Men at Work [Quick Read] Read Online Free Page B

shop, Emma asked Ian to get her a prawn mayo roll and a bottle of water while she made her way over to HSBC.
    “So how has it gone this morning?” asked Amar once Emma was out of earshot.
    “Badly,” said Ian as they got into the queue. “Very badly indeed.”
    Ian felt it was the single worst morning he had ever had at work. It wasn’t that Emma had done anything wrong but the simple fact of her sitting next to him had killed his whole morning. “It’s like when you’re at school and you and your mates have been naughty, so the teacher splits you all up and one of you ends up sitting next to the class swot,” he explained to Amar as they stood in line at Gregg’s the Bakers. “Emma’s the class swot and that means I can’t have any fun.”
    Amar looked surprised. “She’s stopping you having fun without saying a word? I take my hat off to her. My missus has to at least open her mouth to have that effect on me!”
    “It must be some kind of Jedi mind trick,” said Ian. “All morning I could feel myself repeating the words, ‘My name is Ian Greening and I will not have any fun at all today.’ And guess what? It’s worked. I didn’t get to finish the Monday morning joke email, or sort out a venue for Chris in Bought Ledger’s leaving do. I didn’t even add the half a dozen rubber bands that came with the mail this morning to our ever-growing rubber band ball. In fact I haven’t had a single laugh all day.”
    “So what are you going to do?” asked Amar. “Get her to sit somewhere else?”
    “Oh yeah,” replied Ian. “I can really see that happening, can’t you? ‘Ems, you know how you’re sitting at the desk right next to me? Well, as it turns out, it’s putting me off my game so could you do me a favour and sit somewhere else?’ My life wouldn’t be worth living. Why couldn’t Douglas have put her next to you?”
    “No, no, no,” said Amar shaking his head. “I don’t need her sitting next to me. Don’t forget Emma and Rukmani are Facebook friends. I can’t have your missus reporting my every move back to mine . . . even if it does save your skin.”
    “Still, better you than me though, eh?” said Ian with a grin as he reached the front of the queue.
    Amar frowned. “What does that mean?”
    “That, my friend, means you’d better get used to the idea of toning down work larks. I’ve got a strong feeling that once I’ve used my gift of the gab on Douglas, you’ll find yourself lumped with a brand new desk buddy.”
    ********
    “No,” said Douglas.
    “But you don’t even know what I’m going to ask,” said Ian.
    “You’re going to ask me if I can move the new temp – who funnily enough I didn’t even know was your girlfriend until Amar told me five minutes ago – to a new desk.”
    “But—”
    “Listen, Ian,” said Douglas. “I’d love to help you out but the truth of the matter is that I couldn’t move her even if I wanted to. I’d never hear the end of it if Emma complained to Human Resources that she was made to move desks just because her boyfriend didn’t like it. As much as I like you, mate, I can’t really get involved in stuff like this. Just think,” smiled Douglas, “if you had agreed to take my job, you’d have my lovely office with its own closing door all to yourself.”
    “Oh, come on Doug,” whined Ian. “There’s got to be something you can do. How would you like it if I plonked your wife in the desk next to you all day?”
    “I’d love it,” said Douglas. “I don’t see enough of her as it is.”
    “And that’s all you’ve got to say?”
    “Pretty much,” replied Douglas. “You have a good day now, won’t you?”
    “Yeah,” replied Ian. “I’m sure it’ll be a barrel of laughs.”

Chapter 9
    Ian’s first afternoon working with Emma was, if anything, worse than the morning. Usually the afternoon was Ian’s favourite part of the day. Most of his friends who had actual work to do would have had the bulk of it done