Tycoon for Hire
Tycoon for Hire
Lucy Gordon
She got more than she paid for!Jennifer Norton asked the agency that her escort be tall, dark and good looking. And he was. Only Steven Leary wasn't officially an escort, he was simply standing in for a friend. In real life, he was a millionaire!Jennifer usually dreaded business functions, but with Steven's charisma she enjoyed every minute–until she discovered his true identity. Then she was furious! But, for business reasons, it benefited Steven to keep the illusion of a relationship with Jennifer going. And, for private reasons, she was secretly pleased to go along with the pretence.
Lucy Gordon cut her writing teeth on magazine journalism, interviewing many of the world’s most interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Roger Moore, Sir Alec Guinness and Sir John Gielgud. She also camped out with lions in Africa, and had many other unusual experiences that have often provided the background for her books.
She is married to a Venetian, whom she met while on holiday in Venice. They got engaged within two days, and have now been married for twenty-five years. They live in the Midlands in the U.K., with their three dogs.
One of her books, His Brother’s Child, won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 1998, in the Best Traditional Romance category.
Tycoon for Hire
Lucy Gordon
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER ONE
‘WHAT are you wearing that thing for?’
Jennifer stood back to let her brother come into her house. She was already nervous about the evening to come, and his irritation only made things worse.
‘I thought you bought a new dress for tonight,’ he said. ‘Dark blue satin, tight, slinky, very effective.’ He cast a disparaging glance at her flowing evening gown of gold organdie with its demure neckline. ‘You’re going to a banquet, not a puritan convention.’
‘I’m sorry, Trevor,’ she said in a placating voice, ‘but I just couldn’t wear that blue satin. It’s too revealing.’
‘You didn’t think so when you bought it.’
‘Yes, I did, but I’d let you convince me it was my duty to go to this function. Since then I’ve got my sense of proportion back. I wish I could call the whole thing off.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Trevor said, alarmed. ‘How often must I tell you that appearances matter? Everyone knows you’re representing the firm at the London Society of Commerce Banquet, and you have to be there.’
‘But I was going with David.’
‘And now he’s dumped you—’
‘He hasn’t dumped me. We just—aren’t seeing each other for a while.’
‘Whatever. The point is you can’t stay away and you can’t go on your own. It would look like weakness. You’ve got to let the world see that you don’t care.’
‘But I do care,’ she said sadly.
Jennifer had planned to attend the banquet with David Conner, the man she loved and had expected to marry. But he hadn’t called her since their quarrel two weeks ago, and her heart was breaking. Her ideal evening would have been spent at home having a cup of cocoa and maybe even a good cry. Instead she was dressed up, ready to go out with a stranger.
‘I hate all this business of putting on the proper mask,’ she said. ‘I always have.’
‘Never let the enemy see you weakening,’ Trevor said, reciting his favourite rule.
‘And I hate having to think of everyone as the enemy.’
‘It’s how business is done. Come on, you’ve coped wonderfully well so far.’
‘But you’re not quite sure of me, are you? That’s why you called in on your way home from work to make sure I hadn’t got cold feet. Well, I have.’
Brother and sister were both part of Nortons Distribution, a trucking empire started by their grandfather, Barney Norton. They owned shares in the firm, and ran it between them since illness had forced Barney to retire. The difference was that Trevor lived and breathed business, while Jennifer had only gone into Nortons to please Barney.
Trevor was a thickset man in his thirties, no more than medium height, with a burly build. He might have been attractive if he hadn’t frowned so much. Jennifer respected her brother for his dedicated work, but it was hard to like a man so short-tempered and critical.
‘Be sensible,’ he said now. ‘Go and change into your glad rags.’
‘I’m sorry, Trevor, but these rags are as glad as I’m going to get.’
He tore his hair. ‘For Pete’s sake! Tonight’s a chance to do some networking, make connections. Smile into their eyes, dance close. You’ve got the looks.’
It was true that nature had gifted Jennifer with the vivid beauty to play the role he’d outlined. Her large dark eyes dominated her oval face, and her mouth was deliciously curved in a way that could be more seductive than she was aware.
But nature had also missed something out. She completely lacked the ruthless drive and competitiveness that could have made her use her sexuality in the way Trevor expected. But he seemed not to understand this.
‘You’ve got assets,’ he said now. ‘Flaunt them.’
Goaded, she said, ‘Why don’t you flaunt yours if it’s so important to you?’
‘Because mine aren’t the kind that look good in skin-tight satin. The boardroom’s my sphere, not the ballroom.’
‘I must have been crazy to let you talk me into going to this do without David. And hiring an escort—even from a reputable agency. Think of it! Paying a man to accompany me!’
‘I’ve told you: it’s not like that,’ he said impatiently. ‘Jack’s a good customer, and his grandson is an actor. A failed one, apparently, so he fills in with escort work. You did tell the agency it had to be Mike Harker, didn’t you?’
‘I asked for Mike Harker and nobody else. And before you ask, yes, I was careful not to let on that I’ve met his grandfather. As far as he knows it’s an ordinary booking, so his pride won’t be offended.’
‘Good. Apparently he’s touchy about favours, and it would have been awkward if he’d refused. What reason did you give for asking for him?’
‘I said someone had told me he was very good-looking, and that was what I needed.’
‘Fine. And you’re quite safe. Jack assures me that Harker knows how to keep his hands to himself. Good grief! What’s that?’
Jennifer followed his pointing finger. ‘It’s a cat,’ she said, a tad defensively.
‘Another of your waifs and strays, I presume?’
‘I found Paws outside my back door, if that’s what you mean.’
‘Paws? You actually call it Paws?’
‘She’s a she, not an it, and her paws were the first thing I noticed. They’re white and the rest of her’s black.’
‘Funny how every four-legged tramp seems to find its way here,’ Trevor observed grimly. ‘I should think the word’s gone around the stray community. Drop in on Jennifer Norton. She’s a soft touch.’
‘Better that than a hard one,’ she said quickly.
‘As long as you don’t bring that thing to the office, like you tried to with your last acquisition. We were just about to sign Bill Mercer up to a really profitable deal, and a damned snake slid out of your desk and nearly gave him heart failure.’
‘It was a small grass snake, very sweet and perfectly harmless.’
‘And then there was the gerbil—no, don’t get me started on the gerbil. Anyway, it’s not businesslike.’
‘Well, I never was very businesslike, was I? Not the way you are, the way Barney wanted me to be. I shouldn’t really be part of Nortons at all, you know. I’m not cut out for the cut and thrust. Sometimes I think I should get out while I’m still in my twenties, and try something else.’
‘You can’t do that to Barney,’ Trevor said, aghast. ‘After all he’s done for us! I agree, you’re a fish out of water, but you’ve always been his pet, and if you defect it will break his heart.’
‘I know,’ she said with a helpless sigh, for this was the argument she’d used to herself a hundred times. She couldn’t hurt Barney, and the knowledge was like fetters.
‘If you’d just use your head a little more,’ Trevor said now. ‘Stop making decisions that you haven’t thought through. You’re far too impulsive.’
It was true. Jennifer was warm-hearted and spontaneous, and these qualities often conflicted with the demands of her work. She had brains, and she’d learned the business thoroughly, but people and animals would always matter to her more.
She didn’t try to explain this to Trevor. She’d failed too often in the past. She merely contented herself with saying, ‘Tonight you’re the one who hasn’t thought it through. The whole idea is mad.’
‘Nonsense! Look, I’ve got to go. Chin up!’
He gave her cheek a peck and departed.
Left alone, Jennifer sighed. When they were younger she and Trevor had been close, but now that seemed a long time ago. When she tried to argue with him she was out of her depth. In fact, she increasingly felt that her life had been taken over by forces outside her control, and never more so than tonight.
Trevor had spoken of what Barney had done for them, and it was true that he’d taken them in when their mother had died, when she’d been twelve and Trevor sixteen. Nobody had known where their father was, since he’d abandoned his family some two years earlier. There’d been a divorce and he’d moved abroad with his new lover. There had only been their grandfather.
Barney was affectionate, but his idea of childcare had been to scoop them up into his hectic life, taking them with him from place to place. It had been interesting and fun, but there had been nothing to make Jennifer feel less of an orphan.
Barney couldn’t replace the father who’d deserted her, but she’d loved him, and striven to please him. She’d worked hard at school, enjoying his praise when she got top marks, and gradually coming to accept that she would go into the business.
‘I’m really looking forward to having you two as my partners,’ he’d say happily.
Trevor had joined Nortons as soon as he’d left school, and Barney had started preparing for the day his beloved Jennifer would follow. She hadn’t had the heart to tell him that she would rather work with animals. To disappoint him would have been to risk losing his love, and she’d long ago learned how painful that could be.
So she’d entered the firm and performed every task well, making him proud of her. When his health had failed, five years ago, Trevor and Jennifer had been ready to take over the reins, leaving him to a happy retirement. To all outward appearances she was a glamorous, successful businesswoman, but inside she felt trapped, and a failure.
Now here she was, ready to attend a function that didn’t interest her in the company of a man she didn’t know, more imprisoned than ever by the expectations of others. And wishing with all her heart there was some way of escape.
Steven Leary stopped outside the apartment door and looked at his shabby surroundings in dismay. Once his friend Mike Harker had been a wit, with matinée idol looks, destined for stage and film stardom. But that had been twelve years ago. Steven had kept in touch, but they hadn’t met for five years. Mike’s career had flopped, and he now lived in this dump.
The door opened a crack, revealing one bloodshot eye. ‘Who are you?’ came a muffled voice.
‘Mike? It’s me—Steven.’
‘Hell. Steven?’ Mike drew him inside and quickly shut the door. ‘I was afraid you were the landlord.’
They exclaimed over each other, and studied the difference that the years had made. Mike was still handsome, although bleary eyes and a red nose spoiled the effect.
‘Stay clear,’ he said, waving Steven back. ‘I’m a walking flu germ.’
‘Did I pick a bad time?’ Steven asked, indicating Mike’s white tie and tails on a coat hanger. ‘You look as if you’re going to a première.’
Mike gave him a wry look. ‘If I was into premières, would I be living here?’
Over coffee they exchanged awkward conversation. Steven felt embarrassed to ask Are you still an actor?, and even more embarrassed to talk about his own success.
‘I remember when you joined Charteris Enterprises,’ Mike said. ‘I said you’d end up running the place, and you did.’
‘It’s no big deal,’ Steven said, speaking less than the truth. Charteris was a huge, powerful conglomerate, and its achievements were his pride and joy.
‘You ought to be in bed,’ he told Mike.
‘I have to go out. I survive by working for an escort agency, and I’ve got a job tonight.’
‘You’re a gigolo?’ Steven exclaimed, aghast.
‘No, dammit, I’m not a gigolo! It’s perfectly respectable. If a woman has to go to some function and she hasn’t got an escort, she calls my agency and hires me. I just have to be attentive and make the right impression. She goes home to her bed and I go home to mine.’
‘Which is where you should be right now. You can’t escort a woman in this state. You’ll give her flu.’
‘And she’ll give me money, so that I can stop avoiding the landlord.’
‘Tell your agency to send someone else.’
‘Too late.’ Mike went off into a coughing fit.
‘What’s she like?’
‘Dunno. Never met her. Her name’s Jennifer Norton, and that’s all I know. It’s a commercial function, so she’s probably a hard-faced business-type—mid-forties, too busy making money to have a real relationship, so she calls Rent-A-Man.’
‘Get to bed,’ Steven said firmly. ‘I’ll go in your place.’
‘But they said she asked for me specially.’
‘I thought you didn’t know her?’
‘I don’t. But apparently someone recommended me.’
‘Could she have seen you on television?’
‘No such luck!’
‘So she doesn’t know what you look like?’
‘No way. But she wanted a real looker.’
Steven grinned, not in the least offended. ‘And I’m Frankenstein’s monster?’
‘Cut it out! You always had more than your share of girls, I remember. Can’t think why, when you treated them so badly.’
‘I never laid myself out to please them, if that’s what you mean. Couldn’t see the point. My dad used to say women were like buses. There’d always be another one along soon.’ He gave a crack of laughter. ‘Mind you, he got well clear of Mum before he said it.’
It was true that Steven didn’t have the perfect, regular features that distinguished Mike, but many women found him vitally attractive. He was tall, dark, and powerfully made, with broad shoulders, and the set of his head gave him an air of natural authority. His lean face could scowl or laugh with equal fervour. Thick brows shadowed brown eyes radiating a fierce energy that gave his face its striking character. His mouth was wide and generous. It could form a grin that was predatory, even wolfish, but his smiles were delightful. When in a light-hearted mood he could be charming.
A man who stood out in a crowd. A man that another man, or a woman, would think twice before crossing. Perhaps a man to be feared. But not a man that a woman would choose as a gallant escort.
‘You can’t go and that’s final,’ he said. ‘I’ll use your name, and I’ll be on my best behaviour. I’d better dash home for my evening rig.’
‘No time. She’s expecting me in twenty minutes. You’ll have to wear mine. Luckily we’re about the same size.’ Mike coughed again. ‘I hope you haven’t caught my flu.’
‘I never catch anything,’ Steven said. ‘I’m invulnerable. What are you looking at out of the window?’
‘That shiny monster, with this year’s registration, parked under my window. If it’s yours you’ll never pass as a penniless actor.’
‘Thanks for the tip. I’ll park a few streets away from her house and walk. Now get to bed.’
Her escort was late, which was fine by Jennifer. It gave her time to feed Paws and let her out one last time.
‘Hurry up,’ she said. ‘He’ll be here soon—if I’m unlucky.’
Paws reappeared two minutes later, wet from a puddle, and promptly demonstrated her loyalty by leaping into her new mistress’s lap.
‘Oh, no!’ Jennifer wailed, surveying the marks over her dress. ‘I can’t believe you did that!’
She made a dash for the bedroom, tore off the muddy garment, and began rummaging through her other evening wear, desperately hoping that her worst fears weren’t going to be realised.
But they were. Of two other possible gowns, one was at the cleaner’s and one had a small tear. Bit by bit her options narrowed down until there was only the dark blue satin left.
