The I.T. Girl (19 page)

We continued into the park and came to an empty bench. Sam stretched
out his arms over the back and I sat against him. The green before us slopped down
towards a row of trees, sheltering a path along the periphery. A jogger followed
the path. From somewhere out of sight, skateboarders were making smacking and skidding
sounds.

‘So, I fixed the bug in Cameron’s code. You
know,
the one that caused the crash?’ I said. ‘Did you know about
it?’

‘Know about what?’

‘Know that there was a bug in his code. Before it went live?’

‘Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t.’

‘Okay. I’ll ask you that again sometime.’ I rubbed my hand on
his thigh.

‘I think I’m a bit drunk after that wine,’ he said.

‘Do you have anything you have to do later on?’

‘No.’

‘Maybe we can do something together?’

‘Maybe go for food or something.’

‘Or, maybe we could stay in and cook dinner together,’ I said.
‘You
know,
individual meals at the same time, or something
like that?’

‘I
donno
.’
He sucked air through his teeth. ‘Isn’t that against our rules,
Orla
?’

‘You know what, Sam? You’ve just got to let go of the rules.’

If you enjoyed
The
I.T. Girl
you may be interest in
Yes
Chef, No Chef
by Susan Willis, also published by Endeavour Press.

Extract from Yes
Chef, No Chef by Susan Willis

Chapter One

Katie looked at her new black
cocktail dress hanging on the wardrobe door and shivered with excitement - she
couldn’t wait for the party tonight at The Savoy. It seemed forever since she’d
spent any quality time with Tim and hugging herself with anticipation she did a
little pirouette to reach the stool in front of her dressing table. Dreamily
she thought of how the champagne would flow and how they’d dance the night away
wrapped in each other’s arms - surely this would help to get them back on
track, she mused, glancing at the bedside clock and praying he wasn’t going to
be too late.

Her mobile rang and when she saw his
name on the screen she snatched it up. “Where are you?”

With a note of wariness in his voice,
he said, “I’m still at the restaurant.”
 

 
“But you rang at five o’clock to say you were
on your way, and the taxi will be here soon.” Katie exclaimed.

Tim sighed with exasperation as
though he was talking to a child, “I know, darling, and I’m so sorry but Jim
phoned in sick at the last minute and I’m going to have to stay and cover
service for him, and…”

“What!” she yelled into the mobile,
imagining him holding it away from his ear and pursing his lips with
irritation. She could hear the clatter of pans from the kitchen and an electric
whisk whirling, and then a girl’s voice calling for him which made her want to
scream in frustration. “Shit, you can’t do this, Tim. Not tonight of all
nights?”

“Look, Kate, I can’t just leave the
restaurant without a chef on duty. It’s my responsibility, you know that.
You’ll be fine with all your work mates and friends,” he cajoled, “I know you’ll
have a great time.”

But the hurt and disappointment was
raging though her and losing her usual control she snapped, “But it’s my big
night and you promised me nothing would stop you from being there. I mean, it’s
The Savoy and the tickets cost a fortune, and I have my new black cocktail
dress…” she tailed off seething inside.

“Bloody hell, Kate, I’ve more things
on my mind than new dresses,” he shouted, “I’ll give you the money for the damn
tickets!”

Tears of dismay were pricking at the
back of her eyes. She couldn’t believe he wasn’t coming and letting her down
again.

“Look, I’ll make it up to you later,”
he crooned. “And keep your new dress on so I can see it when I get home.”

Her mouth was dry with anxiety and
she only managed to click her tongue in amazement at his patronising tone.

The noise from the kitchen faded and
he said softly, “Oh, come-on, you’ll still enjoy yourself. Just make an excuse
about work pressures for me and then give them my apologies.”

You can grovel as much as you want,
she thought lifting her chin in defiance, but you’re not getting the upper
hand. She managed to clear her throat and speak in a calm but detached voice.
“I’m sick to death of making excuses for you, Tim,” she said clicking her
mobile off.

Her hand trembled while she poured
herself a glass of wine. How could he, she raged, he’d actually gone back on
his word again. The night had been planned for months and it was supposed to be
her chance to impress the new management bosses from the company - everyone was
making a special effort to attend the party to launch the new advertising
campaign. Well, everyone except Tim of course. She’d imagined herself in the
classy cocktail dress walking serenely with her arm through his, chatting
confidently and making polite conversation whilst sipping champagne.

But now she’d have to walk around on
her own, she seethed and glared at his happy smiling face in the framed
photograph on her dressing table. ‘You knew how important this night was to
me,’ she hissed and slammed the photograph face down. She took another mouthful
of wine for Dutch courage and felt a surge of determination sweep through her -
she wasn’t going to let him ruin her night, by God, she wasn’t, she’d go to the
party on her own and shine like she’d never shone before.

 
Looking into the mirror she swept blusher
majestically across her cheeks and admired the hairdresser’s handy-work with
her usual brown mousey hair. The cut was excellent making the long bob swing
effortlessly when she moved her head from side-to-side and the vibrant dark
brown colour emphasised her hazel eyes. With a final nod of satisfaction she
decided her make-up was as good as she was going to get it and swivelled around
on the stool to look at the dress, remembering the day she’d bought it with her
friend, Lisa.

They’d been in Selfridges at the end
of an exhausting four hour shopping trip and just when she was about to give up
she’d spotted it. Plain black crepe in a sleeveless classic style, the dress
fitted her figure perfectly from the moment she slipped it over her head and
wriggled it down over her slim hips.

“Even the two inch length above my
knee is perfect for me,” she’d said to Lisa who’d nodded in agreement.

“It’s just right,
hon
,”
Lisa had said, “Because although you want to show off those lovely slim, tanned
legs you don’t want to look like a slapper in a mini dress. Yep, it’s simple,
yet chic, and just the thing to impress the bosses.”

