He was right about Jordan, though; he certainly wasn’t ruled by his heart, and if he thought the leisure complex was a good investment then it almost certainly was. She couldn’t have been happier for Raff. Although it certainly hadn’t helped her own situation with him. But, knowing her brother as she did, she didn’t even think he would see any of this as a problem; he always saw his personal and business life as completely separate things, and functioned accordingly.
She moistened her lips. ‘What time are you expecting Jordan to arrive?’
‘Mid-morning,’ Raff supplied tersely.
She would make sure she was nowhere in sight at that time, had no wish to make the situation any more taut than it obviously already was.
And any relationship she might have thought was delicately forming between herself and Raff was definitely at an end. She didn’t need Raff to tell her that, she could see exactly how he felt about her now in his face.
Jordan couldn’t have known just how untimely his intrusion had been, but if he thought he was going to get away with doing what he had without being told exactly what Rhea-Jane thought of him, no matter how innocent his motives, he was mistaken!
‘What kept you?’ he drily received her call a few minutes after she had awkwardly excused herself from Raff, leaving him staring after her broodingly in his study.
Rhea-Jane counted to ten before answering her brother—although it didn’t actually seem to cool her anger very much! ‘What do you think ‘‘kept me’’?’ she finally challenged.
‘I have no idea—Quinlan?’ he realised slowly.
‘Don’t sound so surprised, Jordan,’ she scorned. ‘How did you expect him to react to me after you had just told him you knew all the details of a report he believed to be completely confidential, and calmly offered him a business deal?’
‘In a businesslike manner,’ her brother instantly dismissed—as she should have guessed he would!
She wished she could convince Jordan of just how insensitive he had been, but she knew she would be wasting her time and her breath even trying; he just wouldn’t understand.
Perhaps it was enough that he realised she was very angry about what he had done.
‘You’ve made my position here very awkward.’ She stubbornly hung on to her outrage.
‘I don’t see—’
‘Jordan, I’m your sister!’ Her impatient outburst started out high-pitched, and lowered drastically on the last word as Rhea-Jane looked about the hallway guiltily in case anyone should have overheard her. Which was ridiculous. Raff had stormed past her a few minutes ago on the way upstairs to his bedroom, and Mrs Howard would have retired for the night long ago, knowing better than to expect any explanation from Raff for his earlier behaviour.
‘I’m well aware of who you are, Rhea,’ Jordan began in a bored voice.
‘But Raff isn’t!’ she reminded frustratedly.
‘It’s time that particular deception came to an end anyway,’ Jordan dismissed. ‘You’ve proved your point, Rhea, and I’m more than happy to advise the other trustees of Father’s will to release the money to you on your twenty-first birthday.’
She should feel triumphant. Over the moon. It was what she had wanted, what she had entered into this charade for. Her independence. The means to make a life for herself.
But she would have to leave Quinlan House. Leave Raff …
‘What if I’m not ready for the ‘‘deception’’ to come to an end?’ She tried to make light of it, but knew she had failed miserably!
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Rhea.’ All complacency had left Jordan’s voice now, so that he sounded almost as arrogant as Raff himself! ‘I can hardly have my sister working as a secretary to my new business partner!’
No, that wouldn’t do at all, as far as the Somerville-Smythe pride was concerned, Rhea-Jane acknowledged wryly.
‘Has it even occurred to you that he may not want to be your business partner?’ she pointed out drily.
‘He will,’ Jordan returned confidently. ‘If he has any business sense at all!’
No arrogance from Jordan this time, just an assurance of his own capabilities. But he hadn’t met Raff yet, couldn’t quite know what he would be up against, had already antagonised Raff by telephoning in the first place. It was sure to be a case of ‘the irresistible force meeting the immovable object’ when these two men met!
It might be fun, at that.
It was certainly inevitable.
And if it couldn’t be avoided there was no point in trying to run away from it. She certainly wasn’t going to make herself scarce tomorrow now, as Raff wanted her to do.
‘Although I can’t be sure that he does,’ Jordan added mockingly. ‘After all, he did employ you as his secretary!’
