Bargaining With The Boss (Harlequin Romance)

by George, Catherine

  ‘If I do it won’t make any difference,’ said Vicky, stretching luxuriously. ‘He won’t be occupying the spare bed!’

  CHAPTER NINE

  ELERI was so mad with James she gave serious thought to taking off on an early train next day. But that would have meant hassle for Vicky. Besides, she thought bitterly, she couldn’t wait to confront him with her information about Sir Godfrey Broadhurst. She glowered as she remembered James’s campaign to get her back to Northwold, all his talk of missing her and being unable to do without her. While all the time he’d been pressurised into reinstating her by a director of the board.

  So promptly at four in the afternoon, when she spotted the Discovery slotting neatly into a parking space on the opposite side of the road, Eleri kissed Vicky goodbye and went down to intercept James Kincaid. It was very cold as she emerged from the building, with flakes of snow in the wind. Eleri greeted James politely, gave him her hold-all to stow away, then gave a wave up at Vicky’s window and got in the car.

  ‘Had a good time?’ asked James. He was dressed in thick white sweater and faded moleskins, his feet in scuffed old chukka boots, and, to Eleri’s annoyance looked just as good to her as always, perfidy or not.

  ‘As usual with Vicky I had a fabulous time,’ said Eleri truthfully.

  ‘Including a double feature at the cinema?’

  ‘Absolutely. Plus a shopping spree and a party at Vicky’s in the evening. Toby was there,’ she added casually.

  ‘Was he indeed? Suitably apologetic for past sins, I trust?’ he said acidly.

  ‘Positively grovelling,’ agreed Eleri, and changed her mind about hurling accusations at him for the moment. In bad weather the car was no place for a quarrel. ‘I haven’t heard a forecast. Is there likely to be much snow?’

  ‘Worse in the north and west, I think. I’ll keep the radio on to catch any traffic news. Don’t worry. I’ll get you home. The Discovery copes with most road conditions.’

  ‘I’m not worried,’ she assured him with truth. Angry, disillusioned—but not worried about her own personal safety. ‘How was your weekend?’ she added politely.

  ‘I spent it in the Cartwright household, with children crawling all over me, including a couple of hours of apprehensive babysitting last night when Sam dragged my sister Helena out for dinner.’ He sent a sidelong smile in her direction. ‘Rather different from your evening, I imagine.’

  ‘Very. Not that I mind babysitting. I’ve done it a lot in the past, when Nico was small. And my services will be in demand again shortly, when Claudia’s baby arrives.’

  ‘You’re probably a damn sight more expert than me,’ said James with feeling. ‘My nephew woke up and insisted on coming down to watch television. I was too cowardly to refuse in case he made a fuss and woke his little sisters. A good thing Sam softened Helena up with champagne over their anniversary dinner—otherwise she’d have torn me to pieces when she came home to find the heir apparent watching football.’

  Eleri chuckled involuntarily, finding it hard to picture James as a doting uncle. Or as a little brother. ‘Is your sister much older than you, then?’

  ‘Ten years. Not as much as you and Nico, but quite a gap when I was ten and she was at university. We get on better now we’re older. She’s mellowed a lot. My parents were astonished when Sam came on the scene and coaxed Helena into marriage. She was in her late thirties and totally wrapped up in her career.’

  ‘What did she do?’ asked Eleri with interest.

  ‘University lecturer. Taught English Literature.’ James slowed the Discovery a little, frowning as he peered through the windscreen at the thickening snow. ‘I won’t be able to make good time in this, I’m afraid. When are your family expecting you back?’

  ‘I rang to say you were giving me a lift home, but I just said late evening. I usually add on an hour or two to save them worrying—’ She broke off to listen to a weather flash.

  Due to high winds and driving snow there had apparently been several accidents on the M4. Only one lane was open on the approach to the Bath turnoff, and already there was a twelve-mile tailback of westbound traffic in the area. Drivers were advised to find an alternative route.

  James cursed under his breath. ‘In this weather I’d intended to get as near Pennington as I could by motorway. But now I’ll have to turn off at Swindon and chance our luck across country.’

