Blueprint for Love (Choc Lit) Read Online Free PDF

and helpful. Well, almost everyone,’ Ellie added, but didn’t elaborate. ‘Just give me a shout if there’s anything you don’t understand.’
              Jonathan’s voice cut through the chatter. ‘Right, enough loitering. Robert Miles wants to see a revised set of drawings by Monday, so there’s no time to waste. It’s vital that we keep this contract.’
              This was followed by a chorus of groans, but people returned to their desks readily enough although the buzz continued.
              ‘Tabitha here yet?’ Jonathan asked.
              ‘No,’ replied a dark-haired man in his thirties.
              Another employee rolled his eyes, but looked away when Jonathan frowned at him.
              ‘She’s probably running late,’ Ellie commented neutrally, although even a newcomer like Hazel could hear the unspoken word ‘again’ hanging in the air.
              Jonathan nodded pensively. ‘You’re probably right.’
              He disappeared into his own office at the far end, which Hazel knew also doubled as a small meeting room. Extremely aware of the exhilarating yet unsettling effect he had on her, she was quite relieved that he’d left. But she found it required all the self-control she possessed to force the thought of him from her mind as she sat down at the desk she’d been allocated and set to work.
     
    The morning passed in a flash. By lunchtime, Hazel had made significant inroads into the teetering pile of papers on her desk and filed away most of them. Lunch was a happy, slightly chaotic affair. Some of the employees left for the village pub, while others, including Ellie, ate their packed lunch around a table by the office coffee machine. Irene had prepared a plate of sandwiches in the kitchen for those living in, and had told Hazel to help herself, so she quickly selected a few, as well as some fruit, then joined the others.
              Jonathan stayed in his office throughout, the door closed firmly behind him. Through the glass partition, Hazel could see that he was on the phone.
              When lunch was over, she realised that she hadn’t enjoyed herself so much in years. Her colleagues had treated her as an equal, and they’d quickly established that they had a lot in common.
              Certain she was going to like working in her new environment, she returned to her filing.
              When there was a lull in activity, she had a chance to study her colleagues hard at work. The architects at Gough Associates were a varied bunch, but they were all incredibly creative and skilled, particularly Ellie. Her large, fleshy hands were able to produce the most delicate drawings.
              ‘I wish I could draw like that,’ Hazel commented, when her duties took her past Ellie’s desk. ‘You’re amazing!’
              ‘You’re very sweet, but I know my limitations. I’m only average. Come, let me show you something.’ Ellie climbed down from her high chair and led Hazel to a desk at the end of the room, the only one not yet occupied. ‘Tabitha Fanshawe sits here,’ she said, and pointed to a work-in-progress on the drawing board.
              Stepping closer, Hazel felt her jaw drop. In a strong, confident hand, the artist had created a building with both modern and traditional touches, rendered in wood as well as concrete, steel and glass, enclosed by a garden and discreet car park. Grey-shaded high-rises on either side made it jump out and come to life, giving the illusion of an oasis in a forbidding city-scape. Other drawings, equally bold and self-assured, hung on a noticeboard above the desk.
              ‘She’s good, isn’t she?’
              Speechless with awe and envy, Hazel nodded.
              ‘That’s the only reason Jonathan tolerates her tardiness. You don’t come across that kind of ability every