Beth was horrified at the prospect of having dinner with him and after an exhausting week working on the gardens at Clifton Hall, all she could longingly think about was her farm house in Devon.
She was imagining herself sat in front of a roaring fire, having just taken a relaxing bath and doing nothing except watching television the whole weekend.
But when Beth realised what Sophie was really offering her was a business meeting with the renowned architect Jason Andre, she thought it would be stupid to turn down the offer.
As established landscape gardener and business woman in her own right, at twenty-five she wasn’t yet in the secure position to turn down offers from new clients.
Especially clients like Andre & Marsh.
She would be a fool if she refused such a job opportunity.
Anyone or any company linked with the name Andre & Marsh was automatically pulled along with them and would travel on the wave of their success.
If she was to work on Jason's project, she’d more or less be on the road to achieving and realising her dreams. But she would lose her individuality and independence.
If she joined his team she would have to merge with the other smaller businesses he subcontracted to.
“This weekend you could get together with Jason,” Sophie persisted. “Show him the work you’re doing here at Clifton Hall and take him around the grounds. Especially the new lake.”
There was a brief silence whilst Sophie let Beth mull over the possibilities.
“What do you think Beth?”
Beth thought Sophie sounded as if she was offering her a treat. In reality it was a treat Beth didn’t want.
She didn’t dare run the risk of refusing and snubbing Jason Andre’s offer.
He could crush her fledgling business with one negative word and it looked as if the meeting with Jason Andre was becoming more and more inevitable.
Eventually and reluctantly Beth gave in.
“Yes of course I’ll come to dinner,” she said before she had the chance to change her mind.
Beth switched off the mobile and turned off the Land Rovers motor. She sat there and held her head in her hands wondering if she’d made the right decision or if it would be a decision she’d come to regret.
* * * * *
Stood under the power shower Beth was washing her hair and reached out her hand to turn off the flow of hot steamy water.
The water instantly halted and left a haze of mist in the cubical.
Towelling her damp skin dry Beth left the steamy bathroom behind her and made her way into the bedroom.
She still had to get dressed and ready for the evening ahead.
Delving into the wardrobe, she retrieved the only evening dress she’d brought with her.
When she was staying away from home, Beth didn’t expect to be going out during the evenings. She was usually on the job working. But once or twice she’d been put on the spot with clients.
Now, as a safety measure, she always brought along something dressy to wear.
She called it her . . . ‘just in case dress.’
Holding the dress up and looking at it she wondered what had made her pack this dress in particular.
The more she looked at it the more she wished she’d packed another.
The dress was a black silk tube made from stretchy soft material, and when she put it on it clung tightly in all the right places to the slender curves of her body.
Nothing was hidden from the eye and all her curves were revealed.
The dress had definitely been a bad decision.
But it wasn’t as if she’d chosen this dress with Jason Andre in mind. She hadn’t known she would be meeting him this weekend.
With no other evening dress with her available to wear she decided it would have to be this one. She couldn’t go dressed for dinner in her jeans and Wellington boot’s.
Her alabaster skin was soft and blemish free and didn’t need to be covered in make-up; but pulling her magic wand out of the make-up bag, she added a coat of mascara to her long lashes and a splash of plum lip gloss to her lips hoping it would give her some bravado against Jason Andre.
Then, giving her long shiny dark auburn hair a quick brush and pinning it into position with a diamante clasp she was finally ready.
The result was stunningly glamorous.
Looking in the mirror she saw a very stylish slender young woman.
Beth felt she was prepared and ready to face an evening ahead with anyone - especially that daunting tycoon architect . . . Jason Andre.
“Maybe I’ve overdone it,” she thought as she pulled the clinging material of her dress down around her hips and up over the full roundness of her breasts.
But she wasn’t worried and she wasn’t aiming or trying to impress.
And definitely not striving to impress Jason Andre, she thought he was way out of her league.
Beth found a pink cashmere wrap and threw it on, casually draping it about her shoulders.
The wrap was to ward off the cool breeze of the autumn evening as she made her way over to the main house.
Wearing high heels, she carefully walked along the long tree lined drive following the gravelled pathway towards the bright lights of the big Hall.
It was only a short walk from the guest lodge house.
“I shouldn’t have worn these heels,” she thought, as she stumbled along on the uneven surface.
She could have driven the old Land Rover the short distance but vanity and the thought of her dress being soiled by the dry muddy earth in the Land Rover had stopped her.
