Blackmailed By The Boss

CHAPTER TWO

HIS timing was wrong. Jordan knew that, he’d known it last night but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He disliked himself intensely for the weakness. Yet perversely he didn’t regret it. Charlotte had been everything he’d dreamed she’d be; passionate, warm…it had been intensely pleasurable. How could he regret that?

He reached for his briefcase and climbed out of his car. When should he tell her? he wondered. Today wouldn’t be right, not now. He was grimly aware that he was putting off the inevitable again. Charlotte was going to find out, and sooner rather than later, whether he told her or not. It was better that she heard it directly from him and not through a third party. But not today.

The sky was a heavily leaden grey. It was reflected in the choppy waters of the River Thames and the modern glass building that was the central administrative centre for McCann Developments.

Charlotte’s grandfather, George McCann, had started the business years before. He was a builder who had worked his way up from small beginnings to create a successful development firm of good repute. Charlotte’s father, Simon, had taken over the running of the place twenty-five years ago and things had ticked along fairly well until they had hit the recession five years ago, leading to dwindling profits and eventually the necessity of taking on Jordan as a partner.

Being the newcomer on the block hadn’t been as easy as Jordan had anticipated. But he was a talented architect and an experienced businessman with a nose for a good deal. He’d been here for just over a year and already the profits were up. Along the way he’d had to make a few changes to streamline the running of the place, and he knew that even more changes were necessary if the business was to thrive.

His thoughts went to Simon McCann. He admired him and the business was sound. That was the reason he had invested in it in the first place, but just recently he had noticed a change in Simon. He had become reluctant to look at new designs that were essential for them to keep ahead of the opposition. It was almost as if he had lost his enthusiasm. And it was becoming more apparent that if Jordan was to make any real inroads into the success of the business he would need to have the casting vote.

It was coming to crunch time, when he might be forced to get Simon to sell his share of the business to give him overall control, and he didn’t think Charlotte would be too happy about that.

Added to all of that there was the matter of the missing money.

‘Morning, Jordan.’ His secretary paused to wait for him by the lifts in the front lobby.

‘Morning, Laura.’ He smiled back at the attractive brunette, but in truth his mind was skipping ahead to his meeting with Charlotte. Wondering how he should play things after last night.

His eyes were drawn to the brass plaque in the lift, with the name McCann Developments. He wondered how Charlotte would feel if the business ceased to be a family affair. Somehow, he thought she wouldn’t be too pleased.

Charlotte had started work here six years ago and was in charge of the interior-design side of the business. When Jordan first met her he had found her a bit prickly—had thought that she was probably a spoilt little rich girl who had got a job here purely through nepotism.

In reality he couldn’t have been further from the truth. He had discovered she was an exceptionally talented designer who worked extremely hard and had once owned her own successful interior-design business. Her father had persuaded her to join the family company by promising her much bigger and more lucrative projects. As well as designing the interior of their show houses she ran an after-sales service for customers who wanted their homes bringing up to the same high standards. This was proving so successful that they’d had to expand the company’s design section.

No, somehow he couldn’t see Charlotte being pleased if her father was to leave the business.

As soon as he stepped out onto the top floor of the office he saw that she was already seated at her desk. He’d half wondered if she would be late this morning. Then he smiled to himself. He should have known better. Charlotte was always in her office bright and early, no matter what. She was a dedicated career girl.

He took a moment to study her now. She seemed completely engrossed in the papers in front of her. Her long blonde hair was piled up on top of her head, exposing the creamy length of her neck. As usual she was dressed in a smart, businesslike black trouser suit, with a white blouse open at the neck. She had a great figure—he allowed himself to remember her soft curves and the long, shapely legs and found himself wanting her all over again. Not a good start, he warned himself with annoyance. He was going to have to play this very carefully.

She glanced up and their eyes collided briefly. Only the pallor of her skin and the faint shadows under her green eyes gave away the fact that she wasn’t entirely at ease. She gave him a brief smile then returned her attention to her work.

Charlotte cursed herself as she fixed her eyes on her papers. Maybe she shouldn’t have smiled? She had been telling herself all morning that she should just act like normal—but what was normal? She couldn’t seem to remember how she usually behaved around Jordan. It was all muddled up in her mind now with memories of red-hot passion last night. Concentrate on work, she told herself fiercely.

