In the Boss's Arms

‘Marry him?’ Shana finished for her.

‘For heaven’s sake!’ Shaking her head, Alice reached for a folder in the filing cabinet beside her desk. ‘I’ve only just met the man. I’m certainly not thinking very far into the future.’

‘Oh, come on, Alice. Are you telling me that one of the wealthiest and best-looking men in the region is red hot for you and you haven’t thought once about the long term?’

‘That’s exactly what I’m telling you.’

‘Alice, I’ve discussed this with your workmates, who know you and love you. And we all agree you’re a one-man girl. You haven’t got it in you to flit from guy to guy. You fall heavily for a man and that’s it.’

Alice sighed. ‘Can I ask where this conversation is heading? Are you trying to warn me off Liam?’

Shana’s eyes glinted knowingly, as if she was privy to a nasty secret, and Alice’s stomach sank as she remembered her workmate’s original question about whether there was a wife in Liam’s past.

‘If you’ve got something to tell me, spill it,’ she said. ‘Don’t treat me like I’m a naïve teenager with stars in my eyes.’ She’d just been through a horrible divorce, for heaven’s sake. She wasn’t going to rush into another mistake.

‘Well, do you know whether or not the boss has been married?’ Shana persisted.

‘I know he’s not married now, and that’s good enough for me.’ Alice was pleased that her voice was calm in spite of the frantic way her heart galloped.

She wasn’t thrilled that Liam had not volunteered any information about the women in his past, but she’d decided not to press him. Instead she’d chosen to trust him. She’d trusted him from the first moment she met him in the Hippo Bar and so far he hadn’t let her down.

Ah, yes, a smug inner voice whispered, but you trusted Todd for years and years and look where that got you.

‘OK, can you answer this?’ Shana asked. ‘Why has Liam Conway never driven a motor car?’

‘What?’ Alice gaped at her. ‘Are you crazy? Of course he drives cars. The man landed a plane, for heaven’s sake.’ And he’d produced his driver’s licence as proof of his birthday on the night they met.

It was possible that Shana’s smile was meant to be sympathetic, but it didn’t quite work. ‘The Sydney Morning Herald ran a story while you were away that questioned how Liam Conway could possibly land a plane when no one’s ever seen him behind a steering wheel,’ she said smugly.

‘That’s nonsense.’ Shana was only trying to stir up trouble. ‘Now, if you’re quite finished, I have work to do.’ She couldn’t stomach any more of this conversation.

‘I was only telling you this for your own good, but if you’re bent on defending the man no matter what, I’m wasting my time.’

Letting out an angry sniff, Shana turned and flounced back to her desk and positioned her chair and computer screen so there was no chance of eye contact.

Good, Alice decided, noting the other woman’s stiff, angry back. Now she could get on with her own work.

Movement at the bottom of her computer screen caught her eye and she saw a string of new email messages arrive.

Enquiries about the outback tours had been flooding in, thanks to the publicity Liam had attracted. He’d handled the media interviews brilliantly—was charming, articulate and perfectly comfortable in front of the cameras. And as a result they’d already drawn more interest in Kanga Tours than they’d dared to hope for.

It would be best to deal with the email messages quickly before she moved on to the list of phone calls she had to make. She scanned the email list and her heart bounced. One message leapt out from the screen—a private communication from Conway, Liam C.

Oh, heavens. Her skin flashed with nervous excitement as she clicked on it.

Can I invite myself to dinner at your place this

evening? I’ll bring takeaway and wine. What would you prefer—Indian, Thai, fish and chips, pizza?

You name it, I’ll find it.

Just have the green plates ready.

Missing you like crazy.

L

Alice felt her face burst into flames.

Missing you like crazy.

No way could she wipe the smile from her face. Thank heavens Shana wasn’t looking her way.

Missing you like crazy.

Liam’s mind was not on his work. He should have been dealing with everything that had piled up while he was away, but his concentration was shot to pieces. He couldn’t stop thinking about Alice. He sat in his office, staring at his computer screen, hoping she wasn’t too busy to answer his email immediately.

Missing you like crazy.

