Trust Me to Know You Read Free Page A

turned to face me and not the laptop.
    “That’s fine, I’m not thirsty.”
    I kept my eyes on screen, as I did not want to look at him even if it seemed rude. Definitely too handsome to observe him closely and I knew I had the potential to unravelled right before those incredible eyes.
    “So you couldn’t get tickets to the charity concert then?” he remarked.
    I blanched. He had heard my conversation with Penny. Now he was going to lambast me for time wasting. Had I unearthed the real purpose for my visit?
    “Uh no, didn’t expect to get any...” I trailed off nervously.
    “You like choral works then?”
    How did he know about obscure classical musical works? I was quite aware my tastes were eclectic and disparate in nature. Very few people I encountered would be interested in my musical palate. I was rather dumbstruck. I had not expected to converse on personal matters.
    “I prefer the Gloria,” he lowered his hands. “This is good stuff, Gemma, I’m impressed.”
    He was back to talking about work again. I was disorientated, what did he actually want from me? I was a mere intern working on a low-level project.
    “I don’t take many interns on but your CV was intriguing,” he said as if reading my thoughts.
    Jason Lucas saw my resume? Is this what the MD normally does with interns?
    “I’m glad you did, sir,” was all I could say in reply.
    “Tell me about your last job. What did you do?”
    I described my basic job description and it mirrored the one I was doing in his own company. Having graduated with a first class degree, I had spent a few months in a menial job before landing a good graduate training post in a respected company. It had be going well for me, not that I told him that, as it would open me up for probing questions. I had been earmarked for promotion and I had been given additional responsibilities right up to when I quit.
    I had made acquaintances at my last job though not friendships. By the end of the working day, most people had to face long commutes out of the City to the suburbs. Nobody really wanted to stay after hours for drinks in a pub. Most of my office colleagues had families, children or spouses to spend time with or other interests to occupy their leisure time. I had trudged back to my flat on the bus and did what I did in my spare time - my secret life, which I had avoided talking about to my colleagues.
    I never mentioned to my former co-workers anything that gave away my lifestyle choices. I invented an active life based around visiting my family or attending evening classes. Not lies, just embellishments since I had minimised contact with my family and could not afford the cost of a good quality academic course.
    My old company had sent me on relevant courses by the bucket load, mainly in the City or somewhere outside the metropolis requiring a train journey in a crowded carriage. From those courses, I gained sufficient grounding in the analytical skills and financial software packages I was using in my demonstration. I did not doubt the quality of my resume, I had worked hard to build my career up and make something of my university education. Whether I wanted it or not, I had to work and bring in the money. Quitting my job had been the right decision at the time and moving on was the next good decision. I did not want him questioning my background in detail . Fortunately, after glancing at his watch, he did not ask why I left my previous job. I would have been flummoxed trying to come up with a realistic answer, after all I had just told him how appreciated I had been by my old colleagues.
    He listened to the tailored synopsis of my past life without comment and the attention he gave me was unnerving as he was clearly listening to what I was saying. He was not just being polite, he was absorbing me as if he was a sponge and I was laid out on a petri dish waiting to be sucked dry.
    Then the strange encounter was over and with little ceremony, I was dismissed.
    “You