The Bedroom Assignment

Molly grinned.

Zoe winced inwardly. There were plenty of people ready to say that she went through men quite as fast as Molly could.

‘Is that what Banana did?’

‘Don’t know what she did,’ said Molly. ‘Though, knowing her, it probably involved taking her clothes off. I mean we all let our hormones ride us sometimes, but Banana’s galloped.’

Zoe winced again. And hid it, as she always did.

Here we go again. Another bunch of nice women who are going to rub my nose in it every time I turn round. Am I really the last virgin in captivity?

‘Still, she wasn’t subtle, but I gather she was effective. Until Jay, of course.’

‘Poor Banana,’ said gentle Abby.

Molly snorted. ‘It’s amazing he put up with her this long. She’s been all over him since the Christmas party.’

Abby looked horrified suddenly. ‘Oh, no! The party!’

‘What?’

But their coffee arrived, along with a basket of mouth- watering pastries. By the time they had chosen, and tasted, and pronounced, Abby was easily able to change the subject. And she was desperate to do just that, Zoe saw. She wondered why. Molly and Abby seemed such friends!

Still, people were not necessarily all that they seemed. Self-effacing Abby turned out to be the woman the popular press called Fab Ab. She was married to an international tennis star turned businessman. Even Zoe, not a reader of the gossip columns, had heard of her. Maybe friendship was different in celebrity circles, thought Zoe, going quiet.

She did not have long to nurse her doubts. Abby cornered her in the luxurious ladies’ restroom less than an hour later.

‘Molly’s getting married next month. Jay wants C&C to give her a surprise party. I just remembered it when we were having coffee. Trouble is—Banana was supposed to organise it.’

‘Ah,’ said Zoe, relieved that she had not misjudged Abby after all.

‘If Jay’s sacked her, I’ll have to find out how far she’s got and run with it.’

‘Do you want me to have a trawl through her desk and see if she’s left any notes?’ Zoe offered. ‘I’ve inherited her other files, after all.’

‘Would you? That would be such a help. Molly’s bound to get suspicious if she sees me rummaging through Banana’s desk.’

‘Sure thing. No problem.

Zoe took the desk drawers apart. There were notes. They showed that Banana had done precisely nothing except get a budget out of Jay Christopher and ring round a few restaurants. It was a generous budget, Zoe saw. You might not be allowed to fall in love with him, but he was lavish when he celebrated your falling in love with someone else. But there was still nowhere booked to hold the party.

‘Help!’ squeaked Abby, when she told her.

‘Do you want me to do it?’

Abby was doubtful. ‘You’ve only just got here.’

‘I can handle it,’ said Zoe with conviction. ‘It will be a nice change from sorting and filing.’

‘Then thank you,’ said Abby with real gratitude. ‘I’ll give you the address list.’

Jay wandered through the open plan office around four. There was a comfortable buzz of activity. When he walked in, it neither revved up nor fell to ostentatious concentration. Jay noticed that with approval.

‘Well?’ he said, pausing by Tom Skellern’s desk.

Tom was on the telephone to a City editor on behalf of a new client fighting off a takeover. He raised his thumb to Jay and continued with the conversation.

Jay turned to the next desk. ‘Molly?’

‘If you’re asking about Zoe Brown, she’ll be okay,’ said Molly crisply. ‘Abby will look after her. She’s a nurturer.’

He pursed his lips. ‘You think Zoe Brown needs looking after? I’d have said that she was more than capable of taking care of herself.’

‘Now we’ve found her a computer and somewhere to sit, she probably is,’ Molly said dryly. ‘It would have helped if we’d known she was coming.’

‘But we’re supposed to be good at handling the unexpected, Molly. That’s what public relations is all about,’ he told her blandly.

‘Ho, yus?’ said Molly, roused. ‘Well, you really got the gold medal for the way you handled Banana, didn’t you?’