‘You ungrateful animal!’ she chided Paws. ‘I took you in, and now look what you’ve done to me. Oh, well, I suppose there’s no help for it.’
Reluctantly she drew on the dress, which was even more daring than she’d realised when she’d bought it. To her horror, the lines of her underwear showed. There was only one thing to do, and that was remove every stitch underneath.
When she’d finished she had the perfect, smooth lines that the dress demanded. Its tight contours flattered her tiny waist and flat stomach, but the neckline was scandalously low. She possessed the generous bosom to carry it off, but still, it was going to take nerve. And her nerve was fast slipping away.
Her rich, dark brown hair was swept up in an elegantly ornate style. To go with the dress she donned a necklace and earrings made of glittering diamonds. Now she looked like a sophisticated young woman who could cope with anything life threw at her. She only wished she felt like one.
She finished just in time. The doorbell was shrilling. She put her head up, took a deep breath, and went to answer. And as soon as she opened her front door she knew that she’d made the mistake of her life.
The man’s looks were striking, if not classically handsome. He radiated an air of arrogance and fierce will. In the very first moment, as they stood looking at each other, Jennifer realised that he was appraising her, his eyes taking a leisurely tour of her form.
She began to be self-conscious about the revealing dress. His gaze made her feel naked, and he was clearly enjoying every inch of her, which made her indignant. After all, he was her employee. Worse still, she saw an ironic gleam in his eyes, as though he understood her thoughts and was amused by them.
In short, she’d expected a tailor’s dummy and gotten a man instead.
Embarrassment flooded her. It hadn’t occurred to her that she was exposing herself as a woman who had to pay for an escort. But he saw the truth. She found her voice. ‘Good evening, Mr Harker. You’re a little late, but no matter.’
‘My apologies,’ he said, in a voice that didn’t sound apologetic. ‘I had an emergency to deal with, but now I’m all yours.’ He spread his hands in a gesture that took in his own appearance. ‘All present and correct,’ he announced. ‘Fingernails specially scrubbed for the occasion.’ He offered them to her view, but still with the teasing air that unsettled her.
‘Oh, my goodness!’ she exclaimed suddenly. ‘Those cufflinks.’
She guessed that his ‘dress’ cufflinks were all a failed actor could afford, but they looked cheap and nasty, as if he’d bought them off a market stall.
‘They’re my best,’ the man said brusquely. ‘What’s wrong with them?’
‘Nothing, I—’ Jennifer struggled to find a polite way of saying what she meant. It was hard. ‘They’re not quite—I mean, they don’t really go with—perhaps I could suggest—just a moment.’
She hurried to her room and found the cufflinks she’d bought for David’s upcoming birthday. They were silver, studded with tiny diamonds, and they’d cost her a fortune. She suppressed the little pang they gave her and closed her fingers tightly over them.
Her escort’s strongly marked eyebrows rose in surprise when she asked him to hold out his hands. She removed the cheap items and fitted the luxurious cufflinks in their place. Glancing up, she found his eyes on her, and their cool mockery sent a wave of heat flooding through her body.
He regarded the diamonds on his cuffs, and his eyes gleamed as they appraised the diamonds about her neck and on her ears. ‘I’m glad I go with your jewellery,’ he murmured.
She refused to respond to his mockery. ‘Here are the keys to my car, Mr Harker. Shall we go?’
As she opened the garage door on her sleek, four-wheeled beauty, she began to have qualms. ‘Perhaps I’d better drive,’ she said. She held out her hand for the keys, but Steven didn’t move.
‘Get in the car,’ he said, with a quiet firmness that astonished her. ‘I’m here to escort you, and I’ll do the job properly. It wouldn’t look good for you to be driving. People might guess that you’ve had to hire me.’
She bit back a retort and got into the passenger seat. He began backing the car out as expertly as if he did it every day. She wondered where he’d learned that deft handling of a powerful vehicle. It had taken her a week before she was as skilled.
‘Which way?’ he asked.
‘Central London. Go to Trafalgar Square and I’ll direct you from there.’
When they were on the road he said casually, ‘So, what story do we tell people?’
‘Story?’
‘About us. If someone asks, we have to say the same thing. When did we meet?’
‘Oh—last week.’
‘That’s a bit recent. Why not last month?’
‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘Not as long ago as that.’
‘I see. You were going out with someone else then? Why aren’t you with him tonight?’
‘Because we—we had a disagreement.’
‘Who dumped who?’
‘We separated by mutual consent,’ she said stiffly.
‘You mean he walked out on you?’
‘I mean no such thing.’
‘Will he be there tonight?’
‘Possibly.’
‘Then you’d better tell me his name, just in case.’
‘His name is David Conner,’ she said stiffly.
‘Have you worked out how we met?’
‘No—I don’t know—I’ll think of something,’ she said distractedly. She was growing more unhappy by the minute.
‘I’m surprised to find you so disorganised. We’re nearly at Trafalgar Square. Direct me.’
She complied, adding, ‘We’re going to Catesby House for the London Society of Commerce Banquet. Careful!’
‘Sorry! My hand slipped on the wheel,’ Steven said hastily. In fact, he’d had a nasty shock. There would be people there who knew him. He made a rapid decision.
‘You’d better know,’ he said, ‘my real name isn’t Mike Harker.’
‘You mean it’s a stage name?’
‘No, I—Never mind. My name is Steven Leary. We’re nearly there. Quickly, tell me something about yourself.’
‘My name is Jennifer Norton. I’m the granddaughter of Barney Norton of Nortons Distribution—’
‘Nortons Distribution?’ Steven echoed. ‘Trucks and depots?’
‘Yes,’ she said, surprised to find him so knowledgeable. ‘Our organisation is the best of its kind in the country, and we’re rapidly expanding in Europe.’ She suddenly remembered who he was. ‘Never mind that.’
‘Yes, don’t say anything too complex,’ he said affably. ‘My one braincell might not be able to cope.’
She refused to let him needle her. ‘Take this next turning and you’ll find a car park.’
As he switched off the engine Jennifer went to open her door. ‘Wait,’ Steven ordered calmly. He walked around the car and opened the door for her, holding out his hand to assist her. ‘After all, this is what I’m here for,’ he said, with a grin.
‘Thank you,’ she said, placing her hand in his.
She half missed her footing as she stepped out, but his fingers tightened, holding her steady, and she had an unnerving sense of vibrant power streaming through him and communicating itself through the contact of their skin. For a moment her heart beat faster.
She turned to reach back into the car for her velvet stole, but he was there before her, whisking it out and settling it around her bare shoulders. She couldn’t suppress the tremor that went through her at his touch, and involuntarily she glanced up to meet his eyes. She found them fixed on her with a look that brought the colour flooding into her cheeks.
‘You’re beautiful,’ he said seriously. ‘In fact, you’re sensational. I’ll be a proud man, with you on my arm. No, don’t say it!’ He held up a finger to silence her, although she was too taken aback to speak. ‘You don’t care whether I’m proud of you or not. It’s not part of our bargain. Well, I don’t care whether you care or not. I’m telling you, you’re a knock-out!’
Something was making it hard for her to speak. ‘Thank you,’ she stammered at last. ‘It’s nice to know that my escort approves of me.’
‘I don’t approve of you,’ Steven said wryly. ‘I disapprove of this whole situation. A woman who looks like you shouldn’t have to hire a man, and if she does there’s something badly wrong in her life. But you’re gorgeous, sexy, and an incitement to every man to do something he’ll regret. I only wish I had time to explore that contradiction.’
‘My contradictions don’t concern you,’ she said, her cheeks flaming.
‘They would if I decided to let them,’ he said carelessly. ‘What a pity that I don’t have time!’ He drew one finger slowly down her cheek. ‘We should be going inside.’
‘Yes,’ she said, remembering, with an effort, why they were there. ‘We should.’
Jennifer had attended many functions at Catesby House, and was familiar with its plush red and gilt interior, sweeping stairway and glittering chandeliers. But tonight she seemed to be seeing everything for the first time. The lights were more dazzling, the colours of the other women’s dresses more vivid, and the black and white of the men more intense than she remembered ever noticing before.
She went to the cloakroom to deposit her stole. As she emerged to where Steven was waiting for her at the foot of the staircase she had the chance to observe him from a distance, against other men.
The comparison was all in his favour. He was almost the tallest man there. Certainly his shoulders were the broadest, his air the most impressive. But what struck her most was the confidence and authority that radiated from him. He looked like a predator, appraising lesser beings prior to devouring them. She’d seen that aura before, in men who headed great corporations. How did an unemployed actor come to have it?
Actor. Of course. He’d assumed the right role. Anxious to have a good atmosphere between them, she approached him with a smile. ‘Congratulations,’ she said warmly.
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘You’ve got right into the part. You look as if you belong here.’
‘Thank you,’ he said with suspicious meekness. ‘I’m rather nervous among all these important people.’
‘They’re not really important. They only fancy they are because they’ve got money. Most business folk don’t matter half as much as they think they do.’ With a flash of mischief, she added, ‘Just look down your nose at them, and they’ll take you for one of themselves. I’m expecting you to be a big success.’
His lips twitched. ‘You don’t feel you got cheated on the deal, then?’
‘On the contrary, I think I might have a bargain.’
‘Maybe I didn’t do so badly myself.’ He offered her his arm. ‘Shall we go?’
Together they climbed the broad stairs and entered the huge ballroom that was already crowded. Steven’s sharp eyes saw at once that Jennifer outshone every other woman in the room. She knew how to choose perfume too. The elusive aroma that reached him was warm, with the faintest hint of musk. It wasn’t the perfume of a young girl, but a woman, with all that implied.
He wondered what kind of lover had touched her heart. Had she chosen a giant among men? And what was she like when she was with him? Did her curved mouth grow tender and her dark eyes glow with desire?
They moved through the crowd, smiling and uttering greetings. Several people knew him, and Steven had a nervous time steering her away from them. He would be lucky to get through tonight without discovery, he realised.
‘Come to the bar,’ he muttered. ‘There’s something we need to talk about while I get you a drink.’
‘I’ll have an orange juice, since I’ll be driving home.’
‘Two orange juices,’ Steven told the barman. He grinned at Jennifer. ‘Just in case you change your mind.’
‘Meaning you think you can change it for me?’ she challenged him.
‘Is that what I meant? Thanks for letting me know.’
His eyes were teasing, and Jennifer couldn’t help smiling back. ‘That’s exactly what you meant,’ she said. She turned back to look at the room. And then the smile froze on her face.
David was standing a few feet away from her.
CHAPTER TWO
JENNIFER had wondered if David would be here. Now she realized that she’d always secretly expected him. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his perfect features under thick, wavy, fair hair.
He looked in her direction and Jennifer saw the shock in his eyes. In another moment he would hold out his hands to her and all their differences would be forgotten. But he stayed frozen, his mouth opening and closing. He seemed confused. Then a young woman laid a hand on his arm, and he bowed his handsome head attentively towards her.
Jennifer stood there, stunned. David had turned away from her. There was a bleak, blind look in her eyes, and she forgot everything else, including Steven, watching her face closely.
Perhaps, she thought, David too had hired a companion. But a glance at the young woman banished that thought. She was mousy, and didn’t know how to make the best of herself. This wasn’t a professional. She was ‘real’.
Jennifer’s insides twisted at the thought that David had found someone else so soon. Then the girl smiled at him. It was a gentle, heartfelt smile, and it made her face charming. Jennifer was unable to control her little gasp. Steven heard it, and his eyes narrowed with interest.
‘So that’s him,’ he murmured in Jennifer’s ear.
‘Him—who?’
‘The pretty boy with the dull girl.’
‘I don’t know what you mean by pretty boy—’
‘He’s like a sugar figure on top of a wedding cake.’
‘Can we drop this?’ she asked with an effort.
‘But why? I’m only here to show him that you don’t give a damn. So let’s show him—unless you’re scared?’
‘Of course not,’ she said quickly.
‘Then take the bull by the horns.’
‘You’re right.’ She advanced on David with her hands outstretched. ‘David! How lovely to see you.’
He too recovered himself, and she knew he hadn’t expected to find her here with another man. ‘Jennifer,’ he said. ‘What a—a lovely surprise.’
‘But you knew I planned to come.’
‘Yes—er—yes, of course. It’s just that—let me introduce you to Penny.’ He hastily drew forward the young woman, who gave Jennifer a nervous look, followed immediately by her delightful smile.
‘This is Steven Leary,’ Jennifer said. As the men shook hands she began to feel more confident. At least David knew she wasn’t sitting forlornly at home, waiting for the phone to ring, and he need never know how often she’d done just that.
She slipped her arm through Steven’s and he responded on cue, smiling into her eyes with a theatrical intensity that was almost fatuous. She had a mad desire to giggle, as though the two of them were engaged in a private joke that nobody else understood. Not even David.
He was frowning uneasily, as though the sight of her with another man displeased him. But then Penny claimed his attention and he turned away. Jennifer kept her head up and her smile in place, but it was hard.
Fifty round tables filled the room, each seating eight guests. Jennifer didn’t know whether to be glad or dismayed to find that she was at the same table as David and Penny. They were almost opposite her, so she could see how gallantly he drew out her chair. He was always an attentive dinner companion, Jennifer thought wistfully. It made him charming to be with. She averted her eyes.
‘Tell me about David Conner,’ Steven said. ‘What does he do?’
‘He owns a small firm making machine tools,’ Jennifer said.
‘Did he start it himself?’
‘No, his father left it to him.’
The meal kept them occupied for a while. Steven played his part to perfection, attending to all her wants and smiling. Then there were speeches. Jennifer was facing the top table, but David and Penny had to turn around, so she could watch them without being seen. She noticed that David didn’t rest his hand on his companion’s arm, but sometimes he would lean close to speak to her, so that their hair touched.
The speeches ended and the mood became relaxed. People began drifting from table to table. One or two dropped by to talk to her. She did some useful networking, and when she’d finished she noticed that Steven was sitting with David and Penny. David was talking earnestly, and Steven was listening with a frown of concentration that made Jennifer wonder if he were concealing boredom.
‘How about asking me to dance?’ she said.
‘My lady has only to command,’ Steven replied, and led her onto the floor for a waltz.
