‘I wish I had your confidence,’ Kate grimaced.
‘You have,’ he reassured her, his hand covering hers as it rested on the table. ‘And it will all come back to you when you face Harkness. I have confidence in you.’
She gave him a startled look. ‘You do?’
‘I do,’ he nodded, smiling encouragement. ‘You can do it, Katharine Mary.’
As she looked into the depths of laughing blue eyes she really felt as if she could indeed go into Colin Harkness’s office and convince him she was capable of handling the multi-million-pound company’s contract.
‘Come on.’ Jared stood up, holding out her jacket for her. ‘Go out there and impress him with your expertise.’
She felt caught up in his enthusiasm, feeling a surge of self-confidence that had slowly been waning since Colin Harkness’s call yesterday afternoon.
‘Handbag, madam.’ Jared handed her the black leather clutch-bag that matched her shoes in colour.
‘Thank you,’ she laughed lightly, tucking the bag under her arm. ‘Will I do?’ She did a light twirl on her high heels.
‘More than that,’ he growled as he took her into his arms. ‘I’m afraid your lip-gloss is going to need renewing,’ he murmured before his lips gently claimed hers. He was smiling as he stepped back from her, aware of her capitulation to the light caress. ‘I won’t wish you good luck,’ he touched one of her flushed cheeks. ‘You don’t need it.’
Kate forgot all about the bareness of her lips, still filled with the confidence he had given her as she drove to work. If only Richard could have given her the same support—No, she wouldn’t compare the two men! Why not? Because already Richard came out unfavourably? No, of course not, she denied fiercely to herself. Jared had nothing to lose by encouraging her career, Richard wanted a wife, not a businesswoman. She wouldn’t compare the two men again!
* * *
Colin Harkness was everything she had expected and more! Jared had described the man as dour; to Kate he looked downright bad-tempered and ominous. A man of about fifty, with iron-grey hair, flinty grey eyes and a thin ramrod-straight body, he hardly seemed the sort of man who would be connected with a perfume empire—in any capacity.
On the wide mahogany desk in front of him was the file with the ideas she had sent him for advertising a new line in men’s colognes and after-shaves two months ago. He opened the file with a disdainful flick of his wrist. ‘Some of your ideas are in line with the new image we have planned for the company—’
‘I’m glad to hear it. I—’
‘And some of them are totally unsuitable.’ He closed the file with a decisive thud, leaning forward on his arms to look at her with icy grey eyes. ‘I saw you today because—’ he broke off as the telephone on his desk began to ring, looking down at it irritably. ‘Excuse me,’ he rasped, picking up the receiver.
Kate turned away politely as he reprimanded his secretary for putting the call through when he had told her not to interrupt him for any reason, although her interest deepened as his manner changed as he listened to his secretary’s reply.
‘But—Yes,’ he was obviously talking to his caller now, someone who meritted his grudging respect. ‘Yes, sir,’ he glanced at Kate with venomous eyes. ‘Of course. Yes, I’ll see to it. I—’ He glared furiously at the receiver as his caller rang off, slamming it down angrily.
Kate could see he was livid with anger, and she feared for the meeting that had already shown signs of deterioration into becoming a complete rejection of her agency and her. So much for Jared’s confidence in her intelligence—she hadn’t even had time to convince him of the merit of the agency’s work! Any second now he was going to dismiss her and forget he had ever agreed to see one Kate Collier.
Once again the file was flicked open and several sheets pushed across the desk at her. ‘These are the ideas we would like you to expand on,’ Colin Harkness bit out harshly. ‘The rest,’ he pushed the file towards her, ‘you can dispose of.’
Kate still had the impression that this man despised her, that she could be exactly what this company needed and he would still want to turn her down. Something—or someone—was compelling him to at least consider her and her agency.
She stood up with a haughty frown at the man across the desk from her. ‘I never dispose of any of my work, Mr Harkness,’ she told him coolly. ‘And I can see you aren’t really interested in any of the ideas I proposed—’
‘I didn’t say that, Miss Collier.’ The man gave an ingratiating smile as he stood up, deep lines grooved into his austere features, as if smiling didn’t come naturally to him. ‘Of course we’re interested in all your work.’
