by Nina Milne
And then, if she was interested, he would return to the subject of Hugh Farlane.
‘So, how much do you know about Caversham Holiday Adventures?’
‘A holiday company with a twist, Caversham offers very high-end packages that incorporate extreme sports and hotels with a difference around the world. Your clients include billionaires, jetsetters and celebrities. Your latest project is a castle in Cornwall.’
‘Correct.’
For a second Ethan lingered on his vision for the castle and adrenalin buzzed through him. The brooding Cornish castle had captured his imagination, fired him with a desire to do something different—to mix his business life with his charity work.
‘Renovation there is nearly complete, and I’m ready to get the restaurant up and flying. I need a restaurant manager to work with me on the design, the menus and the staff, and to plan a grand New Year’s Eve opening. The hotel opens for normal business January fifteenth. I know that’s a tight deadline. Especially with Christmas. Can you do it?’
‘Yes.’ There was not a sliver of doubt in her tone. ‘But I’m not sure I understand why you don’t already have someone in place.’
‘I did. We didn’t see eye to eye and he quit.’ It had turned out that the guy hadn’t bought into Ethan’s vision for the castle. ‘I’ve been interviewing for a week or so and no dice. This is an important project and I need the right person. You could be it.’
Her eyes lit up and for the first time since she’d entered the room a small, genuine smile tugged her lips up and sucker-punched him straight in the chest.
‘That’s great.’ Then a small frown creased her brow. ‘I can do the job,’ she said with utter certainty, ‘but as I am sure you are aware I am currently not the public’s most favourite person. Social media and the tabloids are awash with vitriol aimed at me—if you hire me there may be a backlash.’
Although her voice was even there was a quickly veiled shadow in her eyes that jolted him. Her words were an understatement—the comments being aimed at Ruby were vicious, awash with menace, and in some cases downright obscene.
Ethan’s lips tightened in distaste even as his brain clouded with a black shadow. The knowledge of the tragic consequences that could ensue after such unconscionable bullying twisted his very soul.
Pushing the dark memories away, he focused on Ruby. ‘I realise that. It’s not a problem. I stand by my employees because I trust them. Which brings me to my next question.’
Her credentials were excellent. Now all he had to do was confirm his gut instinct and make sure he could believe in her.
‘Go ahead.’ Her body tensed in palpable anticipation.
‘Obviously I read the papers, and I’ve seen the accusations that you are a gold-digger who used your position at Forsythe’s to attract Hugh Farlane. At Caversham you would be on the front line, liaising with my clients, so I need to trust that you will be delivering customer service without an eye on their wallets. You haven’t denied any of the allegations in the press. Could you clarify the situation for me?’
He leant back and waited for her to do just that.
Instead the smile plummeted from her lips with maximum velocity. Her hands twisted together so tightly that her knuckles clicked in protest, the sound breaking the depth of silence.
Then, ‘No comment.’
CHAPTER TWO
RUBY BRACED HERSELF as his brown eyebrows rose. ‘You’re sure you don’t want to expand on that?’
What was she supposed to do? Frustration danced in her tummy even as her brain scrambled for a way to salvage the situation. She knew she was innocent, but logic indicated that she could hardly expect Ethan to give her the benefit of the doubt without some semblance of an explanation.
But there was no way she could risk discussing Hugh Farlane—she knew the power he wielded. All it would take was for Ethan to go to the papers with her ‘story’ and whoomph—her life would go further down the toilet.
But, she wanted this job. The thought of a return to her solitary apartment for another ice-cream-eating stint was not an option. However much she liked double-double choc-chip.
Ugh. How had this happened? Ah—she knew the answer. The reason she was in this mess was because she had been a fool—had allowed herself to do the unthinkable and dream. Again. Dream that she could have it all—love and a family. Stupid. Dreams were fantasies, fiction. In real life she had to concentrate on real goals. Such as this job.
