The Tycoon′s Takeover
The Tycoon's Takeover
Liz Fielding
Taking on the bossIndia Claibourne is bright, beautiful and the boss of an exclusive London department store. Jordan Farraday is a devastatingly handsome tycoonand his number one aim is to take over that store!Jordan may make her heart pound with excitement, but no way is India going to let that happen. The battle of wills commencesthe final showdown that will dig up past secrets and shake up everything that is dear to India and Jordan. There was only supposed to be one winnerbut perhaps this time there will be two.
Is that the way the Claibournes close a deal? he asked.
Im sorry? Did you want something in writing?
Nothing so formal. Even while she was sending frantic signals to her brain, he raised his hand, sliding his fingers through her hair, cradling her head, holding her captive. He gave her his personal interpretation of sealing an agreement with a kiss.
This was a kiss intended to make a lasting impression. He was completely in control, while she was hot, flushed and vibrantly aware that every cell in her body was being given a wake-up call.
Now, he said, we have a deal.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the climax of my new trilogy, BOARDROOM BRIDEGROOMS.
I do hope youve enjoyed reading about the three talented Claibourne sistersRomana, Flora and India. Ive loved writing their stories, bringing to life the drama and emotion as theyve clashed with the Farradays, three dynamic businessmen determined to regain control of Claibourne & Farraday, the most stylish department store in London.
This time its Indias turn to meet her match in a thrilling showdown. Elegant, clever and wedded to her career, India is about to find herself locked in a clash of wills with the irresistible Jordan Farraday. A power struggle in the boardroom andout of it.
With love,
Liz Fielding
Liz Fielding is the winner of the 2001 RITA
Award for Best Traditional Romance. To find out more about the author, visit her Web site at www.lizfielding.com
The Tycoons Takeover
Liz Fielding
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
WHO GOT HITCHED, CELEBRITY magazine
SECRET WEDDING IN SAMARINDA
Samarinda, fast becoming the must go destination for those seeking a get-away-from-it-all break, was host to a very private wedding ceremony for Flora Claibourne and Bram Farraday Gifford last week. These charming pictures show the happy couple taking their vows in the stunning setting of the Royal Botanical Gardens, surrounded by wild vanilla orchids, a feature of this delightful venue.
This is the second Claibourne/Farraday wedding in as many months. Forebears of the two families founded Londons favourite department store in the nineteenth century, but relations between them, at times, been reduced to near feud status over control of the store.
The new generation, however, have refreshingly decided that its better to make love than war. Floras younger sister, Romana, and Brams cousin, Niall Farraday Macaulay, were married recently in Las Vegas.
We look forward to a new era of co-operation at Claibourne & Farraday, and wish both couples every happiness.
CITY DIARY, LONDON EVENING POST
Another Claibourne/Farraday merger.
Theres a new spirit of co-operation abroad at Londons oldest department store, Claibourne & Farraday. The present generation of the two founding familieswho famously never talk to one anotherare doing more than talk as they finally meet face to face to thrash out the future of the company in the new century. The marriages between the two younger Claibourne sisters and Farraday heirs have been quiet affairs, however, suggesting that nothing is yet settled at the top.
India Claibourne is still Managing Director, and my sources suggest that Jordan Farraday is determined to supplant her in the immediate future. Well be following events at the store with close interest.
CHAPTER ONE
HAVE you seen this, JD?
Jordan Farraday turned from the e-mail that had just arrived in his inbox. His secretary was offering him a magazine, folded back at the Who Got Hitched page. You read Celebrity magazine, Christine? I had no idea you were that interested in the loves and lives of the rich and famous.
I live in hopes of seeing you in there one of these days, she replied, as he took the magazine from her. Having a little fun. Then, I wasnt sure if you knew. She paused. You didnt say anything.
I knew. He glanced at the photograph of his cousin, caught at the moment he placed a wedding ring on Flora Claibournes finger, and felt an unexpected pang of something he couldnt quite identify. Envy? It was ridiculousand yet Bram looked differentcomplete. As if hed found something hed been looking for all his life. Nonsense, of course. It was just the reflected glow of satisfaction from a woman whod got exactly what she wanted. Theres a paragraph in the late edition of the Evening Post, he said. Presumably they picked it up from this.
Bram didnt call you? Before? After?
He looked up, a wry smile twisting his mouth. Would you?
She shook her head. Those Claibourne girls are quite something. I wonder what they use?
Use?
Spells, charms, love potions she offered. Id have said that your cousins were two of the most unlikely marriage prospects in London. Then, with a slight gesture that deferred to him, After you.
Thank you, he said drily.
Yet first Niall and now Bram have succumbed with a speed that suggests something added to the water.
Grief fades in time. The playboy life loses its charm. They were ready to fall in love, he said dismissively. My mistake was to put them in close contact with two of the most interesting women in London.
And youre about to spend a month in the company of interesting woman number three. Their big sister. The boss lady whos presumably taught them everything they know. Are you crazy?
No, Christine, single-minded. He glanced again at the photograph. Unlike my cousins, who seem to have had other things on their minds, regaining control of a department store is my priority. At the end of the month I shall have done just that.
You dont need to shadow India Claibourne for five minutes, let alone a month, to achieve that.
No, he agreed, I dont. But its polite to give the lady a chance to make her case.
Rubbish. Her eyes narrowed. Youre up to something. And when he didnt bother to deny it, she said, Itll all end in tears.
That, he said, is the plan.
If youre suggesting theyll be her tears, I think you should go back to the drawing board, she said, retrieving the magazine and holding up the picture as a warning. Consider what happened to your cousins when they got involved with the Claibourne girls.
That was just a sideshow, Christine. This is the main event.
Youre playing with fire.
It wouldnt be the first time, he pointed out.
When it comes to taking a chance with money, Id put my last silk shirt on you. This is different.
Are you suggesting that I dont know what Im doing?
Heaven forbid, she declared. Im simply suggesting that if you value your freedom you should invent a crisis that requires your presence on the other side of the world for the next month. Leave the Claibourne & Farraday business to the lawyers.
Bolt for cover? And have the City Diary editor amuse his readers with the suggestion that Im running scared of India Claibourne? They would enjoy that.
There are worse things than being laughed at. Marriage isnt just a word, JD. Its a sentence. I know. I served nearly ten years before I managed to tunnel out.
Christine, weve worked together for a long time. You know me probably as well as anyone on this earth. Are you really suggesting that I wont be able to spend a few hours in the company of India Claibourne without falling so hopelessly in love with her that Ill be on my knees within the month?
Accounts are already organising a sweepstake on how long youll last, she replied.
It did not escape his notice that she hadnt answered his question. But then she didnt know the full history. For his cousins control of Claibourne & Farraday was just good business. For him it was personal. Deeply personal.
This wasnt just about a department store. That was the public dispute, one that had been thoroughly rehearsed thirty years earlier, and the outcome was a foregone conclusionas India Claibourne must know. Her father must have warned her that she couldnt win, but she was stubbornly refusing to accept the inevitable, refusing to play by the rules.
He wasnt taken in for a minute by her invitation for him and his cousins to spend time at the store, to shadow her and her sisters, see how the store was run in this high-tech media age. She was just playing for time while she and her lawyers tried to find some loophole in the partnership agreement that would allow her to remain in control.
Not that he was complaining. If hed planned it himself, it couldnt have worked out better.
That he would take over from Peter Claibourne now that hed retired was inevitable. India Claibournes decision to put up a fight, giving Jordan the opportunity to reverse history, humiliate her as her father had humiliated his mother, was icing spread thickly on the cake.
Christine was still waiting for some response, he realised. A sweepstake? he repeated. On what, exactly?
On how many days it will be before you, um, get down on your knees.
My knees? And why would I do that?
To propose to the lady. Beg her to marry you.
Oh, please!
I realise thats an alien concept for a man of your wealth, name and all-round fanciability. But it cannot have escaped your notice that shes got a matching set.
No, it hadnt escaped his notice. India Claibourne was as lovely as she was rich. But she had one fatal weakness: shed do anything to keep control of Claibourne & Farraday. And a proposal would be enough, would it? For some lucky soul to win this sweepstake?
A diamond on the ladys finger is one option, she admitted. But the hot ticket is for a wedding.
Within a month? How likely is that?
She held up one finger. Niall Farraday Macaulay married Romana Claibourne in Las Vegas on Day 29. A second finger. Bram Farraday Gifford married Flora Claibourne in Saraminda on Day 30. Im sure that anything they can do, you can do better. Then, with a grin, Threes a charm, JD.
Is that so? He shrugged. Well, heres the word from the horses mouth. If youve got money to waste on such nonsense, make sure you draw the number with No Wedding written next to it. Believe me, whatever gossip you may read in your magazine, itll take more than a seductive smile to get me in front of a registrar.
The lady has more. A whole department store more. Why dont you save timeand lawyers feesand propose a dynastic marriage? That way you both win. You have to admit that shed make any man a stunning consort.
Im admitting nothing. And I thought you were opposed to marriage on principle?
Arranged marriages are different. The participants have more realistic expectations. And this would be more like an advantageous merger of two companiessomething you know all about. Taken with the idea, she went on, I cant understand why it hasnt happened beforein the days when marriages were arranged for gain, rather than left to chance. The families must have been close at one time.
There has been quite enough dynastic marriage-making in the last few weeks without me joining in. And I dont need a consort, no matter how stunning she is. All I need is for the Claibournes to hand over what is rightfully mine with the minimum of fuss.
If it was minimum fuss you wanted youd have sent in the lawyers two months ago. You want something else, and I have no doubt youll get it. I just hope it makes you happy. Then, But dont eat or drink anything while youre at the store. Oh, and dont, whatever else you do, get a haircut in the salon. And she grinned. Just in case India Claibourne uses hair clippings to cast her spells.
Im sure youve got something important to be getting on with while Im making my presence felt at Londons favourite department store tomorrow, Christine. Swapping knitting patterns, perhaps? Or phoning your daughter to discuss her latest pregnancy? he suggested, signalling that as far as he was concerned that particular subject was now closed.
Dont do it, JD, she said, not in the least bit intimidated. But then he hadnt expected her to be.
Or maybe you should give careful thought to the possibility of taking early retirement and becoming a full-time grandmother, he continued, his expression still in neutral. I could get one of those sexy girls with long legs and a degree in Business Studies to replace you.
You wouldnt do that.
Oh? And why not?
Precisely because Im not sexy. Im safely middle-aged, plump and motherly, she said, heading back to her own office. You know Im not going to fall in love with you and make life difficult in the office. Im also the best secretary in the world. Probably. When she reached the door, however, she paused and looked back at him. Twenty-one days, she said. If she gets you on Day 21, I win the sweep.
Try and get your money back, he suggested. Sell your ticket to someone really gullible.
Goodnight, JD. Dont work too late. All work and no play She left the proverb hanging, closing the door gently behind her as she left for the night, and he finally smiled. She might be talking rubbish about India Claibourne, but she was right about one thing. She was the best secretary hed ever known and he wouldnt be trading her in for a younger model any time soon. Then, as he turned back to his PC and the e-mail from India Claibourne, his smile faded. It wasnt long. Just one line. It said:
Two down, one to go. Are you ready to quit, Mr Farraday?
Clearly shed been afraid that with his advance guard neutralised by her lovely sisters he might change his mind about shadowing her during June. This was a dare-you challenge to his masculine pride.
Christine was wrong, he decided as he switched off the screen. He wasnt the one playing with fire. It was India Claibourne who was about to get her fingersand anything else she cared to riskburned.
India Claibourne paused in front of the department store that had borne her family name for nearly two centuries and looked up.
Claibourne & Farraday.
A byword for class and style. The name said it all.
In fact it said rather too much.
The Farraday grated. A lot. Their silent partners hadnt done muchother than accumulate capital and take their share of the profitsin living memory. Her living memory, anyway.
She didnt have a problem with that. They were equal partners and were entitled to their share of the profitswelcome to themas long as they kept out of her way. But they werent keeping out of her way. Since her fathers sudden retirement, following his heart attack, they had become disturbingly vocal.
Good morning, Miss India. The commissionaire tipped his top hat to her.
Good morning, Mr Edwards. She paused, stepping to one side, out of the way of early arrivals at the store. The customers seem eager this morning.
Summer is always busy, miss. London is full of visitors and they all come to Claibournes.
She smiled at the way he automatically shortened the name.
Claibournes.
It had a ring to it. It was easy to say. And once shed seen off Jordan Farraday that was what the store would become. Claibournes.
No more Farradays. Ever.
My wife showed me the wedding picture of Miss Flora in Celebrity magazine last night, he continued, as she lingered at the entrance, her fertile imagination supplying a pleasing picture of the frontage with just one name above the door. She looked quite radiant. Its wonderful for the storeboth Miss Romana and Miss Flora marrying Farradays.
