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Laura viewed him with something like dismay, guessing that his reaction when she told him she wasn’t thinking of going would be to invite her to go with him. Not that she didn’t like him, on the few occasions when they had spoken together she had found him a very agreeable companion. But she knew from experience what these company dinners were like, knew the romantic speculation that would go on for days afterwards if two employees spent any time together at all.
‘I’m not going. You see,’ she added firmly as he made to protest, ‘I don’t like to leave my mother alone in the evenings. She’s a widow, and—–’
‘Surely one night isn’t going to hurt,’ Nigel protested, his open features clearly showing his disappointment. ‘It isn’t as if it happens every night of the week. And I’d like you to come. Laura—–’
‘Hello, Nigel.’ Gideon Maitland had miraculously appeared in the office, not that he could possibly know the embarrassment he was saving her if she had had to turn down Nigel’s invitation. Grey eyes flickered coldly, over them both, and Nigel slowly stood up. ‘Anything I can do for you?’ Gideon asked politely enough. ‘Or did you just come to see my secretary?’ His voice hardened perceptively.
The other man flushed, obviously as unnerved by this tall imposing man as everyone else seemed to be. ‘I came to see you, actually, Gideon.’ He had obviously recovered his composure. ‘But—–’
‘But while you were here you thought you’d chat up my secretary,’ Gideon drawled.
‘I—Well—–’
‘Come through to my office,’ Gideon instructed briskly. ‘Are you back from lunch, Laura?’
‘Er—yes, sir.’
He nodded, his face darkening at her formal way of addressing him. Laura waited until the two men had gone through to the other office before restarting her typing. It felt strange to hear Gideon keep referring to her as ‘his secretary’ when all she was doing was filling in for a few days. As soon as Diane was back she would return to James Courtney’s tyranny.
Gideon had been angry about her talking to Nigel, and he had every right to be. She might still have been on her lunch-break at the time, but the conversation had taken place in the office, a social conversation that he had every right to object to.
Nigel came out of the office about ten minutes later. ‘About next week, Laura—–’
‘Laura, could you come in here, please,’ Gideon requested curtly from behind him. ‘Was there anything else, Nigel?’ he looked calmly at the other man.
Nigel shrugged his defeat in the face of a determination stronger than his own. ‘No, nothing. Perhaps I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow, Laura?’
‘I—Perhaps.’ She was already gathering up her short-hand pad and pencil, one look at Gideon’s face telling her that he wasn’t in a mood to be kept waiting.
She walked proudly past Gideon as he pointedly held the door open to his office, and sat down in the chair opposite his, her pencil poised expectantly, looking up uncertainly as he seemed in no hurry to begin dictation.
‘Are you in the habit of spending time with Nigel Jennings?’ he asked suddenly.
Laura blinked dazedly at the unexpectedness of such a question, her notepad slowly lowering to her knees. ‘I beg your pardon?’ she frowned.
‘Out of working hours you’re free to see who you want,’ he continued harshly. ‘But while you’re working for me I would prefer it if you saw your boy-friend away from my office.’
‘Nigel—I mean, Mr Jennings isn’t my boy-friend!’ she gasped indignantly.
Gideon raised dark eyebrows. ‘He isn’t?’
‘No. He came up here to see you, not me.’
‘I see. Do you have a boy-friend?’
‘Why?’ she asked the question without thinking, blushing at the look of irritation that passed across his handsome face. ‘I mean—–’
‘You mean why do I want to know about your personal life,’ he drawled, relaxing back in his chair. He shrugged. ‘I like to know something about the people who work with me.’
Of course—how stupid of her to think his interest was personal. A lot of the work he gave her was confidential, he couldn’t just reveal those sort of things to anyone. Although James Courtney had never expressed an interest in her private life.
She shrugged. After all, what harm could it do? ‘No, I don’t have a boy-friend.’
He raised surprised eyebrows. ‘You’re very attractive.’
