Читать книгу The Doctor's Diamond Proposal - Annie Claydon - Страница 12
ОглавлениеTime warp to the present day...
ALEXANDRA JACKSON WAS shaking as she walked across the large marble-clad reception area of the hotel. The receptionist gave her directions to the coffee lounge.
‘Oh, and where’s the ladies’ room, please?’ She still had ten minutes to spare, and her heart was beating like a hammer in her chest. She needed to calm down.
‘Through there...’
Alex followed the receptionist’s pointing finger, ending up in a tastefully decorated ante-room that was larger, and rather smarter, than her own lounge. Sitting down, she closed her eyes, concentrating on deep, slow breaths.
Leo Cross. She’d thought about him a lot in the last ten years, certainly more than one night in a coffee bar would warrant. Maybe because of what had happened on her way home. The car that had swerved across the road and hit her, after she’d got off the bus, had changed everything.
Alex had wondered whether, by some chance, he might be one of the unending stream of doctors who stopped by her hospital bed, but he never had. She’d lost her phone and when her parents brought her a new one the number was different. In any case, what would he want with her now?
All the same, the memories of Leo’s slightly awkward charm, the shining passion with which he’d talked about his ambition to become a doctor, had still lingered. Like a touchstone that stayed with her through the long months of convalescence, learning to walk again with a prosthetic leg, leaving home for university... Leo’s commitment, his absolute certainty that he had a calling in life, had spurred her on. If he could do it, then so could she.
She’d hung onto the dream as long as she could, imagining Leo as some kind of white knight, a public health crusader—a starship captain, even. Nothing less would have been enough for Leo. But then she’d been brought back to earth with a bump.
Seven years after the night she’d met him, she saw Leo’s name in the papers. Not believing it could be him, she’d searched the Internet for a picture. And there he was. The newest TV doctor, charming and urbane, who made an appearance at all the right parties. It seemed that the Leo she’d met had lost his ambition to change the world, and cashed in on his melting blue eyes and blond, handsome looks.
She’d thought about contacting him, but what would she say? That she’d held him in her heart for all these years until he became an ideal, rather than a blood and bone man? Perfect was best left where reality couldn’t tarnish it, in dreams and the imagination.
But now Leo Cross had something she wanted.
Alex zipped up her bag and stood, straightening her jacket and smoothing her trousers. He wouldn’t recognise her, nor would he remember. She could start again and pretend he was a completely different person from the one she’d met all those years ago.
* * *
As she walked into the coffee lounge she saw him immediately, sitting in one of the easy chairs grouped around each table. He still took her breath away. His hair was shorter and neater but still gave his face an almost angelic quality, even though the softness around his eyes had gone. He was dressed impeccably, a dark suit with an impossibly crisp white shirt and a subtly patterned, expensive-looking tie.
Everything about him screamed celebrity: the winter tan, the way the waiter knew exactly who he was and where he was sitting when Alex said who she was there to meet. She wondered whether the air of gravitas, lent by the pile of papers on his knee that were currently taking his full attention, was for her benefit and dismissed the thought. She was the one who needed to impress him, not the other way around.
He looked up as she approached, the sudden flash of uncertainty in his eyes giving way to recognition. Then he sprang to his feet, his papers dropping unheeded onto the carpet.
‘Lieutenant Tara!’ His smile was just as melting as it had ever been and the shock of being recognised and suddenly catapulted backwards in time left Alex momentarily at a loss. ‘As I live and breathe... How are you? What have you been up to?’
‘I think you know already. That’s my PR bundle you’ve just dropped on the floor.’
He put two and two together with creditable speed. ‘You’re Alexandra Jackson?’
‘Yes. Only I prefer Alex...’
‘Fewer syllables to contend with?’ Leo’s quiet, understated humour had remained intact, at least. She grinned up at him stupidly, a mixture of pleasure and panic rendering her silent.
‘Did you know it was me?’
It was somehow engaging that he could even entertain the notion that someone could forget his smile. ‘Yes. I didn’t think you’d remember me.’
‘Well, it’s good to see you. I’m afraid I haven’t had a chance to go through all the material you sent yet.’ He bent to pick up the papers, shuffling the disorderly pile and laying it on the table.
She’d read every word of his PR material. Top of his class at medical school, and now practising as a GP in central London. An advanced diploma in counselling, and membership of a long list of professional bodies. Co-hosting a radio phone-in had quickly led to his own show, which aired three evenings a week, and then TV appearances, a couple of bestselling books and patronage of various health initiatives. On its own that was impressive, but if his social life was even half as interesting as the papers would have everyone believe, it was practically superhuman.
‘So...’ He gestured her towards the armchair standing opposite his. ‘Shall we get down to business?’
‘Yes. That would be good.’ That was what she was here for. Not to spend the time gawping at Leo’s smile.
