“Great idea. You seem bright, like you pick everything up really quickly,” added Susan. “Let me show you where the most important room in this place is. I need coffee”
“I agree! I thought you would never ask me. I can’t think straight without caffeine in my system.” Sophia laughed.
She had already forgotten most of the names of the people who were working in the office, but she knew that it would take a while for her to remember everyone. She talked to a few girls who told her about the job and what she should expect from a place like Belfast.
Half an hour later she was introduced to the main manager. Michael O Donnell was in his mid-thirties. He handed her a badge and passwords for the internal systems.
At half past nine, Susan told Sophia to take a seat by her desk. Her diary was booked for the day and she wanted to introduce Sophia to some of her offenders. She mentioned to Sophia that everyone’s caseloads were high, but this was just the nature of the job.
Until half past eleven Sophia was observing the way Susan dealt with her clients. Most of them were with Probation for a few months. Susan asked them standard questions such as, if they were keeping out of trouble, if they were actively looking for work. She advised if they had any problems with accommodation or their benefits. Most of them were on Jobseekers allowance, some of them were alcohol or drug dependent. Sophia had gone through a similar experience when she worked in London. Later on Susan introduced Sophia to a few of her clients. Chris, who had just been released, look delighted when Susan mentioned that he was going to be transferred to Sophia. His hazel eyes sparkled with excitement as Susan explained Sophia’s role. He was in his late thirties, living on his own. He didn’t have any qualifications or prospects in finding work.
“Okay, let’s see who is next,” muttered Susan, narrowing her eyes. “Harry O’Donaghue, he is pretty new here. He has one hundred and fifty hours of community service. I haven’t had a chance to get to know him that well. We have only seen each other once. Last week I was off sick so he saw one of my colleagues.”
“What exactly are we dealing with?” asked Sophia.
“Drugs mainly. He was in prison before, but when I saw him last he looked like a decent bloke, or maybe he was just playing his part well. He is on benefits, pretending that he is looking for work,” muttered Susan, clicking at her notes. The phone rang and Susan picked it up. After a long moment she put the phone down and looked up. “Come on, Harry, don’t be shy.”
Sophia glanced up at the man that was standing by the door. When he finally approached Susan’s desk, Sophia could have sworn that her heart stopped beating for several seconds. She was staring at him, caught completely off guard. She was expecting a skinny drug user with a pale sullen complexion, but instead the man in front of her was dark, tall, and good-looking. He had smoky black hair and brown eyes. He was over six foot tall and was dressed in jeans and a black jumper.
Harry O’Donaghue tightened his jaw as he sat down in front of Susan and his eyes gleamed with impatience. Sophia noticed that he had a long face with a wide forehead and full lips. His skin was slightly tanned with a healthy golden-brown tint. He shot Sophia a fierce look and glanced back at his probation officer. The atmosphere in the room shifted; the air was tense, growing heavy and warm. Sophia swallowed hard, trying to ignore her racing heart, which suddenly came alive. The nape of her neck tingled. She stopped breathing for a second as she stared directly into intense brown eyes. He frowned, and for a split second Sophia thought she’d stared at him for too long, so she shifted her gaze away, blushing slightly. Her heart gave her a giant smack on her chest. Suddenly the room felt too small.
“So, Harry, how are you?” asked Susan politely, still staring at her computer screen. Sophia glanced at him again and smiled slightly, hoping to break this odd tension that suddenly sizzled between them. He didn’t even acknowledge her. Instead, he narrowed his brown eyes and looked back at Susan, ignoring Sophia completely.
“Fine I guess,” he replied, sounding bored. He had a deep, husky voice.
“Let me introduce you, this is Sophia. She just started with us. Soon you will be seeing her soon” explained Susan, putting her hands together. Harry arched his eyebrows as he shot Sophia sharp look. He didn’t like her; she sensed his displeasure when Susan mentioned her name.
“Why?” he asked simply, staring at Susan.
“Sorry, Harry, you are losing me.”
“Why do I have to see someone who looks like she should be in high school? I don’t fucking like changes,” he snarled. Sophia swallowed hard again. The warmth of anger grew in her chest, spreading up to her throat. Susan only introduced Sophia to him and he’d already made her feel like she didn’t belong here.
Susan pursed her lips, exhaling sharply.
“I am afraid that you haven’t got an option. My caseload is too high and I needed to shift some of my offenders to Sophia. Besides, I don’t tolerate that kind of language, Mr. O’Donaghue.”
“I don’t want to be managed by an immature officer. I would like to stay with you if this is possible.”
Immature! Sophia was prepared to slap him. How dare he judge her like that. He knew nothing about her. She felt her face go bright red with anger as she moved to the edge of her seat. She was glad that no one else was listening to this conversation. Susan didn’t look happy either.