Perhaps he was crazy. Surely he was crazy to allow this to happen, to become so involved with a woman that he let her sidetrack him from his focus on his brand-new business enterprise.

He’d come to this city with a single-minded purpose, prepared to do everything that was needed to secure his company’s viability. But from the very moment he’d seen Alice in the Hippo Bar, he’d been a marked man.

He hadn’t believed it was possible to be so distracted, so obsessed. Alice was a miracle, his perfect woman. And to think he’d had to come way up north to find her. Right now all he could think about was this evening.

Please say yes, Alice.

Actually, in a perfect world he wouldn’t wait till this evening. He would summon Alice to his office, lock the door and explore the possibilities his wide desk offered. But of course that wasn’t going to happen, so he kept picturing other fantasies about tonight—the way he would rush through Alice’s front door, dump the takeaway food on her kitchen counter and start to undress her.

Say yes, Alice. The only possible answer is a big, fat yes.

Alice stared at the message from her boss, thinking thoughts so lusty and steamy she could hardly sit still.

All it took was a few words on a screen—Missing you like crazy.

Surely this wasn’t normal. Maybe it was some kind of post-divorce reaction? Perhaps, after almost a decade of struggling inside a failing marriage, she was finding Liam’s attention just too exciting. The whole situation was getting out of hand. Their relationship was heating up way too quickly.

With this much fire, someone could get burned. And guess who it would be?

Not the boss!

She should be cooler and calmer about the whole thing. She wasn’t a teenager. She was an adult in her thirties and she should be able to manage a relationship in a super-cool and controlled adult way—ultradiscreet at work and totally in control outside.

Taking a deep breath in and out, she scooped up her hair, gave it a little twist and used the butterfly clip from her top drawer to secure it away from her collar.

Not that it helped to make her feel any cooler or calmer. This was a fire that wouldn’t be easy to tone down. Maybe she should speak to Liam. She could suggest they take things more slowly, talk more, rather than rushing straight into bed.

Right. Taking another deep breath, and with one eye on Shana, she began to type a carefully worded, super-polite and admirably restrained reply to Liam’s request.

‘I’ve printed out these spreadsheets for you to look over,’ the company accountant told Liam.

‘Good, Merv; thank you.’

Merv began to set his work on Liam’s desk and, as he did so, three emails appeared on Liam’s computer screen. One was from Alice.

‘They’ll be fine,’ Liam said a touch impatiently as Merv carefully made sure that each document was placed neatly and precisely and in exactly the right order.

‘You might like to take a closer look at the projections for wages over the next six months, Mr Conway.’

‘Yes, yes, sure.’ Liam’s eyes darted back to the screen.

‘From these figures I’d suggest you consider leasing more of our IT equipment rather than owning it.’

Liam’s hand hovered over the mouse, eager to click on Alice’s response. ‘I’ll consider that. Yes, thank you, Merv.’

‘And then there’s the—’

‘I’ll give this report my thorough attention and then get back to you.’

At last Merv got the message. ‘I’ll leave it with you, then.’

Within a split-second of his turning to leave, Liam clicked on Alice’s message.

If you could bring Indian curry and white wine, the green plates will be ready and waiting. 6.30?

A.

P.S. I’ll take care of dessert.

P.P.S. And the midnight snacks.

P.P.P.S. And breakfast.

Liam grinned. Maybe now he could stop the lovesick-teenager act and get back to running his business. Attending to this report from the Cairns accountant was only a small part of his duties.

His Sydney office coordinated a nationwide operation ranging from harbour tours and opera-house concerts to Kakadu tours and Snowy Mountains skiing holidays. If he was to succeed at making the Cairns business just as big and successful, it was time to focus, man. Focus.

He reached for his diary to check the calls he needed to make.

And at the same moment the telephone rang.

‘Yes, Sally?’

‘An urgent call’s come through for you from Sydney, Mr Conway.’

‘Thanks. I’ll take it straight away.’

Rita James, his personal assistant in his head office in Sydney, was always super-calm and efficient, but today, just saying hello, she sounded worried.

‘What’s the problem, Rita?’

‘I’m afraid there’s bad news about Mrs Conway, Liam.’

Julia!

