God, but she wished she could’ve hurled all she knew about him across the dinner table. Not only had it not been the right time or place, but it would’ve stymied any chance the foundation had in purchasing Hertherington Park and would’ve led to questions about what Sarah was doing on the Russian billionaire’s yacht in the first place.
Now she was suffering after a second sleepless night.
Confrontation always sucked the energy out of her and left her shaken. She’d tried to sleep but all she could think of was how badly she’d handled the whole encounter.
It rankled that he’d had the nerve to act as though she was the unreasonable one. Okay, he hadn’t known why she was so rude, but he had no right to sit there on his high horse as though he was everything civil and she was a piece of work. Even if his evening on the yacht had been a one-off—which she doubted—his behaviour was something she could never forgive.
Now she was about to learn whether her run-in with Nick had tainted her business dealings with his sister. Sarah could hardly blurt out to Jocelyn that Nick had forced himself on a girl who was only just of legal age. It wasn’t as though she had any proof.
‘Sorry to keep you waiting, Sarah!’ Jocelyn swept into the waiting area in a light mist of floral perfume.
‘Hi, Jocelyn.’
Jocelyn lowered her voice. ‘I haven’t spoken to Nick this morning but I’ve seen today’s papers. I hope that whatever happened last night between you and my brother isn’t going to flow over to your work here?’
‘Absolutely not.’
With a brisk nod, Jocelyn buried the whole matter. ‘Good. We won’t ever speak of it again.’ With normal volume she added, ‘I’m super excited you’re here. Let’s go and meet my team.’
Thank the Lord for that.
As they left the main reception area and walked down the long hall past the design rooms, Sarah was embraced by the familiarity of the workings of a fashion house and she started to relax.
As she met one employee after another she was struck by a marked difference between this design house and Eduardo’s. Everyone here was sunny and up-beat, interacting easily with Jocelyn. They all seemed to be having fun.
By contrast, the employees at Eduardo’s had tiptoed around the temperamental design genius as though they were afraid to incur his displeasure. It was hard to remember if there’d been any laughter in the work rooms at Eduardo’s. Probably not. She’d seen him rip various employees to pieces from time to time over the littlest issue.
Gran had always said that when one door closed, another one—often a better one—opened. Sarah was definitely going to enjoy working for Henderson’s.
‘And now, you’re going to meet one of my youngest designers whose work for her own label within the house—Zest—is very popular with the younger members of the British royal family and other young European royals. You’ll be modelling a lot of her work, so I’m going to leave you with her to give her a chance to measure you up and for you to get to know each other. Then, I’ll come back and take you up to the production rooms.’ Jocelyn arrived at another glass-walled office and pushed open the door to interrupt a lady who had her head bent as she sketched away. ‘Good morning. I’ve brought Sarah to meet you.’
The young woman looked up from her work.
Oh—my—God.
Sarah stopped abruptly and felt her head jerk forward and her eyes widen as Jocelyn made the introductions.
‘Sarah, this is my most talented young designer, Crystal Evans. Crystal, I’m delighted to introduce you to Sarah Bryant.’
It was Crystal—the girl from the yacht—the girl Nick Henderson had forced himself upon. It was unbelievable!
Before Sarah could even think of anything to say, Crystal spoke.
‘Good morning, Sarah. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve been a huge fan for years.’
Okay. Sarah took her cue from the young designer and former would-be model. ‘Er … Thanks.’
‘Well, I’m going to leave you both to it and run off to another meeting.’ Jocelyn looked at her watch. ‘I should be back in a little over half an hour.’
‘I’ll take good care of her,’ Crystal promised.
When Jocelyn closed the door behind her, Crystal came around from the other side of her desk and moved a chair closer to Sarah. ‘You look like you could use a seat. I’m sorry you’ve had such a shock seeing me. I knew we’d be meeting today otherwise I would’ve had a shock as well.’
Anguish pressed in on Sarah and she ignored the proffered chair. ‘Oh, Crystal. I’ve thought of you so often since that night.’
