hers…
Stephanie stepped back abruptly as she realised Jordan intended kissing her. ‘That is definitely not a good idea,’ she stated firmly.
Only just in time too, as a faint knock sounded on the outer door, announcing the entry of the butler with the tray of tea things Jordan had requested.
‘I’ll probably have lunch with my mother, but I’m sure Parker will bring you something up on a tray…’ Jordan looked expectantly at the butler as he straightened from placing the silver tray down on the low table in front of the sofa.
‘I would be happy to do so, Miss McKinley,’ the butler replied, before Stephanie even had chance to object to being waited on in this way.
She looked across at Jordan. ‘That really isn’t necessary…’
‘Just do it, Stephanie,’ Jordan said distractedly, and he left the suite, his thoughts obviously already with his mother.
Her own thoughts were in total disarray as Parker continued to treat her as if she were a guest, rather than just another employee, informing her that her bag had been safely delivered to the adjoining bedroom.
Stephanie felt totally out of place in this world of wealth and privilege that Jordan and his brothers seemed to take so much for granted. She was even less happy at being here when she remembered that she would have to telephone Joey and tell her she was now back in London if her sister needed to talk to her about the divorce case…
CHAPTER NINE
STEPHANIE felt slightly better once she had finished drinking the pot of Earl Grey tea and eaten a couple of biscuits to settle her stomach after the helicopter flight. In fact, she felt so much better that she must have dozed off for a while, because the next thing she knew Parker had returned with her lunch tray.
But the queasiness returned with a vengeance once Stephanie had eaten the delicious pasta dish and a bowl of fresh fruit and then dared to venture into the adjoining bedroom that Jordan had said was to be hers for the duration of her stay. It was a room dominated by a huge four-poster bed draped in the same gold brocade as the chair-covers and the curtains hanging at the long picture windows, which looked out onto the meticulously kept garden at the back of the house.
It was undoubtedly a beautiful room. The gold carpet was thick and luxurious, the walls papered in a pale cream silk, the light wood furniture Regency style—and no doubt, as with Mulberry Hall, all genuine antiques. The equally luxurious en-suite bathroom was of cream and gold-coloured marble, with gold fixtures and several thick cream towels warming on the stand beside the slightly sunken bath.
It was all very beautiful—and totally unsuitable for someone who was, after all, just an employee.
Stephanie left her bag unpacked on one of the brocade-covered chairs and hastily backed out of that luxurious bedroom. As soon as Jordan returned from visiting his mother she would have to tell him that she couldn’t stay here. That if he was really serious about wanting her professional help then she would prefer to go back to her own flat and simply visit him here every day.
In the meantime, grounding herself by chatting to Joey sounded like an excellent idea…
‘Has Jordan Simpson tried to seduce you into his bed yet?’ Joey questioned avidly, as soon as Stephanie’s call had been put through to her office.
Not into his bed, no…‘Don’t be ridiculous, Joey,’ she dismissed briskly.
‘And I had such high hopes, too!’
‘High hopes of what?’ Stephanie asked.
‘Of you not continuing to live the life of a nun!’
‘According to Rosalind Newman, I don’t.’
‘She’s just a vindictive woman!’ The scowl could be heard in Joey’s voice.
Stephanie sighed. ‘How are things going with the divorce case?’
‘Nothing new, I’m afraid.’ Her sister became her usual businesslike self. ‘Rosalind Newman is still insisting you had an affair with her husband, and Richard Newman is doing nothing to help the situation. It could get very messy, I’m afraid, Stephs,’ she added regretfully.
Exactly what Stephanie was trying to avoid. ‘Perhaps if we all met up and talked about it?’
‘Not a good idea,’ Joey advised. ‘Even if all three lawyers were there representing their clients, it would still likely end up in a slanging match.’
On a practical level Stephanie already knew that. She just didn’t know what else she could do to convince Rosalind Newman that she was being delusional about Stephanie’s personal involvement with her husband. It was complicated by the fact that Stephanie was convinced Richard Newman’s lack of support was because he was involved in an affair with another woman, and he’d rather Stephanie’s name was blackened than his actual mistress’s.
‘Just do your best to keep my name out of it, Joey,’ Stephanie said heavily.
‘And you try and come up with something more interesting to tell me the next time you call,’ her sister encouraged teasingly.
‘By “interesting” I take it you mean sexual?’ Stephanie came back dryly.
‘You’re with Jordan Simpson, sis,’ Joey said impatiently. ‘The man you’ve lusted after for years!’
The man she still lusted after, Stephanie thought. ‘He isn’t at all like I imagined he would be.’ He was so much more than she had expected, she admitted privately—a man who was drawing on every ounce of strength he had to get him through the worst moments of what she knew were excruciating agony.
‘In what way?’ Joey prompted curiously. ‘Surely you aren’t holding it against him because he’s behaving less like a movie star and more like a man who fell off the top of a building six months ago? Because if you are, then I hate to tell you this, Stephs, but the man did fall off a building six months ago!’
‘No, I’m not holding that against him.’ Stephanie chuckled wryly; she could always rely on Joey to make her laugh. ‘Joey…’ She deliberately lowered her voice. ‘You know those interviews he gives, where he mentions his parents’ divorce as being the reason he’s never married?’
‘Yes…’
‘Well, he’s really serious about it.’ She drew in a ragged breath. ‘Which means—’
‘He wouldn’t be too happy if he were to learn that the physiotherapist his brother hired is up to her ears in another couple’s divorce?’ Joey finished, with her usual bluntness.
Especially considering what they’d done together yesterday evening in his study! Stephanie thought. ‘Perhaps I should try talking to Richard again?’
‘No, I’ll try,’ her sister insisted. ‘The man is definitely hiding something—or should I say someone?—but he seems more than happy to let you take the flak.’
Yes, Stephanie believed that too. If only the man weren’t so obnoxious then maybe they could have persuaded him into telling
