The Forbidden Mistress. Anne Mather
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point. ‘So why don’t you ask your father for help?’ she asked curiously. George Ferreira couldn’t wait to get back to the garden centre when he came home.
‘Dad doesn’t have that kind of money,’ Tom protested. ‘Sophie put two hundred thousand into the business. How do you think I was able to buy the smallholding next door?’
Grace pulled a face. ‘And you think Oliver will cover her investment?’ she exclaimed incredulously. ‘Tom, that’s a pipedream and you know it.’
His scowl reappeared and he strode restlessly about the office. ‘He’s got to,’ he muttered. ‘It’s a good investment.’
‘And did you tell him this?’ asked Grace. ‘Were you up front with him? Is that why he came here today, to check out how we’re doing?’
‘No, no and no,’ muttered Tom, hunching his shoulders. ‘I didn’t get around to it. He threatened to throw me out of the building.’
‘And this is the man who’s going to help you?’ Grace shook her head. ‘Get real, Tom. It’s not going to happen. You’re going to have to go to the bank again.’
‘He came here, didn’t he? I didn’t ask him to.’
‘Curiosity,’ said Grace dampeningly. ‘I got the impression he was curious, that’s all.’
‘Well, I’ll find out tomorrow,’ said Tom, forcing a note of optimism into his voice. ‘He’s meeting me for lunch at The Crown.’
‘Okay.’ Grace turned towards the door. ‘Well, good luck with Sophie. I wouldn’t keep her waiting any longer than you have to, if I was you.’
‘So you won’t change your mind?’
‘I can’t.’ Grace was definite. ‘I’m sorry.’ She paused and then added encouragingly, ‘Perhaps if you were nice to her, she’d reduce her demands.’
‘Not a chance.’ Tom was gloomy. ‘She wants her pound of flesh and she’s determined to have it.’ He hesitated a moment and then rounded his desk again, flinging himself into his chair. ‘Just spare a thought for me when you’re slurping spritzers with your friend.’
‘I’ VE got a favour to ask.’
Tom cornered Grace in the kitchen of his house the next morning as she was hurriedly swallowing a cup of tea before leaving for work. She had hoped to avoid Tom and an inevitable discussion of what had gone on the night before. But for once he was up as early as she was, coming into the kitchen in his bathrobe, bare feet squeaking on the tiled floor.
‘What is it?’ she asked, keeping the width of the pine-blocked table between them. ‘You’ll have to be quick. I have to open up this morning.’
‘I haven’t forgotten.’ Tom’s tone turned a little testy. ‘I prepare the schedules, don’t I?’ Then, as if deciding being short with her wouldn’t achieve his ends, he forced a smile. ‘I want you to join Oliver and me for lunch.’
Grace almost choked on the last dregs in her cup. ‘You have to be joking!’
‘No, I’m not.’ Tom pushed his hands into the pockets of his robe, apparently uncaring that only a loosely tied belt protected what Grace was sure was his nude body from her gaze. ‘I’m not sure he believes me when I say that Sophie and I are finished. If he sees you and me together—’
‘No.’ Grace was horrified. She really would have to find a place of her own, she thought. Tom was definitely getting the wrong impression of why she’d stayed on after Sophie walked out. ‘I don’t want to be a party to any deal you make with your brother. And as far as Sophie is concerned, I’m sure she’ll see he gets the message for herself.’
Tom’s jaw jutted sulkily. ‘I notice you haven’t asked how I got on last night.’
‘It’s nothing to do with me,’ said Grace desperately. ‘Look, I’ve got to go. It’s nearly eight o’clock.’
‘She’s given me a couple of weeks,’ he said, as if Grace hadn’t answered him. ‘She’s as keen as I am to get Oliver involved. That way, she gets her money and possibly the man as well.’
Grace shook her head. ‘I don’t want to know,’ she said, heading for the door. ‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Think about lunch,’ Tom advised, not giving up. ‘I’d have thought you’d want to save the garden centre as much as me.’
That was a low blow, and Grace’s lips tightened for a moment before she said, ‘How on earth do you think my presence can make a difference?’
‘I’ve told you.’ Tom was encouraged now. ‘If he sees us together, he’ll think we’re an item—’
‘But we’re not!’
‘He needn’t know that,’ said Tom carelessly, but with the kind of smug expression she most abhorred. He really did think she was interested in him, she thought helplessly. He was so confident of his sex appeal, he assumed it was just a matter of time before she fell into his arms and into his bed.
‘I’ll think about it,’ she murmured, despising her cowardice but deciding she could always cry off later in the morning and avoid a confrontation now. The trouble was, deep down, she was tempted to accept the invitation. It might be the only chance she had of seeing Oliver again.
Apart from helping out around the centre, Grace’s main job was in the office. Her degree in maths and her computer skills had enabled her to reorganise the firm’s finances, and she was hoping to produce a web site to expand their mail-order sales.
Her fellow workers, a teenage girl who did all the typing and filing, and an older man who had been there since Tom’s father was in charge, were gradually beginning to accept her. It occurred to her that if Tom’s pursuit of her became unmanageable, she might be forced to leave and she’d be sorry to do that.
The morning was busy. Because of the speed of their turnover, at this time of the year some of their stock had to be brought in from abroad. A huge container truck from Holland arrived with a load of seasonal flowers, and several girls were employed preparing bridal wreaths and bridesmaids’ posies for weddings to be held the following day.
Tom arrived about half past nine, smartly attired in a navy suit and crisp white shirt. Obviously for Oliver’s benefit, Grace reflected, glancing down at her own jeans and cotton tee shirt with some regret. If she did change her mind and accompanied Tom, she would have to go back to the house to change. The Crown was a fairly casual place, but it wasn’t like the coffee shop at the garden centre. There the patrons were mostly older couples and families with young children. They just wanted a snack or a hot drink before heading home.
‘I’ll be at the site, if anyone wants me,’ Tom announced to the office in general, and Gina Robb, who had a crush on him, gave him a provocative smile.
‘Want some company?’ she asked, edging the neckline of her sweater off one plump shoulder.
Tom grinned. He always liked it when women showed they were attracted to him. ‘We wouldn’t get much work done if I did,’ he responded slyly, and Grace kept her eyes firmly focussed on the computer screen in front of her.
As if sensing her withdrawal, Tom said, ‘Everything okay, Grace?’ and she was forced to assure him that it was. ‘Think any more about lunch?’ he continued, and she gritted her teeth. Just the sort of comment Gina wanted to hear.
‘Not really,’ she said now, looking up. ‘Why don’t you take Gina instead?’
‘Oh, sorry.’ He managed to sound suitably regretful as he apologised to the disappointed teenager, though the look he cast in Grace’s direction wasn’t friendly. ‘Grace is the financial genius around here, Gina,’