‘This man is going to,’ Rick bit out grimly.
‘I thought you didn’t like to get involved,’ she taunted.
‘I don’t. Three months will be long enough for me.’
‘More than long enough for me.’ She stood up. ‘I have to go and see Amy in Fashion. I’ll see you later.’
His mouth twisted. ‘I don’t intend going anywhere.’
Shanna swept past his desk and out of the room, her head high as she made her way to the Fashion Department, spending over an hour with Amy Roberts going over the latest fashion layout. She knew she was being more thorough than usual, malingering, not wanting to return to her own office. And this was only the first day!
‘Hey, Shanna.’
She turned at the sound of that lighthearted voice, smiling as she recognised Cindy Matthews. ‘Hello,’ she returned softly.
Cindy walked down the corridor to join her, a friendly grin on her face. ‘I just wanted to apologise for this morning.’ She shrugged. ‘Rick and I like to rile each other, but I guess I forgot we weren’t alone.’
‘It’s all right—Rick explained.’
‘I’ll bet he did!’ the other woman grimaced. ‘He’s a fantastic guy to work for, and most of the time we get on great together. But he really is mad about Jack and me.’
‘You were friends?’
‘A bit more than that,’ Cindy admitted ruefully. ‘It was a stupid thing to do, Rick told me the rules, but I couldn’t resist the big ape.’
‘Rick?’ she taunted.
‘Jack,’ the other woman laughed. ‘You could never call Rick an ape. He has style, from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.’
‘And Jack doesn’t?’ she teased, reaffirming the fact that she liked this woman, liked her friendliness and her blunt way of speaking.
Cindy pulled a face. ‘Oh, he has style—too much of it. He can’t resist any pretty face that comes along. He was making a play for one of the secretaries here the last time I saw him.’
Shanna had the impression that the lighthearted words hid a wealth of pain. No matter how lightly Cindy dismissed Rick’s P.R. man she liked him much more than she was willing to admit, maybe even loved him. She couldn’t understand how any man could resist Cindy; she was beautiful, intelligent and witty. What more could any man want?
‘But enough about Jack,’ Cindy brushed him aside as if he weren’t important. ‘I really am sorry about this morning.’
‘I told you, it doesn’t matter,’ Shanna assured her. ‘Has Rick told you yet that you’ll be sharing with Jane as from tomorrow?’
Cindy grinned. ‘Not yet, but I guessed it. He’ll just keep me waiting a while before he tells me.’
‘Another part of the game?’ she mocked.
‘I suppose it is,’ Cindy answered slowly. ‘A game, I mean. But then most of life is, isn’t it?’
‘There seem to be more losers than winners.’
‘Hey, that’s cynical!’ Cindy frowned.
Shanna shrugged. ‘It’s also the truth.’ She gave a regretful smile. ‘I’d better be getting back.’
‘No, come along and meet the gang.’ Cindy put a hand on her arm. ‘They’re all dying to meet the first women ever to—’ she broke off, biting down on her bottom lip.
Shanna raised dark brows. ‘Ever to what?’ she prompted softly.
The other woman grimaced. ‘Me and my big mouth!’
‘Ever to what?’ Shanna repeated firmly.
Cindy sighed. ‘Rick has been pretty impossible since he met you. We all figured it’s because you turned him down.’
‘How do you know his mood has been because of me? It could be some other woman—’
‘No way,’ Cindy shook her head confidently. ‘He went to a party, met you, threw that bozo out of the hotel—Sorry,’ she added ruefully. ‘The bozo was Anna Kalder—the actress. At least, she thinks she is. She had cotton-wool between her ears. I don’t know where Rick gets them from. All his women are beautiful, but a bit lacking in brains, you know.’
‘Maybe he prefers them that way,’ Shanna dismissed coolly, not at all interested in Rick Dalmont’s ‘women’.
‘You disprove that idea,’ Cindy grinned. ‘A woman with brains and beauty at last!’
She returned the smile wryly. ‘Too much brains to get involved with a man like Rick.’
‘Mm, that’s what we figured,’ the other woman replied seriously. ‘But he hasn’t given up, has he? You have to admire his singlemindedness.’
‘Believe me, Cindy,’ she scorned, ‘I don’t have to admire anything about him—and I don’t.’
