him plenty of kudos.
‘Lara, please take a seat.’
She did, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knee.
‘As you know, Patrick and I have been discussing the senior position that has become available, and after great deliberations we have decided to offer you the position.’
‘Oh, thank you, Mr Lent,’ Lara replied with an automatic smile. She tried to let his words sink in but for some reason her mind was blank; she couldn’t seem to feel anything about the news.
Graham leant forward and continued. ‘Lara, what you have achieved in your time here is quite remarkable, especially in the current financial climate. You were the obvious candidate for the job, and Miles and Lent would like to offer you the following promotion.’
Graham slid over some papers outlining the particularities of her new salary and role. He kept talking as she stared at the black print. But her eyes couldn’t read any of it. It still wasn’t sinking in.Why did she feel so empty? This was everything she’d worked for and yet she felt nothing. If anything, she felt bereft.
Graham stood up, and she mimicked him blindly with the papers still clutched in her hand.
‘Now, if you don’t mind, I have to notify the other candidates that they’ve been unsuccessful.’ He held out his hand. ‘Well done, Lara.’
‘Thank you, Mr Lent,’ she said again, still feeling slightly numb. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, she smiled and added politely, ‘Thank you so much.’
She walked out on autopilot and went back to her office – the long way around so she didn’t have to pass Amber. She shut her door, put the job offer on her desk and moved across to her large window. She stared out into the CBD. It wasn’t supposed to feel like this. She should want to do cartwheels and open a bottle of bubbly. Instead, she felt like she’d been given a demotion.
Lara rested her forehead on the window and glanced up. This was the only way she could see past all the imposing buildings to make out the sky. It wasn’t much, but there it was – a tiny patch of blue. She pressed her fingers against the cool glass, searching for more, inching closer and not caring about the smudges on the window. Why did she feel a lump swelling in her throat? Why was it annoying her that she couldn’t see the whole sky? She remembered sitting on the back veranda with Noah and Amanda, watching the last of the sun set over the horizon. They could see the sky all around them, from horizon to horizon, in all its colours – blues, yellows, pinks and reds. Here she could scarcely make out a dull square of blue no bigger than a shoebox.
She suddenly felt like she was starved of oxygen. Where had all the air gone? An emotional wave rolled through her and she felt abruptly sick.
Homesick.
She missed the sky at Erindale and she missed the land, and she missed those bloody sheep Noah hated, and the dogs. For the first time in her life she asked herself what the hell she was doing here in this concrete jungle. She allowed her heart to speak and for the first time she realised how much it didn’t want to be here. This had never been her dream.
Wiping away a tear, she tore her eyes away from the speck of sky, grabbed her bag, keys and phone from her desk and headed for the door.
Amber was on the other side about to knock. ‘Oh, I was just coming to see you.’
‘Sorry, Amber. I’m heading off early. If anyone needs me, they can call my mobile.’
‘But what about the meeting? Did you get the job?’ Amber called after her.
‘It’s on my desk,’ Lara shouted back as she headed for the stairs, picking up her pace. She had to get out.
8
LARA drove Millie out of the city and towards South Perth. She went past the zoo, past the turn-off to her own place and took the road to the vet practice where Mel worked. It was time to unload some baggage and Mel had the perfect listening ears.
‘Hi, Doreen. Is Mel busy?’ Lara asked as she walked up to the
‘Lara, please take a seat.’
She did, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knee.
‘As you know, Patrick and I have been discussing the senior position that has become available, and after great deliberations we have decided to offer you the position.’
‘Oh, thank you, Mr Lent,’ Lara replied with an automatic smile. She tried to let his words sink in but for some reason her mind was blank; she couldn’t seem to feel anything about the news.
Graham leant forward and continued. ‘Lara, what you have achieved in your time here is quite remarkable, especially in the current financial climate. You were the obvious candidate for the job, and Miles and Lent would like to offer you the following promotion.’
Graham slid over some papers outlining the particularities of her new salary and role. He kept talking as she stared at the black print. But her eyes couldn’t read any of it. It still wasn’t sinking in.Why did she feel so empty? This was everything she’d worked for and yet she felt nothing. If anything, she felt bereft.
Graham stood up, and she mimicked him blindly with the papers still clutched in her hand.
‘Now, if you don’t mind, I have to notify the other candidates that they’ve been unsuccessful.’ He held out his hand. ‘Well done, Lara.’
‘Thank you, Mr Lent,’ she said again, still feeling slightly numb. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, she smiled and added politely, ‘Thank you so much.’
She walked out on autopilot and went back to her office – the long way around so she didn’t have to pass Amber. She shut her door, put the job offer on her desk and moved across to her large window. She stared out into the CBD. It wasn’t supposed to feel like this. She should want to do cartwheels and open a bottle of bubbly. Instead, she felt like she’d been given a demotion.
Lara rested her forehead on the window and glanced up. This was the only way she could see past all the imposing buildings to make out the sky. It wasn’t much, but there it was – a tiny patch of blue. She pressed her fingers against the cool glass, searching for more, inching closer and not caring about the smudges on the window. Why did she feel a lump swelling in her throat? Why was it annoying her that she couldn’t see the whole sky? She remembered sitting on the back veranda with Noah and Amanda, watching the last of the sun set over the horizon. They could see the sky all around them, from horizon to horizon, in all its colours – blues, yellows, pinks and reds. Here she could scarcely make out a dull square of blue no bigger than a shoebox.
She suddenly felt like she was starved of oxygen. Where had all the air gone? An emotional wave rolled through her and she felt abruptly sick.
Homesick.
She missed the sky at Erindale and she missed the land, and she missed those bloody sheep Noah hated, and the dogs. For the first time in her life she asked herself what the hell she was doing here in this concrete jungle. She allowed her heart to speak and for the first time she realised how much it didn’t want to be here. This had never been her dream.
Wiping away a tear, she tore her eyes away from the speck of sky, grabbed her bag, keys and phone from her desk and headed for the door.
Amber was on the other side about to knock. ‘Oh, I was just coming to see you.’
‘Sorry, Amber. I’m heading off early. If anyone needs me, they can call my mobile.’
‘But what about the meeting? Did you get the job?’ Amber called after her.
‘It’s on my desk,’ Lara shouted back as she headed for the stairs, picking up her pace. She had to get out.
8
LARA drove Millie out of the city and towards South Perth. She went past the zoo, past the turn-off to her own place and took the road to the vet practice where Mel worked. It was time to unload some baggage and Mel had the perfect listening ears.
‘Hi, Doreen. Is Mel busy?’ Lara asked as she walked up to the
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