Tycoon for Hire

CHAPTER THREE

JENNIFER was late getting to her desk next morning. She’d overslept, after spending most of the night tossing and turning. She was horrified at the way she’d succumbed to the physical attractions of a man she barely knew, but he’d triggered sensations that had alarmed her.

She’d finally dozed off, and awoken with one certainty fixed in her mind. She must never, ever see Steven Leary again. He could make her act like a stranger to herself. Or rather, he could bring her up against the fact that she had no clear idea who she was.

She was Barney Norton’s beautiful, successful granddaughter, and the apple of his eye. But she was also someone who took in waifs and strays, because she felt like a waif herself, and without them her life was lonely. She was a top businnesswoman who was bored with business. And somewhere deep inside she was still the little ten-year-old girl whose adored father had walked out without a backward glance.

She’d thought of David, whose gentle manners and kindly nature she loved. Neither of her menfolk had appreciated him.

‘He’s very sound,’ Barney had said, damning him with faint praise. ‘Sound’, in Barney’s vocabulary, meant uninspired.

Trevor had put it even more bluntly. ‘He’ll never set the Thames on fire.’

But she didn’t want a man who would set the Thames on fire. She wanted a man whose steadiness she could rely on, and David fitted the bill perfectly. At least he had, until their quarrel. But that was her fault, she assured herself. She’d offended him by the clumsy way she’d tried to help. When they made up she would be more careful.

Safe, dependable David had never tried to rush her, never demanded. True, there had been moments when she’d wished he could be a little more decisive, but he was also vulnerable in a way that touched her heart. Jennifer’s nature had a bedrock of quiet strength, and while she needed a man to hold onto, she also needed a man who would hold onto her. She couldn’t turn away from anyone who needed her protection, and David had only to smile and say, ‘What would I do without you?’ to make her melt.

That was her touchstone, the reason she loved David tenderly. It was why she would never love Steven Leary, who hadn’t a hint of vulnerability in his nature.

What had happened between them was something apart, a warning that her sensuality could betray her into the arms of the wrong man if she wasn’t careful. But she would heed the warning. Nothing was going to come between her and David.

She’d reached the office in such a rush that she was only vaguely aware that her staff were giving her curious looks. As always, her first task was to check the firm’s share price. What she discovered made her stare at the computer screen, frowning.

‘That can’t be right,’ she murmured. ‘Why should we go up by that much since yesterday?’

But the same figures appeared again. Next moment her phone rang. ‘You’d better get in here and let me know what’s been going on,’ Trevor growled, and hung up.

Puzzled, Jennifer crossed the corridor to his office. ‘I didn’t understand any of that,’ she said, closing his door behind her.

‘I’m talking about you and Charteris Enterprises.’

‘I’ve had nothing to do with Charteris Enterprises.’

‘Oh, no?’ Trevor said sarcastically. ‘And you weren’t with their managing director last night, I suppose?’

‘You know where I was last night—at the banquet with Mike Harker. No, wait. He said his real name was Steven Leary.’

‘He told you that? And you didn’t hear alarm bells?’

Trevor shoved a newspaper across his desk. Jennifer’s eyed widened at the picture of herself and Steven dancing smoochily. The caption gave details of the banquet, of herself, and of ‘Steven Leary, Managing Director of Charteris Enterprises, who is also a major stockholder and chief architect of its success.’

‘Now people think we’re doing a deal with Charteris, and that’s why our shares have soared,’ Trevor told her.

‘I don’t understand this,’ Jennifer said distractedly. ‘You told me Mike Harker was a failed actor.’

‘But that isn’t him,’ Trevor said through gritted teeth.

‘Well, he’s the man who turned up on my doorstep. This—I just don’t understand. I danced with a dozen men.’

‘Like that?’ Trevor demanded, jabbing his finger at the picture. Jennifer drew a sharp breath as she saw what he meant. It had been taken at the moment when Steven had kissed her, and her response left no doubt about the matter. This was far from being just another dance.

She studied herself in dismay, her mind rejecting what her flesh remembered to be true. How could she have melted into his arms in that abandoned way?

And him? Had he too been lost? Or was he laughing at a successful deception? And later—But she refused to remember later.

‘I think I’d better have a talk to Mr Harker—or Leary, or whatever his name is,’ she said grimly.

She called Charteris Enterprises. But she was stone-walled by Steven’s secretary.

