you.”
“He
has terrific qualifications, sterling references. His rapport with Mia was
instant. You just saw that. I’d have been an idiot not to hire him. I hired him
instead of female candidates.”
Sue’s
eyes flared. “But having a strange man in your house, and alone with Mia all
day.” She shook her head. “It would’ve worried me sick. What will you do for
the nights you’re travelling?”
Les’
handset chimed. She backed out of the room, making the kind of face behind
Sue’s back that you might make if you had an urgent need to vomit.
“What
are saying?” The unspoken implication was that Reece wasn’t a good choice, and
worse, that Mia wasn’t safe with him.
“Oh,
nothing. I’m sure it will be fine. And you’ve got the nanny cam. That’s some
security.” Translation: I can’t believe you’ve just compromised the welfare of
your child.
Audrey’d
had enough of unspoken implications for one day. Enough of gender
discrimination for a lifetime.
“And
you can always keep looking.” Addendum: you’re a bad mother if you don’t act to
fix this.”
Audrey
stood. Everyone on the team assumed she and Sue would be friends because they
were women. It didn’t work that way and was time for Sue to mind her own
business. “I’m excited about having Reece look after Mia. I’m sorry you feel
that’s a mistake.”
“I
didn’t say it was a mistake. But I do think it’s taking an unnecessary risk.”
“Which
is exactly why neither of us have been promoted. We’re an unnecessary risk.”
They
stared at each other. This was getting close to being an argument and while
they’d never been friends as such, they’d never gone toe to toe before.
Sue
shook her head. “You’re missing the point.”
“Am
I?” Not likely.
“This
is your own child we’re talking about. And you’re trusting a man who dances
like a Chippendale stripper to look after her.”
It
was Audrey’s turn to look shocked. “Why don’t you go the extra mile while you’re
at it? You think I hired him to have something on the side.”
“I
didn’t say that, Aud.”
“He’s
in my home, not my bed. He has a contract. I pay him a salary. He’s my
employee. And I’m—” She shook her head. How had they gotten to this? What she
did in her private life was no one’s business. If she wanted to screw the nanny
in every room of the house and twice on Sunday in the bathroom, that was
between her and Reece. Except it would be a worse idea than threatening your
company COO.
Sue
frowned. “Say it.”
“I’m
upset you’d even think that about me. That I’d whore myself out to the nanny.”
“I
don’t think that, Audrey. I was out of line with the Chippendale crack. But I
thought you’d laugh. I didn’t think you’d take it this way.”
Audrey
leaned on her desk and closed her eyes. It was only Monday lunchtime, and
already she’d turned a difference of opinion with Sue into an argument, put
herself in Chris’ sights, compromised Reece’s integrity, and betrayed her own
insecurities about hiring him.
It
was going to be a long week.
9: Magnetic
Audrey
looked trashed, but in a no fresh air, dry-eyed, too much bad coffee and too
long sitting way. Reece thought she needed a stretch, a dozen lung busting breaths,
a good feed, a drink, a massage and a dozen hours of quality sleep. As it was
she’d have to bath Mia, get her to bed, endure through story time and feed herself
before she could relax.
It
wasn’t Reece’s job to cook for Audrey at night, but he’d made a meat sauce for
Mia’s spaghetti dinner, though he knew from Cameron’s briefing notes she’d only
eat the noodles and play with the rest, but he thought Audrey might make use of
what Mia didn’t for her own dinner. He’d also shifted a bottle of white wine
from her wine rack to the fridge, and there was an extra baguette from lunch,
along with a mini apple pie he’d bought at the fresh food markets near Mia’s
kindy
“He
has terrific qualifications, sterling references. His rapport with Mia was
instant. You just saw that. I’d have been an idiot not to hire him. I hired him
instead of female candidates.”
Sue’s
eyes flared. “But having a strange man in your house, and alone with Mia all
day.” She shook her head. “It would’ve worried me sick. What will you do for
the nights you’re travelling?”
Les’
handset chimed. She backed out of the room, making the kind of face behind
Sue’s back that you might make if you had an urgent need to vomit.
“What
are saying?” The unspoken implication was that Reece wasn’t a good choice, and
worse, that Mia wasn’t safe with him.
“Oh,
nothing. I’m sure it will be fine. And you’ve got the nanny cam. That’s some
security.” Translation: I can’t believe you’ve just compromised the welfare of
your child.
Audrey’d
had enough of unspoken implications for one day. Enough of gender
discrimination for a lifetime.
“And
you can always keep looking.” Addendum: you’re a bad mother if you don’t act to
fix this.”
Audrey
stood. Everyone on the team assumed she and Sue would be friends because they
were women. It didn’t work that way and was time for Sue to mind her own
business. “I’m excited about having Reece look after Mia. I’m sorry you feel
that’s a mistake.”
“I
didn’t say it was a mistake. But I do think it’s taking an unnecessary risk.”
“Which
is exactly why neither of us have been promoted. We’re an unnecessary risk.”
They
stared at each other. This was getting close to being an argument and while
they’d never been friends as such, they’d never gone toe to toe before.
Sue
shook her head. “You’re missing the point.”
“Am
I?” Not likely.
“This
is your own child we’re talking about. And you’re trusting a man who dances
like a Chippendale stripper to look after her.”
It
was Audrey’s turn to look shocked. “Why don’t you go the extra mile while you’re
at it? You think I hired him to have something on the side.”
“I
didn’t say that, Aud.”
“He’s
in my home, not my bed. He has a contract. I pay him a salary. He’s my
employee. And I’m—” She shook her head. How had they gotten to this? What she
did in her private life was no one’s business. If she wanted to screw the nanny
in every room of the house and twice on Sunday in the bathroom, that was
between her and Reece. Except it would be a worse idea than threatening your
company COO.
Sue
frowned. “Say it.”
“I’m
upset you’d even think that about me. That I’d whore myself out to the nanny.”
“I
don’t think that, Audrey. I was out of line with the Chippendale crack. But I
thought you’d laugh. I didn’t think you’d take it this way.”
Audrey
leaned on her desk and closed her eyes. It was only Monday lunchtime, and
already she’d turned a difference of opinion with Sue into an argument, put
herself in Chris’ sights, compromised Reece’s integrity, and betrayed her own
insecurities about hiring him.
It
was going to be a long week.
9: Magnetic
Audrey
looked trashed, but in a no fresh air, dry-eyed, too much bad coffee and too
long sitting way. Reece thought she needed a stretch, a dozen lung busting breaths,
a good feed, a drink, a massage and a dozen hours of quality sleep. As it was
she’d have to bath Mia, get her to bed, endure through story time and feed herself
before she could relax.
It
wasn’t Reece’s job to cook for Audrey at night, but he’d made a meat sauce for
Mia’s spaghetti dinner, though he knew from Cameron’s briefing notes she’d only
eat the noodles and play with the rest, but he thought Audrey might make use of
what Mia didn’t for her own dinner. He’d also shifted a bottle of white wine
from her wine rack to the fridge, and there was an extra baguette from lunch,
along with a mini apple pie he’d bought at the fresh food markets near Mia’s
kindy
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