Free A Time of Peace by Beryl Matthews Page A

did he mean by that?
    â€˜You have friends in high places.’ He gave her a contemptuous glance. ‘And you may not understand this, but I don’t particularly like being told who to employ!’
    She was angry now, but relieved in some way that she now had a reason for his hostility towards her. ‘I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about, but if you object to me so much, why don’t you just sack me?’
    â€˜Because I can’t!’ He was shouting in frustration now. ‘I bloody well can’t get rid of you.’ He leant towards her and moderated his tone. ‘If you don’t like the way you’re treated here, then you can always give in your notice. That’s the only way I can see the back of you!’
    Oh, no, thought Kate, all her stubbornness coming into force. So he’d been treating her like dirt to make her
leave. Well, he was wasting his time, because she wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. She glared at him, spun on her heel and stormed out of the office.
    Terry and Pete were waiting anxiously for her when she reached the sanctuary of her darkroom.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ she told the photographer, ‘I tried but it’s hopeless. The Chief believes I’m incapable of doing anything responsible.’ It was a bitter disappointment and one she couldn’t hide as her dark eyes glittered with anger. She was deeply hurt to find out that someone had ordered Andrew Stevenson to give her the job. Who the hell could that be? But the realization that she hadn’t won this job on her own merit as a photographer was like a needle piercing her heart. It was damned painful.
    Terry squeezed her shoulder. ‘Thanks for trying. I’ve got a week to see if I can find someone else to take my place.’
    â€˜Do you think you’ll be able to?’
    â€˜I’ll have a damned good try,’ he muttered.
    Kate gave him a rueful smile as Andrew Stevenson bellowed again. ‘The Chief’s getting impatient.’
    â€˜He’s never anything else.’ Terry walked away looking despondent.
    â€˜Terry,’ Kate called after him, ‘remember to duck.’
    He gave a reluctant smile. ‘If it gets rough, I’ll spend my time flat on my face. They’ll only get photographs of people’s knees.’
    â€˜It’s a pity we can’t go out there together, Kate. We’d do a good job for the Chief,’ Pete said when Terry had left.
    â€˜I know we would. You ought to have a camera of your own. It’s amazing how much you’ve learnt already.’
    Pete accepted the compliment with obvious pride. ‘We make a good team.’
    â€˜We certainly do.’ Kate pulled a camera out of the cupboard and handed it to him. ‘This is the camera I used at college. You can have it now.’
    Pete looked as if all his birthdays had come at once. He caressed the camera. ‘Gosh, do you mean it?’
    â€˜Yes, and as you improve we’ll see about putting a portfolio together for you.’
    He tore his eyes away from his precious gift and frowned. ‘Why do I need that?’
    â€˜So you can show it to editors when you go for a job as a photographer.’
    Pete gave her a nervous grin. ‘Do you think I could one day?’
    â€˜I wouldn’t lie to you, Pete.’ Some of the hurt she was feeling from the Chief’s scathing words lifted when she saw the look of happiness on his face.
    On the way home her natural optimism reasserted itself. There were always setbacks in life, and this one had made her more determined to succeed. She might have to change course and drop her cherished plans. It would need a great deal of thought, though, as she never made hasty decisions. And she wasn’t going to lose her temper and play right into Andrew Stevenson’s hands, even if the knowledge that he’d been ordered to give her the job was sitting like a lead weight