Seduced By The Boss

As she’d hoped, he laughed. ‘Without.’

‘I don’t really tend to go clubbing,’ she said. ‘But I go to a dance aerobics class, so I can move in time to music.’

‘That’s good enough for me.’

But he hadn’t answered her question fully. ‘Anything else?’ she asked.

He frowned. ‘Such as?’

‘Normally, people who are dating tend to, um, kiss each other,’ she said. ‘Especially when dancing and parties are involved.’

‘Ah. Yes. Kissing.’

The car suddenly felt way too small. And was it her imagination, or had the temperature just shot up by ten degrees?

‘Chaste kissing would be acceptable,’ he said.

Right at that moment, she didn’t feel very chaste. And she wished she hadn’t brought up the subject, because she could just imagine what it would be like to kiss Hugh Moncrieff. To cup his face in her hands and brush her lips against his, teasing at first, and then letting him deepen the kiss. Matching him touch for touch, bite for bite, until they were both dizzy with desire and he carried her off to his bed...

‘Bella?’

‘What?’ She’d been so lost in her fantasy that she hadn’t heard him say anything to her. She felt colour flood into her cheeks.

‘I said, are you OK with that?’

No. It was way too risky.

But she’d agreed to play his unsuitable girlfriend. And she was the one who’d brought up the question of kissing in the first place.

‘I guess,’ she said, trying to sound cool and calm and completely unbothered. ‘Next question.’

‘Hit me with it,’ he said dryly.

‘Why are you single?’

He blew out a breath. ‘You’re very direct. Why are you single?’

Because she’d put her trust in the wrong people. ‘I asked you first.’

He shrugged. ‘I was seeing someone and it didn’t work out.’

That was obviously the need-to-know version of the story, she thought. She didn’t think Hugh was the type to be a selfish love rat—someone like that wouldn’t have come to her and Grace’s rescue when they’d needed help, the other week—so she assumed that he hadn’t been the one to end the relationship. Had his ex broken his heart? But there was no point in asking him. She knew he’d stonewall her.

‘You?’ he asked.

‘You summed it up for me, too. I was seeing someone and it didn’t work out,’ she said. She didn’t want to tell him the whole messy story. More precisely, she didn’t want him knowing that she was so naïve and had such poor judgement in relationships. Her best friend and her live-in boyfriend. Just how had she managed to keep her eyes so firmly closed to what was really going on between them?

‘Was it recent?’ he asked.

‘Six months ago,’ she said. ‘And you?’

‘A year.’

‘And you haven’t met anyone else since?’ That surprised her. When he wasn’t being grumpy in the office, Hugh was good company. And he was very easy on the eye. Surely he had women lining up for him in droves?

‘I’ve been too busy concentrating on my business.’ He paused. ‘You?’

‘The same.’ Except it hadn’t just been her romantic relationship that had crashed. Kirk had dumped her for the woman Bella had believed was her best friend since sixth form, taking that support away from her, too. And Kirk had quietly cleaned out their joint bank account, the morning he dumped her—which was why Bella hadn’t had her normal safety cushion of the equivalent of three months’ salary when her best client went bust, and why her finances were in such a mess now.

And there had been next to nothing she could do about it, because the money had been in their joint names. She’d talked to the bank, but they’d said that any signatory to a joint account had the right to withdraw however much money they liked, no matter how much they’d actually put in.

Bella would never make that mistake again. And she was really glad that she’d listened to Grace’s advice and put her tax money to one side in a different account rather than keeping it with her ‘salary’, or she’d be in debt to the Inland Revenue as well.

‘Let’s just say I’m tired of always dating Mr Wrong and I’m happier being single,’ she said.

‘Works for me. Any more questions?’

He was definitely in his Monday morning office mode now. Grumpy and difficult. She decided that any other questions could wait. ‘I guess we’ve covered the basics.’

‘Good. If you don’t mind, I’d better concentrate on my driving.’

Given that they were going to his family home, he probably knew the route blindfold, so Bella was pretty sure that this was just his way of avoiding any more questions. And she supposed he had a point. She knew enough to play her role. Asking him anything else would be intrusive, wouldn’t it? She let him concentrate on his driving and fiddled quietly with her phone, until he turned off the main road and drove them through narrower country roads to the outskirts of a village.

