Читать книгу It Started With... Collection - Miranda Lee - Страница 32

JESSIE could not believe how quickly the day went, and how nice everyone was at Wild Ideas, especially her immediate boss.

In her early thirties, Michele was an attractive brunette, married, with one little girl and another baby on the way. She was warm and welcoming to Jessie, but at the same time efficient and precise. Very precise with her directions. She knew what she wanted—art-wise—and expected things to be done exactly as she wanted.

But Jessie was used to that. Jackson & Phelps had been a demanding company to work for. They had high standards and had trained her well.

But she much preferred working for Wild Ideas. Such a friendly atmosphere. The staff was relatively small—about twenty—and pretty well everyone had popped their heads into Michele’s office at some time during the day.

Actually, calling it an office was misleading. It was more of a work station. The behind-the-scenes office layout at Wild Ideas was open plan, cut up into cubicles, some larger than others. Michele’s area was quite large, but not fancy in any way. Plain pine furniture. No carpet. No doors. One window that looked out on to the main road.

Still, everything in it was clean and functional, with state-of-the-art computer equipment, along with every piece of software imaginable. Jessie got very excited to work on the very latest G5 Macintosh, which was so much faster than her old Imac.

Just as well, because her predecessor had left things in a right mess. There was so much to sort through that when lunchtime came she ate a sandwich at her desk. Margaret from Reception dropped by and brought her some coffee, which was sweet of her. Jessie could see that they were going to become friends.

The only breaks she had were to go to the ladies’ room and to make three phone calls. The first was to the restaurant to say that she was quitting. Since she was only a casual anyway, they didn’t much care. They’d fill her spot within hours. The second was to the day-care centre. True to form, Emily didn’t give a hoot that she would be late picking her up. Traitorous child! The third was to Dora, who was thrilled Jessie had got the job.

Unfortunately, Jessie couldn’t explain about the fiasco with the Marshall brothers, not with Michele sitting right next to her.

Actually, Jessie liked it that she worked right beside Michele and wasn’t off in another section on the floor, either in a corner by herself or with a whole bunch of other graphic artists. It seemed that at Wild Ideas, each creative designer had their own personal graphic artist. Sort of like their own private assistant. Jessie could see that this was a very successful way of doing things. New team leaders were being trained all the time. No wonder Harry Wilde never had to head-hunt executives from other agencies. He didn’t need to.

‘Time to wrap it up for today, girls. It’s almost five.’

Jessie whipped her head round at Kane’s voice to find him leaning against the open door frame, watching her. He looked as if he’d been there a while.

Actually, she’d surprised herself, the way she’d been able to put the man out of her mind for most of the day. But the moment their eyes met once more, all the feelings he evoked in her rushed back.

Not just heart-pounding desire. That was a given. But accompanying jabs of panic, and worry.

Her life since Emily had been born had been so simple. And straightforward. Maybe a little boring. And yes, lonely at times. But not too stressful.

If she became involved with Kane Marshall—even on just a casual basis—he would begin to make demands on her time and her space. As a single mother who now had a full-time job, Jessie knew she wouldn’t have much spare time for leisure and pleasure.

‘So how did our new girl work out, Michele?’ Kane asked.

‘Excellent,’ Michele replied crisply. ‘She’s very good at what she does. And I suspect she’ll be very good at what I do. Eventually,’ she added with a cheeky wink.

Jessie didn’t know what to say in reply to such fulsome praise, so she said nothing.

‘We’d better get going, Jessie,’ Kane asked. ‘The traffic will be heavy. I’m driving Jessie home today,’ he explained to Michele. ‘She has to pick her daughter up by six and she’s not sure about the train timetable.’

‘Yes, I know. Jessie told me all about your knight-to-the-rescue act,’ Michele said drily, a slightly knowing smile playing on her mouth. ‘Off you go, love. And thanks for all your hard work. See you tomorrow at eight-thirty.’

‘Eight-thirty?’ Kane echoed. ‘I thought the hours here were nine to five.’

‘Jessie and I had a talk and we decided eight-thirty till four-thirty would suit us better. We’re both up early with our children anyway. Might as well get them to day-care and get to work. Then we’ll have more time to spend with them in the evening.’

‘Whatever.’ Kane shrugged his broad shoulders, his nonchalance reminding Jessie that men like Kane didn’t have to worry about making time for children. All they had to think about was themselves.

