Bargaining With The Boss (Harlequin Romance)

by George, Catherine

  ‘More, it seems,’ said Mario Conti austerely, ‘than you do, Eleri.’

  She winced. Her father used her first name only when he was displeased with her. She never addressed her mother as ‘Mother’ either, unless they were indulging in one of their rare disagreements.

  ‘I’m very grateful to you both—always. As you well know,’ she said quietly. ‘Please leave the clearing up. I’ll do it.’

  ‘I’ll help,’ offered Nico, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet during the family argument.

  When their parents had left for the trattoria, Nico put his arm around Eleri and gave her a big hug.

  ‘Don’t worry, El. It’s time Pop was dragged into the twentieth century. It’s a miracle you haven’t taken off long before now. I’ll miss you, though.’

  She hugged him back fiercely. ‘Thanks, love.’

  ‘I’ll see to this,’ he said, giving her a push. ‘Go on. Take Ma’s famous soup over to James. Make sure he’s all right.’

  Eleri eyed him curiously. ‘You really like him, don’t you?’

  ‘So do you.’ His grin was impish. ‘And—don’t thump me—I think he quite likes you too.’

  ‘He was grateful to me for staying to look after him, that’s all,’ she said sedately. ‘But I’ll take advantage of your kind offer—thank you kindly. I won’t be late back home. Pa will be steaming round to Chester Gardens ordering James to make an honest woman of me if I stay another night.’

  To Eleri’s surprise she found James, dressed in a black roll-neck sweater and jeans, stretched out on the sofa in his study when she let herself into the flat.

  ‘Don’t get up!’ she ordered as he tried to get to his feet. ‘What are you doing out of bed?’

  ‘The doctor called back earlier. He said it was OK as long as I took it easy, because my temperature’s normal now,’ said James, his voice still hoarse. ‘Hello, Eleri,’ he added deliberately, ‘how nice to see you.’

  ‘Hello, James,’ she said with a grin. ‘Sorry to come the sergeant major again. How do you feel?’

  ‘Parts of me feel better,’ he said cautiously. ‘But the legs are a bit rubbery, and I can’t get rid of this damn cough.’

  ‘You’ll soon be better.’

  ‘I hope so! I thought I’d do some of the work I brought home with me. But I had to call quits on that after a few minutes.’

  ‘Very sensible. How’s the appetite? Have you eaten anything since I saw you last?’

  He looked guilty. ‘I’ve drunk a lot of orange juice. And,’ he added with simple pride, ‘I made myself some tea and ate some of those delicious cakes your mother made.’

  ‘Time for some dinner, then,’ she said briskly.

  ‘Are you going to share it with me?’ he asked hopefully.

  ‘No. I had mine with the family. But my mother made you some cawl.’

  ‘That’s extraordinarily good of her,’ said James, startled. ‘What exactly is—what you said?’

  ‘The Welsh version of pot-au-feu—bits of lamb cooked in stock with leeks and loads of other vegetables. Just the ticket for an invalid—nourishing and very good.’

  ‘I’m sure it is.’ He looked gloomy. ‘I’m causing a lot of trouble for your family, one way and another.’

  ‘I wouldn’t say that.’ Eleri smiled. ‘Though my father wouldn’t be thrilled, exactly, if I suggested spending another night here.’

  ‘I would!’ James grinned, then eyed her thoughtfully. ‘How do you cope with your father’s attitude? Forgive me for mentioning a lady’s age, but you’re no longer a teenager, Eleri.’

  ‘No. In a month’s time I’ll be thirty, which is a rather sobering thought.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I grin and bear it because, to be frank, I’ve never really met anyone worth making a fuss for.’

  ‘Even Maynard?’

  ‘Good heavens, no.’ She shrugged carelessly. ‘Toby and I had fun together. But the casual nature of the relationship was the most appealing thing about it. I saw him only occasionally, when I went up to London. My parents weren’t worried. They know that emotional involvement isn’t on my agenda. How did we get on to all this?’ she added abruptly, shaking her head. ‘Not a subject for an empty stomach. I’m off to heat the soup.’

  James had no dining room, and Eleri, fairly sure he was by no means feeling as well as he made out, insisted he ate from a tray in the study rather than in the kitchen as he’d suggested.

