You Had Me at Halo (11 page)

Holly recognized most of them from yesterday and though she still didn’t have a clue of their names, at least today Old Spice had replaced the gym sock smell. As for why they were all wearing novelty ties, well that was anyone’s guess.

Mickey Mouse tie stood up and scowled.

That’s my boss, Bob,
Vince said in her head before unnecessarily adding.
I don’t think he’s in a good mood.

Holly was starting to appreciate that Vince was a master in understatement. She stared at his boss and tried to imagine him thinking happy thoughts, but the way his blue eyes were narrowed, it wasn’t likely. He should probably watch that blood vessel as well. It didn’t look healthy.

“So.” The red-faced man folded his arms. “Are you going to tell me where you’ve been this morning? Or for that matter last night when you were meant to be here working on the software for the Laser account. We’re a team remember. Even when the hours are long, we pull together. I thought you understood that?”

“I do.” Vince assured him.

“So where were you then?”

Vince coughed and studied his hands. “Well I was at Holly Evan’s funeral, and then...it’s sort of hard to explain what happened next...”

Holly groaned. As far as lies went that was pretty lousy. Hadn’t he heard of the classics before? Food poisoning. Family emergency. Women’s problems...well perhaps not that last one, but the other two would’ve worked just fine.

“To be honest I thought as much, Vincent, but in future call me first to let me know.”

She almost choked in surprise when she saw Bob’s face soften. Even the blood vessel at the side of his temple stopped throbbing as he gave Vince a hearty thump on the shoulder. And what was it with all of this back patting?

“It won’t happen again,” Vince promised.

“Good,” his boss agreed before giving Vince a sympathetic smile. “I know yesterday’s funeral must’ve been tough on you. You and Holly Evans were old school friends, I believe.”

What?

This time Holly did start to choke which only resulted in more back patting.

What on earth did he say that for?
She spluttered.

“Yes.” A sad smile tugged at Vince’s lips. “We were good friends. Very good friends.”

Vince!
She yelped but he didn’t seem to notice as the four other technicians all started to stomp and holler in the most ridiculously way. What were they, teenagers? And to think that a moment ago she’d almost thought they weren’t so bad. A moment ago she’d thought Vince Murphy wasn’t so bad. She was obviously mistaken.

“Woohoo! Go Vince. You sly dog you!”

“Why didn’t you say something before, Stud? I thought she and Todd Harman had something going.”

“I think that’s quite enough,” Bob said, though he also had an impressed smile on his face. And with good reason, Holly thought mulishly, since it was obvious from the personality deficiencies of these computer technicians that their chances of getting real-life girlfriends were seriously low. “Now, how about we all get on with this meeting?”

Yes, and perhaps you could all stop talking a load of rubbish at the same time?
Holly hissed in Vince’s head.

Oh, well if you want me to tell my boss the truth I’d be more than happy to. Though I don’t think you’d have much luck getting back to heaven if my body’s locked up in a mental institution.

Ooooh. Holly didn’t know if she was more annoyed at his lies, or at the fact he was right. What she did know was that Vince Murphy was one very irritating person. And the sooner this business was finished, the better.

Well?
he said in a mild voice and she could tell by the tug of his lips that he was smiling.

Fine,
she muttered as she turned her attention back to where Bob was now holding up some sort of gadget and explaining it was a new router. She narrowed her eyes and studied it intently. She had no idea what a router was of course, but at least it was better than listening to Vince snickering in her head.

xxx

For the next hour Holly, who had planned to spend her time working out how she could get access to Rochelle’s Chloe bag and then approach Todd and apologize for their fight, ended up being drawn into the meeting.

Of course she knew the company provided IT and networking services for some of the largest businesses in town, but she’d always looked at it from a financial point of view. Or, when Todd had talked about his many sales conquests, it had been about the fancy lunches and the perks. For some reason she’d never considered how the systems actually worked.

“Right.” Bob finally stood up. “Are we all clear on today?” Everyone nodded and the older man continued. “Okay, so Andrew you will finish that pricing. Joe, you’re doing the bench jobs and Vince, I need you to get to work on those service contracts.”

Vince nodded and waited until the rest of the technicians disappeared to the various laptops that were dotted around the room.
Sorry about that. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about systems and operator codes.

Holly resisted a smile.
Actually, it wasn’t so bad. I thought it would be...

All
Star Trek
jokes and frothing at the mouth over the newest X-box?
Vince said in a dry voice and Holly flushed at the cliché, which she was forced to admit was what she had been expecting. Not that she was going to tell Vince that. After all, it was one thing to take over his body and ruin his love life; she really had no right to let him know she’d thought he was a geek as well.

So what are these service contracts you have to do? Will they take long?

Most of them I just need to ring up and schedule in. Why, what are you thinking?

I’m thinking we need to get to that Chloe bag.

Holly.
She could feel Vince frowning.
I know you found the article, but is this really worth it? After all, you know the truth, and as for everyone else, does it matter what they think?

According to Dr. Hill, it’s a problem,
she admitted as she reached into his satchel and dragged a crumpled suicide poster out. She’d managed to yank it off the wall of the elevator on the way back from Rochelle’s office. Vince hadn’t been best pleased.
Not only does it make me do stuff like this, but up in heaven I was...well I wasn’t reacting in a positive fashion when it was being discussed. Dr. Hill said if I don’t face my issues I can’t move up through the levels, so I figure if I can at least figure out what happened, I will prove it to my subconscious if nothing else
.

