“I thought the meeting today would be a good opportunity for you to meet the company you’d be making the design for,” Adam said.
Sophie nodded, putting down her coffee cup, for fear of dropping it.
“Lauren came down to see our factory here on site. But she also wanted to spend the weekend in London,” he continued. “So she’s returning to Manchester with us today.”
“Okay.”
“Sophie, are you all right? You’ve gone quiet on me again.”
No, she was not all right. He seemed to think she could fake being his girlfriend, kiss and cuddle, then switch it all off. Not any more. Couldn’t he see how much she’d been affected by this?
“This work is all very well. A great proposal to our clients. However, I must make you aware I am thinking of leaving, taking Harry up on his offer.”
“What! Why?”
She winced at his startled expression and angered tone. “Because … ” She chewed her cheek. “I’ve let things get personal between us. For me. For me things are personal between us. And I think it will be better if I leave.”
“Sophie, you’re the best engineer Thomas Robotics has got. You’re a real asset to this company. I’ll double your pay if I have to. I wasn’t joking at the wedding and I’m not joking now.”
“It’s not about money,” she said, glaring at him, angry that he thought he could buy her. All he needed to do was love her and she would stay.
A knock at the door interrupted them. Lauren waited, and smiled.
“Hi, Lauren.” Adam opened the door and Lauren bounded in, her long blonde hair clipped back.
“Good morning. Sorry I’m a bit late,” she said.
Sophie thought she’d made an effort in her appearance, but she hadn’t even tried compared to Lauren. She was wearing killer heels – if Sophie wore four-inch heels all day, every day, they’d kill her. A wedding maybe, or a night out, but not for work. Lauren’s heels accentuated a grey, fitted trouser suit. With her perfect, slim figure, Lauren looked sophisticated, and gorgeous. She meant business, carefully planning every minute detail of her appearance.
She was everything Sophie wasn’t.
She was everything Sophie thought Adam would want.
“No, you’re fine. Gave me time to talk to Sophie about the meeting,” Adam said, smiling at her. Sophie noticed it wasn’t the genuine article Sophie usually received, giving her a very small vote of confidence. Although she’d just told him she was leaving, so that could be the reason his expression was tense.
“We’ll continue our discussion later.” He directed this comment to Sophie.
“Maybe James would be better off –”
“No, Sophie. I want you at this meeting,” he said, scowling briefly. “Shall we get on the road, ladies? Traffic being good, we’ve still got a three and half hour journey ahead of us.”
Sophie agreed to meet Adam in the car park and went to get her things from her desk, shutting her PC down. Making her way out of the building, Sophie bumped into Lauren on the way, coming out of the ladies’ room.
“Is he single?” Lauren asked. Sophie frowned. “Adam?”
“Oh, uh, yes, I think so.”
“What’s he like?” Lauren whispered. “Nice? Or head up his own backside. You know, guys who know they’re good looking tend to be utter bastards.”
Sophie swallowed. “No, he’s a good guy.”
Or was he? No, Adam hadn’t done anything intentional to hurt her; she’d done it all by herself.
“Might have to have another crack at him then.” Lauren winked at her. “He seemed all business Friday night. Maybe I can get him to unwind.”
Sophie gulped. Would Adam unwind with Lauren? Very likely. If Pam’s discussions were anything to go by yesterday, Adam preferred blondes.
Somehow, in those four-inch killer heels Lauren had passed Sophie and got to the front passenger door of Adam’s BMW while Adam loaded their bags into the boot. Sitting in the back was probably a better idea – she could stay out of the conversations. Let Lauren take her crack at Adam.
Once seated and buckled into the back of the car, Sophie realised her mistake. She’d sat behind Lauren, meaning Adam had a better view of her whilst driving, and could catch her eye in the rear-view mirror. She couldn’t switch seats now. How obvious would that look?
“Did you have a good weekend in London?” Adam asked Lauren, pulling out of the Thomas Robotics car park.
