didn’t, or else she missed it as Paul eased the limousine to a halt at the kerb. The late evening flow of traffic was intense as patrons vacated cinemas, cafés and restaurants until they cleared the inner city and crossed the harbour bridge.
‘I trust you both enjoyed a pleasant evening?’ Paul queried, and it was Alexei who responded,
‘Successful.’
The context had to relate to the capacity crowd, donations raised, and Natalya added, ‘Very much so.’
There was a sense of relief when the limousine drew to a halt in her driveway, her set of keys in hand as she released the door clasp and stepped out in one fluid movement, pausing to offer, ‘Thanks for the ride, the evening.’ She held up her set of keys. ‘I’m fine. My porch light is on a timer.’ She closed the rear door, then turned towards the gated path, unaware Alexei had joined her.
‘I’m quite capable of walking unaccompanied to my front door.’
‘I was unaware I implied otherwise.’ His voice was a musing drawl, and she was conscious of the sharp tug of awareness, the unbidden heat flooding her body...and silently damned her own vulnerability, choosing to glance at the lit window on the far left of the house.
‘You share the house with someone?’
Not an unusual question, given its spacious size.
‘It’s a large family home divided in half to incorporate two separate units. I occupy one. Ben leases the other.’
Alexei’s eyes narrowed. He had no recollection of her mentioning anyone by that name. And he would have. A sharp memory was one of his talents. ‘Since when?’
‘Two and a half years ago.’ She deactivated security, then inserted her key into the lock and heard Ollie’s pathetic wail. ‘My cat,’ she enlightened as she opened the door, whereupon Ollie leapt into her arms and began purring as he affectionately butted his head against her chin.
Feline love, gifted unconditionally. If only human emotions were as uncomplicated...
Except they weren’t, and Natalya offered Alexei a polite goodnight, entered the spacious hallway, then with a brief smile she closed and locked the door. Less than a minute later the veranda light faded, and she released her breath.
‘Bed, hmm,’ she murmured against Ollie’s furry head. But sleep came without success, as she tossed and turned for what seemed an hour or more, only to check the illuminated hands on her watch to witness only thirty minutes had gone by.
Ollie protested and resettled his furry self at the base of the bed as Natalya punched her pillow, counted to ten, and sought a more comfortable position.
But there were too many images filling her mind of the times when she and Alexei were so attuned to each other there had been no need for words. Magical, engaging, special...so much so, she would have wagered her life nothing, no one, could tear them apart.
Yet someone or something had.
NATALYA MUST HAVE SLEPT, for when she woke Friday morning the sun was filtering through the bedroom shutters, and a quick glance at the bedside clock revealed she had plenty of time to shower, dress, linger over breakfast, flip pages through the daily newspaper and feed the cat, ready to face whatever the day might bring.
But something in the press changed her light mood to one of outrage as she caught a newsprint photo on the social page featuring Alexei handing her into his limousine. Taken on angle the photographer had managed to imply an intimacy that didn’t exist.
Worse, the caption—MOGUL AND FORMER LOVER TOGETHER AGAIN?—was endorsed by a brief paragraph beneath the photo.
Without hesitation she tore out the page, folded it and thrust it into her satchel.
Seconds later the phone rang, and she bit back an unladylike curse as she saw the ID.
‘Hi, Dad.’
That was as far as she got, before her father launched into a diatribe, which in essence demanded to know what was going on between her and Alexei.
Soothing him down took several minutes, until she cut his words short with the excuse she had to leave for work.
She was barely a kilometre from her apartment in heavy morning traffic when her cell phone beeped with an incoming text.
WTH? Aaron.
Her staunch and loyal friend who’d supported her through the worst of times had clearly seen the same photograph too.
Worse, she garnered a few speculative glances as she rode an elevator to the high floor occupied by ADE Electronics.
All it took was one vigilant employee to start the gossip mill...and who better the focus than Natalya Montgomery, daughter of the fallen Roman Montgomery and former lover of the new head honcho, Alexei Delandros?
Dammit. This had to be stopped now.
She ignored her own office and in one swift action she retrieved the newsprint page and marched directly into Alexei’s office...which probably wasn’t the best idea, but she was so angry she didn’t care.
If he was surprised, he failed to show it, and she hated that he’d leaned back in his chair seemingly intent on regarding her with detached interest as she crossed to his desk.
Natalya drew in a deep breath, then released it slowly. ‘Let’s get one thing straight,’ she stated firmly. ‘I’ll act the polite efficient PA in all matters business. Anything alluding to personal is off the table.’
He waited a beat. ‘Clarify personal?’
‘Placing me in an invidious position.’
‘Apropos of?’
Natalya extracted the page she’d torn from the daily newspaper and placed it on his desk. ‘This.’
She watched as he skimmed the offending caption...and waited for his reaction. Except there was none.
‘I have no control over the media’s agenda.’
Had the light touch of his hand at her waist been deliberate? Or was she simply being super-sensitive?
It irked he had the power to tie her emotions in knots... She hated that she actively looked for and subsequently judged his every word and action, silently seething if she imagined they crossed the line...her self-imposed line.
Her eyes darkened measurably. ‘I want a retraction printed in tomorrow’s edition.’
Alexei leant further back in his chair and regarded her thoughtfully. ‘Don’t you think that will only exacerbate the situation?’
Natalya drew a deep breath, then released it as her eyes darkened with anger. ‘There is no situation.’
He lifted one eyebrow. ‘Perhaps
