‘Well, actually—–’
‘You aren’t?’ he cut in eagerly.
Laura viewed him with something like dismay, guessing that his reaction when she told him she wasn’t thinking of going would be to invite her to go with him. Not that she didn’t like him, on the few occasions when they had spoken together she had found him a very agreeable companion. But she knew from experience what these company dinners were like, knew the romantic speculation that would go on for days afterwards if two employees spent any time together at all.
‘I’m not going. You see,’ she added firmly as he made to protest, ‘I don’t like to leave my mother alone in the evenings. She’s a widow, and—–’
‘Surely one night isn’t going to hurt,’ Nigel protested, his open features clearly showing his disappointment. ‘It isn’t as if it happens every night of the week. And I’d like you to come. Laura—–’
‘Hello, Nigel.’ Gideon Maitland had miraculously appeared in the office, not that he could possibly know the embarrassment he was saving her if she had had to turn down Nigel’s invitation. Grey eyes flickered coldly, over them both, and Nigel slowly stood up. ‘Anything I can do for you?’ Gideon asked politely enough. ‘Or did you just come to see my secretary?’ His voice hardened perceptively.
The other man flushed, obviously as unnerved by this tall imposing man as everyone else seemed to be. ‘I came to see you, actually, Gideon.’ He had obviously recovered his composure. ‘But—–’
‘But while you were here you thought you’d chat up my secretary,’ Gideon drawled.
‘I—Well—–’
‘Come through to my office,’ Gideon instructed briskly. ‘Are you back from lunch, Laura?’
‘Er—yes, sir.’
He nodded, his face darkening at her formal way of addressing him. Laura waited until the two men had gone through to the other office before restarting her typing. It felt strange to hear Gideon keep referring to her as ‘his secretary’ when all she was doing was filling in for a few days. As soon as Diane was back she would return to James Courtney’s tyranny.
Gideon had been angry about her talking to Nigel, and he had every right to be. She might still have been on her lunch-break at the time, but the conversation had taken place in the office, a social conversation that he had every right to object to.
Nigel came out of the office about ten minutes later. ‘About next week, Laura—–’
‘Laura, could you come in here, please,’ Gideon requested curtly from behind him. ‘Was there anything else, Nigel?’ he looked calmly at the other man.
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
