Coming a little late to the party? You can catch up from the beginning by clicking here: Chapter One
The following morning, Cassie and I were both in early. Although we’re neighbours, we don’t usually travel into the office together unless we spot each other on the platform of the tube station. But we’d agreed to meet up and go in together, to see if Cassie’s odd-shaped parcel had gone missing or not.
In truth, I had my doubts about whether someone was really taking the presents. The spending limit for our Secret Santa was only ten pounds. That was less than an hour’s wage even for the lowest paid of us. Well, except for Chris of course. Work experience pays nothing but even so, why risk getting fired for a few pounds?
We were both shedding coats as we passed the security desk. It was freezing outside but like summertime in Greece inside. I never understood why office buildings were so hot in winter and so cold in summer. It made dressing for work a nightmare.
“Hi Pete,” I said, waving to the guard seated behind the desk. He was in his fifties and waved a coffee cup in greeting.
“Morning Ladies. You’re in early. Hoping to catch some worms?”
“More like the flu in this weather,” grumbled Cassie. “I don’t know how you Brits survived the middle ages.”
“Rather a bit of cold than snakes and spiders down under,” he laughed then turned back to his newspaper.
When we got to our area, we made a beeline for the Secret Santa box. To my amazement, the odd-shaped gift was nowhere to be seen. Cassie gave me an I-told-you-so look then rummaged around in the box.
“Definitely not there,” she said. “Now do you believe me?”
“I always believed you,” I said, trying to keep the guilt out of my voice.
“So what do we do now?”
I looked at her face. My usually strong, confident friend looked frightened and unsure.
“Why is this so important to you?” I asked.
“Because I’ll get the blame and lose my job!” she wailed, throwing her arms into the air. “You know how long it took me to find this one. No one wants to employ a long-term temp. They think we’re unreliable and will jump ship after six months.”
“Yes, I know. I guess I don’t really know why you wanted a permanent job in the first place.” I turned and placed my bag on my desk. “I thought you loved the freedom of temping.” Just like me, I didn’t add.
“I did. I do.” She slumped down into her chair. “But I’m nearly thirty. It’s time I settled down.”
“Settled down? Like marriage and kids? Are you after the maternity benefits? Wait, are you???”
“No! Of course I’m not. I didn’t mean that sort of settling down.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I was way too young to have friends getting married and starting families.
“I mean,” she continued, “a career. Money. I love travelling but I don’t love that pokey little flat. Nor coming back from a trip to an empty bank account and having to take whatever I can get to fill it back up again.”
“I understand, I guess.”
“So, what do we do?” She put her elbow on her desk and placed her chin into her hand. Pouting at me like a toddler.
I thought for a moment. There was only one thing we could do.
“We take turns,” I said. “One of us comes in early and the other stays late. And we keep that box in sight all day until the office is empty.”
It would be a pain, but Cassie wasn’t going to lose her job while I was around to prevent it.
Continue reading here: Chapter Four