“Fantastic, thanks. I went to the National Gallery, The Tate, and even managed to get tickets to the theatre Saturday night.”
Sophie’s insides turned cold as she listened to Lauren talk about her weekend. Not only was the woman gorgeous, she was intellectual. Sophie had assumed Lauren had been to London to shop. And once she’d finished shopping, she’d done more shopping, or visited a beauty salon. She did have beautifully manicured nails. But no, she’d done the tourist things, visited the galleries, museums, places of interest. She’d done all the things Sophie enjoyed doing.
“Sorry I couldn’t show you around. Busy weekend,” Adam said, glancing at Sophie in the rear-view mirror. She wanted to hide; instead, she rummaged through her handbag aimlessly.
“You’ll have to make it up to me,” Lauren said, chuckling, giving him a nudge, and to Sophie’s annoyance, Adam grinned at Lauren. The heart-stopping-turn-insides-to-goo kind. Lauren giggled again. Sophie didn’t need to witness this. Really, she didn’t. She kept her reactions concealed, hopefully, as Lauren wasn’t aware of Sophie and Adam’s history.
What history? That’s the point! There is no history. Give it up, Soph!
Sophie felt sicker by the minute. Not car sickness, but jealousy. If Lauren did actually take a crack at him, Adam wouldn’t say no. Not to a woman like her. He’d be mad otherwise.
Maybe he’d even fall in love.
That thought left a horrible metallic taste in her mouth. She swallowed.
If Lauren had been the materialistic kind, like his mother seemed to think he dated, then Sophie wouldn’t have cared. Lauren would have no future with Adam. Very much like Sophie. But no, not only did Lauren have the model looks and style, she had the brains, too. Any hopes of Sophie and Adam living happily ever after were doomed.
During the journey, Lauren talked about her favourite artists, art exhibitions, her fascination for the architecture, history of London. Sophie even joined in, discussing her favourite attractions in the city, actually liking the woman. However hard she tried to find a fault with Lauren, there wasn’t one. She was actually very nice.
Adam occasionally glimpsed at Sophie through his mirror, seemingly when she’d been staring at him and got caught. Otherwise he concentrated on the road, or Lauren.
“Are you all right in the back, Sophie?” Lauren swivelled around best she could in her seat to look at her. “Sorry, I should have asked if you’d be all right in the back, only I get terrible car sickness. You’re not feeling sick or anything?”
“No, no, I’m fine.” Sophie sat up straighter, fiddling with her hair, hoping it hadn’t become suitable for birds to nest in. “Sitting in the back makes me sleepy, that’s all.” She yawned.
How do you confess you’re plotting to murder a perfectly nice woman who’s about to steal your man?
She’s not stealing your man. He’s not yours.
Lust-filled thoughts of Adam mixing with the knowledge that Lauren could have him whilst she couldn’t had turned her quiet. She’d let Lauren and Adam control the conversation in the end. Turn inwards, try to become invisible. It was what she did best.
Relieved to get out of the car when they arrived at Jerrisons Ltd in Manchester, Sophie slammed the car door. It had been a laborious four-hour journey watching Lauren flirt with Adam. It grated on her. She refused to let herself be jealous. Ha! But you failed.
Adam should have taken Lauren to see his mother. He wouldn’t have been lying then. Pam would like Lauren. The woman was probably a better cook, too.
Once signed in
and given passes at reception, Lauren led them straight through the tall glass atrium, full of tropical plants and palms, and into a meeting room where three men waited. Sophie was hungry, as Adam hadn’t stopped apart from a quick ‘stretch the legs’ break. To her relief, a finger buffet had been provided and they worked through their discussions as they tucked into their late lunch.
Adam sat next to Sophie, instantly sending heat up her neck into her cheeks. She wanted to fan herself or go check the air-conditioning level, but thought better of it. Lauren took the chair on the other side of him. A thorn between two roses, though Sophie considered herself more like a dandelion compared to Lauren. She observed the three other male attendees. An attractive man, similar age to Adam, called Nick Sallico, was smartly dressed and had a friendly disposition. He knew Adam well, going by the way they slapped each other’s backs, laughing heartily and shaking hands at the initial greeting. The other two were senior members of the company, both in their fifties, and looking like they’d spent too much time in the office, both with portly figures.