‘You didn’t give that impression a few minutes ago,’ she frowned, as a sudden thought occurred to her, one she didn’t like in the least. ‘Did who my fiancé is have anything to do with your change of mind?’ After all, Richard was an important man in the City, and this man was probably as capable as the next person of being influenced by such things. ‘To making you decide to see me at all?’
Colin Harkness seemed to visibly pale. ‘Your fiancé …?’
‘Yes,’ she bit out. ‘Because if it did I would rather you forgot about it for the moment. He has nothing to do with my trying to get this contract with you.’ It hadn’t occurred to her that Richard’s influence in the business world would interfere in her own career, having expected that his money and power would only affect her in a private way. Which was ridiculous, if this man’s reaction was anything to go by; he was almost frothing at the mouth in an effort to stop her leaving!
His gaze seemed to be fixed on the engagement ring on her finger, as if he had just noticed it. ‘Er—you’ve set a date for the wedding?’
She flashed him an irritated frown. ‘Next month,’ she dismissed.
‘I had no idea …’ The man was visibly shaken.
‘I can assure you it will not affect my working for you—if you decide to give me the contract,’ Kate added stiffly.
‘No, of course not.’ The mouth smiled but the eyes remained flinty. ‘I didn’t realise congratulations were in order,’ he murmured thoughtfully.
‘Surely my engagement had nothing to do with this?’ she persisted waspishly.
‘No—no, of course not.’ The ingratiating smile was back. ‘I’m sure we can fit the work we do together around your wedding plans. Do you have an assistant I can deal with after your marriage?’
‘I intend to continue working after my marriage,’ Kate told him distantly.
‘You do?’ He seemed surprised.
‘Of course,’ she nodded coolly. ‘Although I wouldn’t dream of letting my marriage interfere with my work for you.’
‘Oh, but—Please, you—you mustn’t let us delay any of your plans.’ He seemed to be becoming increasingly agitated. ‘I’m sure your fiancé wouldn’t thank me—us, for that.’
‘He understands,’ she said confidently, knowing she didn’t really speak the truth. She quite expected the agency to become a bone of contention between Richard and herself once they were married; it was the price she would have to pay for being the wife of a rich and influential man. It was a small price to pay for that privilege, she thought hardly.
‘I’m sure he does,’ again that unnatural smile creased his features. ‘But it won’t hurt to try and fit things in around your busy schedule this end.’
Kate frowned, not at all sure of this sudden capitulation, of his ingratiating manner; it didn’t sit well on this austere man. ‘Do I take that to mean I’m being considered for your new advertising contract?’ Her tone was abrupt.
His smile was tight now. ‘I’m sure you know you can take it to mean much more than that.’
‘I can?’
‘Let’s not be coy, Miss Collier,’ he said almost wearily. ‘The contract is already yours. There was never any doubt about that.’
Her eyes began to glow, deeply gold in her pleasure. She leant forward to shake his hand, collecting up the sheets of paper th
at were strewn across his desk. ‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am,’ she said with breathless excitement. ‘I’m sure you won’t regret giving me this chance.’ She would make sure he didn’t. So Richard’s influence had helped her—she would make sure it was her own hard work that Colin Harkness appreciated, and not the fact that she was about to marry a rich man.
‘Let’s hope not,’ he bit out with a bitter twist to his mouth. ‘The legal department should have your contract ready by the end of the week, so I’ll be in touch. I mustn’t keep you, I’m sure you have more important things to do than see me.’
More important things? The man must be mad! Admitted, she hadn’t liked his manner at all, had thought him a supercilious snob, had strongly objected to his method of putting her through the hoop, but as long as she got the contract at the end of it, and was able to show him the extent of her talent, then she didn’t really give a damn about Colin Harkness’s manner. He would soon see that she had more to offer than an influential fiancé!
‘How did it go?’ Beryl demanded to know when Kate got back to the office.
‘We got it!’ she laughed happily, seeing no reason to tell anyone how she had got it; it was up to her to prove she had deserved it on her own merit.
