Читать книгу Tycoon for Hire - Lucy Gordon, Lucy Gordon - Страница 5

‘WHAT are you wearing that thing for?’

Jennifer stood back to let her brother come into her house. She was already nervous about the evening to come, and his irritation only made things worse.

‘I thought you bought a new dress for tonight,’ he said. ‘Dark blue satin, tight, slinky, very effective.’ He cast a disparaging glance at her flowing evening gown of gold organdie with its demure neckline. ‘You’re going to a banquet, not a puritan convention.’

‘I’m sorry, Trevor,’ she said in a placating voice, ‘but I just couldn’t wear that blue satin. It’s too revealing.’

‘You didn’t think so when you bought it.’

‘Yes, I did, but I’d let you convince me it was my duty to go to this function. Since then I’ve got my sense of proportion back. I wish I could call the whole thing off.’

‘You can’t do that,’ Trevor said, alarmed. ‘How often must I tell you that appearances matter? Everyone knows you’re representing the firm at the London Society of Commerce Banquet, and you have to be there.’

‘But I was going with David.’

‘And now he’s dumped you—’

‘He hasn’t dumped me. We just—aren’t seeing each other for a while.’

‘Whatever. The point is you can’t stay away and you can’t go on your own. It would look like weakness. You’ve got to let the world see that you don’t care.’

‘But I do care,’ she said sadly.

Jennifer had planned to attend the banquet with David Conner, the man she loved and had expected to marry. But he hadn’t called her since their quarrel two weeks ago, and her heart was breaking. Her ideal evening would have been spent at home having a cup of cocoa and maybe even a good cry. Instead she was dressed up, ready to go out with a stranger.

‘I hate all this business of putting on the proper mask,’ she said. ‘I always have.’

‘Never let the enemy see you weakening,’ Trevor said, reciting his favourite rule.

‘And I hate having to think of everyone as the enemy.’

‘It’s how business is done. Come on, you’ve coped wonderfully well so far.’

‘But you’re not quite sure of me, are you? That’s why you called in on your way home from work to make sure I hadn’t got cold feet. Well, I have.’

Brother and sister were both part of Nortons Distribution, a trucking empire started by their grandfather, Barney Norton. They owned shares in the firm, and ran it between them since illness had forced Barney to retire. The difference was that Trevor lived and breathed business, while Jennifer had only gone into Nortons to please Barney.

Trevor was a thickset man in his thirties, no more than medium height, with a burly build. He might have been attractive if he hadn’t frowned so much. Jennifer respected her brother for his dedicated work, but it was hard to like a man so short-tempered and critical.

‘Be sensible,’ he said now. ‘Go and change into your glad rags.’

‘I’m sorry, Trevor, but these rags are as glad as I’m going to get.’

He tore his hair. ‘For Pete’s sake! Tonight’s a chance to do some networking, make connections. Smile into their eyes, dance close. You’ve got the looks.’

It was true that nature had gifted Jennifer with the vivid beauty to play the role he’d outlined. Her large dark eyes dominated her oval face, and her mouth was deliciously curved in a way that could be more seductive than she was aware.

But nature had also missed something out. She completely lacked the ruthless drive and competitiveness that could have made her use her sexuality in the way Trevor expected. But he seemed not to understand this.

‘You’ve got assets,’ he said now. ‘Flaunt them.’

Goaded, she said, ‘Why don’t you flaunt yours if it’s so important to you?’

‘Because mine aren’t the kind that look good in skin-tight satin. The boardroom’s my sphere, not the ballroom.’

‘I must have been crazy to let you talk me into going to this do without David. And hiring an escort—even from a reputable agency. Think of it! Paying a man to accompany me!’

‘I’ve told you: it’s not like that,’ he said impatiently. ‘Jack’s a good customer, and his grandson is an actor. A failed one, apparently, so he fills in with escort work. You did tell the agency it had to be Mike Harker, didn’t you?’

‘I asked for Mike Harker and nobody else. And before you ask, yes, I was careful not to let on that I’ve met his grandfather. As far as he knows it’s an ordinary booking, so his pride won’t be offended.’