With her hair free about her shoulders, and younger, attractive clothing, she was perhaps passable, but she certainly wasn’t ‘very attractive’.
‘When you look the nineteen you are,’ he seemed to guess her thoughts. ‘And don’t try to look and act ten years older.’
Colour flooded Laura’s cheeks. ‘When did you—I’ve never—When did you see me looking nineteen?’ she asked almost defensively.
He shrugged, a pen held loosely between his long fingers as he played with it idly. Laura found her gaze mesmerised by the way he seemed to almost caress the cold metal, blushing even more as she looked up to find him following her line of vision, his mouth twisting mockingly.
‘I can’t remember,’ he dismissed easily. ‘Somewhere.’
She couldn’t imagine where, she never appeared anything but the more mature person she was at work. Still, Gideon seemed very certain, and he wasn’t a man who would very often be wrong.
‘Your mother is a widow, I believe.’ He seemed in no hurry to begin dictation; he was completely relaxed, his grey eyes narrowed.
‘Yes.’ Laura frowned her puzzlement, once again wondering why he needed to know about her private life.
‘And you have a brother.’
‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘He lives in America now.’
‘I didn’t realise that. He used to work for us, didn’t he?’
‘Yes,’ she acknowledged eagerly. ‘It was because he liked working here so much that I—But you don’t want to hear about that.’ She bit her lip.
‘On the contrary,’ Gideon prompted.
She shot him a nervous smile; his interest seemed genuine. ‘Martin—that’s my brother—liked working here—–’
‘We try to please,’ Gideon put in dryly.
‘Oh, you do! I mean—Courtneys is a good firm to work for. And—–’
‘Will you have dinner with me this evening?’ he asked quietly.
She raised startled green eyes, her lashes fluttering nervously. ‘I—Sorry?’ She couldn’t have heard him correctly, men like Gideon Maitland didn’t ask little nobodies like her out to dinner!
‘Dinner. With me. Tonight,’ he repeated patiently.
Laura gulped, searching his hard face for some sign of the mockery that never seemed to be far away, but he gazed steadily back at her as he waited for her answer.
But he couldn’t really mean it, not her.
‘Laura?’ he prompted at her continued silence.
‘I—No. I mean, yes. No—–’ She was totally confused, the invitation had been totally unexpected.
Gideon gave a tight smile ‘Don’t use your mother as an excuse to me,’ he more or less confirmed that he had been listening to her conversation for some time before making his presence known. ‘I happen to know that your mother is only fifty years old, and that she has more of a social life than you do.’
It was true. Her mother had joined a Widows, Widowers, and Divorcees Club after Laura’s father had died, and the friends she had made there were always going out for the evening in a crowd, even on the nights the club didn’t meet.
‘So?’ he prompted again.
‘I—–’ She licked her lips nervously, wondering frantically at the reason for this sudden invitation. Maybe he had argued with Petra Wilde and felt in need of amusement—and she certainly seemed to amuse him. ‘You don’t mean it.’
‘But I do. I never say anything I don’t mean.’
‘N-never?’ she faltered uncertainly.
‘Never,’ he confirmed.
She swallowed hard. ‘You—you really do want to take me out to dinner tonight?’
‘I do,’ he nodded.
‘Why?’ Laura frowned.
‘Why not?’ he gave a tight smile.
‘Because—–’
‘Gideon—Oh,’ James Courtney came to a halt just inside the room, looking searchingly at the other man. ‘Have you forgotten we have a meeting with Crewe at two-thirty?’
‘Not at all,’ Gideon denied smoothly. ‘Laura and I were just—talking.’
‘Indeed?’ The older man looked even more puzzled.
Gideon continued to look at Laura, uncaring of his father-in-law’s presence. ‘You haven’t given me your answer.’
She was aware of James Courtney’s speculative looks even if Gideon wasn’t, and stood up to leave. ‘The answer is no, Mr Maitland,’ and she hurried past the surprised James Courtney into her own office.
