Look. Graham, Bob and Trevor are all smiling at you as well, Holly said in confusion as they walked into the workshop ten minutes later once she had managed to compose herself. Had the whole building heard about what happened last night?
Hey, do you realize you didn’t call any of them by the character of their tie? Vince sounded impressed.
Oh. Holly could feel her face flushing. I guess they’re all pretty nice guys. You’re lucky. I just hope you’re here long enough to appreciate it.
Well, we haven’t been hauled into David Harris’s office yet. Vince slung his satchel onto the bench and frowned at the mess. Let me guess, Fluffy paid me another visit last night?
Oh, yeah. Holly realized she hadn’t done a great job of tidying up. I was sort of in a hurry to get to the Pool Palace, which is why as soon as I found the manuals, I just gave them all to Andrew and left.
I don’t know what manuals you gave him, but it certainly wasn’t these ones. Vince pulled a familiar-looking yellow envelop from somewhere in the depths of the mess and held it up in the air.
Holly felt the horror mounting within her. That doesn’t make sense, she croaked. “I definitely gave him the envelope.
Vince started to tidy up the pile of papers on his bench. It could’ve been anything, I often keep things in envelopes. Especially since Fluffy started making house calls.
Holly gulped. That wasn’t exactly the most comforting news. So can you tell what’s missing?
Vince had a quick scan and shrugged. I wouldn’t have a clue. Look, don’t worry about it.
But this is terrible. Vince what if they fire you? I mean not only were we late in delivering the laptops and forgetting to give them the manuals, but we punched one of Baker Colwell’s most successful account manager in the face. I think we need to go and apologize before—
Holly- he started to say but before he could get any further, Bob Mackay poked his head around the corner.
“Vince, David Harris wants to see you in his office. Now.”
Holly was quite sure she was going to be sick.
Okay, so you’re just going to have to tell him everything, Holly instructed as they made their way up to fourth floor.
You mean about the dead girl in here?
Holly rolled her eyes. No, Vince, not about me being in here, I mean about Todd springing the laptops on you at the last minute and not even asking if it was okay for you to deliver them. You could even tell them about that hospital quote as well.
There’s no point. The reason guys like Todd and Simon do so well here is not just because they sell products, they sell themselves as well. It doesn’t take a genius to guess who David Harris will side with. Especially considering the fact we hit Todd last night.
You mean I hit him, Holly wailed as they reached the office. The secretary at the front desk nodded for them to go straight in.
“He’s expecting you,” the girl said. Holly didn’t take this as a good sign and this was further confirmed as they pushed open the door to see Todd sitting down in a chair to the right of the desk looking smug, his swollen eye proudly on display. Vince was right; Todd was going to really milk this.
David Harris stood up, with a serious expression on his face. Holly had never had much to do with the Baker Colwell executives, but she knew that Todd had been out with him on more than one social occasion. What a way to repay Vince for all his kindness.
“Thank you for joining us, Vincent. The reason I’ve called you both here is because I have some serious concerns that need addressing.”
Todd could barely contain his glee and Holly had to grip at her hands to stop herself from punching him a second time. It was only the reminder that Vince didn’t need anymore trouble right now that stopped her. But how could she have not seen what sort of person Todd was?
Just then the door opened David Harris nodded his head. “Thank you for joining us.”
Holly spun around just in time to see a short, angry man walking into the room. W-who’s that?
Stuart Peterson. Owner of Peterson Productions and number one buddy of David Harris. And Todd Harman.
No, Holly wanted to shout out. Lorraine had told her last night that her boss was on the rampage, but honestly this was ridiculous. So what if Vince didn’t deliver a couple of lousy laptops on time. Was there really any need to go to such great lengths to punish him? Didn’t they know there were more important things to life than tormenting a computer technician? Especially such a nice, lovely one like Vince. In fact she had a good mind to—
“Vincent. Todd.” The man nodded as he walked over to the desk and handed David Harris a familiar looking yellow envelope. On the outside was written Manuals in Vince’s scrawling handwriting; hence Holly’s mistake. She still had no idea what was in there and all she could do was pray that Vince wasn’t the downloading-porn sort of guy.