‘Here we are, then,’ he said as he turned into a driveway. The fences on either side were in perfect repair, and huge lime trees lined the fences and cast dappled shade on the driveway.

Bella had known that Hugh was from a posh background, but she hadn’t realised just how posh. At the end of the half-a-mile-long driveway was the most beautiful house she’d ever seen: an Elizabethan manor house built from mellow Cotswold stone, with floor-to-ceiling sash windows on the ground floor, mullioned windows on the top floor, wisteria climbing the walls which wasn’t in bloom yet but would look stunning in a couple of weeks, and a wide front door with a spider-web fanlight above it.

‘That’s gorgeous,’ she said. ‘And I’ve got this weird sense of déjà vu—I know I’ve never been here before, but somehow I feel as if I have.’

‘You’ve probably seen the house on TV,’ he said. ‘It’s been used as a location for a few period dramas.’

Before she had the chance to ask which ones, he parked on the gravelled area outside the house.

‘I see my brothers are already here,’ he said.

There were two sports cars similar to Hugh’s parked outside the house, along with a Range Rover, a Daimler and a Bentley. It felt almost as if she was walking into one of the period dramas he’d mentioned. And it was a million miles away from her own background. Was she really going to be able to pull this off?

‘The grandparents and the aunts are here, too, by the looks of it,’ he said. ‘We might as well go in and say hello. There probably isn’t enough time to give you a proper guided tour of the house before tea’s served, but I promise I’ll do it tomorrow. Ma’s probably in the kitchen fussing about. She said afternoon tea would be in the dining room and the cocktail party tonight’s in the ballroom.’

‘Your parents have a ballroom?’ She smiled to hide the panic that trickled through her. ‘That’s very Jane Austen.’

‘It’s probably been in one of the Austen adaptations. I can’t really remember,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Which sounds terribly snooty, but it isn’t meant to be.’

‘Of course not.’ Bella had the feeling that he was much more nervous about this than he looked, and somehow that made her feel a little less nervous. A little less alone.

‘Imagine the kind of house parties they had back in Austen’s time,’ he said. ‘I’d be off fishing or hunting with my brothers, or playing cards and drinking. But the women in the house party wouldn’t be allowed to do much more than read or play the piano. They’d be under constant scrutiny, and there were all the intricate manners...’ He shuddered. ‘I hate that kind of stuff. I’m glad it’s not like that now.’

‘Isn’t it?’ she asked softly—because that bit about constant scrutiny and manners sounded personal.

‘No.’

‘It was for my sister.’ The words were out before she could stop them.

He looked at her. ‘How?’

‘I...’ She sighed. ‘OK. You’re unlikely to meet her again, but if you do and you tell her you know why she drank all that champagne that night I might have to kill you.’

‘Noted. What happened?’ he asked, sounding curious.

‘She was at the golden wedding anniversary party for her fiancé’s parents. Let’s just say that Cynthia of the Concrete Hair—’

He blinked. ‘Who?’

‘Howard’s mother. You know the sort of woman I mean. Everything’s all about appearances and she’s so polished that her hair is set like concrete.’ Bella waved a dismissive hand. ‘And she watches you like a hawk and judges you—usually unfairly.’

‘Yes, I’ve come across people like that,’ he said.

‘So I think Gracie finally realised that if she went ahead and married Howard, her life was going to be seriously miserable.’ She grimaced. ‘She tried to blot it out by drinking champagne. It didn’t work. So, for the first time ever, I was the sister who did the rescuing—with a lot of help from you.’ She bit her lip. ‘The wedding was meant to be next weekend.’

‘So Grace was a runaway bride?’ He looked surprised.

‘No. She didn’t jilt Howard at the altar—she’d never do anything that mean. But they’d been engaged for four years and he never swept her off her feet, not once.’

‘Being swept off your feet is overrated,’ Hugh said. ‘You’re more likely to fall into a puddle of slurry.’

‘Slurry?’ she asked, not understanding.

He grinned. ‘You’re definitely a townie, then. Slurry is liquid manure. Used as fertiliser on fields.’

She pulled a face. ‘That’s vile.’

‘Exactly how it smells. You always know when it’s muck-spreading season.’

‘It’s not muck-spreading season now, is it?’

He laughed. ‘No.’

‘Good.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Righty. Time to play my part, I guess. Ditzy and unsuitable girlfriend with a terrible taste in clothes—that’s me, right?’