  When she laid the tray across his knees James sniffed appreciatively.

  ‘This smells wonderful, Eleri. Are you sure you won’t have some?’

  ‘No, thanks.’ She curled up in a corner of the sofa beside him, nursing a mug of coffee. ‘Over family dinner the subject of my desertion of the coffee-shop acted as a pretty efficient appetite depressant.’

  ‘How did it go down?’

  ‘Where my father was concerned like a lead balloon.’

  ‘So what will you do?’

  Eleri looked at the bulging briefcase, at the familiar welter of paperwork on the desk. Her eyes went to the computer and the fax machine, and she felt a sudden, fierce urge to get back to the work she was trained for. ‘Is the offer of the job still open?’ she asked abruptly.

  James put down his spoon very carefully. ‘It’s never been closed.’

  ‘In that case I’ll come back, if you’ll have me,’ she said without drama.

  ‘You know damn well I will!’

  ‘Thank you.’ Eleri thought for a moment. ‘I’ll stay where I am until my father’s organised a replacement manager. But in the evenings, while you’re convalescing, I can come round and help you with this lot—and anything else Northwold sends out to you.’

  He looked at her searchingly. ‘Does this mean. I’m forgiven for daring to question you about the takeover?’

  ‘Not quite.’ Eleri gave him a tight little smile. ‘Let’s say I’m willing to overlook it.’

  ‘Very noble of you,’ said James dryly, picking up his spoon again. ‘So, Miss Conti. Next Monday I’ll expect you back at Northwold.’

  ‘You’re not getting back there yourself before then, I hope?’ she said quickly. ‘You may be better, but you’re not feeling all that wonderful—admit it!’

  ‘I do,’ he said with a sigh, then grinned at her. ‘But with the prospect of having my paragon back—aided by a bowlful or two of your mother’s miraculous pickme-up—I’ ll soon be fit. Small wonder young Nico’s fit if he takes this in regular doses.’

  ‘He likes you,’ Eleri informed him.

  ‘I like him too. Bring him round again when I’m back to normal.’

  ‘It’s suddenly occurred to me,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘It’s a good thing the party was cancelled if it was supposed to be a send-off for me—’ She stopped at the wry look on James’s face.

  ‘Actually, it wasn’t,’ he admitted. ‘It was intended as a means of tempting you back.’

  ‘So you invited me on false pretences.’

  ‘With the best of intentions,’ he assured her, beginning to cough.

  Eleri jumped up and rescued the remains of his dinner, eyeing him with concern. ‘I assume you take the next lot of pills at nine-fifteen?’

  James nodded speechlessly. She handed him a glass of mineral water and he drank gratefully, then sat back, panting. ‘Damn cough. Though I don’t do it so often now. And,’ he added, ‘the pills are the last lot for today.’

  ‘Make sure you finish the entire course,’ she instructed as she took the tray.

  ‘Yes, Nurse,’ he said mockingly.

  ‘People who are rarely ill are rarely sensible about medication either,’ she said severely, and smiled. ‘I speak from experience with Nico. I had to get quite tough with him more than once.’

  ‘I can picture it clearly,’ said James with feeling, and eyed her cajolingly. ‘Do you have to rush off now?’

  ‘No. I can stay for a while if you like.’ Eleri cast a longing look at the cluttered desk. ‘Would you like me to make a start—?’<
br />
  ‘Don’t even think of it,’ he said flatly. ‘Just sit down and talk to me for a while. I’ve missed you.’

  Eleri resumed her place next to him. ‘That’s because you’re under the weather.’ She smiled wryly. ‘I confess that at one stage in the night, when you were delirious again, I cursed myself for not hiring a nurse from one of the agencies.’

  ‘For influenza?’ he said scornfully, then frowned. ‘But you’re right. That’s exactly what you should have done. I was an idiot not to think of it.’

  ‘I didn’t mind looking after you,’ she said hastily. ‘I was just worried you needed more professional attention than mine.’

  ‘No one could have done better,’ James assured her, then paused for a moment, eyeing her. ‘If you meant what you said about coming here tomorrow night—’

  ‘I always mean what I say.’

  ‘Good. Then could you arrange some dinner for us from your father’s restaurant, and bring it round to share it with me?’ He fished in his back pocket for his wallet and held out some money. ‘Choose whatever you want.’

