Irresistible Temptation(14)

There was a taut silence, then Jeremy pursed his lips in resignation.

'You're quite right, of course,' he said repentantly. 'I'm sorry,  darling, I've been thinking and acting like a sex-starved lout It's just  that I want you so much, yet I still have to go on waiting. It's like a  life sentence.'

He held out his arms, and Olivia went into them.

'It's frustrating for me too,' she reminded him softly. 'But we do have the rest of our lives to get it right'

'Yes, I know.' His kiss was gentle this time, but brief. 'Now I'd better  go, before Mata Hari pays us another visit' He gave a boyish laugh.  'We'll just have to content ourselves with an old-fashioned  courtship-walks in the park, trips to the zoo - the whole bit.'

'Sounds good to me,' she assured him tenderly.

He lifted her hand to his lips. 'I'll call you,' he said, and left.

Olivia stood for a moment, looking at the closed door and listening to the silence.

It had not been the easiest evening of her life, she acknowledged  ruefully. For a while she'd been shocked- even repelled-by Jeremy's  behaviour. He seemed to have turned into a coarse, unpleasant stranger.

But the present circumstances were difficult for them both, she thought,  as she began the nightly ritual of locking up. And maybe this bad  beginning would have a good ending if it prompted Jeremy to find a fiat  of his own. That would be the answer to everything.

Declan could interfere as much as he chose, she told herself defiantly, but everything was going to be all right. She knew it.



Wednesday began with another busy morning at Personal Property. However,  Olivia came back from her lunch-break to the news that Vicky Sutton  could manage to hobble on her damaged ankle, and would be returning the  following day.

'She thinks the place falls apart without her,' Colin confided with  obvious affection. 'And she could be right' He paused. 'I've told your  agency, and they have another job for you to go to. Call them when you  have a moment'                       
       
           



       

Olivia, whose heart had begun to sink, revived at these words.

Sandra Wilton didn't beat about the bush when she contacted her.

'I'm sending you to Academy Productions tomorrow,' she said. 'We already  have one of our older temps working there, someone who retrained after  having a family, and I think she's struggling a bit'

She paused. 'They've asked for a PA, because theirs is off sick, but I  suspect you'll be answering phones, doing reception, making coffee, and  fetching the sandwiches.'

'Oh,' said Olivia, and Sandra chuckled.

'Not your scene, I know, but the money's good, and they use us  regularly, so something better might come your way if you hang in  there.' She hesitated. 'And I'd be glad if you'd keep an eye on  Barbara-give her back-up if she needs it I think her confidence has  taken a bit of a battering over the past couple of days.'

'What kind of company is it?'

'An independent outfit, making drama and documentaries for the major  television networks. They've won awards, so they're good, and most of  the girls like going there. It's casual dress and plenty of buzz.'

Academy Productions was housed in a small square just off Marylebone,  occupying the first and second floor of a block which had been formed  originally by knocking several old houses together.

The ground floor itself was occupied by an antiques shop, a florist's,  and a second-hand bookshop, and there was a glass door at the side  protected by a buzzer system with the name of the production company  blazoned upon it.

Olivia duly announced herself, and went up a narrow flight of stairs to  yet another door, where a small dark-haired girl was waiting.

'Hi,' she said unsmilingly. 'I'm Carol from Admin and I'm here to show  you round and get you started.' She paused. 'I hope you do better than  your colleague.'

Not a promising start, Olivia reflected, as she obediently hung her jacket on one of the pegs in the women's rest-room.

It was a large open-plan office, well-lit and comfortable with plenty of  greenery around, but, rather than the 'buzz' Sandra had referred to,  there was an atmosphere of tension you could cut with a knife, Olivia  thought as she followed Carol to the front desk, where she'd be starting  the day.

'Do you know how this kind of switchboard works?' Carol asked, and  appeared marginally reassured by Olivia's nod. 'All the extension  numbers are listed here, and if you get into difficulties, scream for  help. Don't pretend you can cope. Mimi, one of our part-timers, will be  in later to give you a hand.

