This was Gabriel at his most coldly sarcastic. It was the voice he saved for when he was well and truly disgusted. He had not scaled the heights by being kind, considerate and retiring. Yes, he was charming and witty and could promote the illusion of being absolutely relaxed, but beneath the velvet glove was the steel hand.
‘Well, Gabriel, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. If you like, I can see whether Emily’s free and doesn’t mind working late this evening.’
‘I have a better idea. Why don’t you just cancel whatever it is you were doing? If you were going out with your girlfriends, tell them, from me, that I’ll treat them to an evening out next week, wherever they want to go, no expense spared. Call it compensation for putting you out.’
‘I’m not going out with my girlfriends,’ Rose said eventually. She could almost see his ears prick up.
‘No?’
‘No.’
‘Then what’s so important that you can’t cancel…?’
‘Really, Gabriel, it’s none of your business.’ But he would make it his business. She knew that. And she didn’t know why she was bothering to resist. It wasn’t as though she was hiding some shameful secret.
‘I think I deserve a decent excuse…’
‘I’m going out on a date, if you must know. To the theatre, actually. To see Les Miserables. I’ve wanted to see that for ages. The tickets are all booked and, really, I have just enough time to make it to the theatre. Then Joe and I are going go have a quick bite afterwards. So you see there’s no chance I can stay late. I’m sorry.’
‘The theatre? Joe? Who the hell is Joe? A quick bite?’
‘I have to go or I’ll be late.’
‘Who is this Joe character?’
‘Have a good weekend and I shall see you on Monday, Gabriel!’ With which, Rose fled. Not ostensibly. Not to the extent that she was working up a sweat, but moving quickly enough to put a stop to Gabriel’s barrage of questions.
She only breathed a sigh of relief when she was in the taxi and speeding to the theatre, and really, really, only relaxed when she was delivered to the theatre and spotted Joe waving at her through the milling crowds.
This was going to be their first date and Rose teetered between anticipation and apprehension. After all, she didn’t know him that well. They had met only a couple of weeks previously, a case of pure coincidence. Rose had gone to see one of the colleges on her list and, having set off in anxious pursuit of the business studies department, had ended up in completely the wrong area and knocking on completely the wrong door.
Fortunately for her, Joe had answered it and he had been so nice and so helpful that Rose had found herself opening up to him and confessing her complete ignorance of the further education system, not to mention her utter confusion at finding herself surrounded by so many students, carrying files and laptops, listening to their iPods and generally making her feel like someone from another era.
She had made sure to go to the college dressed in jeans and trainers, in an attempt to blend in, but even her jeans and trainers seemed to be of just the wrong variety, ever so slightly off-key. Rose had poured it all out over the coffee Joe had insisted on buying her in the college canteen.
In the end she had found the right department but, as it turned out, the course wasn’t quite what she wanted. So the college was out but Joe, a friend made, was in.
They had exchanged numbers and from that peculiar meeting had blossomed a growing friendship on the telephone.
Rose wasn’t sure what would emerge from the friendship but she was willing to follow the road wherever it might take her.
And the evening was a success. The play was good and, over a very late evening meal, they discussed it amongst a thousand other things. She even found herself telling him about Gabriel! Not about her ridiculous feelings for him, of course, but about his annoying, unpredictable ways. In fact, she had to stop herself or risk becoming a bore, and then they chatted easily about Joe and what he did and, before she knew it, it had gone midnight and he was hailing a cab for her.
‘I guess this is the time when I ask whether you’d like to risk my company again,’ he said, pulling her to one side and kissing her on the forehead. A perfect end to a lovely evening, Rose thought. No pressure for sex, no pushiness. And he was cute too. Blond hair, blue eyes that crinkled when he smiled, and he smiled a lot.
‘I think I could see my way to doing that…’Rose couldn’t help but smile back at him. ‘It’s been a great evening out.’
‘And we never even got around to discussing what course you’ve finally signed up to.’
‘Oh, and that’s the most riveting conversation in the world!’
‘Absolutely riveting. Don’t forget I’m a lecturer. I like to know what it is that you students are interested in.’ He smiled again and turned to open the cab door for her. ‘So there’s no question now. We have to go on another date. Research purposes for me. I’ll give you a call on Monday, first thing. I have no idea how much time I’ll have to myself on this outward bound weekend of mine. Does this ogre of a boss allow you to use the land line for personal calls or should I call your mobile?’
‘Mobile…’ Rose said hurriedly, as a mental picture of Gabriel flashed into her head. ‘Definitely mobile.’
‘In case he ties you to the typewriter and forces you to type a thousand times…I must never disobey company rules…?’
‘Oh, no. Gabriel’s very fair.’ It was fine for her to air her moans but she felt hot and flustered at Joe’s slight hint of criticism. ‘In fact, there’s a very low employee turnover rate. One of the lowest in the city. He would…’
‘It was meant to be funny, Rose,’ Joe interjected gently. ‘Now, off you go, Cinderella, before the taxi decides to leave you behind. I’ll call you tomorrow.’
He would. Amongst all his good qualities there was a dependability to Joe that Rose knew was just what every woman wanted. If he said he would call, then he would. He was, she went to bed musing, a thoroughly decent man. Not the sort to string a woman along. Not the sort to equate caring with buying expensive gifts. Not a man given to large, extravagant gestures. Definitely not a man who should carry a Dangerous to Health warning on his forehead so that women could take note and keep away. And not a man that would make her skin tremble every time he was near.
But there was a spring in her step when she went to work the following Monday. Joe hadn’t called but he had sent her a couple of brief text messages, making her laugh with his outward bound stories which he promised to bore her with more fully when they met.
She arrived to find Gabriel already at his desk and, judging from his rolled up sleeves and lack of tie, he had been there a good while. And he did not seem to be in the best of moods.
Rose decided that she wouldn’t allow that to deflate her. She fetched him his coffee before making her way into his office and the smile only wavered when he raised his head and frowned at her.
‘I’m pleased to see that one of us had a good weekend.’
‘Good morning, Gabriel.’ She sat in her usual chair, facing his desk, notepad on her lap, ready to begin the day.
He grunted.
‘I’ve brought you your coffee. Is there anything urgent you need me to do or shall I just crack on with the emails from Friday? Don’t forget you’ve got another two ladies to see this afternoon. I’ve already had the preliminary interviews with them and both seem promising.’
‘Cancel