‘You don’t know what a rare pleasure it is to dance with a woman tall enough to look me in the eye,’ he observed. ‘Usually I get a crick in my neck.’
‘I thought I ought to rescue you from David.’
‘Afraid all his serious talk would be above my head, huh?’
‘What did you tell him about us?’
‘That I was your toyboy, of course.’
‘Can’t you be serious for a minute?’
‘I’ll tell you this seriously. I’m not sure I ought to help you get him back. You might end up married to him, and how would I ever forgive myself?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He’s not the man you need. You’d always be fighting with him for the mirror.’
‘What nonsense!’
‘It isn’t nonsense, Jenny—’
‘Don’t,’ she said quickly. ‘Only David calls me Jenny.’
‘It’s the wrong name for you anyway. Jenny is a little brown wren, and you’re a bird of paradise.’
‘Don’t be so sure,’ she said lightly. ‘I might turn out to be a cawing rook instead.’
He broke into laughter. It was a rich, pleasant sound, and several people glanced at them, including David. Immediately she turned up the wattage on her smile, focusing on Steven’s face.
‘OK,’ he said, understanding at once. ‘If that’s how you want to play it—’ He tightened his arm in the small of her back, drawing her against him, and an ardent look came into his eyes. ‘You’re gorgeous. I hope David appreciates you.’
‘Of course he does.’
‘Has he mentioned marriage?’
She hesitated. ‘In his own way.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘In actions,’ she said reluctantly, ‘not words.’
‘Don’t fool yourself, Jennifer. That “actions not words” argument is how women convince themselves that a man has said something when he hasn’t. You want him to propose and he won’t. Is that why you quarrelled?’
‘Never mind.’
‘Of course I mind. Until midnight I’m your new lover, madly jealous of the man you’re in love with. You are in love with him, aren’t you?’
‘Completely.’
‘More fool you! What was the quarrel about?’
How could she stop this man? He seemed to have an hypnotic power that made it natural to tell him whatever he wanted to know.
But it was hard to analyse the quarrel because she wasn’t sure what it had been about. They’d been discussing a problem David had had with his firm. To her the solution had been obvious, and she’d been happy to help him. Suddenly she’d looked up to see him watching her strangely.
‘You know more about this than I do, don’t you?’ he’d asked quietly.
Even then she hadn’t seen the danger, but had answered cheerfully. ‘It’s being with that old rascal, my grandfather. Some of it rubs off. Look, darling, all you have to do is—’
But he’d stopped her there, accusing her of trying to take charge. She’d denied it indignantly, and things had escalated. By the time they parted they’d covered so much ground that the original disagreement had become lost.
‘It had nothing to do with marriage,’ she said now, at last.
‘I’m glad. You’re worth a better man than David Conner.’
‘Don’t say that!’ she protested quickly.
‘Well done! I like you with that glowing light in your eyes. Don’t keep trying to watch him. You’ll spoil your effect. Concentrate on me. I think you’re a knock-out, plus you’ve got courage and spirit.’
‘Do you always talk to your clients like this?’
‘My—? Well, it’s true that I don’t do this often,’ Steven said, recovering quickly from his slip. ‘I tend to tell people the blunt truth instead of murmuring sweet nothings. Smile at me. He’s looking.’
Jennifer offered up her most dazzling smile and he returned it, gazing deep into her eyes. ‘That’s fine,’ he murmured. ‘Mind you, you’re more impressive when you’re annoyed.’
‘If you dare to tell me I look beautiful when I’m angry I’ll—I’ll step on your toe.’
‘I promise not to say anything so corny.’
‘Good.’
‘Even though it’s true.’
She saw his lips twitch and couldn’t stop herself from responding. The next moment she was joining in his laughter. ‘Oh, go to the devil!’ she said lightly.
‘Certainly. With you in my arms I’ll waltz to the mouth of hell and back.’ His eyes flickered in David’s direction, and he murmured through his smile, ‘You’ve got him worried.’
‘Who?’
‘David. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the poor sap?’
‘Of course not,’ she said, too quickly. It was true that she’d been so intrigued by this man that David had briefly slipped from her mind.
‘Let’s give him something to really worry about,’ Steven suggested. He drew her closer still, looking down deep into her eyes. ‘I love the cut of your dress,’ he whispered.
She knew he meant her low neckline, and to her dismay she started to blush. She was one of those lucky women who could blush attractively, her cheeks going a delicate pink—something the man holding her close noticed with interest.
‘You’re the most beautiful woman here,’ he told her.
‘Stop saying things like that,’ Jennifer whispered.
‘You’re paying me to say them,’ he reminded her.
She caught her breath with shock. She’d been caught up in this man’s seductive spell, her senses vibrating with the power that streamed from him. And it was all a delusion. She’d bought his compliments, and they meant nothing.
‘Well, since you’re under my orders,’ she said in a shaking voice, ‘I’m telling you to stop.’
‘You hired me to make David Conner jealous, and that’s what I’m going to do.’
‘I hired you as an accessory, to be useful to my firm,’ she said quickly, remembering what Trevor had said.
‘Nonsense, that’s just the “party line”. It’s David you care about. Though just why is a mystery to me.’
He raised her chin with his fingers. She couldn’t resist him. Suddenly her heart was beating madly. She tried to ignore her own sensations and remember only that she was playing a part. But she could hardly remember the part, or why she was playing it. It was like floating in a dream.
This arrogantly assured man had the nerve to brush his fingertips over her lips. Jennifer drew a shuddering breath, astounded by the feelings coursing through her. This must stop. She must make him stop. But she did nothing. Nor could she speak.
She felt his touch drift across her mouth, along the line of her jaw and down her neck. Then his hand was cupping her head, drawing it closer as he lowered his lips to hers. Jennifer had a devastating sense of losing control. Everything about this evening had been a shock, and most shocking of all was the pleasure that possessed her as soon as his mouth rested on hers.
She lost all sense of time and space. She could no longer hear the band, or see the other couples circling around them. She was moving through the heavens in a dance that would last until the end of eternity. Her heart was beating wildly and she could hardly breathe.
‘You must let me go,’ she whispered.
‘If I had my way I’d never let you go,’ he growled. ‘I’d whisk you out of here to some place where they couldn’t find us, and discover what kind of a woman you really are. The answer might come as a surprise to you too.’
‘How dare you?’
‘Strange, isn’t it? But I already know you as David Conner never will. I know what I want from you, which I’ll bet is a damned sight more than he does.’
To her dismay the words ‘I know what I want from you’ sent a thrill through her. There had been a steely resolution in his tone that she’d never heard before from any man. She loved David for his gentleness and sweet temperament, but in a corner of her heart she had to admit he lacked decisiveness.
Not that decisiveness was all-important. She’d always told herself that. But in the arms of this purposeful man she felt a unique quiver of response that alarmed her.
She heard him mutter a soft ‘Damn!’ and came out of her dream to realise that the music was ending. The dancers were slowing and she was in Steven Leary’s arms, seeing the shock in his eyes, knowing that it mirrored the shock in her own. And nothing would ever be the same again.
For the next hour Jennifer functioned on automatic. Her mind was still whirling from the devastating encounter with Steven, and her flesh too seemed to be in turmoil, tingling with the memory of his touch.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him waltzing with Penny. At last he appeared at her side again, taking her hand and leading her to the bar, where he procured her an orange juice. ‘You must be ready for some refreshment,’ he said. ‘So am I. I’ve been working for you.’
‘I saw you dancing with Penny,’ she said, taking his meaning. ‘How did you find her?’
‘She moves too correctly. I prefer a woman who dances with a man as though she wants to make love with him.’ His eyes challenged her.
‘I can imagine,’ Jennifer said, speaking awkwardly to conceal the fact that waves of heat were chasing themselves through her. ‘Is that the only fault you can find with poor Penny?’
‘She says “Yes” and “No” and keeps missing the step because she’s trying to keep her eyes on David. She’s his secretary, by the way, and he only invited her this afternoon.’ He heard her quick sigh of relief and said mischievously, ‘It looks as if he left it until the last minute, hoping you’d call. He doesn’t understand you because he’s full of himself. He’s happier with a girl who isn’t as pretty as he is. You two were bound to break up.’
‘David and I haven’t broken up—not finally.’
‘You have if Penny has anything to do with it. She’s keen on him.’
With a flash of spirit she said, ‘I can take him back any time I want.’
‘But is he worth taking?’
‘Yes,’ she said defiantly.
‘All right. Come on.’ Steven led her over to where David and Penny were talking. Charmingly he drew Penny away, leaving David and Jennifer together. David drew a deep breath.
‘How have you been keeping?’ he asked politely.
I’ve been yearning for you to phone, and breaking my heart when you didn’t, she thought. I’ve cried when nobody was looking, and tried to understand what I did wrong.
‘Well, you know what it’s like at this time of year,’ she said with a laugh. ‘The work just keeps crowding in and I haven’t had a moment to myself. I expect it’s the same with you.’
Let me see the old look in your eyes.
‘Well, yes, I’ve been pretty busy,’ he agreed. ‘In fact, I’ve been away for most of the last two weeks. That’s why I wasn’t there if you called me.’
‘No,’ she said tensely, ‘actually, I didn’t.’
‘Of course not. I didn’t mean—Well, anyway…’
He finished with a helpless shrug and a smile. Jennifer caught her breath at that smile, which illuminated his boyishly handsome face.
‘David,’ she said impulsively, stretching out her hand to him. In another moment he would say her name, and their estrangement would be over.
‘Don’t stand about talking, darling!’ Steven appeared out of nowhere and seized hold of her. ‘The night is young. Let’s dance!’
Before Jennifer could protest she was swept willynilly onto the floor, held firmly in Steven’s arms.
‘Why did you do that?’ she protested. ‘He was just going to—What do you think you’re doing?’
‘Saving you from making a terrible mistake. I was watching, and he wasn’t “just going to”. You were just going to fall at his feet.’
‘That’s none of your—! I wouldn’t have done any such thing.’
‘Your face said differently. Is that all it takes? He gives that little boy smile, and a sensible woman goes ga-ga?’
‘Let me go at once. You’re right out of order.’
She tried to struggle free but he drew her closer, holding her tight so that his lips were close to her ear, and his body moved against her. ‘You should be thanking me, you ungrateful woman! If you’d caved in at the first test your relationship would never have recovered.’
‘What do you mean, “test”?’
‘It was your first meeting since the quarrel, and you were the one who blinked. I’ll bet he was talking about himself. Not about you, or the two of you, but himself. He looks the kind of self-centred idiot who thinks all roads lead back to him.’
She would have died rather than admit he was right. Her heart ached with disappointment that David hadn’t come up to scratch, and it hurt that Steven had seen it.
‘What is it with women like you that you have to fall for weak men?’
‘He’s not weak. He’s not arrogantly macho, if that’s what you mean. Some men don’t feel the need to be. It’s a question of confidence.’
‘And what did you do to damage his confidence?’
Jennifer drew a sharp breath. ‘That’s a lousy thing to say!’
‘Too near the truth?’
Suddenly she’d had more than she could take for one night. ‘I think it’s time I went home,’ she said.
‘Right. Put your hand through my arm and we’ll make a grand exit. Head up!’
Jennifer drove the first mile in silence before asking, ‘Where shall I take you?’
‘Just drop me at the next bus stop.’
‘I’m prepared to drive you home.’
‘Thank you, but the bus stop will do.’
‘There’s no need to be a martyr,’ Jennifer said patiently. ‘Tell me where you live.’
‘Must we finish up with an argument?’
‘What does it matter?’ she said despondently. ‘This whole evening has been a disaster.’
‘Not the whole evening,’ he reminded her. ‘There were a few enjoyable moments—’
To her dismay she could feel her cheeks burning at the reminder. To make sure he didn’t suspect, she spoke stiffly. ‘Forget them, Mr Leary. I’ve already done so.’
‘That I don’t believe.’
‘These things happen. People get carried away. It means nothing.’
‘You act like that with every man? Shame on you!’
She could hear the grin in his voice and strove to keep her dignity. ‘You know what I mean. The night’s over and we’ll never meet again.’
‘Think so?’
‘Not while I can prevent it.’
‘A reckless man might interpret that as a challenge.’
‘Don’t try.’
‘I’ll bet you another kiss that you contact me before the week is out.’
‘We’re approaching a bus stop. Goodnight, Mr Leary.’
As she pulled in to the kerb Steven began to fidget with the diamond cufflinks. ‘You’d better have these back.’
She didn’t want them. She could never give them to David now. Weariness and disappointment made her say, ‘There’s no need. Keep them to console yourself for losing your bet. You’ll get a good price for them.’
Steven already had the door open, but at this he stopped and regarded her coolly. ‘Perhaps I’d rather wear them to remind me of you.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t,’ she said, wishing that he would get out and leave her alone with her sadness. ‘I want to forget everything about tonight.’
‘And I don’t mean to let you,’ he said firmly, putting a hand behind her head and drawing her hard against him. It was a swift, decisive movement that left her no time to resist. Before she could think, his mouth was on hers, devastating her with the power and sensuality of his kiss.
He kissed her with fierce purpose. His lips were firm and warm, moving over hers insistently, allowing her no time to protest, to think, or do anything except respond.
‘Stop this,’ she said in a hoarse whisper.
‘I don’t want to stop,’ he growled. ‘And nor do you.’
She tried to deny it, to refuse him the easy mastery that he took for granted, but her blood was pounding and she couldn’t think of the words. And besides, his mouth had silenced her again.
He kissed her as though he had all the time in the world, teasing her with swift flickerings of his tongue against her lips. Those expert movements sent electricity sparkling and crackling along her nerves until every part of her seemed to be sensitised to him.
Her mind protested, but he’d found a way past thought, direct to her deepest, most sensual instincts. He was a master of the skills of the body, a master of provocation and incitement, and if she let him he would soon become her master too.
But the hand she raised to fend him off assumed a will of its own and touched his face instead. Perhaps her fingers curved about his neck and into his hair. She wasn’t sure. She was beyond being sure of anything except that she was caught up in a bittersweet delight. She was mad to have let this happen, but it was too late now.
She felt his fingers drift lower to her tiny waist, sliding over the smooth satin that covered the womanly curve of her hip.