Men did that very well, she reminded herself. So don’t go thinking he’s driving you home because he’s genuinely kind. He’s driving you home because he wants to get into your pants.

Jessie was appalled when this thought didn’t repulse her, as it normally would. Maybe she shouldn’t have stayed celibate this long. Suppressing a sigh, she turned off her computer, picked up her bag and stood up.

‘Bye, Michele. Thanks for being so nice. See you in the morning.’

‘She is a nice woman, isn’t she?’ Kane said as they rode the lift down to the basement car park. He sounded surprised.

‘Very,’ Jessie agreed. ‘Good at her job, too,’ she added, determined not to let her secret thoughts and desires make her go all stiff and awkward with him again.

‘Harry doesn’t hire any other kind,’ Kane commented.

‘I hope he won’t be disappointed with me when he gets back.’

‘I’m sure he won’t be, Jessie. This way,’ he directed when the lift doors opened.

She was glad when he didn’t get all handy once they were alone in the car park. She wasn’t keen on guys who used any opportunity to grab at a girl.

‘Here we are,’ he said, stopping beside a sleek silver sedan. Inside, she noticed, it had grey leather seats and that lovely new smell. Jessie didn’t know what the make was and she didn’t ask. She knew next to nothing about cars. Which reminded her…

‘By the way, I won’t be leasing a car just yet,’ she advised him as he drove expertly round the circular ramp that led to the street.

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t like to rush into things. I like to think about them first before taking the plunge.’

‘Is that a learned habit, a statement of fact, or a warning for me?’

‘Do you need a warning?’

The car emerged into the late-afternoon sunshine, and very heavy traffic. Kane’s very masculine mouth remained shut till they stopped at the first set of lights.

‘Jessie, let’s not play games with each other,’ he said firmly. ‘You came into that bar the other night looking for male company. If you hadn’t been told I was a married man, we’d already be lovers.’

Jessie decided then and there that the time had come for the truth. Her pride demanded she not let him think she made a habit of cruising bars at night, picking up perfect strangers and agreeing to go to hotel rooms with them.

‘No one in the ladies’ told me you were a married man, Kane,’ she confessed, her chin lifting as she turned her head his way. ‘I made that up.’

‘You what? But why? I mean… Oh, go to hell!’ he muttered into the rear-vision mirror. The lights had gone green and the driver behind was honking his horn.

‘Look, just drive and listen!’ she told him in that tone she used on Emily when she wouldn’t go to bed at night.

Once he got over his shock at her giving him orders like that, he actually obeyed. The silence gave her the opportunity to tell him the truth, starting with her working as a decoy earlier this year when she hadn’t had any money. She explained how she hated it and had quit, but agreed to do it one last time so that she could buy Emily the expensive fairy doll for Christmas.

He did throw her a startled look when she said she’d only gone into that bar last Friday night to do a decoy job. When she revealed who her target was, his car almost careered into the wrong lane. She had to tell him to keep his eyes on the road again, after which she was able to finish her story. She even mentioned that she hadn’t labelled his brother a potentially unfaithful husband because Kane had knocked back the blonde.

‘Of course, I didn’t know at the time,’ she added, ‘that it was you knocking back the blonde and not your brother, Curtis.’

Kane was speechless at first. Then a bit stroppy.

‘Well, thank you very much for not ruining my brother’s marriage! Why didn’t you? Guilt?’

‘Guilt? Why should I feel guilty?’

‘Come on, doll, let’s face it. If I had been some poor, unhappily married bloke, and you’d swanned into that bar making eyes at me whilst I was sloshed, I’d have had a hard job resisting you, too.’

‘Don’t exaggerate,’ she said. ‘I’m not that sexy.’

‘Trust me, sweetheart, you are. You’re one hell of an actress, too. I could have sworn you were genuinely turned on last Friday night, that you really wanted me to make love to you.’

This was her out, if she wanted to take it.

Jessie decided on a middle course.

‘I did find you rather attractive,’ she admitted with considerable understatement. ‘But I would never have gone to a hotel room with you. Not within minutes of meeting you.’

That was her story and she was going to stick to it. ‘I didn’t know your name, either,’ he muttered. ‘But I couldn’t have given a damn.’

‘Yes, well, you’re a man. You’re a different species entirely. Women are, on the whole, a little more careful.’

‘Not all women,’ he ground out.

