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leave Blake’s office. The receptionist looks at me, puzzled, as I come out and close the door.
    “Oh, he’s had to take an important call,” I say to her. “He said he’d be a while.”
    She looks at her own desk phone, seeing that his line is busy.
    “Oh, okay. I’m sorry your meeting’s been cut short,” she says, smiling at me again. “Would you like to re-schedule?”
    “No, it’s fine,” I reply, smiling. “I’ll have my office ring up another time.”
    She hesitates a moment.
    “Maybe… I could help?” she offers. “I work closely with Mr. Blake on a number of things. You could interview me, if you’d like? I break for lunch at twelve. Maybe we could get a coffee?” She smiles at me and takes her glasses off.
    I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure she’s flirting with me.
    I mean, did she just ask me for a drink?
    Oh, man… I am terrible at this sort of thing. I don’t want to hurt her feelings or anything.
    “Ah… that’s, erm, really kind of you to offer, Miss…?” I say.
    “Jenny,” she says. “Call me Jenny.”
    I smile nervously. “That’s kind of you to offer, Jenny,” I continue. “But… my… editor only commissioned me to interview Mr. Blake, you see. I’m not sure they’ll be too happy if I come back having interviewed somebody else…”
    She looks a little dejected and I feel bad.
    “I’m sure you’d be really helpful,” I continue, feeling obliged to make her feel better. “I just can’t use you for this particular interview, that’s all.”
    She nods and stands, looking away momentarily to untie her hair, letting it flow down to her shoulders. She whips round to look at me again, like a shampoo commercial.
    Are you kidding me?
    “Well, it doesn’t have to be a business meeting,” she says. “Maybe we could just… grab a coffee?”
    I take a small step back and smile. “I’ve got… erm… deadlines to hit,” I say, struggling for words and feeling more awkward by the second. “Maybe some other time?”
    Jenny smiles through a deep breath, accepting her advances haven’t worked. She composes herself, putting her glasses back on and returning to her seat.
    “I’ll let Mr. Blake know you’ll be in touch,” she says, resuming her professional manner. “Have a nice day, Mr. Johnson.”
    “You too,” I say.
    I’ve never been more desperate to leave somewhere in my life!
    I’m just glad Josh wasn’t here to witness that. It’s the only time I lose my cool—talking to women. I feel like I’m cheating just talking to someone who seems to like me. I know that might sound crazy, but it’s just me—I’m not ready to do that kind of thing. I’ll always love my wife, and my daughter… I’ve not forgiven myself for what happened to them, so I can’t allow myself to carry on living my life without them. Not yet.
    I hastily walk back down the corridor the way I’d come in—past the expensive works of art, down the carpeted grand staircase and across the entrance hall. I walk over to the desk with the third security guard behind it and hand back my lanyard. I nod a polite goodbye to the other two guards, who return the gesture, and walk through the front doors and back out into the sunshine.
    It’s bright and I have to squint while my eyes adjust. I stroll down the steps and set off back across the Plaza.
    Well, that’s a job well done. No resistance at all from the target, which is always nice. Ignoring the embarrassing run-in with his not-unattractive secretary, it all went smooth and according to plan.
    There’s a first time for everything, I guess.
    I take out my phone and call Josh.
    “Hey, it’s me,” I say as he answers. “The target’s been taken care of.”
    “Excellent,” he replies. “I’ll let our employer know. In record time, too. Was he that boring?”
    I laugh. “You have no idea.”
    “So, no issues at all?”
    I think back to the secretary. Should I tell him? Would he ever let me live it down if I did?
    Yeah,