  Wishing more than ever that she’d returned by train, Eleri kept quiet. It seemed best to provide no distraction of any kind for James, who needed all his powers of concentration in the bad weather conditions. Fortunately the route was well known to him, and the four-wheel drive vehicle coped well, despite the gusting wind and thickening snow, but it seemed like hours to Eleri before they reached Cirencester.

  ‘Not too far now,’ said James, purposely cheerful, then shot a glance at her. ‘Are you cold?’

  ‘Just a bit.’

  They said nothing more, all James’s energies needed to steer them through the worsening blizzard. Another traffic flash informed them that some roads north of Stroud were blocked, and roads into Gloucester and Pennington were passable only with extreme care.

  ‘Tell me about it!’ growled James wearily as they crawled along at a snail’s pace in a line of traffic. ‘Eleri, a bit further on there’s a turnoff to Compton Priors. I vote we take it and make for the cottage. If we get stuck at least we can manage a couple of miles to Compton Priors on foot. If I try to push on to Pennington in this lot we might get stuck just the same, and be forced to spend the night in the car.’

  Eleri shivered. ‘Then by all means make for Compton Priors.’

  He sighed impatiently as he indicated left and turned off on a side road. ‘I’m sorry about this.’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ she said, trying to be fair. ‘I can’t help wishing I’d gone home by train, though.’

  ‘Which is my fault. I can only apologise—’ He broke off as the car slewed a little and he was obliged to use all his driving skills to prevent the car ending up in the hedge. ‘Use my phone if you want, explain the situation to your parents.’

  ‘I think I’ll do that once we get to the cottage, so I can reassure my mother I’ve got a roof over my head.’

  It took more than half an hour to negotiate the final couple of miles, and James was weary but triumphant when he parked the car in the lane outside Fosse Cottage at last. The village of Compton Priors was only a mile or so down the road, but in the whirling white darkness the cottage could have been in the wilderness for all the visible signs of habitation.

  ‘Stay in the car for a minute, Eleri. I’ll take our things in and open the place up.’ James reached in the back for a large box, hefted both their bags, then jumped down into the white, howling night and disappeared up the path to his front door. Within seconds lights shone from the windows, and James came hurrying back to scoop Eleri out of her seat and carry her up the path.

  ‘No point in getting wet feet,’ he panted. He set her down in the small hallway, then slammed the door on the weather.

  ‘Thank you.’ Eleri closed her eyes in bliss. ‘James—it’s warm in here!’

  He nodded. ‘I’ve been leaving the heating to come on a couple of times a day in this weather, to avoid burst pipes. So far the electricity’s holding up, thank the Lord. Let me have your coat.’

  Eleri surrendered her jacket, which James hung amongst others on one of the iron coat-hooks behind the door. He raised a wrought-iron latch on one of the pair of doors flanking the front entrance and ushered her into a low-ceilinged room furnished invitingly with studded leather armchairs with velvet seats and a sofa covered in dark red woven material. A basket piled with logs stood on the hearth of a stone fireplace and lamps gleamed on tables on either side of the sofa. James crossed the room to draw dark red curtains across the windows, looking over his shoulder at Eleri.

  ‘Do you like it?’ he asked as she stood just within the door, still shivering a little, but more from reaction to the h
air-raising journey than cold.

  ‘It’s lovely—very welcoming.’ She gave him a wry little smile. “Though tonight, in this weather, practically anywhere under cover would be welcoming too. I don’t mind confessing I was a bit nervous after we left the motorway.’

  ‘I wasn’t too happy myself! I’ll put the kettle on. You need a hot drink.’

  ‘I need a bathroom too, please, but before that I’d like to ring my parents.’

  James handed her his phone, then went out of the room via a door at the far end, leaving her to explain the situation to her mother.

  ‘As long as you’re safe I don’t mind where you are,’ said Catrin, supremely practical as always. ‘Better to spend the night in Mr Kincaid’s spare bed than in his car in a snowdrift.’

  Eleri smiled at the pointed mention of a spare bed, told her mother she’d keep her posted, then called James back in.

  He led her up a ladder-steep flight of uncarpeted stairs which rose directly from the hall to a landing with creaking, polished boards and three doors, one of which opened on an austere bathroom with a clawfooted tub and plain white porcelain fittings.