‘Kindly tell Mr Leary that I don’t know what his game is,’ she said at last, ‘but I’m going to find out.’

Steven had arrived at work to find the newspaper laid out on his desk and his staff ecstatic over his supposed coup. They’d known that Steven was negotiating to buy Kirkson Depots, a firm that operated in the same area as Nortons, but Kirkson was holding out for too high a price, and everyone now assumed that Steven had been playing a deep game.

He studied the picture, noticing how the clinging dress outlined Jennifer’s splendid curves. She was looking up at him, her head thrown back in an attitude of ecstatic surrender, as though her partner was the only man in the world.

She’d wanted him to believe it was all an act, for the benefit of another man, and he’d been almost fooled—until the evening’s final moments. Then the seductive spell she’d cast had swept him up. And not just him. She could deny it as much as she liked. He knew.

Alice, his secretary, looked in. She was thin, middleaged and efficient. She also had a dry sense of humour that helped her survive as Steven’s secretary. ‘James Kirkson is here,’ she said.

James Kirkson had come uttering words like ‘compromise’ and ‘rethink’. Steven kept his face blank to conceal his sense of triumph. In another few minutes Kirkson Depots would be his at a bargain price. But he was interrupted by the phone.

‘It’s Ms Norton,’ Alice informed him. ‘She’s very cross and she’s on her way here.’

Steven glanced at Kirkson and made a sudden decision. ‘When she arrives,’ he announced in a loud voice, ‘tell her I love her madly.’

‘Very good, sir.’

Exactly fifteen minutes later Alice’s door burst open and Jennifer whirled in.

‘I’d like to see Steven Leary,’ she said crisply.

‘I’m afraid that’s not possible. Won’t you sit down?’

‘I won’t be here long enough to sit down. Your employer is a devious, conniving—’

‘You must be Ms Norton.’

‘I certainly am.’

‘In that case, Mr Leary loves you madly,’ Alice declared, at her most wooden.

For a moment Jennifer felt as though something had knocked the wind out of her. Her head swam, the world glittered, shooting stars rioted in space. Then her senses cleared and she realised that Steven was up to his tricks.

‘Does he employ you to talk that stuff?’ she asked through twitching lips.

‘On this occasion, yes.’

‘Whatever he’s paying you, it isn’t enough.’

‘I agree. Can I get you some coffee?’

‘What you can get me is Steven Leary’s head on a plate,’ Jennifer said crisply. ‘Better still, I’ll collect it myself.’

Alice moved, but she wasn’t fast enough. Jennifer swept into Steven’s office, already uttering the words, ‘How dare you tell the press all that rubbish about us when you know perfectly well—!’

She got no further. Steven was out of his chair and across the room in time to cut off the rest. His mouth descended on hers in mid-word. His arms were like steel about her, preventing all struggle.

Jennifer’s indignation fought with her instinctive response. The sense of sheer power holding her exhilarated her even while it made her furious.

He released her mouth just long enough to say, ‘Business and pleasure, darling.’ Lowering his voice, he said urgently, ‘Kiss me back, for pity’s sake!’

‘Not in a million years—’ She barely got the words out before he silenced her again. The world spun around her, making it impossible to think, or do anything except feel a fierce, sensual delight deep inside her. It was stronger than anger. For a blinding moment it was the only thing in the world.

But the moment passed and she was herself again. She freed her lips, feeling her heart pounding, hoping she wasn’t too flushed. She looked into his face, expecting to find in it a look of jeering triumph, and was astonished to see an echo of her own reaction. Steven was breathing hard and his eyes were glittering.

‘Jennifer,’ he said in a husky voice, ‘let me introduce you to—where is he?’

‘Mr Kirkson slipped out while you were occupied,’ Alice informed him, from the doorway.

‘Damn!’ Steven said explosively, releasing Jennifer with unloverlike haste. ‘He was on the verge of caving in.’ He glared at Jennifer. ‘Thanks a lot!’

‘Are you daring to blame me?’

‘If you hadn’t barged in just then I could have bought Kirkson’s for a knock-down price.’

‘Kirkson Depots? So that was it all the time! You set me up last night.’

‘No way. It was an accident.’

‘Ho-ho-ho!’ Jennifer scoffed.

‘Don’t you “ho-ho” me. You have a lot to answer for.’

‘I—?’

‘You’ve just wrecked a deal that would have made this firm a lot of money.’

‘A deal that you wouldn’t have been in a position to make if you hadn’t deceived me.’

