Strictly Business (Heads or Hearts), page 11
‘But it’s what got us into this trouble.’
‘We’re not in trouble.’
Perhaps he was right. Besides, she couldn’t resist his kiss. And he gave her little option. His mouth claimed her, calmed her. With her eyes closed she relaxed into him and it was perfect – a deliciously sensual and unhurried kiss, different from the passion and fire of their kisses in the past.
There was a tenderness, a loving lingering, as if they both felt just a little overawed by the astonishing, deeper connection of impending parenthood.
When at last they broke apart, Liam buried his face in her hair, ‘Even without a baby in the picture, whatever has happened between us is more than just sex, Alice.’
‘I know,’ she whispered.
His lips brushed her ear. ‘I think you should marry me.’
Marriage. Alice went very still in his arms.
Here it was again; another proposal. Every part of her wanted Liam. But marriage? Could she make a commitment like that? So soon?
It was so tempting, but was it just an easy way to avoid the problems of pregnancy out of wedlock?
She knew she was madly attracted to this man – almost certainly in love with him. But how could she be sure it wasn’t for all the wrong reasons? Liam Conway was powerful and rich, a sensational lover and oh, so divine looking – in other words, every woman’s dream.
But did she know the real man?
At sixteen, Todd had been the epitome of most high school girls’ dreams and she’d fallen for the whole gorgeous footballer thing. But when she got to know Todd inside the harsh day-to-day realities of married life there had been so many disappointments. Those disappointments had created little rifts at first, but over time the gaps had widened and deepened until the damage was irreparable.
One failed marriage had been a nightmare; another would be more than she could bear.
Liam was waiting for her answer. She could feel the tension in his arms as he sensed her struggle. She closed her eyes, wishing this wasn’t so hard.
‘It’s too soon, isn’t it?’ he said.
A little sigh of relief escaped her. He understood. She nodded against his shoulder, but then she lifted her head. ‘That’s not the only reason.’
‘You have a string of reasons for rejecting me?’
It was impossible to discuss this while she was curled on his lap. She hoisted herself onto her feet and stood facing him.
It was time to be sensible.
‘You know I’ve just ended one marriage, Liam. I’m not ready to dive into another.’
He nodded slowly, his eyes stern, his reactions unreadable.
‘And, as I said before, I wouldn’t want you to marry me just because you feel obliged to.’
Liam’s jaw tightened and he flicked his gaze away from her to a woven hanging of rainforest trees and palms on her far wall.
‘In many ways you’re still a stranger,’ she said, glad that he wasn’t looking her in the eye. ‘I didn’t even know you had a brother who died until a few minutes ago.’
But they both knew that what they had shared a few minutes before had not been a stranger’s kiss.
Perhaps Liam was thinking the same thing. He turned back to her. ‘We’re hardly strangers, Alice. It may be only a few weeks since we met, but we’ve shared a near death experience and we’ve created a new life. How many couples achieve that in such a short time? Every relationship has its own time line.’
‘But marriage is something else again. You don’t know anything about marriage, Liam.’ She rubbed at the carpet with the sole of a bare foot. ‘Marriage isn’t just about the big moments. It’s day in, day out living with a person. That’s when all the little things begin to matter.’
‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘I accept that.’ His fingers traced a pattern on the arm of the chair. ‘And thanks to your ex, your ability to trust your instincts has taken a battering.’
She nodded.
Liam’s head dropped to one side as he frowned at her. ‘You look tired. Perhaps we should talk about this some other time.’
‘If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to get this sorted out now. And I’m too wired to try to sleep now, anyhow.’
He waved her towards the sofa. ‘Then for heaven’s sake take the weight off your feet.’
Obediently, she sank into the deep chocolate velvet sofa opposite him and curled her feet beneath her.
As Liam watched her, his mouth curved in a small, sardonic smile. ‘So, how far down your list are we? I must say I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so soundly rejected.’
‘Have you been rejected before?’ she asked, surprised.
