Since the revelations from Georgio she was beginning to wonder lots of things: it seemed she had been just a bit too naive to be true. She heard a high-pitched laugh and stared at the office door. It opened and Stephen was seeing the two girls out.

‘You can rely on us, Mr Brunos, we know all the tricks, believe me!’

He smiled tightly. ‘If you could leave your details with my secretary, I’ll get back to you.’ He turned to Donna, obviously embarrassed. ‘Donna, do come in. Carmel, a pot of coffee when you’re ready.’

Carmel was looking at the two girls with distaste. She nodded almost imperceptibly at his words.

Donna stepped into the office and sat down. ‘I can’t see them escorting anyone, Stephen.’

He grinned. ‘Neither can I, Donna! One of my friends sent them. I had to see them as a favour really. They’ll never get any work from me, I can tell you. My girls are all like Miss Jean Brodie’s!’

Donna smiled as she said: ‘The crème de la crème!’

‘Precisely. Now what can I do for you?’

‘I want some help from you actually. I was wondering if you could give me some advice.’

‘Of course.’

‘I want to pass over the main work on the sites to Paddy. I’ve done all that I can there now, and there’s no real reason any longer for me to be constantly on the sites. Everyone knows I can do it, so if I delegate to Paddy I think I’ll probably have more time for the office work, which is what I do best.’

‘So what do you want from me? You seem to have everything sorted out OK.’

‘What I want from you is advice on how much I should pay him for the extra work. I was thinking of bringing him in on a percentage, like a bonus scheme, you know. Say two percent?’

Stephen raised his eyebrows and shook his head. ‘I don’t know what Georgio will have to say about that.’

‘With respect,’ Donna told him, ‘Georgio isn’t running the businesses - I am. I feel that Paddy has put in an awful lot of time and energy and should be rewarded.’

‘Well, yes, I can see what you’re getting at . . .’