But something stopped him. She felt him grow tense, then draw back, releasing her lips abruptly. He was breathing hard and his eyes glinted. ‘You madwoman,’ he growled. ‘Coming out with a stranger like this! You’re not wearing anything under this dress. Are you crazy to do such a thing?’ He gave her a little shake.
‘This shouldn’t have happened,’ she cried. ‘If you’d—you weren’t meant to—’
‘The hired help was supposed to keep his hands to himself, wasn’t he?’ he said angrily.
‘Get out of this car,’ she said in a shaking voice. ‘Get out at once. Do you hear?’
‘Yes, perhaps I’d better escape while we’re both still safe.’ He got out and closed the door, still looking at her through the open window. ‘Until we meet again.’
‘We never will.’
‘Don’t be stupid,’ he said harshly. ‘You know better than that.’
There was only one way to silence him and she took it, slamming her foot on the accelerator pedal and driving away. A glance into her rearview mirror showed him still standing there, watching her, a scowl on his face.
CHAPTER THREE
JENNIFER was late getting to her desk next morning. She’d overslept, after spending most of the night tossing and turning. She was horrified at the way she’d succumbed to the physical attractions of a man she barely knew, but he’d triggered sensations that had alarmed her.
She’d finally dozed off, and awoken with one certainty fixed in her mind. She must never, ever see Steven Leary again. He could make her act like a stranger to herself. Or rather, he could bring her up against the fact that she had no clear idea who she was.
She was Barney Norton’s beautiful, successful granddaughter, and the apple of his eye. But she was also someone who took in waifs and strays, because she felt like a waif herself, and without them her life was lonely. She was a top businnesswoman who was bored with business. And somewhere deep inside she was still the little ten-year-old girl whose adored father had walked out without a backward glance.
She’d thought of David, whose gentle manners and kindly nature she loved. Neither of her menfolk had appreciated him.
‘He’s very sound,’ Barney had said, damning him with faint praise. ‘Sound’, in Barney’s vocabulary, meant uninspired.
Trevor had put it even more bluntly. ‘He’ll never set the Thames on fire.’
But she didn’t want a man who would set the Thames on fire. She wanted a man whose steadiness she could rely on, and David fitted the bill perfectly. At least he had, until their quarrel. But that was her fault, she assured herself. She’d offended him by the clumsy way she’d tried to help. When they made up she would be more careful.
Safe, dependable David had never tried to rush her, never demanded. True, there had been moments when she’d wished he could be a little more decisive, but he was also vulnerable in a way that touched her heart. Jennifer’s nature had a bedrock of quiet strength, and while she needed a man to hold onto, she also needed a man who would hold onto her. She couldn’t turn away from anyone who needed her protection, and David had only to smile and say, ‘What would I do without you?’ to make her melt.
That was her touchstone, the reason she loved David tenderly. It was why she would never love Steven Leary, who hadn’t a hint of vulnerability in his nature.
What had happened between them was something apart, a warning that her sensuality could betray her into the arms of the wrong man if she wasn’t careful. But she would heed the warning. Nothing was going to come between her and David.
She’d reached the office in such a rush that she was only vaguely aware that her staff were giving her curious looks. As always, her first task was to check the firm’s share price. What she discovered made her stare at the computer screen, frowning.
‘That can’t be right,’ she murmured. ‘Why should we go up by that much since yesterday?’
But the same figures appeared again. Next moment her phone rang. ‘You’d better get in here and let me know what’s been going on,’ Trevor growled, and hung up.
Puzzled, Jennifer crossed the corridor to his office. ‘I didn’t understand any of that,’ she said, closing his door behind her.
‘I’m talking about you and Charteris Enterprises.’
‘I’ve had nothing to do with Charteris Enterprises.’
‘Oh, no?’ Trevor said sarcastically. ‘And you weren’t with their managing director last night, I suppose?’
‘You know where I was last night—at the banquet with Mike Harker. No, wait. He said his real name was Steven Leary.’
‘He told you that? And you didn’t hear alarm bells?’
Trevor shoved a newspaper across his desk. Jennifer’s eyed widened at the picture of herself and Steven dancing smoochily. The caption gave details of the banquet, of herself, and of ‘Steven Leary, Managing Director of Charteris Enterprises, who is also a major stockholder and chief architect of its success.’
‘Now people think we’re doing a deal with Charteris, and that’s why our shares have soared,’ Trevor told her.
‘I don’t understand this,’ Jennifer said distractedly. ‘You told me Mike Harker was a failed actor.’
‘But that isn’t him,’ Trevor said through gritted teeth.
‘Well, he’s the man who turned up on my doorstep. This—I just don’t understand. I danced with a dozen men.’
‘Like that?’ Trevor demanded, jabbing his finger at the picture. Jennifer drew a sharp breath as she saw what he meant. It had been taken at the moment when Steven had kissed her, and her response left no doubt about the matter. This was far from being just another dance.
She studied herself in dismay, her mind rejecting what her flesh remembered to be true. How could she have melted into his arms in that abandoned way?
And him? Had he too been lost? Or was he laughing at a successful deception? And later—But she refused to remember later.
‘I think I’d better have a talk to Mr Harker—or Leary, or whatever his name is,’ she said grimly.
She called Charteris Enterprises. But she was stone-walled by Steven’s secretary.
‘Kindly tell Mr Leary that I don’t know what his game is,’ she said at last, ‘but I’m going to find out.’
Steven had arrived at work to find the newspaper laid out on his desk and his staff ecstatic over his supposed coup. They’d known that Steven was negotiating to buy Kirkson Depots, a firm that operated in the same area as Nortons, but Kirkson was holding out for too high a price, and everyone now assumed that Steven had been playing a deep game.
He studied the picture, noticing how the clinging dress outlined Jennifer’s splendid curves. She was looking up at him, her head thrown back in an attitude of ecstatic surrender, as though her partner was the only man in the world.
She’d wanted him to believe it was all an act, for the benefit of another man, and he’d been almost fooled—until the evening’s final moments. Then the seductive spell she’d cast had swept him up. And not just him. She could deny it as much as she liked. He knew.
Alice, his secretary, looked in. She was thin, middleaged and efficient. She also had a dry sense of humour that helped her survive as Steven’s secretary. ‘James Kirkson is here,’ she said.
James Kirkson had come uttering words like ‘compromise’ and ‘rethink’. Steven kept his face blank to conceal his sense of triumph. In another few minutes Kirkson Depots would be his at a bargain price. But he was interrupted by the phone.
‘It’s Ms Norton,’ Alice informed him. ‘She’s very cross and she’s on her way here.’
Steven glanced at Kirkson and made a sudden decision. ‘When she arrives,’ he announced in a loud voice, ‘tell her I love her madly.’
‘Very good, sir.’
Exactly fifteen minutes later Alice’s door burst open and Jennifer whirled in.
‘I’d like to see Steven Leary,’ she said crisply.
‘I’m afraid that’s not possible. Won’t you sit down?’
‘I won’t be here long enough to sit down. Your employer is a devious, conniving—’
‘You must be Ms Norton.’
‘I certainly am.’
‘In that case, Mr Leary loves you madly,’ Alice declared, at her most wooden.
For a moment Jennifer felt as though something had knocked the wind out of her. Her head swam, the world glittered, shooting stars rioted in space. Then her senses cleared and she realised that Steven was up to his tricks.
‘Does he employ you to talk that stuff?’ she asked through twitching lips.
‘On this occasion, yes.’
‘Whatever he’s paying you, it isn’t enough.’
‘I agree. Can I get you some coffee?’
‘What you can get me is Steven Leary’s head on a plate,’ Jennifer said crisply. ‘Better still, I’ll collect it myself.’
Alice moved, but she wasn’t fast enough. Jennifer swept into Steven’s office, already uttering the words, ‘How dare you tell the press all that rubbish about us when you know perfectly well—!’
She got no further. Steven was out of his chair and across the room in time to cut off the rest. His mouth descended on hers in mid-word. His arms were like steel about her, preventing all struggle.
Jennifer’s indignation fought with her instinctive response. The sense of sheer power holding her exhilarated her even while it made her furious.
He released her mouth just long enough to say, ‘Business and pleasure, darling.’ Lowering his voice, he said urgently, ‘Kiss me back, for pity’s sake!’
‘Not in a million years—’ She barely got the words out before he silenced her again. The world spun around her, making it impossible to think, or do anything except feel a fierce, sensual delight deep inside her. It was stronger than anger. For a blinding moment it was the only thing in the world.
But the moment passed and she was herself again. She freed her lips, feeling her heart pounding, hoping she wasn’t too flushed. She looked into his face, expecting to find in it a look of jeering triumph, and was astonished to see an echo of her own reaction. Steven was breathing hard and his eyes were glittering.
‘Jennifer,’ he said in a husky voice, ‘let me introduce you to—where is he?’
‘Mr Kirkson slipped out while you were occupied,’ Alice informed him, from the doorway.
‘Damn!’ Steven said explosively, releasing Jennifer with unloverlike haste. ‘He was on the verge of caving in.’ He glared at Jennifer. ‘Thanks a lot!’
‘Are you daring to blame me?’
‘If you hadn’t barged in just then I could have bought Kirkson’s for a knock-down price.’
‘Kirkson Depots? So that was it all the time! You set me up last night.’
‘No way. It was an accident.’
‘Ho-ho-ho!’ Jennifer scoffed.
‘Don’t you “ho-ho” me. You have a lot to answer for.’
‘I—?’
‘You’ve just wrecked a deal that would have made this firm a lot of money.’
‘A deal that you wouldn’t have been in a position to make if you hadn’t deceived me.’
‘I did not deceive you,’ Steven said through gritted teeth. ‘Mike Harker’s a friend of mine. He was half-dead from flu, so I took his place. That’s all.’
Alice looked in again. ‘There’s a call for Ms Norton. I’ve put it through.’
Puzzled, Jennifer picked up the phone on Steven’s desk, and found herself talking to her brother. ‘Trust you to dash off like that without stopping to think!’ he complained. ‘Barney called. He’s over the moon about the rise in our share price.’
‘Oh, no!’ she breathed. Ever since the firm had gone public it had been Barney’s dream to see the price rise, and now it had happened. How could she tell him that it was all an illusion?
‘He wants you to bring Steven Leary to dinner.’
‘Now see what you’ve started,’ Jennifer said to Steven. ‘My grandfather wants you to come to dinner.’
‘Fine! I accept.’
‘And then this crazy story will get another head of steam. Where will it end?’
‘Who knows?’ he said wickedly. ‘But it might be interesting to find out.’ He took the receiver from her. ‘Mr Norton, I’d be delighted to accept your invitation.’
Jennifer lifted the extension in time to hear Trevor say, ‘My grandfather has invited us all to his house the day after tomorrow. He asks me to say that he hopes you won’t mind being outnumbered.’
‘I could bring my sister, to even up the numbers and protect me,’ Steven suggested.
‘Naturally we should be delighted to entertain your sister, Mr Leary, if you think she won’t be bored.’
‘Maud is a very serious person,’ Steven said in a grave voice. ‘She’s dedicated to making money. I’m sure that you and she will get on well.’
‘I’ll leave Jennifer to arrange the details with you.’ Trevor hung up.
Meeting Jennifer’s indignant gaze, Steven said, ‘I’m looking forward to meeting your family properly. I’ll tell my sister.’
‘Barney likes to start the evening at eight,’ Jennifer said formally.
‘We’ll be there at eight. By the way, didn’t you notice that I won our bet? I said you’d contact me in less than a week.’
‘But you knew this was bound to happen. That’s cheating.’
‘You owe me. Pay up.’
‘Certainly not.’
‘I wonder if the press knows how Nortons treats its debts of honour?’ Steven mused to nobody in particular.
The teasing gleam in his eye checked Jennifer’s retort. She took a deep breath. She knew she ought to escape as a matter of sheer self preservation, but after all it was a debt of honour.
‘Very well,’ she said, trying to speak calmly. ‘You may kiss me for precisely five seconds.’
‘Oh, I don’t think we need to drag it out that long,’ he said, dropping a peck on her cheek. ‘There. Now you can slap my face if you like.’
‘What I would like to do is something for which there are no polite words. When I think of your behaviour last night—letting me think you were just an impoverished actor when all the time—and you took those cufflinks under false pretences. I think you should return them.’
‘No can do. I passed them on to the real Mike Harker, with your message about the price he could get for them.’
‘It’s time for me to go,’ Jennifer said, speaking with difficulty. ‘I will see you at dinner.’
‘I’ll look forward to it.’
It was the merest chance that took Steven past Jennifer’s house the following evening. He’d been calling on a valuable client, or he wouldn’t have been in that direction.
It seemed a good idea to drop in on her. It would be interesting to see her in what he thought of as more ‘normal’ circumstances. It would be even more interesting to catch her off guard. It was a moot point which motive was the stronger, but since he was honest with himself he admitted he would enjoy taking her by surprise.
But fate turned the tables on him, because whatever welcome he’d expected it wasn’t the one he got.
His ring at the doorbell brought the sound of feet scurrying urgently. The next moment the door was yanked open and Jennifer stood there, gabbling with relief.
‘Thank heavens you’re here, I was getting so worried. I don’t think there’s much time—oh, dear, it’s only you!’
Women had greeted Steven in a variety of ways, ranging from ‘Darling, how wonderful!’ to ‘How dare you show your face here again?’ But ‘Oh, dear, it’s only you,’ was new to him.
‘Yes, it’s me,’ he said. ‘I gather I’m not who you were hoping to see?’
Without answering she darted past him, down the garden path and into the street. She looked up and down, then, failing to see what she was looking for, did a little dance of frustration.
Steven barely knew her. She was dressed in old jeans and a shapeless shirt that concealed everything he’d hoped to see again. Except for her legs. She had the longest legs of any woman he’d seen, and the shabby denim that covered them couldn’t entirely disguise their beauty.
