Take Me Now

by Nancy Jardine

  Stony silence accompanied them on the short journey – apart from the posh voice of the navigation system – till she pulled up in the car park of the office building he had requested.

  “Do I need to be prepped for this meeting, sir?” Determination to be professional reeked from her, maybe a little too much because she hated the impenetrable wall between them.

  “You’ll cope. I’m here to negotiate a better deal for the newest advertising campaign for Adrenalinn Adventuring. Robin Ellesmere was primed to attend, but he’s gone off for emergency dental treatment, having broken a tooth, or something. That’s why this meeting wasn’t on my diary.”

  Aela refused to apologize for her manner. Their cool relations were his fault, just as much as hers, but she was careful not to allow her feelings to be noticed by the advertising executives. As she was coming to expect, the meeting was successful from Nairn’s perspective though it took a couple of hours. By the time they were through, some of their antipathy had melted: not totally relaxed, but not at odds either.

  Nairn was describing an earlier ad campaign as she drove along the slow lane of a busy motorway on their return to the office. “What the shit…?” Nairn broke off when his butt began juddering on the seat.

  “Brace yourself!” she yelled as her finger flicked on the left indicator, the nearside of the car shuddering even more, right underneath a yelping Nairn.

  She yanked her foot off the accelerator. Defensive driving techniques she’d learned years before got their first proper airing. She was wrapped in traffic. Car in front; one behind; another in the next lane alongside. A glimpse at the rear-view mirror told her the car behind was too close for sudden deceleration. Harsh braking was no option anyway.

  “Hazards!” she yelled at Nairn.

  Nairn angled forward and punched on the hazard button set in the middle of the console since Aela needed both hands to control the jouncing and slewing of the car. Before sliding back in his seat again, he flipped down the visor at his side of the car, the mirror giving him a rear view.

  “He’s too bloody close, Aela,” he warned.

  “No. Look. He’s slowing down.”

  Adrenalin pumped fiercely as she guided the convulsing car over onto the hard shoulder, thanking the almighty the driver behind had got the message as soon as the hazards flashed – but he was still a hairsbreadth from her bumper.

  Struggling to keep on a straight course her grip was indomitable till the car eventually grated to a halt. Yanking on the hand brake, she braced her forearms on the steering wheel. Her whole body was still vibrating – though thankfully the car wasn’t any more. Her head twisted around to look at Nairn before she collapsed back in her seat.

  “You okay?” she muttered, a nervous smile erupting. “Bejeezuz! Thought we were done for, there.”

  His eyes flickered, his mouth twitching before he groaned. “You sure are a cool customer under pressure. What the hell just happened?”

  Aela didn’t care to analyze. The adrenaline was still pumping high and all she wanted was to devour Nairn. Unclipping her seat restraint she grabbed his face and took his lips in a kiss robbing both of them of their senses. Still on a roll she snatched another. Nairn needed no prompting to control the next as his good arm crushed her to him.

  Sanity slowly returned. They were not in the safest of places to be conducting any kind of lovemaking…or affirmation of life. For in a way that’s what it was. Slipping free of his grip, her chest heaving, she grinned. “We are still alive, aren’t we?”

  His answering smile was not constrained. Admiration, gratitude and something else, really intense, radiated back to her. When he eventually spoke his voice was the deepest whisper. “Yeah. My, oh, so competent PA. More alive than you know.” His knuckles stroked her cheek, the merest soft touch.

  For an aeon she stared: Nairn stared back. Neither of them moved. But the car did from the buffeting blast of other vehicles whizzing past them.

  “Don’t you dare move yet, Nairn Malcolm. Not till I make sure it’s safe,” she ordered as her pulse settled, just a little.

  A swift check of the side mirror told her when it was clear to open her door. Staggering her way round to Nairn’s side she checked the state of the car.

  The front wheel under Nairn was in place though only barely, and was pitched at a precarious angle. Exactly what was wrong with it, she hadn’t a clue. The tyre seemed to be intact, no air leak as far as she could tell. Nairn wasn’t sure either when he gingerly removed himself from the car and stood alongside her. Both, however, thought it much too coincidental to be just one of those things. The Range Rover, Nairn explained, was less than a year old and had never had any malfunctions before.