Possibly, he was remembering the blonde.

‘I do realise that. I also realise that single mothers have a certain reputation for being…shall we say…easy marks? I wouldn’t like you to make that mistake if you’re thinking of asking me out. Which I presume you are. Because why else would you be here, driving me home?’

Another set of lights brought the car to a halt. His head turned till his eyes met hers once more. He smiled wryly.

‘You seem to have me taped perfectly. What can I say? Yes, I want to ask you out. And yes, up till now, my intentions have not been entirely honourable.’

‘And now?’

‘I still want to take you to bed. But I also want to spend time with you out of bed. You’re a very intriguing woman, Jessie Denton.’

Jessie felt herself blushing. She turned her head away to stare out at the halted traffic, which was thicker than when they’d left north Sydney. She glanced at her watch. It was almost half-past five and they were only at Chatswood. Still, once they got through this bottleneck it should be plainer sailing to Roseville. They should arrive before six. But it would be much quicker on the train.

‘So will you go out with me?’ he persisted.

Jessie turned back to face the road ahead. She could feel him looking at her but refused to look his way again. Those eyes of his made her melt almost as much as his smile.

‘Maybe,’ she said, pleased with her cool tone.

‘When?’

‘Don’t rush me, Kane.’

Kane. She’d called him Kane. She couldn’t remember calling him that before.

‘How about this Friday night?’ he jumped in immediately. ‘You must have had someone mind your daughter last Friday night. You could do the same this Friday night. We could go out to dinner, then on to a club, or whatever you like to do. The movies. A show. Anything.’

Going to bed with him would be nice, she thought, shocking herself again. Truly, she was in a bad way. But her pride was still greater than her need.

‘I’m not sure about this Friday,’ she said. ‘I still don’t know all that much about you. I mean, you’ve at least read my résumé. I don’t even know what you usually do for a living, when you’re not minding the store for Harry Wilde.’

‘You’ll find the answer to that question on your desk in the morning. Easier than trying to explain what I do. It would take all night.’

Jessie blinked over at him. He called her intriguing. He was the intriguing one.

‘OK, but I still don’t know much about you personally. I mean, you said you were divorced. How long were you married and why did your wife divorce you?’

‘We were married for three years and I was the one who asked for a divorce.’

‘Good heavens. Why? Was she unfaithful?’ The idea seemed ludicrous to Jessie. If Kane were her husband she would never look at another man.

‘Not that I know of.’ The lights went green and the car crawled on through the busy intersection. ‘My wife and I had a difference of opinion about the matter of having children,’ he explained. ‘We should have discussed it before we got married, I suppose, but… Did you see that bloke cut me off?’

She did and it was a near miss. Still, they weren’t going fast enough to have a serious prang.

‘Driving a four-wheel-drive, of course,’ Kane ground out angrily. ‘Worse than truck drivers, they are. Why any sane person would need a mini-tank to get around the city I have no idea. They should all be banned. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, my divorce. Look, when I realised that I couldn’t change my wife’s mind about having kids, I decided to call it quits. It was quite an amicable parting. We’re still very good friends.’

Jessie couldn’t help feeling disappointed that Kane was one of those selfish modern men who didn’t want children. Truly, he should never have got married in the first place. That poor woman, wasting three years of her life on a man who would never give her what she wanted.

Which was a good warning for herself.

‘I see,’ she said, nodding.

‘And what about you, Jessie?’ he counter-questioned whilst she was still pondering if it was worth the risk of falling in love with Kane Marshall, just to have the pleasure of going to bed with him. ‘Why aren’t you still with the father of your child?’

She could have told him the long version. But she decided he probably wouldn’t be interested.

‘He died,’ she said. ‘In a snowboarding accident. Before Emily was born.’

‘God, how awful!’ He seemed genuinely shocked and sympathetic. ‘That’s tragic, Jessie. Truly, I’m very sorry. I hope his family has been supportive.’

‘I never told them about the baby. Lyall was estranged from his folks, and frankly, I didn’t like the sound of them. Anyway, they live over in New Zealand. I could hardly afford to fly over all the time. I thought it best to raise Emily by myself.’

‘But what about your own folks?’

