The Office Party

Part 12

'No. I wouldn't try posting this. Messy.'

She grins and takes the slice I offer her, lifting a corner of the kitchen roll I've wrapped it in to peek at the cake. 'Oooh, this looks nice.' She takes the other slice. 'Is that for her?'

'Yep.' I watch her get up and take the cake back to the older receptionist, who by now is on the phone, having reluctantly gone back to work. The woman waves her thanks through the window of her office. When the girl comes back, I hold out my hand. 'I don't want us to be embarrassed around each other. Can we make up?'

She takes my hand. Her smile is pretty. 'OK. I'm Petra.'

'Fi. From Accounts.'

'I know.' Her smile twitches slightly. 'Do you want to come round?' She indicates behind the desk. 'I think we need to talk anyway.'

She moves her chair to the side a little so I can perch myself on the edge of the reception desk. I don't realise how secure it feels behind the desk, until I'm there. 'This beats my little desk space, hands down.' I lean back and feel the high rim of the reception desk on my shoulders, and laugh. No more people able to interrupt you at any time, like in the open-plan hellhole downstairs. Total visual control over the whole lobby, even if you're backwards like me, because there's CCTV in the office. I watch some unsuspecting executive walk in, sign in and nod at Petra and pass through the lobby – all on CCTV, without turning my head – as if he wasn't being observed at all. 'My God. This is so good. Do you want to swap jobs?'

'Um, no.' Petra smiles up at me. 'To be fair, and not being rude, you probably couldn't do this. And I couldn't do yours.' She leans an elbow on the desk and rests her head on her hand. 'So.'

'So,' I agree. I turn slightly towards her. I jerk my head upwards. 'You and her, it's really not a problem. None of my business. Really.'

She looks at the ceiling carefully. 'Really? I hadn't realised you were...you know, one of her girls, if you like. Before that day when you were there waiting, I mean. She never said...well I suppose she wouldn't anyway, but you know. I wouldn't have wanted to steal her or anything. She's not worth stealing.'

I look at Petra carefully. If she really means that, either she and Diana are going off each other or they're having all sorts of fun I couldn't even begin to understand. They must have a different way of looking at things. I think back on the handful of women I've had since my argument with Diana and mentally count off the ones who've meant anything. Excluding Catherine, there aren't any, and she only counts because she doesn't want me. And she was the first person the new me slept with, and it was by accident. I decide that I have to try harder at enjoying meaningless sex.

Meanwhile, Petra is looking at me. 'Fi? What? You were together, weren't you?'

I laugh sharply. 'No. She made it very plain that I wasn't exciting enough for her. So no, we were never together, and we're certainly not likely to be now.' I look at her levelly. 'Which is why I say, it's not a problem.' I shrug and spread my hands out to her. 'Honestly.'

She looks at me dubiously for a minute, chewing her lower lip as she thinks. She really is quite attractive, I think, before shoving the thought back down again. At the back of my mind I vaguely wonder if I would sleep with Petra if the opportunity arose, and I decide I probably would.

I am slowly turning into such a tart, I think. Maybe I can get to understand this meaningless sex business after all.

She nods. 'OK, then. If you say so.' She glances up at the clock. 'Look, I'd better get on. But, yeah, OK. Friends, then, Fi.' We nod at each other again, and I heave myself back up off her desk to go back to work.