He leaned back, linking his fingers behind his head, and surveyed her with an expression of sympathetic understanding that she had never seen in evidence before. ‘You’re young. You’re clever…’ He allowed the throwaway compliment to sink in. ‘You want a career beyond taking orders from me. Not,’ he felt compelled to add, ‘that I haven’t given you your fair share of responsibility. In fact, considering your original duties were filing, typing and fending calls, you’ve come a long way. But that’s by the by…’
Rose tried to keep up with this surprising twist. Not that Gabriel wasn’t unpredictable. He was. She just hadn’t anticipated any such reaction to her resignation because, really, how many ways were there to react to a resignation letter? And so he was now accepting it. Why feel disappointed with an outcome she knew was inevitable?
‘I can understand your drive to go further…After all, I am a perfect example of someone who has been there, someone who was driven to better himself…’
‘I don’t plan on dizzy heights…’
‘Did I ever tell you that my parents started with nothing? That my father’s business began with dabbling in the rag trade? Just enough money to raise us without too much hardship but not so much that we didn’t know from very young the importance of an education and the importance of making the most of our talents?’
‘Don’t worry, Gabriel, I won’t be competing with you on your level in two years’ time…!’
Their eyes met in perfect understanding as he appreciated the gentle, teasing irony behind her remark and Rose looked away quickly. He might not have much inside information about her private life but in many ways he knew her better than anyone else ever had and certainly cottoned on to her quirky sense of humour quicker than anyone she had ever known. Even Grace had seemed left behind sometimes.
‘If you had told me sooner I would have happily arranged to fund your course.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Day release. Even two days a week. You keep the salary you’re at and the only condition is that you train up someone to fill in for you when you’re not here. And, when your course is complete, I guarantee you a junior position on the top floor. I was also thinking of rewarding your efforts here with a company car…’
‘I’m not sure…’
‘So we’re back to that invisible reason for quitting and since it’s nothing to do with what I have to offer by way of benefits, then it must have something to do with me…’
‘I told you, of course not!’
‘Then why don’t you give it a go, Rose…?’Gabriel leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk. ‘I don’t want you to go…’ His navy-blue eyes swept over her in a way that felt almost like a caress and Rose shivered with guilty pleasure. I don’t want you to go—lover’s words. ‘I need you,’ he compounded the ambiguous intimacy of his previous plea with a husky murmur. ‘If the arrangement doesn’t suit you, then you can leave me. No hard feelings.’ Then he did something he had never done before. He said please.
CHAPTER TWO
THE following morning found Rose on the phone, frantically trying to do some research into business management courses. When she had vaguely mentioned her desire for a change in career to Gabriel, she had had no idea that she would have been called to account. Yes, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she had toyed with the idea of gaining a couple more qualifications, but really her decision to leave had been based on more pragmatic grounds. She had just thought it time to disentangle herself from Gabriel’s pervasive influence over her life.
Somehow she had been manoeuvred into the unenviable position of embarking on a course, which she had supposedly checked out in depth. In addition to this technical hiccup, she would now have to set about recruiting someone to fill in for her when she wasn’t around.
When she had discussed her situation with Grace, resignation had seemed the most appropriate solution and thousands of miles away, with a warm Australian sun beating down and the thought of London and her job like a hazy dream, she had imagined a clean cut conclusion. Her letter of resignation, some surprise on Gabriel’s part and a valiant attempt to persuade her out of her decision, but of course in her head she never wavered. Roll on two years and she could easily see herself in a fulfilling relationship with a mystery man, someone kind and thoughtful, with the sound of wedding bells clanging on the horizon.
She hadn’t banked on the reality of actually walking back in to her office, seeing him again for the first time in three months. She hadn’t taken into account how devastating his smile could be and she certainly hadn’t envisaged her big, powerful boss with his killer looks gazing at her in that pleading manner and begging her to stay.
She thanked heaven that he was out of the office for the day, giving her ample opportunity to begin researching courses. So far only two stood out as worth pursuing as they seemed to offer what she thought she wanted and both were within fairly easy commuting distance. By the time lunchtime rolled around she had arranged to see both towards the end of the week.
Keeping her afloat whenever she contemplated the rapid desertion of her cause was the thought that she had only promised Gabriel to give it a go, leaving her the option of walking away after three months if she chose.
She was still at her desk at six-thirty, playing catch-up with all the work she had pushed to one side having spent the morning on the phone to colleges.
She was hardly aware of Gabriel until his shadow on her desk alerted her to his presence, then she glanced up, involuntarily sucking in her breath as their eyes met.
‘I guess you missed this…’ He raised his eyebrows and grinned. ‘Hence the fact that you’re still here slaving away while everyone else has gone…’He dumped an assortment of files on her desk. ‘A few more bits to keep you busy but you can sort them out tomorrow. One or two problems with that new build hotel in the Caribbean. We need to source a more reliable supplier. Roberts in Barbados should be able to help you with that one.’ He moved round to see what she was doing on her computer and Rose breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t found her scrolling down colleges in the London area.
‘This is what I missed,’ he murmured with heartfelt sincerity. ‘Your efficiency. Knowing that I could leave the office and not return to find things in utter chaos and some bloody incompetent woman weeping behind her desk somewhere.’
Rose clicked off her screen and gritted her teeth together. And that was just what she hadn’t missed! His never-ending appreciation of her as his perfect secretary.
‘Which is why I would like to take you out to dinner tonight.’
Her head swung round as she edged out of her chair, taking care to avoid making physical contact with him in the process.
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘I’m inviting you out to dinner,’ Gabriel repeated, taken aback at her patent lack of enthusiasm. ‘You’ve been out of the country for three months…’ He frowned and tried hard to suppress his annoyance at her studiously blank expression. ‘There are work matters to discuss and there is no way we would get the concentrated time to discuss them in the office.’
‘Well…’
‘If I don’t bring you up to speed with things, you’ll find yourself left behind