‘Well, here I am, doing well.’ She smiled as she touched her right hand to her abdomen. The action drew Sarah’s attention to the slight swell there. ‘I’m happily married, expecting my first child and having a blast here having worked my way up through the ranks to be a fashion designer.’
‘I’m so pleased to hear it.’ Thank God her life had turned out well when it could’ve turned out so differently.
‘And here you are, the world’s top model.’
Sarah bit down on her lower lip as regrets crashed in on her. ‘I’m so sorry for what you went through that night. I’m ashamed I was too scared to save you.’
A small frown marred Crystal’s forehead. ‘As I remember, you tried to warn me. Unfortunately I was too young, too headstrong and too tipsy by that stage, to listen to you.’ She lowered her gaze for a moment as she admitted. ‘I was going through a bit of a rough patch and I was the typical rebellious teenager.’
‘We were lured onto the yacht, Crystal. The so-called talent scout lied to us.’
‘Yes. It could’ve been a disaster.’ She leant back against the edge of her desk. ‘Although I wasn’t happy at the time—I was saved from my own folly. I got away unscathed. But, I’ve always wondered how you managed to avoid being rounded up by the water police. I didn’t see you in the group as I left the yacht and didn’t see your name in the newspaper.’
It was Sarah’s turn to frown. ‘What do you mean you got away unscathed?’ With sudden clarity, this current situation made no sense. ‘Hang on! What on earth are you doing working here at Henderson’s? I saw you being forced into a stateroom. Don’t you realise that the guy who … who did that to you, is Jocelyn Henderson’s brother?’
‘You saw us?’
‘I saw you crying and telling him to let you go.’ Shame made her feel totally wretched. ‘I couldn’t do anything. I’d never have been able to overpower him and I figured raising the alarm would be useless—you were already crying out and nobody was coming to help.’
‘Where were you?’
‘Hiding in a cupboard feeling all sorts of miserable that I didn’t dare come to your aid.’ There it was. She was exposed for the coward she’d been. ‘I had nightmares about it for weeks. I can’t believe you’re working for his sister now.’
Crystal laughed even as she looked aghast. ‘Oh, Sarah! I’m so sorry it’s troubled you all this time. Nick would never hurt me. He’s my brother-in-law and he was there to save me from myself.’
‘What?’
She nodded. ‘He was married to my sister at the time.’
‘He was there to rescue you?’
‘Absolutely. There to rescue me and not for any other reason.’
Oh no. All her impressions of what had happened that night—all her biases against Nick—came crashing down around her. Legs unsteady, Sarah now sank gratefully into the chair Crystal had offered earlier. ‘I thought …’ What an idiot she’d been. Worse—her rude behaviour towards him had been totally uncalled for!
‘Oh no!’ Crystal groaned. ‘Didn’t you have dinner with him last night?’
Crystal obviously hadn’t seen this morning’s papers, but that was another discussion.
Sarah pressed her palm against her forehead as the gears in her mind shifted frantically to make sense of the situation. ‘I hated him for years without knowing who he was. I’ve hated myself for not having had the guts
to try to help you.’
‘Geez, Sarah, we were little more than kids. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Besides, if he had been a threat to me and you’d exposed yourself, you would’ve ended up a victim as well.’
It’s what Sarah had told herself at the time but it still didn’t ease her guilt.
‘Believe me,’ Crystal continued, ‘Nick wouldn’t have been anywhere near those other men if my mother hadn’t learned of my plans. She phoned Nick the second she found out what I was planning and he wrangled an invitation through some obscure connection. Although I resented his interference at the time, it was just as well he managed to get on board before the yacht left. While you and I were tucked away chatting, he scoured the yacht to try to find me. When he finally did—and had me secured away in the stateroom—he called the police.’
Far out. Sarah had got it so wrong.
She felt as though her insides dropped and now there was a massive hole in her abdomen. ‘All this time I thought he raped you.’
Crystal’s eyes widened. ‘Oh Lord no! Nick would never … Oh dear.’ The designer’s features worked in a way that told Sarah she didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. ‘Nick dragged me kicking and screaming in there and gave me a huge lecture to point out a lot of ugly home truths. Then, he stopped my name being dragged through the newspapers. He also got me this job, suggesting I work in the fashion industry to see if modelling was really what I wanted to do.’
