Vows & a Vengeful Groom

by Bronwyn Jameson

  Instead Perrini had been rewarded hugely for taking the initiative. He’d passed the Howard Blackstone test. He’d proven he had balls.

  And Kimberley, if she’d played along, would have been relegated to the subordinate role of wife and mother, a part she could never even pretend to play. Infuriated, she’d lashed out at them both. When Perrini sided with her father, she’d walked.

  “It didn’t quite work out how any of us expected,” she said. “Even for Howard.”

  “Especially for Howard. He wanted you back at Blackstone’s, Kim. He was just too proud and stubborn to admit it.”

  Perhaps, but now she would never know. Regret and sadness thickened in her throat. “It’s history now. All of this. We can’t go back and change anything we did or said.”

  “No, but you’re letting that history influence your decision.”

  “And I shouldn’t?”

  “That’s up to you. But just so everything is clear and aboveboard, let me say this.” His eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint of purpose and challenge. “I want you back at Blackstone’s and I want you back in my life. Whether you accept the business proposal will have no bearing on the personal. They are two separate entities.”

  “And if I say no. If I return to New Zealand?”

  “Not far enough to keep me away.”

  Kimberley’s mouth turned dry. Her heart was beating hard and fast, but she lifted her chin and met those determined blue eyes without a backward step. “I shall take that into consideration when making my decision.”

  Perrini inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Do that,” he said shortly. “We’d appreciate an answer before next week’s board meeting.”

  When will you be back to work? I need to know tomorrow, if not sooner. If you can’t reach me, talk to Lionel.

  Matt’s message greeted Kimberley when she checked her phone that night, a cool, clipped reminder that Perrini wasn’t the only man waiting on her decision. She couldn’t sleep and pacing through the vast emptiness of the Vaucluse mansion, she had never felt more alone.

  She longed for the familiar comfort of her Auckland town house…and then she didn’t.

  There, too, she would be alone and pacing with no one to talk to. For the past decade Matt had been her sounding board, but she sensed their friendship would never be the same again, even if she chose to return to House of Hammond.

  Paused outside the door to Sonya’s suite, she raised her hand to knock but then let it fall away. Sonya would listen and might even dispense advice on her dilemma, but that guidance would not be impartial. There were two sides, the Blackstones and the Hammonds, with a yawning abyss of misunderstanding between.

  The prospect of breaching that gap appealed more than ever after Perrini’s potent speech. Kimberley’s pulse kicked up a beat. For all his talk of dream jobs and the tempting notion of working on the Blackstone Jewellery show, healing the family rift spoke most directly to her heart.

  But did she want to return to Blackstone’s, to work for a business founded on her father’s shady acquisition of the Hammond mining leases? To this day the Hammonds claimed Howard Blackstone wooed Ursula Hammond and befriended her father only to get close to the mines. The fact that Jebediah Hammond signed over the lease to Howard on his death bed only bolstered those claims.

  Could she work for Blackstone’s now that she knew the full story?

  Could she separate the business and the personal and work with Perrini, knowing he aimed to pursue her with the same ruthless purpose he’d employed ten years before? Could she resist the powerful pull of their attraction…and did she even want to?

  It was the hardest decision of her life and in the end the choice was hers to make alone. She would not be rushed into it; she would make an informed decision. To do so she needed to see the Blackstone Diamonds of today, to assess the current business structure, to determine whether she even fit anymore.

  Did she want to work for Blackstone Diamonds?

  Kimberley strode into the ground-floor foyer of the Blackstone Diamonds building the next morning and came to an abrupt halt. Her gaze skimmed from the manned security desk to the high-tech scanners to the ID tag displayed by an employee as he hurried through to the bank of elevators. The nervous anticipation that had swirled in her belly during the taxi ride to the city settled to a leaden weight.

  What had she been thinking? That she could simply waltz in the door and wander around at her leisure? Stupidly, she hadn’t thought ahead. She’d wanted to come here, to see what had changed, to test her instinctual response to the workplace she’d left ten years before.