They wanted a Thomas Robotic’s engineer to work closely with them, to design a piece of equipment based on the QB20 for their factory. It needed some alterations and specification changes to suit their company’s needs. Confidently, Adam declared Sophie was the engineer for the job and would be working on their project.
Sophie saw a solution to her problem, which would mean getting away from Thomas Robotics for a while without leaving the company, which deep down she didn’t want to do. But it would mean she’d be further from home.
“I could be seconded here to work on the specifications with Jerrisons more closely,” she suggested. The others around the table mumbled and nodded.
“Sophie, this project won’t just take a couple of weeks. It could take months,” Adam said. She’d tried throughout the meeting not to let him distract her, with his aftershave – her favourite – wafting her way.
“I know. But I’d be happy with it.”
“It sounds like a great idea,” Nick interjected. “Probably would save a lot of time and travelling if Sophie was prepared to do it. Could reduce the project time, too.”
Sophie nodded her agreement. She could do this one job and then move back to Cornwall. That way all parties would be happy. Adam wouldn’t be losing his ‘best engineer’ for this job.
“I’m not sure about it. Although Sophie’s work priority would be with Jerrisons, the plan was never to transfer her to Manchester. I’d still like her based at Thomas Robotics because there may be other projects she needs to oversee.”
“James could deal with those,” Sophie said. “If there’s anything he’s not sure about he can email me and I can take a look from here.”
“We’re a friendly bunch. We’d look after her,” Nick said, smiling at Adam, then Sophie. But Adam’s expression was hard, disagreeable.
He doesn’t want me to leave, yet he doesn’t want me. Sophie’s hackles rose. She would deal with it later, though. This meeting was not the place to start shouting at Adam.
The meeting ended, unresolved on whether Sophie should work from Thomas Robotic’s offices or at Jerrisons.
“Tomorrow morning, we’ll show you around the site and discuss time frames,” Clive, one of the senior manager said, shaking Sophie’s hand, then Adam’s.
Nick approached them. “Have you got plans tonight? Would you like to go out for dinner?”
Sophie, about to say she was happy to stay at the hotel and catch an early night, was interrupted by Adam agreeing and arranging the details with Nick.
Oh, great.
“We’ll meet you there, say seven-thirty?” Adam said, and Nick nodded. Lauren looked pleased. Sophie wondered if she could make up an excuse to leave early. She did not fancy watching Adam and Lauren hitting it off.
Once Sophie was inside the car, this time in the front seat, Adam glowered at her, his expression grim and his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he said. Fury laced his words as he started the car, yet he didn’t move it out of the parking space. Instead, he glared at her, his face reddening.
“This morning I told you I was leaving. This way I get to leave, without leaving the company. Both of us are happy.”
“No. I would not be happy about this arrangement.” He banged the steering wheel with the palms of his hands. “This contract was never to have you based in Manchester. You’d work from our offices.”
“Adam, I can’t stay around you and make a fool of myself. You know how I feel about you. And I can’t see it changing with you under my nose. I want a future. I want what Natalie and Gareth have. My sister is pregnant; I’d like to have children too, one day. And I can’t see it happening if I cling on to the hope you might change your mind.”
“Sophie, I can’t. I just can’t!”
“So why do you want me to stay?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed.
“You can’t have it all. You can’t expect me to stay, if you don’t want me.”
“We will find a solution.”
Sophie laughed with an edge of anger to it. “How?”
“I don’t know yet,” he snapped and crunched the car into gear with force.
“I have to leave. You have to let me go. In fact, you cannot stop me.”
“Great. Helping you out at some fucking wedding has cost me my best engineer. For fuck’s sake, why did you fall for me?”
