Ms Woodall

Fresh out of university with a degree in business studies,
that's what it said on her CV. When I asked Kate Woodall if she thought
she might be over-qualified for the position, she wriggled in her seat,
linked her fingers and asked me in a rather matter of fact tone, 'Do
you realise how difficult it is to gain
experience?'

There was something about her -
something I couldn't put my finger on. Her classical good looks were
those that both men and women find appealing, but that wasn't it. I was
her excellent qualifications and natural persona that made me certain
she was exactly the person we were looking for.

Then
it came. Every bloody interview it was the same. I was conscious of
Sophie watching me shuffle impatiently in my seat when Ralph Steadman
spilled out his little party piece.
'Now tell me, in relation
to a game of table tennis, how would you see yourself?' He picked up on
Kate's bewilderment and explained, 'I mean, would you be the ball, the
net, or the bat?'

She clicked it straight away. 'Oh, you mean
that old one about the ball does the scoring; the net does the saving
whilst the bat does the driving?'
'That's the one,' he
smirked.
'I'm flexible,' she told him.
His face lit.
'So you're the net?'

'Yes, I can deal with and, if necessary,
redeem a crisis.' Kate returned Ralph's smug smile. 'But I can also be
the driving force behind an idea and implement it
myself.'

Ralph squirmed, Sophie stifled a sman and
I nearly toppled off my chair.

I recovered in time to
play the net. 'Well, Ms Woodall, I think that will be all from our
side. Now, is there anything more you'd like to ask any of
us?'

Gold tresses shimmered with the shake of her
head. 'I think you've covered everything, Mr Taylor, and the job
description is perfectly clear.'

I tidied my papers.
'So, Ms Woodall, I'd like to thank you very much for your time. You
will hearing from us within the next two days.'
I hated that.
As the senior partner, the ultimate decision was mine but I had to go
through the motions, even when I was absolutely sure.

Kate rose
and straightened the tweed skirt of her smart business suit. Smiles
were exchanged all around and Sophie saw Kate to the
door.

'You're taken in, aren't you?' Ralph could
barely wait for them to leave earshot.

'What d'you
mean, 'taken in'?' I was seriously irritated, 'I'm taken, yeah. Taken
by her obvious abilities to do the bloody job.'
'Oh, come off
it Ed,' he persisted, 'cracking looker - nice figure - and that
hair?'
'Drop it or she'll be helping me run a one-man
business.' He'd wound me up and I'd let it show. I realised how very
unprofessional that made me sound.

Sophie saved the day by
re-joining us beaming that smile only she could smile. 'Well I don't
reckon you need to waste any more of your time, do you,
gentlemen?'

Ralph was sunk. My wife had nothing to do
with the normal day-to-day running of things. She had only sat in on
the interviews because of her expertise in the field of
administration.

 'You sure you're not saying
that just because you find her attractive?' I couldn't resist milking
the situation.
 Sophie creased her brow. 'What d'you
mean?'
'Nothing.' I grinned. 'I'll explain later.'

* *
*

Kate had been with us for a couple of
weeks before I got the opportunity to make sure she was settling in
okay. I knew I was under Ralph's surveillance, so I had to wait until
he was out of the office. Taking advantage of a slack period, I caught
Kate making coffee for herself in the kitchen.

'So, how's it
going?'

'Great.' She beamed at me in the doorway.
'Coffee or tea?'

It was that look - the one I'd
clocked it at the interview. It seemed familiar and yet it
wasn't.

'Er.. yeah, coffee, please - milk no sugar,'
I frowned, 'but I really wanted a word with
you.'
 
She paused, kettle under the tap. 'Oh
no! Don't tell me I'm in trouble.'

'Far from it,' I was mildly
amused by the horrified look in her eyes, 'we're more than pleased with
your work. I want to make sure you're happy with
us.'

'Well everything's fine from this side.' She
picked up on my hesitation. 'Is there something
else?'

'Er? yes.' I wanted to avoid sounding anything
more than casually curious. 'With your qualifications, I'm still
mystified as to why you chose to work with us. It's not exactly
glamorous stuff, is it?'

'It's convenient,' she
said.

'Convenient - because you live local? Surely
you wouldn't have to travel far to?'

'That's true, I
suppose,' she replied rather sharply. Then she grinned, 'and perhaps I
shouldn't be saying this, but the pay's a lot more than I expected for
this type of work.'

