Your Lying Eyes

Your Lying Eyes Chapter 4

Before Anna met Howard, she had had a good job as P.A. in the top solicitors in Manchester.  She had worked her way up as far as she could go in the firm since joining when she had left school.  She ran the office flawlessly, smoothing problems as they appeared.

John Brookhouse had been the boss' son.  He had graduated first in his class at university and the future of the business looked set to be safe with him working for the firm.  Anna had been appointed as his P.A. when he had joined the firm.  The attraction had been instant and they soon became a couple outside business hours.

After being together for a couple of years, they had moved into a loft apartment in the middle of the city, thinking that this would test their partnership for a more permanent arrangement in marriage.  After six months it became obvious to Anna that it wasn't going to work out.  They wanted different things.  John wanted to reach the top of his profession and no one could blame him for that.  She was 26 years old.  Many of her friends had settled down and were starting families.  Although she didn't want children at that time, she couldn't envisage a future without them.  John finally confessed to her that they were very low down on his list of plans for their future.

After many discussions and tears over the matter, they had finally parted.  Both were genuinely upset with their split.  Anna became P.A. for another of the partners at the firm.

A few weeks later on a night out in Manchester with Chris her friend, they had met Howard and Anna had been smitten from the word go.  Chris had been amazed at the speed and depth of her feelings for him.  She had been Anna's friend since schooldays.  They had grown up together in the same street in Manchester.  They knew all there was to know about one another.  After Anna had moved out of the flat she shared with John, she had gone to live in a small flat in the same house as Chris, and had been there until moving in with Howard.

Anna still remained very close to Chris and the two of them would meet up whenever they could.  Chris worked part time for a charity and was able to arrange her hours to suit herself.  A lot of what she did could be done from out of the office.  It made it that much easier for them to spend time together.

Spending as much time as she did with Anna, Chris got to know the others in the band too.  She got on well with all of them, especially Jason.  She had a very soft spot for him although she furiously denied it when Anna teased her about it.  She could chat with Jason for hours about anything and everything, as well as becoming very fond of each.  But sadly for Chris that was as far as it went.  She still hoped that one day things would change for her and their friendship would develop into something more.  In the meantime, she had to accept things as they were, and she valued her relationship with Jason more than almost any other.  The exception being that of hers with Anna.

At one point, Chris and Anna had worked together in the office.  This had come to an end when Chris had applied for and got the job with the charity.  She had been sad to leave as she had made many good friends during the time she had been there.  Many of these friends were at the engagement party that night.

Both Anna and Chris were keen to catch up with their old friends and for a while, the conversation with them had kept Anna distracted from the argument going on between Howard and Jason.

Sian had worked with both of them and still was there at the office.  She was telling them how even now, Anna was missed.

"You know Anna," she told her, "they never really found anyone who matched up to you at the office.  We still get, 'Now if Anna had been here, she would have done such a thing,' when one of the P.A.s messes up," she giggled as she took a sip of her drink.  "I'm sure that if ever you needed a job, they'd employ in a shot!"