  Not that the new security checks were an insurmountable problem. At nine-thirty on a Thursday morning, Perrini, Ryan and Garth would all be entrenched at their desks. A quick phone call to any one of their offices and she would be whisked up to the rarefied atmosphere of the upper levels.

  That wasn’t what she wanted.

  Belatedly, she recognised the implausibility of her goal. Blackstone Diamonds had grown into a gargantuan corporation, its multiple departments spread over scores of floors in the soaring tower. This was not an atmosphere that invited idle wandering. Imposing, isolating, impersonal, it was a world apart from the House of Hammond.

  Kimberley rubbed the goose-bumped skin of her bare arms. In a moment of defiantly dark humour, she’d decided to wear the new dress. It wasn’t nearly as daring as she’d allowed Perrini to believe, but in the air-conditioned confines of the building she wished she had at least grabbed a jacket. Not that she was staying. In fact—

  “Can I help you?”

  She turned, expecting to see one of the covertly uniformed security guys. Instead she found herself eye-to-eye with the most prettily handsome man she had seen outside the pages of the fashion magazines. Golden hair. Smooth tanned features. Vivid blue eyes rimmed by outrageously long lashes. And a dazzling toothpaste-commercial smile that widened as recognition sparked in his eyes.

  “Miss Blackstone,” he murmured. “I couldn’t help noticing that you looked a little lost. Can I help you find your way? If it’s clearance that you need—”

  “No.” Then, to soften the nerve-honed sharpness of her answer, she smiled. “Thank you, but I’m not going inside after all. I’ve changed my mind.”

  “Your prerogative.” Amazing, but his eyes really did twinkle. Like a perfectly matched pair of brilliant-cut blue diamonds. “I hope we’ll see you back here soon, and if you ever need clearance, call me. Max Carlton. Human resources manager.”

  He lifted his hand in farewell, and as Kimberley watched him pause to swap a short greeting and bring a smile to the stern face of the security-desk custodian, she couldn’t help smiling herself. Perhaps she should have taken him up on his offer, but did she want the slick showman’s tour? Not really. Although an hour or two of his pretty face and disarming smile would be no hardship.

  Feeling infinitely better for the short interlude and inspired by Max Carlton’s eyes, she walked outside and turned right into the morning sunshine. She hadn’t given up on her day’s task. She was just starting where she should have started all along.

  Blackstone Jewellery’s Sydney store was a short walk uptown from the office tower and occupied a prime corner site in a historic sandstone building that also housed the five-star Da Vinci Hotel. Kimberley had shied away from even a passing glance at this and all the Blackstone stores during her business travels. After watching the evolution of the latest over-the-top opulence across the street in Auckland, she’d expected similar here.

  How wrong could she have been?

  The building was grand, yes, but in a classic, traditional sense. The signage was discreet and window displays spare, spotlighting individual pieces against monochrome backgrounds. She paused, captured by the unique design of a gold-pearl-and-diamond necklace. Around the corner a larger display set a collection of retro-style diamond brooches and earrings against deep ruby velvet.

  When she finally swung through the revolving door int
o the air-conditioned interior, her heart was beating thickly with a strange combination of pride and anxiety. This was how she’d visualised Blackstone Jewellery when she’d brought the plans to her father the very first time. She felt almost at home as she slowly circumnavigated the open downstairs gallery. The air of exclusive, expensive class reminded her of House of Hammond, although she doubted anyone at Blackstone’s would appreciate the comparison.

  The click of high heels brought her head up suddenly and snapped her mind out of introspection. A slightly built woman was descending the staircase from the first floor with hurried steps. When she caught sight of Kimberley, her eyes widened slightly in recognition and her worried frown turned tail into a welcoming smile. The smile transformed her face, although her silver-blond hair combined with an austere black dress to highlight her pale air of fragility.