‘Yes,’ he said calmly. ‘Once. It seems a long time ago now.’
He didn’t seem particularly upset by the memory, but crazily enough, Alice felt jealous of the woman Liam had once loved. She wanted to ask him about her, but how could she do that when she was slap bang in the middle of yet another rejection?
‘Maybe you should tell me why you think we should be married, Liam?
His shoulders rose and fell quickly as if he’d drawn a sharp breath. And Alice wondered what had happened to her own breathing.
If Liam spoke of love, if he promised her undying devotion, her common sense would fly out the window. She would be helpless, lost in her need for him, at sea with his love as her only life belt.
‘I want to offer you protection,’ he said. ‘To shield you. I hate the thought of people in the office or other business associates making you feel uncomfortable – talking about you behind your back.’
His answer was exactly what she’d expected, what she’d feared. ‘That’s – that’s very gallant. But I’m afraid people would only talk about our shotgun wedding instead.’
In the dim lighting his eyes watched her with an intense, ferocious blaze. ‘So you’re determined that marriage is out of the question.’
If you don’t love me. ‘Yes. I’m still getting over a bad marriage experience. I need time.’
A barely perceptible tremor ran through him, shocking Alice so that she almost dashed across the room to wrap him in a bear hug.
‘So,’ he said, recovering quickly. ‘Let’s talk about alternatives.’
Somehow, alternatives didn’t sound as appealing as they should have. Alice struggled to remember that she had to be sensible.
‘I’m not sure what you mean by alternatives, but I must admit I’m not too keen about having everyone in the office watching me as I grow bigger and fatter with the boss’s baby. I think I should resign.’
Liam frowned and his fingers drummed a tattoo on the arm of the chair. ‘Don’t resign. Take leave. You can take it for as long as you want. If you like, you could even do some work from home. You could concentrate on a total revamp of our outback tour contacts.’
‘Okay. Actually that would be wonderful. Thank you.’ She would relish having as much time as she needed to gather all the updated information from the outback-tourist options.
‘What other problems do you foresee?’ Liam asked her.
‘I don’t think there are any others that involve you.’
‘I’m your baby’s father. I’m involved. Get used to it, Alice.’
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WELL, well, Alice thought, Liam might be talking about fatherhood, but clearly he was back in boss-mode, supremely comfortable with making decisions and planning strategies.
‘What about your family?’ he asked her. ‘How will they react?’
Wincing, she closed her eyes. ‘I’m afraid they still haven’t forgiven me for the divorce. I’m not sure how I’m going to pluck up the courage to tell them about this.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
Her eyes flashed open. ‘No, Liam. I don’t expect you, to –’
‘As I said, I’m involved. Get used to it. We’ll take your parents to dinner somewhere tasteful and discreet and we’ll tell them in a very adult and civilised manner exactly what’s happened and they’ll respond in an equally adult and civilised manner.’
Alice stared at him with her mouth open. Just like that, he’d hit on the perfect solution. It would work. She knew it. Liam would win her parents over with his effortless charm and the aunts, too, if necessary.
‘And I’d like you to meet Julia and my nephew, Jack,’ he said.
Goodness that was unexpected. Alice was gaping again. Liam had always been so secretive about his personal life.
She could sense his steely resolve. ‘I’m going to help you through this, Alice.’ He jumped to his feet. ‘But now I really must let you get some sleep.’
Alice rose, too. She wasn’t quite sure how to say goodbye; Liam had become so businesslike in the past few minutes. ‘Thank you for coming.’
He was tapping his phone. ‘I’ll just call a cab.’
‘Don’t you have a car yet?’ She couldn’t help asking this after Shana’s dark mutterings about the story in the paper.
His face turned blank. ‘No, I don’t need one.’
Given everything that had transpired this evening, it wasn’t the moment to start quizzing Liam about why he didn’t drive. But as he left her that night, dropping a light kiss on her forehead before heading outside to wait for the taxi, she realised that for all his involvement in her life, there was still a great deal she didn’t know about the man.
