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CHAPTER ONE

ALICE MORGAN WAS growing more annoyed by the second It was ten-thirty She had now been sitting in this office for an hour and a half and no one could tell her whether she would be sitting there, tapping her foot and looking at her watch, for another hour and a half, two hours, three hours or for the rest of the day

In fact, she see played by his own rules, she had been told He came and went as he pleased He did as he wanted He was unpredictable, a law unto hi, pocket-sized blonde Barbie doll as she had been ushered into her office to find that her new boss was nowhere to be found

‘Perhaps he has a diary?’ Alice had suggested ‘Maybe he had a breakfastat nine If you could check, then at least I would kno long I can expect to be kept waiting’

But, no Mr Big didn’t run his life according to diaries Apparently he didn’t need to because he was so clever that he could re without the benefit of reminders Besides, no one was allowed into his office when he was absent—although the Barbie doll had worked for hio and knew for a fact that he didn’t use any diaries Because he was brilliant and didn’t need them

The Barbie doll had since peered into the office twice, setically and repeated what she had previously said—as though lateness and discourtesy inning selling points that the entire staff happily accepted and so, therefore, should she

Mouth tight, Alice looked around her, frolass partition into Gabriel Cabrera’s er, much more impressive one

When she had been told where she would be te, Alice had been thrilled The offices were situated in thein the city The Shard was a testinificent views over London People paid to go up it The bars and restaurants there were booked up weeks in advance

And now she would be working there True, her contract was only for six weeks, but she had been told that there was a chance of beingand firing, the woood at what she did Better than good By the tiht-forty-five that , she had made up her mind that she would do her damnedest to secure a permanent position there

Her last job had been pleasant and reasonably well paid, but the surroundings had been mediocre and the chances of advanceet it, proht actually move in an upward direction

Right now, she thought that she wouldn’t be going anywhere if her new boss didn’t show up, except back to her little shared house in Shepherd’s Bush with one wasted day behind her She probably wouldn’t even be paid for her tin off her work sheet if she didn’t actually do any work She wondered whether his reputation as a hirer and firer wasn’t actually a case of hi left in the lurch every three weeks because his secretaries got fed up dealing with his so-called brilliance Not sohis secretaries as his secretaries firing him

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirrored wall that occupied one section of her office and frowned at the ie reflected back: her neat outfit and unrelossy, snappy ie of the other employees she had seen as she had been channelled onto the directors’ floor She could have landed on a filuys all wore snappy, expensive suits and the wo in a polished, well-grooraduates who all had the full package of looks, ambition and brains Even the secretaries and clerks who kept the wheels of the las

She, on the other hand

Brown eyes, brown hair falling straight to her shoulders, and she was far too tall, even in her flat, black purey suit and white blouse screah when she had stuck it on that e she projected It had certainly ear she had beco at her last job Now, here, she just looked vaguelydrab

For the first ti and her confidence in her abilities were going to be enough An eccentric and insane eht just find her a little on the boring side