If she wanted to arrive in pristine condition, walking to the Hall was her only option.
“For goodness sake,” she thought. “I’m only having dinner. Tonight’s not a proper date. I’m here to discuss landscaping with an architect.”
Reaching the large heavy oak doors she let herself. The days of servants had been and gone at the Hall. Now the Fitzgerald’s employed staff.
She tossed her wrap onto a nearby chair and waited expecting someone to emerge and welcome her. No one appeared.
Voices were coming from the end of the long carpeted hallway and as Beth walked towards them, she carefully adjusted the stretchy black tube of her dress into a more secure position.
She wondered if Sophie had invited other people to dinner but she needn’t have worried, Beth found only her clients - Sophie and Charles Fitzgerald.
Sophie was sprawled on a sofa in the drawing room and Charles was stood leaning casually against the large fireside inglenook, with a glass of whisky in his hand.
They were in the process of having pre-dinner drinks.
Charles came towards Beth and he leant in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Come and make yourself comfortable Beth,” and he stepped forward and tucked an arm around her waist, giving her a squeeze.
He steered her towards the drinks table situated against the wall.
“We’re waiting for Jason to come down and join us. He’s in his room . . . changing. He shouldn’t be too long now,” Sophie said and shifted position on the sofa.
“In the meantime what can I get you?” Charles said pointing to the drinks table.
As a man, Charles was the smooth type, but he was too suave and debonair for her taste. She supposed it was because she was more accustomed to the rugged outdoor type.
Charles simply didn’t press any of her buttons.
Shaking her head in his direction she declined the offer of a drink.
“Nothing for me thanks Charles. But if you don’t mind, I’ve just remembered something I have to do and I’d like to make a note of it before I forget.”
“Go ahead. You know where everything is,” and he pointed to a writing desk at other end of the room behind an ornate Chinese screen.
Beth crossed the room and sat down at the writing desk and started jotting something on a notebook.
She was in the middle of writing her memo when she sensed someone had e
ntered the room.
Looking between the cracks of the Chinese screen she could see a man standing just inside the doorway.
He walked further into the room and came to stand near the hearth next to Charles.
The man hadn’t seen her and he was unaware that she was in the room.
With her pen hovering over the sheet of paper poised in her hand, she turned in her seat to get a better view.
He was very much like all the pictures she’d seen of him in the newspapers and tabloids and if she was not mistaken, this must be the Jason Andre she’d been summand to meet and dine with.
He was tall . . . very tall indeed. At least six foot two and he was dressed in an elegant dinner jacket.
He was faultlessly tailored.
The jacket showed off his broad shoulders to perfection and beneath the jacket he wore a crisp pure white silk evening shirt.
Jet black hair fell stylishly onto his collar and his deep dark tan was obviously not from the English climate.
It was evident this man had recently been somewhere hot or somewhere bathed in sunshine.
He looked in peak condition and that was only viewing him from behind.
She had yet to see his face clearly but she was more than certain it was Jason Andre who stood there.
He was as handsome as the photo’s she’d seen on magazine covers.
“Jason,” Sophie smiled beamingly, welcoming her brother and confirming his identity, “It’s good to see you again. How was your journey down from the city?”
“O.k. It was alright. And how are you? I can see you’re looking well.” Jason then said something in a language Beth didn’t understand.
“It’s been ages since Charles and I saw you. How long’s it been . . . six months?”
Jason Andre dipped his head from his great height and planted an affectionate kiss on his sister’s cheek.
“Don’t exaggerate Sophie. It’s only been a couple of weeks. But it’s nice to know someone has missed me.”
Beth was thankful she was sat down.
She felt sure that if she’d been standing, the sound of his Mediterranean accent would have made her bend at the knees.
It wasn’t as if she knew the man and what she did know about him . . . she didn’t like. But that husky sexy drawl of his was doing something to her.
It was causing warm feelings to stir deep inside.
His voice would have that effect on any woman.
Jason still hadn’t seen her and from where she was sat, half concealed from the room behind the screen panel, she had the leisure to study him without his being aware she was watching.
“How long are you staying with us?” Sophie asked, as she invitingly patted the vacant seat next to her on the sofa.
He sat down beside her with his long legs stretching out in front of him.
“I’m here for the weekend if you two will have me. The journey down was good. The car ate up the miles in no time; although the weekend traffic was getting heavier the further south I came. Only a fool would hit the motorway heading south tonight.”
