Passion From The Past

Nigel shrugged his defeat in the face of a determination stronger than his own. ‘No, nothing. Perhaps I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow, Laura?’

‘I—Perhaps.’ She was already gathering up her short-hand pad and pencil, one look at Gideon’s face telling her that he wasn’t in a mood to be kept waiting.

She walked proudly past Gideon as he pointedly held the door open to his office, and sat down in the chair opposite his, her pencil poised expectantly, looking up uncertainly as he seemed in no hurry to begin dictation.

‘Are you in the habit of spending time with Nigel Jennings?’ he asked suddenly.

Laura blinked dazedly at the unexpectedness of such a question, her notepad slowly lowering to her knees. ‘I beg your pardon?’ she frowned.

‘Out of working hours you’re free to see who you want,’ he continued harshly. ‘But while you’re working for me I would prefer it if you saw your boy-friend away from my office.’

‘Nigel—I mean, Mr Jennings isn’t my boy-friend!’ she gasped indignantly.

Gideon raised dark eyebrows. ‘He isn’t?’

‘No. He came up here to see you, not me.’

‘I see. Do you have a boy-friend?’

‘Why?’ she asked the question without thinking, blushing at the look of irritation that passed across his handsome face. ‘I mean—–’

‘You mean why do I want to know about your personal life,’ he drawled, relaxing back in his chair. He shrugged. ‘I like to know something about the people who work with me.’

Of course—how stupid of her to think his interest was personal. A lot of the work he gave her was confidential, he couldn’t just reveal those sort of things to anyone. Although James Courtney had never expressed an interest in her private life.

She shrugged. After all, what harm could it do? ‘No, I don’t have a boy-friend.’

He raised surprised eyebrows. ‘You’re very attractive.’

With her hair free about her shoulders, and younger, attractive clothing, she was perhaps passable, but she certainly wasn’t ‘very attractive’.

‘When you look the nineteen you are,’ he seemed to guess her thoughts. ‘And don’t try to look and act ten years older.’

Colour flooded Laura’s cheeks. ‘When did you—I’ve never—When did you see me looking nineteen?’ she asked almost defensively.

He shrugged, a pen held loosely between his long fingers as he played with it idly. Laura found her gaze mesmerised by the way he seemed to almost caress the cold metal, blushing even more as she looked up to find him following her line of vision, his mouth twisting mockingly.

‘I can’t remember,’ he dismissed easily. ‘Somewhere.’

She couldn’t imagine where, she never appeared anything but the more mature person she was at work. Still, Gideon seemed very certain, and he wasn’t a man who would very often be wrong.

‘Your mother is a widow, I believe.’ He seemed in no hurry to begin dictation; he was completely relaxed, his grey eyes narrowed.

‘Yes.’ Laura frowned her puzzlement, once again wondering why he needed to know about her private life.

‘And you have a brother.’

‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘He lives in America now.’

‘I didn’t realise that. He used to work for us, didn’t he?’

‘Yes,’ she acknowledged eagerly. ‘It was because he liked working here so much that I—But you don’t want to hear about that.’ She bit her lip.

‘On the contrary,’ Gideon prompted.

She shot him a nervous smile; his interest seemed genuine. ‘Martin—that’s my brother—liked working here—–’

‘We try to please,’ Gideon put in dryly.

‘Oh, you do! I mean—Courtneys is a good firm to work for. And—–’

‘Will you have dinner with me this evening?’ he asked quietly.

She raised startled green eyes, her lashes fluttering nervously. ‘I—Sorry?’ She couldn’t have heard him correctly, men like Gideon Maitland didn’t ask little nobodies like her out to dinner!

‘Dinner. With me. Tonight,’ he repeated patiently.

Laura gulped, searching his hard face for some sign of the mockery that never seemed to be far away, but he gazed steadily back at her as he waited for her answer.

But he couldn’t really mean it, not her.

‘Laura?’ he prompted at her continued silence.

‘I—No. I mean, yes. No—–’ She was totally confused, the invitation had been totally unexpected.

Gideon gave a tight smile ‘Don’t use your mother as an excuse to me,’ he more or less confirmed that he had been listening to her conversation for some time before making his presence known. ‘I happen to know that your mother is only fifty years old, and that she has more of a social life than you do.’

It was true. Her mother had joined a Widows, Widowers, and Divorcees Club after Laura’s father had died, and the friends she had made there were always going out for the evening in a crowd, even on the nights the club didn’t meet.

‘So?’ he prompted again.

‘I—–’ She licked her lips nervously, wondering frantically at the reason for this sudden invitation. Maybe he had argued with Petra Wilde and felt in need of amusement—and she certainly seemed to amuse him. ‘You don’t mean it.’

‘But I do. I never say anything I don’t mean.’

‘N-never?’ she faltered uncertainly.

‘Never,’ he confirmed.

She swallowed hard. ‘You—you really do want to take me out to dinner tonight?’

‘I do,’ he nodded.

‘Why?’ Laura frowned.

‘Why not?’ he gave a tight smile.

‘Because—–’