Page 28 of An Ill Wind in Seabury
‘I bet Lionel could fit you in…’ said George, barely daring to hope that he might be able to persuade her.
‘I…’ she blew out a heavy breath. ‘I don’t think I can justify it. I’ve already got to cough up extra for the train ticket back because I’ve abandoned that stupid car.’
‘I have a plan,’ said George, sitting forward in excitement. He did his best to ignore the fact that his heart was pounding as if he was about to leap from a great height. ‘Why don’t you stay at my place?’
‘I… I couldn’t,’ said Claudia.
George grinned at her because her words were saying one thing, but her sparkling eyes were saying the complete opposite.
‘Why not?!’ he said, raising an eyebrow. ‘I’ve got a spare room, I’m housetrained, you already know me… and if you stay until the weekend, I can drive you back home on my day off.’
‘That’s incredibly kind of you,’ said Claudia slowly. ‘But… it would be completely mad…’
‘Itwouldbe completely mad,’ said George with a grin. ‘But then, you alwayswerecompletely mad. It’s one of the things I liked best about you.’
‘Liked?’ said Claudia, raising an eyebrow.
‘Like,’ said George. ‘Definitely like. Present tense.’
‘Good,’ said Claudia. ‘Because I’m pretty sure I like you too. Present tense. But… would you mind if I sleep on it and let you know tomorrow?’
‘Course not!’ said George, raising his beer again. ‘Here’s to figuring things out as we go along.’
CHAPTER 11
GEORGE
George practically bounced into the reception of Graphika. The design agency was the last stop of his morning round… which he had to admit, he’d never completed so quickly.
Gone were the leisurely chats, the cups of tea here and the admiring of gardens there. This morning had been all business… because Claudia would be waiting for him when he got back into town, and he didn’t want to miss a moment of her company.
‘Morning, George,’ said Lilly.
George grinned at the receptionist as he bounded towards the front desk. ‘Hey, what’s up?’ Lilly’s usually cheerful face was grey and worried.
She shrugged and glanced around, clearly checking she wasn’t about to be overheard by one of the bosses. ‘Bit of a disaster, if I’m honest. You know that new hotshot they hired? Dan?’
George nodded.
‘Well, he’s been pinched by a big company up in Bath.’
‘Oh,’ said George. ‘Well, that’s bad luck.’
‘Bit worse than that,’ said Lilly, glancing over her shoulder again and dropping her voice to a whisper. ‘He was heading upone of our biggest projects. There’s just three weeks left to get it to the client.’
‘But, surely he’ll get it sorted before he’s worked out his notice?’ said George.
‘Notice?!’ hissed Lilly. ‘He got the offer yesterday afternoon. We came in this morning, and his desk had already been cleared. All he left behind was his laptop, company phone, and a note to say he was gone with immediate effect.’
‘That’s bad!’ said George.
‘Andthat’san understatement,’ said Lilly. ‘Greg’s running around looking like he’s about to have a fit.’
‘I bet he is,’ said George. ‘Can’t one of the others take it on?’
‘Notthislast minute,’ said Lilly. ‘Everyone’s up to their eyeballs as it is, and any freelancers worth their weight are all booked up months in advance.’
‘I wish there was something I could do to help,’ said George.