  Eleri was about to refuse indignantly, then it occurred to her that it might be best to keep everything on a business footing. She got up and took the notes. ‘All right, I will. There’s enough of my mother’s soup to reheat for your lunch. What about shopping?’

  ‘My cleaner’s due in the morning. I’ll give her a list.’

  ‘Right. I’ll just clear away your meal, then I’ll be off.’ Eleri grimaced. ‘My mother wants a talk with me, so I’d better not stay away too long. What would you like me to bring for the meal?’

  James got up. ‘Anything you fancy. I’ll take the tray for you.’

  ‘No, you won’t.’ Eleri bore it away before he could reach it, but James followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table, watching her.

  When she’d finished James rose to his feet to bar her way as she made for the door. He took her by the elbows, smiling down at her. ‘George Reeder told me you were heaven-sent, but he didn’t know the half of it.’

  Eleri stood very still, feeling the imprint of his fingers through the wool of her sweater. ‘I’m glad to help.’ She looked up, transfixed for a moment by the look of undisguised desire in his eyes, then turned her head sharply as he bent to kiss her. His lips touched her cheek lingeringly, then he released her, smiling crookedly, and walked with her to the door.

  ‘A mere token of my appreciation, Eleri.’

  She searched in her bag to hide her heightened colour, and handed his key to him.

  ‘Keep it, please,’ he said quickly. ‘I might have a relapse.’

  ‘After all my efforts, don’t you dare,’ she said tartly. ‘Goodnight. Don’t forget your pills, and try to get a good night’s sleep. And keep your liquid intake up and remember to eat lunch tomorrow.

  All the way home in the car Eleri’s cheek burned from the touch of James’s mouth as her words echoed in her ears—brusque, bossy and not at all the way to speak to a man she hoped to work for again. But the kiss had shaken her, and her trenchant little departing lecture had been a cover for her own instinctive response to it. Ill or not, James had, at that particular moment at least, wanted her. In which case, said an intrusive voice in her mind, returning to work for him was hardly the sensible thing to do.

  So? she retorted fiercely. All her adult life she’d made a positive religion of being sensible, as penance for one solitary, almost-forgotten lapse from grace. Eleri knew very well she was thought of as the clever, level-headed Conti daughter. And there were times when living up to the description was not only difficult, but a dead bore.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CATRIN CONTI was alone in the sitting room, watching a newscast on television, a teatray on a small table beside her. She looked up with a smile as her daughter came into the room. ‘Hello, cariad. How’s Mr Kincaid?’

  ‘Better. He sent his thanks for the cawl. I just waited to clear away after he’d eaten, then I came back.’ Eleri eyed her mother warily, then sat down. ‘Busy in the restaurant tonight?’

  ‘The usual Monday night crowd.’ Catrin switched off the television. ‘They don’t need me, so I thought I’d have a cup of tea in peace.’

  The lull before the storm, thought Eleri, and took the war into the enemy’s camp. ‘I hope you weren’t terribly upset earlier.’

  ‘No. I’m not blind, Eleri. I know your heart isn’t in running the coffee-shop.’ Catrin shrugged. ‘You’ve been trained for very different work. It’s only natural you want to return to the kind of thing you do best.’ ‘So you don’t mind?’ said Eleri, astonished.

  Her mother chuckled. ‘In one way I do, of course. But I can appreciate your point of view.’

  ‘Does Papa?’

  ‘Your father comes from a different culture, love. You can’t expect him to feel happy about his daughter wanting to take off to London. Especially you, cariad.’

  ‘Especially me,’ agreed Eleri bitterly. ‘But it’s what I always intended, Ma.’

  ‘I know. I’ve had a talk with your father and I’ve convinced him that binding you too close might achieve just the opposite.’

  ‘Have you now?’ Eleri eyed her mother with respect. ‘I really did my best to make a go of it at the coffee-shop.’

  ‘And a very good best it is, too.’ Catrin eyed her daughter speculatively. ‘Will you carry on there for us, please, until your father arranges someone else to take over?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  ‘Don’t worry—you can have time off now and again to look for another job.’