“Sophia is going to start having regular reviews with you, it’s already been decided, so please save all of us your attitude,” snapped Susan, giving Sophia a look which was supposed to say, ‘Just ignore him for now.’
“So, Harry, have you been attending all your drug interventions?”
Harry didn’t respond straight away, but he continued staring at Sophia like it was all her fault that he had to be here, answering all these pointless questions in front of her. Sophia thought that he looked like he wasn’t going to make this easy for anyone.
Chapter Four
“Yes I have,” he said after a long, tense moment. Sophia was boiling inside with anger, but she had to stay calm if she wanted to keep this job for more than a day. She didn’t like the way Harry was looking at her. Her eyes moved up to his eyebrow, discovering a piercing. He had a soft Irish accent that brought chills to Sophia’s body. He was good looking, but Sophia didn’t care; he probably thought that he could use his charming look to get women on his side.
“What about drugs? Have you been staying away from dealers lately?” Susan continued to question him.
“I said it before, I have been off drugs for a while now,” barked Harry, obviously sounding annoyed. Then someone knocked the door and Michael walked in looking slightly uncomfortable.
“I do apologize for the intrusion, however I need you to come with me into the reception, it’s pretty urgent,” he said, scanning the room. His eyes stopped on Harry, then moved to Sophia.
Susan stared at him for several seconds, contemplating what to do. Harry obviously wasn’t happy with Sophia, so maybe she should tell him to wait downstairs until she was going to be back. On the other hand, Susan wanted to give Sophia an opportunity to build a rapport with him. She was going to be working with him from now on.
“I will be back in a few minutes. Just continue with the standard questions, Sophia. Everything is on the screen,” said Susan, glancing at Sophia who nodded. Susan got up and departed the office, leaving Sophia alone with Harry.
Sophia moved her chair to face Harry, feeling that her flushed cheeks were out of control. She clicked on the computer screen and inhaled the scent of his cologne. He smelled of grapefruit blossom and ginger. She cleared her throat, trying to calm her galloping heart, and sucked in a sharp breath. The next set of questions were about employment, so this was easy.
“I can see here that a previous officer asked you to apply for a few construction jobs, so have you had any—”
“You are pissing me off with these pointless questions’ he thundered cutting her off ‘Just tell me, how old are you?”
 
; Sophia looked at his dark brown eyes that reminded her of pools of warm chocolate. She knew that he was trying to make her uncomfortable; his techniques of intimidation were good but she could play this game as well. She ignored the cold flush of sweat that suddenly covered her body and decided to carry on.
“So have you applied for those jobs or not? It’s a simple question.”
“Just tell Susan that you don’t feel comfortable in keeping me on your caseload. We both know that I would be better off staying with her,” he replied simply, not taking his dark eyes off her. She held his gaze. It was time for her to show him that she was in control here and he has to listen to her. She drew a breath and leaned towards him.
“You better start treating me with respect. I can make one phone call and you will be back to prison in no time at all. My age is my business, so start responding because you are staying with me whether you like it or not.”
She didn’t move away, waiting for his response. Her face was only a couple of inches away from his, she could clearly see his beautiful features. His Irish accent rang in her brain. She felt a cold shiver that travelled down her spine as he narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-five, but she wasn’t sure. She could easily check later.
He didn’t move; instead, he leaned even closer, challenging her. Sophia thought that he looked like he was enjoying this game, but she wasn’t going to show him that he intimidated her. She wasn’t afraid of him. His eyes moved down to her lips.
“I have applied for all the jobs that she asked me to apply for, so now are you going to tell me how old you are?” he asked, leaning back into his chair. Sophia moved back, breathing heavily. She had to control herself more effectively around him, he was just a client. Harry O’Donaghue was a challenge. She never felt anxious at work. Dealing with people that weren’t related to her gave her confidence and strength.
“So what sort of jobs are you looking for then? Susan left a few notes on the system saying that you don’t mind what you are going to do.”
“You don’t stop, do you?” he asked, arching his eyebrow. “I want to know why you are so far away from home.”
“Harry, my patience is going to run out soon, so please let’s just try to communicate here. I am not Susan, but I can try to help you. However, you need to start working with me here ...”
“Please skip this sentimental crap. I don’t need your help, I just need to come here every week, do my community service, and then I will be off on my way. I don’t do drugs and I hardly ever drink. I will find a job, whatever it may be, and I will sort out my other problems.”
Sophia was just about to tell him what she really thought about him when Susan barged back to the office, looking flushed and out of breath.
“So, how we are doing?”
“Great, I was just going through employment questions with Harry,” Sophia said quickly, moving away so Susan could sit.