Sarah felt sick. ‘I’ve made a dreadful mistake. I have to apologise to him.’
Crystal’s mouth fell open and horror spread across her features. ‘Oh no, Sarah. Last night …’ Sarah must’ve turned green because the designer asked, ‘What did you do?’
‘We didn’t get as far as having dinner.’ She wrung her hands together in her lap. ‘I owe your brother-in-law a huge apology.’ And she was compelled to right her enormous wrong immediately. ‘Is there any way you can find out where he is now? I really need to see him straight away.’
He’d been a hero not a villain.
He hadn’t deserved any of her disdain or her fury.
Crystal looked at Sarah as though she’d lost her mind. ‘I can call him and find out where he is if it’s so important to you.’
‘Would you, please?’
‘As in right now?’
‘If you don’t mind.’
‘What about the rest of your meetings here?’
Stop and take a breath, Sarah.
Crystal was right. Once again Sarah was reacting rather than thinking things through properly. It was a bad habit she had to curb.
‘I’m sorry. I’m not thinking straight. I’ve behaved horribly to your brother-in-law and now I realise I misinterpreted his actions that night, I owe him the hugest apology for my behaviour.’ She shook her head and tried to calm herself but still felt claws of guilt scratching frantically at her insides. She’d never developed a thick skin and she absolutely hated being out of sorts with people—especially when she was the one at fault. ‘When I’ve done the wrong thing it eats away at me and I find it very hard to function normally. I’m feeling physically ill right now and the only way I’m going to feel better is if I can sort out this huge misunderstanding.’
Crystal tilted her head a little. ‘You poor love. You’re way too hard on yourself.’
‘No. I behaved really badly and of course, he had no idea why.’
‘I’d say you’re worrying too much.’ She reached behind her to grab her mobile phone from her desk. ‘Nick’s fairly easy going. I’m sure he won’t hold it against you.’
Sarah wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t accept her apology easily. She’d been downright objectionable the entire time she’d been with him and he’d had no inkling she’d behaved so coldly because she thought she was dealing with a rapist.
‘Sarah?’
‘I’m sorry. What did you say?’ Trapped in her horror, Sarah belatedly realised Crystal had spoken.
Crystal shook her head. ‘I’m going to give Nick a ring straight away. Don’t worry. I’ll find out where he’s going to be in a few hours and you can go and see him as soon as Jocelyn has finished with you.’
Sarah hoped she could stem the roiling of her stomach during that time.
What an idiot she’d been.
Chapter 8
Nick poured over documents with his partners in the boardroom at their London corporate offices. ‘The figures for the brewery are looking good.’
‘Better than projected,’ Max added. ‘I’d like to back the proposal we received from the young guy who’s working in the distillery and invest in a few more six-thousand-litre traditional copper pot stills.’
‘Yeah. Tim seems pretty switched on,’ Nick agreed. ‘We go with his idea to produce gin?’
‘I think so,’ Luca commented. ‘He’s young but he’s got good qualifications and I’m confident about his read on the market.’
Nick agreed. It was great to be able to be in a position where they could reward the initiative of their staff. Tim had come to them with a solid proposal and had reminded them all of themselves when they’d been his age.
Their employee had done his homework, put together a professional and thorough proposal and was hungry for success. He’d be an asset to them and Nick could see him rising up the ranks pretty quickly.
‘Excuse me, gentlemen.’ Nick’s secretary appeared at the boardroom door. Generally the epitome of cool professionalism, something had her cheeks flushed with excitement. ‘Mr Henderson, Sarah Bryant—as in the Sarah Bryant supermodel—is here asking to see you.’
Bloody hell. The woman was as bold as brass. She insulted him last night, issued him with an ultimatum and now she had the audacity to turn up at his office?
What the hell did she want?
Not happy with having robbed him of his appetite for dinner, had she now decided she was going to spoil his lunch as well?
Slight pain radiated through Nick’s jaw and he realised he needed to unclench his molars.