  Left alone, Eleri lingered in the stark, but strangely pleasing room, taking time to brush her hair and touch lipstick to a mouth which still looked blue with cold. Thankful she’d travelled in her warmest clothes, she went back downstairs in search of James, and to the right of the staircase found herself in a very masculine study, with a large desk and a small iron grate flanked by shelves stacked with books. Eleri went through the far door into a large kitchen which stretched the entire width of the cottage at the back, with a conservatory opening from it.

  ‘Come in,’ said James. ‘I thought you’d like some tea. Please sit down.’

  He held out one of the wicker-backed chairs ranged round a plain pine table, and Eleri sat down to preside over the teatray he pushed towards her. To her surprise, James looked uncharacteristically ill at ease.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ she asked bluntly. ‘You seem on edge.’

  ‘I think it’s at this point I’d better confess that it was always my intention to persuade you to come here this evening on the way back to Pennington. Not,’ he added hastily, ‘under the same circumstances, it’s true. I hadn’t bargained for snow. Nor for spending the night. But I did bring along some provisions in the hope that we could share a meal and talk.’

  Eleri, too surprised to answer for a moment, poured tea into tall beakers, enlightened now as to the source of fresh milk. ‘What did you want to talk about?’ she said guardedly. ‘We see each other at Northwold. Couldn’t we have talked there?’

  James sat down opposite her and drank some tea. ‘This has nothing to do with Northwold. It’s purely personal. Besides, you haven’t been very approachable lately. When I was ill I thought we’d drawn close, but once you started back at work you were a damn sight more distant than before.’

  Eleri smiled placatingly. ‘I was trying to be businesslike.’

  ‘And succeeding. It was. hard to imagine I’d ever held you in my arms—no—’ he flung up a hand at her instinctive protest ‘—let me get this out in the open. The night I began to make love to you I lost my head and rushed things, but I didn’t try to force you, Eleri.’

  ‘I know,’ she admitted, flushing. ‘And probably if you—we—didn’t work for the same company I might have gone to bed with you.’

  ‘What utter rubbish,’ he said flatly. ‘I saw the look on your face, remember. For a few brief moments you were gloriously responsive—then suddenly you looked frightened out of your wits.’ He leaned forward. ‘I want to know why.’

  For a moment the urge to explain, to confide in him was overwhelming. But what if he didn’t understand, or, worse still, turned away from her in distaste? Eleri let out the breath she’d been holding and shook her head. ‘You were mistaken—’

  ‘No way!’ he retorted vehemently. ‘For a while you were as much on fire as I was. Then wham——the brakes were on full-stop, and from that moment on it’s been perfectly obvious that all I can hope to get from you is efficiency and sweet, smiling civility. It makes working together bloody difficult. I persuaded you to come back so I feel responsible. Eleri, tell me the truth, do you really want to go on working at Northwold?’

  She refilled her beaker with a steady hand, fighting to hide her dismay. ‘In other words I must be more friendly to the boss or clear my desk again. Is that what you’re saying?’

  ‘No!’ howled James, glaring at her. ‘You know damn well it isn’t. Don’t put words in my mouth. I want you to stay—in fact I want you, period—no, hell I don’t mean that.’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘What I’m trying to say is that I love you. But being new to the emotion, I didn’t realise it until you walked out on me. It wasn’t your office skills I missed so badly, it was you.’

  Eleri stared at him incredulously, then put her beaker down with a hand shaking so much in time to her pounding heartbeat she spilled some of the hot liquid on the table. She dabbed at it with a tissue. ‘But what about Camilla—not to mention Venetia?’

  James sat very still, his eyes narrowed. And to her annoyance he smiled crookedly, looked suddenly relaxed. While she was shaking from head to foot inside, she thought bitterly. Which was idiotic. She was in love with him, so the equation should have been simple. Only it wasn’t, not in the slightest. If only he’d never come down with flu, or if Nico had taken his message, or she’d been less stupid at being unable to leave him alone and ill to fend for himself, they wouldn’t be having this discussion.