'So what else keeps you around
these parts?' She was astute enough to sense I was interested in
knowing more about her than her reasons for taking the job. I was
stupid enough to make it seem like I was prying. 'I know you're not
married. Are you in any sort of relationship?' My clumsy attempt to
backtrack only made matters worse. 'I just wondered why you used the
word 'convenient'. I mean, why is it so important to be around these
parts.' I could've bitten my tongue off.

She gave a
deep-throated chuckle. 'No, there's no one in particular at present. I
live with my mom.  Unfortunately, she has health problems so, as
the eldest, I feel obliged to look after her. Least I can do after all
the sacrifices she's made for me since the old man buggered
off.'

God! I knew I'd opened up a can of worms and
felt embarrassed but now it seemed she wanted to unload. The
conversation was going far deeper than I'd
intended.

She told me how her stepfather had taken
off with some floosie, leaving his disabled wife to fend for a young
Kate and even younger twins on her own.

Now I was
thoroughly embarrassed. 'Oh!' was the best I could manage. I knew she
wanted to continue but I felt awkward and searched for something to
change tack. When it came it sounded just like that. 'Have you always
lived around here?'

'No,' she said
thoughtfully.
 
'So where did you move
from?'

'Bearwood.'

'Really. I used to live
there, close to the park. Where were you?'
 
I
wasn't sure but I thought I detected a hint of hesitation before she
answered, 'Lightwoods Hill.'

'Not far from the Woods,
eh?'

'Yes,' she said with a distant expression, 'we
had to move to a bungalow when Mom's arthritis made it too difficult
for her to climb stairs.'
She was about to go into full flow
we were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing in the office. She
jumped up to answer it. I stopped her and went myself.

* *
*

Kate did settle in far more quickly and far better
than I expected. I often amused myself by watching her cast her spell:
Both on the phone and face-to-face, suppliers and customers, all seemed
mesmerised by her. I reckon, if she'd really turned it on, we could've
bought in supplies for half nothing and doubled our installation
charges.

Despite his initial accusations, Ralph also
fell for Kate's charms. I watched him hovering around like an old
faithful hound waiting for her to throw a stick for him to
fetch.

Although I can put my hand on my heart and
swear I never saw Kate as anything other than an ultra-efficient
employee and work colleague, it was easy to see how she could wrap most
men around her little finger. It seemed she had everything any young
woman could wish for - intelligence looks, confidence and that certain
something that can't be pigeonholed.

She didn't
smoke or chew gum in the office. She didn't talk incessantly on the
phone to her 'mate' about the bloke she'd met the previous night. She
didn't turn up late, dressed for Glastonbury. She didn't slobber coffee
or smudge chocolate on the paperwork. She was always punctual and would
work late, when necessary, without whingeing.

For
the first time, we had someone we could trust to get on with the work
without having to be continually monitored or wet-nursed - someone who
didn't take two weeks off every time she sneezed.  In a nutshell,
Kate was a brilliant asset to the company.  Her physical
attraction was merely an added bonus.

She soon had
the order books bulging giving Ralph and me the opportunity to do what
we were best at; the practical demands of the business, costing,
estimating and surveying.  But still it nagged at me; what was she
doing with a tin-pot outfit like ours when many a multi-national
would've snatched her up into a very high salaried
position?

My confidence in Kate's abilities grew to
the stage that I trusted her with handling all the day-to-day running
of the office. She was dealing with everything, including the banking,
contractors' wages and all the other routine money matters. Such was
the amount she took off my shoulders; I decided it was at last time for
me to start easing up on things.

For? I couldn't
remember how many years; Sophie had been nagging me to take a long
holiday to see her brother in New South Wales. Now, with Kate at the
helm to keep an eye on Ralph, the timing seemed
ideal.

* * *

It was good to leave
an English February for the warmth of the sun. It was like Paradise - a
long postponed honeymoon. For the whole of the long eight weeks Sophie
and I spent in Australia, I can honestly say I didn't consider what was
going on in the real world more than a couple of times, and then only
for the briefest of moments.

