One hundred and one: Boss and Eleanor

The next day, Kiran had to go into the office. I told him I was going to see Boss. A man called Iain was sent with me as my security guard. There was another man called Patrick, as well, but he was in plain clothes. He would be nearby in case he was needed and blend in with the people on the streets.

I signed out of the Compound at the gate after breakfast and walked the familiar and yet unfamiliar path to the office. I noted all the changes. New shops. New buildings. Less people. People were either depressed looking or hyper alert. It was odd.

The Café D'Origin had resumed business again and there was Lamb with his piercings still working there. He recognised me from across the street and waved, giving me a second backwards look. A few people had done that now. I wondered why they should think to give me a second glance. Was it because of Iain? He looked fairly ordinary, although walked with a confidence not so common in this post war era.

The building lift only went to level seven. They were doing something on the floors above, so I climbed the stairs with Iain the rest of the way. It was a long, tiring climb. Taking a moment to catch my breath and ease my burning legs muscles when I finally reached the twentieth floor, I wondered what it would look like now.

Opening the door, I stepped into the hallway outside the office and observed the changes. Everything before the war had been an off-white with water and coffee stains. During the war, the walls and floors had become smudged with grease, dirt and blood. The walls were now a fresh cream. The tiles had regained their gleam. The old carpet had been replaced with a pleasant blue, but the business signs remained the same. No one sat at reception and the door to the shared office area was ajar.

A puffing businessman emerged from the stairwell and entered the office.

"Eleven o'clock appointment," he panted to me, "with Eleanor." Then he gave me a second glance, looking me up and down. "Oh, sorry. You don't work here, do you?"

Blinking at him, I wondered how to reply, but was interrupted by Eleanor coming out.

"Ah, Mr Vellos, good morning. I hope you didn't find the stairs too…" her voice drifted off and she stared at me. "Jean!" she shrieked, sweeping me into a hug that literally lifted me off the floor. My dress slipped upwards and I tugged it back down once I regained the ground. "You're alive! Thank God. We thought you might have died during the war. Not many of the people who were left in the Compound survived. Oh, you have to come in and see Boss." She shoved me ahead of her into the office with its relatively new smells and darted her head back around the doorway to look at her client. "Sorry, Mr Vellos. I haven't seen her since the war. I'll be right back. Have a drink and catch your breath."

"Right," Mr Vellos shrugged and flopped on a seat, fanning himself. "You, ah, might want to see about finding the young lady some, erm, undergarments. In case of, ah, um, accidents."

"Oh! Sorry, about that!" Eleanor pulled me aside and scowled at Iain who had followed me.

"Security," I said. "Eleanor, Iain. Iain, Eleanor, my old team leader. Kiran said I'm not allowed to try and get rid of him. There are still," I sighed, "people out to get me."

Boss exited his office at speed, crushing me to his chest.

"It's so good to see you, Jean. Who's this?"

I made the introductions again and Eleanor excused herself for her appointment with the client. Boss bade us sit inside the little kitchenette and I helped him get cups of water for us all.

"So, when can you start work again, Jean?" he asked. "Assuming, of course, that you want to get right back to work again. I heard a bit of what happened from Kiran and there was a big stir in Farrell when we discovered you - you know."

"That's the thing, Boss," I told him. "I'm not allowed to touch computers anymore. All the stuff with Ibis Industries, I hope you'll take those stories with a big grain of salt. Mr Barrel and I aren't exactly friends and he's the one who decided to spread the stories. There's a lot more to the story than you've probably heard."

"I know," he nodded. "Mr Raring briefed me before I returned, so that I didn't misunderstand. You sure have friends in high places now."

"Not exactly," I shifted uncomfortably. "They looked after me during the war. I owe them a lot, otherwise I'd be dead a few times over by now. It hasn't stopped our other enemies though. I'm the weak link for a few people, so I can't come and go as freely as I want."

"I'm sorry to hear that. So, when did you get back? Today?"

"Just yesterday," I smiled.

"I see," he nodded to himself. "When Eleanor's done with that client, I'll give her some leave to take you shopping. You look like you could do with a new wardrobe. We haven't many clients yet and so aren't that busy. You ladies can have some free time to catch up with each other. Eleanor would like that. She's been terribly worried about you."

The way he spoke about Eleanor didn't sit quite right with me.

"Huh? Boss, are you and Eleanor together now?"

"I lost my family during the war," Boss's voice cracked. "Eleanor lost her entire family too. It was fairly early on after Evacuation. Everything was a mess. A bomb went off and..."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Boss. I've lost my family too. I don't know where they've gone. They left after the war."

Boss scrubbed at his face and Iain looked away.

I coughed.

"So it's just you and Eleanor here now?"

"For the moment, yes. We'll build back up slowly. If any of the others come back, I'll find a way to make things work. It's a pity you aren't allowed near computers. You're a good worker and you have brilliant ideas. I suppose even if I hired you as a cleaner, you wouldn't be allowed to work here?"

I glanced at Iain who gave a small shake of the head.

"Looks like you have a security guard in more than one sense of the word," Boss gave a tight smile, to which Iain inclined his head ever so slightly.

"I suppose you could say that," I huffed. "I should be used to it by now though. I barely remember what happened at the end of the war, but I'm pretty sure they weren't exactly lax with security then either."

"Word is that you helped the Boskies end the war and wrote the ultimatum Kiran brought to the Department of Defence building."

"I suppose I did," I frowned. "I think. I scared a lot of people when I did that. Including quite a few Boskies. Some of them don't like me anymore than our own people do, but I just wanted to end the war."

"I understand," Boss rolled his shoulders. "From Mr Raring's account, things were pretty hard on you."

I shrugged.

"I mostly came to see you and possibly to say goodbye. It won't be good for either of you or Eleanor if I visit too often. I don't want to put a target on your backs too. I heard you'd returned, so I wanted to see you and thank you for everything."

Boss stood with me and we shook hands.

"Anytime," he quirked a smile. "It's been good working with you, Jean. You won't stay and go shopping with Eleanor?"

"Did someone mention shopping?" asked Eleanor, entering the kitchenette. "You going already, Jean?" She put her hands on her hips and looked me up and down.

Honestly, what was wrong with what I was wearing? I imitated her stance.

"What?" she demanded. "You haven't seen yourself in a mirror?"

"I'm going to get back to work," Boss chuckled. "See you, Jean. Eleanor, you have a free afternoon. Take her and go do what needs to be done."

"Thanks, Boss."