down her throat. She felt so naughty. She’d never had anything stronger than an espresso during her lunch hour before today. What on earth had got into her? Was it really the spirit of rebellion? Was she really about to assert her true self after months of being nothing more than Hilary Jackson’s doormat?
She opened the door into the airless room where Hilary was inspecting a mound of papers on her desk, which looked as if they’d multiplied threefold since Nina had left. It was Hilary’s usual mean trick. Whenever Nina dared to leave her desk, she would invariably find that her workload had increased out of all recognition when she returned. Well, not any more, she determined. She’d had enough.
‘Ah! There you are,’ Hilary said, making it sound as if Nina had been away on an expedition rather than on her lunch hour. ‘Didn’t you leave me that letter like I asked you?’
‘Yes – it’s on your desk,’ Nina said, indicating as she tried to keep calm.
‘Where?’ Hilary’s voice rose a decibel in disbelief as she raked her hands through her short, spiky hair in agitation.
‘It was right in the centre – where you could find it,’ Nina bit her tongue before she swore. The temporary numbing effect of the wine was fast evaporating.
‘Well, I can’t see it, can I?’ Hilary pushed the papers to one side. ‘Oh – there!’ she said, holding the letter up. Nina breathed a sigh of relief and sat down at her own desk, already desperate for another glass of wine.
‘Well, it’s creased now. You’ll have to print it out again.’
Nina opened the document up on her screen. This, she vowed, would be the last order she’d take from Hilary Jackson.
‘Not yet – wait,’ Hilary said. ‘There’s probably something I need to correct first.’
Nina sighed. Just bide your time, she said to herself. See the day out first and then tell her exactly what you think of her. Goodness only knew that she needed that length of time to build her courage up.
At four o’clock, Nina left her desk to make the tea. In the relative sanctuary of the kitchen, she stretched her arms high above her head and yawned loudly. She felt exhausted – as if, quite suddenly, all the hours of tedium, frustration and anger of working with her boss had snowballed into one gigantic mass of mutiny. It was time, wasn’t it?
The kettle boiled, and Nina poured the hot water into the mugs and stirred vigorously. She put an extra-large sugar into her own mug and the usual half a teaspoon into Hilary’s.
Hilary didn’t bother looking up from her papers as Nina re-entered the office and placed her mug on her desk. She sat down again, sipping her tea and glancing at her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes.
‘For God’s sake!’ Hilary’s voice suddenly rose from behind her computer. ‘Did you put the bloody sugar in with a shovel?’ It was Hilary’s usual comment when Nina accidentally put a couple of extra grains in her tea. But Nina didn’t say anything. She was waiting. Just waiting.
Half-past five came and went and Nina’s computer remained on. Her eyes were sore from staring at its bright face all day and her cream blouse was damp with perspiration. She watched Hilary’s face as she proofread the latest copy of the same letter she’d printed out half a dozen times already that day. Hilary. Sounded a bit like horrible, didn’t it? Started with an h, same number of consonants. Horrible Hilary. Hilary the Horrible.
Nina shook her head, feeling as if she was fast sinking into insanity, her foot tapping against the desk leg as she looked at her watch, willing precious minutes of her life away before she could make her escape.
A smile curved the corner of her mouth as she recalled her friend’s voice in the pub.
‘Just clear your desk out, tell Hilary to take a hike and go.’
I will, Janey. I will, Nina said to herself.
‘Right!’ Hilary exclaimed, making Nina jump. ‘That’ll do for today.’
Nina got up from her chair before Hilary had a chance to change her mind.
‘But I’ll need you here for eight tomorrow to start work on the end-of-month reports. First, though, I’ve got a few items you need to pick up from the dry cleaners. They open at seven so you’ll be able to get them en route to the office but don’t – whatever you do – crease them like you did last time. Honestly, Nina – the state of my jacket when you brought it in! You really don’t think sometimes!’
Nina blinked in disbelief. There was no please, no asking if that was all right with Nina – it was just an order that demanded to be obeyed. And that’s when the stirring began – a strange bubbling inside her stomach. It felt like nothing she’d ever felt before. Anxiety, apprehension perhaps, urging her forward because, at last, the time had come.
‘I won’t be here at eight,’ Nina said, her voice unusually clear and calm. ‘And I won’t be here at nine either.’ As she spoke, she opened her desk drawer and took out her little pot of lip balm, before reaching to the side of her computer where a framed photo of her childhood pet dog, Bertie, had lived for the past two years.
Hilary looked at her, not quite comprehending. ‘I’m afraid it’s necessary to work extra hours in order to get the job done. And if you don’t value that—’
‘No,’ Nina said, blowing the light covering of dust from Bertie’s frame, causing Hilary to blink. ‘Quite frankly, I don’t value it because you don’t value me and so I’m leaving. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for some time now and I really don’t know why it’s taken me so long.’ Nina’s eyebrows rose as assuredly as her confidence. ‘You are rude, unreasonable and uncaring, and I’ve had enough.’ She looked at her boss briefly, noting the gaping mouth.
‘How dare you talk to me like that!’ Hilary Jackson said, her eyes narrowed into two mean slits.
‘This is something I should have done months ago,’ Nina told her, staring right back at her and, for the first time since she’d taken the job, unafraid of her boss. ‘The very day after you arrived, in fact, because you’ve made my life a complete misery. We’re meant to be work colleagues, but you treat me like your own personal slave. You never ask my opinion about anything. You bulldoze over any suggestions I dare to make or else claim them for yourself and take all the credit for them with the management team. You swear at me. You set unreasonable deadlines and expect me to do hours of overtime without any extra pay whilst you slink off to your holistic retreat! Well, it’s over, Hilary! I’m not going to be treated like this anymore!’
‘What?’ Hilary barked.
‘I believe I’m owed my notice in annual leave, which I’ve been unable to take for some time, owing to your ridiculous deadlines as well as the volume of work you’ve put my way.’ Nina swung her handbag over her shoulder and, after one last look around the room, walked slowly away from her desk.
‘Nina Elliot – you just stop and think about what—’
‘Goodbye, Hilary,’ she interrupted before opening the door. ‘And good luck finding a replacement,’ she continued, ‘because you’ll need it.’
When Nina got home, she kicked her shoes off and watched them hit the skirting