‘Right. And thank you for saving my bacon. I appreciate this. Even if it might not seem that way.’

He took their bags from the car and they went into the house. Bella noticed the sweeping staircase coming into the hallway and the Regency striped paper on the walls; the house really was gorgeous, and she itched to explore, though she knew it would be rude to ask.

Three dogs came rushing down the hallway to meet them, their tails a wagging blur.

‘I forgot to warn you about the mutts,’ he said. ‘Sorry. Are you OK with dogs?’

‘Very OK. I grew up with a dog,’ she said, and bent down to make a fuss of the chocolate Labrador, Westie and Cocker Spaniel.

‘This lot are Lennie the lab, Wilf the Westie and Sukie the spaniel,’ he introduced them.

The dogs wriggled and shoved each other and tried to get closer to Bella. ‘They’re lovely,’ she said, laughing. ‘Hello, you ravening beasties. I’m sorry, I don’t have any treats for you because I wasn’t expecting to meet you, but I can rub your ears and scratch your backs for you, and I’ll play ball with you for a bit if you want.’

‘Do that and they’ll pester you for the whole weekend,’ Hugh warned.

She smiled up at him. ‘And that’s a problem, how?’

A woman who looked so much like Hugh that she had to be his mother came into the hallway and hugged him. ‘Darling, I’m so glad you could make it.’

OK, so now she had to be Miss Ditzy. Breathe, Bella reminded herself, and stay in character. She stood up and gave her best attempt at a goofy smile.

‘Bella, this is my mother, Elizabeth Moncrieff,’ Hugh said.

‘Libby will do nicely,’ Hugh’s mother said. ‘We don’t stand on ceremony in this house.’

‘Ma, this is my friend Bella Faraday,’ Hugh continued.

‘Like the scientist?’

Libby had perfect manners, Bella thought, and didn’t even look the remotest bit fazed by Bella’s outlandish dress. ‘Yes, like the scientist,’ she agreed, before remembering that she was supposed to be playing the part of someone who would probably never have heard of Michael Faraday, let alone known who he was.

‘I’ll just show Bella up to her room,’ Hugh said hastily.

‘She’s in the Blue Room, next to yours. I hope that’s all right?’

‘Thank you, Mrs Mon—’ Bella began.

‘Libby,’ Hugh’s mother reminded her.

‘Libby.’ Bella opened her bag and took out the beautifully wrapped package of dark chocolates she’d bought earlier. ‘And these are for you, to say thank you for having me.’

‘How lovely.’ Libby went pink. ‘And I recognise that packaging. These are my absolute favourites. That’s very kind of you.’

‘My pleasure. I’m glad you like them,’ Bella said. ‘Don’t let Hugh anywhere near them. He’s a chocolate fiend. But I guess, as his mum, you already know that.’

‘Oh, I do,’ Libby said feelingly.

‘Let’s go and put our things upstairs,’ Hugh said.

‘Come down when you’re ready. Everyone will be in the dining room,’ Libby said. ‘And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Bella.’

Bella followed Hugh up the sweeping staircase and all the way to the end of a corridor.

The Blue Room was enormous. It was very plain, with cream walls and a polished wooden floor with a navy rug in the centre, but what really caught Bella’s attention was the ancient wooden four-poster bed. She’d always wanted to sleep in a bed like that. ‘This is amazing,’ she said.

‘I’ll put my things next door. I’ll call for you in a few minutes,’ he said.

Was Hugh’s bedroom anything like this? she wondered. Were there things from his childhood that would give her a clue about what made him tick?

Not that she should be thinking about any of that. She was simply doing him a favour and playing a part. None of this was real, she reminded herself.

To distract herself, she went and looked out of the window. The room overlooked the garden at the back of the house: a perfectly striped lawn, with borders all full of tulips, and a stone wall at the end of the lawn with what looked like espaliered trees full of blossom. It was a million miles away from her own suburban upbringing. How wonderful it must have been to have a garden like that to run around in and explore as a child.

Then there was a knock at the door. ‘Bella?’

‘Come in.’

Hugh remained in the doorway. ‘Ready?’

She nodded. ‘I was just looking at the view. It’s gorgeous.’

‘Yes, it’s pretty good. I guess I didn’t really appreciate it when I was younger.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Let’s go and face the hordes.’

