Pinstripes Read Free Page B

small but functional. It was fitted and a bit too chrome for Ella ’s liking, but she had never thought of changing it. The bathroom was lovely, white and clean, and the bath was large. Ella loved her bath. She had a separate shower room, which she barely used. Her bedroom was huge with big, fitted wardrobes, one filled with work suits, the other with casual clothes; it was empty by comparison with the first. She had a navy blue duvet cover and a plain wooden blind on the window. It was not an interior decorator’s dream, but Ella thought it was nice; and she only wanted her life to be nice.
    She picked up the Financial Times and read it for the second time that day. The one thing she loved about her working day was that although it demanded an early start, an early finish was the reward. She had a routine in the evenings that made her feel secure. She would read the paper, listening to music. Then she would cook herself some dinner, and after dinner, she would have a long soak in the bath with a book, which she would then take to bed with her. During the week Ella rarely went out. She was too concerned about staying focused. So after her tuna salad, she picked up her Jackie Collins novel, and took it with her to the bathroom.
    Ella was normally in bed by 10 p.m. and asleep by half past. She sometimes wondered why she wasn ’t in the army, since her life was so regimented. But this routine was necessary for her to do her job well, and her job was about the only thing she had left.
    Ella fell asleep dreaming about her work. She knew that there was more to life than work: her one friend, Jackie, whom she had met when she first moved to London, was constantly reminding her of that, but Jackie was the only person who could get away with it. Jackie, with her down-to-earth ways, and her down-to-earth restaurant was the only person Ella could afford to let into her life. Friends did not happen in Ella ’s life; she was afraid of anyone finding out too much about her. She shivered as she thought about what would happen if ever the truth came out. God, she loved her job and, as she often pointed out to Jackie, at the moment that was enough for her.
    Because all these thoughts were running through her brain, it took Ella longer than usual to fall asleep that night.
     
    ***
     
    “ Virginia, can you get my line?”
    “ Virginia, can you fax this?”
    “ Virginia, can you print me out the figures again?”
    “ Virginia, can you photocopy this ten times?”
    Virginia smiled weakly at the giver of each instruction. It was a typical Monday.
    After fulfilling requests all morning, she left the office for ten minutes at lunch-time and tried to collect her thoughts. It was a bright winter’s day; the dull haze of the morning was long gone. She was slightly cheered by the weak sunshine and that the temperature had risen above freezing for what felt like the first time in ages. She walked past the other City buildings and wondered what they were like inside. She wondered if they shared the same routine as SFH, and what it would be like to work in one of them. She wondered what the trading floors were like. Dragging herself past them, she felt like a child passing toyshops. What she wanted so badly might have been in each of these buildings, yet all Virginia could do was walk past them.
    She went into the Italian sandwich shop where she always bought her lunch. She ordered a cheese-salad sandwich on brown bread and a bottle of mineral water. She returned to SFH, went to her desk and ate her lunch. At the same time she read and dealt with her e-mails (all from her boss), checked the diaries for the afternoon, and by the time that everyone had returned from lunch and the desk was full again, she was ready for the afternoon orders.
    Virginia worked as a secretary to Isabelle Holland and ten salespeople. She organised all their diaries, booked their client dinners, arranged their travel, photocopied, filed, typed, organised. She rarely had