Glass Ceilings (28 page)

No point
thinking like that.
W
hen
I
did
have
someone
,
he was no help in that regard
anyway
...
and now
I’m
on
my o
wn, and happier for it. D
welling on
what could’ve been never helps
anyone.

Ev
entually realising
she’d read the same paragraph three times and sti
ll
hadn’t taken it in
, Verity
gave up
trying
and prepared for bed. A soak in a perfume
-
oiled bath helped
her
relax
. She
stepped out
and dried herself
with a fluffy bath sheet
, before pulling on her soft cotton pyjamas. Sh
e padded over to the bed and stretched
out
on it
, looking through the sheer curtain
s
at the m
oonlight on the ocean.
The curtains twitched as a sea breeze wafted
throu
gh t
he bedroom, caressing her with gentle fingers of air
as
it passed.
The bedclothes
surrounding her
smelled
comfortingly of baby powder, soap, and sleep.
Outside, the only sound was
the ebb and flow of
waves
against the sand
.

All very soothing,
and she
sighed, thinking
once more how fortunate she was to be
living in such a lovely place
. B
ut her mind stayed
stubbornly active
for ages.
After
tossing and turning
,
going over and over the
same
point
s
, she
finally
fell
into a disturbed
sleep
,
with the unwelcome image of Royce James’
face before her eyes
.

* * *

I
n her office early the next morning, Verity looked up a
t
the sound of a knock
,
and saw
Kerry and Roger
stan
d
ing
in the doorway. Kerry
wore a
defiant expression
border
ing
on insolence
, in
contrast
to
the shame and embarrassment
on th
e face of her partner-in-crime.
Verity felt a
pprehension
pricklin
g
in her stomach
and took a calming breath before
speaking.

‘Come in.’

As they entered the room
,
she rose to meet them, saying
crisply, ‘No need to sit down, this will only take a moment.’
She
stood in front of them,
star
ing
hard
at each
in turn.
‘Neither of you is an idiot, although you seem inclined to prove
otherwise
with your
recent behaviour. I assume you’
re both aware that what you did yesterday is cause for disciplinary action?’

She was met with sullen silence
,
so
she
continued
, ‘I also assume you were bo
th consenting parties to this,
liaison
?’ The emphasis on the last word made the other two shift uncomfortably.

‘Of course
!’
Kerry
exclaimed
.

Verity turned her gaze directly on the young engineer. ‘Roger?’

Kerry sucked air
through her teeth
, making a hissing sound
.
‘I was answering for
us
both
.’

‘
I can speak for myself,
’
Roger
blurted
, before addressing Verity, ‘and yes
, I was a ...
consenting party
.
’
He
cast a narrow-eyed glance
at Kerry before returning
his gaze to the floor.

‘And you both understand that
behaviour like that
on company premises and during company time will
not
be tolerated.’

‘Look, you don’t have to read us our rights.
’ Kerry
had been biting her tongue, but
could remain silent no longer. ‘
We know the c
ompany policies better
than you do.
And
,
’ she snarled,
‘
how dare you stand in jud
gement over our private affairs?
’

Kerry had
been thinking desperate t
houghts ever since being
discovered in a compromising situation
by
her boss, of
all
people
.
What action would Verity take, and h
ow should she, Kerry,
handle it?
Act
remorseful
,
or take the offensive
? Would
Jim find out
about it
and maybe
her
other ‘activities’ as well? Would
Royce hear
of
it? No doubt Ver
ity would make sure he did
.
Anger an
d hatred
welled inside her and she
chose
to come out on the
offensive
.

But if Kerry thought she could
bluster
her way out, Verity’s next words
, spoken calmly
but firmly
,
waylaid that approach
.
‘I have no interest whatsoever in your private affairs
,
Kerry. What you do in your own time and away from site is entirely your business. However, what you do in work time and on RCL property is
very much
my business.’

A point I should have made to Royce before he
went overseas, and over my head.
Verity frowned
. Hey, whe
re did that come from? I shouldn’t be thinking about
Royce now.

She gave herself a mental shake before continuing,
‘
As staff members, you
are expected to conduct yourselves in a professional manner at all times at work
, or when representing the company
. You
,
’ and she looked directly at Kerry,
‘
of all people
,
should realise that by your choice of time and place for this
... ahem ...
episode, you have made it my concern.
’

Verity
regard
ed
them both. She
could read
remorse in
Roger’s
body
language
, but
Kerry’s
held
only belligerence
, so she said
pointedly, ‘You need to comprehend the gravity of your situation, so I’ll be perfectly clear. Y
our behaviou
r is
grounds for dismissal
.
’

Roger’s head jerked up,
his
eyes
wide with apprehension,
while Kerry grew very still and sucked in
her lips. They waited on tenter
hooks for Verity’s next words.

‘
But in this case
I’
ve decided against tha
t particular course of action
, for a number of reasons.
However, a
report on this incident will be noted in your personnel files
.
’

Relief flooded into the young man’s face, and
Verity could
see traces
of triumph
under Kerry’s
resentful scowl
.

A
ccentuating every word
, she
continued
,
‘But
if I hear any reports, no matter how casual, of this sort of behaviour happening on site during work hours again,
I
will
take the necessary action
.
Consider this your first and final warning.
Do I make myself clear?’

At their nods
,
Ver
ity dismissed them with, ‘
Do
not
embarrass yourselves, or me, like this again.
Now get
back to work and think this over carefully.
And Kerry,
in future I want to
know whenever you’re going to be away from your desk, unless on
a scheduled break. I’ll
speak to you again later
.
’

Verity
turned away, not for the first time regretting her decision to keep Kerry as her PA, instead of
following her instinct and
replacing her
with Claire
. B
ut that would
have
look
ed
like favouritism,
so for the time being she ha
d to maintain the status quo.

Kerry barely glanced at Roger as she flounced
out of
Verity’s office
and over to her desk
.
Once out of Verity’s hearing,
Roger
drew close and said
sarcastically
, ‘Thanks a
lot
,
Kerry
. What happened to “No-on
e will every find out, Roger”?’ When she remained
silent,
he grabbed
her arm, growling
, ‘
I really needed
this right now.
N
ot
.’

‘
Look
....
’
Kerry
gave a violent shrug to dislodge his hand
and
thrust her
fa
ce
towards him.
‘
What
makes you think I
care about that
, or
you
? Just d
o us both a favour and
go back to your little cubicle in the “sheltered workshop”, you big wuss.’ Her lips curled over her teeth
as she snarled,
‘
As far as I’m conce
rned, you’re just another
good-f
or-nothing, gutless engineer
. So
get out
and stop wasting my time.
’

Roger
stopped in his tracks to stare
incredulously at her
, as though asking himself what he ever saw in her
. Drawing himself to his full height
,
he
cast
a final
thunderous
look
her way
,
before turning and striding
out
without a backward glance.

Kerry th
rew herself into her
chair
, dismissin
g him from her mind, and turned
her thoughts to the scene in Verity’s office.

How dare she t
alk to
me like that?
And in front of that imbecil
e!
I’m
her
professional associate
, I deserve better than that
.

She raked red-tipped
fingers through her hair.

That cow. Thinks she’s so high and mighty, untouchable. Well, we’ll see about t
hat.
Treat me like a piece of dirt, will she?
Must be time to throw some more
mud
her way....