Cindy whistled through her teeth. ‘You just have to come and meet the others, they’ll never believe it if I tell them.’
‘Tell them what?’ Shanna managed to ask as she was half dragged down the corridor.
‘That you’ve managed to resist Rick this long because you really don’t like him. He’s had other women play hard to get,’ she shrugged. ‘But that’s all it was—pretence. You’re the genuine article.’
‘I may be,’ Shanna admitted. ‘But I don’t intend broadcasting the fact.’
‘You won’t have to.’ Cindy stopped triumphantly outside the executive office Henry had always used in the past. ‘Just to listen to you is enough.’
‘Cindy—’
‘Just come and meet everyone,’ she persuaded. ‘Rick should have introduced us all by now.’ She grinned. ‘You’ll have to excuse him, sexual tension makes him forget his manners!’
She had opened her mouth to give a sharp retort when the office door opened unexpectedly, and the words froze on her lips as she gazed up at Lance Edwards, unable to believe even now how like Perry he was. She had persuaded herself the last two hours that she had blown the likeness up out of all proportion in her mind. But she hadn’t—oh, she hadn’t!
‘Mrs Logan?’ he frowned as she stared at him wordlessly.
‘Mrs?’ Cindy echoed in disbelief. ‘Hey, you aren’t married, are you?’ she gasped.
‘Widowed,’ Shanna managed between stiff lips.
‘Thank God for that,’ the other woman sighed. ‘Oh, not that your husband is dead,’ she added hastily. ‘I just thought for a moment that Rick had broken all his own rules and gone for a married woman.’
‘Why don’t you shut up, Cindy,’ a man drawled from inside the room, ‘before you stick your foot in your mouth any further.’
She turned blazing blue eyes on the man. ‘Mind your own damned business!’ she snapped. ‘How was I supposed to know Shanna was married?’
‘By making a few enquiries before you jumped in with both feet,’ he taunted, tall and dark, very good-looking in an obviously muscular way, turning a seductive smile in Shanna’s direction. ‘You’ll have to excuse Cindy, she never stops to think before she speaks.’
‘Just because I don’t nose into other people’s lives—’
‘It’s my job to nose,’ he returned tautly. ‘And when I have to I hush up whatever Rick says I should.’
Shanna had listened to the exchange with growing awareness that this must be Rick’s P.R. man Jack. ‘And what did he tell you to hush up about me?’ she asked tartly.
‘I—’
‘The whole thing,’ Lance answered for the other man. ‘Rick is very newsworthy, but he’s deliberately kept your name out of the newspapers.’
She turned shadowed green eyes on the blond man. ‘Why?’
‘To protect you—’
‘I don’t need protecting,’ she said sharply. ‘And even if I did I wouldn’t ask it of a man like Rick Dalmont.’ She became aware of the sudden silence in the room once she had finished, and turned slowly to find Rick standing in the corridor behind her. ‘Perhaps you would like to explain,’ she said tautly.
‘Gladly,’ he nodded, his expression cold. ‘If I knew what it was I had to explain.’
Nothing ever shook this man’s confidence! Her mouth tightened angrily. ‘Why everyone seems to assume that I’m your latest
conquest,’ she snapped. ‘Someone whose name you’re keeping out of the papers in connection with yours. Can you tell me why everyone thinks that?’ she demanded.
‘Do they?’ he taunted.
‘Obviously!’
‘Perhaps we could talk about this later, Shanna,’ he bit out softly, aware of their stunned audience even if she wasn’t. ‘In the privacy of your office.’
Did the others notice the slight emphasis on the word privacy? She certainly did, realising just what she had done. Her antipathy towards Rick should have been kept between the four walls of her office, not displayed in front of these people who had respected and worked for him for years. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said stiltedly. ‘I—Excuse me,’ and she turned and fled, ignoring Rick as he called her name.
She was behaving like a fool today, had decided to act so cool, and instead she had been stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Rick certainly wouldn’t let her get away with that, her excuse that seeing Lance Edwards this morning had unnerved her wouldn’t make any difference to a man as hard as Rick Dalmont. And seeing Lance Edwards, his likeness to Perry was no excuse for her rudeness to Rick just now, rather she should be thanking him for keeping his interest in her out of the newspapers!