Which brought her swiftly back to reality. Jordan Farradays advance guard, his cousins and partners in his bid to take over control of the store, were now her brothers-in-law.
Her delaying tacticshaving the Farradays shadow them to see what running a department store actually entailedhad backfired. Badly.
But she smiled nonetheless. Its very exciting for them. For all of us. I wish I could have been with them. Her sisters, however, having fallen under the Farraday spell, had chosen to get married first and only tell their families afterwards. Or, in Floras case, leave them to find out like everyone else when they read it in the newspaper.
She couldnt fault their reasoning. In their shoes, shed have done the same.
Meanwhile they were all wisely keeping their heads down in their honeymoon hideaways, leaving the field clear for the main battle.
It was between her and Jordan Farraday now. But then, it always was going to be between the two of them. She was in control of the store, sitting in the seat he believed to be rightfully his.
Her sisters, his cousins, were interested parties. But she and Jordan were the ones with the most to gainor lose.
She had one month leftthis monthto show him that if the Farradays thought they could run Claibourne & Farraday in their spare time they were wrong. This was no longer an emporium for gentlemen, a place where the customers were all known personally.
Her father had continued to think of it that way long after reality had suggested otherwise. But she had hauled it into the modern era and, now hed retired, the sky was the limit. But first she had to see off the Farradays. More specifically, she had to see off Jordan David Farraday.
It shouldnt be difficult. The man was a venture capitalist, not a retailer. He really couldnt want to take on something so time-consuming. It was control he wanted. The last word. At least she hoped that was all he wanted. A prime site, the name alone, would be a big prize for one of the retail chains. But he wouldntcouldnt
A shiver, as if someone had walked over her grave, goosed her flesh.
Jordan Farraday showed his pass at the rear entrance of the building, parked his sports car in the space that had been allocated to him, then asked the security guard at the staff entrance to ring through to India Claibournes office to let her know hed arrived.
She wasnt there.
Will you pass on my best wishes when you speak to her? India, dragging her mind back from a nightmare vision of the plans Jordan Farraday might have for the store, glanced at the commissionaire. Miss Flora, he prompted as he opened the door for her. I hope shell be very happy.
Thank you, Mr Edwards. Ill tell her.
Most days she used the staff entrance at the rear of the store, but occasionally, having parked her car, she took the time to walk around to the main entrance, look at the window displays and enter the store as if she were a customer. Remind herself of that first time when, four years old, shed been brought to the store by her grandmother to visit Santas grotto and had believed shed walked into the Aladdins cave in her storybook.
As she walked into the marble and mahogany entrance hall, spangled with coloured light from the Tiffany stained glass window that rose up three floors through the stairwell, the rush of excitement, the sense of wonder was as powerful as ever.
She would not give this up for anything. Ever.
But it occurred to her that sitting in her office waiting for Jordan Farraday to turn up and take it away from her was entirely the wrong strategy. Romana had dragged Niall off to a charity bungee jump. Bram had been given no choice but to join Flora on a research trip to a tropical island.
Neither of them had had time to draw breath, settle into the standard Im a man and I know best routine.
They hadnt known what had hit them until it was too late. She had to ensure that for the next month she was the one in front and Farraday was always following her. If he ever turned the tables and took the lead it would all be over.
Sitting at her desk going over last months sales figures whenifhe responded to the challenge in her incendiary e-mail wouldnt fit the bill. Hed be expecting that and he wouldnt be impressed by her ability to read a balance sheet.
She had to be doing something that was totally outside his normal experience. Something that would give her an advantage. With a whole department store to play with, it shouldnt be that difficult.
She glanced at the noticeboard listing the special events taking place in the store that day. An all-day specialist doll collectors fair in the gallery. A cookery demonstration, with a celebrity chef doing his stuff, in the food hall at lunchtime. A book-signing by a well known American author in the country to promote her newest blockbuster novel. Bags of opportunities for photographs, she thought as she took the lift to the top-floor office suite.
She needed to keep her photograph in the papers. Remind everyone that she was running the show. Shed get Molly in the PR department on to that, as her sister was away. The lift door opened to dust sheets and the sound of hammering, and she smiled a little grimly as she crossed to her office.
Jordan Farraday might be sharing it with her for the next month, but he wouldnt enjoy the experience much.
Indie Her PA appeared in the doorway. Weve got a small problem in the nursery department.
How small?
Baby-sized. One of our customers left it a little late to do her shopping and shes gone into labour. The paramedics have arrived, and theyll be moving her to hospital as soon as they can, but I thought youd want to know.
Id better go down theremake sure everything possible is being done.
Well, actually India paused on her way out. Theres no need.
No need?
Its being taken care of. Since you werent here, JD took charge
JD? India frowned.
Jordan Farraday. His staff call him JD, he said.
Jordan Farraday? Hes here already? In the store? Her mouth was working on automatic, she realised. A bit like a goldfish, and making about as much sense. Of course he was here.
Shed been mentally redesigning the frontage, chatting with the commissionaire, taking her morning stroll through the main selling floors while Jordan David Farraday had gone straight to the top floor and was already taking over her job.
He arrived on the dot of ten oclock. You said you were expecting him some time today, so when Security buzzed through I told them to send him up.
I was expecting him to ring and let me know when he was coming. I wasnt expecting him to just turn upunannounced!
I was supposed to say, Go away, we arent ready for you? India raised a hand in a gesture of apology, shook her head. I gave him coffee and put him in your office. There is nowhere else, she complained.
No, there was nowhere else. It had seemed like a great idea when Romana suggested ripping out underused offices and moving Customer Services to the top floor in order to create more selling space. And why hang about? Get in the builders, create a noisy, dusty atmosphere and maybe, without an officeor even a deskto call his own, JD Farraday would be less inclined to linger in the store. It was time she needed. Not her arch-nemesis following her every move.
Im sorry, Sally. You did the right thing, of course, but just because he was sitting in my office did you have to treat the man as if he were already running the place? Did you have to tell him about the population explosion in the nursery department?
I didnt. Someone came rushing in with the news and he just sort ofwelltook charge, she said, a little breathlessly.
Great. She took a deep breath. But I really do think Id better go and see whats happening downstairs. She was in no rush. In fact she had a sudden craving to be somewhere else. Lying on a deserted beach, perhaps. Do you ever just wish the alarm clock hadnt gone off? That youd slept through the day?
Not this one, I promise you. JD Farraday is not a man Id ever want to miss.
Thats all I need. A secretary with a crush on a man who wants to take over my store.
His name is above the door too. And I dont have a crush. My personal life is fully spoken for. Then she grinned. But Im not dead.
Thatll be a comfort to you when hes sitting in my chair and youre looking for a new job.
Oh, come on. Thats never going to happen.
Two months ago I might have agreed with you. Suddenly she wasnt so sure. Her fallback position was the equal opportunities argument. He had a centuries-old agreement stating that control should pass to the oldest male. She was basing her equality on being oldest female. Would a lot of old men in wigs be swayed by the logic of that argument? Or would theyas she suspectedgo for just plain oldest. Farraday, after all, was a man with a track record for making money. All she had to offer was a lifetimes knowledge of the business and a passion to turn Claibournes into a household namenot just in London, or Britain, but in the world.
Hey, if all else fails you can always do a Claibourne on him.
Dragged back from the yawning chasm of failure, she frowned. A Claibourne?
Flutter those long dark lashes at him. Once hes in love, hell forget all about taking away your toy.
Oh, great. Im trying to convince everyone that I can run this store on merit and you want me to seduce the man. Whatever happened to thirty years of womens liberation? As she turned angrily away she snagged her tights on a battered cardboard box. Great. The day that shed begun with an uneasy feeling of foreboding was rapidly going downhill. Sally, what the devil is this?
Oh She sucked in her teeth as she saw the damage to Indias tights, took a new pair from a supply she kept in her bottom drawer and handed them over. Sorry. The builders left it there. Theyre files from your fathers office. Pretty old stuff, but I thought you might want to look at them before I sent them down to the basement.
But I cleaned out all the filing cabinets in Dads office.
These were right at the back of that big walk-in cupboard. It looked like a box of old catalogues, but, knowing how disorganised your father was, I thought Id better check before it went down the chute into the skip. The files were at the bottom.
India flicked through the top file. Thirty years old, it dated from the time her father had taken over the store from JD Farradays grandfather, and her scalp prickled with a rush of excitement. Sally, that designer skirt youve been drooling overits yours. Charge it to my account. Cutting off her thanks, she went on, Just shift these files first, she said, peeling off the torn tights and replacing them. Id hate JD Farraday to fall over them and sue us.
Why would he do that? Wouldnt that be like suing himself? Then, realising that it was not a conversation with a future, she said, Ill put them in your office.
No! India took a deep breath. No, dont do that. Arrange for them to be put in my car. The last thing she needed was Jordan Farraday looking over her shoulder as she went through them.
Correction. The last thing she needed was Jordan Farraday. Full stop.
CHAPTER TWO
INDIA took another deep breath before she pushed open the door to the nursery department. She seemed to be doing that a lot this morning, but it was fortunate that her lungs were loaded with air, because she didnt breathe again for what seemed like an age.
JD Farraday was the kind of man who would always make the need to breathe redundant.
He didnt court publicity, but shed gathered what information she could about the man. The grainy photographs from the financial pages of heavyweight newspapers had suggested an averagely good-looking, dark-haired man in his mid to late thirties. They didnt do him justice. There was nothing average about Jordan Farraday.
His features were arranged in the conventional manner, it was true, but the combination achieved something far from ordinary. There was something about him that transcended mere good looks.
As if that were not enough he was taller, his hair darkerthe touch of silver at his temple only emphasising just how darkthan just tall, or just dark. But that was the superficial, obvious stuff.
What set her midriff trembling like a joke jelly, prickled her scalp and set up the tiny hairs on her skin, was the way he dominated the room, the way every person in it was looking to him for guidance, leadership.
Jordan Farraday was the archetypal dominant male. Alpha man. Leader of the pack. The kind of man who would always make other men appear ordinary, who would attract women like iron filings to a magnet. In short, he was the most exciting man shed set eyes on in monthsyearspossibly ever
And shed taken him on in a winner-takes-all battle for control of Claibourne & Farraday.
Not that he appeared in the least bit threatening at the moment. Far from it. As she stood there he crouched down to gently sandwich the hand of the very young soon-to-be-mother between both of his, reassuring her as she was fastened into a chair trolley by a paramedic, his smile a promise that he would let nothing bad happen to her.
Youre going to be fine, Serena. Ive phoned your boyfriend and hes going straight to the hospital. His voice was low, calming, like being stroked by velvet. Hell be waiting for you when you arrive. He glanced at the paramedics. Ready? One of them nodded. Youll be there in just a few minutes. As he turned slightly the light behind him lit up a classic profilethe kind that Greek sculptors had reserved for gods. Would you like me to come along with you in the ambulance?
By way of reply, the mother-to-be gripped his hand more tightly. My bags she began, less concerned with the swoon quotient of the man at her side, apparently, than the fate of her shopping. But then she was in labourand India caught her breath again as the woman was seized by a contraction.
In her place, she probably wouldnt give a damn about how good-looking a man was either. She swallowed. In her place, shed want someone exactly like Jordan Farraday holding her hand
He glanced around. A few feet away a hovering assistant was holding a couple of bags, and as he straightened to take them he saw her standing in the doorway. For a moment he remained perfectly still as their gazes locked, held, and for a long moment she was his prisoner.
Miss Claibourne She jumped at the sound of her name and the moment passed as the department manager came between them. Weve had quite a morning.
So I see, she said, making an effort to give the woman her full attention, despite the charged feeling at the back of her neck that suggested JD Farradays gaze was still fastened firmly upon her. It appears one of our customers left her shopping trip rather late.
Well, no harm done. Mr Farraday has been wonderful. He calmed that silly girl when no one else could. India thought that was probably a first. It seemed unlikely that was his usual effect on girlsor womenof any description. Then he phoned her boyfriend, and when people wouldnt move away he sent them all over to the coffee shop for complimentary coffee and cakes.
About to ask why it had been left to him, why the manager hadnt done all that herself, she bit back her irritation at the womans ineffectiveness, and her lack of sympathy, and concerned herself with the fact that Jordan Farraday had witnessed it and taken charge.
So much for throwing him off balance.
It was not a great start.
I hope it was all right to do that? the woman added uncertainly, when India didnt immediately respond.
Absolutely right, she said, discovering for herself what the expression through gritted teeth actually meant. Should anything like this happen again, dont hesitate to do that, she said, and made a mental note to have the training department bring it up at the weekly workshops they ran for the managerial staff. With a reminder not to refer to the customers as silly under any circumstances.