Over the following weekend Alice cleared her desk and on Monday morning she began transforming her spare bedroom into a home office. She already had a lap top and a beautiful English oak desk that she’d had since the days when she still lived with her parents. Now she made space on the bookshelves for files, set a row of green glass tortoises on the window sill, shopped for a cork board, a filing cabinet, a cordless phone and a new leafy pot plant to brighten the room.
Lunch was a mug of tomato soup – and an apple – for the baby.
But she was so keen to start work that she munched this at her desk. She was munching when the phone rang.
‘Well done.’
‘Is that you, Liam?’ A piece of apple slid a little too quickly down her throat. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘You’ve just secured the long term future of Kanga Tours.’
‘I’ve what?’
‘You’ve impressed the hell out of our most important potential investor – Kenny Toh from Asia Pacific Investments.’
‘Oh, Mr. Toh. Yes, I remember him. He was in the office last week with his wife and daughter, on their way home to Singapore, but I didn’t know he was from Asia Pacific.’
‘Apparently he did a little spying – came in with his family and posed as a tourist. And you provided him with exceptional customer service, attention to detail, courtesy, cultural awareness and professionalism.’
‘Is that what he said?’
‘Yes, just now, in an email.’
‘Are you sure it was me?’
‘Yes, he was very specific and he wants you to look after his family’s bookings when they come back for a holiday. You’ve no idea what this means to me, Alice. Asia Pacific are huge and I really need their backing. I spent half my time in Sydney looking after Kenny, but he was still lukewarm when he left. Wasn’t promising anything.’
‘But he’s definitely come on board now?’
‘The contract documents for an investment agreement will be in the Sydney office tomorrow.’
‘Well, that’s terrific. Congratulations.’
‘The congratulations are all yours. I owe this to you.’
‘Well... I’m pleased,’ she said, glad Liam couldn’t see how broadly she was grinning.
Liam was grinning at his desk too, but his expression sobered when Dennis Ericson marched pompously through his doorway.
‘Right, Conway, I want to have a word with you.’
Leaning back in his chair, Liam met his employee with a level gaze. ‘I’m pleased to see you’ve taken advantage of my open door policy, Dennis.’
‘Well, I suspect you’re planning to sack me anyhow, so I can risk speaking my mind.’
‘You’d better take a seat.
Dennis looked a little taken aback, but he sat and squared his shoulders. ‘I hope you understand what a stupid, lousy thing you’ve done.’
Liam’s right eyebrow rose. ‘I’m all ears.’
‘In case you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about Alice. I’ve just heard that she’s left us.’
‘Alice has elected to work from home.’
‘Yeah, whatever. The first phase of downsizing the staff, more likely. Look, Conway, you’ve just lost your best employee. Alice was the finest worker we’ve ever had here. She’s a wonderful woman.’
Liam acknowledged this with a silent nod of his head. ‘Is that the only thing upsetting you?’
‘You must know it’s been the talk of the office – you and her.’
‘You don’t approve of us?’
Dennis squared his jaw. ‘Alice’s husband was a bastard. And, unfortunately, some women just keep making the same mistake, over and over.’
‘Is that all?’
‘Not quite. Alice should never have been put in a position where she felt she had to leave us.’
Liam smiled slowly. ‘That’s the spirit, Dennis,’ he said quietly.
The other man’s jaw dropped. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘What you’ve just said is exactly what I’d expect to hear from one of Alice’s loyal friends. I’ll take your comments on board.’
‘B-but w - what’s going to happen?’
‘About?’
‘Alice’s position. And – and our jobs.’
‘I’ll get back to you. You’ll be fully briefed at our staff meeting this afternoon.’
Dennis opened his mouth, but he didn’t speak and he forgot to shut it again.
‘Good morning,’ said Liam, looking rather deliberately at his watch.
Dennis left with his mouth still hanging open.