‘Very funny,’ she replied sarcastically. ‘We’ll see tomorrow, shall we?’ she taunted.
‘You may as well have your things packed so that you’re ready to leave with me after I’ve spoken to Quinlan,’ Jordan advised uninterestedly before ringing off.
Rhea-Jane frowned at the receiver frustratedly as the disengaged tone came on the line.
Jordan had spoken, so it had to be so!
No wonder she had come close to strangling him several times in her life!
But even so, he was probably right about the packing. And she certainly didn’t think she was going to sleep, anyway …
* * *
She felt as if she were walking on hot coals all morning, unable to even think about concentrating on work, aware of Mrs Howard giving several curious looks in her direction, as she didn’t eat anything for breakfast, but poured herself several cups of coffee instead. The other woman obviously misunderstood her nervousness, and put it down to the sudden strain that seemed to be back in Rhea-Jane’s relationship with Raff. If only it were that simple!
Rhea-Jane was standing at the day-room window when she saw Jordan’s new-style Jaguar turn into the driveway at exactly ten twenty-five, knowing he would have driven the pale blue car himself, hating to give anyone control over his life, even in so small a way.
She felt a certain sisterly pride in him as he stepped out of the car on to the gravel driveway; he was an incredibly handsome individual, completely fit, his dark suit perfectly tailored—as were all his clothes.
He would be an extremely attractive man if he relaxed a little and didn’t take life so seriously all the time.
Rhea-Jane’s first instinct was to run out into the hallway and open the door to him herself. That would appear strange enough in itself to Mrs Howard, she was sure, but if she launched herself into Jordan’s arms, as she longed to do, the other woman was likely to be scandalised, especially as Jordan had supposedly come here to see Raff.
If Raff himself were to witness such an affectionate display, the tenuous hold he had over his self-control was likely to break completely!
She could hear the voices out in the hallway, knew Jordan would be asked to wait there while Mrs Howard went to Raff’s study to tell him his visitor had arrived, if he weren’t already aware of the fact.
The housekeeper had been full of the fact, while she’d poured Rhea-Jane’s coffee that morning, that for once Raff hadn’t gone straight out to work on the estate after his breakfast.
Rhea-Jane couldn’t resist the temptation, while the other woman was absent, of just making Jordan aware of her presence in the house.
Her brother’s mouth quirked mockingly as she strolled so confidently out of the day-room. ‘Quite an impressive place,’ he drawled appreciatively.
She gave an inclination of her head. ‘And it could be made even more so.’
‘That’s what I’m here for,’ Jordan nodded.
It wasn’t quite what she had meant, but she knew Raff’s idea of a leisure complex was the last chance he had to hang on to his estate at all.
‘Jordan, I haven’t had a chance to tell Raff I’m your sister yet, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t do it either.’ She looked at him pleadingly, gen
uinely intending to tell Raff herself who she was, but at a time she thought was right. If ever such a time existed …
Jordan looked sceptical too. ‘I don’t think—’
‘Mr Quinlan will see you now, Mr Somerville-Smythe,’ Mrs Howard spoke softly behind them, and Rhea-Jane was slightly shamefaced as she turned to face the other woman, wondering just how much of their conversation she had overheard.
Poor Mrs Howard must be confused by a whole series of events that had taken place at the house lately—first Rhea-Jane’s unexpected arrival, then the Barnes family deciding to descend on them out of curiosity, and now Jordan. The poor woman must wonder what on earth was going on!
But it was just like Raff to let his housekeeper show Jordan to his study rather than coming out to greet the other man himself, it would put him at an advantage she was sure Jordan was fully aware of; he used these same tactics himself whenever he could!
‘I’ll talk to you later,’ Jordan told her mockingly before following Mrs Howard down the hallway.
Rhea-Jane was even more restless while the two men talked in Raff’s study than she had been while waiting for Jordan to arrive. The two men were too much alike, she acknowledged, to actually like each other, but she had a feeling they would respect each other. As long as Raff’s prejudice, because of what he believed Rhea-Jane’s relationship to be with the other man, didn’t jeopardise the interview. If Raff would just give Jordan a chance …
This was ridiculous; neither man would thank her for worrying over him like a mother hen!
