Constantinou's Mistress by Cathy Williams Read Free Book Online Page B

is there to say when a relationship comes to an end?’ Nick asked with an edge of sarcasm.
    â€˜Nothing.’ She snapped shut her notepad. ‘Will that be all?’
    â€˜Are you in some kind of hurry to go? Urgent ten o’clock appointment somewhere?’
    â€˜Just a lot of work to get through before I leave this afternoon,’ Lucy answered vaguely.
    â€˜Which reminds me. I have scheduled a meeting with Bob this evening at six to discuss what the hell is goingon with the Tradewinds Hotel and Rawlings. I will want you to stay so that you can take notes.’
    â€˜I’m sorry. I can’t.’
    Nick swivelled his chair so that he was now facing her. ‘Can’t?’ He pronounced the single word as though it belonged to some little-used foreign dialect and Lucy flushed and looked away. This was a first for her.
    â€˜I’ve made plans for this evening…’
    â€˜In which case you can cancel them. Bob is flying to the Far East tomorrow and I want this Rawlings business sorted out before he goes and I need you here.’
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ she apologised again, ‘perhaps I can arrange for Terri to work late and I can transcribe the notes tomorrow morning when I come in.’
    â€˜What are you doing that is so important?’ he demanded. He stood up and began prowling through the office, hands thrust into his trouser pockets. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her trying hard to formulate a suitable reply, staring straight ahead as if afraid that one unwary move might bring her eyes clashing to his. Good ploy, he thought with a sudden, savage sourness, but not good enough.
    He came to stand directly in front of her, so that she had nowhere to turn without seeing him, and to further ram home his presence he leant forward, propping his hands on either side of her chair and effectively forming an unassailable cage.
    â€˜Well?’ he enquired. ‘Part of the unwritten agreement between myself and my secretary is the understanding that overtime is a given. As and when. It is why you are paid so exorbitantly.’
    â€˜And I’ve never let you down before!’ Lucy raised her eyes to his and flinched back at the proximity. She couldn’t focus her thoughts properly when he was thisclose. In fact, her head felt as though it was stuffed with cotton wool.
    He continued to stare at her in thunderous silence, watching her wriggle like a worm on a hook and ferociously determined to find out just what the hell was so important that she couldn’t stay for an extra two hours after work.
    â€˜I’m going out with…someone,’ Lucy finally admitted. ‘We made an arrangement to go to the theatre and it’s been hard work getting hold of these tickets, and afterwards we’re going out for a meal.’
    â€˜You are going out with someone,’ Nick said flatly. He pushed himself away, only to perch on the edge of his desk so that she had an uninterrupted view of his thighs and his linked fingers resting lightly on them. ‘In other words, you are going on a date.’
    Lucy felt a surge of anger and she lowered her eyes to hide the fiery glint in them.
    She was going on a date and he made it sound as though she were making arrangements for a bank robbery. Had he imagined all these months that she had been hankering after him? Did he think that he could sleep with however many countless women he wanted but that she was too dull to expect more than a one-night stand with a man who had had too much to drink and was wrapped up in the throes of mourning?
    Robert might not be the most scintillating of companions but they had a laugh together and their relationship had a certain gentle quality that was soothing to her raw nerves.
    â€˜Yes, I’m going on a date.’
    â€˜And how long has this been going on?’
    â€˜How long has what been going on?’ Lucy asked incredulously.
    â€˜How long have you been seeing