She walked over to join him. ‘Though you might have to roll your eyes at me to remind me to be Miss Ditzy. I already made a couple of mistakes with your mum.’

‘It’ll be fine,’ he said. ‘I know you’re going to do a great job. That’s why I asked you.’

‘So you didn’t ask me just because you were desperate?’

His eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘That, too. But mainly because I think you’ll do this brilliantly.’

Funny how the compliment warmed her all the way through. Maybe that was because he was being sincere.

Then again, she hadn’t spotted Kirk’s lies, had she? For all she knew, Hugh could be lying, too.

She took a deep breath. ‘“Once more unto the breach, dear friends.”’

He laughed. ‘It won’t be that bad.’

Once they got downstairs, Bella wasn’t so sure. The dining room held the biggest table she’d ever seen in her life. And every place was already filled, except two.

Hugh introduced her swiftly to everyone before they sat down. She’d already met his mother, but now there was his father, his brothers and their partners and baby Sophia, various aunts and uncles, and his grandparents. And it was all just a little bit overwhelming—especially as Bella could see the shock on all their faces, even though it was quickly masked and everyone was very polite to her.

She knew that she was playing a part and Hugh’s intention had been to bring someone home who was so out of place that his family would stop pressuring him to settle down, but even so she didn’t enjoy their scrupulous politeness. It looked as if this was going to be a very long weekend.

A maid came in carrying a tray with silver teapots and what Bella guessed were silver jugs of hot water to refresh the tea. Porcelain jugs of milk and dishes with slices of lemon were already on the table, along with a selection of finger sandwiches, tiny pastries, slices of cake and what looked like still-warm scones. A butler followed the maid, carrying a magnum of champagne; once everyone’s glass was filled, Hugh’s father made a brief speech and proposed a toast to Nigel and his new fiancée, Victoria.

The food was amazing, and in other circumstances Bella knew she would’ve really enjoyed it. It was a shame that she had to play a part. Until she’d had a chance to work out who was who and the best way to play it, she decided to keep quiet.

But then the old lady sitting next to her—Hugh’s great-aunt Lavinia—went very pale and looked as if she was about to faint.

‘Are you all right?’ Bella asked her, worried.

‘I do feel a bit odd,’ Lavinia admitted.

‘Can I get you a glass of water?’

Lavinia looked grateful. ‘Yes, please.’

Miss Ditzy might not know what to do, but Bella couldn’t possibly keep playing that part when the old lady clearly wasn’t very well and needed help. Hugh wouldn’t mind her breaking out of role for this, would he? So she had a quiet word with the maid to get some water, persuaded Lavinia to eat a sandwich, and sat quietly with the old lady until the colour had come back into her face.

‘I think I might go and have a little lie-down,’ Lavinia said.

‘I’ll see you up to your room,’ Bella said. ‘As long as you can direct me, that is. I’m afraid I don’t know my way round the house.’

Lavinia patted her hand. ‘Thank you, dear. That’s very good of you.’

‘My pleasure.’ Bella helped the old lady back to her room, and stayed with her for a little while to make sure she was quite all right.

‘You’re a lovely girl, very kind,’ Lavinia said. ‘I can see what Hugh sees in you.’

Which was totally the opposite of what Bella was supposed to be doing. And she knew that Hugh didn’t see anything in her anyway, apart from her being his graphic designer who was probably too outspoken and had been crazy enough to agree to help him in his even crazier scheme. She’d have to hope that her outrageous clothes would distract everyone else from seeing who she really was.

But going back to face everyone in the dining room felt really daunting. She didn’t have a clue what to say. To her relief, Hugh met her in the hallway. ‘Thanks for looking after my great-aunt. Is Lavinia OK?’

‘She’s fine—just having a little rest,’ Bella said, and gave the same reassurances to Hugh’s mother when Libby asked her the same question.

Libby gave her a searching look, then a nod of what looked very much like approval.

Oh, help. She’d really have to work at being unsuitable now. Hugh’s mother wasn’t supposed to approve of her. She was meant to stick out like a sore thumb.

After the tea party, everyone disappeared to get changed for the cocktail party.

‘Come and knock on my door when you’re ready,’ Hugh said when they reached her bedroom door.

