Out of Practice Read Online Free PDF Page B

Dan to introduce her, but stood up and took a pace forward. ‘Dr Channing? Hi, I’m
Holly Graham. We didn’t get chance to meet earlier.’ Remembering Julia’s earlier performance, Holly tried very hard not to let an edge creep into her voice.
    Julia herself was also clearly having issues with tone. She shot Dan another filthy look and forced a smile on to her face. ‘Yes, yes, lovely to have you here . . .’ Julia rattled
off insincerely. ‘Hope you settle in okay . . . do feel free to ask if you’ve any questions . . . etcetera, etcetera . . .’ She turned pointedly to Dan, ignored Holly, and waved
the Post-it at him. ‘Happy now?’
    From where Holly was standing, she could just make out Dan’s handwriting:
    Please welcome Holly to the team and FOR FUCK’S SAKE – BE NICE!
    Holly couldn’t help it; the pressure of the morning had clearly got to her. Rather than getting her hackles up, as was obviously the intention, she burst out laughing. ‘Oh, Dr
Channing, thank you for that. Here I was, feeling all nervous about meeting everyone, and you manage to make me laugh. Brilliant. Just brilliant!’
    Julia turned slowly, her mouth puckering until it closely resembled a duck’s arse. She clearly had no idea how to react to Holly’s mirth, especially since Taffy and Dan also seemed
to find the whole situation so amusing.
    Holly felt a moment’s guilt as she watched Julia’s internal struggle. After all, she didn’t personally know this woman from Adam, but she was damned if she was going to be
bullied from the start. Holly knew instinctively that if she didn’t lay down her marker now, there would be no way to earn Julia’s respect later. Humour had been the only way to go.
Well, conceded Holly, it was that or a spot of mud-wrestling . . .
    It briefly crossed Holly’s mind, looking at Julia’s expression, that Julia may be one of those people who actually had no discernible sense of humour, in which case, she might have
been better served to opt for the mud. Holly felt the first bite of panic that she’d completely misjudged the situation, before deciding that she was already in for a penny.
    There was an awkward pause and then Holly reached out and took the Post-it from Julia, smoothing it between her fingers. ‘This just has to go on my noticeboard, Julia, I hope you
don’t mind. It’s just so funny. And you’re so kind, putting me at ease. Now, I gather from Lizzie that your
Larkford Life
column’s going really well. You must be
over the moon.’
    Dan and Taffy swivelled their heads back and forth, as though they were watching Wimbledon.
    ‘Yes,’ said Julia tightly. ‘I had forgotten that Lizzie’s your friend. You must be pleased to be living nearer to each other? Where were you before – Reading,
wasn’t it?’ she said, unclenching a little and struggling to make an effort. Clearly Julia was not familiar with the concept of small talk.
    ‘Yes, at the hospital. It’s a big change, coming here. I’m actually quite looking forward to meeting all the locals. Maybe you can give me a heads-up on the ones to watch out
for? The bonkers ones? The hypochondriacs?’
    Julia smoothed her dress over her enviably taut stomach and, if Holly hadn’t known better, she would have thought that Julia was the one to be nervous. Her own heart was still thudding
ominously against her ribcage and she felt as though she were in a scene from a David Attenborough wildlife programme, where the pecking order was being established:
‘See the doctors of
the Serengeti posturing for position . . .’
    Holly just needed Julia to understand that she was posing no threat to her role as Alpha female at all, but she refused to be dismissed or discounted. A little healthy respect was all Holly was
aiming to achieve at this point.
    Julia softened still further, ‘Okay then,’ she said, as she made to walk away.
    ‘Great. Lovely to meet you, Julia,’ Holly said brightly, slowly breathing out and willing