Holly, stop clenching like that, Vince instructed as she realized she’d had her hands balled in two tight fists.
Sorry, she replied. But aren’t you worried about this? I mean if they’re going to all this trouble they must be pretty mad.
I do a good job and I’m honest, if they have a problem with it, well there’s not much I can do.
Yes, but—
But nothing. I have a few more pressing things to worry about than this. You might not be able to resolve things with Todd, but there’s still time to try and find how those pills got into your body. This is just a waste.
Holly tried not to sniff, but it was hard, because that was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her.
“Do you know what’s in here?” David Harris held the envelope up with a flourish.
“I gather it’s not the manuals that Vince Murphy was meant to deliver to our client at four yesterday afternoon.” Todd snickered and Holly could barely contain her fury. Seeing things through Vince’s eyes had certainly changed her perceptions.
How, how, how had she ever liked him? Yes, he had all the trimmings to make him look like the perfect catch, but inside he was fatally flawed. Where as, someone like Vince, was…perfect.
And lovely.
And sweet, and—
Oh, no.
Holly almost groaned out loud as a startling realization struck her. She loved Vince and hated Todd. How had this happened? She had been with Todd a year and only been in Vince’s body for under two days, yet somehow…somehow…
Somehow she’d made the classic Lizzie Bennet mistake of getting her Darcys and her Wickhams muddled up.
Oh lord.
Holly glanced around the room to see if anyone had noticed a change in her but to her surprise everything was still the same. Todd was still smug, Vince was still standing there like he didn’t have a care in the world and their two accusers were looking very grim.
Holly Evans loved Vince Murphy.
Talk about lousy timing—and what’s worse was that Vince had made it blindingly obvious he was only being so nice to her because of his mother’s death. It was his way of banking up his karma incase his own mom got kicked out of heaven. Not that she would, since if she managed to create such a wonderful son, she was probably pretty nice herself. Unlike Holly who was bad and dreadful and about to have her mind wiped because of it.
Stop wriggling, Vince whispered in her mind and Holly almost melted at the sound of his voice. It was suddenly so precious. But he was right. She didn’t have time to go all dreamy. Vince’s job was on the line. She needed to pay attention.
“That’s right.” Stuart Peterson was now holding the envelope up in the air. “It’s not the manuals that I was expecting. Do you have an explanation for this, Vince?” the man asked and Holly felt Vince shake his head.
“I have no idea,” Vince replied as Stuart Peterson pulled out a slim folder from the envelope. “But I’m sorry if you received it by mistake.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Stuart shook his head. “It made for interesting reading. It’s an article on software licensing.” As he spoke, Holly noticed that Todd’s pinky finger was twitching the way it did when his team was losing a game.
What’s going on? Holly wanted to know but before Vince could answer Stuart Peterson continued.
“Yes, it was a very enlightening article. Would you believe that every company is required to document the license for every software program installed on every computer? I certainly had no idea. But of course, just like I trust my accountant to do my taxes, I was sure Baker Colwell would be looking after my computer needs. It’s certainly what I pay them for.”
Vince, Holly hissed again. I have no idea what he’s talking about.
Remember I told you that’s why their system kept crashing. Well, it looks like Peterson has just figured it out. I think things could get interesting.
Good interesting or bad interesting? Holly demanded since her nerves were getting pretty frayed here and she wasn’t quite sure how much more they were up for.
I guess that would depend on whether you intend on trying to sort things out with Todd Harman.
Holly inwardly growled and she could feel a flicker of a grin spread across Vince’s face.
Well, if that’s really the case, then I think you might enjoy this because I have a feeling your almost fiancé is about to find himself in a spot of trouble.