‘Right, then.’ He seemed impatient now to start and Alex dumped her coat and bag onto an empty chair, sitting down quickly. ‘I’d like to be honest with you about why you’re here.’
That would be good. Alex nodded dumbly.
‘Only I need your confirmation that this information will stay confidential. It’ll be public knowledge soon, but I’d prefer it didn’t come from anyone connected with us.’
‘I understand. I won’t say a word.’
‘Thank you.’ His stern look promised all kinds of retribution if she did. ‘As you know 2KZ, the radio station I work for, holds an annual charity spotlight during February. And your charity applied to participate in that.’
‘Yes. We were told before Christmas that our application wasn’t successful.’
‘It wasn’t.’ He paused to let that particular defeat sink in. ‘But the charity we chose has had difficulties. We stuck by them for as long as the allegations were unsubstantiated but, now that they are, we have little choice but to look elsewhere.’
‘And we have another chance?’ Alex wondered which charity it was, and what the allegations were, but Leo’s measured professionalism made it clear that he wasn’t about to divulge that information.
‘We considered abandoning our plans for this year completely, but we feel that a new charity, which we can investigate thoroughly for any sign of irregularity, would be an appropriate fallback position. The format would be slightly different—we’ll be doing informal phone-ins instead of a series of pre-recorded programmes, because of the time factor. Are you still interested?’
Alex swallowed. ‘This is a big project for us and it’ll take a good proportion of our resources if we get involved. Can you tell me how far down the list we were?’ Her feelings about being told that they were second best were irrelevant, even if Leo could have put it a little more tactfully. But she did need to know that 2KZ were interested enough to present her charity properly, and that they weren’t just filling a few spare hours in their programming schedule.
‘No. That would be inappropriate. But I can assure you that we’re fully committed to going ahead with this and that I believe you’re a good fit for the project. And I do need your answer now.’
In other words, she had to trust him. The old Leo would have been a lot easier to trust than this new one. But Alex knew she’d have to be crazy to pass up a chance like this.
‘Yes, we’re interested. Thank you. This is a wonderful opportunity for us.’
He dismissed her gratitude with a practised smile, a flip of his finger bringing a waiter over. ‘Shall we have some tea? The Darjeeling, I think...’ The waiter began to scribble on his pad.
She’d never been here before and had no idea what to order. All the same, Leo had left her to choose for herself at the coffee bar. Alex supposed that it had been a bit more straightforward then—coffee or tea, with or without milk. But it seemed that everything had been a bit more straightforward that night.
‘That sounds nice. But I’d prefer Lady Grey if they have it.’
The ghost of a smile flickered around his lips. ‘Lady Grey it is.’ He looked up at the waiter. ‘A pot for two, please.’
‘Sandwiches or cakes, sir?’ The waiter’s gaze turned to Alex as Leo deflected the question her way.
‘No, thank you. Not for me.’ Dealing with Leo was taking all of her concentration. She wasn’t sure she could manage cake crumbs as well.
Leo was shuffling through the papers in front of him on the table. ‘Right. So your charity is called Together Our Way?’
‘Yes.’
‘No acronyms? Something a bit more snappy?’
‘No.’ Defiance bloomed suddenly in her chest. If they were going to do this, she was going to have to learn to stand up to Leo’s steamroller tactics. ‘We like to be referred to by our full name because it’s the way we do things.’
‘Yeah, I got that. And you’re...’ He caught a sheet from the pile which Alex recognised as her own CV. ‘A qualified physiotherapist, and you founded Together Our Way to help young people with disabilities participate in sport.’
‘Yes. I’ve brought some photographs with me that I think best show...’
‘Later, maybe. I’d like to ask a bit about how the charity’s run first.’ He didn’t even look at the pile of photos that Alex had pulled from her bag. ‘From what I can see here, you’re managing on a shoestring. You work three days a week as a physiotherapist and you don’t take a salary from the charity. And you just have one part-time paid employee, who called me back yesterday to arrange this meeting. From what Rhona says, she seems to be doing rather more than I’d normally expect from a part-timer.’
‘When people give us money, they want to see it spent on our core aims, not our running costs. We have an arrangement with Rhona that suits us both—she has family commitments and we give her very flexible working hours, and in return she’s very committed to us. And we have a network of very enthusiastic supporters.’ Alex had photographs of them as well, but she doubted that Leo would want to see them.
He nodded. ‘And you have your own office?’
‘Yes. It’s a loft room. The law firm that owns the building wasn’t using it and they let us have it free of charge.’
‘That’s good of them. And what do you do for them in return?’ His eyes seemed to bore into her, both tempting and cajoling at the same time.
‘The senior partner’s son takes part in one of our training programmes.’
‘And this boy—he fulfils your standard criteria for this service?’