‘OK.’ Bella wished again that she’d brought a normal black dress with her, rather than going along with Hugh’s plans, but it was too late now.

When she’d changed, she knocked on Hugh’s door.

‘Come in,’ he called.

When she pushed the door open, she could see that he was sitting on the end of the bed, checking something on his phone. He looked up and burst out laughing. ‘Well. I really didn’t expect that. You actually found that in a charity shop?’

‘The material, yes—it was originally a pair of curtains. One of my friends from art school specialised in textiles, so she ran this up for me.’ She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Why didn’t you expect it?’

‘I guess I really ought to give you advance warning,’ he said. ‘The curtains in the ballroom are, um, exactly the same material as your dress.’

‘The same material?’ She stared at him in shock. ‘No way. You’re kidding.’

He coughed. ‘Afraid not.’

She covered her face with her hands. ‘Oh, no. I thought I was being so clever, having a Maria moment. It never occurred to me your parents might have curtains like this. I should’ve run this past you before we came. And I haven’t got a spare dress with me.’ She blew out a breath. ‘Oh, well. I’ll just have to change into the leopard-skin thing again.’

He came over to her and rested his hand on her shoulder. Again, her skin tingled where he touched her. ‘Relax. Stay as you are. It’ll be fine,’ he soothed.

She rolled her eyes at him. ‘I can hardly go to a party wearing a dress made out of the same curtains that are in the room, can I?’

‘Actually, you can,’ he said. ‘You’re the one person I know who can pull this off.’

She really wasn’t convinced. And it didn’t help that Hugh was wearing a dinner jacket with grosgrain silk lapels that matched the fabric on the buttons, a white pleated-front shirt, and a properly tied black grosgrain silk bow tie. He looked sleek, elegant and perfect.

She blew out a breath. ‘You look very nice. Very James Bond, though I think you might actually have the edge on Daniel Craig.’

‘Thank you.’ He inclined his head in acknowledgement of the compliment. ‘You look very nice, too.’

‘In a dress that matches your parents’ curtains and clashes with my hair?’ she asked, raising her eyebrows. ‘Hardly.’

‘Remember, you have chutzpah,’ he said.

‘Maybe I should stay here. You could say I drank too much champagne earlier and have a headache.’

He shook his head. ‘Have the courage of your convictions, Bella.’

She scoffed. ‘Your convictions, you mean. If we’d done it my way, I wouldn’t be here and you would’ve shown your family how great you are at your job.’

‘Let’s agree to disagree on that one, because I know you can do this,’ he said. ‘Ready?’

No. But she had no other choice. ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’

CHAPTER FIVE

BELLA’S FACE WAS pale beneath her make-up, but she lifted her chin high and pulled her shoulders back.

For a moment, Hugh thought about calling this whole thing off—someone in the house was bound to have a spare dress that she could borrow for the evening—but they’d agreed that the idea was to present Bella as Miss Totally Unsuitable. To the point where his family would all breathe a collective sigh of relief when he announced next week that the relationship was over, and they’d stop nagging him about settling down.

Bella was the only woman he knew who could pull off an outfit like this one. And he knew he was asking a huge amount from her. When they were back in London, he’d do something nice for her to make up for what he was putting her through right now. Maybe he could send her on a spa weekend with her sister or something.

He suppressed the thought that he’d like to take her away and make a fuss of her himself. She’d made it clear that she was single and wanted to stay that way. The same was true for him. Bella Faraday might make his pulse beat that little bit faster: but she was his employee, and that made her completely off limits.

They went downstairs and he ushered her into the ballroom. As they walked through the doorway, he felt her hand tighten on his arm just a fraction. And the gasps of surprise as people saw her and took in what she was wearing were actually audible.

The ground obviously wasn’t going to open up and swallow her, and turning back time wasn’t physically possible either. Bella glanced at Hugh for a cue about how to react and what to do—after all, this was his family and he knew them way better than she did—but he seemed to have frozen.

Nothing fazes a Faraday girl. The mantra she shared with Grace echoed through her head. Wrong. This had definitely fazed her.

Then again, Hugh had asked her to play the part of his unsuitable girlfriend. Which was exactly how she felt right now—awkward and out of place, absolutely not fitting in. What would an unsuitable girl do when she was the centre of attention? The only thing Bella could think of was to draw even more attention to her gaffe and ham it up a little.