‘That’s marvellous! Oh, Kate—!’ Beryl stopped her as she opened the door to her private office. ‘There’s someone inside waiting to see you,’ she grimaced as Kate turned back to her.
Kate’s expression instantly became guarded. ‘Who?’
Her secretary seemed disconcerted. ‘You remember the man who brought in the roses yesterday—’
‘Too well!’ her mouth tightened. ‘Okay, Beryl, thanks.’ Her expression was forbidding as she entered her office, closing the door behind her to lean back against it.
Jared sat behind her desk, leaning the chair back on two legs, his feet resting on the top of her desk. He removed these slowly and sat forward, all the time his gaze searching her face. ‘You got it,’ he finally breathed. ‘You did, didn’t you, Katharine Mary?’ He stood up, still wearing the black cords and yellow tee-shirt, although a light bomber jacket had been casually pulled on over the latter. ‘I’m proud of you—’
‘How did you get in here?’
He quirked dark brows at her icy tone. ‘Do I detect a note of frost in the air?’
‘More than a note,’ she told him tightly. ‘Jared, what are you doing here?’ She crossed the room to confront him across the desktop.
His head was tilted at an angle of disbelief. ‘Does this mean you didn’t get it?’
‘I just want to know what you’re doing here!’
‘I came to celebrate with you, Katharine Mary.’ He bent behind the desk to lift up an ice-bucket, a bottle of champagne nestling on a bed of ice, and placed it on the desk, bending down again to produce two glasses. ‘By the way, that wasn’t kind,’ he reprimanded sternly as he popped the cork from the bottle, deftly managing to pour the bubbly liquid into the waiting glasses without spilling a drop.
Kate watched him with frustrated anger. ‘What wasn’t?’
‘Those roses cost me a small fortune.’ He handed her a glass full of bubbling champagne. ‘And they’ve all been relegated to the outer office.’ He looked at her in challenge.
‘I’m allergic—’
He looked as sceptical as Beryl had yesterday when she had given her the same excuse, his snort of disbelief adding to the emotion. ‘You weren’t allergic to the rose room service sent up on our trays at the hotel,’ he drawled.
Colour immediately flooded her cheeks. ‘Well, I’m allergic to them en masse,’ she snapped, taking a large swallow of the champagne. ‘And where did you get this from?’ She held up her glass accusingly. ‘I thought you were too broke to pay for a hotel room last night.’
‘Did I say that?’
‘You know you did,’ she told him heatedly.
‘Well, I managed to scrape enough together to buy a cheap bottle of champagne—’
‘No champagne is cheap!’
‘Will you stop arguing, woman, and tell me if we’re celebrating or drowning our sorrows!’
‘We aren’t doing anything.’ Her eyes flashed. ‘I’ve already told you no man is going to get a free ride through life on me again!’
Jared’s mouth tightened as he drew in a deep breath. ‘Bitterness isn’t pretty, Kate,’ he rasped.
‘Too bad!’ she snapped.
He gave a frustrated sigh. ‘Have I ever asked you for anything?’ he enquired mildly. ‘Besides the use of a bed for the night?’
‘Brian never used to ask either,’ she said resentfully. ‘I was so besotted with him I gave him everything I had to give.’
Jared’s mouth twisted. ‘And do you think there’s a possibility you could become that “besotted” with me?’
‘Never!’ she denied heatedly.
‘Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?’ he taunted. ‘Drink your champagne, Katharine Mary, and stop scowling.’
It was like trying to push back the tide to deflate this man—and the tide had no more intention of turning back for her than it had for King Canute—in fact, it threatened to drown her!
She sat down wearily in the chair he had recently vacated, sipping her champagne as instructed, looking up at Jared as he sat on the edge of her desk, perilously close to her. ‘Why did I ever get involved with you?’ she sighed.
He grinned unconcernedly. ‘Just think of me as a salve to your wounded ego that went wrong.’
‘You can say that again!’
‘Do I need to?’ he mocked.
‘No,’ she grimaced. ‘We all have to make at least one mistake in our lives, you must be mine.’
