Her Best Laid Plans

‘I’m not where I want to be just yet.’ The words came automatically. He thought about the deal he was halfway through making. To leave at such a crucial stage irritated the hell out of him, but Nora’s second pitch had been perfect and to his astonishment he’d found himself changing his answer from a ‘no’ to a ‘yes’. It had to have been the shock of kissing Amanda.

Kissing Amanda.

Two words; one sentence, that had the power to throw him properly off kilter.

After the hell of Mikey’s accident and the guilt from knowing he was responsible, no matter what Mikey said … Amanda had continued to treat him the same way she always had. As if he had a clean sheet. It was addictive and liberating and, when he let himself actually think about it, selfish; down-to-the-bone selfish. And had him doubting she understood the luxury he found her company to be.

Amanda, whose sassiness challenged him, whose over-the-top disdain for his planned approach to life amused him.

But then he’d gone and returned her kiss.

He’d told himself he’d re-offered her the job as a way of compensating for her losing out on an interview that could have bettered her situation. He’d told himself that by persuading her to accept he’d be showing Mikey he could be trusted with her. He’d told himself over and over that the kiss had been a fluke. There was no possible way that someone, so opposite to him in outlook, could produce such a primal response from a place so deep inside of him he’d forgotten it even existed.

She’d made him feel like he’d come home.

What a joke. Home was a place he no longer deserved.

He turned his head to look out of the jet’s small window and beyond, through the thin layers of cloud, to the earth below.

He’d been given back the keys to The House of King but The Home of King? He’d be mad to think that was in the bricks and mortar of the forty-acre estate just outside of London. No, the true King home was the business premises of King Property Corporation—KPC headquarters in the heart of the City. When Nora had surrendered those clunky-as-hell keys during her deftly argued invitation, he had been more bewildered than he cared to admit.

It seemed the prodigal son was expected to ride to the rescue.

He felt the automatic grimace. Thinking about KPC and his father had him wound tighter than anything else ever could. No wonder thinking about Amanda was such a welcome distraction.

Taking another sip from the crystal tumbler he tried not to let his eyes slide over her legs. Instead, he dragged his gaze back to her button-brown eyes.

‘Like I said, this is just stuff.’ He paused. ‘I suppose I’d better warn you. London may be a little … more, than this.’

She whistled softly under her breath and looked around once more. ‘Okay. So essentially what you’re telling me is that I was a fool to turn down your, at the time insulting, but I now realise practical, offer of dressingme for this job, given that your family are rich and I’m about to look thoroughly out of place?’

‘What you have on is fine.’

More than fine. The simple royal-blue shift and matching heels transformed her into a sleek, confident career woman, who now looked way too grown up, way too sophisticated, way too hot and way too available. Somehow he thought he’d be safer if she was back in the usual gypsy-like clothes she wore. At least there’d be less smooth skin on show.

‘But they are—you are … rich?’ she tentatively asked.

He inclined his head a fraction.

‘Lord. How rich? Like they invented money, rich?’

Jared pursed his lips to stop the smile from growing.

‘Oh, you are in such trouble, mister. Right, I need a complete etiquette run-down pronto. Make every word count or I’ll probably be thrown out the country before we even set down.’

Jared leaned forward in his seat, ‘You don’t need any kind of run-down. You’ll be absolutely fine. There are no mistakes you can make that could be seen as not done in King company because you are not there for the King family. You’re there for me. You don’t answer to anyone but me and if anyone upsets you or asks you to do something you feel isn’t appropriate you tell me and I will sort it out.’

From Amanda’s raised eyebrow he realised he may have gone a little over the top. Her large brown eyes bore into him and then slowly she reached out to get her flute of champagne. She took a long, slow sip and remained silent. A good tactic, he realised, as it made him feel as though he should explain himself.

‘Look. I just don’t want you to feel that all of the stuff that comes with the name is more important than it actually is, or that it’s designed as a way of intimidating a person.’

Amanda leant forward in her seat, her ringless hands dangling the champagne flute delicately in front of her.

‘Jared, why haven’t you seen your family for so long? If I don’t understand at least some of it how can I have your back? And that is, primarily, why I’m here, isn’t it—to have your back? I’m the extra eyes and ears. If you just wanted someone to make appointments for you, you could have brought over one of your lim—’ she stopped and brought the glass hurriedly to her lips.

‘One of my what?’

‘Limpets,’ she said defiantly.

‘You call my girlfriends Limpets?’ He didn’t know whether to be amused or horrified.

‘Don’t change the subject.’

Jared leant back in his chair.

How did one explain ten years of no contact or the ugly year preceding it? Badly, he guessed.

‘I haven’t seen my family since the day I was no longer considered King business material and as a consequence no longer considered King family material.’

‘The two are synonymous?’

‘Where my father’s concerned? Absolutely.’ He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. One look at her stricken expression and he wasn’t entirely certain he’d managed it.

Amanda gradually became aware her mouth was hanging open. ‘You were kicked out of your own family? I don’t get it; you have more integrity than any man I know.’ Had that been the wrong thing to say? Something fierce flashed in his eyes but then he blinked and it was gone.

‘I was a spoilt, irresponsible, selfish young man who bought shame on the family name.’

‘Baloney!’

‘There isn’t any one part of that statement that isn’t true.’

‘No way!’

‘No?’

She didn’t like the way he was so convincing and had a feeling that at any moment the shutters would fall. She took another sip of champagne and thought for a second before speaking.

‘Okay, well … so now you’re going back a changed man. A successful businessman with a reputation for being forward-thinking, shrewd, and above all, fair. What?’ she asked, taking in his half-smile, ‘so I did some research, read a few articles. The point is, even if what you say is true, and I don’t for one minute think it’s the whole truth, you’re now older, wiser and more mature. Your father will be proud.’

She wanted desperately to take that glint out of his eyes. The one that told her he thought she was being naive. She didn’t want to be thought of as naive by him. She wanted to be thought of as the voice of reason. But there was still so much she didn’t understand.

‘He won’t be proud of the fact that you went into the same line of business?’ She watched the quick shrug of his shoulders and couldn’t determine whether Jared didn’t care if his father was proud, or deliberately didn’t care that he might not be. ‘Well, isn’t it lucky for him that you did—the fact that he needs your help now—’

‘Oh, I doubt he even knows of Nora’s rescue mission.’

‘So, I guess this whole trip is going to be trickier than I realised, but you’ve probably been working on those plans of yours twenty-four-seven. I trust you.’ Her eyes bounced off the stack of documents between them and up to study the strong features of his face. She looked into his eyes and suddenly the atmosphere in the small jet felt charged, as if they’d passed through an electrical storm.

‘Are you sure you should?’