she had bought him the previous Christmas with equal attention.
‘Just you,’ she said, brushing his cheek with a kiss. ‘Come on, cheer up. I think we both deserve an evening out.’
Thackeray had driven slowly up the hill out of town to the country club where the car park was already almost full. He wished that he was as confident as Laura that they would enjoy the evening, but he had his doubts. Football was not his game, parties were not his scene, but he knew that if he did not make an effort Laura was quite prepared to go on her own, and of the two options, he had decided that was the worse.
As soon as they had left their coats, Laura was hailed by Tony Holloway, snaking through the crush towards them with a glass in his hand and a glazed look in his eyes that indicated that it was by no means the first drink of the day.
‘Laura,’ he said, giving her an unexpected kiss on both cheeks that she was too slow to evade. ‘Our lovely Laura,’ he went on, and Laura could feel Thackeray bristling beside her. ‘You know,’ the sports editor ploughed on, addressing himself to Thackeray now. ‘You know, your lovely Laura has suddenly become a football expert? Amazing, isn’t it? I’d no idea she understood the off-side rule, had you?’
He put an arm round Laura’s shoulder and glanced around the room, swaying slightly.
‘Jenna invited you, did she? Wonderful lady, Jenna Heywood, but not long for this job. You wait. The old guard’ll have her out, one way or another. You’ll see.’
‘You sound as if you’ve been celebrating since the final whistle,’ Laura said tartly. ‘Have you written your report for tomorrow? I reckon Ted will want it on the front page.’
‘All taken care of, sweetie, all wrapped up and ready to go, the front page splash, of course,’ Tony said blithely. ‘Ted’s here somewhere, by the way.’ He glanced across the roomin the direction of a group of heavy men with dark suits and flushed faces amongst whom Laura could see their editor chomping on a cigar and waving a whiskey glass in the air, evidently haranguing his listeners in a way that was all too familiar to his staff.
‘I didn’t know he was a footie fan,’ Laura said.
‘Oh, it’s not that game with Ted, is it, darling? It’s another sort of game entirely.’ And with that Holloway wove off into the crowd again with what she guessed he hoped was an enigmatic smile. Laura turned back to Thackeray with a shrug.
‘Sorry about that. You know, I think my foray into sport may be strictly a one-off,’ she said. ‘It’s not the game, it’s the company you have to keep. But let’s make the most of it while we’re here, shall we? The drinks seem to be over there.’
After a couple of glasses of champagne, Laura’s party turned into a dizzy whirl of introductions and brief conversations as alcohol-fuelled young men in designer gear, almost invariably accompanied by fiercely tanned young women, tottering on high heels and wearing very little, grouped and regrouped around her. She lost sight of Thackeray after a short time and suddenly found herself face to face with Paolo Minelli, who looked rather too enthusiastically pleased to see her. His girlfriend Angelica did not seem to be in sight.
‘Ciao, Laura, cara,’
he said, pronouncing her name as Dante would have done and kissing her on both cheeks. ‘You look ravishing tonight.’
‘Paolo,’ Laura said, dodging what appeared to be an attempt at an even closer embrace. ‘You must be delighted by the result yesterday.’
‘I am delighted, Jenna is delighted, OK is delighted.’ For a second his face clouded as he seemed to catch the eye of someone in the crowd behind him. ‘I just hope we can keep OK for the rest of the season,’ he said quietly, although there was little chance of being overheard amongst the frantic chatter and laughter all around them.
‘He wouldn’t go so soon, would he?’ Laura asked, surprised. ‘I thought he’d only just
‘Just you,’ she said, brushing his cheek with a kiss. ‘Come on, cheer up. I think we both deserve an evening out.’
Thackeray had driven slowly up the hill out of town to the country club where the car park was already almost full. He wished that he was as confident as Laura that they would enjoy the evening, but he had his doubts. Football was not his game, parties were not his scene, but he knew that if he did not make an effort Laura was quite prepared to go on her own, and of the two options, he had decided that was the worse.
As soon as they had left their coats, Laura was hailed by Tony Holloway, snaking through the crush towards them with a glass in his hand and a glazed look in his eyes that indicated that it was by no means the first drink of the day.
‘Laura,’ he said, giving her an unexpected kiss on both cheeks that she was too slow to evade. ‘Our lovely Laura,’ he went on, and Laura could feel Thackeray bristling beside her. ‘You know,’ the sports editor ploughed on, addressing himself to Thackeray now. ‘You know, your lovely Laura has suddenly become a football expert? Amazing, isn’t it? I’d no idea she understood the off-side rule, had you?’
He put an arm round Laura’s shoulder and glanced around the room, swaying slightly.
‘Jenna invited you, did she? Wonderful lady, Jenna Heywood, but not long for this job. You wait. The old guard’ll have her out, one way or another. You’ll see.’
‘You sound as if you’ve been celebrating since the final whistle,’ Laura said tartly. ‘Have you written your report for tomorrow? I reckon Ted will want it on the front page.’
‘All taken care of, sweetie, all wrapped up and ready to go, the front page splash, of course,’ Tony said blithely. ‘Ted’s here somewhere, by the way.’ He glanced across the roomin the direction of a group of heavy men with dark suits and flushed faces amongst whom Laura could see their editor chomping on a cigar and waving a whiskey glass in the air, evidently haranguing his listeners in a way that was all too familiar to his staff.
‘I didn’t know he was a footie fan,’ Laura said.
‘Oh, it’s not that game with Ted, is it, darling? It’s another sort of game entirely.’ And with that Holloway wove off into the crowd again with what she guessed he hoped was an enigmatic smile. Laura turned back to Thackeray with a shrug.
‘Sorry about that. You know, I think my foray into sport may be strictly a one-off,’ she said. ‘It’s not the game, it’s the company you have to keep. But let’s make the most of it while we’re here, shall we? The drinks seem to be over there.’
After a couple of glasses of champagne, Laura’s party turned into a dizzy whirl of introductions and brief conversations as alcohol-fuelled young men in designer gear, almost invariably accompanied by fiercely tanned young women, tottering on high heels and wearing very little, grouped and regrouped around her. She lost sight of Thackeray after a short time and suddenly found herself face to face with Paolo Minelli, who looked rather too enthusiastically pleased to see her. His girlfriend Angelica did not seem to be in sight.
‘Ciao, Laura, cara,’
he said, pronouncing her name as Dante would have done and kissing her on both cheeks. ‘You look ravishing tonight.’
‘Paolo,’ Laura said, dodging what appeared to be an attempt at an even closer embrace. ‘You must be delighted by the result yesterday.’
‘I am delighted, Jenna is delighted, OK is delighted.’ For a second his face clouded as he seemed to catch the eye of someone in the crowd behind him. ‘I just hope we can keep OK for the rest of the season,’ he said quietly, although there was little chance of being overheard amongst the frantic chatter and laughter all around them.
‘He wouldn’t go so soon, would he?’ Laura asked, surprised. ‘I thought he’d only just
Similar Books
