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night here!"


"Sorry Sal but if I get it done tonight then we'll have the whole day tomorrow free. And besides it looks as though it's the last one I'll be doing for a while so I'll have lots of spare time then," she said trying to appease Sal and thanking Ruth as she placed a glass of wine on the bar for her and cleared away the empty takeaway boxes.


Sal sulked for a while and then turned to Pat. "But you'll stay out for a bit won't you?

"

"Sure, someone has to keep an eye on you!" Pat exclaimed.


"Yes, she's already invited a complete stranger back to my apartment," Fay added.


Pat smiled knowingly at Fay. "Ah yes, so I heard. A tall, dark stranger who wanted to get you into the shower eh Fay."


"That wouldn't happen to be the same tall, dark stranger who is sitting over there would it?" Ruth interjected, pointing across the room.


"Oh wonderful!" Fay exclaimed, looking nervously down the bar. "And by the way, he didn't want to get me into the shower so you can stop that rumour right now!" Ruth, Pat and Sal looked at Fay with wide eyes at the sudden harshness in her voice.


"You seem very touchy on the subject Fay," Ruth teased, "are you sure you aren't harbouring any lustful thoughts for this man?"


Fay rolled her eyes. "You are all being completely ridiculous! I have to go soon anyway so I'll leave you to your outrageous gossiping... and come to think of it, out of all the bars in town how come he ended up in this one Sal?"


Sal glanced down sheepishly. "Err, I might have told him where we were going."


"Hmm, thought so."


"Let's take a look at him then." Pat said, leaning past Fay and straining to catch a glimpse of the newcomer.


"Don't look now, he's coming over," Ruth warned.

Fay looked up in shock to see the man approaching them. "You embarrass me now and you can find yourself somewhere else to live!" she whispered to Sal. The man stopped behind Fay and leant forward to order a drink.

"Can I get a beer please? And whatever the ladies would like," he said grinning down at Fay who was trying her best to ignore his presence. Pat and Sal looked delighted and ordered more wine.

"None for me I'm afraid, I have to go," Fay said emptying the contents of her glass and standing up. She turned to the man with a false smile. "Thanks anyway," she said. He shrugged.


"I'll see you later Sal. Bye everyone," Fay called out, turning abruptly and striding out of the bar.

The man watched her leave before turning to look at Ruth. "Bit uptight that one isn't she?"


Ruth laughed and leant across the bar to speak in a hushed voice, "Not usually, maybe it's just you."


He grinned.


"Perhaps you would like to join us for a drink then, err..." The man began, waiting for an introduction.


"Ruth. And this is Pat and Sal," Ruth said gesturing to them.


"Adam," he supplied, shaking hands with all three. "Where has she disappeared to so quickly then?" he asked, glancing at the door through which Fay had just exited.


"She has some work to finish off. She writes reviews for holiday companies," Sal explained. Adam looked up suddenly in shock and began to laugh, putting a hand over his face and shaking his head. The women looked puzzled by his reaction.


"Don't tell me, her name is Fay Thompson."


"How did you know?" Sal said with surprise.


"She was recommended to me. I was going to offer her some work," he informed them, glancing again towards the doorway.


"Oh, she has just told us that she was going home to finish her last review for a while so she would probably be glad of some more work, hold on," Ruth said, moving down the bar and reappearing with a card in her hand. "Here, this is her contact number."

He took the card and looked at it with a smile. "This should be interesting,' he said to himself as he slipped the card into his pocket.


Chapter 3

Fay decided to take the long route back to her apartment, which gave her a chance to walk along the sea front. She wasn't particularly in the mood to work and wouldn't have minded staying to enjoy another drink or two with her friends.


On second thoughts though, the way the conversation was going some innuendo about what had happened earlier was bound to have slipped out.

I bet he'd be thrilled to know that they were talking about him. He obviously thought he could buy them all drinks and have them falling at his feet!

She sighed and turned to look at the view as she passed the marina. The rows of sailing boats swayed with the movement of the water and she noticed the mountains in the distance beginning to turn their usual smoky pink colour, veiled by the haze from the day's heat. She never tired of looking at the views there, they seemed to have a calming effect on her and they were often a source of inspiration for her writing.

On arriving home she made herself a mug of tea and sat at her computer to finish the review. She had written most of it and only had the last few paragraphs to finish. However, just as she began the next paragraph the phone on her desk beeped. She looked at it in surprise and picked it up to read the message.

Hi, I believe that you write reviews here in Agios Nikolaos and you were recommended to me. I may have some work for you if you are interested. My name is Adam Ford and my office is on the sea front, next to The Sunrise hotel. Pass by at 7 o clock and I'll explain more.

Wow! that couldn't have come at a better time, she could do with some more work.

She looked at her watch, 6 o clock.

Not much notice though!

Glancing back at the screen, she calculated how long it would take her to finish the review and get changed to be there in time. She decided to work on the review for another half an hour and then stop, be it finished or not. This new work could be a godsend and she wanted to make the right impression; turning up late would not be a good start.

As she had suspected, after half an hour she still hadn't finished the review. She decided to finish it when she got back so she tidied her desk and headed for the bedroom to change her clothes. Opening the wardrobe, she pulled out the only suitable top that didn't need ironing. It was a thin, airy white blouse and she coupled it with a black, knee length skirt. She moved to the mirror to survey the results and inspect the transparency of the blouse.

Well, it looked quite conservative. What could he expect with such short notice anyway?

Then as an after thought she decided to scrape her hair back off her face; she had always thought that it gave her a more efficient look. She twisted the loose blonde curls at the back of her head and secured them with a clip. Vaguely satisfied with her appearance she grabbed her phone, bag and keys and left the apartment.

She arrived at the office with minutes to spare, curious as to what exactly the job would entail but nonetheless excited about its prospects. The door was closed so she peered into the office but saw no evidence of life. Strange, she had expected somebody to be there. Looking at her watch she wondered if she had got the time right so she searched in her bag for her phone to check the message again.


"Hi, you lost something?" came a voice from behind her. She spun around but frowned when she saw who it was.


"What are you doing here?" she asked frostily. Icy, blue eyes met amused brown ones.

"Not pleased to see me then?" he grinned.

A sudden uneasy feeling came over her then. "Why are you here?" she repeated.


He ignored her question again and glanced down at her. "You've changed your clothes, very efficient looking."


She folded her arms. "Well, if there's nothing in particular you wanted..." He went into his pocket and took out a key.

"Excuse me," he said, his eyes gesturing towards the door she was blocking. She moved aside anxiously and watched with apprehension as she began to fear the worst.

Damn, don't say it's him! Please not him!

He unlocked the door and turned to her. "Are you coming in then or are you just going to stand there staring?"

More to the point, could she work with this man anyway?

She gave him a small smile and walked past him into the office, hovering around the front desk.

He held out his hand to her. "Adam Ford."

She shook his hand. "Fay Thompson."


"So I've heard. I wanted to talk to you earlier but you seemed in a rush to leave the bar."

"Err, yes. I had an appointment." She lied, biting her lip.

He watched her thoughtfully and then moved around the desk to take a seat, motioning for her to do the same.


"I hear that you write reviews for brochures et cetera and I am looking for someone to help me with an advertising campaign, and perhaps to help put together some trips for tourists. Would you be interested?" he asked.

Yes, she'd be interested! It sounded like regular work.

She took time to look as if she was considering the proposition. "Perhaps."

He crossed his arms on the desk and grinned at her, his eyes scrutinizing her face.

"I've read some of your reviews and I'm impressed but I'd like to pay you extra if you would work on these tours with me as well," he added, trying