she’d murmured, hoping she’d sounded more confident than she felt, and quickly realising that her only hope was to try and catch Leo off guard, in his office at the bank.
‘Nothing ventured—nothing gained!’ Alex now told herself firmly. But, as she drove slowly past the Mansion House, keeping a sharp lookout for a space in which to park her car, she couldn’t help worrying about the forthcoming interview.
After a frantic dash home to change out of the jeans which she normally wore in the newspaper office, Alex still wasn’t at all sure whether she’d picked the right sort of ‘stuffy’ outfit. Maybe the black wool suit, with its tightly fitted jacket over sheer black stockings and high-heeled black court shoes, was a bit too funereal for a bank?
Still...what the heck? she told herself defiantly as she finally managed to find a free parking meter. Because, quite frankly, the chances of her actually managing to get as far as Leo’s office were so slim as to be practically anorexic!
In fact, even getting through the bank’s front door was likely to be almost impossible, she realised, walking slowly up the street towards the large Victorian building, and noting the figure of a burly, uniformed commissionaire filling the doorway. Desperately trying to suppress the sudden urge to turn tail and buy a one-way ticket to South America, Alex gradually noticed that a steady stream of people seemed to be approaching the bank.
Surely that wasn’t...? Oh, wow! It really was turning out to be her lucky day, she told herself with a slightly hysterical giggle, before running swiftly across the road.
‘Hi, Ben,’ she smiled breathlessly at the Chronicle’s financial editor.
‘Good heavens! What on earth are you doing in this neck of the woods, Alex? I didn’t know you were interested in City finance.’
‘Of course I’m interested,’ she assured him earnestly, firmly clutching hold of his arm. ‘In fact, I find the whole concept of world trade simply fascinating!’
‘That’s great!’ he exclaimed, his cheeks flushing slightly as he gallantly led her up the steps. ‘Today’s meeting is only a public relations exercise. But it will be interesting to hear more details of Hamilton’s partial merger with a German bank.’
‘Absolutely!’ she agreed, almost unable to believe her luck. If she could swan in with Ben, she was almost home and dry!
‘So, after we’ve heard what they’ve got to say, maybe you’d let me take you out to lunch? I’m writing a feature on some recent corporate takeovers, which I think you’ll find quite thought provoking.’
‘Oh, dear—I don’t think I can make lunch,’ Alex murmured, softening the blow with a beaming smile as they walked up the steps. ‘But I’m looking forward to reading your article. It sounds absolutely riveting!’ she added, both amazed and slightly ashamed at her sudden, unexpected ability to lie her head off.
‘Here we are,’ he announced as they approached the open door of the bank. ‘Got your press card?’
‘Of course.’ She flashed the small plastic folder at the commissionaire, who happily waved them onwards into the large building.
Hoping to remain as inconspicuous as possible, Alex led Ben to the far side of the room, where rows of gilt chairs were set well back, facing a large table at the other end.
Staring up at the amount of gold leaf on the ornately decorated ceiling, she let her gaze move on to take in the enormous glass chandelier, clearly lit to banish the grey February morning beyond the windows, around which were draped thick crimson brocade curtains. In fact—with its dark crimson plush covered walls heavily encrusted with large gloomy oil paintings—it looked more like a gentlemen’s club or a grand drawing room than a modern working environment.
Well, well! It certainly looked as if these merchant bankers believed in making themselves very comfortable. Nice work if you can get it! Alex mused caustically, wondering how soon she could slip out of the room and continue her search for Leo Hamilton.
While she had been taking stock of her luxurious surroundings, the room had been gradually filling up with journalists from most of the daily newspapers and those magazines concerned with finance. Busy chatting to one another, it wasn’t until two men walked through a door at the far end of the room that the general conversation ceased and the audience began taking out their notebooks.
Seated behind a large, stout figure in a gabardine raincoat, Alex had difficulty in seeing what was going on. However, as soon as she moved her chair slightly, giving herself a better view of the table at the end of the room, she realised with a jolt that—thanks to Ben—there was no need for her to seek out Leo Hamilton.
That he hadn’t changed at all was the first coherent thought to emerge from the swirling chaos in her mind. But then, as her vision cleared, Alex realised that she was mistaken.
It was now nearly eight years since she’d last seen Leo, and, while his outward, extraordinarily handsome appearance might seem little altered, he now clearly saw no reason to hide his obvious command of the situation, or the overpowering strength of his forceful personality. He had, in fact, matured into a tough, resourceful man, and it didn’t look as if nowadays that firm, hard mouth laughed very much, if at all.
The bright light from the chandelier cast a sheen on his dark hair, highlighting a few threads of silver at the temples. His skin was very tanned, as if he spent most of his time in the open air—not the usual environment for a banker. Or that of a man who, if James Boswell was to be believed, apparently spent a great deal of his time in the bedrooms of beautiful women!
But clearly that aspect of his life had been left aside as he calmly welcomed members of the press. In fact, Leo’s tall figure appeared perfectly relaxed—the wide, powerful shoulders and lean hips accentuated by the immaculate formality of his well-cut, dark grey lounge suit—as he smoothly explained the reasons behind his bank’s new merger with a German financial institution. Watching the cool, unruffled way in which he dealt with a host of questions from the assembled journalists, Alex had no problem in understanding why he’d been chosen to present this exercise in public relations.
But, while Leo appeared to be exuding an air of relaxed charm, he didn’t succeed in fooling her...not for one minute! Because, as she knew only too well, beneath the suave and charming exterior Leo Hamilton had always been as hard as tungsten steel.
The perfect example of an iron fist clothed in a soft velvet glove, Alex reminded herself grimly, unable to prevent an icy shiver of apprehension from feathering down her spine.
Buried in unhappy memories, it was some moments before she realised that the meeting was breaking up. Noting that, while one or two journalists were busy checking some final points with Leo, the majority of those present were slowly leaving the room, she muttered a brief goodbye to Ben before mingling with the crowd as they made their way out through the door.
One swift, rapid glance around the large foyer was enough for Alex to see that she’d have to move sharply if she wished to avoid attracting the attention of either the receptionists or the commissionaire, who was now carefully shepherding the press corps out of the building. Using a group of journalists as a shield, she edged towards the bank of lifts, slipping inside and quickly punching a button at random.
‘Hello, Dora,’ she called out some minutes later, having charmed a passing office boy into giving her not only the exact location of Leo’s office but also the name of his personal assistant. ‘I’ve just popped