The drumming of Ethan’s fingers on the cherrywood desk recalled her to the fact that he was awaiting a response. The slight slash of a frown that creased his brow looked more perplexed then judgemental.
Come on. Answer the man.
‘I would like to expand further but I can’t risk it. Anything I say could be twisted, so it seems best to me that I say nothing. If you decide to quote me, or post something on social media, it will spark off another barrage of hatred.’ And consequences from Hugh that she didn’t want to contemplate. ‘And I... I don’t want that.’ She hated that quiver in her voice; she didn’t want Ethan to think her scared. ‘But I give you my word that if you give me a chance I’ll do a fabulous job for you and won’t let you down.’
His frown deepened. ‘And I give you my word that I won’t betray your confidence. There is no way that I would aggravate the situation.’
A shadow crossed his eyes and for a second Ruby saw a depth of pain in his eyes that made her want to stretch her hand across the desk. Then it was gone, and yet the deep sincerity of his words echoed in her brain.
For an insane second she felt the urge to tell him the whole truth. ‘I...’
Stop, Ruby.
Had she learnt nothing from the debacle of Hugh Farlane? She’d trusted him and look where it had landed her—up to her neck in metaphorical manure.
Yet it was impossible to believe that Ethan Caversham was cut from Farlane cloth. The man had saved her life ten years ago.
Yes, and then he’d vanished from her life without trace. Cut and run.
But he’d also bothered to call her for an interview.
Head awhirl, she hauled in breath. It wasn’t as if she’d be a contender for any Best Judge of Character awards right now. There were times when she still felt enmeshed in the illusions and lies Hugh had woven. So the best rule of all was Trust no one.
‘Okay.’ Ethan raised his hands. ‘Think about what I’ve said. If we’re going to work together there has to be an element of trust. On both sides. Now let’s consider another of my concerns. I need to know that you would be fully committed to this job.’
That was easy. ‘I would be. All yours. One hundred per cent.’
For an instant his gaze locked on hers and the double entendre of her words shimmered over his desk. She gulped.
‘Yet you left Forsythe’s after just two months.’
A flush heated her cheeks. ‘That was what I believe is known as “a career mistake”.’ Of monumental proportions. ‘I’d got engaged, and at the time it seemed like the right course of action. The Forsythe sisters were very understanding.’
‘I get that. Most women would get carried away by the lifestyle of fiancée to a Hollywood movie star compared to working in an all-hours pressured job. I saw the press coverage of those swish parties—you’re clearly a natural partygoer.’
‘No!’
The world might believe that of her, but she felt affront scrape her chest at the idea that Ethan should join that bandwagon of opinion.
‘I loathed those parties. I’m so used to fronting events or serving tables that being a guest was hard. All that glitter and glam and there was nothing for me to do except—’ She broke off.
Except play the part of Hugh Farlane’s besotted girlfriend.
How could she have fallen for it? For him? At first she hadn’t been int
erested in a man with his playboy heartbreaker reputation. Certainly she had wanted zilch to do with his fame, the limelight, his money. But slowly he’d chipped away at her resistance, and then he’d confessed that he needed her, that she was the one woman who could heal him, and his honeyed voice had called to something in her very soul.
After all, she’d failed to heal her family on so very many levels—with heart-rending consequences.
So when he had gone down on bended knee, when he had poured out his desire to turn his life around, her heart had melted and she’d known she would do whatever it took to help Hugh. And if that meant she’d have to embrace a lifestyle she disliked, play the part of the glamorous girlfriend and smile at the paps, then she would do that. After all, playing a part was second nature to her—and Hugh had needed her.
Yuck! Talk about deluded...
‘Except what?’ A hint of unexpected compassion softened his eyes as he picked up a pencil and rolled it between his fingers. ‘Except be Hugh Farlane’s girlfriend? Guess it must have been hard to lose your identity...’