* *
*

When we landed back at Heathrow, I dropped down to
earth with a bump. I suspected something when I spotted Ralph waiting
in Arrivals. We had arranged for him to pick us up but I could tell he
wasn't his usual self. For a start, he was too keen to help with the
baggage trolley.
'Good flight?' Even his welcoming smile was
forced.
'Wonderful!' Sophie replied. 'A different
world.'
'What's up?' I asked, slapping my duty free bag on top
of the pile of cases.
'Nothing!' he snapped too
sharply.
'Come on, Ralphie,' I attempted the light-hearted
approach, 'what is it? Don't tell me, Julia's thrown you out and you're
looking for us to put you up.'
'There's nothing the matter
with Julia and me.' His tone suggested I had touched a nerve but
Sophie's cautionary glance convinced me drop the interrogation. We
continued with predictable small talk about the difference in climate
between Britain and the antipodes.

It wasn't until we were
speeding along the motorway that I took advantage of a break in
Sophie's travelogue to ask Ralph how things were back at the
office.
'You and Kate cope okay then?'
'Pardon?'

I knew he'd heard perfectly well but repeated the question
anyway. 'Everything ticking along all right with the business? Has Kate
looked after you and the shop okay?'
I watched the blood drain
from his face. 'Well I was kind of hoping I could wait until you'd
settled back before I told you.'
Sophie, sitting in the front
of the car, exchanged a concerned look with me in the rear view mirror.
The atmosphere dropped to about minus twenty.
'Come on, Ralph,
what is it?' I urged. 'If it's that Broughton's job, it doesn't matter
much, I was half expecting that to fall through.'
Ralph shook
his head. 'No, that's going okay - started a week or so
ago.'
'Is Kate okay?' Sophie stepped in. 'She hasn't had an
accident or anything, has she?'
The penny suddenly dropped
with me. 'She's handed in her notice. Well we had a good run
while?'
'Kate isn't with us anymore!' Ralph blurted out with a
long exhalation of breath, his face twitching nervously in the driver's
mirror.
'Oh, so it is worse than I thought. She's worked her
notice and left?'
Being more than keen to finally get the
whole lot off his chest, Ralph sucked in an even deeper breath. 'She
didn't work her notice. In fact, she didn't even say she was going. She
just disappeared three weeks ago. Didn't turn up one day and I can't
contact her.'
Reluctant to accept the worst, I attempted to
maintain my flippancy.
'Bill Gates must've made her an offer
she couldn't refuse, with the proviso she start immediately? Bugger
it!.. Here we go on the bloody recruitment circus again.'
My
humour cut no ice with Ralph. 'I'm sorry to hit you with this, Ed, but
it's much worse than that.'
The cogs began to whirr; I
couldn't imagine a worse scenario.
'How could it be?' I asked
calmly, refusing to be fazed.
I could see Ralph's hands
shaking on the wheel.
'We're beginning to have cheques
returned due to insufficient funds.' He lifted a hand to give his chin
nervous rub. 'Honestly, Ed, I had hoped to put this on the back burner
until you'd at least recovered from your jet-lag, but I think we're
virtually bankrupt.'
I felt the blood drain from my face. My
empire wasn't much but it was mine. All the hard work and sacrifices
I'd made over the years crumbled away in front of my closed eyes. I
felt physically sick. My heart leapt into my throat. I gulped hard to
suppress the nausea. When I looked up. Sophie's eyes were there,
reflecting my horror in the driver's mirror.
'There must be
some mistake,' I stumbled, 'I'll sort it out on
Monday.'
Ralph's head twitched with a shake of impatience.
'I'm sorry, Ed, there's no mistake.'
'What do you mean, no
mistake?' I felt the blood roar through my ears. ''Course it's a
fuckin' mistake! What else could it be?'
Ralph's eyes danced
with apprehension but despite the tirade of abuse, he remained cool
enough to explain quite clearly, 'I've had Alex in. He's been through
the books with a fine-tooth comb. She's taken us for a right ride and
legged it. It's a right bloody mess.'
That was it. I was sunk.
I knew that if our accountant couldn't straighten out the crisis there
wasn't much hope of me resolving anything.

Sophie swivelled in
her seat to give my hand a comforting pat. 'I think Ralph is right, you
could've probably coped better when you'd had time to settle in.' She
even managed one of her smiles. 'You'll think better when you've got
over the flight.'
 'Bollocks!' I snatched my hand away.
'Next you'll tell me that it'll all seem much better after a cup of
tea.'

All the good that long break had done for Sophie and me
was undone in a split second. She winced with the hurt and things went
downhill from there over the weekend. I had wanted to go into work on
the Sunday. Sophie had argued that it would be futile as any bank or
individual I needed to contact would not be available. It erupted into
a very nasty disagreement that almost resulted in me walking out on
her. But, in the end, I had to concede that she was talking sense.

