Last Man's Head Read Free

late.
    Lance Smart gave her a drunken smile, turned, and staggered off.
    Gabrielle shook her head and took a sip. She checked her watch: it was just after nine. Biting her lip, she began to figure out at what time she could leave. She didn’t want to be the first to go; however the sooner she could get away the better. This was as boring as hell, and Lance Smart had had too much to drink. As usual. If he was anybody other than a senior partner in the firm… It wasn’t that he ever said or did anything inappropriate: he was just a pain in the ass when he had more than two glasses.
    She looked around at some of her colleagues, willing one of them to finish their drink and go.
    ‘Not eating anything, Gabrielle?’
    She looked up and saw Cecil Reed, the CEO , standing over her. He had a drink in one hand and a plate of canapés in the other.
    She looked up at him and smiled. ‘Not that hungry, Mr Reed.’
    ‘Nonsense. You must eat something. You must be hungry. Otherwise you’ll be merry after one of those.’ He indicated down to her now full glass of Chardonnay. ‘And not fit for work tomorrow.’
    He was right. Gabriella was getting hungry. She just felt that if she started eating here, that would mean getting to leave later. She stood up.
    ‘That’s the spirit,’ Reed said, holding both wine and plate in one hand and guiding her over to the buffet table with the other. ‘Why not try something? The Dim Sing are delicious.’
    ‘Dim Sing?’ she asked, as they walked over.
    ‘Yes, those little dumpling things. Chinese, I believe.’
    ‘Oh, you mean Dim Sum,’ she laughed.
    ‘See, I told you you were hungry.’ He led her to the buffet.
    Gabrielle looked around at the food laid out on the white linen tablecloth. There was a printed label by each dish, presumably so those who were not versed in Chinese knew what they were eating. Har gow shrimp dumplings, chicken and vegetable congee, steamed dumplings, rice noodle rolls, sweet and sour pork, and Cha siu bao, a bun filled with barbecued pork. She studied each food for a moment, then picked up a paper plate from a small pile at the end of the table and helped herself to some shrimp dumplings and noodle rolls. As she turned to return to her seat she found herself staring into Cecil Reed’s eyes.
    ‘That all you’re having, my dear?’ he asked, looking down at her half empty plate in disbelief.
    She nodded. ‘Not much of an appetite tonight, I’m afraid.’
    Reed shook his head. ‘You young ladies,’ he muttered. ‘Always worrying about your figures.’
    Gabrielle smiled again and returned to her seat. As she walked away, she could still hear Reed mumbling something about size zeroes.
    As she sat down, out of the corner of her eye she could see Lance Smart still staggering around topping up people’s glasses. He saw her and turned in her direction.
    ‘Oh shit,’ Gabrielle muttered under her breath. 
    As he came over, she caught the attention of two women colleagues who were chatting three seats down. She moved her seat and joined them.
    Gabrielle had only been working as an admin assistant at LaVerne & Marshall, a medium sized attorney firm based in offices in Century City, two weeks, and so had not had much of a chance to get to know her co-workers that well. Quiet and introverted, she had kept herself to herself, and had stayed off everybody’s radar.
    Except that of Lance Smart, whose radar had picked her up at work, and certainly had here. If she was hoping that by joining the other two women, she had escaped his attentions, she was mistaken.  He kept coming.
    ‘More wine, ladies?’ He stopped around three feet from there they had congregated and stood swaying, with a bottle in each hand.
    Gabrielle’s colleagues both said no, and turned away from him. She followed suit.
    ‘Are you sure? We have gallons in the cellar.’
    The older of the two, who Gabrielle was aware was called Monica, looked up at him.
    ‘Piss off, Lance. Go get some black