Free Unknown by Unknown

have a very thorough training at the College of Art . I not only studied shoes and handbags, but dress design as well. The two go hand in hand, wouldn’t you say?’
    He shrugged. ‘What else did you do with yourself yesterday? Mai Mai tells me you were very interested in the designs she’s currently working on.’
    Debra was surprised. Mai Mai must have been waiting for him as soon as he arrived. Somehow the thought of the two of them together hurt.
    Vane and Mai Mai, Vane and Liz. Why was she so against his friendship with any other woman? It was not as though she fancied him herself. Having Vane Oliver for a boy-friend was the last thing she wanted.
    ‘I did a few sketches,’ she said, ‘of belts and shoes that I thought would look good with them. Would you like to see?’
    If she was hoping for encouragement she was disappointed. ‘Later,’ he said. ‘I have other things to do first. On your way out tell Mai Mai I want her again, will you?’
    Back in her office Debra looked at the drawings she had done yesterday and in a fit of pique tore them from the drawing board and ripped them into shreds. For a while after that she prowled about her room like a caged tiger and when she could stand it no longer left the building, telling Mr Fu that she was going to check on Yam Ling Kee again in case they were still experiencing difficulties.
    But all was well. They had actually finished machining most of the dresses and the girls were at work with the hand embroidery over which all the fuss had been made.
    Debra was amazed they had got on so quickly and wondered whether they had worked through the night to have made such progress. The room was filled with benches at which sat rows and rows of Cantonese girls, all busily embroidering dresses for Vane Oliver.
    She felt guilty, almost as though it was her own fault that these girls had been caused this extra work, but Mr Ho was politeness itself, apologising once again for the mistake that was, he said, their own fault.
    During the course of their conversation Debra discovered that the Yam Ling Kee Company worked exclusively for Vane Oliver. If they lost his business it meant they were out of work. Suddenly she understood why they were so anxious to please.
    It was lunchtime when she had finished, and she went into one of the hundreds of restaurants Hong Kong boasted, enjoying mushroom and rice soup and Cantonese roast chicken.
    It was after two when she got back, and only seconds after she had entered her office Vane came striding in.
    ‘Where the devil have you been?’ he demanded angrily. ‘I wanted you. You had no right to go missing!’
    Debra stared at him steadily. ‘I told Mr Fu where I was going. If he didn’t pass the message on then that’s not my fault.’
    ‘I got the message all right,’ he continued belligerently. ‘But why wasn’t I told personally? Don't you think that I should be the one who has the say in where you go and what you do?’
    Debra was astounded, but endeavoured to keep her temper. ‘You were tied up with Mai Mai, I didn’t want to disturb you.’
    ‘Some excuse,’ he snapped. ‘We were not discussing anything so private that I could not have been interrupted.’
    She must have looked disbelieving for he continued, ‘My God, Debra, don’t say you suspect me in that quarter as well? You seem to have a fixation about me associating with other women. I can assure you that my dealings with Mai Mai are strictly business. She’s good at her job, 1 value her work, but that’s all there is to it. Satisfied?’
    ‘You don’t have to explain,’ she said tightly. ‘It was just Mai Mai’s attitude that made me think ’ She broke off. ‘Oh, well, it doesn’t really matter. What I do object to is you going on at me about my job. If you wish me to ensure that your factories are carrying out the work correctly then you must allow me to visit them whenever I feel it necessary, without having to ask permission.’
    His frown deepened.