But she couldn’t help her concern, and the longer the meeting went on the more worried she got, finally going down to the kitchen in the hope that she could be of some help there to take her mind off the two men talking in Raff’s study.
When she saw that Mrs Howard was setting up a tray for coffee, Jane knew she had to offer to take the tray up to the two men herself.
‘You know Mr Somerville-Smythe, do you?’ Mrs Howard made the query casually enough, although she was obviously deeply curious to know exactly what all the unusual happenings were about.
But it wasn’t up to Rhea-Jane to enlighten the other woman. ‘From London, yes,’ she answered economically. ‘So I would be pleased to take the tray up for you.’ She smiled brightly.
Mrs Howard tilted her head questioningly. ‘Shall I put on a third cup?’
Hardly! ‘Er—no.’ Rhea-Jane did her best to keep a straight face, but it was difficult when she could so easily envisage Raff’s fury if she should dare to presume to sit down and drink coffee with himself and Jordan. ‘I—they’re discussing business,’ she added dismissively.
The other woman’s curiosity was really aroused now, but Rhea-Jane knew there was no way the other woman would actually ask her what ‘business’ the two men could be ‘discussing’.
She would have liked to be fair, and tell the other woman, but she knew it was up to Raff to tell Mrs Howard if there were to be any changes made on the estate.
There was no guarantee, knowing Raff as she did, that he would agree to Jordan’s financial proposals.
It was difficult knocking on a door when holding a tray in one’s hands. Jane had never quite appreciated the problem before now, finally resorting to a gentle kick against the polished wood, and hoping Mrs Howard would forgive her for the faint mark her soft leather shoe had left on the wood.
Raff’s eyes narrowed as soon as he opened the door and saw it was her standing outside with the laden tray.
‘Coffee,’ she announced brightly, raising the tray pointedly.
He had no choice but to stand back and let her enter to put the tray down on his desk-top.
Well, that wasn’t strictly accurate; he did have a choice, but even he wouldn’t be that rude to her with a third person present in the room!
‘Shall I pour?’ she offered lightly, smiling at no one in particular, knowing that if she looked directly into Raff’s face that he would look furious, and that Jordan would more than probably look amused by her tactics.
‘Why not?’ Raff closed the door behind her with a firm click. ‘I’m sure you know how we both take our coffee.’
Her hand shook slightly as she lifted the coffeepot; she could tell Raff was more angry than she had ever seen him before, more furious even than he had been the previous evening after talking to Jordan on the telephone.
‘And, of course,’ Raff continued hardly, ‘there’s no need to introduce the two of you either, is there?’
‘It would be a little ridiculous, in the circumstances.’ Jordan was the one to drily answer him as Rhea-Jane seemed to be momentarily struck dumb.
Rhea-Jane swallowed hard, not liking the look of the pulse that beat so angrily in Raff’s tightly clenched jaw. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought the coffee after all …!
‘I’ll leave the two of you to continue talking,’ she told them hastily, turning to leave.
‘That won’t be necessary,’ Raff grated, his eyes glacial when she at last chanced a look at his face, and she turned quickly away again from the antagonism she saw there. ‘We’ve finished talking business, there only remains the question of … you.’
She raised startled eyes to his. ‘Me?’ she echoed dazedly, looking questioningly at Jordan, wondering what he had said to the other man about her, receiving only a puzzled shrug in reply; he no more knew what the other man had meant than she did.
And then Rhea-Jane knew. Of course, Raff still believed she and Jordan were lovers …!
‘Yes?’ she prompted tensely, her head held back proudly, the hair that so troubled him like a flame down her spine.
‘Rhea-Jane will be leaving with me, of course,’ Jordan announced arrogantly.
Raff’s eyes glittered dangerously as the other man at last revealed her full first name to him. ‘Surely that is for—Rhea-Jane to decide?’ he challenged softly.
