Alberta Clipper (12 page)

“Eh, yeah, well I was just heading off.  Just checking that everything is going okay for you.”  He glimpsed the meeting room where the three other analysts had resumed their discussion.  The room looked bland and ordinary without her in it.

“Em, yeah, everything is fine.”  She looked a little confused. 

Mark could feel his blood sting his cheeks. 

“We had a long day yesterday,” she continued, “but it’s going well.”  She smiled at him.  She had the most lovely smile.  And lovely teeth.  “I didn’t know you were due over this week?”

“Yeah, well, it was a bit last minute.”  He wondered briefly if she knew what was going on
back at the Dublin trading desk
.  Perhaps Craig had
tol
d
her everything
after he and
Shay
had sat him down on Friday.  It was possible.  “I’m here again for an early meeting
tomorrow morning
, but I’ll fly home tomorrow afternoon.”

“Okay.  Great.  Well, I’d better get back in.  The two boys need a bit of refereeing.  Don’t want to leave Sally all by herself in there.”

“Right.”  Mark thought Sally looked like a girl who could take care of herself.  Standing there, he thought how this was possibly the longest conversation they had ever had alone.  He didn’t want it to end.
  He struggled for something else to say. 
“So are you all out tonight for a bender on the company?”  It was meant as a joke, but he thought he sounded like an officer of the expenses police.  Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice. 

“No.”  She glanced over her shoulder.  “I’m gonna feign a headache or something if they suggest it.  We went out last night,” she lowered her voice.  “Once is enough.  Jan is a bit tough to take after a few beers.”

“Right, right.  Are you staying at the Hilton?”  He knew she would be.  CarltonWachs had a special rate there.  They always used it if an overnight was necessary.

“Yeah.  You?”

“Yeah.”  Two suited men came towards them down the corridor, and they had to stand apart to allow them through.  Neither man acknowledged them.  Mark held his breath.  “Maybe we could meet for a drink later?  That’s if you don’t have a headache, of course.”  He sensed her hesitating, just for a second.  And why wouldn’t she?  Her boss was asking her out for a drink.  Her, to this point, unfriendly, attached boss.  He hoped she would take it as one colleague meeting another for company on an evening in a strange country.  Nothing more.  Anyway, she had a boyfriend, and she couldn’t know about Jenn-

“Sure.  Why not?  Seven-thirty okay?”

“Great.”  Mark said.  “Seven-thirty’s great.” 

She put her hand on the door handle and made to return in.

“So I’ll see you at seven-thirty?”  He needed to be sure.  “
In
the hotel bar?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”  And she went back in, smiling at him through the glass wall as he turned to go. 

Sweet Jesus.  Had he just arranged to meet Christine Grogan for a drink?  Tonight? 

Mark couldn’t quite remember leaving the building, but he recounted many times later how lovely Piccadilly can look in the summer when the sun is shining.

~

As she sat back down at the table in the meeting room, Christine smiled to herself.  Who knew?  Mark Harrington had a personality after all.  And at least she had something else to do on her birthday night than listen to Aki sing karaoke for the twentieth time while Jan tried to feel her up.  Her phone beeped, and she sneaked a look at it, ignoring the glare from Sally who was mid-pontification. 

HPE UR BDAY GOIN WELL.  LOOKIN 4WARD 2 FRI. 
GAVAN
X. 

She read it three times.  She couldn't help it, she felt great.  She had a boyfriend.  She giggled aloud at the thought and looked up to see three faces staring at her. 
Without a word, s
he put her phone on silent and dropped it into her bag.

~

At seven-thirty, Christine walked into the
gaudy hotel bar
, and easily spotted Mark.  The only other people
in the place were a couple seated
, holding hands
in the window.  She had a moment to regard him before he noticed her, and she was a little
thrown
.  It took her a second to realise that she had never seen him out of a suit before.  He seemed to be wearing dark jeans and an expensive looking but casual white shirt
,
in
stark
contrast
to
the lime green and purple velvet theme of the
bar
. 
He looked,
handsome.  As she walked over to where he sat with what looked like a gin and tonic, he
saw her
and smiled. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.  You okay there for the moment?”  She gestured to his glass, and made to go to the
bar
.  Mark stood up, too fast, knocking over th
e low, green
stool he had been sitting on. 

“I'll go
.
”
He
righted the seat and looked at her, flushed from either the exertion or the embarrassment.  “I'm buying.  What would you like?”

Christine thought it best to keep it simple.  He was her boss after all.  They were unlikely to get into a discussion about what your drink choice says about you this evening. 

“Vodka tonic.  Thanks.”

He gave her a thumbs up and went over towards the bar before suddenly stopping and returning to their table.  “Any particular type of vodka?”  He looked sorry he had asked the question as soon as he had uttered the words. 

Christine giggled.  “No.  Just the alcoholic type.  I'm not brand loyal when it comes to my spirits.”

“Of course.  No worries.  One generic vodka tonic coming up.”

As she sat down, Christine went to take her phone out of her bag.  She was hoping
Gavan
would actually call to wish her a happy birthday in person.  But
then
she changed her mind, and dropped her bag at her feet.  Mark came back a moment later with her drink and sat down. 

“Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”  He still looked flushed.  A group of men and women came into the bar chatting and
laughing noisily
, each carrying an identical yellow ring binder
.
“So you managed to shake the others?”