His words reminded Beth she ought to be travelling home to her farmhouse cottage in Devon and that she would gladly have been a fool on the motorway this evening.
It would be better than sitting through a dinner party she hadn’t wanted to go to.
As if bored with his brother-in-law being the centre of attention, Charles shifted his position from beside the fire and went back to the drinks table to pour another drink for himself.
“Which is it this time Jason?” Charles asked, looking inquisitively at Jason, “The BMW or the Porsche?”
Sat on the sofa Jason looked relaxed and like a man of leisure.
His evening jacket was unbuttoned and open.
His hands were trust deep into his trouser pockets, pulling the fabric tightly across his lean bulging thigh muscles and he looked like he had the freedom to do what he liked.
He was laid-back and stress-free.
He was the most relaxed of them all - yet he was the most commanding presence in the room that evening.
All eyes were focused on him.
Everyone was waiting for his answer . . . including Beth.
“The Porsche of course.”
The simplicity of his reply concerning the status symbol was effective.
It was as potent as the man himself.
Jason had driven his powerful sleek black Porsche to Clifton Hall.
Fast cars and beautiful women were only a few of the many pleasures he indulged in.
He played hard and worked hard.
Having had a difficult day battling building inspectors and fellow architects, Jason was in no mood to spend an evening chit-chatting over dinner with relatives.
He’d grown-up with his sister on one of the Greek islands and as much as he loved to spend time with her, to him the idea of spending a weekend in the English countryside with the landed gentry, was a waste opportunity.
Comparing the quality brandy or the seat of a horse wasn’t his form of entertainment.
Jason preferred to be working or if he wasn’t at work he was playing hard with one of the many women who were eager for his company.
He lived life in the fast lane.
Jason considered his time too precious to spend away from the buzz of the metropolis.
There was always a mountain of work waiting for him at the office and knowing his associates, the work would still be there on his desk when he returned on Monday.
No, he really couldn’t afford to be away from the business for any length of time. But recently he’d been on a visit to Clifton Hall, and whilst he was there, he’d seen the Hall and its newly landscaped gardens.
The new gardens were being designed and revamped by the relatively unknown firm of Ashton Landscaping and if Jason knew anything about landscapers - which he did - he knew that the firm would soon be very much in demand.
Their work was top quality. Having seen the work for himself, he immediately wanted Ashton Landscaping for his project in Greece and he wasn’t prepared to wait. He was ready to do and pay anything to achieve his goal.
This weekend he was here to persuade Ashton to work for him. Jason was determined to get this new designer and nothing was going to stop him.
“Charles, one day when I’ve finished with the Porsche I promise you’ll get first refusal.”
Jason saw a flash of desire and an instant glint of longing in brother-in-law’s eyes.
“Thanks Jason. I’ll look forward to the occasion and I hope it will be sometime soon.”
“Um . . . don’t hold your breath.”
“Anyway,” Charles said, after taking another large gulp of whisky, “What’s dragged you away from the city? You rarely leave the city for rural life?”
Jason casually shrugged his shoulders.
“Sophie somehow got wind of me needing a gardener. She’s recommended Ashton and from what I’ve seen of his work he’s doing a reasonable job.”
“Yes. We’re very pleased with the landscaping firm,” was all Charles would say and he looked questioningly at his wife with raised eyebrows.
Beth was sat quietly behind the screen at the writing desk, and Jason hadn’t yet seen her.
“They’ve got a style which I quite like,” Jason commented casually, and he was trying not to sound too enthusiastic, “Although . . . I’ve yet to be convinced it’s a style I’m after.”
Jason was playing his cards close to his chest.
He didn’t need to be convinced.
He was in no doubt he wanted the designer and until he got what he was after, he wasn’t letting on that he’d be prepared to pay a high price to get Ashton Landscaping to work on his project.
“What is it you need to be convinced about?” Charles asked curiously.
“Lots of things,” said Jason, “However my main concerned about is the difference between creating a garden for a villa in Greece compared to a garden in the English countryside. It’s a
whole different ball game when temperatures soar above thirty-degrees.”
Jason brushed back a dark fallen lock of hair from his brow as he spoke.
“I’m not sure if this designer of yours is up to the challenge. Ashton might not know how to plant in heat.”
Jason still hadn’t noticed Beth’s presence in the room.
Slowly Beth got up from her chair and walking quietly from behind the screen she came into the middle of the room.
BLINDED BY DESIRE Page 2
