Patently in Love Read Free

legs. He and Eric had been trading insults and joking, which would have
been entertaining, if Keith hadn't been showing Jane so much non-professional interest. Being
arm-candy for Ashby meant she was used to being ogled at, but she'd never learned to be
comfortable with the experience. She wondered how early she could make her excuses and
leave without looking antisocial.
    Ordinarily, she didn't mind being surrounded by men. Before Triphoppers became
famous, she had spent many an evening in the pub with Ashby and the band without feeling
awkward. But then she had been a student and the band had been just a bunch of guys her
boyfriend sang with. She hadn't needed to impress them.
    With these men, the situation was different. They were work colleagues and part of
the city set. She could sense undercurrents of professional tension, but didn't know what they
were. She felt as though she was a fresher at university once more, aware that allegiances
formed and impressions made in the first week would dog her for the rest of her time there.
As despondency started to creep over her, she told herself that she shouldn't rush to judge. She
took a sip of her wine.
    Keith was good looking enough, but the way he was eyeing her up was irritating. Eric
was telling a joke, watching Jane out of the corner of his eye. She recognised that look too,
from when she was with Ashby. It was that of someone calculating how useful she would be
to them. In her past life, she would have clung to Ashby and played the dumb blonde, but she
couldn't do that here. She had to work with these people. She had to show them that she was
smart, capable and likeable.
    Besides, she reminded herself, she wasn't blonde any more.
    "Hallo, hallo," A cheery voice made them all look up as a red haired man approached
"I'm Jim, one of the junior partners." He had a friendly face and an infectious smile.
    Jane liked him immediately.
    "Hi." She wondered if everyone defined themselves by their level of seniority in the
company.
    Jim moved aside a little. "This is Marshall. One of the associates."
    He was tall and handsome and looked oddly familiar. She hadn't been introduced to
him at the office, she would have remembered. And she didn't know many people in London.
Where had she met him?
    "Hello again." Marshall's brown eyes lit up. A dimple appeared in his cheek.
    The jogger from that morning! He looked different in a suit and with his hair neatly
combed. She had thought that underneath the sweat and the jogging clothes, he might be quite
attractive. It turned out she'd been right.
    "Oh! I didn't recognise you..." She was about to say "with clothes on" but realised
how inappropriate that would sound. She felt her cheeks warm.
    Marshall seemed to sense the rest of the sentence and his smile widened.
    "Do you know each other?" Keith's eye narrowed as he looked from one to the
other.
    "Yes, we ran into each other earlier this morning. Literally." Marshall looked around.
"Can I get anyone a drink?"
    "I'll have a pint of the usual," said Jim. "I'll grab us a couple of seats."
    Keith moved his stool slightly closer to Jane. Jim dragged a stool over and sat on the
other side of her. "So," he said as he shrugged off his coat. "How was your first day,
Jane?"
    "It was good, thanks." Jane waited for any comparisons to life in the North, but none
came.
    Marshall returned and sat opposite Jane. By then Keith was talking again. There was
a certain over-the-top quality to the way Keith spoke, as though he was trying to project more
personality than he actually had. Jane tried to listen to him, but found her attention kept being
drawn towards Marshall. He really was very handsome. But then, Ashby had been handsome.
It didn't mean he was a nice person.
    When there was a lull in Keith's monologue, Marshall said, "So, Jane, what made you
decide to become a patent agent?"
    Jane had been asked the same question at almost every job interview. "I wanted to be
involved with cutting edge science without