‘Well. Well.’ A smile played around Luca’s mouth.
Max sat back and arched an eyebrow at Nick. ‘She’s in an awful hurry to see you again after what you described as an absolute fiasco of an evening.’
Ignoring both his friends, Nick asked his secretary, ‘Did she happen to mention why she wanted to meet?’
‘Er …’ The unflappable Mrs Jenkins who’d been in his employ for the last ten years was apparently not so unflappable after all. ‘I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t think to ask. She said it was personal and I know you two had a date last night and … ’
‘Mrs Jenkins,’ Max said with a slight click of his tongue against his palate. ‘Could it be that you’re star struck?’
Admonished, the middle-aged woman’s cheeks dimpled. ‘I admit I am. She’s even more beautiful in the flesh and ever so nice.’
Ever so nice? His secretary had to be bloody-well kidding.
‘I don’t know how she manages to fool everyone,’ Nick muttered.
Luca and Max both laughed.
‘She said it was very important she see you as soon as possible, sir.’
Luca sent him a pointed look. ‘Well, Nick?’
‘I think this is pretty much a wrap for this morning,’ Max added. ‘Jenna drove to London with me and I said I’d meet her for lunch so why don’t we resume this afternoon?’
‘Not too late though,’ Luca stipulated. ‘I want to be back in Rome before my children are tucked in for the night.’
‘Are you sure you two don’t want to stay here and meet this “ever so nice” woman who appears to reserve her charm for everyone but me? I can always meet Jenna for lunch, Max,’ Nick offered. ‘You can wait here and slay the dragon.’
Max laughed. ‘We’d hardly deprive you of your fun.’
‘I should damned well make her wait all afternoon,’ Nick grumbled.
‘Except that you’re not so mean spirited,’ Max said with a smile.
‘Oh, for the love of
God, just see the woman.’ Luca shook his head. ‘She might’ve been having a bad day yesterday.’
A bad day yesterday and the day before? Unlikely.
‘She might be here to apologise,’ his Italian friend added.
‘Apologise?’ Nick all but spluttered. ‘Yeah, right. And we’re also about to find out that Martians have landed at Greenwich.’
‘Interesting that you’re the only person who doesn’t think she’s charming,’ Luca said.
‘Oh, you’re in for a shock if you ever meet her,’ he told Luca. ‘Charming she is definitely not.’
‘Yes, we remember your scathing description of her.’ Max looked as though he suppressed a smile. ‘Rude. Cold. Arrogantly obnoxious. Demanding. Unreasonable. Have I missed any adjectives there, Luca?’
Luca grinned. ‘I think you’ve remembered the most salient ones Nick used. Funny how well she hides her fangs and claws when she does her modelling.’
‘Oh, I hope she signs up for this documentary and gives you both merry hell,’ Nick pronounced with a bitter laugh.
‘Sir?’ Mrs Jenkins ventured with a puzzled expression.
He let out a breath of sufferance. ‘Yes, Mrs Jenkins, show her in.’
Relief cleared away the furrow that had appeared between his secretary’s eyebrows. ‘Straight away, sir.’
‘Hmm. Could be Mrs Jenkins isn’t just star struck but has it in her head to play matchmaker.’ Luca chuckled.
‘Absolutely no bloody way,’ Nick denied hotly. ‘Maleficent has nothing on this woman.’
‘You’ve been watching too many Disney movies with Katie.’ Luca stood and gave Nick a slap on the shoulder. ‘You definitely need someone to play matchmaker.’
Nick didn’t want or need anyone to play matchmaker, but Luca had a point about the movies. He loved the way his daughter still cuddled up to him as they watched a movie but would be pleased when she started to enjoy a bit of action or drama.
‘Our cue to exit,’ Max declared as he gathered up the papers spread out in front of him on the long boardroom table and slipped them into his briefcase.
‘Play nice, Nick,’ Luca urged. ‘Despite what you told us earlier, remember that Sarah Bryant has huge marketing value. There’s no question she’s a woman who makes the world sit up and pay attention and that’s exactly what we need.’
Seduced by the Billionaire Page 8