Anger seized hold of her. Alex knew the exact position of the photograph in the pile, and she snatched it out, dropping it onto the table in front of Leo. ‘He was born without the lower part of both legs. Like most five-year-olds, he loves running and playing football. His name is Sam.’
Leo glanced down at the photograph, his face suddenly softening. As he reached out to touch it with his fingertips, Alex saw the melting blue eyes of the young man she’d once met.
‘It looks as if Sam’s pretty good with that ball.’
‘He is. What he doesn’t have in speed, he makes up for with tactics.’
‘Well, I hope I’ll get a chance to see him play.’ It was just a glimpse of compassion—a brief acknowledgement that Leo really did understand what Together Our Way was all about. But it was enough to stop Alex from giving up on him completely and putting her involvement in this project up for review.
And then the moment was gone. The tea arrived, and Leo took that as a cue to resume his questioning. The way the charity was run. Exactly what they spent their money on. How many volunteers they had, how they dealt with Health and Safety. He was nothing if not thorough and, although Alex struggled to keep up with him, he seemed content with her answers.
‘And now that I know all about you—’ his smile became melting again ‘—it brings me to the question of 2KZ’s planned involvement.’
* * *
Maybe he’d been a little hard on her. There was actually no maybe about it, but Alex hadn’t let him walk all over her and Leo respected that. And the delicious surprise of seeing her again...
Had been shockingly tempered when he realised that she had been through so much in the last ten years. An accident, losing her leg. But she’d turned that around. And, out of respect for her, he’d concentrated on her achievements.
If it had been anyone else, he would have allowed the personal to oil the wheels of the professional. But Alex clearly didn’t want to put their relationship on that level. She hadn’t called him back ten years ago. And even though she’d known it was him, she’d left it to her assistant to call him and arrange this meeting. Leo wasn’t prone to holding grudges, but that looked like a pretty definite expression of intent.
He’d reacted like an iceman, shrinking from a flame. Ill-prepared, because of an emergency with one of the patients at his GP’s surgery, he’d asked the questions he needed to ask and kept his feelings to himself.
And his feelings weren’t a part of this equation. If Together Our Way was slightly amateurish in its approach, its heart was quite definitely in the right place. It was an organisation that his show could make a big difference to, and Leo seldom turned down a challenge.
‘As I said, the spotlight we’re proposing is a little different from the one first offered.’ This was the sticking point. ‘The intention now is that I’ll be hosting a representative from Together Our Way as a guest on my medical phone-in show, once a week during the whole of February. I’m assuming that it will be you?’
Panic flared in her eyes, and Leo felt another little piece of him melt in response. Clearly the idea that she’d be talking live on the radio hadn’t registered with Alex the first time he’d mentioned it.
But she rallied beautifully. ‘Yes. It’ll be me.’
‘I’m trying to get some ten or fifteen minute slots on our Community Affairs programme in addition to that. That’ll involve me spending some time with you, and seeing your work first-hand. I assume you have no objections to that?’
‘We’d welcome it. What do you have in mind?’
‘I’ll be making reports, and probably writing a few articles for our website. And there’ll be an outside broadcast...’ He fell silent. He could see from her face that Alex had an issue with that, and he waited for her to put it into words.
‘Would you be happy to fit in with our way of doing things? Our first priority is the young people we serve, and if we needed to change that emphasis to accommodate you we’d have some difficulty.’
She’d have no difficulty in changing; she just wasn’t prepared to do it. Good for her. ‘We’d be there to observe. Low-profile isn’t my usual approach, so I’ll be giving those muscles a little much-needed exercise.’
Her pursed lips reminded him of a severe version of a kiss. ‘That’s part of what we do. Help exercise under-used muscles.’
‘We’ll stay flexible, then.’ He imagined that Alex was just as used to acting on her own initiative as he was, and that might be interesting. Even so, it was time to flex the muscles he did use regularly and remind her who was in charge of this project.
‘2KZ has broadcast to the whole of London for more than thirty years now. Interviews with young people appeal to our listeners and we know how to do them appropriately and with all the necessary safeguards and permissions. We give our listeners what they want, and outside broadcasts are very good for ratings.’
Another disapproving look. Maybe he needed to mention that ratings weren’t just a number on a spreadsheet; they represented hearts and minds. She might deal in hearts and minds but she couldn’t reach them without his domination of the ratings lists.
Despite all that disapproval, she came to the right decision. ‘That sounds excellent. As long as our young people are properly supported and safeguarded, I think an outside broadcast would certainly be something we’d be keen to do.’
‘Good. Anything else?’
‘Yes, would you mind if we featured the spotlight on our website?’
‘We’d welcome it. We can provide you with artwork if that’s of any help. I’ll have our in-house designer get in touch with... You have a web designer?’
‘That’s me, actually.’ She shrugged. ‘I’m afraid it’s not very professional. One of those standard template designs...’