Katie had hugged her in thanks and
then later when her other close friend, Sarah, joined them she had loaned her a
fine string of pearls and pearl stud ear rings which complemented the outfit
perfectly.

Picking her mobile up she pressed
Lisa’s number.

“Hey, there,” Lisa said. “How’s the
dress look?”

Katie moaned and told her what had
happened, and then held the mobile at a distance ready for the blast of
derisory comments.

“The bastard!” Lisa fumed. “What the
hell is going on with this guy?”

In the past she would have defended
Tim to the end of her days but now she simply couldn’t find the strength
anymore. “I don’t know,” she said. “Within the last two months alone he’s
missed his parent’s silver wedding, my cousins’ engagement, and Sarah’s
thirtieth birthday party, and that’s without arrangements to meet after work to
see a film or go to the quiz nights at the pub.”

She could hear the pathetic whine in
her voice and struggled to keep the lump in the back of her throat down. She
pleaded, “What am I going to do, Lisa?”

Lisa’s voice changed instantly as she
went into full support mode. “OK. At the moment you’ll do nothing. You’re going
to get to that party and knock the socks off them. And then on Saturday we’ll
meet with Sarah for lunch and talk it through together and try to sort this
crap out.”

Katie swallowed hard and took a deep
breath. “You, know, I could kill him for doing this to me at such short notice,
Lisa, and what makes it worse is that if I’d known he wasn’t coming earlier,
either you or Sarah could have come instead of wasting £150 for the
ticket.”
 

Lisa giggled. “Oh, sweetheart, I
would have done but I have a hot date with this gorgeous guy who’s just
to-die-for…”

Katie smiled. “And Sarah is out with
Mark, too,” she said. “So, I’ll just have to go to the ball like Cinderella and
make the best of it.”

“Tsk,” Lisa
tutted
.
“But you don’t need him. I’ll admit he would have been an asset to have by your
side because he is so passionate about food and it does make him charming to
talk to but you’ll be fine on your own, won’t you?”

Katie took another deep breath and
reassured with Lisa’s support she agreed she’d be OK with as much conviction as
she could muster.

“Of course, you will,” Lisa replied
firmly, “I mean, you’ve slogged for eight years since you joined the company as
a junior and now look at you, a fantastic team leader ready to step up to the
project manager’s position. You can do this job standing on your head and as
for selling yourself, well…”

Katie grinned at her friend’s
confidence in her. Lisa Harding worked in PR and everyone they knew reckoned
she was the best at what she did. Lack of confidence wasn’t even on Lisa’s
radar and if anyone knew how to pitch themselves it was her. Katie wished her
luck with the new guy and then listened to another round of instructions:
shoulders back, smile on your face, and knock ‘
em
dead.

Draining her glass of wine she
thought fondly of Lisa who had the knack of turning a bad situation around so
that you always came away feeling better, and then realising the taxi was due
she slipped the dress on. She smoothed her hands over her hips and for a moment
saw herself how she hoped Tim would have seen her, generous breasts with a tiny
waist and slim shapely legs. But sadly that wasn’t going to happen tonight. A
sudden idea of charging into the restaurant’s kitchen and showing him exactly
what he was missing and then throwing his tuxedo at him or into a pan of
boiling soup flashed into her mind, but this would only make her look foolish.
Grinning with the thought of how much it would embarrass him though she grabbed
her clutch bag, pushed her feet into black patent heels and ran out of the
apartment.
  

Daylight was fading and the bright
street lights heralded the start of London’s busy night-life as the taxi
manoeuvred its way along the Strand. Throngs of people spilled out of
restaurants and hotels onto the pavements as the juggling mixture of buses,
cars, and bicycles fought their way into positions. The window of the taxi was
pulled half-way down and the noise of people laughing and shouting filled
Katie’s quiet space while she shuffled trying to pull her dress further down
because her legs were sticking to the plastic cover on the seat. She thought of
how much Tim would have enjoyed the buzz and laid her hand on the empty space
on the seat – she missed him being next to her.

What was she going to do about their
relationship? She groaned silently, it was petering-out fast and she didn’t
know how to get it back on track. They’d been so happy living together in the
apartment for nearly fourteen months now, or at least she had. But, maybe he
wasn’t and wanted something more or someone else? Shaking the bad vibes from
her mind she promised herself she wouldn’t think of it again until she got
home.

The party was held in The Lancaster
Room at the Savoy and Katie marvelled at the interior. The website had
described it’s décor as ‘sparkling with timeless elegance and glamour’ and when
she walked into the room she decided they had it in a nutshell. Although it was
a large room with high ceilings, it was warm and she gazed upwards at the
glittering lights from four huge chandeliers while listening to the quiet soft
notes of Gershwin’s music. It was the ideal choice for the party because it had
a clear floor space for dancing and even a small stage where the chief
executive would make his speech to open the new advertising campaign. She
walked through the room from the tall white Art Deco doors and spotted her two
junior technologists, Harry and Alice who were looking at the seating plan
pinned to a clip board and she called out a greeting.

Alice smiled sheepishly at her with
excited bright eyes. “Is my dress OK?” she asked Katie nervously.

Katie knew this was Alice’s first big
function with the company and was determined to enjoy herself but at the same
time didn’t want to let the department down in any way.

“It’s perfect, Alice,” she said
hugging her warmly.

Harry stepped forward and kissed
Katie’s cheek. “And will I do?” he asked her, grinning broadly in his black
tuxedo and freshly gel-spiked hair. He was only twenty one and fresh out of
University but she loved his open, sincere personality and eagerness to learn.

“It’ll do very nicely,” she said
beaming back at him.