Miss Claibourne. The quiet authority of his voice matched his appearance. Just the way he said her name necessitated another deep breath before she turned to confront JD Farraday.
Mr Farraday. She extended her hand in a manner she hoped was sufficiently businesslike to counteract the breathlessness of her voice. Perhaps it didnt matter. If her reactionand she was famously difficult to impresswas anything to go by, he must believe that all women were chronically breathless. I had assumed youd call before you arrived, or I would have come straight up to my office instead of taking my usual morning walk through the store. She glanced at the mother-to-be, who was rapidly disappearing behind the door of the goods lift. You seem to have kept yourself busy, however.
Its been an interesting morning, he admitted.
A little different from your office in the City.
We do have women in the City. Some of them even have babies, although we do encourage them to take maternity leave rather than have them in the office. Shed expected him to be dour, cool. He was the enemy, after all. They both knew that. Yet his wry smile indicated a sense of humour, and the firm manner with which he clasped her hand, held it, suggested that hed waited all his life to meet her.
Making a determined effort to collect herself, she retrieved it. Wed rather they didnt do it here either, she admitted. But theres nothing like being thrown in at the deep end. Since I arrived too late to do anything more than hold things up I thought it best to leave you to it. You seemed to be managing, she added, in another of those gritted teeth moments. Then, I was under the impression that you were going to be holding the young ladys hand while shes whizzed through the traffic to the hospital.
I thought someone should offer, he replied. As a criticism of her department managers ineffectuality it was masterly in its understatement. However, the paramedics were kind enough to assure me that Id be in the way. They suggested I might to go along laterwith her shopping. He held up a couple of their trademark dark red glossy carrier bags, the stores name printed in elegant copperplate gold lettering. She had a momentary flash of her vision of the way it would beClaibournes, all in lower-case modern typeonce shed seen him off. They didnt seem to think shed have much use for it in the next hour or so.
What? Oh, no, I imagine not. She looked around. Excuse me. The assistants were busy returning the department to normal, and she crossed to thank them for the way theyd handled a difficult situation.
You will let us know what happens, wont you, Miss Claibourne?
Of course. Maybe youd like to choose a card and sign it from everyone in the department? Ill phone the hospital later, and when we know that everything has gone smoothly Ill take it to the hospital with some flowers. And her shopping. Maybe one of you would be kind enough to take it up to my office? She turned to JD Farraday. Or maybe youd prefer to go on behalf of the store? she offered. See the job through?
Since Im spending the next month observing you at work, Miss Claibourne, I think you should give her the flowers, he said, surrendering the bags to a blushing assistant. While I watch.
Before she could quite make up her mind whether he was being serious or sarcastic, he smiled, which short-circuited any but the most positive thoughts, making it difficult to remember that it was her intention to spend as little time as possible in his company.
If youve nothing more pressing this evening, of course youre most welcome to join me. But its not compulsory. Even a shadow has statutory rights regarding working hours, she said, making an effort to keep things cool and businesslike. Then she spoiled it all by smiling right back. Excuse me, Id better just go and let everyone know they can resume shopping.
For a moment, the space of a heartbeat, as hed looked up and seen India Claibourne standing in the doorway watching him, Jordan had known hed made a mistake. That his secretary had been right and that he was playing with fire. That he should run, not walk away from this woman.
He already knew she was lovely. Every single photograph of her, since her first photo-call at the age of four, sitting on Santas knee in the C&F Christmas grotto, had been filed away with the newspaper articles on the store supplied by a cuttings agency.
With her little cap of dark hair cut into a neat fringe, her eyes huge with the excitement of it all, there had been the promise of beauty even then.
As shed grown into a lively teenager, a dashing young woman, her face had changed from that of a round-cheeked child into the fine-boned elegance of genuine beauty. One with style, class and the indefinable something extra which made a woman special: the something extra that reminded a man there was more to life than making money.
Only her eyes had never changed. They were still huge, eager, burning with life, and for a moment the heat they generated had seared him in a vivid affirmation of Christines warning on the dangers of playing with fire.
Then shed turned away to speak to her department manager and common sense had kicked in.
He was that rarest of commodities, a wealthy bachelor. His world had never been short of lovely women. But he hadnt lost his head over one of them yet, and there was absolutely no chance of him losing it over India Claibourne.
That wasnt his plan at all. In this relationship there would be only one loser.
For a moment he watched her walk across the sales floor towards the coffee shop. Tall, willowy, her long legs emphasised by high, high heels, her elegant figure merely sketched at by the suit she was wearing. Burgundy-red, rich and dark and expensive, with discreet gold buttons. Claibourne & Farradays livery colours.
That shed chosen to wear it today in order to make some kind of statement he never doubted for a second.
Shed fight him for possession of her domain with her last breath. The knowledge sent a ripple of excitement through him that was far more pleasing than all his cold, calculating plans.
Before the month was up she would surrender everything to him. More than surrender. She was the one playing with fire and she was going to get burned.
And with that pleasing thought he went after her.
Ladies, gentlemen She didnt raise her voice, or rap on a table, yet there was an immediate hush in the coffee shop, a tribute to a presence that was rare in a woman. Confidence, self-belief, a power that came from within. She was a worthy adversary. I just wanted to thank you all for your patience. You can continue with your shopping whenever youre ready. For a moment she was deluged with questions about the young mother-to-be. Ill be calling the hospital later for news of our newest customer, she continued, and if the parents give their permission well post news of the birth on our website. Then, checking her watch, she turned to him and said, I have to go. Ive got an author arriving for a book-signing in a few minutes.
I saw the posters when I arrived. Is it simply a meet-and-greet? Or will you have to stand by and hand her an endless supply of pens?
She can manage her own pens, but she does merit the full red carpet treatment. Fortunately she doesnt have time for lunch today. Then, Or maybe I make a less attractive lunchtime companion than my father. He always took her to the Ritz and plied her with champagne, she added, with a sideways glance from beneath dark glossy lashes that appeared to suggest that if he took over hed have that pleasure to look forward to.
You could do that.
I dont think either the Ritz or the champagne would make up for my father not being there to flirt with her.
Hes certainly had plenty of practice, he agreed blandly. Then, as her cheekbones flushed pink with anger, Id have doubted a book department was a cost-effective use of space these days, he said as they both reached out to press the button to summon the lift. He beat her to it by a fraction of a second, and their fingers tangled momentarily before she snatched them back, as if stung. Her nails were polished the same deep burgundy-red as her suit. As her smooth, soft lips. Can you compete with the big book chains? he enquired, making an effort to concentrate on business.
The decision to close the book department was made several weeks ago, she replied. Again that little sideways flicker of eyelashes. This time they said, You see? Im one step ahead of you. Its part of the rationalisation of floor space thats in progress at the moment. Weve started on the top floor, as you must have noticed.
Impossible to miss, he agreed. It must make concentration difficult.
I never have any difficulty in concentrating on the important stuff. The lift arrived and they got in. Ground floor, please, she said, abandoning competition in favour of making it appear that he was at her beck and call. He pressed the button that would take them to the ground floor without comment. She was, he had to admit, a fast learner. Were reducing the office area by half. My father has retired she glanced at him but then you know that. She paused momentarily, as if expecting him to enquire after the mans health. When he didnt, she went on, And Flora rarely uses her office, so they are both being ripped out. Romanas office is being remodelled to provide space for the two of usthe centre partition will be movable, for full-scale planning meetings. Once thats done, my office will go too.
May I see the plans? Id like to know what youre doing with the space youve made. The reasoning behind the changes. When you have a moment.
Id be delighted to explain what were doing, Mr Farraday. Just as long as you accept that Im extending you a courtesy, not seeking your approval.
Of course. Control is absolute. We both understand that. He certainly wouldnt be seeking approval from the Claibournes for his plans. Their helpless howls of rage as he sold the store would only sweeten his triumph.
They reached the ground floor and he followed her across the entrance lobby to the main door, where a staff photographer was waiting, along with a group of fans eager to catch the first glimpse of their idol. Any sign of her, Mr Edwards? she asked the commissionaire.
Shes stopped just down there at the traffic lights. Youve got about thirty seconds.
The white stretch limo, she explained. The lady is a celebrity. She likes to make an entrance. Then, Maybe well have a little time between the book-signing and the celebrity chef.
Celebrity chef?
In the food hall at twelve oclock. Hes making some Italian dish to promote a new product line. Im afraid youve chosen a rather hectic day to visit us, but maybe we can find some time to look at the plans before he arrives.
He didnt miss her suggestion that he was visiting. That this was her territory. Perhaps youd be good enough to run the programme for the rest of the month by me too, he said, reminding her that his visit wasnt a day-trip. When you have a moment.
Im sorry. This must seem very tedious to you. But a store of this size needs to provide constant entertainment valuesomething to draw the crowds.
And you keep a very high profile.
Its not the way you do things in your world, I know, but then high finance is, by its very nature, a secretive business.
I think the word you want is confidential.
Is there a difference? She glanced up at him with those cool dark eyes. Apart from tone?
Not that much in the meaning, perhaps, but in the dismissive manner in which she said it there was a world of difference. Tone is everything.
Perhaps. This is different. Every day is showtime, and since its my name above the door I have to be centre stage. Meaning that hed have to be front and centre too, when he took over? Our customers like the fact that if something goes wrong Im here, not hidden away in some anonymous head office.
Again there was the slightest pause, as if she expected him to say something. Did she really expect him to comment? Promise that hed be on call for any customer with a complaint? She did something with her shoulders. Nothing as definitive as a shrug, but it made its point loud and clear. It said that he didnt measure up to her ideal of a CEO for Claibourne & Farraday. It was a situation that she apparently found immeasurably satisfying, if the small smile tucking up the corners of her mouth was anything to judge by.
Ill check my diary, she continued. I might have that moment to run through the event schedule later. Of course theres nothing stopping you from picking up a programme at the information desk. Or even going to the website to check it out for yourself.
Like your customers, I prefer the personal touch. You can tell me all about it this evening. Which dealt with her smile, reducing it to a puzzled frown. After weve visited the hospital. Over dinner, perhaps? Then, almost as an afterthought, You do manage to find a little time to eat?
Yes, but
Ive cleared my diary in order to indulge you, Miss Claibourne. I think Im entitled to a little consideration in return.
India, honey! Before she could respond, she was enveloped in the warm embrace of her guest.
India greeted the exuberant author with more than usual warmth. She deserved it for rescuing her from having to cope with a remark that she suspected had been finely judged to wind her up.
Hed indulged her?
He made her sound like some wilful little girl, whod been given her own way under sufferance, but who would shortly be sent to bed unless she was very, very good.
And then the author spotted him, and lit up like the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. Who, she demanded, is this beautiful man?
India was about to introduce them, and invite Mr Farraday to escort the lady novelist up to the book department, when the beautiful man in question pre-empted her. Farraday, he said, taking her hand with a dazzling smile. Jordan Farraday.
She laughed. You mean I get a Claibourne and a Farraday? This is so special! As she turned to face the cameras for the PR shots she snuggled up to him, before taking his arm and sweeping towards the escalator, leaving India trailing in their wake.
We should have lunch, Mr Farraday, she said, as they arrived at the book department and she finally released him.
How I wish that were possible, he said, with every appearance of deepest regret. Another time, perhaps. He looked around at the queue of women clutching copies of her book to be signed. I appear to be keeping you from your fans. And with that he gave India a look that seemed to say, Well? How did I do? Could Peter Claibourne have done it better? And the answer, of course, was no. Then he glanced at his wristwatch. If youll excuse me? Then, to India, I need to make a phone call.
Please, use my office.
She could have gone with him, but she was glad of a moment to herself. She wasnt taking anything for granted, however, and used the internal phone to call Sally.
Mr Farraday is on his way up. You can give him the event list for June, but he isnt to see the new office plans. Or anything else.
Anything? Sally replied, with a throaty chuckle.
A distraction in the form of her sexy secretary, whose highest ambition was to flirt for her country in the Olympic Games, might be useful, but try as she might she couldnt summon up any enthusiasm for the idea. Instead, rather lamely, she said, Oh, please
She couldnt quite understand why the idea bothered her, and she put it firmly out of her mind, returning to pose for photographs for the website with the author and some of her fans.
After that there was nothing to stop her going back to her office and rejoining her shadow. The temptation to go down to the archivesa place where she could not be found unless she wanted to beand hide out for the rest of the day was compelling.
She pushed open the door to the stairs. Up or down?
Shed never know, because Jordan Farraday was leaning, one shoulder against the wall, legs casually crossed, cutting off any chance of escape. She jumped nervously, and to cover her reaction laughed. Mr Farraday. I thought you were using my office to make your phone call.