“That’s fantastic! Let me print you another appointment, Harry. It will be next week, Thursday at two o’clock with Sophia. Just bring her five vacancies that you have applied for, other than that stay out of trouble,” Susan said firmly, obviously ending the review. Sophia was surprised because she didn’t expect her to wrap this meeting up so quickly. Besides she was just about to tell Harry that he needed to change the way he was speaking to her. Harry nodded, glanced at Sophia looking irritated, and walked away. Sophia started breathing again once she was sure that he out of the office.
“So, how did you find that?” asked Susan taking a sip of water.
“Fine, but he doesn’t seem to like me.”
“Oh don’t worry, he was just marking his territory. Harry is a decent bloke, but his family hasn’t got a good reputation. He has two brothers and they are all in prison. Now let me show you how to complete a report.”
Sophia thought about what Susan had said. Harry presumably wasn’t ready for work. Was he really only playing the system? Or was he telling her the truth? She wasn’t sure what to make of him yet apart from the fact that he wasn’t going to be easy to work with and he acted like an arrogant arse. She was pretending that she understood when Susan was going through the internal systems, but she couldn’t concentrate. She didn’t know why, but there was something about Harry that made her uneasy and tense. He was definitely older than her and he seemed overconfident. Sophia knew that she was still young and for some of her offenders it would be difficult to accept that, but she was ready to show everyone that she wasn’t weak.
The rest of the day passed without surprises. By the time she had to go home, she had learnt everyone’s names. For the next few days she was going to continue to shadow Susan, then next week she was supposed to be ready to go through reviews with her own clients. She was happy with this arrangement.
When the clock struck five, Susan said that it was time to go home. Sophia exhaled with relief. After seeing the last offender Susan briefed Sophia how to complete reports. Sophia wasn’t taking much in today. She believed that Harry corrupted her memories and she couldn’t concentrate. Maybe because he challenged her so much. He definitely made an impression on her, but she couldn’t fool herself, he was trying to work out how far he could push her.
“Have a good evening and remember to take it easy later,” said Susan when Sophia was leaving. Her day went better than she expected, although the encounter with Harry O’Donaghue was still on her mind.
After fifteen minutes she was home. The apartment was empty, and when Sophia checked her phone she noticed a text message from Vanessa.
I had to leave early. The boss called because it was really busy for a Monday night. The address is below. Come and I will make you one of my best cocktails!
Sophia thought about Vanessa’s proposition for a moment. Back in London she never used to go out. She didn’t have any friends, and Ramona was often busy with her own business, plus she had her own circle of friends.
I need to be at work tomorrow. I think I will skip it tonight.
After ten minutes Vanessa texted her back.
Get your ass to 24 Charles Street by eight o’clock. You can have one drink and I am not taking any shitty excuses.
Sophia thought that she might as well enjoy herself on her first day, one cheeky cocktail wouldn’t harm her. She glanced at her phone, thinking about calling her mum, but she changed her mind instantly. She didn’t want to spoil her day.
She watched TV until six o’clock and then she had a quick shower. After loosening up her hair she put make up on. She unpacked her best top and jeans and left the apartment just before seven. The streets in the centre of Belfast were much quieter than London and the air carried a light musky scent. Not many people were out in the evening but she didn’t mind.
She used her Google maps to find the bar where Vanessa worked. It was a good half an hour walk before she finally found it. It was small, quirky, and stylish, and she felt good about tonight.
Vanessa was just pouring a pint, and when she noticed Sophia she smiled. There were a few Irish men who noticed her by the entrance. One of the broad guys poked his friend in the ribs, pointing at Sophia. She ignored them and walked straight to the bar to find Vanessa.
“I am a bit early,” she said, glancing around. “I thought that you were busy.”
“Well, I was up to an hour ago, but the crowd died down a little. Now I can ask you about your first day at work!”
Sophia sat down behind the bar. A group of men that were sitting on the table by the window were staring at her with obvious interest. She felt tense, like she wanted to hide somewhere that no one could see her.
“It was interesting. I was introduced to a few offenders. Everyone seems friendly, the work will be intense,” explained Sophia. Vanessa put her hands on her hips and arched her eyebrow.
“Offenders, hun? I really don’t understand how you can even enjoy talking to them. Have you thought about what would happen if any of them attacked you?”
Sophia grinned.
“There are buzzers under the desks so they wouldn’t get away with anything. I don’t know, I like helping people. I understand what they are going through.”
“What about the others that are working with you? Are there any hot Irish men there?” asked Vanessa, smiling.
“Love, can I have a pint of Strongbow?” shouted someone from the other side of the bar. Vanessa sighed and rolled her eyes.
“I will be back in a minute. Stay here.”
Chapter Five
“So where were we?” asked Vanessa after serving a beer to a large Irish man. “Oh yes, I was asking about cute guys at work.”
“Everyone at the office is much older than me, plus I don’t mix pleasure with work. I don’t want to complicate anything.”