The price war was, in the meantime, waging strong. Payne lowered their prices two more times, but each time Mason Steel was able to beat them with even lower prices.
Diana, becoming too tired to commute from her apartment to the New York office, began to stay in Alex’s apartment at his insistence while he was away. She was too tired to even feel nervous about the situation or to care if he were to come home unexpectedly. She was working an average of twelve hours a day, and sometimes more than twelve, so when she finally got to the apartment she barely took time to strip off her clothes before she fell into bed. It was a big relief when Alex called her one night to let her know that the repairs on the Philadelphia plant were finished, and that it should be producing normally within the next three days. That meant that he should be home and able to take over most of the decision-making within the next week. Diana felt a surge of triumph at his words. With the Philadelphia foundry back in operation, there was no doubt. Mason Steel could beat Payne at the price war.
Diana made a mental note to herself, as Alex was talking, to be out of his apartment in the next few days. That way, she would be able to avoid any unforeseen contact with him and keep things on a comfortable and businesslike basis. Circumstances had been a little unusual, but in a short time things would be back to normal. She hung up at the end of the conversation, telling herself that she was only pleased that he was coming home so that he could take some of the work load off of her hands. However, that did not account for her ridiculously happy feeling whenever she thought about seeing him again.
The next day, she left work to go to Alex’s apartment for the last time. She was too tired to pack her few odds and ends that night, so she went to bed promising herself that the next morning she would put her things into her overnight case and be gone by the time Alex would be back. As she stood in the spare bedroom she’d been using, she flexed her shoulders tiredly. She had put in another twelve hours today and she was beginning to feel the strain. I can’t keep this up much longer, she thought. Alex, please come home. She crawled into bed slowly, falling asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.
A sound woke her up. She lay in bed frowning sleepily into the darkness, trying to figure out what had woken her. Then she heard a door somewhere in the apartment close softly. It was a small and furtive movement, as if someone was trying to make as little noise as possible. As if, Diana thought, somebody knew she was there…Alex. Alex was back before he had planned.
“Oh, blast it!” she muttered, throwing off her covers with exasperation. She would never sleep until she’d found out for sure if it was Alex or not, which meant a meeting that she had wanted to avoid. She put on her dressing gown and, belting it tightly around her waist, went out into the living room. The lamp by the couch was turned on, a soft and mellow light which nonetheless made her blink. She ran a hand through her hair impatiently to get it out of her eyes. Alex was standing with his back to the hallway, over by the bookcase pouring himself a drink of whisky. He had on a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and dark pants which emphasised his lean height. Diana closed her eyes at the sight and tried to stifle a huge yawn.
“Good lord,” she mumbled around her hand as she covered her mouth and yawned anyway. “Did you have to make so much racket?”
He spun around in surprise. “I woke you? You must be a very light sleeper to hear the front door open from all the way down the hall.”
“There was so much noise it would have awakened the dead,” she stated clearly, then yawned hugely again. She went over to the nearest easy chair and sank into it, curling her feet up under herself. “Elephants, that’s what I thought you were, a herd of wild elephants tramping through the apartment.”
Alex grinned at her. He was so damned handsome, she despaired as she thought to herself. Why does he have to be so good-looking? He moved over to the couch and sat down with his drink in one hand. “Wild elephants, huh?” he said with a chuckle. “That’s one way I’ve never heard myself described. I tried to be quiet.”
“I didn’t really hear you until after I was awake anyway,” she said. Her eyes were watering from yawning so much and Alex was a blur across the room. “What time is it, do you know?”
He consulted his watch. Dark hairs from his arm curled around the gold band. “Almost three in the morning.”
“Three o’clock! And my alarm is set for six!” she moaned, huddled in the chair. “Why did you get back so soon? Is something wrong?”
He took a drink of his whisky and set it down on a side table. There were lines on his face that hadn’t been there before he left. He has had a rough time of it, too, she realised. She thought of all of the flights he had made in the past few weeks. He’d definitely had a harder time of it.