‘Laura!’ She hadn’t realised Gideon had followed her until he swung her round to face him. ‘I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.’
Her embarrassed gaze passed to James Courtney, and then back to Gideon. ‘No—–’
‘Yes!’ he insisted firmly, his fingers painful on her arm.
‘No …’ But even she was aware that her denial sounded weak this time. How could he do this to her in front of James Courtney! Wasn’t he in the least embarrassed himself in admitting he had invited out his own secretary, a girl far below him both in sophistication and socially? Heavens, one look at Petra Wilde was enough to tell her he must be playing with her—and it was a cruel joke to play on anyone.
‘Laura!’ Gideon shook her.
‘I said no,’ she looked away from him, ‘And I meant no.’
His hand dropped away from her arm. ‘I don’t have the time to argue with you now, I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.’
‘You—–’
‘For God’s sake give in gracefully, girl,’ James Courtney put in tersely. ‘Don’t you know when you’re outmatched?’
She looked at him rebelliously, feeling like a mouse caught between two tormenting cats. ‘I don’t need any advice from you,’ she flashed resentfully. ‘As Mr Maitland told me shortly before you arrived, what I do in the evenings is my own affair. And I don’t choose to be any rich man’s amusement!’ She didn’t wait to see either James Courtney or Gideon’s reaction to her outburst, but ran out of the office and into the ladies’ room further down the corridor. She leant back weakly against the door, hardly able to believe the scene that had just taken place, from Gideon Maitland’s dinner invitation to her angry outburst to James Courtney.
Oh God, what had she done! The least she could expect from her outburst would be a verbal or written reprimand, the worst could be instant dismissal. And after her behaviour just now she probably deserved the latter.
She took a deep controlling breath, the ravages of that unpleasant scene on her white shocked face, the eyes staring back at her in the mirror greener than ever. She couldn’t stay in here all day, she had to go back to the office, if only to collect her handbag and leave. But she dreaded having to face either of the men again.
Her reflection showed her face to be colourless, her youth showing through in that moment, showing her what Gideon Maitland must have seen, a child dressed up to be a woman.
Well, she didn’t work at Courtneys any longer, so the pose of maturity was no longer necessary. She would be just plain Laura Jamieson when she walked out of here, her head held high. The removal of her hair pins was the first move, and she fluffed the auburn waves loose about her shoulders. Undoing the top two buttons of her severely fastened blouse was the next move, folding the collar back over the jacket of her suit. She instantly looked younger, and she felt it too.
Her legs began to shake as she reached her office door. She couldn’t hear any explosive voices, but then that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be verbally chewed to pieces as soon as she walked in the door. James Courtney could be chillingly polite until he exploded at his victim, and this time she was it. She had seen experienced businessmen quake at the thought of a run in with James Courtney, so what chance did she have of getting out of the building unscathed?
She couldn’t believe it—the office was empty! She quickly checked Gideon Maitland’s office, just to make sure. Of course, it was almost two-thirty, the two men had an appointment then, and they weren’t likely to miss that just for the satisfaction of sacking her personally. No, they would just expect her to go.
She would finish off her work first; she had been halfway through typing a letter. She could leave the completed work on Gideon Maitland’s desk—along with her resignation. If they hadn’t actually sacked her then she was perfectly within her rights to hand in her resignation. This way she wouldn’t have it on her record that she had been sacked.
Her fingers fumbled on the typewriter keys, her eyes opening wide as she looked at the destruction of her letter. It had been quite a lengthy letter too, very technical, and she had prided herself on the fact that she hadn’t made a single error, not even on the parts where she didn’t understand a word, and now Gideon Maitland had wilfully destroyed her painstaking work. Directly under her neatly laid out letter he had typed ‘SEVEN-THIRTY, LAURA’.