Jessie winced. ‘Not a pretty picture there either, I’m afraid. Mum was a single mother herself. My father was a married man. She was Irish and Catholic, so getting rid of me was out of the question. Anyway, she emigrated to Australia when I was a baby, by which time she was all bitter and twisted about men. A few years ago she went back home. She wasn’t at all pleased about my becoming a single mother. Said I was a fool. But I’m a very different single mother from my mum, I can tell you.’

‘I don’t doubt it. You’re one very strong character, Jessie Denton. Very brave.’

‘Brave?’ Jessie gave that notion some thought. ‘Not really. I was scared stiff at the time. Not to mention seriously depressed. I didn’t have post-natal depression. I had pre-natal depression. But I couldn’t have done anything else. Emily was my baby. And really, other than having a few money worries, it’s been an incredible experience. I wouldn’t change a day of it. And now that I’ve got a decent job, I won’t even have any money worries,’ she added, not wanting him to think she needed money from any man. Or that she might look at him as a possible meal ticket.

‘I read on your résumé that you’ve been working as a waitress,’ he said. ‘Did you like doing that?’

Jessie shrugged. ‘Not overly. But it was the only job I could get other than decoy work. And I couldn’t bear doing that on a regular basis. I only did it this one last time for the money. Do you have any idea how much a Felicity Fairy doll costs?’

‘Actually, yes, I do. I’ve been instructed to buy one for my niece for Christmas. She’s about the same age as your Emily. Maybe we could go Christmas shopping together.’

She slanted him a wry smile. ‘You planning on seducing me amongst the soft-toy section of Sydney’s biggest department store? Save yourself the price of a dinner?’

He laughed. ‘I can’t see any man seducing you on the cheap, Jessie.’

‘One did. Once,’ she added tartly. ‘And I ended up with Emily.’

‘So I’m being punished for some other man’s misdeeds, am I?’

‘Let’s just say I look before I leap these days. But you’re out of luck. Dora bought Emily’s doll for me last Saturday. So you’ll have to go Felicity Fairy shopping by yourself. A word of advice, however. Do it soon or there won’t be any left to buy.’

‘I’ll do that. We’re getting close to Roseville. I might need some directions soon.’

Jessie glanced at her watch again. ‘We’ll only just make it in time.’

‘What happens if you’re late?’

‘There are penalty rates for every quarter of an hour you keep them waiting after six o’clock.’

‘That’s rough. What if there was an accident and the traffic was backed up for miles?’

‘Indeed,’ she said drily. ‘That’s why I’ll be catching the train in future. But it gives you a little inkling of the stresses and strains of being a working mother. Not much time left over for extra-curricular activities, either. Take the next corner on the left. The day-care centre is four blocks down, on the left. It’s cement-rendered, painted pale blue. You can’t miss it.’

‘Would you go to work if you didn’t have to?’ he asked as he swung round the corner.

‘I don’t have to work. I could stay at home on welfare. But I don’t think that’s much of an example to Emily as she grows up. I think if you can work, you should. On top of that, it’s nice to have some extra money. Welfare sucks, I can tell you.’

‘What if you were married, and your husband earned a good income? Would you work then?’

Jessie laughed. ‘I don’t indulge in futile fantasies, Kane.’

‘I was thinking of my brother’s wife, Lisa. She’s been a stay-at-home mum for over four years. I thought she was happy but she’s not. I advised her this weekend to get a baby-sitter in a bit more often and join a gym. But I have a feeling that’s just a temporary solution. I think she needs more.’

‘She should find a good day-care centre and go back to work, even if it’s only part-time. Or do some voluntary work, if she doesn’t need the money. She needs adult company occasionally. And challenges outside of motherhood and wifery.’

‘Yes,’ Kane said. ‘That’s good advice. Thanks, Jessie. You might just have saved my brother’s marriage for a second time. Aah, there’s the place. And it’s still only two minutes to six. We’ve made it!’

‘Only just,’ Jessie said, scrambling out of the car as soon as Kane slid into the kerb. ‘Thanks a lot, Kane. Please don’t wait. You’ve been very kind but you can go home now. It’s only a ten-minute walk for me and Emily from here. We’ll be fine. Bye. See you tomorrow.’

She didn’t wait for him to argue with her, just slammed the passenger door and dashed inside.

Kane stared after her, then broke into a wry grin.

‘You don’t get rid of me as easy as that, honey,’ he muttered.

Switching off the car engine, he climbed out from behind the wheel and walked around to the pavement, where he leant against the passenger door, folded his arms and waited patiently for Jessie to return.