tempted to phone him back, but he couldn’t think of any legitimate reason for doing so. Frustrated, he realized that he’d just have to bide his time. His coffee grew cold as he sat back in his chair, put his feet up on the cluttered desk and remembered the first time he’d seen Marianne.
His firm had been hired to install a computer system in Treacy Travel, where Marianne worked. Rob was assigned to lead and co-ordinate the project. It had been quite a task; they were using antiquated systems and the small group of staff were resistant to change. Marianne had been the only one excited by the initiative and eager to learn, and Rob had been only too happy to teach her. He’d fancied her straight away. She was a good-looking woman but it was her eyes that had mesmerized him. He could still remember the disappointment he’d felt when he’d looked down and seen the plain gold band on her left hand.
Tom Treacy, Marianne’s boss, had made her the project manager and as a result Rob had ended up working with her on an almost daily basis. She was smart, picked things up quickly and was fun to work with, although he remembered that at times she could be quite withdrawn. He’d wondered occasionally if she had health problems as some days she’d arrive looking tired and wan, say she had paperwork to attend to and shut herself in her office. He was fascinated by everything about her in a way that he’d never been before; he was falling in love with a married woman. But whether it had just been wishful thinking, even back then he’d wondered about that marriage. There were photos of her two children on her desk and her walls were covered with her daughter’s artwork, but there was no photo of her husband. Rob had overheard some of their calls and they were stilted and Marianne seemed to stiffen when she heard her husband’s voice. He’d only met him once. Dominic had come to collect her and Rob had disliked the proprietorial way he’d slid his arm around her waist and noticed too how uncomfortable she’d appeared with it.
Rob figured she knew that he fancied her; she might be married and beyond his reach but he couldn’t resist in indulging in some harmless flirting. Then one evening on his way home from the cinema, he’d dropped into the office to check on a job he’d left running and found her slumped at her desk with her head on her arms, crying as if her heart would break. He’d sat on the desk and put an arm around her shaking shoulders and when she’d calmed down he’d made her a mug of strong, sweet tea. He stood over her as she drank it with shaking hands, but she wouldn’t tell him what was wrong, dismissing it as something silly. She hadn’t been remotely convincing, but he knew better than to pursue the matter. At the end of the day he was only a work colleague although he felt they’d moved beyond that. He was afraid to overstep the mark. It was only when he was lying in bed later thinking about the episode, he’d realized that the expression on her face, the one he hadn’t been quite able to fathom, had been fear.
From then on Rob grew more watchful, looking for signs of distress. One day, when there was a group of them standing around the coffee machine laughing, it had struck him that, despite her smile, there was sadness in her eyes. He needed to know the reason and he longed to be the one to take that sorrow away. He wanted to be the one to make her smile with her eyes as well as her mouth. Aware that he was becoming almost obsessive, Rob went on a series of unsuccessful dates but he only ever ended up comparing the women to Marianne and none came close to making him feel the way she did. With the last girl, a curvaceous, bubbly blonde who had a very sexy smile, he’d found himself staring at the various parts of her body while she talked and wondering why he wasn’t remotely turned on. A couple of months later, all the staff at Treacy Travel were going for a meal and a few drinks to
His firm had been hired to install a computer system in Treacy Travel, where Marianne worked. Rob was assigned to lead and co-ordinate the project. It had been quite a task; they were using antiquated systems and the small group of staff were resistant to change. Marianne had been the only one excited by the initiative and eager to learn, and Rob had been only too happy to teach her. He’d fancied her straight away. She was a good-looking woman but it was her eyes that had mesmerized him. He could still remember the disappointment he’d felt when he’d looked down and seen the plain gold band on her left hand.
Tom Treacy, Marianne’s boss, had made her the project manager and as a result Rob had ended up working with her on an almost daily basis. She was smart, picked things up quickly and was fun to work with, although he remembered that at times she could be quite withdrawn. He’d wondered occasionally if she had health problems as some days she’d arrive looking tired and wan, say she had paperwork to attend to and shut herself in her office. He was fascinated by everything about her in a way that he’d never been before; he was falling in love with a married woman. But whether it had just been wishful thinking, even back then he’d wondered about that marriage. There were photos of her two children on her desk and her walls were covered with her daughter’s artwork, but there was no photo of her husband. Rob had overheard some of their calls and they were stilted and Marianne seemed to stiffen when she heard her husband’s voice. He’d only met him once. Dominic had come to collect her and Rob had disliked the proprietorial way he’d slid his arm around her waist and noticed too how uncomfortable she’d appeared with it.
Rob figured she knew that he fancied her; she might be married and beyond his reach but he couldn’t resist in indulging in some harmless flirting. Then one evening on his way home from the cinema, he’d dropped into the office to check on a job he’d left running and found her slumped at her desk with her head on her arms, crying as if her heart would break. He’d sat on the desk and put an arm around her shaking shoulders and when she’d calmed down he’d made her a mug of strong, sweet tea. He stood over her as she drank it with shaking hands, but she wouldn’t tell him what was wrong, dismissing it as something silly. She hadn’t been remotely convincing, but he knew better than to pursue the matter. At the end of the day he was only a work colleague although he felt they’d moved beyond that. He was afraid to overstep the mark. It was only when he was lying in bed later thinking about the episode, he’d realized that the expression on her face, the one he hadn’t been quite able to fathom, had been fear.
From then on Rob grew more watchful, looking for signs of distress. One day, when there was a group of them standing around the coffee machine laughing, it had struck him that, despite her smile, there was sadness in her eyes. He needed to know the reason and he longed to be the one to take that sorrow away. He wanted to be the one to make her smile with her eyes as well as her mouth. Aware that he was becoming almost obsessive, Rob went on a series of unsuccessful dates but he only ever ended up comparing the women to Marianne and none came close to making him feel the way she did. With the last girl, a curvaceous, bubbly blonde who had a very sexy smile, he’d found himself staring at the various parts of her body while she talked and wondering why he wasn’t remotely turned on. A couple of months later, all the staff at Treacy Travel were going for a meal and a few drinks to
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