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Lucy Gordon
She got more than she paid for!Jennifer Norton asked the agency that her escort be tall, dark and good looking. And he was. Only Steven Leary wasn't officially an escort, he was simply standing in for a friend. In real life, he was a millionaire!Jennifer usually dreaded business functions, but with Steven's charisma she enjoyed every minute–until she discovered his true identity. Then she was furious! But, for business reasons, it benefited Steven to keep the illusion of a relationship with Jennifer going. And, for private reasons, she was secretly pleased to go along with the pretence.
Lucy Gordon cut her writing teeth on magazine journalism, interviewing many of the world’s most interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Roger Moore, Sir Alec Guinness and Sir John Gielgud. She also camped out with lions in Africa, and had many other unusual experiences that have often provided the background for her books.
She is married to a Venetian, whom she met while on holiday in Venice. They got engaged within two days, and have now been married for twenty-five years. They live in the Midlands in the U.K., with their three dogs.
One of her books, His Brother’s Child, won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 1998, in the Best Traditional Romance category.
Tycoon for Hire
Lucy Gordon
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER ONE
‘WHAT are you wearing that thing for?’
Jennifer stood back to let her brother come into her house. She was already nervous about the evening to come, and his irritation only made things worse.
‘I thought you bought a new dress for tonight,’ he said. ‘Dark blue satin, tight, slinky, very effective.’ He cast a disparaging glance at her flowing evening gown of gold organdie with its demure neckline. ‘You’re going to a banquet, not a puritan convention.’
‘I’m sorry, Trevor,’ she said in a placating voice, ‘but I just couldn’t wear that blue satin. It’s too revealing.’
‘You didn’t think so when you bought it.’
‘Yes, I did, but I’d let you convince me it was my duty to go to this function. Since then I’ve got my sense of proportion back. I wish I could call the whole thing off.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Trevor said, alarmed. ‘How often must I tell you that appearances matter? Everyone knows you’re representing the firm at the London Society of Commerce Banquet, and you have to be there.’
‘But I was going with David.’
‘And now he’s dumped you—’
‘He hasn’t dumped me. We just—aren’t seeing each other for a while.’
‘Whatever. The point is you can’t stay away and you can’t go on your own. It would look like weakness. You’ve got to let the world see that you don’t care.’
‘But I do care,’ she said sadly.
Jennifer had planned to attend the banquet with David Conner, the man she loved and had expected to marry. But he hadn’t called her since their quarrel two weeks ago, and her heart was breaking. Her ideal evening would have been spent at home having a cup of cocoa and maybe even a good cry. Instead she was dressed up, ready to go out with a stranger.
‘I hate all this business of putting on the proper mask,’ she said. ‘I always have.’
‘Never let the enemy see you weakening,’ Trevor said, reciting his favourite rule.
‘And I hate having to think of everyone as the enemy.’
‘It’s how business is done. Come on, you’ve coped wonderfully well so far.’
‘But you’re not quite sure of me, are you? That’s why you called in on your way home from work to make sure I hadn’t got cold feet. Well, I have.’
Brother and sister were both part of Nortons Distribution, a trucking empire started by their grandfather, Barney Norton. They owned shares in the firm, and ran it between them since illness had forced Barney to retire. The difference was that Trevor lived and breathed business, while Jennifer had only gone into Nortons to please Barney.
Trevor was a thickset man in his thirties, no more than medium height, with a burly build. He might have been attractive if he hadn’t frowned so much. Jennifer respected her brother for his dedicated work, but it was hard to like a man so short-tempered and critical.
‘Be sensible,’ he said now. ‘Go and change into your glad rags.’
‘I’m sorry, Trevor, but these rags are as glad as I’m going to get.’
He tore his hair. ‘For Pete’s sake! Tonight’s a chance to do some networking, make connections. Smile into their eyes, dance close. You’ve got the looks.’
It was true that nature had gifted Jennifer with the vivid beauty to play the role he’d outlined. Her large dark eyes dominated her oval face, and her mouth was deliciously curved in a way that could be more seductive than she was aware.
But nature had also missed something out. She completely lacked the ruthless drive and competitiveness that could have made her use her sexuality in the way Trevor expected. But he seemed not to understand this.
‘You’ve got assets,’ he said now. ‘Flaunt them.’
Goaded, she said, ‘Why don’t you flaunt yours if it’s so important to you?’
‘Because mine aren’t the kind that look good in skin-tight satin. The boardroom’s my sphere, not the ballroom.’
‘I must have been crazy to let you talk me into going to this do without David. And hiring an escort—even from a reputable agency. Think of it! Paying a man to accompany me!’
‘I’ve told you: it’s not like that,’ he said impatiently. ‘Jack’s a good customer, and his grandson is an actor. A failed one, apparently, so he fills in with escort work. You did tell the agency it had to be Mike Harker, didn’t you?’
‘I asked for Mike Harker and nobody else. And before you ask, yes, I was careful not to let on that I’ve met his grandfather. As far as he knows it’s an ordinary booking, so his pride won’t be offended.’
‘Good. Apparently he’s touchy about favours, and it would have been awkward if he’d refused. What reason did you give for asking for him?’
‘I said someone had told me he was very good-looking, and that was what I needed.’
‘Fine. And you’re quite safe. Jack assures me that Harker knows how to keep his hands to himself. Good grief! What’s that?’
Jennifer followed his pointing finger. ‘It’s a cat,’ she said, a tad defensively.
‘Another of your waifs and strays, I presume?’
‘I found Paws outside my back door, if that’s what you mean.’
‘Paws? You actually call it Paws?’
‘She’s a she, not an it, and her paws were the first thing I noticed. They’re white and the rest of her’s black.’
‘Funny how every four-legged tramp seems to find its way here,’ Trevor observed grimly. ‘I should think the word’s gone around the stray community. Drop in on Jennifer Norton. She’s a soft touch.’
‘Better that than a hard one,’ she said quickly.
‘As long as you don’t bring that thing to the office, like you tried to with your last acquisition. We were just about to sign Bill Mercer up to a really profitable deal, and a damned snake slid out of your desk and nearly gave him heart failure.’
‘It was a small grass snake, very sweet and perfectly harmless.’
‘And then there was the gerbil—no, don’t get me started on the gerbil. Anyway, it’s not businesslike.’
‘Well, I never was very businesslike, was I? Not the way you are, the way Barney wanted me to be. I shouldn’t really be part of Nortons at all, you know. I’m not cut out for the cut and thrust. Sometimes I think I should get out while I’m still in my twenties, and try something else.’
‘You can’t do that to Barney,’ Trevor said, aghast. ‘After all he’s done for us! I agree, you’re a fish out of water, but you’ve always been his pet, and if you defect it will break his heart.’
‘I know,’ she said with a helpless sigh, for this was the argument she’d used to herself a hundred times. She couldn’t hurt Barney, and the knowledge was like fetters.
‘If you’d just use your head a little more,’ Trevor said now. ‘Stop making decisions that you haven’t thought through. You’re far too impulsive.’
It was true. Jennifer was warm-hearted and spontaneous, and these qualities often conflicted with the demands of her work. She had brains, and she’d learned the business thoroughly, but people and animals would always matter to her more.
She didn’t try to explain this to Trevor. She’d failed too often in the past. She merely contented herself with saying, ‘Tonight you’re the one who hasn’t thought it through. The whole idea is mad.’
‘Nonsense! Look, I’ve got to go. Chin up!’
He gave her cheek a peck and departed.
Left alone, Jennifer sighed. When they were younger she and Trevor had been close, but now that seemed a long time ago. When she tried to argue with him she was out of her depth. In fact, she increasingly felt that her life had been taken over by forces outside her control, and never more so than tonight.
Trevor had spoken of what Barney had done for them, and it was true that he’d taken them in when their mother had died, when she’d been twelve and Trevor sixteen. Nobody had known where their father was, since he’d abandoned his family some two years earlier. There’d been a divorce and he’d moved abroad with his new lover. There had only been their grandfather.
Barney was affectionate, but his idea of childcare had been to scoop them up into his hectic life, taking them with him from place to place. It had been interesting and fun, but there had been nothing to make Jennifer feel less of an orphan.
Barney couldn’t replace the father who’d deserted her, but she’d loved him, and striven to please him. She’d worked hard at school, enjoying his praise when she got top marks, and gradually coming to accept that she would go into the business.
‘I’m really looking forward to having you two as my partners,’ he’d say happily.
Trevor had joined Nortons as soon as he’d left school, and Barney had started preparing for the day his beloved Jennifer would follow. She hadn’t had the heart to tell him that she would rather work with animals. To disappoint him would have been to risk losing his love, and she’d long ago learned how painful that could be.
So she’d entered the firm and performed every task well, making him proud of her. When his health had failed, five years ago, Trevor and Jennifer had been ready to take over the reins, leaving him to a happy retirement. To all outward appearances she was a glamorous, successful businesswoman, but inside she felt trapped, and a failure.
Now here she was, ready to attend a function that didn’t interest her in the company of a man she didn’t know, more imprisoned than ever by the expectations of others. And wishing with all her heart there was some way of escape.
Steven Leary stopped outside the apartment door and looked at his shabby surroundings in dismay. Once his friend Mike Harker had been a wit, with matinée idol looks, destined for stage and film stardom. But that had been twelve years ago. Steven had kept in touch, but they hadn’t met for five years. Mike’s career had flopped, and he now lived in this dump.
The door opened a crack, revealing one bloodshot eye. ‘Who are you?’ came a muffled voice.
‘Mike? It’s me—Steven.’
‘Hell. Steven?’ Mike drew him inside and quickly shut the door. ‘I was afraid you were the landlord.’
They exclaimed over each other, and studied the difference that the years had made. Mike was still handsome, although bleary eyes and a red nose spoiled the effect.
‘Stay clear,’ he said, waving Steven back. ‘I’m a walking flu germ.’
‘Did I pick a bad time?’ Steven asked, indicating Mike’s white tie and tails on a coat hanger. ‘You look as if you’re going to a première.’
Mike gave him a wry look. ‘If I was into premières, would I be living here?’
Over coffee they exchanged awkward conversation. Steven felt embarrassed to ask Are you still an actor?, and even more embarrassed to talk about his own success.
‘I remember when you joined Charteris Enterprises,’ Mike said. ‘I said you’d end up running the place, and you did.’
‘It’s no big deal,’ Steven said, speaking less than the truth. Charteris was a huge, powerful conglomerate, and its achievements were his pride and joy.
‘You ought to be in bed,’ he told Mike.
‘I have to go out. I survive by working for an escort agency, and I’ve got a job tonight.’
‘You’re a gigolo?’ Steven exclaimed, aghast.
‘No, dammit, I’m not a gigolo! It’s perfectly respectable. If a woman has to go to some function and she hasn’t got an escort, she calls my agency and hires me. I just have to be attentive and make the right impression. She goes home to her bed and I go home to mine.’
‘Which is where you should be right now. You can’t escort a woman in this state. You’ll give her flu.’
‘And she’ll give me money, so that I can stop avoiding the landlord.’
‘Tell your agency to send someone else.’
‘Too late.’ Mike went off into a coughing fit.
‘What’s she like?’
‘Dunno. Never met her. Her name’s Jennifer Norton, and that’s all I know. It’s a commercial function, so she’s probably a hard-faced business-type—mid-forties, too busy making money to have a real relationship, so she calls Rent-A-Man.’
‘Get to bed,’ Steven said firmly. ‘I’ll go in your place.’
‘But they said she asked for me specially.’
‘I thought you didn’t know her?’
‘I don’t. But apparently someone recommended me.’
‘Could she have seen you on television?’
‘No such luck!’
‘So she doesn’t know what you look like?’
‘No way. But she wanted a real looker.’
Steven grinned, not in the least offended. ‘And I’m Frankenstein’s monster?’
‘Cut it out! You always had more than your share of girls, I remember. Can’t think why, when you treated them so badly.’
‘I never laid myself out to please them, if that’s what you mean. Couldn’t see the point. My dad used to say women were like buses. There’d always be another one along soon.’ He gave a crack of laughter. ‘Mind you, he got well clear of Mum before he said it.’
It was true that Steven didn’t have the perfect, regular features that distinguished Mike, but many women found him vitally attractive. He was tall, dark, and powerfully made, with broad shoulders, and the set of his head gave him an air of natural authority. His lean face could scowl or laugh with equal fervour. Thick brows shadowed brown eyes radiating a fierce energy that gave his face its striking character. His mouth was wide and generous. It could form a grin that was predatory, even wolfish, but his smiles were delightful. When in a light-hearted mood he could be charming.
A man who stood out in a crowd. A man that another man, or a woman, would think twice before crossing. Perhaps a man to be feared. But not a man that a woman would choose as a gallant escort.
‘You can’t go and that’s final,’ he said. ‘I’ll use your name, and I’ll be on my best behaviour. I’d better dash home for my evening rig.’
‘No time. She’s expecting me in twenty minutes. You’ll have to wear mine. Luckily we’re about the same size.’ Mike coughed again. ‘I hope you haven’t caught my flu.’
‘I never catch anything,’ Steven said. ‘I’m invulnerable. What are you looking at out of the window?’
‘That shiny monster, with this year’s registration, parked under my window. If it’s yours you’ll never pass as a penniless actor.’
‘Thanks for the tip. I’ll park a few streets away from her house and walk. Now get to bed.’
Her escort was late, which was fine by Jennifer. It gave her time to feed Paws and let her out one last time.
‘Hurry up,’ she said. ‘He’ll be here soon—if I’m unlucky.’
Paws reappeared two minutes later, wet from a puddle, and promptly demonstrated her loyalty by leaping into her new mistress’s lap.
‘Oh, no!’ Jennifer wailed, surveying the marks over her dress. ‘I can’t believe you did that!’
She made a dash for the bedroom, tore off the muddy garment, and began rummaging through her other evening wear, desperately hoping that her worst fears weren’t going to be realised.
But they were. Of two other possible gowns, one was at the cleaner’s and one had a small tear. Bit by bit her options narrowed down until there was only the dark blue satin left.
‘You ungrateful animal!’ she chided Paws. ‘I took you in, and now look what you’ve done to me. Oh, well, I suppose there’s no help for it.’
Reluctantly she drew on the dress, which was even more daring than she’d realised when she’d bought it. To her horror, the lines of her underwear showed. There was only one thing to do, and that was remove every stitch underneath.