At least her designs were taking good shape, she thought, running a critical eye over them. Sometimes it seemed as if she did her best work when she was under duress—maybe because she used work like an escape valve. When she entered her world of interior design she could shut the door on everything and everyone else. Jordan was a bit like that as well; they had remarked long ago that when it came to work they were remarkably similar, both totally dedicated. Which was probably the reason they had worked so well together lately.

Had she jeopardised that last night? Right at this moment Charlotte doubted very much that she could even pretend to be relaxed around him again.

The door of her office opened and she was aware of his dark eyes raking over her even before she glanced up. She held herself very straight, as if she was completely at ease and in control of the situation, and gave him a brief smile. ‘Hi, Jordan. You’re late—the accountant will be in soon and we have those figures to sort out.’ She was pleased at how confident she sounded.

‘Of course I’m late.’ He put down his briefcase and came around to perch on the edge of her desk.

Couldn’t he just use the seat opposite like any other normal person? Charlotte wondered nervously. She felt at enough of a disadvantage this morning without him looming over her like some kind of bird of prey.

‘Some feisty young woman kept me very busy last night.’ His voice was softly teasing.

She felt her skin glow with vivid colour.

There was a moment’s silence, a moment where he waited for her to say something. When she didn’t his eyes moved with thorough gentleness over her upturned face, taking in the colour on her high cheekbones, the softness of her lips. ‘Why did you rush off like that this morning?’ he asked.

She leaned further back in her chair, trying to feign an indifference that she just didn’t feel. ‘Last night was…pleasant, Jordan—’

‘Yes, it was,’ Jordan agreed, a wry gleam in his eyes. ‘Very pleasant.’

‘But we’ve got to work together and I don’t think we should complicate things.’

‘Who said anything about complicating things?’ Jordan shrugged. ‘I’m all for keeping things simple.’

She nodded. ‘Of course.’ She had never for one moment thought that he would read anything serious into last night. ‘Look, I’ll be honest with you, I’m feeling a bit awkward.’ She tried desperately to hold his gaze but failed miserably and had to look away. ‘I’m hoping we can put this…incident behind us and forget about it, go back to the way things used to be.’

Jordan reached out a hand and tipped her chin upwards so that she was forced to meet his eyes. ‘Do you feel guilty about last night because you are still in love with David?’ He asked the question quietly.

The question and the touch of his hand against her skin brought a very heated response coursing through her veins. ‘I don’t think that’s any of your business, Jordan,’ she snapped, pulling away from him.

He shrugged. ‘Well, if you are still holding a torch for David, you’re making a big mistake. The guy is a loser.’

‘And I really don’t need your analysis of David, thank you. You’re hardly a model of perfection where women are concerned yourself.’

Jordan smiled at that. ‘You weren’t complaining last night,’ he said teasingly and watched the even brighter flare of colour in her cheeks.

‘You see! This is exactly why last night was such a mistake,’ she spluttered indignantly. ‘I can’t have you reminding me about it every two minutes we have to work together.’

‘I’m not reminding you about it every two minutes; we were discussing the implications of last night before moving on to the day’s work, like a couple of grown-ups—remember?’

‘Don’t get smart with me, Jordan. There are no implications from last night; it was just two people enjoying a bit of light-hearted fun. So let’s just forget about it and move on. OK?’

‘Fine with me.’ Jordan shrugged.

‘Good.’ She picked up some papers that were sitting beside her. ‘Those are for you; they are the estimates for the soft furnishings.’

‘Great, thanks.’ His voice was dry. ‘I’ll look through them and get back to you.’

‘Good idea.’

‘And I’ve got something for you.’ He opened his briefcase. She thought he was going to pass her some papers that he wanted her to look at. Instead he took out a folded black lacy bra and put it on her desk. ‘It was on the floor in the lounge.’

Mortified beyond belief, Charlotte grabbed it and stuck it in the top drawer of her desk. ‘What are you thinking of?’ she said shakily, glancing around through the glass walls to see if any of her co-workers had noticed. Her office made her feel a bit like she worked in a goldfish bowl—everyone could see what she was doing.

‘Well, I was thinking that you might just be missing your bra,’ he said with a smile.

‘I’ve got to work here, Jordan! I don’t want everyone knowing that I’ve had a moment’s insanity with the boss.’