I didnt need a desk and I have my mobile.
In other words it was simply a device to escape being pressed into joining the lady for dinner instead?
Ive already got a dinner date. With you. And he dropped the cellphone hed been using into his pocket. What next?
Coffee, she said as, cut off from retreat, she took the stairs up to her office, cursing herself for not having thought of inviting the author to join them. She glanced back over her shoulder and found her eyes were on a level with his. They were dark as pitch and just as unfathomable. You wouldnt be able to walk away so easily if you were running the show.
When Im running the show, Miss Claibourne, Ill pay someone else to play clown. Id offer you the job, since you enjoy it so much, but somehow I dont think youd want to work for me.
Ignoring his comment about playing clownbut mentally filing away the fact that he planned on putting in a manager to use against himshe said, It would make better sense to leave things the way they are.
For you, maybe. Not for me. But you already know that.
Yes. She knew. While her father had been running the store hed been able to do whatever he wanted and all Jordan Farraday could do was stand by and watch. He wasnt going to leave things the way they were because he wanted that power for himself. Just for the sake of it? Or did he already have plans that he knew she wouldnt like?
What time does your next party turn arrive? he asked, interrupting this disturbing chain of thought.
I wouldnt let our celebrity chef hear you describe him as a party turn. Not when hes got a knife in his hand. She ran her swipe card through the security lock and swept through the door and down the corridor, stopping by Sallys office to ask for coffee and check for messages. And schedule a meeting for me with the training manager, will you, please? As a matter of urgency. That woman in the nursery department didnt cope well today.
Shes just acting manager, isnt she? While the manager is on holiday?
Yes, and Im afraid it showed. We need to make sure everyone knows how to deal with these one-off emergencies. We cant rely on Mr Farraday to be around to take charge and hold hands next time. She glanced up, challenging him to admit it. Disconcertingly, he smiled, and for a moment she couldnt think what shed been going to say next. Andum
The hospital? Sally prompted, flirting dangerously with an I-told-you-so smile.
Check and see how our mother-to-be is doing. As soon as weve got a result Ill want flowers, and a basket of baby stuff in an appropriate colour. And a nice big C&F teddy. Itll look good in a photograph if theyre prepared to do a PR piece. Ill want a photographer with me this evening when I visitwith luck well catch them on an emotional high that they want to share with the rest of the world.
Ill get onto it. We need to finalise the details of the retirement party for Maureen Derbyshire too, when youve got a minute. And she turned to Jordan Farraday. Dont miss it, JD. Its going to be quite a party.
I fear Mr Farraday finds our small concerns rather dull, Sally, she said, before he could respond. Then, turning to him, You wouldnt understand, Mr Farraday, but when Maureen leaves itll be the end of an era. She started work here on the day she left school. Fifty years ago.
Then she must have known my grandfather.
Damn! She hadnt thought of that. Point scoring off JD Farraday was going to be tricky. But she smiled and said, Yes, I imagine so.
Im sure shed be thrilled if you could find time to join us, Sally said, innocent as a baby. Its on Thursday evening. In the Roof Garden Restaurant.
Ill be there, he said, his gaze never leaving Indias face, mocking her as if, despite her secretarys invitation, he understood that she didnt want him popping up all over the place. On the understanding that India saves the first dance for me.
CHAPTER THREE
I CANT believe how young she is, India said as they left the hospital early that evening. Or maybe Im just getting old.
That must be it, Jordan said. She glanced at him sharply and his eyes creased into the kind of smile designed to make a woman go weak at the knees. He was teasing her, she realised. Which was unexpected and had to be against the rules in a situation like this. But then Jordan Farraday undoubtedly made up the rules as he went along. What did you have to offer to get her to do those publicity shots?
Thats confidential. Shed taken a photographer with her, hoping to catch the new parents in a mood to share their news with the world. They had been. For a price. She and the new mother had done their deal in the man-free environment of the nappy-changing room. Serena hadnt wanted her boyfriend to know the details either. Between her and me.
He raised his brows. That much?
She may be young, but shes not stupid.
Are you suggesting that she stage-managed the whole thing?
That she waited until the contractions were well established before taking a turn around the nursery department, you mean? Thats very cynical of you, Mr Farraday. I was suggesting nothing of the kind. Simply that she understands the value of publicity. She glanced up at him. You looked quite something with the new baby in your arms.
You pay and I get the publicity. It hardly seems fair.
The cost comes out of the PR budget, she reminded him, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. Jordan Farraday was winning the publicity war hands down. First with the author, then making a hit with the celebrity chef, when hed asked the kind of questions that made the man look like a towering culinary intellect. And then Serena had insisted he be the one to hold the baby. And Claibournes gets the publicity.
In this instance it would seem that its the & Farraday wholl get all the newspaper coverage.
She shrugged as if it made no difference. Itll make a nice story, she said. Shed like to believe his colleagues in the City would be ragging him about it for days, but had to admit that the prospect was unlikely. Theyd more likely be awestruck by his ability to cope in the kind of crisis theyd never want to be anywhere near.
Theyd taken a black cab to the hospital, to avoid the hassle of finding somewhere to park, and Jordan grabbed one now that was dropping off passengers. He spoke to the driver, then joined her in the back of the cab.
Will we have the pleasure of your presence at the store tomorrow? she asked.
Today isnt over yet.
Thats true, she said, remembering the files in the boot of her car. Ive got a load of paperwork to get through tonight.
Anything an interested shadow can help with?
No, she said, too quickly. Its Well
Secret? he offered.
Confidential, she said. Family business.
Its all family business, he replied, as the cab pulled over to the kerb and came to a halt. One way or another. Were here.
Where? India glanced out at the side street, where they had stopped in front of a small restaurant she knew by name, its reputation for good food, and the impossibility of getting a table.
I had my secretary book a table for eight oclock. Were a little early, but I dont suppose thatll be a problem at this time in the evening. He climbed from the cab, holding the door for her.
Look, I know you said wed have dinner, but honestly Ive got a pile of work
India, he said, cutting her short. And the way he used her given name was faintly shocking. Like being touched. Ive been chasing you around that wretched store all day. Ive been very, very patient, and you will now do me the courtesy of sitting down and sharing a meal with me. I want to hear about your plans. How you see the future of Claibourne & Farraday.
In my hands, she replied, without missing a beat. And the changes she had in mind were not for sharing with Jordan Farraday.
His smile was perfunctory. Humour me, as Ive humoured you all day, or the shadow deals off and you can forget all about me playing follow-my-leader for the rest of the month. Instead Ill instruct my lawyers to invoke the golden share agreement first thing tomorrow.
That wretched golden share The two per cent controlling interest in the company that was supposed to be handed on, like some Olympic flame, to the oldest male heir. Not this time.
He might be oldest; she was best.
In which case, he added, just in case she hadnt got the point, youll be out by the end of the week.
You can try, she said, not moving. Once the lawyers get involved it could take years. Except that would defeat the whole object. She might be in, occupying the seat, but she wouldnt be able to do a thing. Any move to change the name, change the style, do anything constructive, would be met with legal injunctions. The company would stagnate, wither.
She would surrender before shed let that happen. She just hoped he didnt know that.
So he said. We both know exactly where we stand. No more pretending to be nice. You have possession of the store and youll do anything to keep it. Something that I cant possibly allow. Then, But we still have to eat. And he offered her his hand.
Damn! She hadnt planned on things moving this quickly. A fact she was sure he knew. He knew altogether too much. All day hed been at her shoulder, stealing the limelight, charming everyone he met, apparently interested in the smallest detail, always asking the right questions.
Always there, just at the corner of her vision, close enough to touch but never quite touching.
Shed tossed her sisters into this situation without a thought as to how theyd cope. Shed just wanted the time it had bought her. The time it had bought her lawyers as they tried to make a case to stop the takeover.
Faced with the reality of spending a month in this mans companyup close and as personal as it gotshe wished shed listened to their protests.
She wished they were home, so that she could talk to them. Romana had taken time out from her extended honeymoon to e-mail her detailed ideas for the better use of spaceideas that shed wasted no time in implementing. And Flora had sent back wonderful cloth, jewellery and design sketches, as well as a report for the travel department on Saraminda.
Neither of them had offered advice on dealing with a Farraday male. Maybe because they knew their solution could never be hers.
Shed never felt so alone in her life.
When she still hesitated, he let his hand drop and said, If you doubt that I can do it, Ill tell the driver to take you back to the store. But I suggest you clear your desk while youre there.
She could scarcely believe her ears. Youre threatening me?
No, India. I dont make threats to get what I want. What Im doing is giving you a month of my time in which to convince me that youre the only person in the world who can run Claibourne & Farraday.
Why? The word escaped her lips before she could stop it. Why are you doing that?
Giving you a month of my time?
Yes. Whats in it for you?
Well, lets see. Im doing it because your lawyers requested it and my lawyers could see no disadvantage. Im taking the opportunity to familiarise myself with the store. Get to know the senior staff. She wished she hadnt asked. He was using the time shed given him to infiltrate himself into the store, smooth the transition What Im doing is bending over backwards to be reasonable, so that if we do end up in a court battle Ill impress their Lordships as a reasonable man whos done everything asked. And he smiled. Does that answer your question?
His answer was so smooth, so pat. Soreasonable! She couldnt fault him. Which meant shed just have to swallow her pride and play nice.
Yes, well, Ive never suggested Im the only person in the world who can run the store, JD, she said, finally joining him on the pavement. If he was going to make free with her name, without so much as a by-you-leave, she certainly wasnt going to keep calling him Mr Farraday. As if he were the boss and she were his underling. They were equals. As he turned from paying the driver, she dredged up a smile. Just the best.
Jordan, he said.
What?
My staff call me JD. You and I are equals. Equals? Could he read her mind? Partners. Id rather you called me by my name. He lifted his brows, encouraging her to give it a try.
Jordan? she offered.
He lifted the corner of his mouth in a wry smile. That wasnt so difficult, was it?
Patronising oaf. She didnt believe for one minute that he considered her his equal, but shed do her level best to change his mindand if that involved supping with the devil, shed do it. She put a little more effort into her smile as he placed his hand beneath her elbowdid he feel her jump as he touched her?pushed open the restaurant door and held it for her.
Its curious that were both named after countries, dont you think? he said, once they were seated at a quiet table.
She resisted the temptation to point out that while he was named after a very small country she was named after a sub-continent. My father met my mother in India, she said, perusing the menu. Hence the name. Its something of a family tradition. My father took his second wife to Florence for their honeymoon, and met his third in Rome on a trip to the fashion shows. She was a model. Hence Flora and Romana.
How fortunate he didnt have boys.
She glanced up. Well, thats original.
What is?
Most people say how lucky it was that the cities werent Naples, or Pisa. Tell me about your name. Was that a honeymoon destination too?
My parents never got around to taking a honeymoon, he replied. But then they never actually got around to marriage.
Oh. Served her right for asking.
According to my mother, my fathers surname was Jordan. Or rather Jourdan. He was French. They met while she was backpacking in Europe before going to university. It was one of those holiday romances. You know how it is. Brief. Passionate. He shrugged. Life-changing.
Was it a big deal having a baby as a single mother back then? She supposed it must have been. Something about the way hed said life-changing suggested it had radically changed his mothers life. And not necessarily for the better. Not going to university would have been the first of many sacrifices.
I did wonder how you came to be using the Farraday surname, she said. Shed resisted the urge to ask. She didnt want to know that kind of stuff. She had to keep this businesslike. You never knew him?
My father? No. He was long gone by the time Kitty realised she was pregnant.
Kitty? You call your mother by her first name?
He shrugged. A gloss to protect my grandfathers sensibilities, I suspect.
Oh, I see. Im sorry. I didnt mean to pry. I just dont know much about your family history.
We have a lot in common, you and I. We both want the same thing. We both come from one-parent families.
She wanted to ask him if his mother had ever found someone special. Wanted to know about his life. Had he been an only child? The son of an embittered woman? An older half-sibling An outsider This morning he had been a stranger. Already she wanted to know his deepest fears, his happiest memories.
She gave you his name, she said.
Not the whole name. But she felt I should have something to remember him by. The way your name reminds you of your mother. Do you remember her?
No. I was still a baby when she left. So much for keeping it businesslike. Concentrating on the menu, as if she hadnt already made up her mind what she would choose, and as casually as she knew how, she said, According to my grandmother she never settledhated London. She just wanted to go back to India, kick off her shoes, don her beads and get back to the ashram.
.