‘Good. Apparently he’s touchy about favours, and it would have been awkward if he’d refused. What reason did you give for asking for him?’

‘I said someone had told me he was very good-looking, and that was what I needed.’

‘Fine. And you’re quite safe. Jack assures me that Harker knows how to keep his hands to himself. Good grief! What’s that?’

Jennifer followed his pointing finger. ‘It’s a cat,’ she said, a tad defensively.

‘Another of your waifs and strays, I presume?’

‘I found Paws outside my back door, if that’s what you mean.’

‘Paws? You actually call it Paws?’

‘She’s a she, not an it, and her paws were the first thing I noticed. They’re white and the rest of her’s black.’

‘Funny how every four-legged tramp seems to find its way here,’ Trevor observed grimly. ‘I should think the word’s gone around the stray community. Drop in on Jennifer Norton. She’s a soft touch.’

‘Better that than a hard one,’ she said quickly.

‘As long as you don’t bring that thing to the office, like you tried to with your last acquisition. We were just about to sign Bill Mercer up to a really profitable deal, and a damned snake slid out of your desk and nearly gave him heart failure.’

‘It was a small grass snake, very sweet and perfectly harmless.’

‘And then there was the gerbil—no, don’t get me started on the gerbil. Anyway, it’s not businesslike.’

‘Well, I never was very businesslike, was I? Not the way you are, the way Barney wanted me to be. I shouldn’t really be part of Nortons at all, you know. I’m not cut out for the cut and thrust. Sometimes I think I should get out while I’m still in my twenties, and try something else.’

‘You can’t do that to Barney,’ Trevor said, aghast. ‘After all he’s done for us! I agree, you’re a fish out of water, but you’ve always been his pet, and if you defect it will break his heart.’

‘I know,’ she said with a helpless sigh, for this was the argument she’d used to herself a hundred times. She couldn’t hurt Barney, and the knowledge was like fetters.

‘If you’d just use your head a little more,’ Trevor said now. ‘Stop making decisions that you haven’t thought through. You’re far too impulsive.’

It was true. Jennifer was warm-hearted and spontaneous, and these qualities often conflicted with the demands of her work. She had brains, and she’d learned the business thoroughly, but people and animals would always matter to her more.

She didn’t try to explain this to Trevor. She’d failed too often in the past. She merely contented herself with saying, ‘Tonight you’re the one who hasn’t thought it through. The whole idea is mad.’

‘Nonsense! Look, I’ve got to go. Chin up!’

He gave her cheek a peck and departed.

Left alone, Jennifer sighed. When they were younger she and Trevor had been close, but now that seemed a long time ago. When she tried to argue with him she was out of her depth. In fact, she increasingly felt that her life had been taken over by forces outside her control, and never more so than tonight.

Trevor had spoken of what Barney had done for them, and it was true that he’d taken them in when their mother had died, when she’d been twelve and Trevor sixteen. Nobody had known where their father was, since he’d abandoned his family some two years earlier. There’d been a divorce and he’d moved abroad with his new lover. There had only been their grandfather.

Barney was affectionate, but his idea of childcare had been to scoop them up into his hectic life, taking them with him from place to place. It had been interesting and fun, but there had been nothing to make Jennifer feel less of an orphan.

Barney couldn’t replace the father who’d deserted her, but she’d loved him, and striven to please him. She’d worked hard at school, enjoying his praise when she got top marks, and gradually coming to accept that she would go into the business.

‘I’m really looking forward to having you two as my partners,’ he’d say happily.

Trevor had joined Nortons as soon as he’d left school, and Barney had started preparing for the day his beloved Jennifer would follow. She hadn’t had the heart to tell him that she would rather work with animals. To disappoint him would have been to risk losing his love, and she’d long ago learned how painful that could be.

So she’d entered the firm and performed every task well, making him proud of her. When his health had failed, five years ago, Trevor and Jennifer had been ready to take over the reins, leaving him to a happy retirement. To all outward appearances she was a glamorous, successful businesswoman, but inside she felt trapped, and a failure.