“Mike Shubart didn’t really need my help in Philadelphia any more, and neither did Dobson in Pittsburgh. Tomorrow all the workers go back home to Philadelphia, and everything should be almost back to normal. I thought you needed my help more than anybody,” Alex said with a keen look at her face. She had shadows under her eyes, dark smudges that emphasised her large eyes and made her face look fragile and pale. Her posture in the chair suggested a great weariness and she seemed a little thinner. He looked almost angry, and she couldn’t figure out why.
“I’ve done a good job,” she said defensively. “Did someone tell you I hadn’t? Did Owen tell you?” She sounded indignant. “I wasn’t needing help.”
“Owen didn’t breathe a word to me,” Alex sighed. “Don’t you think I could tell how you were feeling when I talked to you over the phone?” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and holding his glass in both hands. She watched his profile, the strong nose and mouth and the jutting outline of his cheekbone. He looked up suddenly, catching her eyes. “I knew you had to be putting in at least ten to twelve hours a day, just to keep up with all of the new contracts you were sending us so fast! You haven’t taken a day off in weeks, have you?” She looked away with a vague expression on her face. “Have you?” he insisted, prompting a reluctant shake of the head.
“Well, have you taken a day off?” Diana was stung into asking. He made an impatient gesture, jeopardising the safety of the drink he still held. “I knew it!”
“It’s different for me!” he said angrily. “I can take it.”
She began to seethe inside, all traces of sleepiness gone. “And I can’t, is that it? Have I done such a bad job? Have I complained, or shirked some job that needed to be done? Have I?”
“That’s not the point!” he snapped. “I think you’ve done an excellent job with everything, and I know you haven’t complained. I’m used to the long hours, though, and can take more than other people can.” He stood up and started to pace the room in impatient strides. “And can you honestly say you could have handled the pace for very much longer?”
Diana remained silent, staring stonily at the floor in front of her. She was unprepared for the hand that came under her chin to tilt her head up. His hand and face were gentle and he said, “I just didn’t want to see you all worn out.” His face blurred to her as her eyes watered unexpectedly.
She tried to laugh and it came out shaky, as she wiped her eyes with both hands. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought,” she sniffed. Her hands shook ever so slightly.
Alex took her hands and rubbed them for a moment. Then he suddenly let go and pulled her up with one arm around her waist. He kept his arm around her waist and walked her to the door of the spare bedroom, talking all the while. “You’re going to climb in bed right now, young lady, while I fix you a cup of hot chocolate. And you’re not to get up in the morning, but you’re going to sleep until you wake up by yourself. Then you’re going to take the rest of the day off to spend it how you please. At five o’clock tomorrow afternoon you can meet me at the office, and we’ll go out to dinner so you can fill me in on a few things. Okay?” He turned her around to face him and looked down at her with eyebrows raised.
She pleaded,
“Couldn’t I come in just a little earlier to finish a contract propos—”
“No! That’s an order, Diana. Don’t you dare show your face before five o’clock!” He looked serious.
She chuckled a little. “All right.”
He looked pleased with himself. “Good girl! Now go and turn off your alarm and jump in bed. I’ll be right back with your cocoa. Move, child!”
She looked indignant at that remark, but she scampered into bed quickly anyway. Soon he was back with the warm drink and he sat on the side of her bed and talked to her until she finished the relaxing drink. He then took the empty cup and watched her settle down in bed before he left the room. She was unprepared for the swift movement as he quickly bent down and brushed his lips against the top of her forehead and then was gone, closing the door behind him.
Going to sleep without the thought of the alarm going off was simply marvellous…
* * *
When Diana finally opened her eyes, daylight was seeping in through a crack between the curtains at the window. She turned her head lazily to the clock by the bed and sat bolt upright in bed. It was eleven-thirty in the morning! She had slept the whole morning away. Throwing off her covers and shrugging into her robe, she walked out into the hall and into the gleaming kitchen. There was a note on the table for her from Alex. It read: Dear Diana, if you show your face at the office before five, I’ll beat you silly.