‘You’re what?’ Mary-Ann’s voice was close to a squeal.
‘Pregnant,’ Alice repeated as she handed her friend a mug of coffee, having made a peppermint tea for herself.
‘But I thought you were supposed to be infertile.’
‘Yeah, so did I.’
It was the end of Alice’s first day of self-imposed exile and she was so pleased that Mary-Ann had called in on the way home from work.
‘Oh, my God, Alice, what a shock for you.’
Alice had to laugh at the totally gob-smacked way her friend stared at her as they carried their mugs out to the back deck.
‘Watch out. You’re about to walk into the door post,’ Alice warned her.
‘Woops.’ Mary-Ann set her mug on the table and let out an amazed breath as she sank into a wicker chair. ‘A baby! Wow! That’s so amazing.’ She fanned her face with her hand. ‘Woo! It’s taking me a minute or two to adjust – you and the boss. Oh, boy.’
‘Yes, I know. That’s exactly why I’ve decided to work from home. Can you imagine what it would be like if I was there in the office growing more and more pregnant with the boss’s baby?’
‘It would be kinda weird for him, too, when he’s just arrived and trying to establish himself,’ Mary-Ann admitted. ‘Thank God he’s not married after all, Alice.’
‘Yes,’ Alice agreed fervently.
‘So... how’s he taking this?’
‘Oh, he’s adjusted to the shock quite well really.’ Mary-Ann was a good friend, but Alice didn’t want to go into too much detail. There was always a risk that something could slip out and her comments could get back to Liam via the staff gossip chain.
‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’ll get married?’
‘Not in the foreseeable future.’ Alice stalled further discussion of that by posing a question of her own. ‘Have I caused much of a stir in the office?’
‘Oh, about 8 on the Richter Scale. Dennis was so worked up about you he went and confronted the boss.’
‘Good grief.’ Alice tried to picture that volatile scenario and gave up. ‘What happened?’
‘Actually, you won’t believe it. Liam Conway’s a Mystery Man all right. Just when we thought we had him worked out he surprised us again.’
‘What do you mean?’ Alice hoped she didn’t sound too anxious. Mysteries surrounding Liam were her biggest stumbling block.
‘Well...’ Mary-Ann nursed her coffee mug between two hands as she warmed to her story. ‘This afternoon we were all lined up for the big sermon about the future direction of the company and our job prospects and so on, and the first thing the boss did was single out Dennis.’
‘Ouch. He shouldn’t have gone into bat for me. I hope that wasn’t the end of him?’
‘No. This is what takes the cake. First, Liam gave Dennis a short, but pretty fair assessment of his shortcomings. You know – a bit aggressive, can be over-pedantic, prone to conspiracy theories. And just when we all thought Dennis was going to pack up and walk out, the boss said that Dennis’s strength was that he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind if it was in the best interests of the company.’
Mary-Ann paused dramatically and took a sip of her coffee.
‘And?’ prompted Alice. ‘For heaven’s sake, tell me what happened.’
‘Liam promoted him.’
Alice almost dropped her mug. ‘Wow.’
‘Liam’s sending him off on special courses in risk management and Dennis is going to be a sort of company guard dog, dealing with things like – you know – operators who might be taking short-cuts with safety for our clients.’
‘But that’s a great idea. Dennis would be perfect.’
‘I know. It was a brilliant stroke. Dennis can’t wipe the grin off his face.’
Well done, Liam, Alice thought with a hint of undeserved pride. As she set down her mug, she asked, ‘What about you and Shana? Any dramas there?’
‘No.’ Mary-Ann said this just a little too quickly. ‘Actually, I don’t really want to worry you, but Shana’s making a bit of a fool of herself.’
Alice drew a deep breath. ‘How?’
‘She’s hanging around Liam like you wouldn’t believe. And she’s volunteered to drive him so often we’re thinking of buying her a chauffeur’s cap.’
Alice wished she hadn’t asked.