‘Charlotte, they’d have to have bionic vision to see what that tiny scrap of material is,’ he said with a shake of his head. ‘Relax, for heaven’s sake.’ Before she realised his intention he reached out and tipped her chin up so that she was forced to meet his eyes.

‘And as moments of insanity go it was very, very pleasant,’ he murmured huskily, his eyes moving towards her lips.

Then he released her and walked out of her office. Her heart was thumping. She felt sick inside with the knowledge that she had just handled that situation appallingly. Maybe she should just have laughed the whole thing off instead of acting so uptight?

Breathing deeply to release the tension inside, Charlotte tried very hard to think straight. But her mind was a jumbled mess of words and feelings she couldn’t get a handle on. In desperation she reached for the phone and dialled her sister’s number.

The answering machine came on and she was just about to hang up in complete frustration when Jennifer answered, sounding a bit breathless.

‘Oh, hi, sis. Sorry, I was just attending to Matilda here. She won’t stop crying.’

In the background Charlotte could hear her four-week-old niece giving full vent to her lungs. ‘Sorry, I’ve obviously caught you at a bad time. I’ll ring back later.’

‘No, no, it’s OK,’ Jennifer assured her hastily. ‘What’s the matter?’

Charlotte smiled to herself. Jennifer was her younger sister by five years but they were very close. ‘You know me so well,’ she murmured.

‘I know that tone in your voice, if that’s what you mean.’ Jennifer was shushing her baby and Charlotte could hear her picking her up, could imagine the scene as she wedged a phone on one shoulder whilst holding a wriggling infant on the other.

‘I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I’m not coping with anything at the moment, and my emotions are all over the place.’

‘Well, I think that’s pretty normal given the circumstances with you and David. You have been dating him for a long time; you’re bound to be upset. You should have taken time off work—’

‘Jen, I did something terrible last night.’ She cut across her sister, swiftly needing to unburden herself. ‘I slept with Jordan.’

There was a deathly silence at the other end of the phone. Even Matilda had gone quiet.

‘Crikey, Charlie!’

‘I know!’ Charlotte flicked a glance through the glass partition and saw Jordan’s secretary laughing with him. He looked incredibly relaxed and for some reason that made Charlotte feel even more on edge. ‘I don’t know what happened! One moment I was going to have coffee with him and the next we were in bed.’

Jennifer laughed.

‘It’s not funny.’

‘No, but it’s not that terrible either! To be honest, I’ve always secretly thought that Jordan would be perfect for you. Dad thinks so too. In fact he was saying not so long ago how well you two work together now and what a blessing he has you both at the business. And Jordan is so nice and so good-looking—’

‘Oh, come on!’ Charlotte cut in drily. ‘Don’t start taking artistic licence. The only thing Dad would say is that Jordan makes lots of money for the company. Dad is a businessman first and foremost.’

‘No, he’s not. He’s a big softie really, and he’ll be pleased you’re having a relationship with Jordan.’

‘We’re not having a relationship—it was sex!’

‘Well, a relationship has to start somewhere. Why not in bed? At least you’ve sampled the goods and found them in working order.’ Jennifer giggled. ‘I’m so pleased. If nothing else, you needed someone to take your mind off David.’

Jordan had certainly done that, Charlotte thought wryly.

‘Listen, why don’t the two of you come for Sunday dinner?’ Jennifer said excitedly.

‘I don’t think you’ve been listening to me, Jen. We’re not dating. In fact, we’re barely being civil to each other this morning. And besides, you know what he’s like where women are concerned—I’ll be just another notch on his bedpost.’

‘Not necessarily; you could be special.’

‘And the world could be flat,’ Charlotte drawled. ‘Anyway, it’s too close for comfort. I’ve got to work with the guy and I don’t want the complications; I’ve enough problems. I don’t know what the hell possessed me.’

‘I do—he’s gorgeous!’ Jennifer giggled again. ‘All right, well, you just come for dinner then. I’d better go. Madam here has just been sick down my blouse. See you Sunday.’

‘See you Sunday.’ Charlotte was speaking to a dead phone line now. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that Jennifer would be pro-Jordan. She’d been singing his praises since he had joined the company, and her husband, Steve, had got very friendly with him. Even though they lived just outside London in quite a rural area, Jordan was often over at their house. In fact it was through her sister that Charlotte got to hear snippets of information about Jordan’s girlfriends.