  ‘I won’t need it.’ Eleri looked her mother in the eye. ‘James Kincaid’s asked me again to go back to Northwold. And this time I said yes. You don’t look surprised,’ she added.

  ‘I’m not, really. Ever since you went out that night with him I’ve been expecting it, in a way. And I can’t help feeling relieved.’ Catrin smiled. ‘Your father will be too. You were a clever madam, Eleri Conti, threatening him with London. You meant to go back to Northwold all the time!’

  Eleri smiled smugly. ‘Mr Kincaid was very persuasive.’

  ‘Why, I wonder?’

  Eleri shrugged. ‘Apparently he hasn’t been able to find anyone suitable to take my place. But I won’t start back until you find someone for the coffee-shop.’

  ‘I can take that over myself as a temporary measure.’

  ‘No way,’ said Eleri emphatically. ‘In that case I’ll tell Mr Kincaid I’ve changed my mind. If Papa finds another manager I’ll go back to. Northwold. If not I’ll stay.’

  ‘All right, cariad. When your father comes back I’ll see what I can do.’

  Given a clear picture of the alternative by his wife, Mario Conti bestowed his blessing on Eleri’s desire to return to Northwold. A new waitress was engaged for the coffee-shop, a delighted Gianni would take over the management role, and Catrin let her husband believe that it was his own idea that she herself resume responsibility for the daily ordering for both café and restaurant.

  ‘My mother’s so clever,’ confided Eleri to James, when she’d switched off the computer the following evening. ‘She manages to run the entire household and restaurant as the sort of power behind my father’s throne.’

  ‘How did she manage when she was producing babies?’ he asked with interest.

  ‘My grandmother used to come up from Cardiff, and my Italian grandparents would come over from Italy.’ She turned away and began putting a sheaf of papers in order. ‘When Nico was born my sister and I lent a hand as well. Nico goes wild if I mention it, but I could change a nappy very efficiently right from the start.’

  ‘I believe you.’ James’s dark-ringed eyes were intent on her averted face. ‘Will you ever get as close to a man as you are to Nico, I wonder?’ he said thoughtfully. ‘If you do he’ll be a lucky guy. Efficiency’s your middle name.’

  ‘Actually, it’s Caterina,’ she said tartly, clipping the last batch of papers together. ‘Shall I make some coffee? I must
go soon.’

  He got up hastily, looking remorseful. ‘I’ll make it. You’ve done enough.’

  ‘No need,’ she said crisply. ‘Sit down—please. You’re still a bit white around the gills when you get up suddenly, James.’

  When she got back he eyed her searchingly as she laid the tray on the desk.

  She smiled brightly. ‘Black or white?’

  ‘Black.’ He took the cup from her, his eyes bright with comprehension. ‘Can it be that you tire, sometimes, of praise for your efficiency?’

  ‘I don’t tire of the praise!’

  ‘Only the efficiency tag.’

  ‘Yes. Silly, really.’

  ‘Not at all.’ His eyes softened. ‘There’s a great more to you in every way than mere efficiency. You look tired,’ he added, frowning. ‘Hell, I hope you’re not coming down with flu, Eleri.’

  ‘Because you want me back at my desk next Monday?’

  ‘No, dammit! Because I’ll feel directly responsible if you get ill—and guilty as hell for letting you stay here to look after me.’

  Eleri refilled their coffee-cups and sat down beside him. ‘You didn’t let me do anything. It was my decision to stay,’ she said very deliberately. ‘And I don’t feel ill, but I do feel tired. I’ve been on my feet all day, and I’ve put in an hour’s work here tonight. Something,’ she added, ‘my parents don’t know, by the way. They think I was coming here just to bring your dinner and see how you are.’

  ‘Which is all you should have done,’ he said morosely.

  ‘James, I was glad to do some work. I’ve missed it. Besides, it was only a few faxes.’

  ‘It was a damn sight more than that!’ He took her hand. ‘You don’t know how relieved I feel at the prospect of having you back at Northwold. I’ve missed you like hell.’

  Eleri’s heart thumped as she looked down at their clasped hands, knowing she should pull away, but liking the feel of his long fingers entwined with her own. ‘You were used to me, that’s all.’

  He reached up the other hand to turn her face to his, and their eyes met. ‘You mean I took you for granted.’