Now here she was, ready to attend a function that didn’t interest her in the company of a man she didn’t know, more imprisoned than ever by the expectations of others. And wishing with all her heart there was some way of escape.

Steven Leary stopped outside the apartment door and looked at his shabby surroundings in dismay. Once his friend Mike Harker had been a wit, with matinée idol looks, destined for stage and film stardom. But that had been twelve years ago. Steven had kept in touch, but they hadn’t met for five years. Mike’s career had flopped, and he now lived in this dump.

The door opened a crack, revealing one bloodshot eye. ‘Who are you?’ came a muffled voice.

‘Mike? It’s me—Steven.’

‘Hell. Steven?’ Mike drew him inside and quickly shut the door. ‘I was afraid you were the landlord.’

They exclaimed over each other, and studied the difference that the years had made. Mike was still handsome, although bleary eyes and a red nose spoiled the effect.

‘Stay clear,’ he said, waving Steven back. ‘I’m a walking flu germ.’

‘Did I pick a bad time?’ Steven asked, indicating Mike’s white tie and tails on a coat hanger. ‘You look as if you’re going to a première.’

Mike gave him a wry look. ‘If I was into premières, would I be living here?’

Over coffee they exchanged awkward conversation. Steven felt embarrassed to ask Are you still an actor?, and even more embarrassed to talk about his own success.

‘I remember when you joined Charteris Enterprises,’ Mike said. ‘I said you’d end up running the place, and you did.’

‘It’s no big deal,’ Steven said, speaking less than the truth. Charteris was a huge, powerful conglomerate, and its achievements were his pride and joy.

‘You ought to be in bed,’ he told Mike.

‘I have to go out. I survive by working for an escort agency, and I’ve got a job tonight.’

‘You’re a gigolo?’ Steven exclaimed, aghast.

‘No, dammit, I’m not a gigolo! It’s perfectly respectable. If a woman has to go to some function and she hasn’t got an escort, she calls my agency and hires me. I just have to be attentive and make the right impression. She goes home to her bed and I go home to mine.’

‘Which is where you should be right now. You can’t escort a woman in this state. You’ll give her flu.’

‘And she’ll give me money, so that I can stop avoiding the landlord.’

‘Tell your agency to send someone else.’

‘Too late.’ Mike went off into a coughing fit.

‘What’s she like?’

‘Dunno. Never met her. Her name’s Jennifer Norton, and that’s all I know. It’s a commercial function, so she’s probably a hard-faced business-type—mid-forties, too busy making money to have a real relationship, so she calls Rent-A-Man.’

‘Get to bed,’ Steven said firmly. ‘I’ll go in your place.’

‘But they said she asked for me specially.’

‘I thought you didn’t know her?’

‘I don’t. But apparently someone recommended me.’

‘Could she have seen you on television?’

‘No such luck!’

‘So she doesn’t know what you look like?’

‘No way. But she wanted a real looker.’

Steven grinned, not in the least offended. ‘And I’m Frankenstein’s monster?’

‘Cut it out! You always had more than your share of girls, I remember. Can’t think why, when you treated them so badly.’

‘I never laid myself out to please them, if that’s what you mean. Couldn’t see the point. My dad used to say women were like buses. There’d always be another one along soon.’ He gave a crack of laughter. ‘Mind you, he got well clear of Mum before he said it.’

It was true that Steven didn’t have the perfect, regular features that distinguished Mike, but many women found him vitally attractive. He was tall, dark, and powerfully made, with broad shoulders, and the set of his head gave him an air of natural authority. His lean face could scowl or laugh with equal fervour. Thick brows shadowed brown eyes radiating a fierce energy that gave his face its striking character. His mouth was wide and generous. It could form a grin that was predatory, even wolfish, but his smiles were delightful. When in a light-hearted mood he could be charming.

A man who stood out in a crowd. A man that another man, or a woman, would think twice before crossing. Perhaps a man to be feared. But not a man that a woman would choose as a gallant escort.

