The Determined Husband. Lee Wilkinson
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to glance at him, she saw his nose wrinkle. ‘How on earth do you manage in a place like this?’ he asked with distaste.
‘It’s not really so bad,’ she defended the Brownstone. ‘In fact, I’m quite enjoying living here.’
She refrained from adding that, when Keir was with her, it was as close to heaven as she was every likely to get.
‘Didn’t personnel give you any help?’ Martin questioned.
‘Yes. They went to a great deal of trouble.’
‘It doesn’t look like it to me. I’ll have to see if they can’t come up with something better.’
‘Prices in New York are high,’ she pointed out quietly. ‘I couldn’t afford anything better.’
For a moment he looked angry and she realized that, when he’d set his mind on something, he wasn’t used to being thwarted.
Then he shrugged and suggested with a smile, ‘In that case, you’ll have to try asking Cheryl for an increase in salary.’
When they reached her door, Sera thanked him again. ‘I really am very grateful for everything.’
His pale blue eyes on her face, he suggested, ‘In that case, there’s something you can do for me.’
Watching her freeze, he told her crisply, ‘No, it’s not what you’re thinking. When I do take you to bed, the last thing I’ll be looking for is gratitude, believe me.’
‘I—I’m sorry,’ she stammered, feeling foolish. ‘What is it you want me to do?’
‘Tomorrow I’m having lunch with Ralph Kessler and his wife. It’s part social and part business. Cheryl, who usually joins me on these occasions, is tied up.
‘I need someone with me who’s intelligent enough to cope with the business side if they both want to talk business, and pleasant enough to carry off the social side if Mrs Kessler just wants to talk. In other words, I’d like you to act as my hostess.’
‘I’d be happy to,’ she agreed, still kicking herself for her previous blunder. Then hesitantly she said, ‘But I really haven’t anything suitable to wear.’
He brushed that off as an excuse. ‘Don’t worry, wear anything. Oh, and don’t bother to go into the office in the morning. I’ll pick you up here at about eleven.’ Then coolly he said, ‘Goodnight, Sera.’
‘Goodnight,’ she answered and, in something of a daze, watched him turn and descend the stairs two at a time.
She had been subconsciously on her guard, half expecting him to try to kiss her, her instincts telling her that, despite knowing about Keir, he had more than a boss/employee relationship in mind.
But perhaps, lacking experience in such matters, she’d totally misread things?
Then recalling his, ‘When I do take you to bed…’ she knew her instincts had been right.
Well, it was only a business lunch she’d committed herself to and, from now on, she’d be doubly careful.
While she took off her make-up and cleaned her teeth in the tiny cramped bathroom, she listened for any sounds of Keir returning, but heard nothing.
When she finally donned her nightie and got into bed she left her light on, hoping that when he did come he would know she was awake, and knock.
CHAPTER THREE
WHEN Sera surfaced slowly, reluctantly, her light was still on, but made tawdry by the sunshine filtering through the curtains. She felt disturbed and anxious without knowing precisely why.
It took a minute for her head to clear enough to recall the previous night. It had been after two before she’d fallen into an exhausted sleep and, still, Keir hadn’t returned.
Glancing at the simple watch she wore on a plain black strap, she saw that it was almost ten-thirty, and Martin was coming to pick her up at eleven.
Stumbling out of bed, she pulled on her dressing gown and, leaving her own door slightly ajar, went to knock on Keir’s.
There was no answer. Had he been and gone? Or hadn’t he returned at all?
But even someone as dedicated as he didn’t work all night. So what had he been doing?
Unbidden, a picture of Cheryl’s striking face and body flashed into Sera’s mind.
With a sudden pang she remembered what Keir had said after they had made love. ‘If it was just a casual affair, with no commitment on either side, it wouldn’t be a problem…’
At the time she hadn’t thought about his words too closely, hadn’t envisaged that he might apply them in other ways.
He’d made no promises about being faithful to her, and she’d asked for none. She had simply thought that, if he loved her, everything would be all right.
But would it?
Cheryl had more than enough sex appeal to light up Broadway, and very few scruples. If she made it plain that she fancied him…well, Keir was a red-blooded man…
Heart-sick, Sera turned away from his door and hurried back to her own room to shower and get ready for when Martin arrived.
Catching sight of herself in the spotted mirror, Sera saw she looked pale and depressed, and made herself up with care before coiling her black silky hair into a smooth knot.
Having nothing more suitable, she put on a white blouse, a charcoal-grey skirt and jacket, and grey leather court shoes. She had just picked up her bag when there was a knock at the door.
Perhaps it was Keir.
She rushed to open it and was disappointed to find Martin standing there.
Seeing the light die out of her face, he asked shrewdly, ‘Were you expecting someone else?’
‘No.’
He quirked a sandy brow. ‘Then, you don’t like my tie?’
Making an effort, she answered lightly, ‘On the contrary, I love it.’
‘In that case, I may never change it.’
Watching twin dimples appear as she smiled, he asked, ‘Ready to go?’
Indicating her suit, she queried, ‘Will this do?’
He pursed his lips. ‘It’s smart, but too office-like for this kind of semi-social occasion.’
‘I’m afraid I don’t have anything more suitable.’
‘That can soon be remedied. We’ll stop off at Barron Conté.’
‘No,’ she said sharply.
His pale blue eyes turned cold. ‘We would be merely purchasing the right clothes for the job. If you were an office cleaner and the company supplied you with an overall, I take it you would have no objections?’
‘No, but—’
‘This is a matter of business. You’re doing a job for the company for which you’ll get paid and for which you need to be stylishly dressed. You don’t have to keep the clothes if you don’t want to.’
She bit her lip. Perhaps this kind of thing was the norm? Maybe she was making a fuss about nothing?
‘What do you say?’
‘Very well,’ she agreed unwillingly. ‘If there’s enough time.’
‘There’ll be plenty of time.’ He smiled his satisfaction. ‘We’re not meeting the Kesslers until one o’clock.’
If lunch wasn’t until one, why had he come to pick her up so early? Unless he’d had this in mind from the start?
Suddenly,