  “I’m Jessica Cotter, the store manager,” the younger woman said, as she reached the ground floor. “Welcome to Blackstone Jewellery.”

  “I’m Kimberley Blackstone…although I sense that’s superfluous information.”

  Jessica nodded. “You won’t remember, but we were at school together,” she continued, a hint of nerves clouding her pretty brown eyes. “You were a senior when I started P.L.C., which is why I recognised you and now I’m making a very unprofessional first impression.”

  “I caught you on the hop. I should have let you know I was coming in,” Kimberley said with an apologetic smile. “I was just passing, and curiosity got the better of me.” Which was only a small diversion from the truth. “Would you believe I’ve never been in a Blackstone store?”

  “Then you have come to the right one. This is our flagship store, the first location we opened almost ten years ago. Let me show you around.”

  “Thank you.” Kimberley smiled. “As long as I’m not keeping you from your work.”

  “Not at all. Is there anything in particular you would like to see?”

  “The pearl-and-diamond pendant in the window. Is that by one of your in-house designers?”

  “Xander Safin,” Jessica said with a nod. “His last collection is one of my favourites. Earth Meets Sea. His aim was to offset the brilliance of diamonds from our Janderra mine with the lustre of coloured pearls.”

  “If the necklace in the window is any indication, I would say he succeeded.”

  Jessica’s pretty brown eyes lit with warmth. “Come upstairs and I will show you some of Xander’s other pieces.”

  They spent more than an hour poring over the various designs and designers, comparing their preferences for various cuts and settings. Although her name was familiar, Kimberley didn’t really remember Jessica from school. After doing the math she’d calculated her age as midtwenties, which was young to manage such an important store. She wondered about the other woman’s history, although she didn’t doubt her knowledge of jewellery or her passion for the job.

  A like soul, Kimberley thought. A woman she could work with if she returned to Blackstone’s.

  “Are you involved with the February show?” Kimberley asked.

  A shadow crossed the other woman’s face momentarily but then she looked up, her smile bright and fixed. “Yes. I have been working with Ryan…with Mr. Blackstone. We have some fabulous collections this year. Will you be coming to the show?”

  Good question. Would she still be here? Or would she be back in enemy camp and struck from the invitation list? “Well, I hope I’m invited,” she said lightly.

  Jessica’s eyes widened in horror. “Blackstone Jewellery was your idea, your vision. Of course you will be invited to the anniversary celebration.”

  “I will hold you to that, because I’m really looking forward to seeing the Dani Hammond collection.”

  “You are in for a treat,” Jessica said, the glow of a secret smiling in her eyes. “Dani has such a talent for making her designs come to life.”

  “I don’t suppose you have anything of hers in store?”

  “No, unfortunately. The samples we have for the show are under lock and key and Ryan would have my hide if I showed them to anyone.” Then, as if suddenly realizing what she’d said, her eyes rounded in horror. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “I know my brother well. You have cause to look out for your hide.” Jessica looked even more dismayed by that reassurance, and Kimberley scrambled to ease her discomfiture by turning her attention back to the jewellery. “Could I possibly have a closer look at the necklace I pointed out downstairs? The Xander Safin?”

  “Of course,” Jessica said with obvious relief. “I will just go and get it for you.”

  She returned a minute later with the necklace, which was made up of three broad strands of pavé-set diamonds finished with golden drops of South Sea pearls. “This,” she said, holding it up to Kimberley’s throat, “would look fabulous with your dramatic colouring. With your hair up, a plain strapless gown. White or silver, I think. See?”

  Kimberley saw. It was an exquisitely designed and crafted piece. And beneath the bright showroom lights and the gleam of enthusiasm on Jessica’s face, she also saw the shadows beneath her eyes. Jessica Cotter. Suddenly she recalled why the name was familiar—not from school, but from the original passenger list for her father’s fatal flight. This was the employee who had cheated death with a last-minute change of plans.

