He spluttered. ‘How dare you?’
‘What are you going to do? Sack me?’ She smiled.
‘I’ve a good mind to, yes.’
‘Fine.’ She reached for her coat and her bag.
‘No, no, don’t go.’ He barred her exit. ‘At least, if you go now, you won’t get a reference and you’ll need that for your new job, won’t you?’
‘Yes, I will. But I’m sure you’ll give me a good reference. Well, at least an accurate one, which amounts to the same thing.’
‘And what makes you so sure of that?’ He seemed confident he had the upper hand.
‘Because you wouldn’t want Jemima to find out about our conversation yesterday morning.’
‘What conversation?’
She laughed. ‘Oh, Mark, you must remember — the one where you said that you’d rather be with me than her, but you had to let her down gently because she’s so fragile.’
He paused for a moment. ‘And why would she believe you?’
‘Because I’m pretty sure they’re the same lines you used on her when you were seeing me. And when I quote you word for word, I think she’ll recognise them and know I’m telling the truth.’
When his face paled, she knew she’d hit the bullseye. Mark was far too lazy to be original. She almost laughed out loud, but stopped herself just in time.
‘Fine, I’ll give you a reference, but only if you work your full four weeks’ notice.’
‘I’ve given you four weeks.’
‘No, you’ve only given me two.’
‘The last two weeks I’m taking as the holiday you owe me, so you don’t need to pay me for that.’
‘But two weeks isn’t long enough to find a replacement.’
She forced herself not to smile. ‘Then maybe Jemima can help out? She was given the job to learn the ropes and she’s been here long enough. It should be easy enough for her to fill in for a lowly receptionist until you find a replacement.’
Mark moved towards the reception desk and looked down at her. Softly he said, ‘Anna, you know you’re more than just a receptionist. You’re very much more than that.’
‘Everyone is replaceable,’ she answered coolly, delighted for once that his puppy-dog eyes and cajoling compliments didn’t move her one little bit.
‘Morning, everyone.’ Jemima breezed into reception and then stopped in her tracks. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?’
‘Not at all,’ Mark said, pulling himself together. ‘Anna here has just handed in her notice. I was trying to persuade her to stay but she’s obviously impervious to my charms.’
‘Oh, you’re not going, are you?’ Jemima asked, barely able to keep the glee out of her voice. ‘Where to?’
It was then Anna realised Mark hadn’t even bothered to ask her where she was going.
‘I’ve got a job as an assistant to a photographer.’
Mark scoffed. ‘You and your photography. You were always more interested in that than real art.’
‘Who’s the photographer? Anyone we might know?’ Jemima asked.
‘You might, yes.’ Anna paused. ‘I’m going to work for Daniel Redfern.’
‘TheDaniel Redfern?’ Jemima asked, her eyes wide.
