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into Pete’s arms so easily. It had been a long while since anyone had held me, touched me, kissed me. And it had felt nice, felt right with Pete. My body had more sense than my brain. But it was too late. Or was it?
    8:15am: Nearly everyone was there when I walked in the office. Pete waved and smiled, ever polite, even now. I smiled back but headed for my desk. I didn’t want to talk to him. At least, not yet.
    8:25am: Shelley burst through the doors making her usual dramatic entrance, and then disappeared into her office. The report was on her desk already and I guessed at some point in the day she would call us in.
    9:00am: I saw Pete go into her office. Probably he wanted to tell her his decision and hand in his notice. I wondered briefly if he had changed his mind. But I quickly dispelled that. No, not after what he said last night.
    11:05am: After that first early wave and smile, neither Pete nor I had said anything to each other. It was funny, but I missed him. Even the insults we traded were better than this.
    Noon: I wish she would get it over and done with. Carmichael had been chirping around the office like a bird all morning. He must have had a good weekend.
    12:15pm: Shelley came to her office door and called out, ‘Pete, Kate, could you come into my office for a minute.’
    We walked in and sat in the two chairs she indicated. Our Professional Development document was sitting on her desk. She tapped it, ‘You’ve both done an excellent job on this. It’s very thorough and addresses the very things I outlined to you on Friday. Well done.’
    ‘Thanks,’ I said. Pete was silent.
    ‘I’ve also looked at the forms you filled out for each other. Pretty honest stuff. I’d say you both got a chance to know each other better this weekend.’
    This time it was me who said nothing.
    ‘It was a valuable experience,’ Pete said.
    ‘So it would seem,’ Shelley said. ‘You may or may not know, Kate, that Pete has withdrawn his application for the promotion, for personal reasons. He wants to go back to England. So the job is yours. Congratulations.’
    Pete turned to me and held out his hand, ‘Yes, congratulations Kate.’
    I took his hand and squeezed it. I remembered the first time I had shaken hands with him on Friday. Today his hand was still warm and firm and the smile was genuine. But now, it felt so different. I wanted more.
    Shelley held out her hand too, but I ignored it. ‘Thank you Shelley, but your congratulations are a little premature. You see I’ve also had time to think this weekend and I’ve decided I don’t want the job either.’ Pete sat up in his chair.
    ‘Really?’ She looked at me in surprise. ‘After all this work, I’d be interested in knowing the reason why.’
    ‘I guess that’s the problem. I’ve been working too hard. I nearly missed my brother’s birthday party because of this and I really don’t want that to happen again. And another thing, I’d like to take a little time off, which wouldn’t be fair if I were to take on a new job.’
    ‘Time off?’ Shelley frowned.
    ‘Yes, I haven’t had a holiday in two years so I have quite a bit of leave accumulated.’
    ‘Oh, I see. So you’re putting your career ambitions on hold for a while?’ Her tone was quite sharp.
    ‘You could say the ambitions are turning in a different direction.’
    Shelley stood up, ‘Well, I hope you know what you’re doing, both of you. Opportunities like this don’t come along very often you know.’
    I looked at Pete and smiled. ‘Yes, I know.’
    12:30pm: I was sitting in Shannon’s with Pete having lunch.
    ‘Well, it looks like we’ll both have some time on our hands soon,’ I said.
    ‘You’re just taking some leave, aren’t you? You’re not quitting or anything.’
    ‘I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to think about that.’
    ‘Where are you going?’
    ‘That depends.’
    ‘On what?’
    ‘What’s the weather like in England in February?’
    He made his crooked