Read Online All Work and No Play by Coleen Kwan - Free Book Online Page A

else.
    “Let me know if there are any problems,” he said to Anna.
    “I’m sure there won’t be,” she replied, her voice just a
little tight. Her lips stretched into a bright smile. “Besides, you’ll be too
busy with Charles’ problems.”
    Giles sighed inwardly. All week he’d been on hyper-alert,
waiting for a sign or slightest hint from Anna that she might be thinking about
their night together. When he’d woken up alone in his bed, the stinging
disappointment had surprised him, and the feeling hadn’t subsided as the days
wore on. It had confirmed to him that he was hoping for something more from
Anna, but it appeared that hope was one-sided. For Anna, the one night was all
she wanted. She’d satisfied her burning curiosity, and she wasn’t willing to
jeopardise her career by getting into a messy affair with him.
    Fair enough. He couldn’t get annoyed with her for sticking
to their agreement. It was him who wanted to renege.
    “Thank you, Giles,” Anna said, her arms folded. “For all your expertise.”
    The formality of her tone pricked him. “ Hey, and what about the biscotti I got you?” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood,
to forge a connection with her.
    She gave him a faint smile. “And those,
too.” She tipped her head towards her desk, indicating a desire to
return to her computer. “Uh, you’ll have to excuse me. Lionel’s hounding me for
some budget reports.”
    “Sure.” He wasn’t looking forward to next week, where he’d
be working on a different floor. He wouldn’t be able to surreptitiously feast
his eyes on Anna when she came into work each day. Wouldn’t be able to sit near
her or inhale her perfume or talk to her, even if it was only to discuss bugs.
His heart sank a little lower, but he couldn’t pester her for attention, and
she clearly wanted him to leave so she could return to her reports.
    “Call me if you need anything,” he said.
    She nodded wordlessly. It was time to leave. He forced
himself to hitch his satchel over his shoulder and walk away.
    Deep down, he knew she wouldn’t call him. Because
she didn’t need him for anything anymore.
    ***

 
    Two weeks later, Anna was called to
Lionel’s office. She took the seat opposite her manager’s desk and pleated her
fingers together. The project had passed user acceptance testing with flying
colours, so she knew she hadn’t been summoned here for a dressing down.
    Lionel smiled at her as he pushed the keyboard away from
him. “So, I thought it was time for a catch up now that you’ve got some spare
time.”
    Anna pressed her lips together. “Spare time? I’ve barely
caught up with all the reports everyone seems to want so urgently.” The one
drawback about being project manager was the deluge of paperwork that needed to
be completed each week. “And by the way,” she felt compelled to add, “the
client code will be shipped next week, right on schedule.”
    “Good to know,” Lionel said. “Although you should have told
me sooner about the problems Oscar left. That could have seriously affected
things.” He gave her a small frown.
    Anna had finally told her boss about the bugs Oscar had
covered up, and he hadn’t been too pleased. Clearly Oscar wouldn’t be getting
any references from FrogLeap . She shrugged at
Lionel’s concerns. “I appraised the situation and made a judgement call. I
would have alerted you if it seemed completely disastrous, but I thought we
could still make the deadline.”
    “And you did, so your judgement was sound.” Lionel nodded.
    That was about all the praise she’d come to expect from him.
Lionel thought highly of her, but he tended to take her for granted, and she
wasn’t as good at blowing her own horn as some of the other guys in the office.
    “And I suppose you did have an enormous advantage,” Lionel
added. “You had Giles St Clair.”
    She gripped her fingers tighter in an effort to stop herself
from overreacting. What did Lionel mean? Was he implying