  Vehicles gusted past them as they gaped at the wheel, but since the Range Rover displayed no appearance of an accident on the road side, other cars passed by on their merry way.

  “I get the impression that a change to the spare tyre is not what this needs.” She waited for Nairn’s response to her question as he pulled out his cell phone.

  “We’re not touching this at all. It would be normal to call the emergency road services, but I’m thinking a bit of advice from Detective Woods won’t go amiss on this one. What’s your opinion, Aela?”

  Easy to concur.

  Detective Woods was categorical. They should sit tight and await the breakdown services he would send out. The Range Rover would be towed away for a thorough inspection; the garage services being authorized ones used regularly by the local police. He would send transportation to get them to wherever they wanted to go – back to the office, or to Nairn’s apartment. Detective Woods wasn’t treating the incident lightly, even if it proved to be a false alarm.

  The hard shoulder wasn’t the most comfortable place for Nairn to wait but there was no choice; remaining inside the vehicle wasn’t the best place to be either. After what seemed like a very long fifteen minutes a bright yellow breakdown truck drew up behind them.

  “Looks like a problem with two of the wheel nuts,” the mechanic muttered after he had squatted down and had a first inspection of the wheel. “We’ll know better after it gets a good investigation back at the shop.”

  Aela stood back as the man got to his feet and brushed off his fingers on his already greasy coveralls.

  “I’ll just take some photos of this, sir. Standard procedure now.”

  The mechanic disappeared inside the cabin of his truck, returning with a camera. After taking some general shots, Aela watched him take detailed ones of the wheel area. The Range Rover was just onto the tow-truck ramp when Detective Woods arrived in an official squad car. He didn’t look too impressed at first when he came alongside them and squinted at the car up on the ramp.

  “I’m getting the feeling you need a minder, Mr. Malcolm.” His words were softened by a small smile.

  Aela wasn’t sure whether to be miffed by his statement, or to ask who he recommended.

  “I don’t think a bodyguard could have done any better than my competent Miss Cameron,” Nairn grunted as Detective Woods went off to confer with the mechanic.

  The look Nairn sent her way scalded her nerve ends, much more than any complimentary words could ever do.

  On Detective Woods return, the policeman confirmed the mechanic’s preliminary diagnosis. Something had likely caused purposeful damage to the wheel nuts.

  “More paperwork for me to shunt around, Mr. Malcolm, but don’t worry, I’m sure you’re not on a suicide pact with this new PA of yours.”

  It appeared as though it was yet another botched attempt to ground Nairn, and Aela as well.

  After helping Nairn to fold himself into the rear seat of the squad car, she squeezed in alongside. By then sanity had fully returned, their frantic affirmation of life past history.

  “My apartment, please, if it’s not too much trouble?” Nairn requested of the police driver, his voice dispirited more than exhausted.

  Six-thirty was really early to be home, but she agreed a r
eturn to the office wasn’t worth it. They could just as easily continue in Nairn’s study.

  Richard produced another tasty meal for them a short while later. Her grin was wide since she now knew who might have been dispatched to the nearest restaurant for it. Richard, she’d learned, did not do all the fantastic cooking himself.

  Strung out with the events of the day – and the day before – it wasn’t too difficult a decision to hit the sack early, her resolve to resist Nairn having strengthened again. Business only.

  Nairn was far too exhausted anyway.

  “My sore bits need a little TLC, Aela. How good are you at body massage?” Nairn’s weak grin followed her as she turned for her room.

  “Useless, sir,” she quipped.

  She’d walked back and had given him a swift peck before she realized her resolve hadn’t even lasted seconds. She evaded another kiss since he hadn’t even the strength to reach out his good arm and catch her. “But I’m pretty sure Richard could arrange a real masseuse in a blink for you. Want me to ask?”

  Nairn’s genial laugh echoed in the hallway, though it was a weak one.

