A quick glance round the deserted office confirmed what she already knew. Everyone had left, leaving just her and the boss in the building. At least she assumed he was still here. She hadn’t heard his deep voice for some time, and no telltale click of masculine fingers over his keyboard broke the stillness surrounding her. The faint hum of the vacuum cleaner being employed by the cleaners in one of the side offices could be heard, but that was all. Normally speaking, the stillness didn’t bother Jolie, but as she gathered the reports to her chest, ready to dump them on her supervisor’s, desk it did. The boss didn’t go out of his way to say goodbye to her, but he did usually at least glance her way and nod, or something, when he left. As pathetic as that made her—because he showed the same courteous treatment to everyone else in the office—that brief smile lighting up his craggy features was the highlight of her day.