The news hit him with the force of a physical blow.

‘Mrs Conway’s housekeeper just rang to say that she has been admitted to hospital and her condition’s serious.’

Oh, God, no.

He’d been dreading something like this, had feared it might happen while he was away in the north.

‘Do you have a phone number? Can I speak to Julia?’

‘I’m afraid she isn’t well enough to take calls.’

‘Then I’ll have to speak to the housekeeper. I don’t know why Harriet didn’t telephone me first. I gave her my new contact details.’

‘Well, she was calling from the hospital and she sounded very upset. Perhaps she didn’t have your Cairns number with her.’

‘Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I’ll have to get on the first available plane.’ He was struggling to stay calm. ‘I assume there’s someone responsible to take care of Jack?’

‘I believe he’s staying at the home of one of his school friends.’

‘Right.’ Liam’s mind whirled. ‘Do you have the details of the hospital? The ward?’ Julia had to have the very best attention.

He jotted down the information Rita gave him.

‘I’m sure she’s in good hands,’ she said, clearly trying to soothe him.

‘Yes, I suppose you’re right. Well, thanks for letting me know, Rita. I’ll—no doubt, I’ll see you soon.’ Liam disconnected, ran his hands down his face and pressed his fingers against his eyelids. Hell!

This was not the first time Julia had been rushed to hospital, but that thought did nothing to ease his worry. It was always a nightmare.

Releasing a heart-rending sigh, he touched the button connecting him to Alice’s extension.

‘Alice, I’m sorry. I’m going to have to—’

‘Alice isn’t here.’ It was Shana’s voice.

‘Oh.’ Liam massaged his temple where an ache had started. ‘Do you know where she is?’

‘She took off in a hurry. Said something about emergency shopping.’

He sighed again. ‘OK. When she comes back, tell her to call me.’ Then he rang through to the front desk. ‘Sally, can you book me on the first possible flight to Sydney? Yes, I want the next available flight. I have to be there tonight.’

Hot orange with pink polka dots.

Alice grinned at her reflection as she stood before the mirror in her new underwear. This fun ensemble should be a good test of Liam’s liberal attitude to colour!

She’d bought it on the way home from work. Of course, she’d felt a little guilty about leaving early, but she knew she could make up for lost time tomorrow and the early mark seemed justified. After all, tonight was her first official date with Liam and surely that called for a quick detour via the shopping mall to buy scented candles.

Candlelight, wine, a leisurely meal and conversation were on the agenda for tonight. She and Liam needed to share more meaningful verbal exchanges, soulful heart-to-heart discussions. Until now she’d been reluctant to pressure him, but questions, like the ones Shana had raised, needed answers, as did others, like where their relationship might be heading.

Problem was, on the way to the candle shop she’d passed the lingerie shop, and she’d seen this cute bra and panties set in the window. The colours were so outrageous she immediately thought of Liam. And in spite of her commitment to being cool and calm and in control, she had rushed straight in and bought them.

And come home without the candles.

So much for being in control.

At least she had a sensible beige linen dress to wear over the fun lingerie. Alice slipped it on now and turned again to the mirror. This was better. The sleeveless shirtmaker dress was designed to be cool in the tropics, so it had very little shape, a stand-away collar and a row of sensible little buttons down the front.

Now she looked cool and, more importantly, modest.

Except…except…oh, how shameless could a girl get? All she wanted to think about was Liam’s gorgeous, sexy smile when he undid these buttons and found what was under this modest beige dress.

Giving an exasperated shake, she hurried through to the kitchen and busied herself selecting plates, glassware, cutlery and place mats to set on the table out on her deck, sans candles. Halfway across the kitchen with her hands full, she heard her cell-phone ring. Darn. She’d left it in her bedroom and she had to put everything back on the kitchen counter while she went to answer it.

Please, don’t let it be Mum or one of the aunts. Not tonight. Last night she’d spent ages on the phone, answering endless questions about the drama of the plane landing, and she’d had to explain that yes, Liam Conway was the same man her mother and aunts had seen in the photo in the paper and yes, it was an amazing coincidence that he’d turned out to be her boss. And yes, he was just as nice in real life as he’d appeared to be in the TV interviews.