She looked at the two men, realising that they might have come to terms over business—at least, she hoped they had!—but that she, obviously as far as Raff was concerned, was another matter entirely.
She suddenly realised what a bone, that was being fought after by two dogs, must feel like!
Jordan shook his head. ‘There can be no question of her staying on here now.’
Raff’s mouth tightened at the other man’s arrogance, his eyes icy as he looked across at Rhea-Jane. ‘Do you want to move back in with him?’ he rasped.
What was the alternative? What was Raff offering in its place?
Jordan stood up restlessly, his eyes narrowed. ‘Just what has been going on here the last couple of weeks, Rhea? I thought you said this was just a job?’
Her cheeks felt warm, but she was filled with confusion over Raff’s behaviour. ‘I don’t—’
‘Do you want to live with him?’ Raff cut in harshly, his whole body taut with tension. ‘Or stay here with me?’
With him? Was he serious? He looked very serious indeed!
‘I don’t need saving from myself, Raff, no matter what you may have assumed to the contrary,’ she assured him, unable to think of any other reason for his offering to let her stay on here. ‘You see, Jordan is—’
‘Very wealthy, very influential,’ Raff acknowledged grimly. ‘But is that really what you want, a rich lover?’
‘You know it isn’t—’
‘I don’t have the wealth—yet,’ Raff told her grimly. ‘Although if the leisure complex venture turns out as profitable as Somerville-Smythe believes it will, that will change in the future. I don’t know if you love me, but I do know, from your responses to me, that you aren’t in love with him.’ He nodded in Jordan’s direction. ‘And I’m willing to offer you marriage, Rhea,’ he added challengingly.
Marriage? He wanted to marry her?
She looked at him searchingly; he didn’t look like a man who had just proposed marriage to her.
Because what he was doing was dangling a gold ring in front of her nose, because he believed it was the one thing Jordan had never offere
d her!
‘Rhea,’ Jordan spoke harshly. ‘You haven’t answered my question.’
And he wanted to know exactly what had been ‘going on’ while she had been staying here, she could tell by his tone of voice that he wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less.
‘Stop trying to intimidate her,’ Raff warned softly. ‘She can make her own mind up.’
Jordan looked at him coldly. ‘My dear man—’
‘I’m not your ‘‘dear’’ anything,’ Raff rasped.
‘All right—Quinlan,’ Jordan bit out in a barely controlled voice. ‘I don’t know what Rhea has told you about the two of us—’ he frowned darkly at Rhea before continuing ‘—but you seem to be under some misapprehension about our relationship. I am not, nor have I ever been, some sort of rich protector for her. I am, in fact—’
‘Jordan, no!’ she groaned, knowing everything would change once Raff knew who she really was. And she hadn’t answered his suggestion of marriage yet!
Her brother gave her an angry scowl. ‘If there was some sort of problem here you should have corrected it before I arrived this morning,’ he criticised harshly. ‘I told you last night—’
‘Last night?’ Raff echoed suspiciously. ‘You telephoned Somerville-Smythe after we talked last night?’
She grimaced. ‘Yes. But I—’
‘Just what sort of hold do you have on her?’ Raff turned angrily on the other man.
‘No hold, Quinlan,’ Jordan told him calmly. ‘Just one of the closest relationships possible between a man and a woman. Are you going to end this ridiculous farce, or am I?’ he prompted Rhea-Jane impatiently.
‘The two of you are—married?’ Raff said disbelievingly.
‘Hell, no,’ Jordan denied derisively. ‘If we were I would have put her over my knee and given her a good hiding by now! I may still do so,’ he added, looking at her challengingly.
She gave him a dismissive movement of her hand, moving to stand in front of Raff, putting her hand on his arm as she looked up at him. ‘Do you really want to marry me?’
‘I would hardly have asked you if I hadn’t meant it,’ he grated.
Now probably wasn’t the time to point out to him that he hadn’t actually asked her, just offered her an alternative to living with Jordan!
Fated Attraction Page 10