The Perfect Hero Read Free

weeks now, choosing to read instead. There’d been the usual diet of Jane Austen with Kay choosing Northanger Abbey in the hopes that Catherine and Tilney’s company would cheer her up. She’d also been trying to find out more about preparing her illustrations for publication and had raided the local library. There was one very useful book full of tips for the first-timer and she’d sneaked it into work in the hope that she’d be able to photocopy some of the pages in a quiet moment.
    ‘Which is possibly now,’ she said to herself, looking around the office. It was a small open-plan office with four desks occupied by her colleagues. Paul and Marcus were out at lunch and Janice was on the phone laughing. It obviously wasn’t a work-related call; none of the business at the solicitors was stuff that provoked laughter.
    Opening her bag, she took out the book and walked over to the communal photocopier. She only hoped she could get the pages copied before the silly old machine pulled a paper-jam stunt.
    She was halfway through her copying when her phone went. Janice was still laughing into her own phone so Kay had no choice but to return to her desk to answer it.
    She was just replacing the receiver when Roger Barnum walked into the office brandishing a large document that looked as if it had an appointment with the photo copier.
    Kay watched in horror, unable to make a move in time to rescue her book, watching as Mr Barnum lifted the lid of the photocopier.
    ‘Whose is this?’ he barked, holding the book up and grimacing at it as if it might be infected. ‘ Painting for Pleasure and Profit .’
    Kay, blushing from head to foot, stood up to claim the book. ‘It’s mine, Mr Barnum.’
    ‘And what’s it doing on the photocopier?’ he asked.
    Kay wanted to groan at the ridiculous question but she didn’t. She simply took it from him and mumbled an apology.
    Mr Barnum sniffed. ‘I’d like to have a quiet word with you in my office, Miss Ashton,’ he said.
    Kay nodded and followed him through.
    ‘Close the door and sit down,’ he said.
    Kay did as she was asked.
    Mr Barnum walked round his desk and sat down on an expensive-looking chair. It wasn’t threadbare like the office chair Kay had.
    ‘If you don’t mind me saying,’ Mr Barnum began, ‘your mind hasn’t really been on your work lately, has it?’
    ‘Well, no,’ Kay said. ‘My mother died recently and I’ve just lost a dear friend too.’
    ‘Ah, yes. Well, one has to get over these things – move on and all that.’
    Kay blinked hard. Had she just heard him right?
    ‘People come and people go. It’s a sad fact of life and we have to get on with it.’
    ‘Right,’ Kay said. ‘I’ll try to remember that.’
    ‘And this drawing of yours,’ he continued, ‘you mustn’t bring it into the office with you. I think we had an incident before, didn’t we? Something concerning that Mr Darcy. For the life of me, I can’t see what it is you women find so fascinating.’
    Kay didn’t say anything.
    ‘It’s interfering. You must keep these things separate. Quite separate. Work is work. Play is play.’
    ‘But it isn’t play, Mr Barnum. It’s my passion.’
    Mr Barnum’s eyes widened in shock at the word ‘passion’ as if it might leap across the table and do him some sort of mischief.
    ‘In fact,’ Kay said, enjoying having provoked such a response, ‘I’ve been thinking of playing a bit more. You see, I’ve just had a phone call and it seems I’ve got some money coming my way very soon. I was left a property recently and it’s just sold so I’ll be moving.’
    ‘Moving?’ Mr Barnum said.
    ‘Yes. To the sea. I’ve always wanted to live by the sea. It’s another of my passions. So you’d better accept this as my notice. I’ll put it in writing, of course, during my lunch break – which is now, I believe.’ She stood up and smiled at Mr Barnum. She was feeling generous with her smiles now that she knew she was