  Aela was stumped by Nairn’s bold statement on entering the dining room the next morning. It was Saturday.

  “Breakfast quickly, please. A taxi’s on the way to take us to the airport.”

  Told nothing the night before, she wasn’t too surprised when Nairn declared she was flying him to Estonia to check the setup at the Adrenalinn Adventuring base.

  A few hours later, she had them landed at the airport in Tallinn and straight on to meetings at the base. Routine stuff – not boring, but time consuming.

  “I won’t need you for the rest of the afternoon, Miss Cameron. I’ve arranged to meet with a representative of the Tourist Board.” Nairn’s declaration after their lunch at the centre floored her. He was far too good at arranging things without giving her information, or consultation. The atmosphere between them had been congenial during the morning, yet now he didn’t want her?

  “You won’t need me for notes, or something?”

  Nairn’s voice was unequivocal. “No. But I do need you to go the check-in desk out front. There’s something waiting there that you need to pick up.”

  Like the good little PA she was, she trotted to reception to find he’d surprised her again. Nairn had arranged for her to be included in the afternoon kayaking tour around the waters of Tallinn.

  Fabulous.

  The ancient marine castle of Tallinn was astounding as Aela paddled her way around the bay in a two-person kayak, an instructor from the centre seated behind her. Strong sunshine reflected off the water, the old medieval town a fascinating backdrop for it. The stone fortifications, turreted walls and parapets made such an impact from the water her smile seemed never ending. The old prison buildings were just as fascinating as they paddled by. The whole tour was exhilarating.

  Four hours later, she was struggling out of her buoyancy aid just as Nairn hobbled up to her, the clip taking more than a few tries before she could undo it.

  “Impressed?” Nairn’s midnight blue eyes twinkled.

  She could barely answer, so fired up with the pleasure she’d just had. “Totally incredible, and I must come back, sometime, and do the two-day kayak tour to the island of Saaremaa that your guide just told me about.”

  She eventually dropped the buoyancy aid onto the counter top as the assistants hung the returned suits on the racks and stowed the other gear in behind. Peeling off her sticky neoprene-sided boots, she dumped them too before she turned to Nairn and gave him an unconscious hug of thanks, her eyes latching onto his. “You’ve no idea how so at home I felt paddling out there on the water. Peter the Great’s inspired walled city is incredible, unlike anything I’ve experienced, and to see it from out on the bay like that was…heaven.”

  Nairn’s arms clasped around her. Even more heaven, but his next words shattered her comfort zone.

  “Sorry to burst your euphoric bubble, Aela,” he grinned down at her, those eyes of his a teasing glimmer. “I need you to tell me right now. How easy was it to unclip?”

  Aela knew her eyes hit the ceiling. “You used me as a guinea pig?”

  Nairn’s answering laugh said it all.

  She couldn’t believe it. Nairn had given her such a fabulous experience…yet had used her at the same time. The devious sod! Still, she couldn’t stop the mirth rising. “You watched me, didn’t you? So you know just exactly how much I fumbled, Nairn Malcolm. And it’s only the month of June…not September, or October, when it’s much colder!”

  On their way back to London that evening Nairn confessed to wanting to give her a taste of northern Europe, since it was all new to her. And he had to have someone reliable give him the low-down on the clips on the buoyancy aid. A firm glow settled around her. She loved it that he thought her reliable, and that he had virtually engineered the trip for her enjoyment gave her such a buzz. She wasn’t sure she’d ever meet anyone like him again. Heaviness crept over her. Nothing to do with the exertion of the afternoon.

  She forgave his subterfuge but resisted his playful advances when they got back to his London apartment, shrugging off his straying hand as she rose from the dining table. The atmosphere between them had been light. The fact that no suspect incidents had occurred that day had made her fear less for their safety and no doubt had lightened Nairn’s mood as well.

  Placing his hand carefully down on the table and giving it a little pat – since she needed just a hint of contact – her avowal was firm. “A couple more weeks of being your employee. Let’s just focus on that, sir.”

  “What if I don’t want to focus on that, Aela?”