The phone was on her bedside table.

‘Hello, Alice.’

She could hardly hear Liam’s voice above the buzz and hum of background noise—voices and busy, bustling sounds. She smiled as she pictured him waiting impatiently in the line-up at the crowded Indian takeaway.

‘Hi, Liam; is it going to be a long wait?’

‘Alice, you didn’t get my message to call me?’

She frowned. ‘No.’

‘Shana was supposed to tell you.’

‘I—I—left work a little early.’

She heard his sigh. ‘I’m sorry, Alice, I’m afraid I’ve had to cancel dinner. I’m at the airport now.’

‘The airport?’ Her heart gave an uncomfortable thud. ‘What are you doing there?’

‘Look, I’m terribly sorry, but something’s come up and I have to fly to Sydney.’

‘Tonight?’ It was virtually impossible to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

‘Yes. In fact the plane’s boarding now.’

Whoosh. Alice’s knees buckled. She dropped down onto her bed. This didn’t make sense. What kind of something had come up?

‘I’m really sorry,’ Liam said again. ‘When this news came through I was totally thrown. I’ve had so much on my mind this afternoon. There was a lot to get organised in a hurry.’

‘What’s happened?’

‘It’s—it’s a family matter,’ Liam told her. ‘An emergency. It’s too complicated to explain now. They’re calling the final passengers for my flight. I’m going to have to turn this thing off.’

She was clutching the cell-phone so tightly it should have snapped in two. How could Liam just take off with so little warning, such scanty information?

‘There’s a chance I might have to stay in Sydney for some time,’ he said. ‘But I’ll call you.’

‘All right.’ Her voice came out squeaky. Some time. How long was that?

‘Are you OK?’ He sounded concerned.

No, of course she wasn’t okay. She was confused, disappointed, worried. Liam’s evasions scared her. They were so horribly familiar. How many times had Todd rung just like this—at the last minute to make excuses?

What could Liam’s emergency be? A dying parent? A road smash? Why was it complicated? Why couldn’t he tell her? There was so much she didn’t know about this man.

But she couldn’t ask those questions now. ‘Of course I’m fine,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry about—the emergency. I hope everything works out well.’

‘Thanks. I’m going to miss you. Got to go. Bye.’

‘I’ll miss—’ She didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence. Liam had already disconnected.

She dropped the cell-phone onto her bedspread and sat in her darkened bedroom, numb with misery. She felt swamped by an irrational, unprecedented sadness and tears slipped down her cheeks.

Just like that, she’d plummeted from the heights of happiness to the depths of disappointment. She felt awful. Being in love just wasn’t worth it. She’d felt empty and abandoned like this when she first suspected that Todd was cheating on her. How could she have found herself back in this ghastly place so quickly?

For several minutes she gave in to the wash of emotions, wallowing in self-pity. This wasn’t fair. How could Liam be so offhand with her? He wasn’t like Todd, was he? She couldn’t bear it if he was.

But eventually she pressed her knuckles to her streaming eyes and drew a deep breath. OK. She had to get a grip. After all, she was trying to handle this relationship like a mature adult and it was downright silly to fall in a heap over one broken date.

Liam was dealing with what must be a very serious family emergency and she was crying like a spoilt child who couldn’t go out to play because it was raining.

Using her hands to lever herself up from the mattress, she stood and went through to the bathroom, where she washed her face, and then she went into the kitchen to make something to eat—a grilled cheese sandwich and coffee.

As she slapped sliced cheese onto bread, she decided that she should be grateful for this timely lesson. After her divorce she’d been determined to join the single-and-loving-it brigade. She’d vowed that she wasn’t going to rely on another person to make her happy or to give meaning to her life.

And what had she done? She’d let a man become the centre of her life again.

She hadn’t learned a thing from her divorce.

Her first waking thoughts were for Liam, and so were far too many of her thoughts during the hours in between. And she drifted to sleep thinking of him.

In other words she’d fallen head over heels in love, which was just plain foolish. Thirty-year-old women just didn’t fall in love with their bosses and dream of happily-ever-after. They had flings. That was what she’d had. A fling. Sex, not love.