When she’d finished she had the perfect, smooth lines that the dress demanded. Its tight contours flattered her tiny waist and flat stomach, but the neckline was scandalously low. She possessed the generous bosom to carry it off, but still, it was going to take nerve. And her nerve was fast slipping away.
Her rich, dark brown hair was swept up in an elegantly ornate style. To go with the dress she donned a necklace and earrings made of glittering diamonds. Now she looked like a sophisticated young woman who could cope with anything life threw at her. She only wished she felt like one.
She finished just in time. The doorbell was shrilling. She put her head up, took a deep breath, and went to answer. And as soon as she opened her front door she knew that she’d made the mistake of her life.
The man’s looks were striking, if not classically handsome. He radiated an air of arrogance and fierce will. In the very first moment, as they stood looking at each other, Jennifer realised that he was appraising her, his eyes taking a leisurely tour of her form.
She began to be self-conscious about the revealing dress. His gaze made her feel naked, and he was clearly enjoying every inch of her, which made her indignant. After all, he was her employee. Worse still, she saw an ironic gleam in his eyes, as though he understood her thoughts and was amused by them.
In short, she’d expected a tailor’s dummy and gotten a man instead.
Embarrassment flooded her. It hadn’t occurred to her that she was exposing herself as a woman who had to pay for an escort. But he saw the truth. She found her voice. ‘Good evening, Mr Harker. You’re a little late, but no matter.’
‘My apologies,’ he said, in a voice that didn’t sound apologetic. ‘I had an emergency to deal with, but now I’m all yours.’ He spread his hands in a gesture that took in his own appearance. ‘All present and correct,’ he announced. ‘Fingernails specially scrubbed for the occasion.’ He offered them to her view, but still with the teasing air that unsettled her.
‘Oh, my goodness!’ she exclaimed suddenly. ‘Those cufflinks.’
She guessed that his ‘dress’ cufflinks were all a failed actor could afford, but they looked cheap and nasty, as if he’d bought them off a market stall.
‘They’re my best,’ the man said brusquely. ‘What’s wrong with them?’
‘Nothing, I—’ Jennifer struggled to find a polite way of saying what she meant. It was hard. ‘They’re not quite—I mean, they don’t really go with—perhaps I could suggest—just a moment.’
She hurried to her room and found the cufflinks she’d bought for David’s upcoming birthday. They were silver, studded with tiny diamonds, and they’d cost her a fortune. She suppressed the little pang they gave her and closed her fingers tightly over them.
Her escort’s strongly marked eyebrows rose in surprise when she asked him to hold out his hands. She removed the cheap items and fitted the luxurious cufflinks in their place. Glancing up, she found his eyes on her, and their cool mockery sent a wave of heat flooding through her body.
He regarded the diamonds on his cuffs, and his eyes gleamed as they appraised the diamonds about her neck and on her ears. ‘I’m glad I go with your jewellery,’ he murmured.
She refused to respond to his mockery. ‘Here are the keys to my car, Mr Harker. Shall we go?’
As she opened the garage door on her sleek, four-wheeled beauty, she began to have qualms. ‘Perhaps I’d better drive,’ she said. She held out her hand for the keys, but Steven didn’t move.
‘Get in the car,’ he said, with a quiet firmness that astonished her. ‘I’m here to escort you, and I’ll do the job properly. It wouldn’t look good for you to be driving. People might guess that you’ve had to hire me.’
She bit back a retort and got into the passenger seat. He began backing the car out as expertly as if he did it every day. She wondered where he’d learned that deft handling of a powerful vehicle. It had taken her a week before she was as skilled.
‘Which way?’ he asked.
‘Central London. Go to Trafalgar Square and I’ll direct you from there.’
When they were on the road he said casually, ‘So, what story do we tell people?’
‘Story?’
‘About us. If someone asks, we have to say the same thing. When did we meet?’
‘Oh—last week.’
‘That’s a bit recent. Why not last month?’
‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘Not as long ago as that.’
‘I see. You were going out with someone else then? Why aren’t you with him tonight?’
‘Because we—we had a disagreement.’
‘Who dumped who?’
‘We separated by mutual consent,’ she said stiffly.
‘You mean he walked out on you?’
‘I mean no such thing.’
‘Will he be there tonight?’
‘Possibly.’
‘Then you’d better tell me his name, just in case.’
‘His name is David Conner,’ she said stiffly.
‘Have you worked out how we met?’
‘No—I don’t know—I’ll think of something,’ she said distractedly. She was growing more unhappy by the minute.
‘I’m surprised to find you so disorganised. We’re nearly at Trafalgar Square. Direct me.’
She complied, adding, ‘We’re going to Catesby House for the London Society of Commerce Banquet. Careful!’
‘Sorry! My hand slipped on the wheel,’ Steven said hastily. In fact, he’d had a nasty shock. There would be people there who knew him. He made a rapid decision.
‘You’d better know,’ he said, ‘my real name isn’t Mike Harker.’
‘You mean it’s a stage name?’
‘No, I—Never mind. My name is Steven Leary. We’re nearly there. Quickly, tell me something about yourself.’
‘My name is Jennifer Norton. I’m the granddaughter of Barney Norton of Nortons Distribution—’
‘Nortons Distribution?’ Steven echoed. ‘Trucks and depots?’
‘Yes,’ she said, surprised to find him so knowledgeable. ‘Our organisation is the best of its kind in the country, and we’re rapidly expanding in Europe.’ She suddenly remembered who he was. ‘Never mind that.’
‘Yes, don’t say anything too complex,’ he said affably. ‘My one braincell might not be able to cope.’
She refused to let him needle her. ‘Take this next turning and you’ll find a car park.’
As he switched off the engine Jennifer went to open her door. ‘Wait,’ Steven ordered calmly. He walked around the car and opened the door for her, holding out his hand to assist her. ‘After all, this is what I’m here for,’ he said, with a grin.
‘Thank you,’ she said, placing her hand in his.
She half missed her footing as she stepped out, but his fingers tightened, holding her steady, and she had an unnerving sense of vibrant power streaming through him and communicating itself through the contact of their skin. For a moment her heart beat faster.
She turned to reach back into the car for her velvet stole, but he was there before her, whisking it out and settling it around her bare shoulders. She couldn’t suppress the tremor that went through her at his touch, and involuntarily she glanced up to meet his eyes. She found them fixed on her with a look that brought the colour flooding into her cheeks.
‘You’re beautiful,’ he said seriously. ‘In fact, you’re sensational. I’ll be a proud man, with you on my arm. No, don’t say it!’ He held up a finger to silence her, although she was too taken aback to speak. ‘You don’t care whether I’m proud of you or not. It’s not part of our bargain. Well, I don’t care whether you care or not. I’m telling you, you’re a knock-out!’
Something was making it hard for her to speak. ‘Thank you,’ she stammered at last. ‘It’s nice to know that my escort approves of me.’
‘I don’t approve of you,’ Steven said wryly. ‘I disapprove of this whole situation. A woman who looks like you shouldn’t have to hire a man, and if she does there’s something badly wrong in her life. But you’re gorgeous, sexy, and an incitement to every man to do something he’ll regret. I only wish I had time to explore that contradiction.’
‘My contradictions don’t concern you,’ she said, her cheeks flaming.
‘They would if I decided to let them,’ he said carelessly. ‘What a pity that I don’t have time!’ He drew one finger slowly down her cheek. ‘We should be going inside.’
‘Yes,’ she said, remembering, with an effort, why they were there. ‘We should.’
Jennifer had attended many functions at Catesby House, and was familiar with its plush red and gilt interior, sweeping stairway and glittering chandeliers. But tonight she seemed to be seeing everything for the first time. The lights were more dazzling, the colours of the other women’s dresses more vivid, and the black and white of the men more intense than she remembered ever noticing before.
She went to the cloakroom to deposit her stole. As she emerged to where Steven was waiting for her at the foot of the staircase she had the chance to observe him from a distance, against other men.
The comparison was all in his favour. He was almost the tallest man there. Certainly his shoulders were the broadest, his air the most impressive. But what struck her most was the confidence and authority that radiated from him. He looked like a predator, appraising lesser beings prior to devouring them. She’d seen that aura before, in men who headed great corporations. How did an unemployed actor come to have it?
Actor. Of course. He’d assumed the right role. Anxious to have a good atmosphere between them, she approached him with a smile. ‘Congratulations,’ she said warmly.
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘You’ve got right into the part. You look as if you belong here.’
‘Thank you,’ he said with suspicious meekness. ‘I’m rather nervous among all these important people.’
‘They’re not really important. They only fancy they are because they’ve got money. Most business folk don’t matter half as much as they think they do.’ With a flash of mischief, she added, ‘Just look down your nose at them, and they’ll take you for one of themselves. I’m expecting you to be a big success.’
His lips twitched. ‘You don’t feel you got cheated on the deal, then?’
‘On the contrary, I think I might have a bargain.’
‘Maybe I didn’t do so badly myself.’ He offered her his arm. ‘Shall we go?’
Together they climbed the broad stairs and entered the huge ballroom that was already crowded. Steven’s sharp eyes saw at once that Jennifer outshone every other woman in the room. She knew how to choose perfume too. The elusive aroma that reached him was warm, with the faintest hint of musk. It wasn’t the perfume of a young girl, but a woman, with all that implied.
He wondered what kind of lover had touched her heart. Had she chosen a giant among men? And what was she like when she was with him? Did her curved mouth grow tender and her dark eyes glow with desire?
They moved through the crowd, smiling and uttering greetings. Several people knew him, and Steven had a nervous time steering her away from them. He would be lucky to get through tonight without discovery, he realised.
‘Come to the bar,’ he muttered. ‘There’s something we need to talk about while I get you a drink.’
‘I’ll have an orange juice, since I’ll be driving home.’
‘Two orange juices,’ Steven told the barman. He grinned at Jennifer. ‘Just in case you change your mind.’
‘Meaning you think you can change it for me?’ she challenged him.
‘Is that what I meant? Thanks for letting me know.’
His eyes were teasing, and Jennifer couldn’t help smiling back. ‘That’s exactly what you meant,’ she said. She turned back to look at the room. And then the smile froze on her face.
David was standing a few feet away from her.
CHAPTER TWO
JENNIFER had wondered if David would be here. Now she realized that she’d always secretly expected him. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his perfect features under thick, wavy, fair hair.
He looked in her direction and Jennifer saw the shock in his eyes. In another moment he would hold out his hands to her and all their differences would be forgotten. But he stayed frozen, his mouth opening and closing. He seemed confused. Then a young woman laid a hand on his arm, and he bowed his handsome head attentively towards her.
Jennifer stood there, stunned. David had turned away from her. There was a bleak, blind look in her eyes, and she forgot everything else, including Steven, watching her face closely.
Perhaps, she thought, David too had hired a companion. But a glance at the young woman banished that thought. She was mousy, and didn’t know how to make the best of herself. This wasn’t a professional. She was ‘real’.
Jennifer’s insides twisted at the thought that David had found someone else so soon. Then the girl smiled at him. It was a gentle, heartfelt smile, and it made her face charming. Jennifer was unable to control her little gasp. Steven heard it, and his eyes narrowed with interest.
‘So that’s him,’ he murmured in Jennifer’s ear.
‘Him—who?’
‘The pretty boy with the dull girl.’
‘I don’t know what you mean by pretty boy—’
‘He’s like a sugar figure on top of a wedding cake.’
‘Can we drop this?’ she asked with an effort.
‘But why? I’m only here to show him that you don’t give a damn. So let’s show him—unless you’re scared?’
‘Of course not,’ she said quickly.
‘Then take the bull by the horns.’
‘You’re right.’ She advanced on David with her hands outstretched. ‘David! How lovely to see you.’
He too recovered himself, and she knew he hadn’t expected to find her here with another man. ‘Jennifer,’ he said. ‘What a—a lovely surprise.’
‘But you knew I planned to come.’
‘Yes—er—yes, of course. It’s just that—let me introduce you to Penny.’ He hastily drew forward the young woman, who gave Jennifer a nervous look, followed immediately by her delightful smile.
‘This is Steven Leary,’ Jennifer said. As the men shook hands she began to feel more confident. At least David knew she wasn’t sitting forlornly at home, waiting for the phone to ring, and he need never know how often she’d done just that.
She slipped her arm through Steven’s and he responded on cue, smiling into her eyes with a theatrical intensity that was almost fatuous. She had a mad desire to giggle, as though the two of them were engaged in a private joke that nobody else understood. Not even David.
He was frowning uneasily, as though the sight of her with another man displeased him. But then Penny claimed his attention and he turned away. Jennifer kept her head up and her smile in place, but it was hard.
Fifty round tables filled the room, each seating eight guests. Jennifer didn’t know whether to be glad or dismayed to find that she was at the same table as David and Penny. They were almost opposite her, so she could see how gallantly he drew out her chair. He was always an attentive dinner companion, Jennifer thought wistfully. It made him charming to be with. She averted her eyes.
‘Tell me about David Conner,’ Steven said. ‘What does he do?’
‘He owns a small firm making machine tools,’ Jennifer said.
‘Did he start it himself?’
‘No, his father left it to him.’
The meal kept them occupied for a while. Steven played his part to perfection, attending to all her wants and smiling. Then there were speeches. Jennifer was facing the top table, but David and Penny had to turn around, so she could watch them without being seen. She noticed that David didn’t rest his hand on his companion’s arm, but sometimes he would lean close to speak to her, so that their hair touched.
The speeches ended and the mood became relaxed. People began drifting from table to table. One or two dropped by to talk to her. She did some useful networking, and when she’d finished she noticed that Steven was sitting with David and Penny. David was talking earnestly, and Steven was listening with a frown of concentration that made Jennifer wonder if he were concealing boredom.
‘How about asking me to dance?’ she said.
‘My lady has only to command,’ Steven replied, and led her onto the floor for a waltz.
‘You don’t know what a rare pleasure it is to dance with a woman tall enough to look me in the eye,’ he observed. ‘Usually I get a crick in my neck.’
‘I thought I ought to rescue you from David.’
‘Afraid all his serious talk would be above my head, huh?’
‘What did you tell him about us?’
