got up and went to the window, too on edge to sit while thoughts like that plagued her. It was a beautiful day yet she could derive none of her usual pleasure from the view over the river. Had Rafferty slept with someone else since they’d parted, and was that why he’d leapt to such a conclusion that morning?
She didn’t want to believe it but neither could she dismiss the idea out of hand. After all, Rafferty was a very attractive man and there would be no shortage of volunteers if he needed company. Had he found solace after their break-up in some other woman’s arms?
‘Sorry I’m late. I got held up but I’ll make sure I’m here on time in future.’
Natalie swung round when Rafferty suddenly appeared in her office. She’d never expected him to turn up after the latest stunt she’d pulled and it was hard to hide her consternation as he came towards her.
‘You were expecting me, I hope?’ he said smoothly, one dark brow arching. ‘There haven’t been any changes made to our arrangements?’
‘I…um…no. Of course not,’ she replied testily, immediately on the defensive.
‘Good.’ He stopped in front of her, smiling as he fingered the badge pinned to the lapel of his suit jacket. ‘I see I’ve been awarded top-level security clearance. I’m flattered by your faith in my integrity.’
‘You’ll need full clearance if you’re going to complete this challenge I’ve set you,’ she informed him curtly. She went back to her desk and sat down, riffling through the letters Janet had left for her to sign while she tried to get herself under control. If Rafferty could handle this situation, so could she.
‘So what’s on the agenda today?’
He pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her, his face betraying nothing more than friendly interest, and Natalie frowned. It was completely out of character for him to take this relaxed approach after what she’d done, so it was hard to know how to respond.
‘There’s a board meeting this afternoon,’ she explained, deciding it was easier to follow his lead and behave as though nothing had happened.
‘Something to look forward to,’ he observed dryly, crossing one long leg over the other and treating her to a condescending smile.
‘It should be interesting,’ she said evenly, refusing to rise to the bait.
‘Hmm, I suppose it depends what you consider interesting.’
Natalie bit back her sharp retort although she knew the meeting was going to be a difficult one. It had been called by a member of the board who was strongly opposed to the support Palmer’s gave to Worlds Together as well as their other charitable ventures. It would need careful handling to convince everyone to continue funding the projects but she didn’t intend to explain that to him.
‘It does indeed. However, the board meeting isn’t until two o’clock so this morning I was planning on visiting the research lab. We may as well go straight up there now, in fact.’
‘I didn’t realise there was a laboratory in the building,’ he said in surprise as she stood up.
‘We do most of our major research here, although we do have other laboratories, of course. They’re used mainly for testing the various products we manufacture.’
She led the way from the office and went straight to the lift. ‘Security is always a major issue when you’re developing a new drug and we’ve found it best to keep everything under one roof. There’s less risk of any information leaking out this way.’
‘It makes sense. Are you working on something new at the moment?’ he asked, and she smiled faintly when she heard the curiosity in his voice. Despite his determination to view Palmer’s in the worst possible light, he couldn’t help being interested.
‘We’re developing a new drug to treat Hansen’s disease.’ The lift arrived and she stepped inside, pressing the button for the sixth floor, which was where the research laboratory was sited.
‘Because of the increased resistance to dapsone?’ he queried, and she nodded.
‘Yes. A lot of people don’t realise that leprosy is still a major health issue in many parts of the world, like Africa and Asia. They assume it was eradicated centuries ago but, sadly, that isn’t the case. As you know, the bacteria that cause the disease have become increasingly resistant to dapsone and it’s been standard practice for a number of years to prescribe a combination of dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine to treat the disease. Obviously, this increases the treatment cost per patient quite considerably and in turn puts an added burden on the health-care budgets of the countries involved. We’re hoping this new drug we’re developing will do the job on its own and cut costs.’
‘It would be a step in the right direction if it works, but surely it’s an extremely costly undertaking to develop a new drug? Clinical trials alone must cost a fortune and I can’t see Palmer’s or any other pharmaceutical company wanting to spend millions developing a product which might take years to pay for itself. Leprosy is a disease of the developing world so sales of the drug will be restricted to some of the poorest countries.’
‘It’s part of our charitable programme,’ she explained, exiting the lift when they reached their floor. She led him along the corridor and stopped outside the door to the lab, placing her palm on the screen set into the wall beside it. All the doors on this floor were opened by means of a sophisticated bio-scanning system and once the computer had confirmed that her palmprint matched the one stored in its database, they were admitted.
‘And do you develop many drugs through your charitable programme?’ Rafferty asked quietly, following her into the changing area. Conditions inside the lab were sterile and everyone entering had to wear a protective suit to prevent contamination. Natalie took one off a shelf and handed it to him before she answered the question.
‘As many as we can. Obviously, the firm has to make a profit before it can invest time and money in a new project such as this. Basically, it’s a question of finding the right balance.’
‘I hadn’t realised Palmer’s was so committed to its charitable work,’ he confessed, taking off his jacket and hanging it on a peg.
‘When my grandfather founded the company, he decided that a percentage of its profits should be used to help the least fortunate people in the world. My father has tried to uphold that principle since he took over.’
‘But it’s not always been an easy thing to do?’ he suggested astutely, stepping into the suit and zipping it up.
‘No. There are factions within the company that would like to see the system changed as soon as possible.’
She took off her shoes and slipped into a suit. There were paper bootees to wear with it so she found a large pair for Rafferty and gave them to him then found a smaller pair for herself.
‘And is that why you decided to stand in for your father while he recovered from his heart attack?’
‘Yes. I didn’t want Dad worrying that changes might be instigated in his absence. All it would take is a majority vote of no confidence from the board members and he could find himself overruled.’
‘You really think they would do that?’ he exclaimed.
‘Yes.’