‘I did not deceive you,’ Steven said through gritted teeth. ‘Mike Harker’s a friend of mine. He was half-dead from flu, so I took his place. That’s all.’

Alice looked in again. ‘There’s a call for Ms Norton. I’ve put it through.’

Puzzled, Jennifer picked up the phone on Steven’s desk, and found herself talking to her brother. ‘Trust you to dash off like that without stopping to think!’ he complained. ‘Barney called. He’s over the moon about the rise in our share price.’

‘Oh, no!’ she breathed. Ever since the firm had gone public it had been Barney’s dream to see the price rise, and now it had happened. How could she tell him that it was all an illusion?

‘He wants you to bring Steven Leary to dinner.’

‘Now see what you’ve started,’ Jennifer said to Steven. ‘My grandfather wants you to come to dinner.’

‘Fine! I accept.’

‘And then this crazy story will get another head of steam. Where will it end?’

‘Who knows?’ he said wickedly. ‘But it might be interesting to find out.’ He took the receiver from her. ‘Mr Norton, I’d be delighted to accept your invitation.’

Jennifer lifted the extension in time to hear Trevor say, ‘My grandfather has invited us all to his house the day after tomorrow. He asks me to say that he hopes you won’t mind being outnumbered.’

‘I could bring my sister, to even up the numbers and protect me,’ Steven suggested.

‘Naturally we should be delighted to entertain your sister, Mr Leary, if you think she won’t be bored.’

‘Maud is a very serious person,’ Steven said in a grave voice. ‘She’s dedicated to making money. I’m sure that you and she will get on well.’

‘I’ll leave Jennifer to arrange the details with you.’ Trevor hung up.

Meeting Jennifer’s indignant gaze, Steven said, ‘I’m looking forward to meeting your family properly. I’ll tell my sister.’

‘Barney likes to start the evening at eight,’ Jennifer said formally.

‘We’ll be there at eight. By the way, didn’t you notice that I won our bet? I said you’d contact me in less than a week.’

‘But you knew this was bound to happen. That’s cheating.’

‘You owe me. Pay up.’

‘Certainly not.’

‘I wonder if the press knows how Nortons treats its debts of honour?’ Steven mused to nobody in particular.

The teasing gleam in his eye checked Jennifer’s retort. She took a deep breath. She knew she ought to escape as a matter of sheer self preservation, but after all it was a debt of honour.

‘Very well,’ she said, trying to speak calmly. ‘You may kiss me for precisely five seconds.’

‘Oh, I don’t think we need to drag it out that long,’ he said, dropping a peck on her cheek. ‘There. Now you can slap my face if you like.’

‘What I would like to do is something for which there are no polite words. When I think of your behaviour last night—letting me think you were just an impoverished actor when all the time—and you took those cufflinks under false pretences. I think you should return them.’

‘No can do. I passed them on to the real Mike Harker, with your message about the price he could get for them.’

‘It’s time for me to go,’ Jennifer said, speaking with difficulty. ‘I will see you at dinner.’

‘I’ll look forward to it.’

It was the merest chance that took Steven past Jennifer’s house the following evening. He’d been calling on a valuable client, or he wouldn’t have been in that direction.

It seemed a good idea to drop in on her. It would be interesting to see her in what he thought of as more ‘normal’ circumstances. It would be even more interesting to catch her off guard. It was a moot point which motive was the stronger, but since he was honest with himself he admitted he would enjoy taking her by surprise.

But fate turned the tables on him, because whatever welcome he’d expected it wasn’t the one he got.

His ring at the doorbell brought the sound of feet scurrying urgently. The next moment the door was yanked open and Jennifer stood there, gabbling with relief.

‘Thank heavens you’re here, I was getting so worried. I don’t think there’s much time—oh, dear, it’s only you!’

Women had greeted Steven in a variety of ways, ranging from ‘Darling, how wonderful!’ to ‘How dare you show your face here again?’ But ‘Oh, dear, it’s only you,’ was new to him.

‘Yes, it’s me,’ he said. ‘I gather I’m not who you were hoping to see?’

Without answering she darted past him, down the garden path and into the street. She looked up and down, then, failing to see what she was looking for, did a little dance of frustration.

Steven barely knew her. She was dressed in old jeans and a shapeless shirt that concealed everything he’d hoped to see again. Except for her legs. She had the longest legs of any woman he’d seen, and the shabby denim that covered them couldn’t entirely disguise their beauty.

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