  Her laugh echoed in the hallway as she closed her bedroom door. Fourteen, maybe fifteen days tops, still to go. The old prison at Tallinn flashed up before her. A prison sentence, indeed. Difficult to go to her lonely bed.

  Aela’s dreams were full of…

  A confined, happy prisoner.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Two short hops to organize for tomorrow.”

  Nairn was, as usual, succinct.

  Well, they had stayed put in the London office for a couple of days. Aela reckoned it was par for the course that they were off again – and truth be told she was excited by the prospect of being on the move. Nothing untoward had happened yet it seemed the whole office, and warehouse staff, were walking on eggshells since knowledge of the earlier incidents had affected everyone.

  Unfortunately, no evidence had been uncovered.

  “It’s the Netherlands first, for a meeting in Rotterdam with a hot air ballooning company representative. I’m negotiating to add ballooning to our repertoire of European activities. Ever done any balloon trips?”

  Her smile was huge. “Just one. Floated over Ayers Rock and the Australian desert for a bit out at Alice Springs. It was one of the highlights of my Australian leg of the world trip. I splurged out a heap of dollars, but it was so worth it! Can you imagine drifting up in the hazy grey-blue alongside the MacDonnell ranges? Then, when the muted colours of pre-dawn seep into the oranges of sunrise, the kangaroos start bouncing across the rugged landscape.” She sighed dramatically with the recall of it. “The birds were pretty fabulous too.”

  “I’ve got to say that in Europe ballooning is more at the vagaries of weather conditions, but I’d like to get my fingers in that particular pie, as well.”

  She shared Nairn’s amusement since he was showing he remembered lots of things she had said or done when she’d first met him. “You’ve done some ballooning?”

  “A bit like you. A totally memorable trip over the Kalahari in Africa, but I’ve ballooned in other places, too.”

  Her pencil was poised ready for details. “Ah, the joys. But back to organizing. Rotterdam then fly back to London?”

  “Not quite.” Nairn was back to an enigmatic expression and mischievous tone. “When the Rotterdam meeting is over we’re moving south to Paris, to meet with a guy who is looking for
investors to support a new facility he wants to build.”

  “Paris?” Her squeal of excitement could probably have been heard all the way to L’Arc de Triomphe. Nairn grinned at her enthusiasm.

  “Ever heard of Bun-J-Ride?”

  “Can’t say I have.”

  “It’s a cross between a bungee jump and skiing – or cycling – off a ramp over a valley, or a canyon.”

  “Wow! Sounds scary.” Her eyes goggled at the vision. Her one and only bungee jump had been a bit daunting. “And then back to London tomorrow night?”

  Disappointment probably peppered her gaze but she couldn’t help it because Paris seemed such an exciting prospect to visit.

  “No. We’ll stay over in Paris since the second meeting isn’t till four p.m. and I’ve no idea how long I might want to thrash that one out.”

  She’d spent three days in the Netherlands, mainly around Amsterdam and Den Haag, managing to zip through quite a number of the tourist attractions, adoring the quaint style, including the canals. She’d love to see more, though, and another fleeting visit appealed a lot.

  But Paris? That was even more attractive.

  The flight from London to the Netherlands was short, the airspace extremely busy. Vigilant concentration was required as she followed landing procedures at Vliegveld Zestienhoven, near Rotterdam. Their first meeting was conducted effectively, Nairn ecstatic that ballooning looked on the cards within a couple of months.

  Flying to Paris was much the same as the earlier flight. Busy European airspace again. After landing at Le Bourget Airport, an arranged car sped them to their destination. She was delighted about that since driving Nairn around Paris didn’t appeal, even if they did drive on her customary side. Everything enthralled as they whisked past numerous landmarks and she could drink her fill.

  The meeting went on till around eight-thirty, Nairn only concluding when he’d negotiated the best deal. She’d taken notes, referencing when required, Nairn’s grasp of French impressing her. Although the talks were largely in English, at times the client couldn’t find the words to describe the experience he wanted to set up. Nairn’s French filled the gaps, ensuring translation for her when needed.