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Authors: Peter Ralph
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Moira’s praises and, while Harbrow could have used his influence to remove her, he could not run the risk of his chairman and another ‘distinguished’ director resigning or creating a fuss.
Moira had in the past occupied the office next to Harbrow’s and she had mistakenly thought that he had had the hots for her. He’d wanted to bed her all right but his motivations weren’t sexual but rather to show her who was boss. She had flirted and led him on many times, only to reject him when things started to get serious and, the more she rejected him, the more determined he became to have her submit. Frustrated at the sight of her every day and wanting to move her on, he came up with the brilliant idea of putting her out in the field into situations that might be physically violent for a man but were unlikely to be for a woman. When she failed, which she surely would when dealing with hardened labourers and facing angry landowners, it would destroy her chance of ever sitting in his chair. He had not envisaged her making an outstanding success of those tough assignments and, when she did, she not only won the plaudits of board members but was seen by them as his successor-in-waiting. He vaguely recollected telling her one night that he would stand aside so that she could become the company’s CEO, but he had only said it because he was trying to get her between the sheets and he promptly forgot the details after she had rejected him yet again.
Chapter 7
Much to Steve’s disappointment, Bianca had left by the time he returned home. There wasn’t a trace of Allure and it was almost as if she had never been there. Her response to a note that he had left, apologising for leaving early that morning, was that she would be busy at the weekend selling real estate and that she would phone him when she could. She had a healthy sexual appetite and he suspected that she must be wondering what was wrong with him.
The front page of Monday’s Paisley Chronicle carried graphic colour photos of CEGL’s gas well in flames. The accompanying article mentioned Billy McGregor and his sighting of a big black wolf but it did not draw any conclusions as to what caused the explosion. No mention was made of Karen. Most who read the article already knew what it contained and thought that it was boring. Many subscribers and advertisers phoned to express their disappointment and spoke to Steve’s receptionist-come-girl Friday, Buffy Preston, letting her know in no uncertain terms that they thought he had wasted a golden opportunity to tip a bucket on CEGL. Steve was close enough to hear what Buffy was saying but he could not understand why she had broken into fits of laughter. She was a big girl who had been with him since she left school, and when she laughed her whole body shook.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘Nothing,’ she said, removing her silver, wire-framed glasses as she played with her plaits.
‘I don’t think so.’
‘You really don’t want to know.’
‘Jeez, I dunno why I employ you. You can’t type, you can’t make coffee and you won’t give me my messages.’
‘You employ me because no-one looks after your back like I do, and who’d defend you from pissed-off subscribers if I wasn’t here?’
He knew that was true. She was blindly loyal and could be downright intimidating - no-one could collect debts so effectively. ‘Buffy, please tell me what was so funny?’
‘All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Old Mrs Elliot asked me how come your daddy was born with such big gonads but you didn’t get any.’ She burst out into laughter again. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s funny, especially coming from her, when she’s so prim and proper.’
Steve felt himself going red and wondered what they expected him to do. Everyone knew that the well had been sabotaged, but they still wanted him to sink the boots into CEGL - to say that the gas wells were dangerous, poisonous and that they contaminated the air and water.
Moira had in the past occupied the office next to Harbrow’s and she had mistakenly thought that he had had the hots for her. He’d wanted to bed her all right but his motivations weren’t sexual but rather to show her who was boss. She had flirted and led him on many times, only to reject him when things started to get serious and, the more she rejected him, the more determined he became to have her submit. Frustrated at the sight of her every day and wanting to move her on, he came up with the brilliant idea of putting her out in the field into situations that might be physically violent for a man but were unlikely to be for a woman. When she failed, which she surely would when dealing with hardened labourers and facing angry landowners, it would destroy her chance of ever sitting in his chair. He had not envisaged her making an outstanding success of those tough assignments and, when she did, she not only won the plaudits of board members but was seen by them as his successor-in-waiting. He vaguely recollected telling her one night that he would stand aside so that she could become the company’s CEO, but he had only said it because he was trying to get her between the sheets and he promptly forgot the details after she had rejected him yet again.
Chapter 7
Much to Steve’s disappointment, Bianca had left by the time he returned home. There wasn’t a trace of Allure and it was almost as if she had never been there. Her response to a note that he had left, apologising for leaving early that morning, was that she would be busy at the weekend selling real estate and that she would phone him when she could. She had a healthy sexual appetite and he suspected that she must be wondering what was wrong with him.
The front page of Monday’s Paisley Chronicle carried graphic colour photos of CEGL’s gas well in flames. The accompanying article mentioned Billy McGregor and his sighting of a big black wolf but it did not draw any conclusions as to what caused the explosion. No mention was made of Karen. Most who read the article already knew what it contained and thought that it was boring. Many subscribers and advertisers phoned to express their disappointment and spoke to Steve’s receptionist-come-girl Friday, Buffy Preston, letting her know in no uncertain terms that they thought he had wasted a golden opportunity to tip a bucket on CEGL. Steve was close enough to hear what Buffy was saying but he could not understand why she had broken into fits of laughter. She was a big girl who had been with him since she left school, and when she laughed her whole body shook.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘Nothing,’ she said, removing her silver, wire-framed glasses as she played with her plaits.
‘I don’t think so.’
‘You really don’t want to know.’
‘Jeez, I dunno why I employ you. You can’t type, you can’t make coffee and you won’t give me my messages.’
‘You employ me because no-one looks after your back like I do, and who’d defend you from pissed-off subscribers if I wasn’t here?’
He knew that was true. She was blindly loyal and could be downright intimidating - no-one could collect debts so effectively. ‘Buffy, please tell me what was so funny?’
‘All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Old Mrs Elliot asked me how come your daddy was born with such big gonads but you didn’t get any.’ She burst out into laughter again. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s funny, especially coming from her, when she’s so prim and proper.’
Steve felt himself going red and wondered what they expected him to do. Everyone knew that the well had been sabotaged, but they still wanted him to sink the boots into CEGL - to say that the gas wells were dangerous, poisonous and that they contaminated the air and water.
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