style="font-size:15px;"> Before she could make any attempt to regain the initiative, he asked with smooth effrontery, ‘So after only a year, and young as you are, you’ve been offered a partnership? You must be exceptionally clever and talented.’
A flush rising in her cheeks, she said tightly, ‘I don’t claim to be either of those, Mr Devereux. But I graduated from one of the top English law schools with honours, and while I’ve been with the firm I’ve kept studying and learning.’
Her voice as dispassionate as she could make it, she went on, ‘If you knew my father and my uncle at all well, you would know that they have no time for nepotism. Any advancement in this firm has to be earned by hard work and competence.’
Yes, she certainly had a temper, but she knew how to control it, he thought admiringly.
Deciding to change tactics, he slid off the desk and turned to face her in one fluid movement.
When green eyes met deep blue, he said simply, ‘I apologize. While I believe I have every right to be angry, I shouldn’t have vented it on you.’
She wanted to say, no you shouldn’t. Instead, the wind taken out of her sails, she said inanely, ‘That’s all right.’
‘Forgive me?’
‘Of course.’
He gave her a smile that lit his eyes, put creases beside his mouth and sent his already powerful sex appeal soaring. ‘And you’re not still angry with me?’
That smile robbed her of breath and, unable to speak, she shook her head.
‘Positive?’
‘Yes, I’m positive,’ she managed.
His gaze dropped to her hands which were long and slim with neat oval nails, mercifully free from the dark-coloured varnishes he so disliked.
Pleased that she appeared to be neither married nor engaged, he asked, ‘Are you doing anything tonight?’
Taken by surprise, she echoed, ‘Doing anything?’
‘I mean do you have a date with a boyfriend, or a live-in lover waiting impatiently at home for you?’
‘Neither.’
‘Why not? A beautiful woman like you.’
‘For the last five years I’ve been working so hard I’ve had no time for boyfriends or live-in lovers,’ she told him pointedly.
Suddenly human and likeable, he pulled a droll face. ‘I suppose I asked for that.’
‘You did, rather.’
‘Well, now you’ve cut me down to size, how about having dinner with me tonight?’
Feeling a strange pang of regret, she said, ‘I’m afraid I can’t. I’m driving down to Catona tonight to start my vacation.’
‘Are you meeting someone there?’
‘I’m staying with a friend.’
‘Oh?’ He raised a questioning brow.
For no good reason, she found herself explaining, ‘Sam’s an old school friend.’
‘Male or female?’
‘Female.’
‘I see.’ He looked satisfied. ‘What time is she expecting you?’
‘No particular time. Whenever I get there.’
‘Well Catona’s only a couple of hours away at the most. You could always have dinner with me first. After all, you’ll need to eat some time,’ he pointed out persuasively.
As Caris hesitated, he added, ‘If you don’t say yes, I’ll know you haven’t forgiven me.’
‘But I have forgiven you.’
He smiled into her eyes. ‘Then tell me where you live and I’ll pick you up at … shall we say seven?’
Without intending to, Caris found herself telling him, ‘I live in Apartment One-A, Lampton House, Darlington Square.’
She was about to explain how to find it when he said cheerfully, ‘I know Darlington Square. I have a small apartment quite near there.
‘Until seven, then.’ He sketched a brief salute and was gone.
She must be stark, staring mad! she thought, gazing after him. Pressure of work had meant burning the midnight oil for the past couple of weeks, and she had intended to get to Catona in time to have an early night tonight.
So what on earth had made her agree to go out with a man she had only just met, and whose first name she didn’t even know? A man who had proved he could be not only difficult but downright demoralizing? A man she had felt instinctively was dangerous?
The truth was she had found him damn-nigh irresistible, and that element of danger added a dash of excitement and spice that had been sadly missing from her life.
When her doorbell rang promptly at seven, Caris was ready and organized, her evening bag and jacket to hand, her small vacation case and holdall packed and waiting to be put into her car later.
With no idea where he intended to take her, she had been undecided what to wear. In the end, having little else because she so rarely went out, she had put on her one and only cocktail dress, a silky sheath in midnight blue with matching high-heeled strappy sandals.
Needing little in the way of make-up, she had applied a light foundation and a touch of lip gloss, taken her hair up into an elegant chignon and fastened pearl drops to her small lobes.
As she opened the door she wondered if he would approve. She very much hoped so.
His gaze travelled over her slowly and appreciatively. Now she had shed the formal business suit, he could see that, as well as a lovely face, this woman had a stunning figure.
Seeing the open admiration in his eyes Caris was satisfied that he liked what he saw.
Knowing now how attractive he was, she had thought herself prepared, and hadn’t expected to be bowled over by the sight of him. But, looking more handsome than ever in an immaculate dinner jacket and black tie, he made her heart lurch crazily.
Taking a deep breath, she invited, ‘If you’d like to come in for a moment, Mr Devereux …?’
‘Won’t you call me Zander? Everyone else does.’
‘Zander?’ she echoed uncertainly.
‘A mistake on my birth certificate,’ he explained with a twinkle in his eye. ‘My parents had intended to call me Alexander, but somehow Zander went down and the name stuck.’
Following her into the light, pleasantly furnished living-room, he remarked with a smile, ‘A nice place. Do you live here alone?’
‘No,
