Page 49 of Strictly Business

‘Yeah, so did I.’

It was the end of Alice’s first day of self-imposed exile and she was so pleased that Mary-Ann had called in on the way home from work.

‘Oh, my God, Alice, what a shock for you.’

Alice had to laugh at the totally gob-smacked way her friend stared at her as they carried their mugs out to the back deck.

‘Watch out. You’re about to walk into the door post,’ Alice warned her.

‘Woops.’ Mary-Ann set her mug on the table and let out an amazed breath as she sank into a wicker chair. ‘A baby! Wow! That’s so amazing.’ She fanned her face with her hand. ‘Woo! It’s taking me a minute or two to adjust – you and the boss. Oh, boy.’

‘Yes, I know. That’s exactly why I’ve decided to work from home. Can you imagine what it would be like if I was there in the office growing more and more pregnant with the boss’s baby?’

‘It would be kinda weird for him, too, when he’s just arrived and trying to establish himself,’ Mary-Ann admitted. ‘Thank God he’s not married after all, Alice.’

‘Yes,’ Alice agreed fervently.

‘So... how’s he taking this?’

‘Oh, he’s adjusted to the shock quite well really.’ Mary-Ann was a good friend, but Alice didn’t want to go into too much detail. There was always a risk that something could slip out and her comments could get back to Liam via the staff gossip chain.

‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’ll get married?’

‘Not in the foreseeable future.’ Alice stalled further discussion of that by posing a question of her own. ‘Have I caused much of a stir in the office?’

‘Oh, about 8 on the Richter Scale. Dennis was so worked up about you he went and confronted the boss.’

‘Good grief.’ Alice tried to picture that volatile scenario and gave up. ‘What happened?’

‘Actually, you won’t believe it. Liam Conway’s a Mystery Man all right. Just when we thought we had him worked out he surprised us again.’

‘What do you mean?’ Alice hoped she didn’t sound too anxious. Mysteries surrounding Liam were her biggest stumbling block.

‘Well...’ Mary-Ann nursed her coffee mug between two hands as she warmed to her story. ‘This afternoon we were all lined up for the big sermon about the future direction of the company and our job prospects and so on, and the first thing the boss did was single out Dennis.’

‘Ouch. He shouldn’t have gone into bat for me. I hope that wasn’t the end of him?’

‘No. This is what takes the cake. First, Liam gave Dennis a short, but pretty fair assessment of his shortcomings. You know – a bit aggressive, can be over-pedantic, prone to conspiracy theories. And just when we all thought Dennis was going to pack up and walk out, the boss said that Dennis’s strength was that he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind if it was in the best interests of the company.’

Mary-Ann paused dramatically and took a sip of her coffee.

‘And?’ prompted Alice. ‘For heaven’s sake, tell me what happened.’

‘Liam promoted him.’

Alice almost dropped her mug. ‘Wow.’

‘Liam’s sending him off on special courses in risk management and Dennis is going to be a sort of company guard dog, dealing with things like – you know – operators who might be taking short-cuts with safety for our clients.’

‘But that’s a great idea. Dennis would be perfect.’

‘I know. It was a brilliant stroke. Dennis can’t wipe the grin off his face.’

Well done, Liam, Alice thought with a hint of undeserved pride. As she set down her mug, she asked, ‘What about you and Shana? Any dramas there?’

‘No.’ Mary-Ann said this just a little too quickly. ‘Actually, I don’t really want to worry you, but Shana’s making a bit of a fool of herself.’

Alice drew a deep breath. ‘How?’

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