For a second her brain scrambled, mesmerised by the movement and the broad capability of his hand, and shocked by his understanding. For a second the impulse to confide in him returned. To tell him just how hard it had been, and how much worse it had made Hugh’s subsequent betrayal.
Swallowing it down, she met his gaze. ‘If possible I’d like to keep Hugh out of this. I get that I’m asking a lot, but I promise you can trust me. I will do a brilliant job and I will not leave you in the lurch. Give me a chance to convince you.’
This job was perfect for her—exactly up her street—and her fierce desire to achieve this role had nothing to do with the man offering it. At all. All she wanted was to put the last few weeks behind her, to consign the whole Hugh debacle to oblivion and move on.
The pencil thunked down on the table with finality and she felt panic glimmer. She’d blown it.
Silence stretched and yawned as his blue-grey eyes bored into her. Then he blinked, and a slight hint of ruefulness tipped up his lips. ‘Okay. I’ll give you the job. Trial period until the grand opening. Then we’ll take it from there.’
Triumph-tinged relief doused her and tipped her own lips up into a smile. ‘You won’t regret it. Thank you.’
‘Don’t thank me yet, Ruby. I’m a hard task master and I’ll be with you every step of the way.’
‘You will?’ Just peachy—the idea sent a flotilla of butterflies aswirl in her tummy.
‘Yes. This project is important to me, so you and I will be spending the next few weeks in close conference.’
Close conference. The businesslike words misfired in her brain to take on a stupid intimacy.
‘Starting now. I’m headed down to the castle this afternoon. I’ll meet you there, or if you prefer I can give you a lift.’
Common sense overrode her instinct to refuse the offer of transport. The only other alternative was a train journey, where the chances of recognition would be high.
‘A lift would be great.’ The words were not exactly true—the whole idea of time in an enclosed space with Ethan sent a strange trickle of anticipation through her veins. ‘Thank you...’
* * *
Ethan gave his companion a quick sideways glance and then returned his gaze to the stretch of road ahead. Dressed now in a pair of dark trousers, a white shirt and a soft brown jacket cinched at the waist with a wide belt, she still looked the epitome of professional. Yet his fingers still itched to pull the pins out of her severe bun and then run through the resultant tumble of glossy black hair. Even as her cinnamon scent tantalised...
This awareness sucked.
An awareness he suspected was mutual—he’d caught the way her eyes rested on him, the quickly lowered lashes. So why had he hired her? This level of awareness was an issue—he didn’t understand it, and the niggle of suspicion that it was more than just physical was already causing his temples to pound.
Employing someone from his past was nuts—he should have known that. The woman next to him triggered memories of times he would rather forget—of the Ethan Caversham of a decade ago, driven to the streets to try and escape the harsh reality of his life, the bitter knowledge that his mother had wanted shot of him made worse by the knowledge that he could hardly blame her.
Shoving the darkness aside, he unclenched his jaw and reminded himself that Ruby was the right person for the job.
But it was more than that.
The quiver in her voice had flicked him on the raw with the knowledge that she was scared—he’d looked across his desk at Ruby and images had surged of Tanya...of the beautiful, gentle sister he’d been unable to protect.
Of Ruby herself ten years before.
A far scrawnier version of Ruby stood in a less than salubrious park trying to face down three vicious-looking youths. He’d seen the scene but the true interpretation of the tableau had taken a moment to sink in. Then one of the youths had lunged and sudden fear had coated his teeth as adrenalin spiked. Not fear of the gang but fear he wouldn’t make it in time.
Once he got there he’d take them on—bad odds but he’d weathered worse. Flipside of growing up on a gang-ridden estate meant he knew how to fight. Worst case scenario they’d take him down but the girl would escape. That was what mattered. He couldn’t...wouldn’t be party to further tragedy.
The element of surprise helped. The youths too intent on their prey to pay him any attention. The jagged sound of the girl’s shirt rip galvanised him and he launched knocking the youth aside.