‘Hey, are you all right?’
She looked up from her desk to find Cindy had followed her back to her office, coming in to close the door behind her.
‘Rick sent me after you,’ she explained gently as she came to stand at Shanna’s side, her hand resting lightly on her shoulder in silent comfort.
Shanna swallowed hard. ‘Rick did?’
Cindy smiled. ‘Don’t worry about what happened just now. Rick can take it. Believe me, this will all blow over in a few days.’
‘Rick doesn’t appear to me to be the forgiving type,’ she grimaced.
Cindy shook her head. ‘He cares about you, Shanna—’
‘No! No, he doesn’t. He—’
‘Yes, Shanna,’ Cindy insisted firmly. ‘I should have guessed from the beginning, we all should. He doesn’t usually give a damn about the publicity his lady-loves get when they’re with him, and neither do they. But he’s tried to keep you out of it from the beginning—’
‘Because I’m not one of his lady-loves!’
‘I know that,’ Cindy sighed. ‘We all know that—now. But I think we half guessed it already. He was only trying to help you, Shanna, to protect you.’
‘But Shanna doesn’t need protecting.’ The man himself walked in, lacking none of the confidence that was a fundamental part of him. ‘Do you, honey?’ he derided.
Cindy looked away uncomfortably—an emotion Shanna felt sure was alien to the other woman. ‘I—er—I’ll get back to my office.’
‘You do that,’ Rick drawled pleasantly.
‘To answer your question,’ Shanna snapped once they were alone, ‘I can take care of myself, from the press or anyone else.’
‘And if you don’t always need to?’
‘Even then,’ she nodded coolly. ‘However,’ she sighed, ‘I do owe you an apology for any embarrassment I may have caused you just now. I forgot where I was for a moment.’
He raised dark brows. ‘Apology accepted.’
‘But unexpected,’ she derided.
‘Yes.’
She gave an unwilling smile at his bluntness. ‘I don’t mind admitting when I’m wrong.’
‘Then have dinner with me tonight.’
‘Implying that I’ve been wrong to refuse you in the past?’ she mocked.
Rick grinned, his good humour seemingly restored. ‘You learn fast, Shanna.’
‘So my college professors always told me,’ she nodded. ‘They also taught us a sense of self-preservation, so if you don’t mind I’ll refuse your invitation to dinner.’
‘Self-preservation?’ he echoed softly. ‘You make it sound as if you aren’t as immune to me as you would like to be.’
She flushed, realising she should never give this man an advantage of any kind, not even a verbal one. ‘It’s just a figure of speech,’ she dismissed abruptly.
‘Nothing personal, huh?’
‘Nothing,’ she bit out. ‘Rick, would you rather I moved next door with Gloria and your two secretaries come in here? I’m sure it can’t be very convenient for you this way.’
‘Maybe not,’ he shrugged. ‘But it sure is a hell of a lot more interesting. You won’t change your mind about dinner?’
‘No.’
‘I’ll see you later, then. I have a luncheon appointment in half an hour,’ he explained. ‘A failing airline I might be able to bail out.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Don’t you ever stop acquiring new businesses?’
‘Nope,’ he shrugged. ‘I’ve found no viable substitute to that challenge yet. Maybe when I do I’ll work and play a little slower.’ He moved swiftly around her desk and kissed her hard on the mouth, a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes as he raised his head at her lack of resistance. ‘You see, you’re getting used to my kissing you. Pretty soon you’ll be so used to it you won’t even look surprised.’
‘I doubt it,’ she said tautly, indignation burning within her at his audacity.
‘You will.’ He straightened, moving to the door. ‘By the way, I’m taking Lance with me, so don’t get the idea that you can sneak back to his office once I’ve gone.’
She stiffened at his insinuating tone. ‘I don’t sneak anywhere in this building, Mr Dalmont. Until a few days ago, I ran it! As for going to that particular office again, Cindy thought I should be introduced to the rest of your staff, something you apparently didn’t think of.’
He scowled at her intended rebuke. ‘I’ve had other things on my mind.’
‘Cindy had an idea about that too,’ she taunted.
