father really had given up. It was obvious from the few decent bank records that he had managed to find, that several valuable items had already been sold to specialist museums so that the loyal skilled staff could have the generous redundancy packages that they deserved.
Damn right. The small team at Elstrom had been the best in the business. Most of them were well beyond retirement age and simply loved working in the old place. The others had been given excellent references and were already working elsewhere.
But the really shocking thing was that all of this had happened over the autumn. A quick call to Freya confirmed what he had started to suspect. That piece of silvery tinsel paper he’d found in one of the drawers was a souvenir from the very last Christmas party that Elstrom would ever hold.
It was enough to bring tears to his eyes. They had always been such amazing parties. Everyone, from corporate clients to solo adventurers and oil exploration companies, would usually be in London for Christmas and found the time to come to Elstrom Mapping to raise a glass.
It was shocking to think that he had missed such a momentous event. And, more than sad, it was tragic to imagine his father sitting in that chair on New Year’s Day. Alone. In the wreckage of the business he seemed to have given up on.
That was some start to the New Year.
The only bright spark in his day had been Antonia Baldoni. The girl who had started off as just another nuisance had turned out to be the most astonishing office manager that he had ever met. Not that he was an expert in the subject, but she had worked wonders.
He had been totally sceptical when Antonia suggested clearing one heap of papers at a time and sorting them by date and subject. What difference could it make?
How wrong could he be? In a few hours that bustling brunette bundle of energy and purpose had cleared everything from the huge partners’ desk using a battered old tea tray she’d found in the kitchen, giving him space to work.
He had peeked into the boardroom when his back became too stiff to sit any longer and found her sorting every sheet into neat stacks on the boardroom table. And the stacks made sense! She had even found some empty boxes and loaded up the old brochures and pamphlets in case he wanted them for inspiration about future projects.
A single in tray from one of the mapping rooms held everything that needed attention and all of the unopened mail.
He had taken one look at the pile and the fact that Antonia was wearing her hat, coat and gloves to work in and decided that his first executive decision was to try and get the heating working in at least the first floor of the building before she froze.
It had taken him almost an hour to coax the ancient gas boiler down in the freezing dark basement back into life. At least that hadn’t changed. It was as temperamental as ever and the tangle of electrical wiring looked as though a toddler had been at play but he could be as stubborn as Antonia when he wanted to be. Any gas engineer would probably condemn the old kit, but right now? That was what they had to work with. And by six she had taken off her hat and coat. So he had achieved something positive today. Maybe tomorrow she could work without the gloves?
Good news was in short supply. He would take what he could.
Starting with Antonia Baldoni.
Apparently he hadn’t noticed how messy the house was that morning when he’d left but there was a lot of clearing up still to be done after her birthday party. So she had left the office earlier to tidy up the house.
Scott strolled into the kitchen and turned on the kettle. He could smell something delicious and savoury cooking in the oven and the room felt warm and cosy. Hanging up his coat, he lifted one arm and then the other towards the ceiling, wincing as the tense muscles complained.
Nothing that about ten hours of decent sleep wouldn’t fix.
Yeah. Like that was going to happen. Not in that bedroom. Too many memories. The ghost of his ex-wife was right there every time he’d woken from a restless dream of falling through the ice. He didn’t need a photograph to bring back her beautiful face. Just walking into that boardroom at Elstrom had been traumatic enough.
How could he tell Antonia that his last memory of that room had been finding his wife having sex with his stepbrother on the boardroom table?
Not something a man forgot in a hurry. And definitely not an image he was going to share any time soon.
He closed his eyes for a second then blinked awake.
Get over it.
There was no sign of Antonia so he slowly dragged his weary body up the stairs and had only taken a few steps towards his room when the door to the large family bathroom opened.
And through a cloud of hot fragrant steam a small figure emerged.
Antonia was wrapped in a white bath towel which was just large enough to cover her chest to the top of her thighs.
But it was what the towel was not covering which rocked him back on his heels and lighted a fire in his belly hotter than any gas boiler could manage.
Her spectacular arms and shoulders were slick and steamy from the bath and her face was flushed pink and absolutely gorgeous.
Problem was, she was winding a smaller towel around her head as she strolled out on to the landing, with her feet pushed into those silly fluffy slippers she had been wearing the night before.
This meant that her arms were lifted, stretching the towel around her chest and making it slip a little lower, then lower until it was heading for her waist.
So what if he was a boob man and proud of it?
As a gentleman, he should probably say something...but as a man? Strange how it took a few seconds before his brain took over from the other parts of his anatomy, which were waking up on their own and enjoying the view way too much.
The scent of her warm body and her sensuous movements started turning on switches which he had started to believe Alexa had turned off for good.
A hot flush of desire hit him hard and then hit him again. Apparently he still had what it took after all. That was a relief. He had started to wonder. It was hardly surprising—Antonia was absolutely stunning!
Just for a second a totally off-the-wall idea flitted through his brain.
Would she be interested in him?
A week was not long enough for anything serious but a short casual fling could be just what he needed to bring some spice back into his life. He had barely looked at another woman for the last two years but, now he was back in London, maybe it was time to find out if he was ready to share his life again.
A fling. No strings. No commitment or promises and definitely no emotional mess. Just two people enjoying one another for a casual affair.
He was certainly enjoying her right now. Thank you, Miss Baldoni!
Maybe it was time to play fair.
‘Hello,’ Scott said and Antonia gasped and flung herself back towards the bathroom.
‘I didn’t mean to startle you—’ he coughed ‘—but...’ He gestured towards the towel with
