anyone got any questions?’ Katie returned to switch off the projector.
There were one or two queries, and she answered them confidently, before suddenly diverting a question over to Alexi.
‘Perhaps you’d fill everyone in on that side of things, Alexi?’ She looked over at him and he noted that the blue eyes were suddenly shadowed with panic.
‘Yes … of course.’ He flicked to the notes he had made earlier and answered the enquiry with half an eye on Katie as she went to the water fountain to get herself a drink. Katie would certainly have had no trouble answering that question, so why the abrupt hand-over and the look of panic?
He noted that she looked very pale suddenly, and he half rose to his feet as she swayed.
‘You OK, Katie?’
‘Fine.’ She smiled. ‘Just a bit warm in here.’
She didn’t look fine. He’d thought for a moment that she was going to faint. He glanced back at the papers in front of him and decided it was time to sum things up. They’d covered the most important points and he’d had enough. Besides, she was right, it was close in here; the air conditioning didn’t seem to be very efficient for some reason.
‘Well, gentlemen, if there are no further questions I think we will leave it there.’
There was a murmur of dissent around the table. But Alexi had made up his mind, and he dealt with the few remaining items of business briskly. The meeting was adjourned and people rose to their feet to gather papers and leave.
Katie had never been more grateful. The room had suddenly felt like it was closing in on her, and she’d felt light-headed. She’d never fainted before in her life, but she had honestly thought she was going to black out.
She started to gather the files up and pack them away as one by one everyone left.
‘The meeting seemed to go well, I think,’ she murmured as Alexi came over to stand beside her.
‘Yes—except for the near-fainting incident,’ he answered wryly. ‘What’s the matter with you?’
‘Nothing’s the matter with me!’ She flicked him an impatient glance. Did nothing escape those penetrating dark eyes? she wondered. But inside panic was starting to take over. What was the matter with her? she wondered anxiously.
Just say she was pregnant?
The frantic thought thundered through her consciousness. She honestly didn’t know what she would do if she was. Because if Alexi thought for one moment that she might be expecting his child he would be horrified! Just remembering how he had reacted when she had even hinted at wanting a serious relationship made that very clear. And you couldn’t get anything more serious than becoming a father.
Somehow she managed to keep her voice casual. ‘I think it was just too hot in here, that’s all.’
‘You should have had breakfast this morning.’
‘You know, I could do without the lecture!’ She snapped her briefcase closed. ‘You look after your business and leave me to look after mine.’
‘I am looking after my business. I don’t want you having time off due to malnutrition!’ He looked at her pointedly. ‘We’ve got a lot to get through in the next few weeks. And I need you fit and healthy.’
‘Gee, your concern really is underwhelming.’
He smiled teasingly. ‘All part of the boss’s job.’
How was it when he smiled at her like that she could feel her emotions squeezing? It was crazy.
It was like during the board meeting. One moment she had been totally absorbed in what she was talking about, and the next she had caught his eyes and she had just melted inside.
She looked away from him with a frown. ‘While we are on the subject of work, did the accountant here send you the up-to-date figures that we asked for?’ If he could be solely focussed on business then so could she, she told herself. She had to be. It was called self-preservation.
‘Yes, he sent an email through. I’ll get a printout for you.’ He had to admire her, he thought wryly. She was a consummate professional; she’d obviously felt very ill, but she was still thinking about work.
‘We can deal with the email after lunch,’ he said dismissively. ‘We’ll go and have something to eat on board the Octavia. We may as well go down there now.’
‘What time is our next meeting?’ Katie asked briskly.
‘Three.’
Katie glanced at her watch. She wanted to get away from him in her lunch break—she needed to get to a pharmacy and buy a pregnancy-test kit as soon as possible. ‘You go on ahead and I’ll catch you up later.’
‘Well, you may as well come with me now,’ he said. ‘There’s not much for you to do here.’
‘I want one of the girls from the typing pool to type up my notes for me.’ She stumbled a little over her words as she sought for an escape route.
‘I’ll get one of the secretaries down on the Octavia to do it for you later.’
‘Yes, but I need to nip to the shops as well.’ She tried to sound as casual as possible.
‘If it’s a dress you’re looking for to wear at the party tonight, I’ll get the shops on board the Octavia to send a selection down to my private quarters. Most of the top designer names have outlets on board. So I’m sure you’ll find something you like.’
‘Thanks, but I have some personal items I want to get as well.’
‘Very well.’ He shrugged. ‘I’ll let you get on with some shopping, then.’
Katie felt a flare of relief. But the feeling was short-lived as he continued briskly, ‘I’ll take a cab down to the docks, and my driver can drop you wherever you want and then wait for you. I’ll see you back at the ship for lunch in say …’ Alexi looked at his watch ‘… forty-five minutes.’
Katie felt her heart drop. She didn’t want his driver to take her shopping—she wanted to be completely on her own. But she supposed she was being paranoid. A chauffeur wasn’t going to be interested in where she went. A trip to a pharmacy was hardly breaking news, and then she supposed she could get him to drop her at a department store so that she could find a bathroom.
‘OK, thanks.’ She nodded. She would have agreed to anything right now to get rid of him.
They took the lift down the fifty-seven floors to street level.
It was vibrant with life outside, yellow cabs weaving amidst a river of continual traffic, pavements filled with people, whilst overhead the buildings towered into the dizzying heights of a clear blue sky, making Katie feel very small and insignificant.
The chauffeur came round and opened the rear door of the limousine.
Alexi said something to him then smiled at her.
