The Organization Read Online Free Page A

Charlotte, and Joanna herself. They looked over at Charlotte in interest, curious about the newcomer to their circle.
    “Is this the new footballer?” asked a shorter man with a face of orange bristles.
    “Come off it, Geoff,” replied Joanna in a light tone. “She hasn’t agreed yet.”
    Geoff held out his hand to her and Charlotte shook it.  Geoff said, “Well I’m the captain of our motley crew of footballers.  You look fit, like you work out.  Maybe you’d like to ‘work out’ with me?” he asked, grinning.  He had waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive way.
    “Don’t mind him, Charlie,” Joanna said. “He’s hitting the funny pills early tonight.”
    Charlotte looked Geoff up and down, and said to him, “I’m not sure you could keep up with me, although no doubt you’d like to try.”
    “Oh-ho-ho,” Geoff replied, grinning even wider. He added, “I like this one, Joanna. She’ll do just fine.”
    The meal itself passed quickly and painlessly enough, and gave Charlotte the opportunity to learn more about her potential teammates. She learned that Geoff was terminally single, but seemed to be a decent enough guy. Two other people turned out to be a couple, and they were polite but reserved, perhaps out of tension in their relationship. Charlotte had noticed the woman, named Harriet, because of her striking looks – stormy blue eyes, chin-length black hair that contrasted with her very fair skin, and tailored clothes on her slender frame – but didn’t find an opportunity to talk to her. There was nothing notable about the others. They seemed to all be twenty-to-thirty-something professional workers and standup citizens – if one could overlook the small recreational drug habit of Geoff and a couple of the others.
    After dinner was finished, Charlotte helped with clearing off the table, despite Joanna’s insistence that she should just enjoy the party. On one trip back to the table from the kitchen, Charlotte saw Harriet across the room, hugging her arms across her chest and looking out the picture window. The other half of the couple, a man, stood at her side, facing her. Charlotte couldn’t make out what the man was saying, but his furrowed brow and aggressive posture gave her pause. She felt drawn to Harriet, and experienced an inexplicable urge to walk over and intervene. A second or two passed before she began to feel as though she were intruding on an intimate moment, and so she made her way back to the kitchen with the last round of dishes.
    Around twenty minutes before Joanna and Charlotte were due at work, Joanna excused herself from the party so she could tidy up in her bedroom before heading out. She asked Charlotte to come with her.
    Charlotte leaned back against a wall in Joanna’s bedroom and thanked her again for having invited her to the party.
    “You’ll really have to stop that, you know.  The excessive politeness.  It’s not necessary in our group,” Joanna said, smiling.  She slipped her shirt off over her head and pulled on a lightweight sweater.
    “Sorry,” Charlotte said.
    “Just don’t let it happen again,” Joanna teased. A moment passed and Joanna added, “I saw you eyeing Harriet at dinner, by the way. You know she’s partnered, right?”
    Charlotte cleared her throat, unaware that she had been caught looking at the quiet, dark-haired woman. She said, “Yes, I figured – with Thomas, right?”
    “Mm-hmm.  They’ve been together for a while now,” Joanna replied, maintaining eye contact with her guest.
    “Good for them,” Charlotte replied evenly.
    Joanna gave an exaggerated sigh and laughed.  “One day, Charlie, I’m going to get you to open up.”
    “Fortunately for me, we have to get going to work now,” Charlotte replied.
     

Chapter Six
    By the time Thursday night arrived, Charlotte had stopped thinking about Harriet and the party, and instead was looking forward to seeing an old friend who she hadn’t seen in a while.
    Charlotte had