‘You can’t go and that’s final,’ he said. ‘I’ll use your name, and I’ll be on my best behaviour. I’d better dash home for my evening rig.’

‘No time. She’s expecting me in twenty minutes. You’ll have to wear mine. Luckily we’re about the same size.’ Mike coughed again. ‘I hope you haven’t caught my flu.’

‘I never catch anything,’ Steven said. ‘I’m invulnerable. What are you looking at out of the window?’

‘That shiny monster, with this year’s registration, parked under my window. If it’s yours you’ll never pass as a penniless actor.’

‘Thanks for the tip. I’ll park a few streets away from her house and walk. Now get to bed.’

Her escort was late, which was fine by Jennifer. It gave her time to feed Paws and let her out one last time.

‘Hurry up,’ she said. ‘He’ll be here soon—if I’m unlucky.’

Paws reappeared two minutes later, wet from a puddle, and promptly demonstrated her loyalty by leaping into her new mistress’s lap.

‘Oh, no!’ Jennifer wailed, surveying the marks over her dress. ‘I can’t believe you did that!’

She made a dash for the bedroom, tore off the muddy garment, and began rummaging through her other evening wear, desperately hoping that her worst fears weren’t going to be realised.

But they were. Of two other possible gowns, one was at the cleaner’s and one had a small tear. Bit by bit her options narrowed down until there was only the dark blue satin left.

‘You ungrateful animal!’ she chided Paws. ‘I took you in, and now look what you’ve done to me. Oh, well, I suppose there’s no help for it.’

Reluctantly she drew on the dress, which was even more daring than she’d realised when she’d bought it. To her horror, the lines of her underwear showed. There was only one thing to do, and that was remove every stitch underneath.

When she’d finished she had the perfect, smooth lines that the dress demanded. Its tight contours flattered her tiny waist and flat stomach, but the neckline was scandalously low. She possessed the generous bosom to carry it off, but still, it was going to take nerve. And her nerve was fast slipping away.

Her rich, dark brown hair was swept up in an elegantly ornate style. To go with the dress she donned a necklace and earrings made of glittering diamonds. Now she looked like a sophisticated young woman who could cope with anything life threw at her. She only wished she felt like one.

She finished just in time. The doorbell was shrilling. She put her head up, took a deep breath, and went to answer. And as soon as she opened her front door she knew that she’d made the mistake of her life.

The man’s looks were striking, if not classically handsome. He radiated an air of arrogance and fierce will. In the very first moment, as they stood looking at each other, Jennifer realised that he was appraising her, his eyes taking a leisurely tour of her form.

She began to be self-conscious about the revealing dress. His gaze made her feel naked, and he was clearly enjoying every inch of her, which made her indignant. After all, he was her employee. Worse still, she saw an ironic gleam in his eyes, as though he understood her thoughts and was amused by them.

In short, she’d expected a tailor’s dummy and gotten a man instead.

Embarrassment flooded her. It hadn’t occurred to her that she was exposing herself as a woman who had to pay for an escort. But he saw the truth. She found her voice. ‘Good evening, Mr Harker. You’re a little late, but no matter.’

‘My apologies,’ he said, in a voice that didn’t sound apologetic. ‘I had an emergency to deal with, but now I’m all yours.’ He spread his hands in a gesture that took in his own appearance. ‘All present and correct,’ he announced. ‘Fingernails specially scrubbed for the occasion.’ He offered them to her view, but still with the teasing air that unsettled her.

‘Oh, my goodness!’ she exclaimed suddenly. ‘Those cufflinks.’

She guessed that his ‘dress’ cufflinks were all a failed actor could afford, but they looked cheap and nasty, as if he’d bought them off a market stall.

‘They’re my best,’ the man said brusquely. ‘What’s wrong with them?’

‘Nothing, I—’ Jennifer struggled to find a polite way of saying what she meant. It was hard. ‘They’re not quite—I mean, they don’t really go with—perhaps I could suggest—just a moment.’

