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Laura Thornton. Why would you change it?’ He fiddled with his pen. ‘Surely you can keep your professional name separate? Can’t you just be Mrs Jones in your private life?’
    ‘I’ll never be “just” Mrs Jones!’ Laura said hotly. ‘I’m proud to be changing my name. Jeff and I will eventually start a family, so it’ll be best if we all share the same name.’
    Darren grimaced, hearing echoes of Jeff’s words at Laura’s wedding. He cared about Laura very much. She’d always been a strong, independent woman – a little impulsive, but an efficient and valuable member of his staff, and he wasn’t at all happy about what was happening to her. Her whirlwind courtship and hasty marriage was anathema to his own careful nature. He didn’t like Jeff either, although he had to admit that no one would ever be good enough for his Laura.
    He made it clear that he wasn’t pleased. ‘But you’ve always said you’d never change your name – don’t you remember all those chats we had in the canteen? You were always so adamantthat, as the last Thornton of your generation, you wanted to keep your family name alive, even if you got married.’
    Flushing, Laura nodded, annoyed with Darren for having reminded her, and feeling guilty for abandoning her family’s identity. ‘Well, I’ve changed my mind. Life changes, people change.’
    Darren grimaced. ‘This is going to involve quite a lot of paperwork,’ he muttered. ‘It might take me quite a while to get it all done.’
    ‘It’s not that big a deal, Darren. If the passport people can do it, why can’t you?’ she replied.
    Laura was growing more and more annoyed at having to defend her decision. She’d encountered surprise and incredulity when she’d announced her change of name to colleagues and friends. In fact, several people had made veiled suggestions that the decision hadn’t entirely been hers. It made her very hot under the collar. Surely it was no one’s concern but hers and Jeff’s? Okay, so she’d always sworn that she’d never change her name, and she wouldn’t be doing it now except that it seemed to mean so much to Jeff. Making him happy seemed a small price to pay for the niggling guilt she was feeling at abandoning the Thornton family name. Kerry had given a derisive laugh when told of the name change, then had tried to cover it up by changing the subject, and now Darren was making her feel as though she was abandoning her late parents and brother as well.
    Laura wished everyone could just be happy for her. She and Jeff were building a life together – she was simply changing her name to show her commitment to him and to their future.
    Darren adjusted his glasses. ‘Have you told the others in the department yet?’
    ‘I mentioned it to Maria, and I saw Timmy in the canteen –’
    ‘What did they think?’
    Laura felt embarrassed and angry all at once. She didn’t need to justify her actions to anyone. ‘They’re happy for me – what else would you expect?’
    In fact, both her colleagues had been surprised, and clearly disapproving. Timmy, at least, had had the good grace to try and hide it. ‘What does Darren think?’ he’d asked, and Laura had felt annoyed with him. Since when did she need to consider how Darren felt about her personal decision to change her name? ‘I haven’t told him yet,’ she’d replied angrily, and had been surprised at the brief flicker of sadness she’d detected in Timmy’s eyes. Maria had been more direct: ‘W – haaat?’ she’d screeched. ‘Are you losing your marbles, Thornton? Oh, sorry, I mean “Jones”!’
    Darren grimaced. ‘Well, Laura, I guess it’s your decision.’
    ‘Yes, it is,’ she said evenly. There was no point in getting annoyed with her boss, because he was the best in the world and she loved working with him. He’d come around before long.
    With a deep sigh, Darren began shuffling papers around on his desk. ‘Well, I’m always here if you ever want to