It was signed simply “A”. She laughed when she read it and, folding it, carefully set it aside. After a quick cup of coffee and a nourishing breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, she faced the perplexing problem of what to do with the rest of her day. What did one do with a free afternoon in the middle of New York City? She settled the problem in a typically feminine way: shop. Then she combed the streets of New York with nothing on her mind other than the delightful prospect of new clothes.
Hours later, she let herself into Alex’s apartment laden down with packages. After kicking off her shoes and padding to the spare bedroom with her load, she set about opening her packages to lay out and take stock of what she had bought. The first package held a dark red sweater dress that clung to her figure lovingly to fall just below the knee. She set that aside; that was for the winter months, now coming up soon. Opening the next box, she pulled out a dusty black one-piece jumpsuit that zipped up the front and had tapering legs with a wide belt. She eyed it with some perplexity. It was a very chic outfit, figure hugging and attractive, but she had no idea where she would wear it.
The last box was what she really wanted to look at. As she opened the box, she couldn’t resist the urge to try the dress on. Shaking it out, she once again felt the uncertainty she had experienced when the salesgirl had urged her to try the dress in the first place, for it seemed shapeless and unattractive in her hands, in spite of the delicately beautiful colour. It had several different shades of the palest lavender, the most delicate purple and the most subtle blues that she had ever seen. It had frankly cost the earth. She handled the dress with gentle hands as she slipped it over her head. After zipping the almost invisible zipper in the back, she went over to the full-length mirror and surveyed herself. What bodice there was to the top was low and very tight with tiny straps for her shoulders. The skirt was four layers of very thin and very light material that slid sensuously around her hips and thighs as she had put it on, and seemed to float when she walked. The colour faded as it went down the skirt until it ended in transparent jagged edges that stopped at her lower calf, giving tantalising glimpses of her legs when she moved. The muted hues somehow transformed her facial colouring and hair. Her lips were more red, her eyes more vivid, and her hair had a higher gloss. It was a graceful dress, lending a fragility to her tall slimness that she had never known before.
After staring at herself for a long while, she finally took the dress off with a sigh. She would wear it at one of the formal parties that Alex had said would be coming up this autumn with her slender silver sandal shoes with the ridiculously high heels, and she would feel like a princess, regal and graceful, dancing the night away with a very tall, very big, dark man holding her close—she turned away from her thoughts with the desperation of one hunted. Suddenly becoming painfully brisk and businesslike, she set about packing her odds and ends quickly. She would not be coming back to the apartment tonight. She cleared up her shopping mess and picked up her toothbrush from the bathroom. She tried to feel happy about staying in her own apartment, but all she felt was emptiness.
When faced with the dilemma of changing for dinner, Diana happily got out her black jumpsuit and slid into its close-fitting length and zipped the zipper up. It stopped just above her bra, showing a suggestion of a shadowed cleft that was between her breasts. She started to put her hair up in its customary knot high on her head and stopped, deciding instead to let it swing free in a glossy full tumble down her back. She touched up her make-up, slipped on a pair of slender high-heeled black shoes and picked up her suitcase to leave. Just inside the front door, she turned. Her gaze swept the spacious apartment with regret, and then she walked out the door.
* * *
The drive to Mason Steel was quick, and she locked her car in the parking lot. Then, moving swiftly towards the building, she reflected on how different everything would be now that Alex was back. She went into the building and quickly towards the elevator.
Minutes later, she walked into Carrie’s office with a wide smile. She was pleased to see Carrie’s face light up as she looked up to Diana.
“Why, hello!” Carrie exclaimed cheerfully. “You look a lot better after having a little time off. You look as though you got a full night’s sleep for a change!”
Diana laughed. “I slept until eleven o’clock this morning!”
“It must be nice,” Carrie sniffed. “I think the last time I slept in until eleven was the day after I gave birth to my youngest daughter, fourteen years ago!”