She ripped the sheets out of her typewriter, her eyes sparkling with anger. How dared he! How dared he do that to her work? And probably in front of James Courtney too. Well, he could think again, she wouldn’t be seeing him at seven-thirty or any other time. And if he wanted this letter retyped then he could damn well do it himself!
Her head was held at an angry angle as she went down in the lift, sparing not a glance for the young receptionist as the other girl shot her a puzzled look.
And no wonder, with this angry sparkle in her eyes, two bright spots of colour in her otherwise pale cheeks Laura could never remember losing her temper as much as she had today, the combined arrogance of Gideon Maitland and James Courtney inflaming her in a way that nothing else ever had. And it was an uncomfortable feeling, not in the least pleasant or exhilarating, and she hoped it didn’t happen too often in the future.
In the future? What future? She had left her letter of resignation on Gideon Maitland’s desk, propped up against the pictures of his wife and little girl. He seemed to spend quite a bit of his time looking at those photographs, so she knew that he wouldn’t miss her letter when he got back from his business appointment.
Janice hadn’t understated Felicity Maitland’s beauty. Laura had been bedazzled by the other woman’s flawless features as soon as she saw the photograph, at once seeing why Gideon Maitland and James Courtney missed her so much. Felicity Maitland had looked full of life, a gay teasing smile to her pouting lips, her deep blue eyes laughing with a gaiety that must have been infectious. No wonder Gideon Maitland rarely smiled; when his wife had died she had taken all the laughter out of his life.
And the photograph of his daughter Natalie perhaps explained the reason Janice claimed he had little time for his daughter. Natalie Maitland already showed signs of being as beautiful as her mother had been, her eyes huge and deeply blue, her hair a mass of golden curls.
But for now Laura had to worry about facing her own mother, knowing how furious she would be when she told her she had lost her job—and for such a reason. Her mother would think she was mad for refusing to have dinner with Gideon Maitland—and maybe she was!
‘What a day!’ Her mother collapsed wearily into a chair, her work at the shop involving being on her feet all day. ‘If I have to sell just one more pair of shoes to one more screaming child I swear I’ll scream with them!’ she sighed.
‘Bad as that?’ Laura handed her mother a cup of tea.
‘Worse,’ she grimaced, sipping the refreshing brew gratefully. ‘You’re home early, love.’
‘Yes, well, I—–’ Now was the time to tell her mother of her resignation. But she couldn’t do it! The words just wouldn’t come out.
‘I wish I could come home early,’ her mother groaned, leaning back in the chair. ‘Although the way things are going at the shop at the moment I might be home, full stop.’
Laura frowned. ‘Business is bad?’
‘Well, it isn’t good.’
She bit her lip. ‘How not good?’
Her mother shrugged. ‘Gerry thinks he might have to make redundancies.’
Gerry Blake was the manager of the shoe shop her mother worked in, and if he thought there would be redundancies, then there would be. Oh dear, how could she tell her mother now, the two of them barely managed the flat on two wages, and it would be a tight squeeze to get through until she found another job, but if her mother were to lose her job too …!
‘How did your day go, love?’ Her mother shrugged off her own worry, eager to hear about Laura’s day with Gideon Maitland.
‘I—It was—interesting,’ Laura said lamely.
‘Interesting! Is that all?’
No, it had been disastrous! And now she was going to have to try frantically to get herself another job before her mother realised she had lost the one at Courtneys.
Her mother gave her a worried look. ‘You didn’t upset Mr Maitland in any way, did you?’
She hadn’t upset him at all, he had upset her. ‘No, of course not,’ Laura reassured her.
‘Well, how did you get on with him, then?’
‘All right,’ Laura shrugged. ‘Just like a secretary should, I suppose.’
Her mother shook her head. ‘Maybe if you stopped wearing those clothes and looked like my pretty Laura …’
‘Maybe I should,’ she agreed, to divert her mother’s attention. ‘We could go out on Saturday and look at some new things.’ Although where the money would come from now that she didn’t even have a job she had no idea.
