Passion From The Past

And it didn’t seem to have diverted her mother’s attention at all. ‘So you like Mr Maitland now?’ she teased.

She blushed. ‘I—He’s very attractive.’

‘Oh, I’m so glad, Laura,’ her mother beamed. ‘It never does any harm to have an influential man like him behind you.’

‘Mother—–’

‘I know, I know, I’m being pushy. But I want the best for you, Laura. And there’s no reason why Gideon Maitland shouldn’t—like you. Men like him have to marry someone.’

So her mother had progressed to marriage now! ‘He’s already been married, and as far as I know he has no intention of being so again. He loved his wife very much. Besides, men like him only have affairs with their secretaries—–’

‘Don’t be such a snob, Laura! You’re a very pretty girl, and—–’

Fortunately it was the night for her mother’s club, so she was able to cut short her questioning by reminding her that she had to get ready to meet her friends.

Her mother certainly had high ideas for her! It had been impossible to tell her mother she was out of work when she had such plans for her. Her mother hadn’t had a very easy life, bringing up two children, with her husband away most of the time, and Laura knew she only meant it for the best when she said she wanted more for her—but Gideon Maitland was certainly not for her!

She paced restlessly up and down the room once her mother had left, wondering what she was going to do about her jobless state. Jobs weren’t so easy to come by nowadays, although secretaries always seemed to be in demand. She would just have to go to an agency tomorrow and hope for the best.

If only she hadn’t been antagonised! Turning down Gideon Maitland’s invitation wasn’t reason enough to sack her, she was perfectly within her rights to do that, but telling her employer to more or less mind his own business was hardly something that could be overlooked, and James Courtney wasn’t the most forgiving of men.

When the doorbell rang some time later she was glad of the interruption, her thoughts all worrying ones. It—good heavens! She looked dazedly at the clock on the mantel-piece—seven-thirty exactly!

Gideon Maitland had turned up at seven-thirty as he had said he would!

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_fa4bfbe7-a128-5102-815e-87431b412ab9)

LAURA’s first instinct was not to answer the door. But Gideon knocked again and again, and living in a block of flats as they did, she would be getting complaints from the neighbours if she didn’t soon answer the door.

She furiously wrenched the door open, ready to do battle with him, her anger dying in her throat as she saw how handsome he looked in the black fitted shirt and black trousers, the tan jacket tailored to his powerful shoulders and narrow waist. He took her breath away, appearing even more magnificent in the ordinariness of her home. Devastating, that was the word to describe him. He looked devastating.

Laura could only stare at him open-mouthed, not raising any objections when he brushed past her into the flat, closing the door before following him dazedly into the lounge.

‘I didn’t think you’d be ready to go out to dinner,’ he told her, ‘so I dressed casually.’

‘Yes, I—er—No.’ She was doing it again! She took a deep breath, steadying her nervous stuttering. ‘Those clothes don’t look very casual to me,’ she said defensively, knowing that just one of his shirts must cost a fortune, being silk. He probably had them hand-made, as he did the rest of his clothes.

He shrugged dismissively. ‘Your mother is out?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then you may as well have this.’ He reached into his breast-pocket, pulling out a white envelope. Her resignation!

She made no move to take the proffered envelope from his strong fingers. ‘Mr Courtney—–’

‘—Liked the way you stood up to him,’ Gideon half-smiled.

Her eyes widened. ‘He did?’

‘Mm,’ he nodded. ‘James was beginning to wonder whether he’d hired a mouse or a woman as his secretary.’

Considering both men made her feel like the former this wasn’t in the last surprising!

‘Can I sit down?’ Gideon asked mockingly.

Laura flushed at her lack of manners. ‘I—er—Yes. Yes, of course. Please do.’

He stretched his legs out in front of him, completely dominating in one of the flower-patterned chairs of their suite. The white envelope containing her resignation was placed on one of the arms of that chair.

Laura eyed it nervously. ‘Did you mean it about giving me back my—er—letter?’

He held it out to her once again. ‘Here.’