The Girl in the Yellow Vest by Loretta Hill

size of everybody else’s desk and she couldn’t believe that they’d actually managed to fit a computer onto it.
    ‘I know it’s a little crammed,’ Alan began apologetically.
    A little?!
    ‘But it was all we had. As you can see, we’re rather pushed for space at the moment and Caes–, the project manager hasn’t seen fit to buy us another donga.’ He licked his lips, lowering his tone confidentially. ‘We’re saving the money to increase Barnes Inc’s profit margin.’
    How nice.
    Emily looked for a place to put down her things but seeing none decided to keep holding them.
    ‘On the bright side,’ Alan beamed, ‘most of the time, you won’t be in the office. You’ll be out on the wharf cruising around and making your mark.’
    As the girl in the clown suit.
    ‘So, I don’t suppose you could introduce me around a little? I’d love to meet the project manager.’
    ‘The project manager never speaks with new recruits,’ Alan said firmly. ‘You have to have been here at least a couple of weeks before he’ll see you.’
    Emily stared. ‘Why?’
    ‘Because then, “apparently”,’ he lifted his hands to insert the quotation marks, ‘you’ll be able to hold a decent conversation with him.’ He dropped his hands. ‘He doesn’t like dealing with people still learning the lay of land. Sorry.’
    ‘That’s okay . . . I guess.’
    ‘Would you like a tea or coffee?’
    ‘Sure.’
    ‘Do you have mug?’
    She looked down at her full hands helplessly. ‘No, I don’t.’
    ‘Oh.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘Well then you can’t. The project manager requires that we supply all our own mugs, coffee powder and tea bags, etc. But maybe tomorrow.’ He punctuated the suggestion with an enthusiastic smile and nod.
    ‘Er . . . sure.’
    ‘So if you’ll be right, I’ll leave you to it.’
    ‘Wait!’ She quickly stopped him. ‘Leave me to what?’
    He blinked. ‘I thought you knew.’
    ‘No, I don’t.’
    ‘That
is
a shame.’ He clasped his hands. ‘Well, I’ll see if I can find out and get back to you.’
    She didn’t see head or tail of him for the next hour, or anyone else for that matter.
    One guy stopped by the stationery cupboard. Eagerly, she waited for him to say something to her.
    He did. ‘We’re out of pacer leads.’ He shook the empty box in her face. ‘Put that on order.’
    He walked off before she could correct his misunderstanding.
    Others stopped to use the photocopier but did not pause for conversation. A kind of panic hung in the air, as if they were all late for some party she hadn’t been invited to.
    Was she missing something?
    At five o’clock, people were starting to switch off their computers and go home. Just as she was wondering what she should do, the office door swung open and Will walked in.
    Thank goodness.
    Dressed in a hard hat, blue Hard Yakka pants and a fluoro-yellow safety vest, he looked like he had just come off the wharf. He tapped a roll of drawings on his palm as he scanned the room, clearly in search of her. A huge smile broke out on his face when he spotted her.
    ‘You’re here!’
    She stood up as he reached her. ‘Yes I am.’
    They didn’t embrace, conscious of being in a workplace and not wanting to draw attention to themselves, but his eyes were appreciative as he looked her over.
    ‘You’ve cut your hair.’
    She self-consciously fingered the strands. ‘Yeah, do you like it?’
    After a moment he nodded. ‘I do.’ He looked away from her then, as if embarrassed by his own comment. He cleared his throat. ‘Is this the desk they’ve given you?’
    ‘Yeah.’ She shrugged. ‘I’m hoping it’s temporary.’
    ‘Yeah, I’ll say. So where’s all the rest of your stuff?’
    ‘My suitcase is under the desk.’ She kicked it with her foot. ‘I packed light, just a few outfits. When’s knock-off time?’
    ‘Now.’ It was a new voice that interrupted what she had previously thought was a private conversation. It belonged to a