It was a wonder Jennifer didn’t know about the fact he had once had a daughter. But she definitely didn’t, otherwise Charlotte would have heard about it. Obviously it was just too painful a subject for Jordan to talk about, which was understandable.

She glanced down at the designs in front of her, but her mind was flicking over Jennifer’s words.

I’ve always secretly thought that Jordan would be perfect for you. Dad thinks so too.

Where had that come from? Jennifer had never said that to her before. And as for her father, he would think anyone was good for her as long as it wasn’t David. He really disliked David, and that was before he had heard of their break-up.

But Jen was wrong. Romantically speaking, Jordan wasn’t her type. He was too sure of himself, arrogant even. But then she remembered last night and the way he had made her laugh at dinner…the way he had looked so raw when he had spoken of his little girl…the way he had kissed the inside of her wrist… Why had that kiss been so erotic? she wondered. She had never thought of the wrist being an erogenous zone before.

She frowned. All right, maybe last night Jordan had sort of grown on her a bit. But not romantically, definitely not romantically; Jennifer was wrong about that. The sex had been wonderful though.

Charlotte scored a line through the piece of paper in front of her. She had to work with the guy, she told herself fiercely. Remembering things like that wasn’t helpful.

She looked over at him again; he was signing something now and he gave Laura a boyish smile that for some reason had a funny effect on Charlotte’s loins. He was basically a nice man. Obviously he had loved his wife, and his little girl. Whatever was going on in his life now, he’d certainly been through a tough time in the past.

Maybe she should apologise for being a bit sharp this morning. They had both enjoyed last night. She should have acted in a more mature way about it all.

She watched as Laura left his office. He was talking to someone on the phone now. If she was going to apologise, now was probably the time to go over, whilst his secretary was out. She didn’t want the whole building knowing that she was Jordan’s latest conquest. That would be too humiliating.

Before her courage could desert her she got up and went across to his office. They never knocked on each other’s doors, so Charlotte didn’t think twice about just walking in on him. He was sitting with his back to her, having swivelled around in his leather chair, and he was still talking on the phone.

‘We went out for dinner,’ he was saying. ‘Then I invited her back to my place for coffee.’ He laughed, a deep, husky, teasing kind of laugh. ‘OK, what can I say? I’m weak, yeah…that’s right, I got sidetracked. Not one of my better moves. But it was very enjoyable.’

Charlotte’s blood started to freeze in her veins as she realised he was talking about her.

Her first instinct was to get out of the room before he saw that she was there. She certainly wasn’t going to apologise to him now. Hurriedly she started to back away, closing the door behind her with a quiet click. How dared he? she thought as she stormed back to her office. Not one of his better moves, indeed! He could say that again!

She sat back down at her desk and glared at the back of his head through the plate glass. How dared he discuss her like that…and who had he been talking to? She hoped it wasn’t someone they worked with—if this got out in the office everyone would be gossiping about her.

She burned with the indignity of it all. She had always been an intensely private person. And she had always prided herself on being in control of her emotions. Now her personal life was being bandied around for all and sundry to know, and she certainly wasn’t in control of her emotions because at this moment she really thought she hated Jordan Lynch.

His chair swivelled around suddenly and their eyes locked through the glass. Hers simmered with intense anger, his were coolly unperturbed.

Swiftly she lowered her head and returned her attention to her work. That was it; she would have nothing more to do with Jordan Lynch, she told herself fiercely.

CHAPTER THREE

IT WAS Sunday afternoon, the sky was a clear blue but the breeze that stirred the trees, sending showers of cherry blossom fluttering onto the front lawns, was ice-cold. It felt more like March than the first day of May, Charlotte thought as she pulled up outside the tall Victorian detached house where Jennifer and Steven lived.

She parked her car on the road and walked into the driveway past her sister’s people carrier, Steve’s convertible and Harriet’s bicycle, which had been abandoned at right angles by the front door in a strategically placed booby trap.

Smiling to herself, Charlotte stepped over it and in through the front door, which had been left ajar.

The first thing that hit her was the smell of roast beef wafting through from the kitchen; the second was the discordant sound of Harriet practising her scales on the piano in the lounge.

‘Hello,’ Charlotte called out. Immediately the playing stopped and her six-year-old niece came flying out, feet thundering on the polished wooden floors, blonde pigtails bouncing as she flung herself at Charlotte like a whirling dervish.