‘I’ll just bet she did!’ His scowl deepened. ‘That young woman is getting too big for her pants—trousers,’ he amended in a slow drawl. ‘Pants are men’s shorts over here, aren’t they?’
‘I’m sure you know that they are.’
‘Just checking.’ His humour seemed to be back intact. ‘I’ll do the introductions when I—when Lance and I,’ he corrected pointedly, ‘get back from lunch. In the meantime, perhaps you could try and rub off a little of that frosty disdain you have in such abundance on Cindy. She really knows how to pick the wrong men. Jack is a great P.R. man, but as far as permanent relationships go he’s no good,’ he shook his head ruefully. ‘Cindy’s got to a stage in her life when she needs to settle down with one man, get married, have kids. Although don’t tell her I told you that,’ he grimaced. ‘She thinks she’s the original career woman.’
‘There’s nothing wrong in a woman having a career—’
‘Not when that’s what she wants, no,’ he agreed. ‘But Cindy’s gone past that now, she needs more than a career alone can give her.’
‘She can’t have marriage and a career?’ Shanna derided.
‘She could,’ he nodded, completely serious now, ‘if she didn’t want kids too. But there’s a lot of maternal instinct inside Cindy just bursting to come out.’
‘Are any of your personal staff married?’ Shanna queried mildly.
‘They wouldn’t be any good to me if they were,’ he answered instantly.
‘That’s an arrogant assumption—’
‘It’s a sensible one,’ he corrected. ‘No man—or woman—can give me his best when he—or she,’ he derided again, ‘is just longing to get back to his or her spouse. I know damn well I wouldn’t be able to.’
‘And if you ever marry?’
‘My wife will travel with me, of course,’ he stated with arrogance.
‘The same couldn’t apply to your staff?’
‘We’re a work force, not a marriage guidance council! Which reminds me, I want to talk to you about the magazine’s problem page when I get back.’
Shanna frowned. ‘But we don’t have one.’
He nodded. ‘That’s what I want to talk to you about. See you later, sweetheart.’
She glared at the closed door, for once the endearment not bothering her. Only Rick Dalmont could make such an enigmatic statement and then walk out. Fashion Lady had never had a problem page, had never needed one. And yet she had a feeling they were going to get one.
CHAPTER FIVE
RICK was too busy to discuss anything when he got back late that afternoon. Talks on the airline had apparently progressed a further stage, and Rick was spending most of what was left of the afternoon with his lawyer, Peter Lacey, going through contract suggestions.
It was like watching a tornado at work. The two men pored over papers on Rick’s desk, although Rick was definitely the more quickwitted of the two, showing he wasn’t just a figurehead to Dalmont Industries but a very active member of it.
Just to watch and listen to his decisive and intricate dealings with the airline made Shanna feel tired, and it was with more than her usual relief that she packed up for the day. Her nape ached, her head throbbed, and what she needed most was a relaxing shower and a quiet dinner.
‘Tired?’
She looked up to find Rick watching her unconscious kneading of her nape, his eyes narrowed. She instantly removed her hand. He hadn’t paid any attention to her all afternoon and now he had to catch her in a moment of weakness! ‘Of course not,’ she denied stiltedly. ‘I’ve just been bent over these layouts all afternoon.’
‘Neck ache?’ he persisted.
‘Only a little,’ she admitted grudgingly. ‘Nothing a hot shower won’t cure.’
He quirked dark brows, looking as immaculate and unruffled as he had first thing this morning. ‘Sounds interesting,’ he drawled.
Shanna pulled on the jacket of her navy blue suit, the crisp white blouse she wore underneath adding to her look of cool competance. ‘There’s nothing interesting about my taking a hot shower, Rick,’ she told him briskly as she walked to the door. ‘Goodnight,’ and she swept from the room before he could come back with any smart retort. He seemed to have one for every occasion!
But her tiredness was a tangible thing, and instead of taking her shower after she had undressed and put on her robe she fell asleep on the bed. She hadn’t meant to, she was invited to a friend’s party this evening, and yet a short lie-down turned into a deep sleep that was only interrupted by the insistent ringing of the doorbell. By the time she had pulled herself up from the blankets of sleep that cocooned her the doorbell had stopped ringing, and she dropped back weakly against the pillows, shaking from the suddenness with which she had been woken.
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