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‘Always liked a strong woman,’ one of the men who had teased her earlier declared as she took the cigarette from his hand and stubbed it out.
‘No more of that,’ Magenta said firmly, realising that, the firmer she was with these men, the more they seemed to like it.
All except for Quinn, who when she did see him chose to ignore the fact that they had spent a large part of the last evening flirting—or verbal jousting, as Magenta preferred to think of it. He repeated his warning—with his lips very close to her ear—that she would pay the consequence if outside interests detracted from her work for him. Quinn had otherwise left her alone with a pile of work she was sure he had added to in order to punish her for oversleeping that morning. Not that her lips cared about that. They were too busy tingling from the memory of his kisses.
The day passed quickly, the only down side being the lack of Quinn. Magenta let Nancy and the rest of the girls leave early again, feeling they had spent another day under the heel of unreasonable men; she was equally determined that all that would change soon. If there was one thing she was determined to do before she woke up again, it was to make a difference for those girls.
Would she wake up if she fell asleep at the office? Magenta wondered, resting her chin on the heel of her hand. After all, she had woken up here at the office. Who knew what might happen in such an upside-down world? She glanced across at the group of men hanging around in the hope of being able to say goodnight to Quinn—and possibly kiss his backside too, Magenta reflected waspishly. It was nothing short of a miracle that women had found the energy to prove themselves in the sixties, in her opinion. And on top of that they were expected to run a home.
So what had changed? Magenta wondered wryly. Things were pretty much the same in the twenty-first century.
Quinn appeared and everyone straightened up. Even Magenta was guilty of trying to give a good impression. There was no harm in looking; Quinn was one good-looking man.
‘Still working, Magenta?’
She was surprised when he came over to her rather than heading for the men.
‘This is good,’ he said, scanning her latest idea.
‘And when it’s finished you can see it.’ She covered her work protectively.
‘You should share your ideas,’ Quinn told her.
‘And I will,’ she said. Just as soon as she had organised a team. She was determined to recruit from the typing pool and the switchboard. She had to get those girls believing in themselves so they could leave the corral behind for good.
‘When can I see it?’ Quinn’s gaze sharpened.
‘As soon as we’re ready.’
‘We?’ he said suspiciously.
‘This type of work is usually undertaken by a team.’ As his eyes narrowed she could tell she’d gone too far. ‘What I mean to say is, with your approval, I would like to canvas opinion in the typing corral.’
‘The typing corral?’
Why was she staring at his lips? ‘I mean the women who type,’ she said carefully. It wouldn’t do to put his back up. Not yet. ‘They’re closed off from the rest of the office as if they’re in a corral.’
‘And?’ Quinn queried.
‘We’re losing out on their opinions. I just thought that maybe their thoughts on the various products you’re promoting could be useful to you.’ She spoke mildly but felt like a tigress defending her cubs.
‘Perhaps…’ Quinn thumbed his sharp black stubble.
‘And I have another idea for you.’
‘Why aren’t I surprised?’
Was Quinn trying to overwhelm her with that incredible stare? ‘I realise I’m only the office manager, but I thought if you would allow me to build a team—in my own time, of course—perhaps we could test our ideas, one team against the other?’
‘Men against women?’ Quinn looked immeasurably smug, as if the end result were a foregone conclusion. ‘You’re serious about this?’
‘Never more so.’ She held Quinn’s stare, feeling her body’s response to him like a flame of heat that brought her blood to boiling point. But she had to ignore those glorious eyes and focus on her goal. ‘I’ve heard that slots for advertising in the new colour supplement are so sought-after they are going to be decided by a team of style-setters.’
‘I’ve heard that too. We have to be at the top of our game.’
‘Which is why I thought if everyone was involved you could cherry-pick the best ideas to produce the final, winning scheme.’
‘You don’t give up, do you?’
She knew better than to respond to that.
‘I hope you don’t make me regret this.’