She paused 'We get a lot of calls from wannabes, so anyone who can't  give you a contact name is always shunted to Extension 39 for sorting.  And absolutely everyone who asks for J.L. must be routed through Paula,  his secretary. She knows who he'll want to talk to.'

Olivia made a quick note on the pad in front of her. 'Right'

'The main door is deliveries, which you check on this screen, and  appointments only. You'll find them all listed on the computer.

'And don't worry too much about getting outside numbers for people,'  Carol went on. 'Most of them will ask for a line and make their own  calls.' She frowned. 'Having said that, will you get on to Hogarth  Systems-you'll find their number in the Rolodex-and ask them to send a  technician? I've been calling since I got in and their number seems  permanently engaged.'

She added a wintry smile, and disappeared.

Well, at least she didn't mention making coffee, Olivia thought, as the  telephone began to ring. But if they were all like her, it was no wonder  the place seemed fraught.

She felt absurdly nervous, as if everyone was expecting her to fail, but  there were no glitches. Whenever she was free, she dialled the number  that Carol had requested, but when she eventually got through she found  she was connected to an answering machine. She left the company name and  number and asked them to make contact urgently.

Mimi arrived at ten-thirty, a tall slim girl with skin like ebony. She  wore her hair in dozens of tiny beaded braids, and her skirt skimmed her  thighs.

'I'll cover for you,' she said. 'Did Caring Carol show you where to take  a break? No? What a bloody surprise.' She pointed. 'Go to the end of  that aisle, and there's a door on the left. That's the kitchen. There's  coffee, tea, soft drinks in the fridge. Help yourself, and can you bring  me a coffee back-white no sugar?

'Thanks.' Olivia hesitated. 'There's another girl from the agency here.  Do you know where she works so I can say hello? Her name's Barbara.'

Mimi pulled a face. 'You might find her in the kitchen, weeping into a  hot chocolate, or in the restroom using up a week's supply of tissues.  She's not flavour of the month just now.'

'What did she do?'

Mimi rolled expressive eyes to heaven. 'Oh, not much. Just lost two  draft scripts and the notes for an entire series last night She was  supposed to be using Scriptec, and she's only learned Word for  Windows-result, disaster. Now someone's had to explain to one of our  star performers that several weeks' work has gone down the tubes and he  has to start all over again.' She shook her head 'I don't think he'll be  pleased.'                       
       
           



       

'My God,' said Olivia.

Barbara was indeed in the kitchen, a pleasant-faced woman in her early  forties, clutching a mug of cold tea as if it was her sole hold on  reality.

Olivia checked in the doorway. 'Hi,' she said. 'I work for Service Group too. Is there anything I can do to help?'

The other shook her head. 'It's too late for that I feel terrible. This  is my first job, and I did so want it to go well.' There was a little  sob in her voice.

Olivia came to sit opposite her at the table. 'Perhaps it isn't as bad as you think.'

'Not as bad?' Barbara stared at her tragically. 'Do you know what I did?  I was given this disk, and told to download it on to another master  disk. They asked if I knew how, and I said yes, because it never  occurred to me that Scriptec was that different. I thought I'd be able  to work it out But I couldn't, and I started to panic, and I ended up  wiping both of them.'

A tear trickled down her face. 'And now they'll tell the agency, and  Sandra will probably sack me, and I'll have to go home and tell them all  that I've failed.'

'Don't get upset,' Olivia said gently.

'I can't help it You see, I was really thrilled to be working on this  project, because the man fronting it is one of my favourites. He's a  real professional. I watch all his programmes, but Derek, my husband,  has never been keen. He's always said that he reckoned he could be  really nasty-and that he wouldn't like to cross Mm. And now I have,' she  added on a little wail.

'Not necessarily,' Olivia said patiently. 'Do you know how genuinely hard it is to lose things permanently inside a computer?'

'And besides,' she went on, warming to her theme, 'it's partly his own  fault. If he was a real professional he'd keep back-up disks, and if he  hasn't he's an incompetent idiot'