Stuart Peterson folded his short arms. It had to be said he didn’t look happy. “So imagine my surprise when I went through the files to find all of this documentation I supposedly needed. Then when it couldn’t be found I went through our invoices to see if we’d in fact paid for all of our software licenses. But no, we had not.”
“That’s when Stuart called me.” David Harris folded his arms. “I told him that we would never sell a system that ran on unlicensed software. Which is when I started going through some of your other accounts, Todd. Now I’m starting to see why you’ve been winning so many quotes. And it seems that was just the tip of the iceberg…”
Holly widened her eyes as she realized Todd was no longer looking quite so smug. So not only had he cheated on her, but he’d cheated on the company and his clients as well. To think she’d spent the last year dreaming of the day she would be Mrs. Todd Harman, all the while unable to see just what a jerk-off he really was.
“Nice work,” Martha from reception called out as they walked past fifteen minutes later. Even Fluffy seemed to look a bit less growly. Boy, Holly was still quite amazed at how many people had disliked Todd and by the time they got back to the workshop, she felt like the pied piper, the way a stream of people had tagged on behind them.
Once they were back everyone wanted to talk about how Todd Harman had been sacked because he’d deliberately kept things off a quote just to come in at the right price. Then there were the other things David Harris had started to list off but Holly had hardly been listening as she realized Vince was still firmly in possession of his job.
Not that she would remember it soon, but it mattered that she didn’t leave Vince worse off than when she’d first landed in his body yesterday. Also, a small part of her couldn’t bear for him to think ill of her, and who knew what the unemployment line might’ve done for his memories?
“Well done, buddy.” Andrew grinned. “That guy has screwed too many of us around to not deserve it. So tell us everything.”
Holly would drink to that and despite her upcoming mind-wipe she felt a small sense of satisfaction as she listened to Vince’s colleagues congratulate him. It wasn’t until she felt Vince shake his head that she was rattled from her own pleasant thoughts.
“Sorry, guys,” he said as he grabbed the car keys from his pocket. “You’ll have to get the rest of the story from someone else. I’m going to take a personal day.”
What? Holly said in surprise as Vince started walking toward the stairs that led back up to the main entrance. You’re the most popular guy in the building right now, probably the planet. You should make the most of it.
I’ll let them fawn all over me tomorrow. He shrugged. Right now my time is your time. So what else can we do?
Nothing. Vince it’s too late to try anything else. We just need to accept that I screwed up, Holly insisted as she tried to turn his body back around, but he stubbornly dug his heels in.
There must be something? He growled and Holly, who was about to shake her head, suddenly paused as a thought occurred to her. She had screwed everything up, but there was one thing she might be able to fix.
Actually, you’re right. There is one thing we could do…if you don’t mind.
Just lead the way. I’m all yours.
If only that was true, she sighed. Then for the last time in this life or the next, Holly walked out of Baker Colwell.
“Vince, this is a surprise,” Holly’s stepmother said as she answered the door half an hour later. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I’ve got a day off.”
“Oh, that’s nice. I’m glad you remember to use them up. Poor Holly never seemed to have anytime away from that place. So what is it I can do for you? Did you have some more things from her desk?”
“Sort of.” Holly coughed. Eating humble pie wasn’t something she’d tried to do many times before. It tasted funny. “I was wondering if I could come in for a minute?”
“Of course. You’ll be pleased to see I’ve tidied up. I’m sorry it was such a mess yesterday.”
“That’s okay,” Holly assured her; absurdly pleased to see that the house had indeed been restored to its former pristine neatness. It was something she’d always taken for granted until she’d moved into Vince’s body and seen how lucky she had been.
Actually there were quite a few things that Holly had been taking for granted. Hence this final visit to try and make amends. Though she wasn’t sure how a ten-minute visit could change much. Still, she was determined to try.
