glanced at her over the top of the business diary he had picked up from her desk and was now looking at. ‘Making sure you don’t have another prior engagement to escape to this morning,’ he finally drawled in satisfaction, snapping the diary shut before dropping it down.
Laura glared at him frustratedly. As he had said he would, Liam had made his appointment to see her this morning; in fact, he was her first appointment for the day. Which didn’t augur too well for the rest of it!
‘Satisfied?’ she snapped impatiently, placing the diary neatly back in its original place.
Liam raised mocking brows. ‘Hardly,’ he replied, dropping down into the chair that faced hers, wearing his usual denims, shirt and a black jacket. ‘Now perhaps we can continue our conversation of yesterday,’ he said, looking across at her with a smile.
Not exactly. As he had said, they had last spoken yesterday; she had had over eighteen hours to recover from the shock of having him invade her office in the way that he had. She had also spoken with Perry when she’d come in the first thing this morning, knew that Liam had cancelled his meeting with him yesterday afternoon…
‘I believe we concluded that particular conversation, Liam,’ she came back calmly. ‘In the circumstances, it was very unwise of you not to keep your appointment with Perry yesterday,’ she added coolly.
Liam arched dark brows. ‘That sounds suspiciously like a threat to me, Mrs Shipley,’ he returned softly.
She was not in the best of humour this morning, had slept very badly after those thoughts of her early relationship with Liam eight years ago had come flooding back with such clarity. She certainly wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more of Liam’s games.
‘Take it as you like, Liam,’ she sighed. ‘I told you yesterday. I run this company; I no longer have the time to be an editor too—’
‘Make me the exception,’ he cut in.
She looked at him incredulously; he was the very last person she would make an exception for—in anything!
She sighed, shaking her head. ‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘Why not?’ she spluttered. ‘It must be obvious why not!’ she said exasperatedly.
‘Because we were once lovers?’ he mused consideringly. ‘But that was years ago, Laura. A lot has happened since then. We’ve both been married to other people, for one thing—happily or not so happily.’ He grimaced with feeling. ‘Surely you aren’t afraid that history might repeat itself, are you, Laura?’
‘Certainly not!’ she gasped indignantly. The only thing she was afraid of was that he would discover she had a son—his son!
The only thing!
He shrugged broad shoulders. ‘Then where’s the problem?’
‘Liam, are you learning-impaired? Why do I have to keep repeating myself? I—’
‘No longer edit any of the books yourself,’ he finished dryly. ‘I did hear that the first time you said it. As I recall, I asked you to make me the exception. Laura,’ he continued smoothly as she would have spoken, ‘make no mistake. I will go to another publisher.’
She drew in a sharp breath, having given this alternative some thought last night too—when she hadn’t been remembering what it had been like between them in the beginning, eight years ago!
To pass up the chance to publish the new Liam O’Reilly book would be madness from a purely business point of view, she knew, but not to the extreme where it would damage the company. After all, they already had a number of highly successful authors.
No, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Shipley Publishing were to lose this particular novel to another publisher—it just wouldn’t make sense to anyone but herself! Not that she particularly cared about that either; she was well past the stage of explaining herself to anyone.
No, it was none of that that made her hesitate in telling Liam to go ahead and find himself another publisher…
It was the wrong construction Liam had already put on her actions—that she was in some way frightened of working with him—that caused her to balk at telling him to go, and take his manuscript with him. She already knew there was no way that history would repeat itself where the two of them were concerned!
‘That sounds suspiciously like a threat to me, Liam.’ She repeated his own words of a few minutes ago.
He shrugged. ‘That’s probably because it is one,’ he acknowledged suavely. ‘Laura—’ He sat forward, his expression intense as he glared at her across the width of the desk. ‘I would like the two of us to work together on this. Won’t you at least give it a try?’ he encouraged.
When all else fails, use the charm, Laura inwardly derided. The fact that that charm had once worked on her very effectively did not mean it would do so now!
‘Or is it that you don’t think you’re up to the job?’ he added tautingly.
Her lips curved into a humourless smile—the charm hadn’t lasted long! ‘Nice try, Liam,’ she responded. ‘But I believe I have already mentioned that after I left university I became a book editor…?’
‘So you did.’ He nodded. ‘And would that editing job have been here at Shipley Publishing?’
Laura didn’t like the mildness of his tone. ‘And if it was?’
‘Within a few months you ended up marrying the owner of the company.’
Laura stiffened resentfully. ‘I don’t think I care for the implication behind your words—’
‘What implication would that be?’ Liam prompted, again mildly.
Her mouth tightened. ‘I’m sure you’re well aware of what I’m referring to. But you know nothing about my life, Liam, either now or in the past; I suggest we leave it that way.’
‘I’m interested, that’s all.’
She gave a short laugh. ‘That interest is doing nothing to solve the immediate problem.’
‘Which is…?’
She had forgotten his habit of being deliberately obtuse when it suited him. It was just as annoying now as it had been eight years ago!
‘Agreement on an editor for you,’ she reminded him impatiently.
‘I’ve already told you my preference—’
‘And I’ve already told you it’s completely out of the question!’ she interrupted briskly.
‘It’s stalemate, then.’
She drew in a quick breath. ‘Perhaps you should take your novel to another publisher, Liam—’
‘You little coward! He stood up forcefully, glaring at her with glittering blue eyes, at once dominating the office with his sheer size.
Laura