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Liz Fielding
Taking on the bossIndia Claibourne is bright, beautiful and the boss of an exclusive London department store. Jordan Farraday is a devastatingly handsome tycoonand his number one aim is to take over that store!Jordan may make her heart pound with excitement, but no way is India going to let that happen. The battle of wills commencesthe final showdown that will dig up past secrets and shake up everything that is dear to India and Jordan. There was only supposed to be one winnerbut perhaps this time there will be two.
Is that the way the Claibournes close a deal? he asked.
Im sorry? Did you want something in writing?
Nothing so formal. Even while she was sending frantic signals to her brain, he raised his hand, sliding his fingers through her hair, cradling her head, holding her captive. He gave her his personal interpretation of sealing an agreement with a kiss.
This was a kiss intended to make a lasting impression. He was completely in control, while she was hot, flushed and vibrantly aware that every cell in her body was being given a wake-up call.
Now, he said, we have a deal.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the climax of my new trilogy, BOARDROOM BRIDEGROOMS.
I do hope youve enjoyed reading about the three talented Claibourne sistersRomana, Flora and India. Ive loved writing their stories, bringing to life the drama and emotion as theyve clashed with the Farradays, three dynamic businessmen determined to regain control of Claibourne & Farraday, the most stylish department store in London.
This time its Indias turn to meet her match in a thrilling showdown. Elegant, clever and wedded to her career, India is about to find herself locked in a clash of wills with the irresistible Jordan Farraday. A power struggle in the boardroom andout of it.
With love,
Liz Fielding
Liz Fielding is the winner of the 2001 RITA
Award for Best Traditional Romance. To find out more about the author, visit her Web site at www.lizfielding.com
The Tycoons Takeover
Liz Fielding
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
WHO GOT HITCHED, CELEBRITY magazine
SECRET WEDDING IN SAMARINDA
Samarinda, fast becoming the must go destination for those seeking a get-away-from-it-all break, was host to a very private wedding ceremony for Flora Claibourne and Bram Farraday Gifford last week. These charming pictures show the happy couple taking their vows in the stunning setting of the Royal Botanical Gardens, surrounded by wild vanilla orchids, a feature of this delightful venue.
This is the second Claibourne/Farraday wedding in as many months. Forebears of the two families founded Londons favourite department store in the nineteenth century, but relations between them, at times, been reduced to near feud status over control of the store.
The new generation, however, have refreshingly decided that its better to make love than war. Floras younger sister, Romana, and Brams cousin, Niall Farraday Macaulay, were married recently in Las Vegas.
We look forward to a new era of co-operation at Claibourne & Farraday, and wish both couples every happiness.
CITY DIARY, LONDON EVENING POST
Another Claibourne/Farraday merger.
Theres a new spirit of co-operation abroad at Londons oldest department store, Claibourne & Farraday. The present generation of the two founding familieswho famously never talk to one anotherare doing more than talk as they finally meet face to face to thrash out the future of the company in the new century. The marriages between the two younger Claibourne sisters and Farraday heirs have been quiet affairs, however, suggesting that nothing is yet settled at the top.
India Claibourne is still Managing Director, and my sources suggest that Jordan Farraday is determined to supplant her in the immediate future. Well be following events at the store with close interest.
CHAPTER ONE
HAVE you seen this, JD?
Jordan Farraday turned from the e-mail that had just arrived in his inbox. His secretary was offering him a magazine, folded back at the Who Got Hitched page. You read Celebrity magazine, Christine? I had no idea you were that interested in the loves and lives of the rich and famous.
I live in hopes of seeing you in there one of these days, she replied, as he took the magazine from her. Having a little fun. Then, I wasnt sure if you knew. She paused. You didnt say anything.
I knew. He glanced at the photograph of his cousin, caught at the moment he placed a wedding ring on Flora Claibournes finger, and felt an unexpected pang of something he couldnt quite identify. Envy? It was ridiculousand yet Bram looked differentcomplete. As if hed found something hed been looking for all his life. Nonsense, of course. It was just the reflected glow of satisfaction from a woman whod got exactly what she wanted. Theres a paragraph in the late edition of the Evening Post, he said. Presumably they picked it up from this.
Bram didnt call you? Before? After?
He looked up, a wry smile twisting his mouth. Would you?
She shook her head. Those Claibourne girls are quite something. I wonder what they use?
Use?
Spells, charms, love potions she offered. Id have said that your cousins were two of the most unlikely marriage prospects in London. Then, with a slight gesture that deferred to him, After you.
Thank you, he said drily.
Yet first Niall and now Bram have succumbed with a speed that suggests something added to the water.
Grief fades in time. The playboy life loses its charm. They were ready to fall in love, he said dismissively. My mistake was to put them in close contact with two of the most interesting women in London.
And youre about to spend a month in the company of interesting woman number three. Their big sister. The boss lady whos presumably taught them everything they know. Are you crazy?
No, Christine, single-minded. He glanced again at the photograph. Unlike my cousins, who seem to have had other things on their minds, regaining control of a department store is my priority. At the end of the month I shall have done just that.
You dont need to shadow India Claibourne for five minutes, let alone a month, to achieve that.
No, he agreed, I dont. But its polite to give the lady a chance to make her case.
Rubbish. Her eyes narrowed. Youre up to something. And when he didnt bother to deny it, she said, Itll all end in tears.
That, he said, is the plan.
If youre suggesting theyll be her tears, I think you should go back to the drawing board, she said, retrieving the magazine and holding up the picture as a warning. Consider what happened to your cousins when they got involved with the Claibourne girls.
That was just a sideshow, Christine. This is the main event.
Youre playing with fire.
It wouldnt be the first time, he pointed out.
When it comes to taking a chance with money, Id put my last silk shirt on you. This is different.
Are you suggesting that I dont know what Im doing?
Heaven forbid, she declared. Im simply suggesting that if you value your freedom you should invent a crisis that requires your presence on the other side of the world for the next month. Leave the Claibourne & Farraday business to the lawyers.
Bolt for cover? And have the City Diary editor amuse his readers with the suggestion that Im running scared of India Claibourne? They would enjoy that.
There are worse things than being laughed at. Marriage isnt just a word, JD. Its a sentence. I know. I served nearly ten years before I managed to tunnel out.
Christine, weve worked together for a long time. You know me probably as well as anyone on this earth. Are you really suggesting that I wont be able to spend a few hours in the company of India Claibourne without falling so hopelessly in love with her that Ill be on my knees within the month?
Accounts are already organising a sweepstake on how long youll last, she replied.
It did not escape his notice that she hadnt answered his question. But then she didnt know the full history. For his cousins control of Claibourne & Farraday was just good business. For him it was personal. Deeply personal.
This wasnt just about a department store. That was the public dispute, one that had been thoroughly rehearsed thirty years earlier, and the outcome was a foregone conclusionas India Claibourne must know. Her father must have warned her that she couldnt win, but she was stubbornly refusing to accept the inevitable, refusing to play by the rules.
He wasnt taken in for a minute by her invitation for him and his cousins to spend time at the store, to shadow her and her sisters, see how the store was run in this high-tech media age. She was just playing for time while she and her lawyers tried to find some loophole in the partnership agreement that would allow her to remain in control.
Not that he was complaining. If hed planned it himself, it couldnt have worked out better.
That he would take over from Peter Claibourne now that hed retired was inevitable. India Claibournes decision to put up a fight, giving Jordan the opportunity to reverse history, humiliate her as her father had humiliated his mother, was icing spread thickly on the cake.
Christine was still waiting for some response, he realised. A sweepstake? he repeated. On what, exactly?
On how many days it will be before you, um, get down on your knees.
My knees? And why would I do that?
To propose to the lady. Beg her to marry you.
Oh, please!
I realise thats an alien concept for a man of your wealth, name and all-round fanciability. But it cannot have escaped your notice that shes got a matching set.
No, it hadnt escaped his notice. India Claibourne was as lovely as she was rich. But she had one fatal weakness: shed do anything to keep control of Claibourne & Farraday. And a proposal would be enough, would it? For some lucky soul to win this sweepstake?
A diamond on the ladys finger is one option, she admitted. But the hot ticket is for a wedding.
Within a month? How likely is that?
She held up one finger. Niall Farraday Macaulay married Romana Claibourne in Las Vegas on Day 29. A second finger. Bram Farraday Gifford married Flora Claibourne in Saraminda on Day 30. Im sure that anything they can do, you can do better. Then, with a grin, Threes a charm, JD.
Is that so? He shrugged. Well, heres the word from the horses mouth. If youve got money to waste on such nonsense, make sure you draw the number with No Wedding written next to it. Believe me, whatever gossip you may read in your magazine, itll take more than a seductive smile to get me in front of a registrar.
The lady has more. A whole department store more. Why dont you save timeand lawyers feesand propose a dynastic marriage? That way you both win. You have to admit that shed make any man a stunning consort.
Im admitting nothing. And I thought you were opposed to marriage on principle?
Arranged marriages are different. The participants have more realistic expectations. And this would be more like an advantageous merger of two companiessomething you know all about. Taken with the idea, she went on, I cant understand why it hasnt happened beforein the days when marriages were arranged for gain, rather than left to chance. The families must have been close at one time.
There has been quite enough dynastic marriage-making in the last few weeks without me joining in. And I dont need a consort, no matter how stunning she is. All I need is for the Claibournes to hand over what is rightfully mine with the minimum of fuss.
If it was minimum fuss you wanted youd have sent in the lawyers two months ago. You want something else, and I have no doubt youll get it. I just hope it makes you happy. Then, But dont eat or drink anything while youre at the store. Oh, and dont, whatever else you do, get a haircut in the salon. And she grinned. Just in case India Claibourne uses hair clippings to cast her spells.
Im sure youve got something important to be getting on with while Im making my presence felt at Londons favourite department store tomorrow, Christine. Swapping knitting patterns, perhaps? Or phoning your daughter to discuss her latest pregnancy? he suggested, signalling that as far as he was concerned that particular subject was now closed.
Dont do it, JD, she said, not in the least bit intimidated. But then he hadnt expected her to be.
Or maybe you should give careful thought to the possibility of taking early retirement and becoming a full-time grandmother, he continued, his expression still in neutral. I could get one of those sexy girls with long legs and a degree in Business Studies to replace you.
You wouldnt do that.
Oh? And why not?
Precisely because Im not sexy. Im safely middle-aged, plump and motherly, she said, heading back to her own office. You know Im not going to fall in love with you and make life difficult in the office. Im also the best secretary in the world. Probably. When she reached the door, however, she paused and looked back at him. Twenty-one days, she said. If she gets you on Day 21, I win the sweep.
Try and get your money back, he suggested. Sell your ticket to someone really gullible.
Goodnight, JD. Dont work too late. All work and no play She left the proverb hanging, closing the door gently behind her as she left for the night, and he finally smiled. She might be talking rubbish about India Claibourne, but she was right about one thing. She was the best secretary hed ever known and he wouldnt be trading her in for a younger model any time soon. Then, as he turned back to his PC and the e-mail from India Claibourne, his smile faded. It wasnt long. Just one line. It said:
Two down, one to go. Are you ready to quit, Mr Farraday?
Clearly shed been afraid that with his advance guard neutralised by her lovely sisters he might change his mind about shadowing her during June. This was a dare-you challenge to his masculine pride.
Christine was wrong, he decided as he switched off the screen. He wasnt the one playing with fire. It was India Claibourne who was about to get her fingersand anything else she cared to riskburned.
India Claibourne paused in front of the department store that had borne her family name for nearly two centuries and looked up.
Claibourne & Farraday.
A byword for class and style. The name said it all.
In fact it said rather too much.
The Farraday grated. A lot. Their silent partners hadnt done muchother than accumulate capital and take their share of the profitsin living memory. Her living memory, anyway.
She didnt have a problem with that. They were equal partners and were entitled to their share of the profitswelcome to themas long as they kept out of her way. But they werent keeping out of her way. Since her fathers sudden retirement, following his heart attack, they had become disturbingly vocal.
Good morning, Miss India. The commissionaire tipped his top hat to her.
Good morning, Mr Edwards. She paused, stepping to one side, out of the way of early arrivals at the store. The customers seem eager this morning.
Summer is always busy, miss. London is full of visitors and they all come to Claibournes.
She smiled at the way he automatically shortened the name.
Claibournes.
It had a ring to it. It was easy to say. And once shed seen off Jordan Farraday that was what the store would become. Claibournes.
No more Farradays. Ever.
My wife showed me the wedding picture of Miss Flora in Celebrity magazine last night, he continued, as she lingered at the entrance, her fertile imagination supplying a pleasing picture of the frontage with just one name above the door. She looked quite radiant. Its wonderful for the storeboth Miss Romana and Miss Flora marrying Farradays.
Which brought her swiftly back to reality. Jordan Farradays advance guard, his cousins and partners in his bid to take over control of the store, were now her brothers-in-law.
