A Summer to Remember Read Free Page B

naughty. She’d never had anything stronger than an espresso during her lunch hour before today. What on earth had got into her? Was it really the spirit of rebellion? Was she really about to assert her true self after months of being nothing more than Hilary Jackson’s doormat?
    She opened the door into the airless room where Hilary was inspecting a mound of papers on her desk, which looked as if they’d multiplied threefold since Nina had left. It was Hilary’s usual mean trick. Whenever Nina dared to leave her desk, she would invariably find that her workload had increased out of all recognition when she returned. Well, not any more, she determined. She’d had enough.
    ‘Ah! There you are,’ Hilary said, making it sound as if Nina had been away on an expedition rather than on her lunch hour. ‘Didn’t you leave me that letter like I asked you?’
    ‘Yes – it’s on your desk,’ Nina said, indicating as she tried to keep calm.
    ‘ Where ?’ Hilary’s voice rose a decibel in disbelief as she raked her hands through her short, spiky hair in agitation.
    ‘It was right in the centre – where you could find it,’ Nina bit her tongue before she swore. The temporary numbing effect of the wine was fast evaporating.
    ‘Well, I can’t see it, can I?’ Hilary pushed the papers to one side. ‘Oh – there !’ she said, holding the letter up. Nina breathed a sigh of relief and sat down at her own desk, already desperate for another glass of wine.
    ‘Well, it’s creased now. You’ll have to print it out again.’
    Nina opened the document up on her screen. This, she vowed, would be the last order she’d take from Hilary Jackson.
    ‘Not yet – wait,’ Hilary said. ‘There’s probably something I need to correct first.’
    Nina sighed. Just bide your time, she said to herself. See the day out first and then tell her exactly what you think of her. Goodness only knew that she needed that length of time to build her courage up.
    At four o’clock, Nina left her desk to make the tea. In the relative sanctuary of the kitchen, she stretched her arms high above her head and yawned loudly. She felt exhausted – as if, quite suddenly, all the hours of tedium, frustration and anger of working with her boss had snowballed into one gigantic mass of mutiny. It was time, wasn’t it?
    The kettle boiled, and Nina poured the hot water into the mugs and stirred vigorously. She put an extra-large sugar into her own mug and the usual half a teaspoon into Hilary’s.
    Hilary didn’t bother looking up from her papers as Nina re-entered the office and placed her mug on her desk. She sat down again, sipping her tea and glancing at her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes.
    ‘For God’s sake!’ Hilary’s voice suddenly rose from behind her computer. ‘Did you put the bloody sugar in with a shovel?’ It was Hilary’s usual comment when Nina accidentally put a couple of extra grains in her tea. But Nina didn’t say anything. She was waiting. Just waiting.
    Half-past five came and went and Nina’s computer remained on. Her eyes were sore from staring at its bright face all day and her cream blouse was damp with perspiration. She watched Hilary’s face as she proofread the latest copy of the same letter she’d printed out half a dozen times already that day. Hilary. Sounded a bit like horrible, didn’t it? Started with an h, same number of consonants. Horrible Hilary. Hilary the Horrible.
    Nina shook her head, feeling as if she was fast sinking into insanity, her foot tapping against the desk leg as she looked at her watch, willing precious minutes of her life away before she could make her escape.
    A smile curved the corner of her mouth as she recalled her friend’s voice in the pub.
    ‘Just clear your desk out, tell Hilary to take a hike and go.’
    I will, Janey. I will , Nina said to herself.
    ‘Right!’ Hilary exclaimed, making Nina jump. ‘That’ll do for today.’
    Nina got up from her chair before