It’s A Man’s World. Polly Courtney

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СКАЧАТЬ of Leonie’s mother, hovering nervously in the doorway, that had saved them from the initial outburst of rage. As it was, Alexa had suffered alone, on the journey home, and the mental scars would probably stay with her forever. Alexa knew exactly how her mother felt. She was a Class A prude and nothing would ever change that.

      ‘Who cares what your mum thinks?’ Kate screwed up her nose. ‘She’s probably about fifty years behind the times! Fuck that. You don’t need to pander to her way of thinking.’

      Alexa and Leonie looked at one another.

      ‘You haven’t met Lex’s mum, have you?’ asked Leonie, politely.

      Kate looked nonplussed, then quickly brightened again. ‘What about Matt?’ she asked. ‘What does he think?’

      Alexa allowed herself a little smile. Six months had passed and still it felt new and exciting – or rather, it still felt unreal. For once, things were working out on the man front.

      ‘His first question was whether he’d get free copies of Banter.’

      Kate hooted. ‘Typical! That is so Matt!’

      Alexa smiled. She didn’t mind that Kate took the credit for setting her up with Matt, or that she pretended to know him when in fact he had simply been one of the hundreds of guests at her New Year’s Eve party. She didn’t mind, because frankly she was grateful – to Kate or to fate – for getting them together.

      ‘Then he kind of went a bit . . . weird.’ Alexa squirmed as she remembered the way Matt’s expression had changed. It was as though he had flipped from being excited to lukewarm, in an instant.

      ‘What sort of weird?’ asked Leonie.

      ‘Well . . .’ Alexa hesitated, unable to think of a better description. ‘I think he just has some reservations.’

      ‘What?’ Kate screwed up her nose. ‘Matt’s not a raving feminist, is he?’

      ‘No. I think it might be more . . .’ Alexa hesitated, unsure as to whether her theory stood up. ‘I think it could be the male-dominated environment.’

      Kate’s expression intensified. ‘He wouldn’t be jealous, would he?’

      ‘He’s too good-looking to be the jealous type,’ said Leonie.

      Alexa shook her head, thinking of Matt’s piercing blue eyes and his fine blond hair. ‘I think he’s probably just worried. He said he’s seen what lads can be like. He said something about a “lions’ den”.’

      Kate rolled her eyes. ‘Like he’d know, from his experience in a city law firm!’

      Leonie flashed Alexa a warning look. ‘He’s probably had some experience on the rugby pitch.’

      ‘Oh . . .’ Kate waved a hand. ‘That’s bollocks. Totally different. This is the workplace. You can handle it, Lex.’

      ‘So, is it all men, on the team?’ Leonie persisted.

      ‘Apart from one.’

      The first thing Alexa had done following her meeting with Peterson had been to grab a copy of Banter and tear out the credits page. There were twenty-four men on the staff and one woman – an editor’s PA/editorial assistant named Sienna Pageant.

      ‘One girl, eh? I bet she has a laugh,’ remarked Kate.

      Alexa nodded, wondering, not for the first time, what type of person Sienna Pageant might be. She glanced at Leonie, who didn’t need to voice her concerns; they were written all over her face.

      ‘Well,’ said Kate, as though her mind was made up. ‘Damo says there’s a girl in his office who—’

      ‘Hang on, who’s Damo?’

      ‘Oh. He’s a guy I’m kinda seeing,’ Kate replied casually.

      Leonie looked at Alexa, then back at Kate, shaking her head in wonder. ‘Where do you get them from?’

      ‘How do you have time for them?’ added Alexa.

      Leonie raised her eyebrows at this. ‘Er . . . pot, meet kettle? Where do you get time for men?’

      Alexa frowned in mock offence. ‘I’ve had the same one for months. Kate gets a new one every week.’

      ‘Hey!’ Kate shoved her playfully. ‘Only once a fortnight. Damo works in the office above me. We were working late one night . . .’ A grin crept across her pale face. She flicked back a lock of black hair in a half-hearted attempt to look bashful.

      ‘Unbelievable.’ Leonie was still shaking her head, still smiling.

      ‘Do you nip upstairs in the middle of the night, while you’re waiting for the printer?’ asked Alexa. ‘Is that what you’re going back for tonight?’

      ‘Can we meet him?’ Leonie raised an eyebrow.

      ‘Not yet.’ Kate looked slightly ruffled. ‘It might not last.’

      Alexa rolled her eyes. Kate’s relationships didn’t generally last – simply because she lost interest and moved on to the next one. Kate treated her men as she treated her projects: she worked through them quickly, always lining up the next one as each came to an end. Nobody seemed to mind when things didn’t work out – there was never any great expectation from either party and Kate never went for the overly sensitive type.

      ‘Anyway, Damo was saying that there’s a girl in his office who sits there and cries. I just can’t believe any woman would let herself do that. You have to have some self-respect, I mean . . . at least she could have the decency to take herself off to the ladies’.’

      ‘Why does she cry?’ asked Leonie.

      Kate shrugged. ‘I guess she can’t handle the banter. She’s the only woman there – that’s what made me think of it.’

      Alexa nodded, feeling grateful that she would never have to encounter her ball-breaker friend in the workplace. She thought back to the problem in hand. What were the Banter offices like? Would she handle the banter? This would no doubt be banter of a vicious kind – banter fuelled by an excess of testosterone and highly-sexed males. It would be a stark change from the all-female offices of Hers, where conversation rarely ventured far from the core topics of recipes, home furnishings and anti-wrinkle creams. The harshest criticism Alexa had taken from colleagues at Hers was a back-handed compliment from Deirdre a couple of months ago about the way that she dressed. Deirdre, eliciting support from the young, ditsy secretary, Annabel, had been of the firm opinion that Alexa should be bolder in her choice of clothes, displaying more of her ‘lovely young figure’ to the world. It was unlikely that conversations at Banter would be so tame.

      ‘This is an amazing opportunity, Lex.’

      Alexa half-smiled. She could feel Leonie’s wary gaze upon her again.

      ‘We’re talking about one of the nation’s biggest brands.’

      ‘Mmm.’

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