He’d looked at her website briefly and had been very favourably impressed. ‘If you like, I can set up a call with our designer. She’s got a lot of experience with liaising with other organisations we partner with, and a conversation might be helpful.’
‘Thank you. I’d be grateful for any suggestions she has.’ Alex paused, squeezing her hands together. She seemed to have something else on her mind.
‘If there are any other issues, now’s the time to raise them. We have a very tight schedule on this.’
‘I’ve never been on the radio before...’ And she was clearly terrified at the prospect.
‘That’s what I’m there for. I ask a few questions, to steer things in the right direction, and step in when you dry up...’ He couldn’t help smiling when Alex’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Everyone dries up first time. It’s expected.’
‘Right. I’ll try not to do it too much.’
‘Be yourself. Don’t think about it too much; just say what you want to say. There’s a seven second broadcast delay, which allows us to catch anything too bad before it airs. It’s supposed to be so that we can cut any profanity, but it works pretty well if you suddenly find you’ve forgotten what you were about to say.’
‘I won’t forget. This is really important to me, and I want to do it well.’
Leo nodded, taking a sip of his tea. ‘That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Hold that thought and you’ll be fine.’
* * *
He seemed to have loosened up a bit, which was good, because the giddy chicane of Leo’s questioning, and his efficient, autocratic way of doing things, had left her almost weak with exhaustion. He took a thick card from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.
‘Here’s my number. I dare say that our PR department will be bombarding you with all kinds of details that don’t really matter. If you want to cut through all of that, give me a call.’
Alex looked at the card. It was printed with Leo’s name and a mobile phone number. She’d never met anyone who had personal calling cards before. ‘Thank you. But I don’t want to bother you...’
‘You won’t be. It’s always better to sort things out direct, and we don’t have any time for messing about.’ His gaze raked her face but he said nothing more. Perhaps he’d called her, ten years ago. Maybe she should explain why she hadn’t called back, but Alex couldn’t think of a tactful way to approach that conversation.
‘Yes. Thank you. Can I give you my number?’ Alex rummaged in her bag and found the box of cards with the charity’s contact details, scribbling her own name and mobile number on the back and handing it to him.
‘Thank you.’ He glanced at the card and put it in his pocket, seeming to relax a little now that the business of the afternoon had been despatched. ‘It’s good to see you again, Alex. If I’d known it was you, I’d have come in costume...’
‘Then I’d have had to do the same.’
His lips twitched into a smile. Pure, seductive charm, which rushed straight to her head. ‘That would have been the one and only thing which would have persuaded me to leave home looking so outrageously foolish.’
Alex had rather liked outrageously foolish. Clearly Leo didn’t any more.
‘It’s just as well you didn’t know, then.’
She grabbed her bag, wondering if she was supposed to leave now, and he stood immediately. Leo was done with her now, and about to move on to the next thing on his agenda.
It wasn’t until she was walking away that Alex realised that there was one thing he hadn’t asked, one thing he hadn’t done. Her CV stated quite clearly that losing the lower part of her right leg in a car accident and her subsequent rehabilitation had inspired her to study physiotherapy and then to found Together Our Way. But, even though his questions had been searching and thorough, he hadn’t brought the subject up, nor had his eyes wandered to where the prosthesis was hidden beneath the fabric of her trousers.
She should be pleased. Alex sometimes had to struggle to get people to see past her accident and the loss of her leg, and that was exactly what Leo had done. It was chastening, though. He might have remembered her, but it seemed he cared so little about her that he hadn’t even mentioned it.
* * *
Leo watched her go, wondering if the tremble of his limbs was some kind of delayed shock. The last time she’d walked away from him, he hadn’t seen her for another ten years. He had no doubt that this time would be different, but he still couldn’t help feeling that he wanted to call after her.
But running after Alex was a very bad idea. She was committed and clever, and the amount she’d achieved in the last ten years was nothing short of extraordinary. When she smiled at him the warmth in her eyes was mesmerising, reflecting all the possibilities that he no longer had it in his heart to believe in. Ten years ago, he’d been as much in love with her as it was possible to be after only one night together, but now love wasn’t on his agenda.
The memory of the night they’d met, the dizzy rush of blood to his head, the tingle as all his senses went into overdrive, almost overwhelmed him. But all that was in the past. He just couldn’t contemplate a relationship, that bond that required his full commitment, his full attention.
He looked at his watch and signalled to the waiter for the bill. He’d have to leave now, if he wasn’t going to be late for his next appointment.
Leo stood, stretching his limbs. There really was no choice about this. If he pulled out, then 2KZ had no other suitable applicants who could respond at such short notice. If she pulled out, then Together Our Way would lose a golden opportunity to increase public awareness about their work. And if his association with Alex didn’t look as if it was going to be all plain sailing, then he’d deal with that as it happened.
