Resting back into the welcoming cushion of the sofa, Beth found herself listening in a totally relaxed way, her mind following his words and letting them take her on the path they normally would do but with less heat, less concern for the impact they drew. She nodded, her eyes resting on his, liking the confidence she saw in them and the raw honesty in his voice. She had already made a couple of calls about him, as she never went into any situation blind,and was very happy he hadn't tried to bullshit her, that would have signed him off straight away.<br/><br/>Whether he had truly learned his lesson only time would tell, but she felt more warmth towards him than she had expected, and she trusted her instincts, always had. Normally she would have made soft noises, perhaps offered him a formal interview, that in itself would be a real coup, and one which left her plenty of leeway.  She sipped her wine, her eyes still holding his and then switched her gaze  to George, he seemed to be such a nice guy, especially giving Frederick such a great testimonial seeing their past history.  Watching her own foot swing gently to and fro for a moment she wondered why he hadn't been that way with her all those years ago?<br/><br/>She just didn't feel like following that train of thought, way too much pain, and she'd already told herself to try and start with a clean sheet for Vicki's sake, so Beth turned to Frederick, and back to the job in hand, "You get three month's trial in my team, and if you fuck up you're out, how does that sound?"  Her wry smile and twinkling eyes didn't need to soften the words as they were said gently, almost provocatively. She was pretty dam sure he'd realise what was being given and perhaps even be rather shocked, she knew Vicki would be, it was so out of character she was even a little shocked at herself.