Her delaying tacticshaving the Farradays shadow them to see what running a department store actually entailedhad backfired. Badly.
But she smiled nonetheless. Its very exciting for them. For all of us. I wish I could have been with them. Her sisters, however, having fallen under the Farraday spell, had chosen to get married first and only tell their families afterwards. Or, in Floras case, leave them to find out like everyone else when they read it in the newspaper.
She couldnt fault their reasoning. In their shoes, shed have done the same.
Meanwhile they were all wisely keeping their heads down in their honeymoon hideaways, leaving the field clear for the main battle.
It was between her and Jordan Farraday now. But then, it always was going to be between the two of them. She was in control of the store, sitting in the seat he believed to be rightfully his.
Her sisters, his cousins, were interested parties. But she and Jordan were the ones with the most to gainor lose.
She had one month leftthis monthto show him that if the Farradays thought they could run Claibourne & Farraday in their spare time they were wrong. This was no longer an emporium for gentlemen, a place where the customers were all known personally.
Her father had continued to think of it that way long after reality had suggested otherwise. But she had hauled it into the modern era and, now hed retired, the sky was the limit. But first she had to see off the Farradays. More specifically, she had to see off Jordan David Farraday.
It shouldnt be difficult. The man was a venture capitalist, not a retailer. He really couldnt want to take on something so time-consuming. It was control he wanted. The last word. At least she hoped that was all he wanted. A prime site, the name alone, would be a big prize for one of the retail chains. But he wouldntcouldnt
A shiver, as if someone had walked over her grave, goosed her flesh.
Jordan Farraday showed his pass at the rear entrance of the building, parked his sports car in the space that had been allocated to him, then asked the security guard at the staff entrance to ring through to India Claibournes office to let her know hed arrived.
She wasnt there.
Will you pass on my best wishes when you speak to her? India, dragging her mind back from a nightmare vision of the plans Jordan Farraday might have for the store, glanced at the commissionaire. Miss Flora, he prompted as he opened the door for her. I hope shell be very happy.
Thank you, Mr Edwards. Ill tell her.
Most days she used the staff entrance at the rear of the store, but occasionally, having parked her car, she took the time to walk around to the main entrance, look at the window displays and enter the store as if she were a customer. Remind herself of that first time when, four years old, shed been brought to the store by her grandmother to visit Santas grotto and had believed shed walked into the Aladdins cave in her storybook.
As she walked into the marble and mahogany entrance hall, spangled with coloured light from the Tiffany stained glass window that rose up three floors through the stairwell, the rush of excitement, the sense of wonder was as powerful as ever.
She would not give this up for anything. Ever.
But it occurred to her that sitting in her office waiting for Jordan Farraday to turn up and take it away from her was entirely the wrong strategy. Romana had dragged Niall off to a charity bungee jump. Bram had been given no choice but to join Flora on a research trip to a tropical island.
Neither of them had had time to draw breath, settle into the standard Im a man and I know best routine.
They hadnt known what had hit them until it was too late. She had to ensure that for the next month she was the one in front and Farraday was always following her. If he ever turned the tables and took the lead it would all be over.
Sitting at her desk going over last months sales figures whenifhe responded to the challenge in her incendiary e-mail wouldnt fit the bill. Hed be expecting that and he wouldnt be impressed by her ability to read a balance sheet.
She had to be doing something that was totally outside his normal experience. Something that would give her an advantage. With a whole department store to play with, it shouldnt be that difficult.
She glanced at the noticeboard listing the special events taking place in the store that day. An all-day specialist doll collectors fair in the gallery. A cookery demonstration, with a celebrity chef doing his stuff, in the food hall at lunchtime. A book-signing by a well known American author in the country to promote her newest blockbuster novel. Bags of opportunities for photographs, she thought as she took the lift to the top-floor office suite.
She needed to keep her photograph in the papers. Remind everyone that she was running the show. Shed get Molly in the PR department on to that, as her sister was away. The lift door opened to dust sheets and the sound of hammering, and she smiled a little grimly as she crossed to her office.
Jordan Farraday might be sharing it with her for the next month, but he wouldnt enjoy the experience much.
Indie Her PA appeared in the doorway. Weve got a small problem in the nursery department.
How small?
Baby-sized. One of our customers left it a little late to do her shopping and shes gone into labour. The paramedics have arrived, and theyll be moving her to hospital as soon as they can, but I thought youd want to know.
Id better go down theremake sure everything possible is being done.
Well, actually India paused on her way out. Theres no need.
No need?
Its being taken care of. Since you werent here, JD took charge
JD? India frowned.
Jordan Farraday. His staff call him JD, he said.
Jordan Farraday? Hes here already? In the store? Her mouth was working on automatic, she realised. A bit like a goldfish, and making about as much sense. Of course he was here.
Shed been mentally redesigning the frontage, chatting with the commissionaire, taking her morning stroll through the main selling floors while Jordan David Farraday had gone straight to the top floor and was already taking over her job.
He arrived on the dot of ten oclock. You said you were expecting him some time today, so when Security buzzed through I told them to send him up.
I was expecting him to ring and let me know when he was coming. I wasnt expecting him to just turn upunannounced!
I was supposed to say, Go away, we arent ready for you? India raised a hand in a gesture of apology, shook her head. I gave him coffee and put him in your office. There is nowhere else, she complained.
No, there was nowhere else. It had seemed like a great idea when Romana suggested ripping out underused offices and moving Customer Services to the top floor in order to create more selling space. And why hang about? Get in the builders, create a noisy, dusty atmosphere and maybe, without an officeor even a deskto call his own, JD Farraday would be less inclined to linger in the store. It was time she needed. Not her arch-nemesis following her every move.
Im sorry, Sally. You did the right thing, of course, but just because he was sitting in my office did you have to treat the man as if he were already running the place? Did you have to tell him about the population explosion in the nursery department?
I didnt. Someone came rushing in with the news and he just sort ofwelltook charge, she said, a little breathlessly.
Great. She took a deep breath. But I really do think Id better go and see whats happening downstairs. She was in no rush. In fact she had a sudden craving to be somewhere else. Lying on a deserted beach, perhaps. Do you ever just wish the alarm clock hadnt gone off? That youd slept through the day?
Not this one, I promise you. JD Farraday is not a man Id ever want to miss.
Thats all I need. A secretary with a crush on a man who wants to take over my store.
His name is above the door too. And I dont have a crush. My personal life is fully spoken for. Then she grinned. But Im not dead.
Thatll be a comfort to you when hes sitting in my chair and youre looking for a new job.
Oh, come on. Thats never going to happen.
Two months ago I might have agreed with you. Suddenly she wasnt so sure. Her fallback position was the equal opportunities argument. He had a centuries-old agreement stating that control should pass to the oldest male. She was basing her equality on being oldest female. Would a lot of old men in wigs be swayed by the logic of that argument? Or would theyas she suspectedgo for just plain oldest. Farraday, after all, was a man with a track record for making money. All she had to offer was a lifetimes knowledge of the business and a passion to turn Claibournes into a household namenot just in London, or Britain, but in the world.
Hey, if all else fails you can always do a Claibourne on him.
Dragged back from the yawning chasm of failure, she frowned. A Claibourne?
Flutter those long dark lashes at him. Once hes in love, hell forget all about taking away your toy.
Oh, great. Im trying to convince everyone that I can run this store on merit and you want me to seduce the man. Whatever happened to thirty years of womens liberation? As she turned angrily away she snagged her tights on a battered cardboard box. Great. The day that shed begun with an uneasy feeling of foreboding was rapidly going downhill. Sally, what the devil is this?
Oh She sucked in her teeth as she saw the damage to Indias tights, took a new pair from a supply she kept in her bottom drawer and handed them over. Sorry. The builders left it there. Theyre files from your fathers office. Pretty old stuff, but I thought you might want to look at them before I sent them down to the basement.
But I cleaned out all the filing cabinets in Dads office.
These were right at the back of that big walk-in cupboard. It looked like a box of old catalogues, but, knowing how disorganised your father was, I thought Id better check before it went down the chute into the skip. The files were at the bottom.
India flicked through the top file. Thirty years old, it dated from the time her father had taken over the store from JD Farradays grandfather, and her scalp prickled with a rush of excitement. Sally, that designer skirt youve been drooling overits yours. Charge it to my account. Cutting off her thanks, she went on, Just shift these files first, she said, peeling off the torn tights and replacing them. Id hate JD Farraday to fall over them and sue us.
Why would he do that? Wouldnt that be like suing himself? Then, realising that it was not a conversation with a future, she said, Ill put them in your office.
No! India took a deep breath. No, dont do that. Arrange for them to be put in my car. The last thing she needed was Jordan Farraday looking over her shoulder as she went through them.
Correction. The last thing she needed was Jordan Farraday. Full stop.
CHAPTER TWO
INDIA took another deep breath before she pushed open the door to the nursery department. She seemed to be doing that a lot this morning, but it was fortunate that her lungs were loaded with air, because she didnt breathe again for what seemed like an age.
JD Farraday was the kind of man who would always make the need to breathe redundant.
He didnt court publicity, but shed gathered what information she could about the man. The grainy photographs from the financial pages of heavyweight newspapers had suggested an averagely good-looking, dark-haired man in his mid to late thirties. They didnt do him justice. There was nothing average about Jordan Farraday.
His features were arranged in the conventional manner, it was true, but the combination achieved something far from ordinary. There was something about him that transcended mere good looks.
As if that were not enough he was taller, his hair darkerthe touch of silver at his temple only emphasising just how darkthan just tall, or just dark. But that was the superficial, obvious stuff.
What set her midriff trembling like a joke jelly, prickled her scalp and set up the tiny hairs on her skin, was the way he dominated the room, the way every person in it was looking to him for guidance, leadership.
Jordan Farraday was the archetypal dominant male. Alpha man. Leader of the pack. The kind of man who would always make other men appear ordinary, who would attract women like iron filings to a magnet. In short, he was the most exciting man shed set eyes on in monthsyearspossibly ever
And shed taken him on in a winner-takes-all battle for control of Claibourne & Farraday.
Not that he appeared in the least bit threatening at the moment. Far from it. As she stood there he crouched down to gently sandwich the hand of the very young soon-to-be-mother between both of his, reassuring her as she was fastened into a chair trolley by a paramedic, his smile a promise that he would let nothing bad happen to her.
Youre going to be fine, Serena. Ive phoned your boyfriend and hes going straight to the hospital. His voice was low, calming, like being stroked by velvet. Hell be waiting for you when you arrive. He glanced at the paramedics. Ready? One of them nodded. Youll be there in just a few minutes. As he turned slightly the light behind him lit up a classic profilethe kind that Greek sculptors had reserved for gods. Would you like me to come along with you in the ambulance?
By way of reply, the mother-to-be gripped his hand more tightly. My bags she began, less concerned with the swoon quotient of the man at her side, apparently, than the fate of her shopping. But then she was in labourand India caught her breath again as the woman was seized by a contraction.
In her place, she probably wouldnt give a damn about how good-looking a man was either. She swallowed. In her place, shed want someone exactly like Jordan Farraday holding her hand
He glanced around. A few feet away a hovering assistant was holding a couple of bags, and as he straightened to take them he saw her standing in the doorway. For a moment he remained perfectly still as their gazes locked, held, and for a long moment she was his prisoner.
Miss Claibourne She jumped at the sound of her name and the moment passed as the department manager came between them. Weve had quite a morning.
So I see, she said, making an effort to give the woman her full attention, despite the charged feeling at the back of her neck that suggested JD Farradays gaze was still fastened firmly upon her. It appears one of our customers left her shopping trip rather late.
Well, no harm done. Mr Farraday has been wonderful. He calmed that silly girl when no one else could. India thought that was probably a first. It seemed unlikely that was his usual effect on girlsor womenof any description. Then he phoned her boyfriend, and when people wouldnt move away he sent them all over to the coffee shop for complimentary coffee and cakes.
About to ask why it had been left to him, why the manager hadnt done all that herself, she bit back her irritation at the womans ineffectiveness, and her lack of sympathy, and concerned herself with the fact that Jordan Farraday had witnessed it and taken charge.
So much for throwing him off balance.
It was not a great start.
I hope it was all right to do that? the woman added uncertainly, when India didnt immediately respond.
Absolutely right, she said, discovering for herself what the expression through gritted teeth actually meant. Should anything like this happen again, dont hesitate to do that, she said, and made a mental note to have the training department bring it up at the weekly workshops they ran for the managerial staff. With a reminder not to refer to the customers as silly under any circumstances.
Miss Claibourne. The quiet authority of his voice matched his appearance. Just the way he said her name necessitated another deep breath before she turned to confront JD Farraday.