‘That I was your toyboy, of course.’
‘Can’t you be serious for a minute?’
‘I’ll tell you this seriously. I’m not sure I ought to help you get him back. You might end up married to him, and how would I ever forgive myself?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He’s not the man you need. You’d always be fighting with him for the mirror.’
‘What nonsense!’
‘It isn’t nonsense, Jenny—’
‘Don’t,’ she said quickly. ‘Only David calls me Jenny.’
‘It’s the wrong name for you anyway. Jenny is a little brown wren, and you’re a bird of paradise.’
‘Don’t be so sure,’ she said lightly. ‘I might turn out to be a cawing rook instead.’
He broke into laughter. It was a rich, pleasant sound, and several people glanced at them, including David. Immediately she turned up the wattage on her smile, focusing on Steven’s face.
‘OK,’ he said, understanding at once. ‘If that’s how you want to play it—’ He tightened his arm in the small of her back, drawing her against him, and an ardent look came into his eyes. ‘You’re gorgeous. I hope David appreciates you.’
‘Of course he does.’
‘Has he mentioned marriage?’
She hesitated. ‘In his own way.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘In actions,’ she said reluctantly, ‘not words.’
‘Don’t fool yourself, Jennifer. That “actions not words” argument is how women convince themselves that a man has said something when he hasn’t. You want him to propose and he won’t. Is that why you quarrelled?’
‘Never mind.’
‘Of course I mind. Until midnight I’m your new lover, madly jealous of the man you’re in love with. You are in love with him, aren’t you?’
‘Completely.’
‘More fool you! What was the quarrel about?’
How could she stop this man? He seemed to have an hypnotic power that made it natural to tell him whatever he wanted to know.
But it was hard to analyse the quarrel because she wasn’t sure what it had been about. They’d been discussing a problem David had had with his firm. To her the solution had been obvious, and she’d been happy to help him. Suddenly she’d looked up to see him watching her strangely.
‘You know more about this than I do, don’t you?’ he’d asked quietly.
Even then she hadn’t seen the danger, but had answered cheerfully. ‘It’s being with that old rascal, my grandfather. Some of it rubs off. Look, darling, all you have to do is—’
But he’d stopped her there, accusing her of trying to take charge. She’d denied it indignantly, and things had escalated. By the time they parted they’d covered so much ground that the original disagreement had become lost.
‘It had nothing to do with marriage,’ she said now, at last.
‘I’m glad. You’re worth a better man than David Conner.’
‘Don’t say that!’ she protested quickly.
‘Well done! I like you with that glowing light in your eyes. Don’t keep trying to watch him. You’ll spoil your effect. Concentrate on me. I think you’re a knock-out, plus you’ve got courage and spirit.’
‘Do you always talk to your clients like this?’
‘My—? Well, it’s true that I don’t do this often,’ Steven said, recovering quickly from his slip. ‘I tend to tell people the blunt truth instead of murmuring sweet nothings. Smile at me. He’s looking.’
Jennifer offered up her most dazzling smile and he returned it, gazing deep into her eyes. ‘That’s fine,’ he murmured. ‘Mind you, you’re more impressive when you’re annoyed.’
‘If you dare to tell me I look beautiful when I’m angry I’ll—I’ll step on your toe.’
‘I promise not to say anything so corny.’
‘Good.’
‘Even though it’s true.’
She saw his lips twitch and couldn’t stop herself from responding. The next moment she was joining in his laughter. ‘Oh, go to the devil!’ she said lightly.
‘Certainly. With you in my arms I’ll waltz to the mouth of hell and back.’ His eyes flickered in David’s direction, and he murmured through his smile, ‘You’ve got him worried.’
‘Who?’
‘David. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the poor sap?’
‘Of course not,’ she said, too quickly. It was true that she’d been so intrigued by this man that David had briefly slipped from her mind.
‘Let’s give him something to really worry about,’ Steven suggested. He drew her closer still, looking down deep into her eyes. ‘I love the cut of your dress,’ he whispered.
She knew he meant her low neckline, and to her dismay she started to blush. She was one of those lucky women who could blush attractively, her cheeks going a delicate pink—something the man holding her close noticed with interest.
‘You’re the most beautiful woman here,’ he told her.
‘Stop saying things like that,’ Jennifer whispered.
‘You’re paying me to say them,’ he reminded her.
She caught her breath with shock. She’d been caught up in this man’s seductive spell, her senses vibrating with the power that streamed from him. And it was all a delusion. She’d bought his compliments, and they meant nothing.
‘Well, since you’re under my orders,’ she said in a shaking voice, ‘I’m telling you to stop.’
‘You hired me to make David Conner jealous, and that’s what I’m going to do.’
‘I hired you as an accessory, to be useful to my firm,’ she said quickly, remembering what Trevor had said.
‘Nonsense, that’s just the “party line”. It’s David you care about. Though just why is a mystery to me.’
He raised her chin with his fingers. She couldn’t resist him. Suddenly her heart was beating madly. She tried to ignore her own sensations and remember only that she was playing a part. But she could hardly remember the part, or why she was playing it. It was like floating in a dream.
This arrogantly assured man had the nerve to brush his fingertips over her lips. Jennifer drew a shuddering breath, astounded by the feelings coursing through her. This must stop. She must make him stop. But she did nothing. Nor could she speak.
She felt his touch drift across her mouth, along the line of her jaw and down her neck. Then his hand was cupping her head, drawing it closer as he lowered his lips to hers. Jennifer had a devastating sense of losing control. Everything about this evening had been a shock, and most shocking of all was the pleasure that possessed her as soon as his mouth rested on hers.
She lost all sense of time and space. She could no longer hear the band, or see the other couples circling around them. She was moving through the heavens in a dance that would last until the end of eternity. Her heart was beating wildly and she could hardly breathe.
‘You must let me go,’ she whispered.
‘If I had my way I’d never let you go,’ he growled. ‘I’d whisk you out of here to some place where they couldn’t find us, and discover what kind of a woman you really are. The answer might come as a surprise to you too.’
‘How dare you?’
‘Strange, isn’t it? But I already know you as David Conner never will. I know what I want from you, which I’ll bet is a damned sight more than he does.’
To her dismay the words ‘I know what I want from you’ sent a thrill through her. There had been a steely resolution in his tone that she’d never heard before from any man. She loved David for his gentleness and sweet temperament, but in a corner of her heart she had to admit he lacked decisiveness.
Not that decisiveness was all-important. She’d always told herself that. But in the arms of this purposeful man she felt a unique quiver of response that alarmed her.
She heard him mutter a soft ‘Damn!’ and came out of her dream to realise that the music was ending. The dancers were slowing and she was in Steven Leary’s arms, seeing the shock in his eyes, knowing that it mirrored the shock in her own. And nothing would ever be the same again.
For the next hour Jennifer functioned on automatic. Her mind was still whirling from the devastating encounter with Steven, and her flesh too seemed to be in turmoil, tingling with the memory of his touch.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him waltzing with Penny. At last he appeared at her side again, taking her hand and leading her to the bar, where he procured her an orange juice. ‘You must be ready for some refreshment,’ he said. ‘So am I. I’ve been working for you.’
‘I saw you dancing with Penny,’ she said, taking his meaning. ‘How did you find her?’
‘She moves too correctly. I prefer a woman who dances with a man as though she wants to make love with him.’ His eyes challenged her.
‘I can imagine,’ Jennifer said, speaking awkwardly to conceal the fact that waves of heat were chasing themselves through her. ‘Is that the only fault you can find with poor Penny?’
‘She says “Yes” and “No” and keeps missing the step because she’s trying to keep her eyes on David. She’s his secretary, by the way, and he only invited her this afternoon.’ He heard her quick sigh of relief and said mischievously, ‘It looks as if he left it until the last minute, hoping you’d call. He doesn’t understand you because he’s full of himself. He’s happier with a girl who isn’t as pretty as he is. You two were bound to break up.’
‘David and I haven’t broken up—not finally.’
‘You have if Penny has anything to do with it. She’s keen on him.’
With a flash of spirit she said, ‘I can take him back any time I want.’
‘But is he worth taking?’
‘Yes,’ she said defiantly.
‘All right. Come on.’ Steven led her over to where David and Penny were talking. Charmingly he drew Penny away, leaving David and Jennifer together. David drew a deep breath.
‘How have you been keeping?’ he asked politely.
I’ve been yearning for you to phone, and breaking my heart when you didn’t, she thought. I’ve cried when nobody was looking, and tried to understand what I did wrong.
‘Well, you know what it’s like at this time of year,’ she said with a laugh. ‘The work just keeps crowding in and I haven’t had a moment to myself. I expect it’s the same with you.’
Let me see the old look in your eyes.
‘Well, yes, I’ve been pretty busy,’ he agreed. ‘In fact, I’ve been away for most of the last two weeks. That’s why I wasn’t there if you called me.’
‘No,’ she said tensely, ‘actually, I didn’t.’
‘Of course not. I didn’t mean—Well, anyway…’
He finished with a helpless shrug and a smile. Jennifer caught her breath at that smile, which illuminated his boyishly handsome face.
‘David,’ she said impulsively, stretching out her hand to him. In another moment he would say her name, and their estrangement would be over.
‘Don’t stand about talking, darling!’ Steven appeared out of nowhere and seized hold of her. ‘The night is young. Let’s dance!’
Before Jennifer could protest she was swept willynilly onto the floor, held firmly in Steven’s arms.
‘Why did you do that?’ she protested. ‘He was just going to—What do you think you’re doing?’
‘Saving you from making a terrible mistake. I was watching, and he wasn’t “just going to”. You were just going to fall at his feet.’
‘That’s none of your—! I wouldn’t have done any such thing.’
‘Your face said differently. Is that all it takes? He gives that little boy smile, and a sensible woman goes ga-ga?’
‘Let me go at once. You’re right out of order.’
She tried to struggle free but he drew her closer, holding her tight so that his lips were close to her ear, and his body moved against her. ‘You should be thanking me, you ungrateful woman! If you’d caved in at the first test your relationship would never have recovered.’
‘What do you mean, “test”?’
‘It was your first meeting since the quarrel, and you were the one who blinked. I’ll bet he was talking about himself. Not about you, or the two of you, but himself. He looks the kind of self-centred idiot who thinks all roads lead back to him.’
She would have died rather than admit he was right. Her heart ached with disappointment that David hadn’t come up to scratch, and it hurt that Steven had seen it.
‘What is it with women like you that you have to fall for weak men?’
‘He’s not weak. He’s not arrogantly macho, if that’s what you mean. Some men don’t feel the need to be. It’s a question of confidence.’
‘And what did you do to damage his confidence?’
Jennifer drew a sharp breath. ‘That’s a lousy thing to say!’
‘Too near the truth?’
Suddenly she’d had more than she could take for one night. ‘I think it’s time I went home,’ she said.
‘Right. Put your hand through my arm and we’ll make a grand exit. Head up!’
Jennifer drove the first mile in silence before asking, ‘Where shall I take you?’
‘Just drop me at the next bus stop.’
‘I’m prepared to drive you home.’
‘Thank you, but the bus stop will do.’
‘There’s no need to be a martyr,’ Jennifer said patiently. ‘Tell me where you live.’
‘Must we finish up with an argument?’
‘What does it matter?’ she said despondently. ‘This whole evening has been a disaster.’
‘Not the whole evening,’ he reminded her. ‘There were a few enjoyable moments—’
To her dismay she could feel her cheeks burning at the reminder. To make sure he didn’t suspect, she spoke stiffly. ‘Forget them, Mr Leary. I’ve already done so.’
‘That I don’t believe.’
‘These things happen. People get carried away. It means nothing.’
‘You act like that with every man? Shame on you!’
She could hear the grin in his voice and strove to keep her dignity. ‘You know what I mean. The night’s over and we’ll never meet again.’
‘Think so?’
‘Not while I can prevent it.’
‘A reckless man might interpret that as a challenge.’
‘Don’t try.’
‘I’ll bet you another kiss that you contact me before the week is out.’
‘We’re approaching a bus stop. Goodnight, Mr Leary.’
As she pulled in to the kerb Steven began to fidget with the diamond cufflinks. ‘You’d better have these back.’
She didn’t want them. She could never give them to David now. Weariness and disappointment made her say, ‘There’s no need. Keep them to console yourself for losing your bet. You’ll get a good price for them.’
Steven already had the door open, but at this he stopped and regarded her coolly. ‘Perhaps I’d rather wear them to remind me of you.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t,’ she said, wishing that he would get out and leave her alone with her sadness. ‘I want to forget everything about tonight.’
‘And I don’t mean to let you,’ he said firmly, putting a hand behind her head and drawing her hard against him. It was a swift, decisive movement that left her no time to resist. Before she could think, his mouth was on hers, devastating her with the power and sensuality of his kiss.
He kissed her with fierce purpose. His lips were firm and warm, moving over hers insistently, allowing her no time to protest, to think, or do anything except respond.
‘Stop this,’ she said in a hoarse whisper.
‘I don’t want to stop,’ he growled. ‘And nor do you.’
She tried to deny it, to refuse him the easy mastery that he took for granted, but her blood was pounding and she couldn’t think of the words. And besides, his mouth had silenced her again.
He kissed her as though he had all the time in the world, teasing her with swift flickerings of his tongue against her lips. Those expert movements sent electricity sparkling and crackling along her nerves until every part of her seemed to be sensitised to him.
Her mind protested, but he’d found a way past thought, direct to her deepest, most sensual instincts. He was a master of the skills of the body, a master of provocation and incitement, and if she let him he would soon become her master too.
But the hand she raised to fend him off assumed a will of its own and touched his face instead. Perhaps her fingers curved about his neck and into his hair. She wasn’t sure. She was beyond being sure of anything except that she was caught up in a bittersweet delight. She was mad to have let this happen, but it was too late now.
She felt his fingers drift lower to her tiny waist, sliding over the smooth satin that covered the womanly curve of her hip.
But something stopped him. She felt him grow tense, then draw back, releasing her lips abruptly. He was breathing hard and his eyes glinted. ‘You madwoman,’ he growled. ‘Coming out with a stranger like this! You’re not wearing anything under this dress. Are you crazy to do such a thing?’ He gave her a little shake.