  No wonder she looked fragile.

  Something of her thoughts must have shown in Kimberley’s expression, because the other woman’s smile dimmed. A hint of consternation crossed her face as she locked the necklace back in a display case. “I’m sorry. I get a little carried away when I find someone who shares my enthusiasm.”

  “Don’t apologise. I was thinking of something else,” Kimberley assured her. “My mind was miles away.”

  Jessica looked up, her eyes large and dark and troubled as she discerned where Kimberley’s mind might have been. “Kimberley…please accept my condolences for your loss. I know with the lack of news and everything that’s been written in the papers, this is a difficult time for you and…for all your family.”

  “Thank you.” There was little else she could say, and when an awkwardness descended she grimaced at her watch. “I have monopolised you long enough for one morning. Thank you for your time and for showing me through the store. I enjoyed it very much.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  “I will call in again.” Kimberley smiled and tucked her bag beneath her arm. “Perhaps next time you can talk me into buying that necklace.”

  Jessica returned her smile but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Secrets, Kimberley thought, as she made her way downstairs.

  The girl has something going on in her personal life, which is why she missed that plane and why she is still alive and why she has that haunted look in her eyes.

  Immersed in her thoughts, she almost ploughed into Ryan coming out the revolving door and moving with his usual bulldog-after-a-bone tenacity. Steadying her with a hand on each arm, he scowled over her shoulder and up at the floor above before focussing narrowly on her face. “What are you doing here?”

  “And hello to you, too, little brother.”

  The frown suddenly changed tenor, as if he’d shifted gears to finally take in the significance of her presence here at Blackstone Jewellery. “This the last place I’d expect to find you. What’s going on, Kim?”

  Eight

  A fter Kimberley admitted that her visit to the Martin Place store was part of an inspection tour of the Blackstones’ business, Ryan walked her back downtown for a tour of the office complex. Ryan, being Ryan, made it the potted version but that was all right with Kimberley. She preferred to make up her own mind, without the rah-rah rhetoric she might have expected from someone like Max Carlton. Or Perrini.

  In the high-speed elevator they zoomed their way to the executive floors, and the sudden pitch of her stomach had less to do with that speed than the prospect of seeing Perrini. How adolescent. Kimberley gave herself a stern mental slap but
her nervous anticipation only escalated with each passing floor. So much for keeping business and personal compartmentalised. Perrini had always been so much better than her at that distinction.

  The lift slowed and stopped several floors short of their destination. Patrice Moore, an accounting whiz she remembered for her expert input on the jewellery store business plan, stepped on board. Her smile was instant, warm, genuine. “I heard you were in the building. Nice to see you back, Kimberley, despite the circumstances.”

  “Thank you. I’m glad you’re still here.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” the other woman said. “They look after me well.”

  The lift pinged open at the top floor, and Patrice offered a few sincere words of sympathy before striding off down the corridor. Ryan steered Kimberley in the opposite direction, away from the offices of the senior executives and toward the boardroom. As they walked she felt his inquisitive scrutiny of her face.

  “I didn’t expect to see so many familiar faces,” she admitted.

  “You thought we’d have driven them all away with our evil business practices?”

  Kimberley laughed and shook her head. “Not exactly. I guess I just…I don’t know what I expected.”

  “Our staff is a large and recognised part of our success. We’re proud of our retention records and of our recruitment program.”

  They turned into the spacious vestibule outside the boardroom and Kimberley cast a quick eye over the comfortable seating, the low tables and the artwork, before returning to the issue of staff. “I have to tell you I was most impressed with your manager at Martin Place. Is she one of your recruits? She’s quite young to be managing a store.”

  Ryan paused with his hand on the door to the boardroom. Kimberley couldn’t see his face but she could see the stiffness in his shoulders for the brief moment before he turned around. “Jessica has been with the company since she left school,” he said. “She knows our product inside out. She’s earned every one of her promotions.”