Mr Farraday. She extended her hand in a manner she hoped was sufficiently businesslike to counteract the breathlessness of her voice. Perhaps it didnt matter. If her reactionand she was famously difficult to impresswas anything to go by, he must believe that all women were chronically breathless. I had assumed youd call before you arrived, or I would have come straight up to my office instead of taking my usual morning walk through the store. She glanced at the mother-to-be, who was rapidly disappearing behind the door of the goods lift. You seem to have kept yourself busy, however.
Its been an interesting morning, he admitted.
A little different from your office in the City.
We do have women in the City. Some of them even have babies, although we do encourage them to take maternity leave rather than have them in the office. Shed expected him to be dour, cool. He was the enemy, after all. They both knew that. Yet his wry smile indicated a sense of humour, and the firm manner with which he clasped her hand, held it, suggested that hed waited all his life to meet her.
Making a determined effort to collect herself, she retrieved it. Wed rather they didnt do it here either, she admitted. But theres nothing like being thrown in at the deep end. Since I arrived too late to do anything more than hold things up I thought it best to leave you to it. You seemed to be managing, she added, in another of those gritted teeth moments. Then, I was under the impression that you were going to be holding the young ladys hand while shes whizzed through the traffic to the hospital.
I thought someone should offer, he replied. As a criticism of her department managers ineffectuality it was masterly in its understatement. However, the paramedics were kind enough to assure me that Id be in the way. They suggested I might to go along laterwith her shopping. He held up a couple of their trademark dark red glossy carrier bags, the stores name printed in elegant copperplate gold lettering. She had a momentary flash of her vision of the way it would beClaibournes, all in lower-case modern typeonce shed seen him off. They didnt seem to think shed have much use for it in the next hour or so.
What? Oh, no, I imagine not. She looked around. Excuse me. The assistants were busy returning the department to normal, and she crossed to thank them for the way theyd handled a difficult situation.
You will let us know what happens, wont you, Miss Claibourne?
Of course. Maybe youd like to choose a card and sign it from everyone in the department? Ill phone the hospital later, and when we know that everything has gone smoothly Ill take it to the hospital with some flowers. And her shopping. Maybe one of you would be kind enough to take it up to my office? She turned to JD Farraday. Or maybe youd prefer to go on behalf of the store? she offered. See the job through?
Since Im spending the next month observing you at work, Miss Claibourne, I think you should give her the flowers, he said, surrendering the bags to a blushing assistant. While I watch.
Before she could quite make up her mind whether he was being serious or sarcastic, he smiled, which short-circuited any but the most positive thoughts, making it difficult to remember that it was her intention to spend as little time as possible in his company.
If youve nothing more pressing this evening, of course youre most welcome to join me. But its not compulsory. Even a shadow has statutory rights regarding working hours, she said, making an effort to keep things cool and businesslike. Then she spoiled it all by smiling right back. Excuse me, Id better just go and let everyone know they can resume shopping.
For a moment, the space of a heartbeat, as hed looked up and seen India Claibourne standing in the doorway watching him, Jordan had known hed made a mistake. That his secretary had been right and that he was playing with fire. That he should run, not walk away from this woman.
He already knew she was lovely. Every single photograph of her, since her first photo-call at the age of four, sitting on Santas knee in the C&F Christmas grotto, had been filed away with the newspaper articles on the store supplied by a cuttings agency.
With her little cap of dark hair cut into a neat fringe, her eyes huge with the excitement of it all, there had been the promise of beauty even then.
As shed grown into a lively teenager, a dashing young woman, her face had changed from that of a round-cheeked child into the fine-boned elegance of genuine beauty. One with style, class and the indefinable something extra which made a woman special: the something extra that reminded a man there was more to life than making money.
Only her eyes had never changed. They were still huge, eager, burning with life, and for a moment the heat they generated had seared him in a vivid affirmation of Christines warning on the dangers of playing with fire.
Then shed turned away to speak to her department manager and common sense had kicked in.
He was that rarest of commodities, a wealthy bachelor. His world had never been short of lovely women. But he hadnt lost his head over one of them yet, and there was absolutely no chance of him losing it over India Claibourne.
That wasnt his plan at all. In this relationship there would be only one loser.
For a moment he watched her walk across the sales floor towards the coffee shop. Tall, willowy, her long legs emphasised by high, high heels, her elegant figure merely sketched at by the suit she was wearing. Burgundy-red, rich and dark and expensive, with discreet gold buttons. Claibourne & Farradays livery colours.
That shed chosen to wear it today in order to make some kind of statement he never doubted for a second.
Shed fight him for possession of her domain with her last breath. The knowledge sent a ripple of excitement through him that was far more pleasing than all his cold, calculating plans.
Before the month was up she would surrender everything to him. More than surrender. She was the one playing with fire and she was going to get burned.
And with that pleasing thought he went after her.
Ladies, gentlemen She didnt raise her voice, or rap on a table, yet there was an immediate hush in the coffee shop, a tribute to a presence that was rare in a woman. Confidence, self-belief, a power that came from within. She was a worthy adversary. I just wanted to thank you all for your patience. You can continue with your shopping whenever youre ready. For a moment she was deluged with questions about the young mother-to-be. Ill be calling the hospital later for news of our newest customer, she continued, and if the parents give their permission well post news of the birth on our website. Then, checking her watch, she turned to him and said, I have to go. Ive got an author arriving for a book-signing in a few minutes.
I saw the posters when I arrived. Is it simply a meet-and-greet? Or will you have to stand by and hand her an endless supply of pens?
She can manage her own pens, but she does merit the full red carpet treatment. Fortunately she doesnt have time for lunch today. Then, Or maybe I make a less attractive lunchtime companion than my father. He always took her to the Ritz and plied her with champagne, she added, with a sideways glance from beneath dark glossy lashes that appeared to suggest that if he took over hed have that pleasure to look forward to.
You could do that.
I dont think either the Ritz or the champagne would make up for my father not being there to flirt with her.
Hes certainly had plenty of practice, he agreed blandly. Then, as her cheekbones flushed pink with anger, Id have doubted a book department was a cost-effective use of space these days, he said as they both reached out to press the button to summon the lift. He beat her to it by a fraction of a second, and their fingers tangled momentarily before she snatched them back, as if stung. Her nails were polished the same deep burgundy-red as her suit. As her smooth, soft lips. Can you compete with the big book chains? he enquired, making an effort to concentrate on business.
The decision to close the book department was made several weeks ago, she replied. Again that little sideways flicker of eyelashes. This time they said, You see? Im one step ahead of you. Its part of the rationalisation of floor space thats in progress at the moment. Weve started on the top floor, as you must have noticed.
Impossible to miss, he agreed. It must make concentration difficult.
I never have any difficulty in concentrating on the important stuff. The lift arrived and they got in. Ground floor, please, she said, abandoning competition in favour of making it appear that he was at her beck and call. He pressed the button that would take them to the ground floor without comment. She was, he had to admit, a fast learner. Were reducing the office area by half. My father has retired she glanced at him but then you know that. She paused momentarily, as if expecting him to enquire after the mans health. When he didnt, she went on, And Flora rarely uses her office, so they are both being ripped out. Romanas office is being remodelled to provide space for the two of usthe centre partition will be movable, for full-scale planning meetings. Once thats done, my office will go too.
May I see the plans? Id like to know what youre doing with the space youve made. The reasoning behind the changes. When you have a moment.
Id be delighted to explain what were doing, Mr Farraday. Just as long as you accept that Im extending you a courtesy, not seeking your approval.
Of course. Control is absolute. We both understand that. He certainly wouldnt be seeking approval from the Claibournes for his plans. Their helpless howls of rage as he sold the store would only sweeten his triumph.
They reached the ground floor and he followed her across the entrance lobby to the main door, where a staff photographer was waiting, along with a group of fans eager to catch the first glimpse of their idol. Any sign of her, Mr Edwards? she asked the commissionaire.
Shes stopped just down there at the traffic lights. Youve got about thirty seconds.
The white stretch limo, she explained. The lady is a celebrity. She likes to make an entrance. Then, Maybe well have a little time between the book-signing and the celebrity chef.
Celebrity chef?
In the food hall at twelve oclock. Hes making some Italian dish to promote a new product line. Im afraid youve chosen a rather hectic day to visit us, but maybe we can find some time to look at the plans before he arrives.
He didnt miss her suggestion that he was visiting. That this was her territory. Perhaps youd be good enough to run the programme for the rest of the month by me too, he said, reminding her that his visit wasnt a day-trip. When you have a moment.
Im sorry. This must seem very tedious to you. But a store of this size needs to provide constant entertainment valuesomething to draw the crowds.
And you keep a very high profile.
Its not the way you do things in your world, I know, but then high finance is, by its very nature, a secretive business.
I think the word you want is confidential.
Is there a difference? She glanced up at him with those cool dark eyes. Apart from tone?
Not that much in the meaning, perhaps, but in the dismissive manner in which she said it there was a world of difference. Tone is everything.
Perhaps. This is different. Every day is showtime, and since its my name above the door I have to be centre stage. Meaning that hed have to be front and centre too, when he took over? Our customers like the fact that if something goes wrong Im here, not hidden away in some anonymous head office.
Again there was the slightest pause, as if she expected him to say something. Did she really expect him to comment? Promise that hed be on call for any customer with a complaint? She did something with her shoulders. Nothing as definitive as a shrug, but it made its point loud and clear. It said that he didnt measure up to her ideal of a CEO for Claibourne & Farraday. It was a situation that she apparently found immeasurably satisfying, if the small smile tucking up the corners of her mouth was anything to judge by.
Ill check my diary, she continued. I might have that moment to run through the event schedule later. Of course theres nothing stopping you from picking up a programme at the information desk. Or even going to the website to check it out for yourself.
Like your customers, I prefer the personal touch. You can tell me all about it this evening. Which dealt with her smile, reducing it to a puzzled frown. After weve visited the hospital. Over dinner, perhaps? Then, almost as an afterthought, You do manage to find a little time to eat?
Yes, but
Ive cleared my diary in order to indulge you, Miss Claibourne. I think Im entitled to a little consideration in return.
India, honey! Before she could respond, she was enveloped in the warm embrace of her guest.
India greeted the exuberant author with more than usual warmth. She deserved it for rescuing her from having to cope with a remark that she suspected had been finely judged to wind her up.
Hed indulged her?
He made her sound like some wilful little girl, whod been given her own way under sufferance, but who would shortly be sent to bed unless she was very, very good.
And then the author spotted him, and lit up like the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. Who, she demanded, is this beautiful man?
India was about to introduce them, and invite Mr Farraday to escort the lady novelist up to the book department, when the beautiful man in question pre-empted her. Farraday, he said, taking her hand with a dazzling smile. Jordan Farraday.
She laughed. You mean I get a Claibourne and a Farraday? This is so special! As she turned to face the cameras for the PR shots she snuggled up to him, before taking his arm and sweeping towards the escalator, leaving India trailing in their wake.
We should have lunch, Mr Farraday, she said, as they arrived at the book department and she finally released him.
How I wish that were possible, he said, with every appearance of deepest regret. Another time, perhaps. He looked around at the queue of women clutching copies of her book to be signed. I appear to be keeping you from your fans. And with that he gave India a look that seemed to say, Well? How did I do? Could Peter Claibourne have done it better? And the answer, of course, was no. Then he glanced at his wristwatch. If youll excuse me? Then, to India, I need to make a phone call.
Please, use my office.
She could have gone with him, but she was glad of a moment to herself. She wasnt taking anything for granted, however, and used the internal phone to call Sally.
Mr Farraday is on his way up. You can give him the event list for June, but he isnt to see the new office plans. Or anything else.
Anything? Sally replied, with a throaty chuckle.
A distraction in the form of her sexy secretary, whose highest ambition was to flirt for her country in the Olympic Games, might be useful, but try as she might she couldnt summon up any enthusiasm for the idea. Instead, rather lamely, she said, Oh, please
She couldnt quite understand why the idea bothered her, and she put it firmly out of her mind, returning to pose for photographs for the website with the author and some of her fans.
After that there was nothing to stop her going back to her office and rejoining her shadow. The temptation to go down to the archivesa place where she could not be found unless she wanted to beand hide out for the rest of the day was compelling.
She pushed open the door to the stairs. Up or down?
Shed never know, because Jordan Farraday was leaning, one shoulder against the wall, legs casually crossed, cutting off any chance of escape. She jumped nervously, and to cover her reaction laughed. Mr Farraday. I thought you were using my office to make your phone call.
I didnt need a desk and I have my mobile.
In other words it was simply a device to escape being pressed into joining the lady for dinner instead?
Ive already got a dinner date. With you. And he dropped the cellphone hed been using into his pocket. What next?