There’d been lots and lots of fabulous passion but no talk of love, no promises, no talk of the future at all. For all Alice knew, Liam could have a girlfriend in Sydney. And, as a contemporary, liberated, New Age woman, she shouldn’t mind.

Ouch.

Hot melted cheese dripped onto her hand and she grabbed for a dishcloth to mop it, and felt the threat of tears again. Darn it. She knew that she would mind. She would mind very much if Liam had another girlfriend.

Oh, good grief, she’d be bitterly disappointed. Devastated.

Chapter Seven

‘THEY haven’t changed the date of Valentine’s Day, have they?’

Alice was in the middle of a phone call when she looked up to see Sally, the front-desk receptionist, walking through the doorway bearing a huge bouquet of red roses.

Walking straight to Alice, Sally winked and set the flowers on her desk with a cheeky ta-da! flourish.

Alice’s heart began to knock and she lost the train of her conversation with a hire-car rep in Mount Isa.

Who on earth would be sending her flowers? They had to be from Liam. But would he make such a public gesture at work?

Smiling broadly, Sally tapped her fingernail against the little envelope that was pinned to red satin ribbons.

Alice knew she was blushing as she mouthed ‘thank you’ and she was grateful that her phone call meant that Sally couldn’t hang around while the envelope was opened. But just as the call finished, Shana walked in. Great.

‘Wow! Who sent you these?’

‘I’ve no idea.’ Alice tried very hard to sound cool as Shana fingered the envelope.

‘Aren’t you going to have a look?’

‘Of course.’ Darn. Her fingers were shaking as she struggled to pull out the tiny pin that secured the card.

‘I’ll bet they’re from the boss. Things are hotting up, aren’t they?’ Shana leaned close with a forced enthusiasm that did nothing to calm Alice.

Her fingers fumbled with the seal on the envelope. She hadn’t heard from Liam since he’d dashed off to Sydney. These flowers must be from him. There was no other man in her life and no other explanation. She was going to be floating on happiness for days.

She read the card and blinked.

‘Well?’ Shana’s cry was close to a squeal. ‘Come on, Alice, spill.’

‘They’re from Joe,’ she said, trying hard not to sound disappointed.

‘Joe? Who’s Joe?’

‘The pilot who collapsed in the plane.’

‘Oh.’ Shana couldn’t wipe the relieved smirk from her face. ‘How nice.’

‘Yes. It’s a very sweet note. He’s completely recovered now and he thinks I saved his life.’

‘I’m sure you did.’ Shana gave Alice a pat-you-on-the-head smile and continued on to her desk.

Disappointment deluged Alice. She had so wanted these lovely flowers to be a gift from Liam. What was he doing in Sydney? Why had he cut her off?

Mad with herself that it mattered so much, she returned her attention to Joe’s card. His message really was sweet. He claimed he’d been brought back to life by the kiss of an angel. Who else could it have been at that altitude? he’d asked.

And then, further down, she saw another message in different writing:

Alice, we want to thank you sincerely from the hottom of our hearts for saving Joe’s life. He is a precious husband and father and we still have him, thanks to you and Mr Conway.

Jean, Gary, Jenny and Jana Banyo

Alice touched a dark, velvety rose petal. At the time she’d helped Joe she hadn’t given a thought to his wife and children. She’d just done what had to be done. But everyone had families. Even the simplest action could have wide-reaching effects.

The flowers were a lovely gesture and, as she got on with her work, she tried to convince herself that she’d rather receive an uplifting message from Joe and his family than a bunch of flowers from her remote and aloof boss.

But by the end of the week the flowers were wilted and so were Alice’s spirits. She still hadn’t heard anything from Liam.

He left a brief message with Sally, to say that he hoped to be back the following Monday. But that was all.

Of course, everyone in the office expected Alice to be able to supply them with details about what the boss was doing in Sydney. And it was anything but pleasant to admit that she was more or less as clueless as they were.

It was all very difficult—embarrassing—and confusing.

One minute she was angry. Why was it so darned hard for Liam to call her? And then the next she would wonder if she was expecting too much of him. If only she wasn’t so unsure of her role in his life.