‘This shouldn’t have happened,’ she cried. ‘If you’d—you weren’t meant to—’
‘The hired help was supposed to keep his hands to himself, wasn’t he?’ he said angrily.
‘Get out of this car,’ she said in a shaking voice. ‘Get out at once. Do you hear?’
‘Yes, perhaps I’d better escape while we’re both still safe.’ He got out and closed the door, still looking at her through the open window. ‘Until we meet again.’
‘We never will.’
‘Don’t be stupid,’ he said harshly. ‘You know better than that.’
There was only one way to silence him and she took it, slamming her foot on the accelerator pedal and driving away. A glance into her rearview mirror showed him still standing there, watching her, a scowl on his face.
CHAPTER THREE
JENNIFER was late getting to her desk next morning. She’d overslept, after spending most of the night tossing and turning. She was horrified at the way she’d succumbed to the physical attractions of a man she barely knew, but he’d triggered sensations that had alarmed her.
She’d finally dozed off, and awoken with one certainty fixed in her mind. She must never, ever see Steven Leary again. He could make her act like a stranger to herself. Or rather, he could bring her up against the fact that she had no clear idea who she was.
She was Barney Norton’s beautiful, successful granddaughter, and the apple of his eye. But she was also someone who took in waifs and strays, because she felt like a waif herself, and without them her life was lonely. She was a top businnesswoman who was bored with business. And somewhere deep inside she was still the little ten-year-old girl whose adored father had walked out without a backward glance.
She’d thought of David, whose gentle manners and kindly nature she loved. Neither of her menfolk had appreciated him.
‘He’s very sound,’ Barney had said, damning him with faint praise. ‘Sound’, in Barney’s vocabulary, meant uninspired.
Trevor had put it even more bluntly. ‘He’ll never set the Thames on fire.’
But she didn’t want a man who would set the Thames on fire. She wanted a man whose steadiness she could rely on, and David fitted the bill perfectly. At least he had, until their quarrel. But that was her fault, she assured herself. She’d offended him by the clumsy way she’d tried to help. When they made up she would be more careful.
Safe, dependable David had never tried to rush her, never demanded. True, there had been moments when she’d wished he could be a little more decisive, but he was also vulnerable in a way that touched her heart. Jennifer’s nature had a bedrock of quiet strength, and while she needed a man to hold onto, she also needed a man who would hold onto her. She couldn’t turn away from anyone who needed her protection, and David had only to smile and say, ‘What would I do without you?’ to make her melt.
That was her touchstone, the reason she loved David tenderly. It was why she would never love Steven Leary, who hadn’t a hint of vulnerability in his nature.
What had happened between them was something apart, a warning that her sensuality could betray her into the arms of the wrong man if she wasn’t careful. But she would heed the warning. Nothing was going to come between her and David.
She’d reached the office in such a rush that she was only vaguely aware that her staff were giving her curious looks. As always, her first task was to check the firm’s share price. What she discovered made her stare at the computer screen, frowning.
‘That can’t be right,’ she murmured. ‘Why should we go up by that much since yesterday?’
But the same figures appeared again. Next moment her phone rang. ‘You’d better get in here and let me know what’s been going on,’ Trevor growled, and hung up.
Puzzled, Jennifer crossed the corridor to his office. ‘I didn’t understand any of that,’ she said, closing his door behind her.
‘I’m talking about you and Charteris Enterprises.’
‘I’ve had nothing to do with Charteris Enterprises.’
‘Oh, no?’ Trevor said sarcastically. ‘And you weren’t with their managing director last night, I suppose?’
‘You know where I was last night—at the banquet with Mike Harker. No, wait. He said his real name was Steven Leary.’
‘He told you that? And you didn’t hear alarm bells?’
Trevor shoved a newspaper across his desk. Jennifer’s eyed widened at the picture of herself and Steven dancing smoochily. The caption gave details of the banquet, of herself, and of ‘Steven Leary, Managing Director of Charteris Enterprises, who is also a major stockholder and chief architect of its success.’
‘Now people think we’re doing a deal with Charteris, and that’s why our shares have soared,’ Trevor told her.
‘I don’t understand this,’ Jennifer said distractedly. ‘You told me Mike Harker was a failed actor.’
‘But that isn’t him,’ Trevor said through gritted teeth.
‘Well, he’s the man who turned up on my doorstep. This—I just don’t understand. I danced with a dozen men.’
‘Like that?’ Trevor demanded, jabbing his finger at the picture. Jennifer drew a sharp breath as she saw what he meant. It had been taken at the moment when Steven had kissed her, and her response left no doubt about the matter. This was far from being just another dance.
She studied herself in dismay, her mind rejecting what her flesh remembered to be true. How could she have melted into his arms in that abandoned way?
And him? Had he too been lost? Or was he laughing at a successful deception? And later—But she refused to remember later.
‘I think I’d better have a talk to Mr Harker—or Leary, or whatever his name is,’ she said grimly.
She called Charteris Enterprises. But she was stone-walled by Steven’s secretary.
‘Kindly tell Mr Leary that I don’t know what his game is,’ she said at last, ‘but I’m going to find out.’
Steven had arrived at work to find the newspaper laid out on his desk and his staff ecstatic over his supposed coup. They’d known that Steven was negotiating to buy Kirkson Depots, a firm that operated in the same area as Nortons, but Kirkson was holding out for too high a price, and everyone now assumed that Steven had been playing a deep game.
He studied the picture, noticing how the clinging dress outlined Jennifer’s splendid curves. She was looking up at him, her head thrown back in an attitude of ecstatic surrender, as though her partner was the only man in the world.
She’d wanted him to believe it was all an act, for the benefit of another man, and he’d been almost fooled—until the evening’s final moments. Then the seductive spell she’d cast had swept him up. And not just him. She could deny it as much as she liked. He knew.
Alice, his secretary, looked in. She was thin, middleaged and efficient. She also had a dry sense of humour that helped her survive as Steven’s secretary. ‘James Kirkson is here,’ she said.
James Kirkson had come uttering words like ‘compromise’ and ‘rethink’. Steven kept his face blank to conceal his sense of triumph. In another few minutes Kirkson Depots would be his at a bargain price. But he was interrupted by the phone.
‘It’s Ms Norton,’ Alice informed him. ‘She’s very cross and she’s on her way here.’
Steven glanced at Kirkson and made a sudden decision. ‘When she arrives,’ he announced in a loud voice, ‘tell her I love her madly.’
‘Very good, sir.’
Exactly fifteen minutes later Alice’s door burst open and Jennifer whirled in.
‘I’d like to see Steven Leary,’ she said crisply.
‘I’m afraid that’s not possible. Won’t you sit down?’
‘I won’t be here long enough to sit down. Your employer is a devious, conniving—’
‘You must be Ms Norton.’
‘I certainly am.’
‘In that case, Mr Leary loves you madly,’ Alice declared, at her most wooden.
For a moment Jennifer felt as though something had knocked the wind out of her. Her head swam, the world glittered, shooting stars rioted in space. Then her senses cleared and she realised that Steven was up to his tricks.
‘Does he employ you to talk that stuff?’ she asked through twitching lips.
‘On this occasion, yes.’
‘Whatever he’s paying you, it isn’t enough.’
‘I agree. Can I get you some coffee?’
‘What you can get me is Steven Leary’s head on a plate,’ Jennifer said crisply. ‘Better still, I’ll collect it myself.’
Alice moved, but she wasn’t fast enough. Jennifer swept into Steven’s office, already uttering the words, ‘How dare you tell the press all that rubbish about us when you know perfectly well—!’
She got no further. Steven was out of his chair and across the room in time to cut off the rest. His mouth descended on hers in mid-word. His arms were like steel about her, preventing all struggle.
Jennifer’s indignation fought with her instinctive response. The sense of sheer power holding her exhilarated her even while it made her furious.
He released her mouth just long enough to say, ‘Business and pleasure, darling.’ Lowering his voice, he said urgently, ‘Kiss me back, for pity’s sake!’
‘Not in a million years—’ She barely got the words out before he silenced her again. The world spun around her, making it impossible to think, or do anything except feel a fierce, sensual delight deep inside her. It was stronger than anger. For a blinding moment it was the only thing in the world.
But the moment passed and she was herself again. She freed her lips, feeling her heart pounding, hoping she wasn’t too flushed. She looked into his face, expecting to find in it a look of jeering triumph, and was astonished to see an echo of her own reaction. Steven was breathing hard and his eyes were glittering.
‘Jennifer,’ he said in a husky voice, ‘let me introduce you to—where is he?’
‘Mr Kirkson slipped out while you were occupied,’ Alice informed him, from the doorway.
‘Damn!’ Steven said explosively, releasing Jennifer with unloverlike haste. ‘He was on the verge of caving in.’ He glared at Jennifer. ‘Thanks a lot!’
‘Are you daring to blame me?’
‘If you hadn’t barged in just then I could have bought Kirkson’s for a knock-down price.’
‘Kirkson Depots? So that was it all the time! You set me up last night.’
‘No way. It was an accident.’
‘Ho-ho-ho!’ Jennifer scoffed.
‘Don’t you “ho-ho” me. You have a lot to answer for.’
‘I—?’
‘You’ve just wrecked a deal that would have made this firm a lot of money.’
‘A deal that you wouldn’t have been in a position to make if you hadn’t deceived me.’
‘I did not deceive you,’ Steven said through gritted teeth. ‘Mike Harker’s a friend of mine. He was half-dead from flu, so I took his place. That’s all.’
Alice looked in again. ‘There’s a call for Ms Norton. I’ve put it through.’
Puzzled, Jennifer picked up the phone on Steven’s desk, and found herself talking to her brother. ‘Trust you to dash off like that without stopping to think!’ he complained. ‘Barney called. He’s over the moon about the rise in our share price.’
‘Oh, no!’ she breathed. Ever since the firm had gone public it had been Barney’s dream to see the price rise, and now it had happened. How could she tell him that it was all an illusion?
‘He wants you to bring Steven Leary to dinner.’
‘Now see what you’ve started,’ Jennifer said to Steven. ‘My grandfather wants you to come to dinner.’
‘Fine! I accept.’
‘And then this crazy story will get another head of steam. Where will it end?’
‘Who knows?’ he said wickedly. ‘But it might be interesting to find out.’ He took the receiver from her. ‘Mr Norton, I’d be delighted to accept your invitation.’
Jennifer lifted the extension in time to hear Trevor say, ‘My grandfather has invited us all to his house the day after tomorrow. He asks me to say that he hopes you won’t mind being outnumbered.’
‘I could bring my sister, to even up the numbers and protect me,’ Steven suggested.
‘Naturally we should be delighted to entertain your sister, Mr Leary, if you think she won’t be bored.’
‘Maud is a very serious person,’ Steven said in a grave voice. ‘She’s dedicated to making money. I’m sure that you and she will get on well.’
‘I’ll leave Jennifer to arrange the details with you.’ Trevor hung up.
Meeting Jennifer’s indignant gaze, Steven said, ‘I’m looking forward to meeting your family properly. I’ll tell my sister.’
‘Barney likes to start the evening at eight,’ Jennifer said formally.
‘We’ll be there at eight. By the way, didn’t you notice that I won our bet? I said you’d contact me in less than a week.’
‘But you knew this was bound to happen. That’s cheating.’
‘You owe me. Pay up.’
‘Certainly not.’
‘I wonder if the press knows how Nortons treats its debts of honour?’ Steven mused to nobody in particular.
The teasing gleam in his eye checked Jennifer’s retort. She took a deep breath. She knew she ought to escape as a matter of sheer self preservation, but after all it was a debt of honour.
‘Very well,’ she said, trying to speak calmly. ‘You may kiss me for precisely five seconds.’
‘Oh, I don’t think we need to drag it out that long,’ he said, dropping a peck on her cheek. ‘There. Now you can slap my face if you like.’
‘What I would like to do is something for which there are no polite words. When I think of your behaviour last night—letting me think you were just an impoverished actor when all the time—and you took those cufflinks under false pretences. I think you should return them.’
‘No can do. I passed them on to the real Mike Harker, with your message about the price he could get for them.’
‘It’s time for me to go,’ Jennifer said, speaking with difficulty. ‘I will see you at dinner.’
‘I’ll look forward to it.’
It was the merest chance that took Steven past Jennifer’s house the following evening. He’d been calling on a valuable client, or he wouldn’t have been in that direction.
It seemed a good idea to drop in on her. It would be interesting to see her in what he thought of as more ‘normal’ circumstances. It would be even more interesting to catch her off guard. It was a moot point which motive was the stronger, but since he was honest with himself he admitted he would enjoy taking her by surprise.
But fate turned the tables on him, because whatever welcome he’d expected it wasn’t the one he got.
His ring at the doorbell brought the sound of feet scurrying urgently. The next moment the door was yanked open and Jennifer stood there, gabbling with relief.
‘Thank heavens you’re here, I was getting so worried. I don’t think there’s much time—oh, dear, it’s only you!’
Women had greeted Steven in a variety of ways, ranging from ‘Darling, how wonderful!’ to ‘How dare you show your face here again?’ But ‘Oh, dear, it’s only you,’ was new to him.
‘Yes, it’s me,’ he said. ‘I gather I’m not who you were hoping to see?’
Without answering she darted past him, down the garden path and into the street. She looked up and down, then, failing to see what she was looking for, did a little dance of frustration.
Steven barely knew her. She was dressed in old jeans and a shapeless shirt that concealed everything he’d hoped to see again. Except for her legs. She had the longest legs of any woman he’d seen, and the shabby denim that covered them couldn’t entirely disguise their beauty.
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Lucy Gordon
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: She got more than she paid for!Jennifer Norton asked the agency that her escort be tall, dark and good looking. And he was. Only Steven Leary wasn′t officially an escort, he was simply standing in for a friend. In real life, he was a millionaire!Jennifer usually dreaded business functions, but with Steven′s charisma she enjoyed every minute–until she discovered his true identity. Then she was furious! But, for business reasons, it benefited Steven to keep the illusion of a relationship with Jennifer going. And, for private reasons, she was secretly pleased to go along with the pretence.