Fantasy Girl

‘Hm?’ Natalie looked up vaguely.

‘Adam Thornton, he—–’

‘Has he been calling?’ Her eyes widened, deeply aquamarine.

‘All morning,’ Dee nodded. ‘At least, his secretary has. I managed to put her off, but this last time he called himself. I don’t think he believed me when I said you weren’t in.’

Natalie frowned. ‘But I—Damn, I forgot to tell you I’d take his call,’ she groaned, cursing herself for her stupidity. She had completely forgotten to tell Dee to divert his calls.

‘You mean I’ve been putting him off all morning and your really wanted to talk to him?’ Dee grimaced.

‘Sorry,’ she said ruefully. ‘Has he telephoned a lot?’ She sat back, her make-up as perfect as always, her hair a gleaming ebony bob, the turquoise of her silky dress seeming to match the colour of her eyes.

‘Half a dozen times at least,’ Dee moaned. ‘And this last time he sounded furious!’

Natalie gave a worried sigh. ‘You’d better call him straight back. I’m really sorry about this.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ her friend dismissed. ‘You have a lot on your mind.’

Even more so now! ‘That may be so, but I don’t have to be stupid with it,’ she derided. ‘How’s Tom today?’

‘The same,’ Dee grimaced. ‘Men!’

It was a statement Natalie heartily echoed. Men! And one man in particular.

Dee buzzed through on the intercom a few minutes later. ‘He isn’t there,’ she told Natalie ruefully.

‘Really? Or is his secretary just saying that?’ It would be just like Adam Thornton to decide not to talk to her now that she had called him.

‘Well, she said he wasn’t in the office before I told her who I was,’ Dee explained. ‘So I would say he really isn’t there. Do you want me to keep trying?’

‘Please.’

A glance at her wrist-watch told her it was almost eleven-thirty. Maybe he had gone to an early lunch. He was probably tired of having to trouble himself with such a nonentity as Natalie Faulkner. She doubted if he usually bothered himself with such things, and wouldn’t have become involved this time if it weren’t for his sister’s happiness.

She had no warning as five minutes later Adam Thornton strolled forcefully into her office, no knock, no call from Dee, just the arrogantly overpowering man suddenly standing in front of her desk.

She had forgotten how tall he was, how dominating. The whole room seemed to be filled by him, and his savagery was even more apparent today, his expression impatient as he looked down at her with steely blue eyes.

Natalie noticed everything about him in that shocked first few seconds—the cut of the navy blue three-piece suit he wore with the pale blue shirt, the rugged handsomeness of his face, the distinctive grey hair at his temples, the black sheen to the rest of his thick over-long hair. Yes, he was everything she remembered—and more.

‘I’m sorry, Natalie,’ a flustered Dee had followed him. ‘He just walked in.’

Natalie was aware of the arrogant challenge in steely blue eyes as she tried to look at Dee. ‘It’s all right,’ she soothed. ‘This is Mr Thornton—Mr Adam Thornton,’ she added pointedly, her mouth twisting at the awed Oh! Dee gave.

He turned to look at the other woman. ‘And you’re the competent young lady who’s been baulking my secretary all morning,’ he drawled huskily. ‘I could use someone like you in my own office,’ he smiled.

Natalie gave a dazed blink as she too was caught up in the charm of that smile, mentally shaking herself to break the spell he was casting. Just because the man looked ten years younger when he smiled, the grooves in his cheeks deepening, the sudden warmth of blue eyes, it was no reason to feel any less nervous of him. This man was dangerous, ruthless, and she would have to remember that.

‘Thank you, Dee,’ she dismissed the other woman, seeing her friend’s grimace of disappointment before she went into the outer office, closing the door behind her. ‘Now, Mr Thornton,’ she looked up at him coolly. ‘What can I do for you?’

He pulled up a chair, lounging back against the white leather, taking his time in answering as he lit one of the cheroots he favoured, having the look of a slumbering black leopard about to spring.

Finally he looked up, his eyes narrowed against the smoke. ‘Well, you can call me Adam for a start,’ he drawled softly. ‘I have a feeling we’re going to be working closely together in future, close enough for you to call me Adam, anyway.’ He looked at her challengingly.

Natalie eyed him warily. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s quite simple,’ he mocked. ‘I’ve decided to personally handle any work connected with this company. I would also like to accept any of the fringe benefits you might be inclined to offer with those contracts.’

CHAPTER THREE (#uc534c5a1-8aec-53a9-9de7-9fde404c4785)

NATALIE gasped her outrage; she had never been so insulted in her life before. ‘I run a business here, Mr Thornton,’ she snapped angrily. ‘A legitimate business!’

‘I’m sure you do,’ he seemed unimpressed. ‘But I’m also sure you must realise that my company doesn’t usually do business with an agency as small as this one?’

Her eyes glittered dangerously, her hands tightly gripping the edge of her desk. ‘Are you implying that I told Judith to sleep with your advertising manager just so that we would get the Beauty Girl contract?’ Her voice was soft, furiously so.

Adam Thornton shrugged, perfectly relaxed, blowing smoke-rings up at the ceiling. ‘No, I’m not implying that—–’

‘Good!’ she bit out.

‘But I am saying that this agency got that contract because Jason had already slept with this girl Grant.’ He watched Natalie with narrowed eyes.

She flushed, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. ‘Could you explain that remark?’ she requested coolly.

‘It’s quite simple,’ he drawled. ‘Jason knew this girl Grant before he came to your agency. The two of them met at a party months ago. They were lovers before he even approached you about Beauty Girl.’

‘Oh no!’ she groaned, feeling sick, but knowing it was the truth. It would explain so much.

‘Oh yes,’ Adam Thornton confirmed dryly. ‘Needless to say, I knew nothing about it.’

‘Neither did I,’ Natalie snapped challengingly.

‘Didn’t you think it rather strange that a company the size of Thornton’s should come to you?’ he derided scathingly.

‘And didn’t you think it strange that Jason should use an agency of this size?’

He shrugged. ‘One thing Jason has always been is good at his job. He claimed the Grant girl was the most suitable, so I went along with that.’

‘And I’ve built up quite a good reputation this last year,’ she defended heatedly. ‘It was conceivable that we’d been recommended to Mr Dillman from another company.’

‘Conceivable,’ he nodded. ‘But not very likely. Or were you just so surprised at your good fortune that you didn’t like to question it too deeply?’ The blue eyes were icily contemptuous.

Natalie knew there was a certain amount of truth in what he said, that she really hadn’t been able to believe her luck. But at the time it had been exactly the boost her agency needed, getting them noticed by other companies at the same time.

She looked at Adam Thornton, wishing he didn’t look quite so self-confident, that he didn’t know he was right. But she doubted this man was ever wrong! ‘I’m sure you’ll agree,’ she said stiffly, ‘that the work my models have done for you has been as professional as any of the other agencies you deal with.’

‘Except for the Grant girl,’ he nodded. ‘And we all know the reason she’s inefficient.’ He viciously stubbed out the cheroot.