“Would you like a coffee?” her stepmother asked; although Holly’s stomach started to rumble, she shook her head. She couldn’t afford to waste any time.
“No thanks.” She sat down in the chair her stepmother was offering. It had been her father’s favorite chair and for a moment Holly felt a twang of nostalgia go through her.
“So tell me, Vince. What can I do for you?”
Holly fiddled with the strap of Vince’s satchel. “I’ve got something for you.”
Her stepmother looked startled. “You do?”
Holly dug into Vince’s pocket and pulled out the birthday card she’d written earlier. When she first came up with the idea of trying to let her stepmother know she was sorry for her past behavior, Holly thought writing a card was the perfect way.
That was until she’d started writing.
Gone was her small neat longhand and in its place was a slanted scrawl, which she found almost impossible to read. After ruining the first card, Holly had then spent the next ten minutes trying to train Vince’s large hand to master her own style. It wasn’t exact but it was as close as Holly was going to get with the time permitted.
Though to give him his dues, Vince had been very good about the whole process and he’d only sworn once. Well twice, but the second time was when Holly had made him seal it with a kiss. But he had done it and for the first time in her life, Holly had been jealous of an envelope.
“I found it in the backseat of my work van and I recognized it from Holly’s box of things. It must’ve fallen out yesterday.” She passed the card over.
Her stepmother didn’t move from her chair as she studied the envelope before deftly slitting it open. Then her eyes widened. “It’s a birthday card, but that’s not for another month and Holly hardly ever remembered it.”
“I guess she did this year.” Holly gave a casual shrug. “Anyway, I just thought I should bring it over.”
“Thank you.” Her stepmother’s voice sounded choked with tears and again Holly felt so odd at this complete turn around. Though she was starting to wonder if it really was a turnaround at all.
It seemed that Holly had spent most of her time grossly misjudging people: Vince, Todd, her stepmother…
Her life was all a bit of a mess really. No wonder heaven wanted to wipe her memories and start again. It was probably for the best. She didn’t even mind so much about not sorting out her issues. Though it would’ve been nice to find out how the pills got there, just so people like Gemma and her stepmother didn’t have to live with the stigma of the rumors. And as for her dad, well…
Holly noticed her stepmother’s hands were shaking as she studied the card. She didn’t read it aloud, but then she didn’t have to since Holly already knew the contents.
Dear Jill,
I bet this is a surprise getting a birthday card from me. I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye since my dad died, but I just wanted you to know that I hope you have a wonderful day.
Love Holly
Actually, the way Holly had been feeling she could’ve gone a bit soppier than that, but then again, she wanted her stepmother to actually believe it was true and as Holly recalled their past relationship, she doubted an overflow of sentiment would be very convincing.
Her stepmother finally glanced up from the card with unshed tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I can’t tell you what this means to me.”
“I’m glad I could help.” Holly croaked. She was finding it increasingly hard to remember she was Vince. In a way she would be glad when this whole thing was over.
“And I have to thank you for something else,” her stepmother said.
“You do?” Holly blinked. Especially since it wasn’t like she’d even forked out for a present.
“My neighbor’s son works in the Pool Palace. He told me you had a fight with Todd last night.”
“Oh.” Holly gulped as she automatically covered up her swollen knuckles. Boy, news sure traveled fast. “I’m sorry about that,” she mumbled.
“Well, I’m not,” her stepmother said in a staunch voice before coughing. “Of course I’m not saying I approve of violence, but from what I heard, Todd was saying some fairly dreadful things about Holly. I really appreciate you standing up for her.”
“Yeah.” Holly crossed her fingers. “Well, the dead can’t speak for themselves, can they?”
“That’s right. Which is why it’s up to us to protect the memory of the people we loved,” her stepmother said and for a moment Holly thought Vince was going to say something about love as well, but in the end he just made a grunting noise in the back of his throat.
It was no more than Holly deserved, but still, she couldn’t help but wish things had worked out differently.