As fortune played it, once I was back at my desk, I
didn't have to wait long for a development. At ten past nine on Monday
morning, my phone rang.
I picked it up and barked
impatiently, 'Yes!'
It was Kate.
'Good
holiday?'
'Don't come that. What the hell are you playing
at?'
'Playing? Who's playing?'
'Kate, I don't know
what you hope to achieve. With your qualifications you had a brilliant
career ahead of you, now that's gone and for what? When word gets out
you'll never get another job anywhere, unless it's in a prison
kitchen.'
'I don't know what you're going on about. I haven't
taken anything that isn't mine by right. In fact, I think you've got
off lightly.'
'You what? You?'
'Save it!' She cut in.
'I've got some propositions to put to you and we can't do it on the
phone.'
I was mad but I realised she had the whip hand. 'So
where do we meet? I assume that's what you're suggesting.'
'Oh
no.' She actually giggled. 'I'm not daft enough to give you the chance
to lead me into the long arms of the law.'
'So what are you
proposing?' I was rapidly losing patience.
'Nothing straight
away. Just check your email when you get home. I promise you, you'll
see things in a different light then, and maybe we'll be able to come
to some sort of understanding.'

I looked up to see Ralph
staring back at me.
'Her?' he mouthed.
I nodded the
affirmative. There was a click in my ear and Kate was gone.

Dialling 1471 brought up the message, 'Caller's number
withheld.'

I would've liked to go home right then but had to
spent the rest of the day fending off creditors and contractors looking
for money.

By the time I got home and sat in front of
the PC, I was practically exhausted. I had fifty-seven emails. Skipping
through all the different invitations to enlarge my penis, or to see
some slapper on her new web cam, I eventually came to what I was
looking for. The subject line merely stated, 'Why'.

I opened it. It read:

'I knew I
wouldn't be able to get this message over to you without interruption
on the phone. I trust the following will be self-explanatory to our
business negotiations:

'Edwin William Taylor, born
11:06:1961. Lived with parents in Park Road, Bearwood until moving out
after meeting and later marrying Sophie Wells in
1984.'

Well that wasn't much of a revelation, so what
had she got to blackmail me with?

It continued,
'Prior to your courtship with Miss Wells you had a relationship with an
Elizabeth Collins.'

Elizabeth was a local girl. She
and I had been an item for some time but she had dumped me
unexpectedly. It was something I had never understood but where had
Kate gleaned even that much was a mystery? I couldn't recall Beth ever
coming into any conversation I'd had with Kate, nor with Ralph for that
matter.
 
'What's that you've got?' Sophie
interrupted me with a cup of tea. I jumped like a schoolboy caught
smoking.

Sometime in the past, I guess I must've mentioned
Beth to Sophie. There was nothing to hide but the mail was getting
personal and I felt rather embarrassed.
'Oh just an email
about an old school mate on Friends Reunited.' Well it was half true -
I had gone to school with Beth.

Sophie placed the mug on my
desk and nodded at the screen. 'The weekend you were up in a heap
because you couldn't get things sorted quickly enough. Now you spend
your time communicating with the past while the present crumbles around
you.' She walked away muttering, 'One of these days I'll fathom you
out.'

Once she was safely out of the door I
continued reading: 'Did you ever wonder what happened to Elizabeth?...
No?.. Well I'll tell you: She eventually married and had two children
by a right waste of space. All this was after she gave birth to one
illegitimate child.'

Shit! That hit me like a ton of
bricks.

The email ended, 'Do not attempt to reply to
this message. Meet me at The Cross in Moseley Village at 9 p.m.'

Having made my excuses to Sophie, I left in good
time and walked into the bar of The Cross right on the
dot.

Kate was sat, waiting with a dry white wine in
front of her, as calm and in control as ever. I took a seat opposite
her. In a panic I attempted to spill out my defence. 'I think you
should know, Beth finished it, not me. I couldn't work out why at the
time? If I'd had any idea?'

'Save it,' Kate snapped.
'Let's not beat around the bush. If you want your business back it has
to be re-registered as Taylor and Woodall with the profits split
fifty-fifty. I think that's fair, don't you? Just think what you've
saved by Mom never pestering you for a penny all these years? Oh and
that Ralph will have to go. He's a bloody liability. If he'd kept his
eye on the ball instead of my legs he might have spotted my sleight of
hand. We can't afford passengers like that.' She held out her hand and
smiled. 'So, is it a deal, Dad?'