The Code War Read Free Page A

wanting a private jet with a full crew,
right?’
    They laughed as she broke the ice, then
shuffled their seats forward.
    ‘ Now let’s see,’ she
said as she began to write onto a pad. ‘Israel. Two weeks. What
time of year do you want to travel?’
     
    Thirty minutes later, Martin, Andy and
Pete stood up and said goodbye to Nancy.
    ‘ Thank you,’ said
Martin as he shook her hand tightly, almost making her wince.
‘You’ve been most helpful. I’m sorry we’re not able to spend much
but you’ve certainly won my loyalty for the future. When I’ve got
more money, I mean.’
    ‘ That’s great,’ said
Andy. ‘I didn’t think it was possible to get an apartment and
flights on a student budget, but you’ve been brilliant.’
    Pete was equally grateful.
‘Fantastic. I’m going to send all my classmates to you. None of
them have got any money either. You'll never be out of work looking
after them.' He added a wicked grin. Nancy smiled.
    She showed them to the door. ‘Let
me have your final confirmation tomorrow, once Andy’s spoken to his
cousin and then I’ll need your payment by cheque. Good luck
lads.’
    She returned to her desk and
awarded herself a square of chocolate as she finished logging the
quotation on the triplicate booking form.
    Behind her, phones were melting
with over-use, typewriter carriages were returni ng furiously and pens were circling over villas in
brochures, which meant that luckily for Nancy all her colleagues
were too busy to give her any of the expected teasing. Except
one.
    'Those boys have got arses you
could put on your toast and lick all the way to New Year,' said Mel
with a wistful stare at the door.
    'Mel, you're the man-hungriest woman,
I've ever known,' said an exasperated but secretly pleased Nancy.
'If you were a chap I'd tell you to take a cold shower.'
    'Don't tell me you didn't notice.'
    'Actually, I'm a consummate professional
who never mixes personal life with business. You would do well to
learn from me.' They exchanged sidelong looks and burst into
giggles.
    Nancy looked behind her and scanned the faces of the other agents. Her
face lost its smile and became purposeful. 'I'll see you in a
minute,' she said.
    She stood and walked slowly to the
back of the shop between the two aisles of desks. Some of the
agents looked up and smiled at her good-naturedly. Nancy walked
even more slowly as she passed David's desk before continuing into
the little kitchenette. She switched on
the kettle, reached into the cupboard, casually plucked a tea bag
from the caddy and placed it into a cup. She heard footsteps behind
her and half-turned her head towards the door.
    'Hello Nancy, how are you today?'
David stood in the doorway smiling. He looked Nancy up and down
slowly before closing the door behind him and pressing back on it
with his weight. Nancy heard the latch click closed.
    'You've been with us a couple of weeks
now, haven't you?
    'Yes,' replied Nancy, with a nervous
smile. 'Just over two weeks actually.'
    'Good. I'm sure you'll get on very well
here.' David looked down quickly at Nancy's legs again.
    'I want you to come out and have
dinner with me, Nancy. I like to get to know all of my staff. And
th ere's rarely a chance to chat. You
know, socialise. During the day. There's an excellent restaurant
not far away. It's attached to a hotel. I think you'll like it.
They serve all kinds of good food. Anything you like. How about
this evening, just you and me?'
    Nancy looked away as her smile rapidly waned. She glanced at the
coffee pot. The sugar bowl. The upturned cups. She put her hand to
her head and scratched a sudden itch on her cheek. Then she
breathed in and out quickly. But when she next looked back into
David's eyes her gaze was direct.
    'How's Elizabeth?'
    'What?'
    'How's Elizabeth?'
    What? How do you..? How do you know
Elizabeth?'
    'Your wife. Elizabeth. Is she well?'
    'Yes. She's fine.' David's face
was all confusion. A silence ensued. Nancy continued looking at
him.