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Meanwhile, AWI had given him use of a suite of rooh up enough to have a good view of the city and the harbour

But the vieasn’t the only good thing about this suite of rooms The space was incredible Rachel had sole occupancy of the entire reception area, which was huge, and boasted its oder roo with a massive semicircular work station where three secretaries could have happily worked side by side without being cramped

Justin’s office beyond was just as spacious, as well as having two large adjoining roo and entertaining Rachel had never seen a better-stocked bar, not to mention such a lavish bathroom, tiled froold fittings

Justin had confided to her during her first interview that this suite of rooms had previously been occupied by an AWI superannuation-fund er who’d redecorated as if he owned the company, and been subsequently sacked No expense had been spared, from the plush sable carpet to the sleekly modern beech office furniture, the Italian creainals on the walls

Clearly, Justin being allotted this five-star suite of rooms showed how much his skills were valued by his temporary employers

Rachel valued hi work ethics and his lack of personal arrogance Most os to match Justin didn’t Not that he was perfect, by anymoments And some days his mood left a lot to be desired

Still, Rachel already knew she’d like nothing better than to go with him when he left to set up his own company He’d already implied she could, if she wanted to He seemed as pleased with her as she ith him

A shaft of sunshine lit up Rachel’s red hair again as she pushed her way into the building’s foyer through the revolving glass doors The top of her head fairly glowed in the glass and she groaned again She would definitely be going out at lunch ti that brown dye Meanwhile, she would explain to Justin the reason behind her change of hair colour, and that it was as good as gone Then he couldn’t ju conclusions

No one gave Rachel a second glance during the lift ride up to the fifteenth floor, which was because none of the smartly dressed men and women in the lift even knew her Few people orked in the building knew her Justin worked alone, with only the occasional fundin for advice, face to face Mostly they contacted Justin by phone or email, and vice versa

So far, he hadn’t held a singlerooe had he entertained an AWI executive in the other room Sometimes, he had a nap in there on one of the two sofas after he’d been working all night He did attend ers, but he never attended the company’s social functions, and he resolutely refused to become involved in AWI’s internal politics

The truth was her boss was a loner

Which suited Rachel just fine

She’d found that since her lengthy stay-at-hoeneral—she’d becooraphobic She liked the insular security of her present office situation, plus the little contact with strangers which her working day held She no longer seemed to have the confidence she’d once had to make small talk with lots of people She’d actually become quite shy, except with her very close friends, like Isabel and Rafe, which wasn’t like her at all She’d once had a very outgoing personality

Isabel kept saying she’d get back to her old self eventually

But Rachel was beginning to doubt it Her experiences over the last few years had definitely changed her She’d become introverted And serious And, yes, plain

That was one of the biggest changes in her, of course She’d lost her looks And dying her hair red wasn’t going to get them back All it made her feel was foolish

The lift doors opened and Rachel bolted down the corridor, hopeful of still arriving before Justin He worked out in the coym every day before work, and occasionally lost track of ti

The door fro that this was one of those hed with relief as she found her key, already planning in hercoolly co away on her computer when Justin finally came in

She was doing just that when the door burst open fifteen minutes later Her heart did jued reason, as Isabel had fantasised the other night, just instant agitation What would her boss say when he saw her hair?