‘I may not be a mistake at all,’ he dismissed lightly. ‘Now tell me if you got the Melford contract—I’ve waited long enough for my answer. And you’ve already drunk my champagne!’
Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she looked up at him. ‘I got it. I didn’t think I would, but I actually got it!’ The adrenalin flowed through her veins at the thought of the work ahead of her.
Jared pulled her to her feet, urging her into his body as he stood with his legs apart. ‘I knew you would,’ he smiled down at her, his eyes glowing. ‘You’re a very clever and talented woman, my love.’
She also had a fiancé who seemed to wield some power, but that was no one’s affair but her own. ‘How do you know that?’ she teased.
‘Because you make love to me beautifully,’ he told her huskily.
She pulled away from him with an angry glare. ‘Will you forget that!’ she snapped. ‘Just forget I was ever stupid enough to become involved with you at the hotel.’
‘I’ll try,’ he shrugged. ‘But I doubt I can really forget the two most important days in my life.’
‘Just try!’ She evaded the warmth of his gaze, although the champagne in the middle of the day had made her feel a little lightheaded.
He shrugged. ‘Have you told Richard of your success yet?’ ‘Not yet—’
‘Oh, good, you can take me out to lunch, then.’ He looked pleased with himself.
‘I’ll do no such thing—’
‘Why not, you have to eat, don’t you?’
‘But not with you!’
‘Katharine Mary,’ the quiet sternness of his voice rebuked her, ‘who gave you the breakfast this morning that gave you the strength to go out and captivate Harkness?’
‘It was my food—’
‘But who cooked it for you?’
Clear golden eyes battled with mocking blue ones for several minutes, until finally the fight went out of her. ‘Lunch,’ she nodded abruptly. ‘As you said, I have to eat anyway.’
‘So gracious!’ Jared straightened. ‘Are you sure you won’t mind being seen out with me?’
Colour entered her cheeks at the warranted barb. -Jared hadn’t had to come here this morning to help her celebrate, once again he had been thoughtful and generous. Richard had had the same knowledge of her appointment w
ith Colin Harkness, and yet so far he had made no effort to find out its outcome.
She was doing it again! And for the second time Richard was coming out the loser. Jared was a drifter, a roamer, she had to remember that. She had to.
‘I don’t mind at all,’ she told him coolly, going to the door.
‘By the way,’ Jared joined her, ‘I think I should answer your question of earlier—your secretary let me in here because I told her I’m your brother.’
She turned to him furiously. ‘You did what?’
‘I told her—’
‘I heard you! But, unlike Ben, Beryl knows I don’t have a brother,’ she groaned.
He had the grace to look uncomfortable. ‘She let me come in here anyway,’ he shrugged.
Kate chewed on her bottom lip. ‘And I know why. Now my secretary thinks I have a lover as well as a fiancé!’
‘And don’t you?’
The softly spoken question stopped her in her tracks, paling slightly as she stared up at him. Yes, she was engaged to Richard, would become his wife next month, but the man at her side was her lover every time he looked at her, his eyes possessing her at a glance, every touch of his hand a caress.
‘We’d better be going,’ she said abruptly. ‘I only give myself an hour for lunch like everyone else has.’
‘Kate,’ he touched her cheek gently, ‘you’ll have to resolve this situation some time, why not sooner than later?’
She jerked away from him, her mouth firming. ‘It already is resolved as far as I’m concerned; I’m going to marry Richard. But I have no objection to buying you lunch.’
Jared seemed about to argue with her, but finally, with a resigned shrug, he followed her out of the office, his arm going about her shoulders as he fell into step beside her. ‘Mother sends her love,’ he told her lightly as they passed Beryl’s desk. ‘And little Michael is doing very well at school. Goodbye, Mrs Lane,’ he smiled charmingly at Beryl on their way out of the door. ‘It was nice to have met you.’
‘You too—er—Mr—Collier …?’ she finished lamely.
Kate gave Jared a sharp dig in the ribs with her elbow before he could make a reply. ‘I’ll be back in an hour,’ she told the other woman distantly. ‘If Richard calls tell him I’ll ring him back later.’
Sensual Encounter Page 7