No Job for a Girl by Meredith Appleyard

Author:Meredith Appleyard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781760142063
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

Each day blended into the next. The weather cleared, the sky endlessly blue, day in and day out. Four new shirts arrived and Leah was relieved not to have to wash her one remaining shirt every day. Unfortunately, they were no closer to uncovering who’d vandalised her clothes in the first place.

And there had been nothing from Crawley about the incident. No email. No phone call. Leah had expected to hear from him, and when she didn’t, she slowly let herself begin to relax. Until she saw the internal memo – he was on annual leave. She’d only been granted a reprieve, not remission of her probation.

Alex was busier than ever and Leah rarely saw him after the pre start and before the daily debrief. There was never time to talk about anything other than work, which was probably for the best.

Paul had stayed overnight at the camp, and Leah had travelled with him to the management meeting in Nickel Bluff on Friday morning. He knew about the incident with her shirts.

‘It would have been better if I’d heard it directly from you, not read about it in a report days after it happened,’ he’d said.

‘It shook me up, but I’m all right now.’

Leah had admitted to no one that she was more concerned what Crawley would do when he read the incident report. He had the power to have her fast-tracked out of the place so fast she’d have whiplash.

From the passenger seat Paul said, ‘Has anyone harassed you?’

Frank had definitely overstepped the mark with his snide and sleazy comments. But Leah knew if she made a complaint, it’d be another black mark against her ‘suitability’ for the job. Add it to the incident with the shirts . . . The situation infuriated and sickened her.

But she hadn’t verbalised any of this to Paul. ‘I know what blokes can be like when they get together over a few beers,’ she’d said. ‘It’s never fazed me before. I’m careful.’

‘But do you feel safe working here?’

‘Try working Saturday night in A&E at the Royal Adelaide!’

Paul had sighed, mumbled something about never being able to forgive himself if anything happened to her, and let the subject drop.

Happy for a change of subject, Leah had asked him about Eve.

‘She’s a bit down,’ he’d said. ‘I think . . . hope . . . it’s just her getting a feel for retirement. She wasn’t ready for it, and I’m never there.’

‘Maybe she should get another job. She’s always worked. My guess is she isn’t sure how to not work, how to reinvent herself as a retired woman.’

‘Funny you should mention that. She went for a job, maternity leave relief at a similar not-for-profit.’

‘And?’

‘It fell through.’ Paul grimaced at the memory.

‘Oh, I bet she was disappointed.’

‘Devastated, more like.’

‘I can understand. She’s used to being financially independent.’ Leah took her eyes off the road for a second to check Paul’s reaction. He looked bemused.

‘I keep telling her we can manage on my salary. I put money into her account every month, to do whatever she likes with.

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