice blouse,’ he said, then made a rumbling noise.
Without the slightest clue what to say, she made do with smiling faintly.
Lord, what sort of simpering eejit had she turned into?
Still, it was her first day, so better to keep her head down and avoid making any enemies till she’d sussed things out.
In fairness to Vincent, at least he seemed a bit entertaining, unlike the perpetually responsible Georgina.
Though it did strike her that one might be contributing to the other.
‘The wind’s changing,’ he proclaimed. ‘And not just outside, hah, I think we’re back-pedalling on all this equality bollocks, and you know what? I think it’s bloody great. It’s freedom, know what I mean?’
He celebrated this last remark with a wide grin, presenting a row of crowns that looked oddly incongruous in his narrow face.
‘Anyway, must go. Time waits for no man . . . or woman.’ He rumbled the last few words before ambling out the door.
Ally exhaled, realising she’d barely felt able to breathe during the whole exchange, such was the force of Vincent’s personality. Wow, was that what workplaces used to be like for women? It’s no wonder in her mother’s generation they’d got out of them as soon as possible.
The morning progressed calmly enough. As promised, the building was pretty quiet and she had no more than five calls.
At this rate she could do the job in her sleep.
It did allow her thinking time, however.
If she were in The Owl’s Nest now, she’d have been labouring hard since 8 a.m. beside Evelyn, Dave and .
. . Pete. The truth was that she kind of loved those people – although with Pete it was different, of course.
But here she was, doing the right thing.
There really was no comparison, she had to admit.
She was mostly left to herself in the front office, which was decorated with a luxurious grey carpet and chandelier hanging from the ceiling – and apart from Vincent, an air of composure pervaded the building. In short, it was a jammy job.
At one o’clock she walked down to a café, where she was quite taken aback at the price of buying her own lunch, which was not a patch on what they served in The Owl’s Nest. Just then her phone rang.
‘Howaya? Feckin’ freezing, isn’t it? Conal, stingy git, has turned the thermostat down on the central heating so the whole place is like Antarctica.
I’ve been in my coat all morning. Don’t start me .
. . Crystal comes in and announces to the coffee room that her nipples are like gravestones.
Terry from Compliance does a big snort and his Earl Grey comes down his nose.
Honestly, you couldn’t make it up. So, how’s the legal eagle? ’
For just a moment Ally felt a pang of nostalgia for Celtic Concrete . . . which was really saying something.
‘It’s different. My job is fine, though I’m not banking on making any lifelong friends here.’
‘Great, I don’t want you going off and finding another BFF.’
‘Don’t worry, Rosie, no chance. I don’t suppose you’d be free for a drink tonight after work?’
‘Can’t. My quilting group have our Christmas party. Sorry. I’ve got to dash, bye!’
Ally clicked off the phone with a sigh. The truth was that she was feeling lonely. It always took a while to get used to a new job, though, didn’t it?
When she returned after her lunch break, Georgina met her at the door, looking extra stressed.
‘Oh, there you are, Ally, thank God. I was about to panic. There’s five people coming for a very important meeting with us this afternoon, so when they arrive, could you offer them coffee?
And in the meantime, please set up the boardroom with water, pens, pads .
. . all the usual – and hurry, they’ll be here by two thirty. ’
Oh, sweet Jesus, talk about going from nought to a hundred.
She rushed upstairs in search of the boardroom and all of the requisite items. Where in the name of God was anything?
She’d only twenty minutes max. She could hear Vincent’s booming voice in one office and Georgina talking intensely on her phone downstairs.
Eloise, the shy paralegal, had her door firmly shut.
Before she knew it, four individuals had arrived.
She served them coffee and then showed them upstairs to the boardroom.
That meant there was one person still to come, and she was to let them up as soon as they arrived.
Fine. She went back to checking through a box of documents and marking them off on a list that Georgina had given her – a task which she was finding surprisingly rewarding.
Just then the buzzer sounded, so Ally answered it and went back to her task.
‘Ally?’ A familiar voice cut through her concentration. She looked up to see pale eyes fixed on her.
‘Francis! What are you doing here?’
‘I might ask you the same thing. Have you been stalking me?’
‘If only I’d the energy, Fran.’ She smiled. ‘You’d better go on up, they’re all there. First floor, on the left. I’ll talk to you later.’
Working in this job was giving her a little bit of authority, she noticed.
Also, Francis wasn’t trailing his brand-new plus-one, thank God.
Actually, she could feel her heart beating a little faster.
It felt almost like they were meeting as strangers, dressed professionally, detached and yet . . . It was oddly sexy.
The entire activity of the firm for the next two hours seemed to be focused inside the boardroom and she’d been given nothing to do, which felt like a free period at school. Well, it was Friday afternoon, so she might as well doss. She whipped out her phone and texted Rosemarie:
Never guess who turned up? Francis
Solo?
Totally
Shut up. Did u chat?
Not yet, will tho
Keep me posted
* * *
Ally could hear a hiatus from upstairs after five o’clock, as the group emerged from the meeting room and poured downstairs.
Vincent, with his previous bonhomie, announced that he was off for a jar, and anyone who wanted to talk further could do so in the Horseshoe Bar at the Shelbourne Hotel.
Georgina shook hands with everybody and then wearily went back to her office.
Ally was tidying her work away, so she could leave bang on five thirty, when she heard the familiar voice from behind her. ‘Ally. Hi, still here?’
She turned to find Francis clutching his briefcase. He seemed quite keen to chat.
‘I’m afraid so. What was that all about? Seems very serious. I promise I won’t tell anyone.’
‘Ah . . . All very boring, I’m afraid.’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, it’s a big company merger that we’re handling, so it’s obviously involving contracts, blah-blah, and we’re making sure we’ve all our legal ducks in a row,’ he explained.
‘Wow, that sounds high-level, Fran. I’m really proud of you.’
He nodded. ‘Thanks, Ally, that’s . . . nice to hear you say.’
There was an awkward moment where neither of them knew what to say. It would be either nothing at all or five years’ worth of feelings.
‘I’ve to head off now, but we’ve a few things to finalise next week so . . . Cheers.’
She couldn’t help the wave of melancholy that washed over her as he headed out of the room. There he was, rushing off in his important overcoat to some life that she wasn’t part of anymore.
* * *
‘Ah well, what d’you expect?’ declared Rosemarie on the phone as Ally headed down towards St Stephen’s Green, dodging commuters on the way and surrounded by strings of Christmas lights billowing in the blustery wind.
‘He didn’t even ask why I was there.’
‘’Course he didn’t, he was far too tied up in the big deals. But no mention of the Tadpole? Course not, he’s keeping you separate.’
‘I just feel really deflated, Rosemarie.’
‘Look, today was one of those sit-it-out encounters – nothing happened, but it’s all about setting up the future, you mark my words.’
‘At least Pete won’t be in The Owl’s Nest tomorrow – he’s visiting his mam – so that’s one less stress.’
‘For God’s sake, Ally, lighten up, it’s a café. Dave’ll be able to find a replacement for you – it’s not like you’re walking out halfway through open-heart surgery or something.’
‘I suppose, when you put it like that . . .’
She was right. What would she ever do without Rosemarie?