She hurried to her room and found the cufflinks she’d bought for David’s upcoming birthday. They were silver, studded with tiny diamonds, and they’d cost her a fortune. She suppressed the little pang they gave her and closed her fingers tightly over them.

Her escort’s strongly marked eyebrows rose in surprise when she asked him to hold out his hands. She removed the cheap items and fitted the luxurious cufflinks in their place. Glancing up, she found his eyes on her, and their cool mockery sent a wave of heat flooding through her body.

He regarded the diamonds on his cuffs, and his eyes gleamed as they appraised the diamonds about her neck and on her ears. ‘I’m glad I go with your jewellery,’ he murmured.

She refused to respond to his mockery. ‘Here are the keys to my car, Mr Harker. Shall we go?’

As she opened the garage door on her sleek, four-wheeled beauty, she began to have qualms. ‘Perhaps I’d better drive,’ she said. She held out her hand for the keys, but Steven didn’t move.

‘Get in the car,’ he said, with a quiet firmness that astonished her. ‘I’m here to escort you, and I’ll do the job properly. It wouldn’t look good for you to be driving. People might guess that you’ve had to hire me.’

She bit back a retort and got into the passenger seat. He began backing the car out as expertly as if he did it every day. She wondered where he’d learned that deft handling of a powerful vehicle. It had taken her a week before she was as skilled.

‘Which way?’ he asked.

‘Central London. Go to Trafalgar Square and I’ll direct you from there.’

When they were on the road he said casually, ‘So, what story do we tell people?’

‘Story?’

‘About us. If someone asks, we have to say the same thing. When did we meet?’

‘Oh—last week.’

‘That’s a bit recent. Why not last month?’

‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘Not as long ago as that.’

‘I see. You were going out with someone else then? Why aren’t you with him tonight?’

‘Because we—we had a disagreement.’

‘Who dumped who?’

‘We separated by mutual consent,’ she said stiffly.

‘You mean he walked out on you?’

‘I mean no such thing.’

‘Will he be there tonight?’

‘Possibly.’

‘Then you’d better tell me his name, just in case.’

‘His name is David Conner,’ she said stiffly.

‘Have you worked out how we met?’

‘No—I don’t know—I’ll think of something,’ she said distractedly. She was growing more unhappy by the minute.

‘I’m surprised to find you so disorganised. We’re nearly at Trafalgar Square. Direct me.’

She complied, adding, ‘We’re going to Catesby House for the London Society of Commerce Banquet. Careful!’

‘Sorry! My hand slipped on the wheel,’ Steven said hastily. In fact, he’d had a nasty shock. There would be people there who knew him. He made a rapid decision.

‘You’d better know,’ he said, ‘my real name isn’t Mike Harker.’

‘You mean it’s a stage name?’

‘No, I—Never mind. My name is Steven Leary. We’re nearly there. Quickly, tell me something about yourself.’

‘My name is Jennifer Norton. I’m the granddaughter of Barney Norton of Nortons Distribution—’

‘Nortons Distribution?’ Steven echoed. ‘Trucks and depots?’

‘Yes,’ she said, surprised to find him so knowledgeable. ‘Our organisation is the best of its kind in the country, and we’re rapidly expanding in Europe.’ She suddenly remembered who he was. ‘Never mind that.’

‘Yes, don’t say anything too complex,’ he said affably. ‘My one braincell might not be able to cope.’

She refused to let him needle her. ‘Take this next turning and you’ll find a car park.’

As he switched off the engine Jennifer went to open her door. ‘Wait,’ Steven ordered calmly. He walked around the car and opened the door for her, holding out his hand to assist her. ‘After all, this is what I’m here for,’ he said, with a grin.

‘Thank you,’ she said, placing her hand in his.

She half missed her footing as she stepped out, but his fingers tightened, holding her steady, and she had an unnerving sense of vibrant power streaming through him and communicating itself through the contact of their skin. For a moment her heart beat faster.

She turned to reach back into the car for her velvet stole, but he was there before her, whisking it out and settling it around her bare shoulders. She couldn’t suppress the tremor that went through her at his touch, and involuntarily she glanced up to meet his eyes. She found them fixed on her with a look that brought the colour flooding into her cheeks.