“Well, Sally went home.  I think she needed a night off from us all.  Aki and Jan said they were going into the city for a wander.  Do a bit of sightseeing.  Aki wanted to see Trafalgar Square.”

“Why not.  I suppose pigeons being allowed to crap all over a tourist attraction would be a novelty for them.”

“Yeah,” she laughed.  “But my guess is that they
have gone
looking for more karaoke bars.  They'd exhausted the playlist at the one we were at last night.”

The office crowd were standing a
t the bar, ordering drinks and jok
ing loudly.  Christine
glanced
over her shoulder at them
. 

“It's not the Ritz.”  Mark looked a little concerned. 

“No, no.  It's nice.”  Christine didn't want to appear fussy.  “It's very – colourful.  I haven't been in here before.  If I have to stay over, I usually order room service and watch a movie in my room.  Hanging out in bars on one's own can be a risky business.”  She grinned at him.  “I spent a few weeks in Copenha
gen once with my first job after
college.  I thought I'd have my dinner at the hotel bar one evening, and I -”  She stopped.  Why was she telling him this story?

“Yes?  You what?”  He was grinning expectantly at her. 

“I was…
mistaken for a working girl.”  She could feel her cheeks redden.  “Some old bald guy came over and asked me in Danish if I was free to come up to his room with him.”

“No!”  Mark looked suspiciously like someone who was trying hard not to laugh.

“Yes.”

“You speak Danish?”

“No, but when I told him that, he repeated it in English.”

This time Mark couldn't hold a snigger. 

“So I make it a habit not to sit in hotel bars by myself.”

“Fair enough.”  Mark drained his drink.  “I can't sympathise, I'm afraid.  No one has ever tried to pick me up in a hotel bar.”  He smiled, but the conversation seemed to make him uncomfortable.  “Same again?”

Christine had barely touched hers.  A waitress appeared, and Mark ordered another gin and tonic, but Christine declined.  They sat in silence for a moment.  The music being piped in was slow and jazzy, some girl with a coffee voice singing about lost love.  The bar
was a little livelier
than it had been when she'd arrived, but there was no hiding the feeling that they were in a hotel.  It lacked soul.  Mark checked his phone briefly before putting it back in his jeans pocket. 

“Sorry,” he said.  “Just expecting
Shay
to call.  He's working late.” 

It
seemed to Christine that
he had more to say, but had decided against it. 
She
decided to let her nosiness get the better of her.  They had to talk about something, after all.

“So you were meeting Marcus today?”  She took a sip from her drink, not removing him from her gaze.

“Eh, yeah.”

She said no more.  He could tell her what was going on if he wanted to himself.  She guessed he would feel the need to fill the silence, so she just took another sip and smiled across at him.

“There's been a bit of hassle.”  He looked straight at her.  “Maybe you know?  Craig has been suspended.”

Christine
slamm
ed her glass down on the table in front of her.  “What?  Why?  What the hell?”

“Craig and Mick.  Mick Dolan.  There's an investigation being held into, into some unauthorised deals.  They're suspended with pay until it's completed.”

Christine sat there dumb.  Mick Dolan wasn't a surprise.  She had always thought him creepy.  And not a little sleazy.  She could easily believe him to be a cheat.  But Craig?

“I'm sorry.  I presumed Craig would have told you over the weekend.”  Mark looked genuinely surprised.  “I know you two are close.”

“Not that close,” Christine said quietly, but immediately felt disloyal.  “Craig is a friend, but we don't talk about everything.  At all.”  She tried to choose her words carefully.  “I didn't know anything was going on.  Well, I suspected something when I saw Marcus in the office last week, but Craig said nothing.”  She tried to read the blank expression on Mark's face.  “I'm sorry.  I'm sure this is all a large pain in the ass for you.”  Stupid Craig.  What was he thinking?  She felt very let down.  Then another thought struck her.  “What about
Shay
?  Is he in trouble over this?”
  She shook her head
.  “Idiots.”

Mark shook his head.  “
Shay
is blameless.”  He took another swig from his drink. 

Wow, he can really put them away, Christine thought as she saw he was almost finished his second while she was still sipping her first. 

“But you're right.  They've put him in a very difficult position.  Allegedly,” he added.  “We have to conduct a full investigation yet.”

Christine eyeballed him.  “But Craig admitted
doing something wrong
?”  She knew Craig could be an idiot, well obviously he could be an idiot, but she doubted he would be stupid enough to deny something if he had been found out.  Mark just shrugged his shoulders and crunched some ice from his otherwise empty glass.  They were silent for a moment.

“Look, let's not discuss it anymore.  I'm sure it's awkward for you.  And you've had enough of it all day, I've no doubt.  Let's talk about something else.”

“Thanks.  I appreciate that.  Ready for another?”

Before she could answer, her phone started to ring in her bag.  A second later, Mark's started to ring in his pocket.  They laughed.  He looked at his, and then looked apologetically at Christine.

“
Shay
.”  He motioned to the phone.  She shooed him off, and took the opportunity to look at her own.  The screen read Dad Calling.  Her heart sank, just a little. 

“Hey Dad.”

“Well, how's the birthday girl?  Are you out celebrating?”

“Sort of.”  She lowered her voice and turned in her seat so that there was less chance of Mark over-hearing her.  “I'm just out for a drink with a colleague.  How are things there?”

“All good.  Just ringing to wish you a happy birthday.”  He paused.  “I was up at the grave earlier.”

The phone went quiet.  Christine said nothing. 

“Were you there at the weekend
,
lovie?”