supposed to be. Mary made a call, entered a few things into the computer and turned back to her file. All of which she should have been doing while Katharine had been fifteen feet away talking to Brenda.
A frown marred her forehead; Katharine could feel it. Did it mean anything that Mary was away from her desk for the entire time Katharine had stood and chatted with Brenda–more than an hour–then reappeared within moments of when she left?
Jeff Grason must have spotted her frown, because he looked over from his seat and asked, “What do you need to see?”
She pointed to the screen, “Mary Wayne, for the last three hours.”
“Normal speed?” He was already skipping the recording backward, keeping an eye on the clock, looking for the start time.
“Oh God, no. But I do need to see all her activities.”
With an understanding nod at what she wanted and no questions as to why, he started the video. Just as rapidly, he took it from real time and clicked through a few options, speeding up the action a notch at a time, until Mary Wayne looked like a shaky version of herself. She sat at her desk for long stretches of time. Her hand, in rapid fast-forward, would dart out, grab the phone, often replacing it almost as quickly. But she didn’t leave her desk. Not once.
Not until almost the exact moment Katharine appeared in the scene. “Wait. There. Go back?”
Jeff nodded and rewound a small stretch, then played the portion just before Katharine’s arrival in normal speed when she asked.
Katharine watched with avid curiosity. There was no change in Mary’s demeanor that she could discern. Mary simply got up and left her desk–as though she had to go to the bathroom or was hitting the snack machine in the employee room. But she did it just before Katharine arrived at the opposite door. In fact, Katharine had missed Mary by mere seconds.
Mary returned the same way–no pretense, no furtive looks, nothing out of the ordinary. It was as though she’d only been gone a minute, when in fact it had been far, far longer. Then, just a few seconds after Katharine left, the payroll clerk reappeared.
So the question was, would Katharine have seen Mary if she’d stayed a few more minutes making small talk with Brenda? Or would Mary have still arrived back at her desk moments after Katharine left?
Thanking the guys in security, Katharine headed back to her office to figure out how to test that point. The sound of her own steps down the hallway created a rhythm for her thoughts. But her thoughts didn’t manage to get anywhere meaningful before she arrived back at her own office door. Allistair still sat at his desk, but he looked decidedly better than he had this morning, and he agreed with her assessment when she told him so.
“I think I need to eat something now. Something green and healthy. And I need some fresh air.”
He hadn’t taken a lunch break, so who was she to deny the man some real food? “Sounds like a good idea.”
She’d only meant it was a good idea for him, so she was startled when he asked her to join him.
• • •
Allistair was surprised when she agreed to go out with him for the late lunch. He hadn’t expected her to; he hadn’t pushed her. He hadn’t tried at all to alter her thoughts, even though he could have. So when she cocked her head to the side and shrugged, he wasn’t quite prepared. He didn’t know what to say and he wasn’t sure how to turn the tide on whatever was swelling inside him. He’d like to say it was pride at the score, but he knew that wasn’t the case.
“Do you know where you want to go?” Katharine glanced back over her shoulder from the office door, her jacket already slung on.
He shook his head. He’d intended to go by himself and get out of her sphere for a short while. He’d only invited her along because it seemed like the right thing to do.
No, that wasn’t right. He’d invited her because he
wanted
her near, even if he
needed
to be
A frown marred her forehead; Katharine could feel it. Did it mean anything that Mary was away from her desk for the entire time Katharine had stood and chatted with Brenda–more than an hour–then reappeared within moments of when she left?
Jeff Grason must have spotted her frown, because he looked over from his seat and asked, “What do you need to see?”
She pointed to the screen, “Mary Wayne, for the last three hours.”
“Normal speed?” He was already skipping the recording backward, keeping an eye on the clock, looking for the start time.
“Oh God, no. But I do need to see all her activities.”
With an understanding nod at what she wanted and no questions as to why, he started the video. Just as rapidly, he took it from real time and clicked through a few options, speeding up the action a notch at a time, until Mary Wayne looked like a shaky version of herself. She sat at her desk for long stretches of time. Her hand, in rapid fast-forward, would dart out, grab the phone, often replacing it almost as quickly. But she didn’t leave her desk. Not once.
Not until almost the exact moment Katharine appeared in the scene. “Wait. There. Go back?”
Jeff nodded and rewound a small stretch, then played the portion just before Katharine’s arrival in normal speed when she asked.
Katharine watched with avid curiosity. There was no change in Mary’s demeanor that she could discern. Mary simply got up and left her desk–as though she had to go to the bathroom or was hitting the snack machine in the employee room. But she did it just before Katharine arrived at the opposite door. In fact, Katharine had missed Mary by mere seconds.
Mary returned the same way–no pretense, no furtive looks, nothing out of the ordinary. It was as though she’d only been gone a minute, when in fact it had been far, far longer. Then, just a few seconds after Katharine left, the payroll clerk reappeared.
So the question was, would Katharine have seen Mary if she’d stayed a few more minutes making small talk with Brenda? Or would Mary have still arrived back at her desk moments after Katharine left?
Thanking the guys in security, Katharine headed back to her office to figure out how to test that point. The sound of her own steps down the hallway created a rhythm for her thoughts. But her thoughts didn’t manage to get anywhere meaningful before she arrived back at her own office door. Allistair still sat at his desk, but he looked decidedly better than he had this morning, and he agreed with her assessment when she told him so.
“I think I need to eat something now. Something green and healthy. And I need some fresh air.”
He hadn’t taken a lunch break, so who was she to deny the man some real food? “Sounds like a good idea.”
She’d only meant it was a good idea for him, so she was startled when he asked her to join him.
• • •
Allistair was surprised when she agreed to go out with him for the late lunch. He hadn’t expected her to; he hadn’t pushed her. He hadn’t tried at all to alter her thoughts, even though he could have. So when she cocked her head to the side and shrugged, he wasn’t quite prepared. He didn’t know what to say and he wasn’t sure how to turn the tide on whatever was swelling inside him. He’d like to say it was pride at the score, but he knew that wasn’t the case.
“Do you know where you want to go?” Katharine glanced back over her shoulder from the office door, her jacket already slung on.
He shook his head. He’d intended to go by himself and get out of her sphere for a short while. He’d only invited her along because it seemed like the right thing to do.
No, that wasn’t right. He’d invited her because he
wanted
her near, even if he
needed
to be
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