Diana shook her head at Carrie in disbelief. “Now, I definitely don’t believe a word of that!” Carrie started to chuckle too. “Is Alex in?”
“Yes. He told me to tell you to go on in when you got here,” Carrie replied. “Owen is in there right now, talking to Alex about something, but they won’t mind if you go on in.”
“Thanks.” She walked to the other door and knocked lightly before walking in. Alex was in his customary leaning posture against the front of his desk and Owen was perched on the arm of one of the chairs facing him. Both men looked up when she entered.
“Speak of the devil!” Owen exclaimed with a grin. “How are you doing?”
“I’m glad you weren’t speaking of me,” she said demurely, surprising them both into chuckling. “I’m just fine. Those extra hours of sleep did wonders!”
Alex ran an appreciative eye over her as she walked towards them, but made no comment on how she looked. She felt vaguely and unreasonably let down as if she had expected him to compliment to her, since she knew she looked good.
He spoke. “We’re going to wait for Grace Bradshaw to come, if you don’t mind. Owen and Grace are going to dinner with us.”
She said warmly, “Now, why in the world should I mind?” She turned to Owen. “Ever since you told me about your wife, I’ve been longing to meet her.” Owen looked pleased. One day, a few weeks ago, he had described his wife to Diana with so much love and pride, it had brought a lump to her throat. She was a frail woman, he had told her, obviously concerned, and she fought a constant battle with asthma, one that left her physically weak and drained.
They all three talked for a few minutes more, then left for the first floor to meet Grace there. Once there, Owen gave an exclamation and hurried away to meet a small and delicately boned woman with a beautiful head of silvery white hair that was swept up in a simple style.
Diana, feeling like a horse beside a small gazelle, shook her head ruefully and murmured, “Not a bit like me, is she?”
Alex had been watching the two approach and he turned his head sharply, catching
the faint words although Diana had not really meant him to. “No, she isn’t,” he said softly. “She’s tiny and delicate and she has to struggle for every breath she takes.” (…and she is loved and wanted and cared for as if she were something immeasurably precious, she thought.) “No, you aren’t a bit like her,” he twisted the words around. “Thank God!”
The couple had reached Alex and Diana, and Owen proudly made the introductions between Diana and his wife. Now that Grace was closer, she could see the lines of pain that had marked the older woman’s face deeply, scoring the skin around her eyes and mouth. Diana held out her hand and shook the other woman’s gently. “You’re every bit as beautiful as Owen had described,” she said.
Grace’s face lit up. “How kind of you to say so, my dear, although I’m afraid I can’t hold a candle to you.”
Diana started to walk to the front of the building with Grace. “Now, that just isn’t true!” she declared as she shortened her stride to match that of the smaller woman. They started chatting comfortably as if they had known each other all of their lives, unaware of the smiles the two men exchanged as they followed behind. When they reached the parking lot, it was decided that all three of the cars should be taken so that everyone could leave for home from the restaurant. Alex would take the lead to the restaurant to show Diana and the Bradshaws how to reach it, for neither of them had been there before. The drive was pleasant and fairly short, although a bit quiet for Diana, who hummed to herself to fill the silence. It was rather fun following Alex and having the pleasure of watching his head and profile as he drove unaware. At one traffic light, she saw him look in his rear-view mirror and waved her hand. He smiled, and she saw a lift of his hand in reply before the light changed.
She followed him into a parking lot, checking behind her to see if the Bradshaws had made the turn too. She barely had time to pull into the parking space beside Alex’s when her door was opened and Alex’s hand was guiding her out, locking the door behind her. They went into the small dark building with Owen and Grace following. She was pleased and not too surprised to see the luxurious interior of the restaurant. The lighting was muted and soft, and the colours of the decor were a pleasant mixture of browns, dark blues and golds. Alex turned to the others as they paused inside the door, and said, “I made reservations for six-thirty, so we have about forty minutes. They have a bar downstairs and a dance floor, if you would like to watch the dancing for a while.”
A Deeper Dimension: A Vintage Contemporary Romance Page 7