CHAPTER TWO
‘YOU’VE done what? But why? You’ve always said how much you love your job… The travel, meeting different people, the—’
‘Yes, I know, Gran, but things have changed,’ Courage told her, frowning as she saw the small set of step-ladders standing next to the large old-fashioned dresser which dominated one wall of her grandmother’s kitchen.
‘What are those doing there?’ she demanded accusingly.
‘What does it look like? It’s time that dresser had a good clean. The awful weather stopped me getting on with my usual spring cleaning, and it’s high time I got down to it…’
‘Gran, you haven’t been climbing those steps? You know what the specialist said,’ Courage scolded her worriedly.
‘Yes, I know,’ her grandmother agreed grimly. ‘But if you think I’m going to spend the rest of my days being wrapped in cotton wool and treated like a semi-invalid… I’ve got a minor heart condition, that’s all…’
If only that were the case.
‘And if you think I’m going to let you give up your job because of me…’
‘I’m not,’ Courage was quick to reassure her, mentally crossing her fingers as she added untruthfully, ‘The hotel trade has been hit very badly by the recession, Gran. I didn’t want to say anything before and worry you but… Well, there’s been a lot of talk about enforced redundancies…’
‘Is that why you got that part-time job at the supermarket?’ her grandmother questioned her.
‘Yes,’ Courage told her. Originally she had told her grandmother that her three-month stay with her would be too much for both of them if they spent every second in one another’s company, and that her part-time job would give them both a bit of space.
‘This new job will give me a chance to broaden my experience. I’ll be in full charge of the organisation of the household for all his social and business events. Apparently, one of the reasons he bought the estate was to use it for business purposes; his Japanese customers in particular enjoy that kind of thing.’
‘What is his business, exactly?’ her grandmother asked her.
‘His company designs parks and gardens on a large scale rather than a small one. You know the kind of thing—municipal open spaces, hotel grounds, atriums. He does a lot of business in the Middle East—especially Kuwait. Apparently he’s an expert in “greening” arid areas, and his assistant was telling me that he’s been consulted by the authorities in Australia and California following the fires they’ve had there. He has an office in London but apparently he’s presently in the process of moving everything down here.’
‘Mmm… Well, from what I’ve heard he’s an extremely shrewd businessman, and very single-minded when it comes to getting what he wants. When does he want you to start work?’
‘Next Monday. I’ve got an appointment with him on Friday afternoon to sign my contract of employment and go over the way he wants me to work. Apparently he’s flying out to New York on Monday morning, so he won’t be there, and he won’t be back until later in the week.’
‘Mmm… Well, if you’re sure it’s what you want…’
‘I’m sure,’ Courage told her firmly.
It was just as well she had left herself plenty of extra time to make the appointment, Courage acknowledged wryly, as the Morris had stubbornly refused to start. She had had to ring for a taxi and then book the Morris into the garage for a service. It was just as well that a car was one of the perks of her new job.
She noticed that Chris Elliott’s smile was only slightly warmer as the PA opened the front door to her.
‘He’s in the study waiting for you,’ he told Courage. ‘His new Californian appointment has been brought forward. Congratulations on getting the job, by the way.’
‘Thank you.’ Courage responded to his smile with one of her own—one of equally tepid warmth.
From what Gideon Reynolds had told her her job ran parallel to Chris’s, not either below or above it, but she suspected that the PA would try to manoeuvre himself into a slightly superior position to her if he thought he could. She had no wish to get involved in any kind of power struggle with him, but neither was she going to allow him to manipulate her.
It was a warm spring day, and Courage had opted for a slightly more casual but still businesslike outfit than the one she had had on for her initial interview: a soft, spotted silk culotte suit, in brown with cream spots, and a toning cream short-sleeved jacket. Like her ‘Chanel’, she had had it made in Hong Kong.
As she knocked briefly on the half-open study door, and then walked in on Gideon’s command, she noticed him looking briefly at her legs in an automatic male reflex gesture. Nothing was particularly personal in the brief look he gave her, but nevertheless it made her wish she had worn a longer skirt—and tights. Not because of his look but because of her own reaction to it. She was acutely conscious of the tiny frisson of unwanted sensation that ran quickly across her skin.
‘Please sit down,’ Gideon commanded her. ‘I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of time. My Californian appointment has been brought forward and I’m flying out tonight instead of on Monday. Here’s a copy of your contract. If you’d like to read through it…’
Dutifully Courage took the document from him, reading it as quickly as she could. She had just got to the bottom of the penultimate page when she stopped abruptly, lifting her head in astonishment.
‘What’s this?’ she demanded uncertainly. ‘You didn’t say anything about making me a loan of ten thousand pounds when you interviewed me.’
‘I didn’t think about it until after you’d gone,’ Gideon told her dismissively. ‘In fact, it wasn’t until I was drawing up the contract that it occurred to me that by advancing you a part of your salary it would enable you to arrange for your grandmother’s operation.’
‘Advancing part of my salary?’ Courage protested. ‘But…’
‘If you read on you’ll see that the contract covers a two-year period with five thousand being deducted from each year’s salary to repay the loan, which will be interest-free as it is as much in my interest as it is your own.’
‘As much in your interest?’ Courage’s forehead creased, pleated in a small frown. ‘I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand how…’
‘As you’ll soon discover, once you start working for me, I demand one hundred and twenty per cent concentration all day, every day from my employees… That’s what I pay them for. I do not want their minds wandering to personal matters while they’re supposed to be concentrating on their work. Therefore, it makes sense to do all that I can to ensure that their minds do not have cause to wander. It’s obvious from what you told me that you are extremely concerned about your grandmother’s health—to the point, I suspect, where there could be occasions when your concern for her could have a detrimental effect on your work. And that is something I do not want.’
‘But you said nothing about offering me a loan when you