  ‘Camilla is a friend,’ he said conversationally, ‘a friend from way back. She wasn’t in the least surprised when I told her there was someone else.’

  ‘Venetia, I assume,’ said Eleri acidly.

  ‘No. You.’ James sat back, arms folded. ‘Venetia is a cousin. A married cousin who was in Pennington visiting her in-laws while her army husband is away playing war games in some uncivilised spot where she can’t accompany him. He asked me to rescue her for one of the evenings she was here with his family. So I did. I didn’t intend taking her to the trattoria, but we were walking past after a trip to the theatre and I caught a glimpse of you and acted on impulse.’ He leaned forward suddenly, his eyes boring into hers. ‘I was puerile enough to want to make you jealous. Did I?

  ‘Oh, yes,’ said Eleri bitterly. ‘You certainly did. Especially as I thought Camilla was still in the picture.’

  ‘She is. I’m fond of her.’ He smiled. ‘It is possible to have friends of the opposite sex, Eleri. I want you for a friend too, but in your case I want a lot more than mere friendship. And,’ he added, ‘I intend to achieve it.’

  Eleri sat back in her seat, looking at him steadily as her pulse slowed. ‘So you begged me to come back to Northwold because you missed me not only for my value as an assistant but for the pleasure of my company?’

  ‘Yes. When I was ill and you insisted on staying to look after me I realised that this was the element missing from my life. A woman of depth and compassion to share it. In short, you, Eleri.’

  ‘So you didn’t coax me back because Sir Godfrey Broadhurst told you to?’ she said swiftly.

  James stared at her, thunderstruck. ‘No, I damn well didn’t! How the blazes do you know about that, anyway?’

  ‘He’s Toby Maynard’s godfather.’ Eleri explained how Vicky had bullied Toby into using one of his innumerable contacts to get Eleri reinstated at Northwold.

  ‘I wondered why the atmosphere was so arctic when you got in the car today,’ said James bitterly. ‘Maynard at work again.’

  ‘Are you denying that Sir Godfrey asked you to reinstate me?’

  ‘No, I’m not.’ James got up, suddenly so aloof and remote she felt a sharp pang of dismay. ‘But think back a little, Eleri. I was against your resignation in the first place. I knew there had to be an explanation about the blasted takeover information. I asked you to stay, or have you forgotten that?’ His eyes glittered coldly. ‘Amazing.
I’ve never told a woman I loved her before. Conceited fool that I am, it never occurred to me that the object of my passion would receive the statement with total apathy—’

  ‘Not apathy,’ she muttered, flushing.

  ‘What, then?’ he demanded.

  ‘I don’t know!’ she said in desperation, her heart hammering so hard she could hardly speak. ‘Amazement, disbelief—’

  ‘Disbelief? I thought I’d made it laughably plain how I felt. I came chasing after you at the coffee-shop, lured you out to dinner on the pretext of talking business. I even arranged a party designed to tempt you back to Northwold.’ He gave a mirthless laugh. ‘In the event my dose of flu brought us nearer together than any party would have done. But although I got you back, much good it’s done me. I thought if I had you with me every day I could make you see how important you were to me. In every aspect of male/ female relationship. Partners of the heart as well as professionally. Bloody fool, wasn’t I? Never more so than when my base male feelings got the better of me one night. You were like some Victorian maiden affronted by my lust.’

  ‘I’m neither Victorian, nor a maiden,’ said Eleri with sudden violence. ‘Nor did I have the least idea that—that—’

  ‘I’m in love with you,’ he put in conversationally, watching with interest as colour flooded her face.

  She thrust her hair behind her ears with trembling hands. ‘I still find it hard to believe.’ She smiled at him shyly and James took in a deep, unsteady breath.

  ‘Would it be too much to ask about your feelings for me?’

  ‘No.’ So dizzy with joy that he loved her, Eleri was ready to tell him anything he asked. ‘At the risk of making you conceited, I put you up on a pedestal, James Kincaid. But you wobbled a bit when I heard about Sir Godfrey. I’m only human.’

  James came round the table and pulled her to her feet. ‘Eleri. Do you remember putting Sir Godfrey through to me on the phone last Monday?’

  ‘Yes.’