Opening the door, she popped her head inside. ‘Mr Armstrong is here.’
‘Well, bring him in, girl. Don’t stand there looking ridiculous.’
Gritting her teeth, Jade threw open the door and waved their visitor inside.
He went, not giving her a second look. She was disgusted to find her heart was still racing and that her eyes were clinging to the back of that dark grey suit, to the way it fitted his nicely shaped shoulders like a glove. Jade had been on the end of undressing eyes from men before, but she’d never been guilty of doing such a thing herself. She was very definitely undressing Kyle Armstrong in her mind at that moment, however, and the results were unnerving. How was he managing to exude such a potent sexuality without even trying?
‘Don’t get up, Mr Whitmore,’ Kyle said when Byron started struggling to his feet behind the huge desk. Striding over, he outstretched his long arm to shake Byron’s hand. ‘I’m so glad to meet you at last, sir. Talking on the telephone is not the same, is it?’
Jade saw her father look his guest up and down. Clearly, he liked what he saw almost as much as she did.
‘It certainly isn’t, my boy,’ he said.
Jade dropped his age down to twenty-six or -seven. Her father would not call a man close to thirty...my boy.
‘You were just leaving, Jade?’ Byron snapped, making her seethe inside. How dared he dismiss her so rudely?
She delivered a saccharine smile his way. ‘Melanie asked me to ask if Kyle was staying for dinner. Also, if he preferred tea or coffee.’
‘You know Kyle here?’ Byron ground out.
‘Not till a minute ago,’ she replied sweetly. And make of that what you will, you horny old hypocrite.
‘Ah...’
His obvious relief infuriated the life out of her. ‘Well?’ she said sharply.
‘What about it, Kyle? Can you stay for dinner? I’d like you to. I doubt if we’ll have finished our discussions till then.’
‘I’d love to stay,’ he replied politely, still not looking at Jade. Suddenly, she felt like slapping his coolly supercilious face. Though poisoning would be better. She might slip some hemlock in his wine tonight.
But then she thought of a better vengeance for this snooty pair. Her father wanted her to wear a bra. Well, she would! At dinner tonight. A quite spectacular bejewelled corselette number that she’d bought for a fancydress costume a few years back and which would undoubtedly be at least one size too small. By God, if those unflappable dark eyes didn’t fall out of their sockets when she walked into the dining-room wearing that, then she wasn’t the girl voted most likely not to be a virgin in her last year at St Brigit’s girls school.
‘Tea or coffee?’ she asked with the simpering sweetness of a Southern belle, fluttering her eyelashes when Kyle turned to glance her way at last.
‘Coffee. Black, no sugar.’
Not a twitch. Not a flicker, either of irritation or amusement or anything. The man was a robot, she decided. A cold lifeless sexless robot. How could she have possibly thought he was sexy a moment ago?
But he was, she groaned silently. He most definitely was. God!
It struck Jade quite forcibly then that he couldn’t be married. Married men always showed interest in her. Always.
She stared at him for a long moment with angry eyes, then, whirling, left the room, slamming the door behind her. ‘Pompous fool!’ she muttered aloud. ‘Arrogant bastard,’ she amended as she marched along the hallway. By the time she reached the kitchen, various other unprintable descriptions had found favour, the last one bringing Melanie’s eyes snapping up with startled surprise.
‘Goodness! Who are you referring to? Surely not your father!’
‘No. Kyle Armstrong. Mr. Cool-as-a-cucumber.’
‘Oh, I see. You found him attractive and he didn’t respond accordingly.’
When Jade glared outrage at Melanie, the housekeeper actually laughed. Once again, Jade was struck by the transformation in the woman once she abandoned her icy façade. What Melanie needed to snap her out of the past was some man to come along who could make her smile and laugh again. Laughter made life bearable.
Jade wagged a finger at Melanie. ‘I haven’t given up yet,’ she warned. ‘Mr Armstrong’s staying for dinner.’
‘Is he, now? And what are you going to do, come down to dinner in your birthday suit?’
‘Not quite.’
‘Has it ever occurred to you that some men just don’t like women who are obvious in their pursuit of them?’
Jade declined telling Melanie that it didn’t work if you dressed like a nun and acted like a corpse, either. ‘I don’t intend chasing the man. I simply want him to see what he could have if he chased me!’
‘And what if he doesn’t choose to chase you? What if he likes more subtle women whose clothing hints at their charms rather than shoves it in their faces?’
‘I don’t shove my charms in men’s faces!’ Jade protested.
‘Don’t you?’ Melanie’s eyes slid drily over the skintight jeans and top. ‘Look, Jade, you can get away with things at university that the more mature world won’t tolerate kindly. How old is this Mr Armstrong?’
Jade shrugged. ‘Late twenties, I think. But he acts like he’s pushing forty.’
Melanie smiled. ‘In that case, if you want to attract his attention, perhaps you should adopt a more mature fashion sense and attitude.’
‘I’d rather be dead than dress and act like some snobbish society bitch,’ she pouted. ‘They all look the same, as if they’ve been poured out of a mould. If Mr Kyle Armstrong doesn’t like the way I am then he can drop dead. I won’t play ice princess for any man.’
‘Then you’d better resign yourself to losing out this time.’
‘We’ll see,’ Jade bit out, and went to leave. ‘Oh, by the way,’ she added, stopping to look back over her shoulder. ‘He likes coffee. Black, no sugar. Same as me.’
With that, she stalked from the kitchen, determined strides carrying her across the family-room to the front foyer, up the stairs two at a time and along the picture-lined gallery down to Ava’s studio. Bursting in without knocking, she threw a greeting at her startled aunt before plonking herself down on the much used divan. With a disgruntled sigh, she rearranged the many pillows and lay down, stretching out her long legs.
‘I’ve had it with Pops, Auntie,’ she grumbled. ‘Really had it!’
‘Tell me something new, Jade, dear.’ Ava put down her paintbrush and wandered over to stare down at her niece. She took one look at the dark smudges under the girl’s eyes and felt a surge of sympathy. She’d always liked Jade, felt the girl