‘You’re beautiful,’ he said seriously. ‘In fact, you’re sensational. I’ll be a proud man, with you on my arm. No, don’t say it!’ He held up a finger to silence her, although she was too taken aback to speak. ‘You don’t care whether I’m proud of you or not. It’s not part of our bargain. Well, I don’t care whether you care or not. I’m telling you, you’re a knock-out!’

Something was making it hard for her to speak. ‘Thank you,’ she stammered at last. ‘It’s nice to know that my escort approves of me.’

‘I don’t approve of you,’ Steven said wryly. ‘I disapprove of this whole situation. A woman who looks like you shouldn’t have to hire a man, and if she does there’s something badly wrong in her life. But you’re gorgeous, sexy, and an incitement to every man to do something he’ll regret. I only wish I had time to explore that contradiction.’

‘My contradictions don’t concern you,’ she said, her cheeks flaming.

‘They would if I decided to let them,’ he said carelessly. ‘What a pity that I don’t have time!’ He drew one finger slowly down her cheek. ‘We should be going inside.’

‘Yes,’ she said, remembering, with an effort, why they were there. ‘We should.’

Jennifer had attended many functions at Catesby House, and was familiar with its plush red and gilt interior, sweeping stairway and glittering chandeliers. But tonight she seemed to be seeing everything for the first time. The lights were more dazzling, the colours of the other women’s dresses more vivid, and the black and white of the men more intense than she remembered ever noticing before.

She went to the cloakroom to deposit her stole. As she emerged to where Steven was waiting for her at the foot of the staircase she had the chance to observe him from a distance, against other men.

The comparison was all in his favour. He was almost the tallest man there. Certainly his shoulders were the broadest, his air the most impressive. But what struck her most was the confidence and authority that radiated from him. He looked like a predator, appraising lesser beings prior to devouring them. She’d seen that aura before, in men who headed great corporations. How did an unemployed actor come to have it?

Actor. Of course. He’d assumed the right role. Anxious to have a good atmosphere between them, she approached him with a smile. ‘Congratulations,’ she said warmly.

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘You’ve got right into the part. You look as if you belong here.’

‘Thank you,’ he said with suspicious meekness. ‘I’m rather nervous among all these important people.’

‘They’re not really important. They only fancy they are because they’ve got money. Most business folk don’t matter half as much as they think they do.’ With a flash of mischief, she added, ‘Just look down your nose at them, and they’ll take you for one of themselves. I’m expecting you to be a big success.’

His lips twitched. ‘You don’t feel you got cheated on the deal, then?’

‘On the contrary, I think I might have a bargain.’

‘Maybe I didn’t do so badly myself.’ He offered her his arm. ‘Shall we go?’

Together they climbed the broad stairs and entered the huge ballroom that was already crowded. Steven’s sharp eyes saw at once that Jennifer outshone every other woman in the room. She knew how to choose perfume too. The elusive aroma that reached him was warm, with the faintest hint of musk. It wasn’t the perfume of a young girl, but a woman, with all that implied.

He wondered what kind of lover had touched her heart. Had she chosen a giant among men? And what was she like when she was with him? Did her curved mouth grow tender and her dark eyes glow with desire?

They moved through the crowd, smiling and uttering greetings. Several people knew him, and Steven had a nervous time steering her away from them. He would be lucky to get through tonight without discovery, he realised.

‘Come to the bar,’ he muttered. ‘There’s something we need to talk about while I get you a drink.’

‘I’ll have an orange juice, since I’ll be driving home.’

‘Two orange juices,’ Steven told the barman. He grinned at Jennifer. ‘Just in case you change your mind.’

‘Meaning you think you can change it for me?’ she challenged him.

‘Is that what I meant? Thanks for letting me know.’

His eyes were teasing, and Jennifer couldn’t help smiling back. ‘That’s exactly what you meant,’ she said. She turned back to look at the room. And then the smile froze on her face.

David was standing a few feet away from her.