And it didn’t seem to have diverted her mother’s attention at all. ‘So you like Mr Maitland now?’ she teased.
She blushed. ‘I—He’s very attractive.’
‘Oh, I’m so glad, Laura,’ her mother beamed. ‘It never does any harm to have an influential man like him behind you.’
‘Mother—–’
‘I know, I know, I’m being pushy. But I want the best for you, Laura. And there’s no reason why Gideon Maitland shouldn’t—like you. Men like him have to marry someone.’
So her mother had progressed to marriage now! ‘He’s already been married, and as far as I know he has no intention of being so again. He loved his wife very much. Besides, men like him only have affairs with their secretaries—–’
‘Don’t be such a snob, Laura! You’re a very pretty girl, and—–’
Fortunately it was the night for her mother’s club, so she was able to cut short her questioning by reminding her that she had to get ready to meet her friends.
Her mother certainly had high ideas for her! It had been impossible to tell her mother she was out of work when she had such plans for her. Her mother hadn’t had a very easy life, bringing up two children, with her husband away most of the time, and Laura knew she only meant it for the best when she said she wanted more for her—but Gideon Maitland was certainly not for her!
She paced restlessly up and down the room once her mother had left, wondering what she was going to do about her jobless state. Jobs weren’t so easy to come by nowadays, although secretaries always seemed to be in demand. She would just have to go to an agency tomorrow and hope for the best.
If only she hadn’t been antagonised! Turning down Gideon Maitland’s invitation wasn’t reason enough to sack her, she was perfectly within her rights to do that, but telling her employer to more or less mind his own business was hardly something that could be overlooked, and James Courtney wasn’t the most forgiving of men.
When the doorbell rang some time later she was glad of the interruption, her thoughts all worrying ones. It—good heavens! She looked dazedly at the clock on the mantel-piece—seven-thirty exactly!
Gideon Maitland had turned up at seven-thirty as he had said he would!
CHAPTER THREE
LAURA’s first instinct was not to answer the door. But Gideon knocked again and again, and living in a block of flats as they did, she would be getting complaints from the neighbours if she didn’t soon answer the door.
She furiously wrenched the door open, ready to do battle with him, her anger dying in her throat as she saw how handsome he looked in the black fitted shirt and black trousers, the tan jacket tailored to his powerful shoulders and narrow waist. He took her breath away, appearing even more magnificent in the ordinariness of her home. Devastating, that was the word to describe him. He looked devastating.
Laura could only stare at him open-mouthed, not raising any objections when he brushed past her into the flat, closing the door before following him dazedly into the lounge.
‘I didn’t think you’d be ready to go out to dinner,’ he told her, ‘so I dressed casually.’
‘Yes, I—er—No.’ She was doing it again! She took a deep breath, steadying her nervous stuttering. ‘Those clothes don’t look very casual to me,’ she said defensively, knowing that just one of his shirts must cost a fortune, being silk. He probably had them hand-made, as he did the rest of his clothes.
He shrugged dismissively. ‘Your mother is out?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then you may as well have this.’ He reached into his breast-pocket, pulling out a white envelope. Her resignation!
She made no move to take the proffered envelope from his strong fingers. ‘Mr Courtney—–’
‘—Liked the way you stood up to him,’ Gideon half-smiled.
Her eyes widened. ‘He did?’
‘Mm,’ he nodded. ‘James was beginning to wonder whether he’d hired a mouse or a woman as his secretary.’
Considering both men made her feel like the former this wasn’t in the last surprising!
‘Can I sit down?’ Gideon asked mockingly.
Laura flushed at her lack of manners. ‘I—er—Yes. Yes, of course. Please do.’
He stretched his legs out in front of him, completely dominating in one of the flower-patterned chairs of their suite. The white envelope containing her resignation was placed on one of the arms of that chair.
Laura eyed it nervously. ‘Did you mean it about giving me back my—er—letter?’
He held it out to her once again. ‘Here.’
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