‘Run,’ he yelled at the girl.
But she hadn’t. For a second she had frozen and then she’d entered the melee.
Ten vicious minutes later it was over—the three youths ran off and he turned to see a tall, dark haired girl, her midnight hair hacked as if she’d done it herself. Her face was grubby and a small trickle of blood daubed her forehead. Silhouetted against the barren scrubland of the park, she returned his gaze; wide sapphire blue eyes fringed by incredibly long lashes mesmerised him. Their ragged breaths mingled and for an insane second he didn’t see her there—instead he saw his sister. The girl he hadn’t managed to save.
He held his hand out. ‘Let’s go. Before they come back with reinforcements. Or knives.’
‘Go where?’ Her voice shaky now as reality sunk in.
‘Hostel. You can bunk in with me for the night. You’ll be safe with me. I promise.’
She’d stared at his hand, and without hesitation she’d placed her hand in his, that damned hero worship dawning in her brilliant eyes.
Present day, and the end result was he’d offered her a job. Because every instinct told him that Hugh Farlane had done her over somehow. Because he would not leave her prey to the online bullies. Because—somehow, somewhere that protective urge had been rebooted.
The dual carriageway had reduced to a single lane. Dusky scenery flashed past the windows—a mixture of wind turbines and farmland that morphed into a small Cornish hamlet, up a windy hill, and then...
‘Here we are,’ he said, and heard the burr of pride as he drove down the grand tree-spanned driveway and parked in the car park.
He turned to see Ruby’s reaction—hoped she would see in it what he saw.
She shifted and gazed out of the window, her blue eyes fixed to where the castle jutted magnificently on the horizon. ‘It’s...awesome. By which I mean it fills me with awe,’ she said.
He knew what she meant. Sometimes it seemed impossible to him that he owned these mighty stone walls, these turrets and towers weighted with the history of centuries, the air peopled by the memory of generations gone past.
Ruby sighed. ‘If I close my eyes I can see the Parliamentarians and the Royalists battling it out...the blood that would have seeped into the stone...the cries, the bravery, the pain. I
can imagine medieval knights galloping towards the portcullis—’ An almost embarrassed smile accompanied her words. ‘Sorry. That sounded a bit daft. How on earth did you get permission to convert it into a hotel? Isn’t it protected?’
‘Permission had already been given, decades ago—I have no idea how—but the company that undertook the project went bust and the castle was left to fall into disrepair. I undertook negotiations with the council and various heritage trusts and bought the place, and now...’
‘Now you’ve transformed it...’ Her voice was low and melodious.
Lost in contemplation of her surroundings, she shifted closer to him—and all of a sudden it seemed imperative to get out of the confines of the car, away from the tantalising hint of cinnamon she exuded, away from the warmth in her eyes and voice as she surveyed the castle and then him.
‘So, let me show you what I’ve done and hopefully that will trigger some ideas for you to think about.’
‘Perfect.’
The gravel of the vast path crunched under their feet as they walked to the refurbished ancient portcullis. Ethan inhaled the cold, crisp Cornish air, with its sea tang, and saw Ruby do the same, her cheeks already pink from the gust of the winter breeze.
They reached the door and entered the warmth of the reception area. A familiar sense of pride warmed his chest as he glanced round at the mix of modern and ancient. Tapestries adorned the stone walls, plush red armchairs and mahogany tables were strategically placed around the area, with Wi-Fi available throughout.
‘This is incredible,’ Ruby said.
‘Let me show you the rest.’
Ethan led the way along the stone-walled corridors and into the room destined to be the restaurant.
‘We believe this was once the banqueting hall,’ he said, gesturing round the vast cavernous room also with stone walls and floor.
‘Wow...’ Ruby stepped forward, her eyes wide and dreamy. She walked into the middle of the room and stood for a moment with her eyes closed.
Ethan caught his breath—Ruby got it. She felt the thrill of this place and that meant she’d do her best.