Patty Dixon dumped her umbrella in the stand at the end of the hall, where it joined half a dozen similarly-sodden brollies. She frowned at her reflection in the glass door to the open plan office she shared with twenty or so others. Her roots were starting to show. Damn! It was a fortnight 'til payday and Anthea, her hairdresser, didn't charge lightly to work her miracles with Patty's short 'blonde' bob.

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Patty strode through the office door and to her desk, trying to ignore the squelching sounds coming from her now-ruined shoes. What the hell, she thought, had happened with the weather today? 'Sunny with a less than ten percent chance of light showers' had been the summary. The Atlantic currently being poured out of the sky did not match Patty's mental image of a pleasant, refreshing April shower.

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She sat at her desk and eased off her shoes. As she wriggled her toes, Patty reached for her bag and the M&S tuna salad pot, complete with one of those 'build it yourself' plastic forks, that comprised her lunch. She peeled off the cellophane lid, clipped the fork together, and stabbed a slice of tomato.

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Janine Henderson peered over her monitor at Patty. "Looks like you caught the worst of it," she observed. Stating the obvious was one of Janine's core skills.

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Patty shrugged. "It was worth it. This isn't just a salad," she mumbled around a mouthful of rocket and sliced carrot. "This is my way of preparing for the Seychelles."

She held up her fingers in a V-sign. Janine blanched. "Two months, then I'm outta here for a fortnight of sun, sand and crystal blue seas."

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"And all those fit surfer guys and buff diving instructors," Janine added, almost drooling into her coffee.

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"Not a bit of it. Holiday romances aren't my style."

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"Who said anything about romance?" Janine replied, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Just imagine rolling around in the surf!"

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Patty turned away from her colleague and tossed her empty salad pot towards her wastebin. She missed by a foot and a half, distracted by thoughts of 'that' scene in From Here to Eternity, with Brad Pitt's face Photoshopped in place of Burt Lancaster. Grumbling to herself, Patty rose, put her discarded salad pot in the bin, and slumped back down into her chair.

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"Haven't you got any work to do?" she asked Janine, who was sniggering at something on her mobile phone.

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"It's after lunch on a Friday afternoon," Janine objected. "Everything on my to do list can wait until Monday."

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"Well at least keep the laughter down," Patty said, knowing her assistant was right. "Try to look professional."

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"Okay, okay, boss." Janine sat upright and smoothed her blouse. She placed her phone on a small, pink stand and pretended to type something.

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The professionalism lasted all of five minutes, before Janine's phone pinged. Seconds later, Patty's phone beeped. She looked at the message - an animated GIF of a chimpanzee doing something unspeakable - and scowled at Janine. Her angry glare went unnoticed: Janine was leaning forward over her desk, her long brunette hair falling over her face, and her shoulders shaking with mirth.

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Patty began sorting through the dozen multicoloured sticky notes that had been slapped on her monitor and desk while she had been buying her lunch. Most of the notes were irrelevant, she realised, and could wait until Monday. Two requested a call back. These she kept separate, intending to make the calls before she left at five p.m., and not a second later.

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One note caught her eye. It was lime green, for a start, and it was blank. No message. She peeled it off her desk and revealed a small, purple, hard boiled sweet. "Who left this here?" she asked Janine, holding it up.

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Janine shrugged in reply and turned back to her phone.

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Patty looked around the office. Everyone seemed busy doing as little as possible at this time on a Friday afternoon. Oh well, I can call it dessert, she thought as she unwrapped the sweet and popped it into her mouth. Mmmm ... Blackcurrant. My favourite!