The I.T. Girl Read Online Free PDF Page A

mountains.’ He placed a
napkin that was still folded in a peak. ‘And there’s an island off shore.’ He pushed
over a saucer. ‘ Which actually protects it from a lot of storms. And because of the mountains, all that area has these micro climates.’ He swirled
his fingers. ‘Little pockets for diving or beach holidays, but drizzly bits of British
weather too.’
    ‘Are there any sharks?’ I moved in a ladle.
    ‘Only little fish. And the occasional eel.’ He demonstrated with a chopstick. ‘Have
you ever dived?’
    ‘No, but I’d love to. I was actually looking at some dive holidays
for this year. The Red Sea has some packages-’ I stopped before I got to the bit
where they were holidays for singles.
    ‘I could send you some information if you like,’ he offered.
    Our main courses arrived. We put food on each other’s plate.
    ‘So, you’ve always had the travel bug, Columbus?’ I asked.
    ‘Ha,’ he laughed at the nickname. ‘I didn’t know what I wanted
to do after I left school. So I went to Australia for a year and that was it...
Got a job in a bank when I came home... I thought it would be the end of me.’
    ‘You’re not ambitious,’ I stated.
    ‘I’m ambitious to do something I like – you’d wonder why I stay
in CouperDaye . Having money to travel is good,’ he conceded.
    ‘I don’t understand why people stay in a job they don’t like,’
I said it more to myself than to him.
    ‘I do like my job,’ he protested. ‘I like working in finance.
It’s really challenging and it’s fast-paced.’
    ‘Oh no, I don’t mean –’ I held up a hand, seeing I sounded judgemental.
    ‘It’s the CouperDaye attitude that
I have a problem with.’
    ‘Why don’t you leave then?’
    ‘Because I like to take a break from work every
few years. And I don’t want to job-hop in between.’
    ‘Oh. That’s a really good idea.’
    ‘How do you find CouperDaye ?’ His chopsticks
played over the salad bowl again.
    ‘I’m enjoying the work. And I think there’re a lot of good opportunities.’
    ‘Ah the brain washing has started to take effect,’ he said, cheekily.
    ‘Why?’ I didn’t try to hide a little irritation. ‘Because I think
I can do well?’
    ‘Look, just be careful you don’t get sucked into their mindset.
It’s like CouperDaye wants to give you your opinion –
I don’t know why they have to be so paranoid – I guess they want to keep control.
But it’s like, if you challenge anything, then automatically you have a bad attitude.’
He laughed. ‘Eventually people just give up trying and leave or become bitter.’
He guided a small piece of squid into his mouth and swallowed. ‘Don’t you notice
that in R&D?’
    ‘I suppose,’ I said, realising I hadn’t challenged anything yet.
‘But, I think I’m pretty good at thinking for myself.’
    ‘Good. Stay that way... I hate talking about work,’ he quipped.
‘Let’s make a rule, no work talk.’
    ‘No work talk .’
    ‘Why did you leave Ireland?’
    ‘Itchy feet. I wanted the experience
of living somewhere else... A relationship ended over it. He wanted to stay. I wanted
to go.’
    ‘You are determined.’
    Yes,’ I admitted. ‘But I think it was the best thing because
we weren’t right together. Anyway, London is a fresh start.’
    We finished our main courses and I gave in to the dessert menu.
I asked for two spoons, coaxing him to have some.
    ‘There’s a Vietnamese near where I live too,’ he said after a
moment of silence. ‘Actually does great deserts. Which is pretty
unusual for a Vietnamese restaurant. I could take you there some time, if
you like.’
    ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Hmm, you know, I’m not really looking for a
relationship right now.’
    He flinched. ‘Oh, sure, me neither.’
    ‘It’s just that I need to put work first.’
    ‘You’re a career woman,’ he teased.
    ‘It’s not just that. I’m new to London and I think it’s healthier
not to get too involved with one person. I