I’m still not sure I understand your logic, but if it really means that much to you, I’ll see if I can dodge Bob so we can try her office again.

Thanks.
Holly felt surprisingly touched by Vince’s attitude. Yes he could be annoying, but she had to admit that considering the circumstances they were in, he had been pretty good. For a moment she wondered if she would have been as generous if the tables had been turned. Then she frowned. Today seemed to asking more questions than it was solving.

That’s okay. So we’d better get going.

Don’t you want to make these phone calls first?
Holly asked, suddenly feeling guilty at not considering just how inconvenient this whole thing was on him. Besides, if she made some concessions now, perhaps he would feel less inclined to kiss Amy Jenkins? But Vince merely shook his head.

They’ll keep until tomorrow. It’s best we get out of here before someone notices that I’m not doing anything.

Except talking to a dead girl
, Holly quipped and she could feel Vince’s mouth turn up in a small smile. For some reason she liked the idea that she could make him smile. When she had first received her promotion she had made the mistake of telling a few accountant jokes with the rest of the Finance Operations team. The jokes had gone down like a Big Mac at a vegetarian restaurant and since then Holly had stopped trying to make people laugh during work hours.

Ah, yes, apart from that of course...Oh, shit. Don’t look up or make eye contact, okay?

Holly looked up and made eye contact with one of the technicians walking toward them. It was the tall guy from last night.

I told you not to look up,
Vince scolded.

Sorry.
Holly gave herself a mental kick. She always had been too nosey for her own good.
What do you think he wants?

No idea, but I’ll try and make it short. Don’t worry, Andrew’s a good guy.

“Vince, do you have a moment?” Andrew asked as he fiddled with his Homer Simpson tie. “I’m meant to be giving the sales department an estimate of how long the wiring and installation of a Bacchus 3000 for the new hospital wing will take, but they don’t seem interested in the fact that the system won’t work.”

“Oh yeah.” Vince nodded. “I had the same problem last month when Simon Trimmer was trying to sell one to the Dairy Board. I thought I explained to them all then that the wireless frequency interferes with the machinery.”

“I don’t suppose you’d come with me?” the technician said in a hopeful voice. “I’ve already had so many arguments with them that I think they’ll probably just blank me. Besides, when it comes to wireless, you’re the most experienced.”

No,
Holly silently reminded him.
Rochelle. Bag. Searching.

Don’t worry. I’ve got it covered,
Vince promised before shaking his head at the technician. “I’m sorry, Andrew. I’ve got a full day. Just make sure you don’t let those sales guys walk all over you. If they were given half a brain they’d be dangerous.”

A couple of the technicians over by the workbench snickered and Andrew sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll ring Todd and tell him that I’m on my way up to talk about the quote.”

“Okay, sorry I couldn’t help. But—” Vince started to say before Holly stopped him. Andrew was going to see Todd? Well, that was too perfect for words. She beamed at the technician. “But...actually now I think about it, I do have a few minutes. I will go see Todd with you.”

What the…
Vince swore in her mind.

I’m sorry,
she apologized to him, while at the same time trying and failing to hide her excitement.
But don’t you see what a great opportunity this is? What better chance am I going to get to talk to Todd?

I could think of several and none of them involve Andrew and I being in the office at the same time. Besides, didn’t you say we needed to look in Rochelle’s whatyoumacallit bag?

This is more important,
Holly insisted. Privately she acknowledged he was right about it not being an ideal situation, but since there was not going to be any chance of speaking to Todd alone—in her own body, with her cute new lingerie on—it was stupid to torture herself.
Also, I’ve just realized we probably won’t get another chance at work to look in Rochelle’s bag, so it might be best to sneak into her apartment this afternoon while she’s at step class.

Now you want to break into her apartment?
Vince sounded a little bit aghast.

Yes, but it’s not really breaking-in because I know where the spare key is
, Holly assured him.

I thought you hated Rochelle Jackson, so how do you know where the key is?
Vince sounded confused.

Of course I hate her
, Holly reassured him.
She’s a cow. But unfortunately she’s a cow who happens to know a lot of the same people as I do so occasionally our paths have to cross. But even if I have to be nice to her to her face, doesn’t mean I like her, all right?

Um, sure.
Vince still seemed a perplexed by Holly’s logic, but she didn’t have time to explain the ins and out of the female mind.
So how do you know the bag will be there? Won’t she take it to the gym?

You really are a boy. No, she won’t take her Chloe bag to the gym. She’s got a horrible little glittery thing that she’ll probably use.

Fine. I will bow to your superior bag knowledge,
Vince conceded in bewilderment.
But I still don’t think it’s a good idea to see Todd right now.

Of course it is,
Holly assured him in an excited voice.
Anyway, he’s been working on this project for almost a month, I’m sure he’d want to know if the equipment isn’t correct so he can fix it up.

She didn’t bother to add that Todd had already decided his commission check would be going towards his new car. They’d been looking at sales brochures the night he had suggested they get engaged.