âI canât afford this place,â she said in a hushed tone. The rather over-the-top grandeur of the establishment was not to her taste and she was sure the prices were even less so.
âDonât worry, Iâll pay.â
âYou seem to be very affluent all of a sudden,â she said with suspicion.
âWell, at least youâve not objected to spending the night with me,â he said, pleased to see the distrust swallowed up by horror.
âI have no intention of spending the night with you. Iâll spend the night with Mother.â
âWho left a little earlier... and she wasnât alone. You might not be welcome there.â
She swallowed, admitting the accuracy of his surmise. âHow did you know I donât need to be in work till Tuesday? â she said, suddenly realising a point that had been niggling at the back of her mind.
âYou must have told me,â he said carelessly. âWhilst you were elaborating on your amazingly responsible position.â
She sucked in her breath wrathfully. The faint curl of disdain on his lips made her stiffen. âI wasnât aware I said anything of the sort. You seem doubtful that Iâm capable of working.â
He shrugged. âIt depends on how far you got due to your pretty face.â
Now she knew he was being sarcastic; pretty was one thing her face was not! âI got where I am due to my own merits and a bit of luck. Much like anyone else, irrespective of sex. Just because you rely on your looks and dubious charm, donât assume weâre all tarred with the same brush.â
âFrom what you said, your boss took a bit of a shine to you. I suppose your high-flown morals didnât let you take advantage of the fact?â he responded drily.
âOliver merely gave me an opportunity to prove myself,â she said stiffly. The idea of Oliver being influenced by anyone or anything beyond his precious company was laughable. âBut if his successor has the same biased outlook as you I probably will be out on my ear shortly. I would imagine heâll be advised to do just that,â she admitted, a frown pleating her smooth brow.
On paper her credentials were not impressive and she seriously doubted whether sheâd have the opportunity to prove her worth. There were several senior executives who had resented the responsibility Oliver had given her and theyâd probably already fed the nephew from the outback enough to poison her chances of staying on.
Back-stabbing was an art form in the advertising world and sheâd already suffered a good deal of spiteful innuendo concerning her promotion to Oliverâs right hand. He might have been past middle age but he had been virile and active enough to give the scandalmongers fuel for their fantasies.
âWonât you get a fair hearing?â Callum asked, his expression hard and assessing as he watched the expressions flitting across her face.
She shrugged. âThe nephew is some farmer from the outback,â she observed dismissively. âI doubt very much if heâll have an opinion of his own.â After Oliverâs dynamic,
hands-on management style she doubted if anything was ever going to be the same again.
âStill, you could hold his hand and make yourself as indispensable as you did to the uncle.â
The soft voice held a strange underlying acid note that made her eyes narrow and look beyond the languid air of casual interest. The blue eyes gazed back at her benignly, his lips drooped at one corner in a lopsided smile; it was an expression that was somehow strangely familiar. She couldnât quite put her finger on it.
âIâve no desire to hold anyoneâs hand and that goes for you too,â she said forcefully, her mind returning to her more immediate problems. âI canât possibly spend the night with you.â
âWhy not compromise? Sleep off your afternoonâs excess and you can
Learning to Kill: Stories