Coffee, she said as, cut off from retreat, she took the stairs up to her office, cursing herself for not having thought of inviting the author to join them. She glanced back over her shoulder and found her eyes were on a level with his. They were dark as pitch and just as unfathomable. You wouldnt be able to walk away so easily if you were running the show.
When Im running the show, Miss Claibourne, Ill pay someone else to play clown. Id offer you the job, since you enjoy it so much, but somehow I dont think youd want to work for me.
Ignoring his comment about playing clownbut mentally filing away the fact that he planned on putting in a manager to use against himshe said, It would make better sense to leave things the way they are.
For you, maybe. Not for me. But you already know that.
Yes. She knew. While her father had been running the store hed been able to do whatever he wanted and all Jordan Farraday could do was stand by and watch. He wasnt going to leave things the way they were because he wanted that power for himself. Just for the sake of it? Or did he already have plans that he knew she wouldnt like?
What time does your next party turn arrive? he asked, interrupting this disturbing chain of thought.
I wouldnt let our celebrity chef hear you describe him as a party turn. Not when hes got a knife in his hand. She ran her swipe card through the security lock and swept through the door and down the corridor, stopping by Sallys office to ask for coffee and check for messages. And schedule a meeting for me with the training manager, will you, please? As a matter of urgency. That woman in the nursery department didnt cope well today.
Shes just acting manager, isnt she? While the manager is on holiday?
Yes, and Im afraid it showed. We need to make sure everyone knows how to deal with these one-off emergencies. We cant rely on Mr Farraday to be around to take charge and hold hands next time. She glanced up, challenging him to admit it. Disconcertingly, he smiled, and for a moment she couldnt think what shed been going to say next. Andum
The hospital? Sally prompted, flirting dangerously with an I-told-you-so smile.
Check and see how our mother-to-be is doing. As soon as weve got a result Ill want flowers, and a basket of baby stuff in an appropriate colour. And a nice big C&F teddy. Itll look good in a photograph if theyre prepared to do a PR piece. Ill want a photographer with me this evening when I visitwith luck well catch them on an emotional high that they want to share with the rest of the world.
Ill get onto it. We need to finalise the details of the retirement party for Maureen Derbyshire too, when youve got a minute. And she turned to Jordan Farraday. Dont miss it, JD. Its going to be quite a party.
I fear Mr Farraday finds our small concerns rather dull, Sally, she said, before he could respond. Then, turning to him, You wouldnt understand, Mr Farraday, but when Maureen leaves itll be the end of an era. She started work here on the day she left school. Fifty years ago.
Then she must have known my grandfather.
Damn! She hadnt thought of that. Point scoring off JD Farraday was going to be tricky. But she smiled and said, Yes, I imagine so.
Im sure shed be thrilled if you could find time to join us, Sally said, innocent as a baby. Its on Thursday evening. In the Roof Garden Restaurant.
Ill be there, he said, his gaze never leaving Indias face, mocking her as if, despite her secretarys invitation, he understood that she didnt want him popping up all over the place. On the understanding that India saves the first dance for me.
CHAPTER THREE
I CANT believe how young she is, India said as they left the hospital early that evening. Or maybe Im just getting old.
That must be it, Jordan said. She glanced at him sharply and his eyes creased into the kind of smile designed to make a woman go weak at the knees. He was teasing her, she realised. Which was unexpected and had to be against the rules in a situation like this. But then Jordan Farraday undoubtedly made up the rules as he went along. What did you have to offer to get her to do those publicity shots?
Thats confidential. Shed taken a photographer with her, hoping to catch the new parents in a mood to share their news with the world. They had been. For a price. She and the new mother had done their deal in the man-free environment of the nappy-changing room. Serena hadnt wanted her boyfriend to know the details either. Between her and me.
He raised his brows. That much?
She may be young, but shes not stupid.
Are you suggesting that she stage-managed the whole thing?
That she waited until the contractions were well established before taking a turn around the nursery department, you mean? Thats very cynical of you, Mr Farraday. I was suggesting nothing of the kind. Simply that she understands the value of publicity. She glanced up at him. You looked quite something with the new baby in your arms.
You pay and I get the publicity. It hardly seems fair.
The cost comes out of the PR budget, she reminded him, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. Jordan Farraday was winning the publicity war hands down. First with the author, then making a hit with the celebrity chef, when hed asked the kind of questions that made the man look like a towering culinary intellect. And then Serena had insisted he be the one to hold the baby. And Claibournes gets the publicity.
In this instance it would seem that its the & Farraday wholl get all the newspaper coverage.
She shrugged as if it made no difference. Itll make a nice story, she said. Shed like to believe his colleagues in the City would be ragging him about it for days, but had to admit that the prospect was unlikely. Theyd more likely be awestruck by his ability to cope in the kind of crisis theyd never want to be anywhere near.
Theyd taken a black cab to the hospital, to avoid the hassle of finding somewhere to park, and Jordan grabbed one now that was dropping off passengers. He spoke to the driver, then joined her in the back of the cab.
Will we have the pleasure of your presence at the store tomorrow? she asked.
Today isnt over yet.
Thats true, she said, remembering the files in the boot of her car. Ive got a load of paperwork to get through tonight.
Anything an interested shadow can help with?
No, she said, too quickly. Its Well
Secret? he offered.
Confidential, she said. Family business.
Its all family business, he replied, as the cab pulled over to the kerb and came to a halt. One way or another. Were here.
Where? India glanced out at the side street, where they had stopped in front of a small restaurant she knew by name, its reputation for good food, and the impossibility of getting a table.
I had my secretary book a table for eight oclock. Were a little early, but I dont suppose thatll be a problem at this time in the evening. He climbed from the cab, holding the door for her.
Look, I know you said wed have dinner, but honestly Ive got a pile of work
India, he said, cutting her short. And the way he used her given name was faintly shocking. Like being touched. Ive been chasing you around that wretched store all day. Ive been very, very patient, and you will now do me the courtesy of sitting down and sharing a meal with me. I want to hear about your plans. How you see the future of Claibourne & Farraday.
In my hands, she replied, without missing a beat. And the changes she had in mind were not for sharing with Jordan Farraday.
His smile was perfunctory. Humour me, as Ive humoured you all day, or the shadow deals off and you can forget all about me playing follow-my-leader for the rest of the month. Instead Ill instruct my lawyers to invoke the golden share agreement first thing tomorrow.
That wretched golden share The two per cent controlling interest in the company that was supposed to be handed on, like some Olympic flame, to the oldest male heir. Not this time.
He might be oldest; she was best.
In which case, he added, just in case she hadnt got the point, youll be out by the end of the week.
You can try, she said, not moving. Once the lawyers get involved it could take years. Except that would defeat the whole object. She might be in, occupying the seat, but she wouldnt be able to do a thing. Any move to change the name, change the style, do anything constructive, would be met with legal injunctions. The company would stagnate, wither.
She would surrender before shed let that happen. She just hoped he didnt know that.
So he said. We both know exactly where we stand. No more pretending to be nice. You have possession of the store and youll do anything to keep it. Something that I cant possibly allow. Then, But we still have to eat. And he offered her his hand.
Damn! She hadnt planned on things moving this quickly. A fact she was sure he knew. He knew altogether too much. All day hed been at her shoulder, stealing the limelight, charming everyone he met, apparently interested in the smallest detail, always asking the right questions.
Always there, just at the corner of her vision, close enough to touch but never quite touching.
Shed tossed her sisters into this situation without a thought as to how theyd cope. Shed just wanted the time it had bought her. The time it had bought her lawyers as they tried to make a case to stop the takeover.
Faced with the reality of spending a month in this mans companyup close and as personal as it gotshe wished shed listened to their protests.
She wished they were home, so that she could talk to them. Romana had taken time out from her extended honeymoon to e-mail her detailed ideas for the better use of spaceideas that shed wasted no time in implementing. And Flora had sent back wonderful cloth, jewellery and design sketches, as well as a report for the travel department on Saraminda.
Neither of them had offered advice on dealing with a Farraday male. Maybe because they knew their solution could never be hers.
Shed never felt so alone in her life.
When she still hesitated, he let his hand drop and said, If you doubt that I can do it, Ill tell the driver to take you back to the store. But I suggest you clear your desk while youre there.
She could scarcely believe her ears. Youre threatening me?
No, India. I dont make threats to get what I want. What Im doing is giving you a month of my time in which to convince me that youre the only person in the world who can run Claibourne & Farraday.
Why? The word escaped her lips before she could stop it. Why are you doing that?
Giving you a month of my time?
Yes. Whats in it for you?
Well, lets see. Im doing it because your lawyers requested it and my lawyers could see no disadvantage. Im taking the opportunity to familiarise myself with the store. Get to know the senior staff. She wished she hadnt asked. He was using the time shed given him to infiltrate himself into the store, smooth the transition What Im doing is bending over backwards to be reasonable, so that if we do end up in a court battle Ill impress their Lordships as a reasonable man whos done everything asked. And he smiled. Does that answer your question?
His answer was so smooth, so pat. Soreasonable! She couldnt fault him. Which meant shed just have to swallow her pride and play nice.
Yes, well, Ive never suggested Im the only person in the world who can run the store, JD, she said, finally joining him on the pavement. If he was going to make free with her name, without so much as a by-you-leave, she certainly wasnt going to keep calling him Mr Farraday. As if he were the boss and she were his underling. They were equals. As he turned from paying the driver, she dredged up a smile. Just the best.
Jordan, he said.
What?
My staff call me JD. You and I are equals. Equals? Could he read her mind? Partners. Id rather you called me by my name. He lifted his brows, encouraging her to give it a try.
Jordan? she offered.
He lifted the corner of his mouth in a wry smile. That wasnt so difficult, was it?
Patronising oaf. She didnt believe for one minute that he considered her his equal, but shed do her level best to change his mindand if that involved supping with the devil, shed do it. She put a little more effort into her smile as he placed his hand beneath her elbowdid he feel her jump as he touched her?pushed open the restaurant door and held it for her.
Its curious that were both named after countries, dont you think? he said, once they were seated at a quiet table.
She resisted the temptation to point out that while he was named after a very small country she was named after a sub-continent. My father met my mother in India, she said, perusing the menu. Hence the name. Its something of a family tradition. My father took his second wife to Florence for their honeymoon, and met his third in Rome on a trip to the fashion shows. She was a model. Hence Flora and Romana.
How fortunate he didnt have boys.
She glanced up. Well, thats original.
What is?
Most people say how lucky it was that the cities werent Naples, or Pisa. Tell me about your name. Was that a honeymoon destination too?
My parents never got around to taking a honeymoon, he replied. But then they never actually got around to marriage.
Oh. Served her right for asking.
According to my mother, my fathers surname was Jordan. Or rather Jourdan. He was French. They met while she was backpacking in Europe before going to university. It was one of those holiday romances. You know how it is. Brief. Passionate. He shrugged. Life-changing.
Was it a big deal having a baby as a single mother back then? She supposed it must have been. Something about the way hed said life-changing suggested it had radically changed his mothers life. And not necessarily for the better. Not going to university would have been the first of many sacrifices.
I did wonder how you came to be using the Farraday surname, she said. Shed resisted the urge to ask. She didnt want to know that kind of stuff. She had to keep this businesslike. You never knew him?
My father? No. He was long gone by the time Kitty realised she was pregnant.
Kitty? You call your mother by her first name?
He shrugged. A gloss to protect my grandfathers sensibilities, I suspect.
Oh, I see. Im sorry. I didnt mean to pry. I just dont know much about your family history.
We have a lot in common, you and I. We both want the same thing. We both come from one-parent families.
She wanted to ask him if his mother had ever found someone special. Wanted to know about his life. Had he been an only child? The son of an embittered woman? An older half-sibling An outsider This morning he had been a stranger. Already she wanted to know his deepest fears, his happiest memories.
She gave you his name, she said.
Not the whole name. But she felt I should have something to remember him by. The way your name reminds you of your mother. Do you remember her?
No. I was still a baby when she left. So much for keeping it businesslike. Concentrating on the menu, as if she hadnt already made up her mind what she would choose, and as casually as she knew how, she said, According to my grandmother she never settledhated London. She just wanted to go back to India, kick off her shoes, don her beads and get back to the ashram.
.
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Liz Fielding
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: Taking on the boss…India Claibourne is bright, beautiful and the boss of an exclusive London department store. Jordan Farraday is a devastatingly handsome tycoon–and his number one aim is to take over that store!Jordan may make her heart pound with excitement, but no way is India going to let that happen. The battle of wills commences–the final showdown that will dig up past secrets and shake up everything that is dear to India and Jordan. There was only supposed to be one winner–but perhaps this time there will be two….