Singled Out Read Online Free PDF Page A

superiority.
    In the rush of meeting her deadline and the excitement of the live transmission, Laura had no time to think of the evening ahead. When the
Newsviews
closing credits rolled, it took her a moment to locate the reason for the slight unease within her. Kent. Of course. She rang Reception to see if he was waiting for her. No. She said she could be contacted in the bar, and if they let her know when he arrived, she’d come down to the foyer to meet him. That way she wouldn’t have to introduce him to any of her colleagues. She put down the phone and joined the rest of the production team for the usual after-show drinks.
    Needless to say, she ended up with Rob. She felt closer to him than anyone else on
Newsviews
. He was more intelligent than the others, for a start. More entertaining, too. And, she had to admit to herself, his sexual orientation lowered the stakes, enabled her to relax with him more than she could with any of the other men on the team.
    â€˜So where’s Mr Plod?’ Rob asked.
    â€˜My brother hasn’t arrived yet,’ Laura replied formally.
    â€˜Off investigating a murder perhaps …?’
    â€˜Perhaps.’
    â€˜Wonder if he’s doing this Melanie Harris case …?’
    â€˜I don’t know.’
    â€˜I’ll be fascinated to meet him.’
    â€˜I’m not sure that he’ll be fascinated to meet you.’
    â€˜No, of course not.’ Rob dropped into a thick copper’s voice. ‘“I don’t want to mix with bloody perverts, me. I’m a straight copper, not a bent copper.”’ He chuckled. ‘Not that they’re all like that, you know. Oh, by no means. I met a
very
interesting Detective Inspector up in a little cottage in Kentish Town … and fortunately … he’d brought his truncheon with him!’
    Rob giggled, covering his face with a hand in mockery of his own outrageousness. Laura smiled. She never failed to succumb to his awkward childlike charm.
    â€˜You’re an idiot, Rob. Anyway, I don’t think I’ll give you the chance to find out what you think of Kent. Soon as they let me know he’s arrived, I’ll go and meet him at Reception.’
    â€˜Don’t be such a mean cow. I want to meet him. You say he’s not married, don’t you?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜We-ell …’ Rob spread his hands wide in a gesture that seemed to encompass all possibilities. ‘You never know, I could be what he’s been searching for all these years.’
    â€˜I somehow doubt it.’
    â€˜Stranger things have happened, dear. Look, you and me get on so well together … just a pity we’re the wrong sex for each other. But if Kent’s the male version of you … wowee, thunderbolts and lightning
at the very least
.’
    â€˜Kent isn’t the male version of me. We’re very different. We don’t have the same …’ Her words trickled away as she followed Rob’s eyeline. Walking towards them, aloof, as if risking contagion from the chattering crowds in the bar, was a tall, solid, rectangular figure in a grey suit and striped tie.
    â€˜Mm, now that is
chunky
,’ Rob murmured.
    Laura rose to her feet. ‘Kent. How did you get in? I told Reception to give me a call and I’d come down to meet you.’
    Kent Fisher shrugged awkwardly. ‘They directed me straight up here.’
    â€˜God, the security in this place is so hopeless.’
    Sister and brother stood facing each other. There wasn’t that much likeness, except in their colouring. His hair was cropped short, and the heavy shadow on his chin suggested his day had started early. They didn’t kiss or even hug. Kent would have regarded such gestures as embarrassing showbiz affectation. Besides, theirs wasn’t that kind of relationship. They hadn’t grown up in an environment where touching was encouraged.
    â€˜Well, Laura dear …’ Rob