Sophie stared in shock. She’d never heard him swear, not in front of her like that. Not at her.
“I shouldn’t have sworn at you,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’m angry.”
Sophie was equally fuming. Who the hell does he think he is?
“No, I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional,” she snapped, sarcastically. “I should have realised you’re one hell of a liar, Adam.”
He drove, in silence, to their hotel. They were checked-in, given their keys. Neither spoke a word unless it was necessary. Sophie knew if she opened her mouth she’d say something hurtful or spiteful, and she had to be careful. He was her boss.
Not for much longer!
She heard her father’s voice. ‘Never burn bridges.’
They found their rooms – next to one another. Adam opened the door to his hotel room with the swipe of his key card. He still hadn’t calmed down.
Tough. He cannot have it all.
This was about Sophie preserving herself. The only way to get over Adam would be to separate herself from him. Hadn’t it worked with Simon? And the only way Adam would keep Sophie was to commit.
She wasn’t expecting a promise of lifetime commitment. She was a realist. Sometimes relationships faded, or came to a shocking abrupt end – like Simon. Yet, wasn’t it worth a try, rather than to never know?
“Be ready for seven-fifteen,” he said, then entered his room. She jumped as his door slammed shut.
She slammed hers just as hard.
Chapter Twenty Three
The hot shower hadn’t calmed Adam, and, as he threw on a fresh shirt, all he could think about was Sophie leaving. And how to stop her.
But what hold did he have on her?
As her boss he could offer her a pay rise she couldn’t refuse. Except in the short time he’d known her, he’d learnt money would not be of interest to her. She wasn’t that kind of person. That’s why he liked her.
Now he really wanted to kill James. Why’d he ask him to go to that stupid wedding? If Adam hadn’t gone, he and Sophie would have remained strangers, work colleagues. He wouldn’t have all this mixed up shit going on and he wouldn’t be on the brink of losing one of the best engineers Thomas Robotics had managed to employ. His father, if he learnt the truth, would go ballistic.
Never mix business with pleasure.
Well, he hadn’t – technically. They’d attended the wedding as strangers, becoming comfortable with one another. Unfortunately, the Sophie he’d met down the pub that first time hadn’t been the rea
l Sophie; not the one he’d gone away with. He could relax with Sophie, didn’t have to put up some pretence about who he was and what he did. Ironically, their façade in front of her friends and family had made them at ease with one another.
His father would agree to Sophie being based in Manchester – if it meant not losing her from Thomas Robotics permanently. And deep down he knew it was the best business decision, too. But for some reason this really wasn’t sitting easily on his conscience. Adam growled, raising his fist. He stopped himself punching the mirror he stared into and slammed the wardrobe door shut instead. Breaking glass, and his fist, would not provide a solution.
He liked the idea of Sophie being only an office away, situated in the same building, down at the pub on a Friday night, living locally. He wanted her near in case he needed her. So he could … what? Use her?
No. He had to let her go.
Still infuriated by this thought, he slipped his watch on, checking the time as he did so, then grabbed his wallet and room key.
Adam knocked on Sophie’s hotel door. He leaned against the wall, drumming his fingers on it, sucking in his breath, trying to regain some patience. But his mood made him want to bang the bloody door down, angry with Sophie for falling for him. Which was ludicrous – he should be flattered. It had added a complication to their relationship. But what did he expect? Their weekend together had been wonderful, if you forgot about the ex-boyfriend. He’d go back in a flash to how they were, only the two of them in each other’s company. He missed it. A part of him wished he‘d made love to her. And that’s why he didn’t want Sophie going away, because it would confirm he’d never feel this way again – whatever this was. Never have it again. He liked the idea there was some hope. He’d lose it if she went.
Ridiculous.
Sophie opened the door, zapping the breath out of him. Wearing a red evening dress with thin spaghetti straps, she looked stunning. Her hair was pinned up, not as precisely as when she’d been a bridesmaid, revealing her slender, kissable neck … He knew what it would do to him if he kissed her, just behind her ear.
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