by Miranda Lee
‘I know. But you can’t. He has to volunteer to go. Come on, help me lift him up onto the bed. I would have done it myself, but he’s just too heavy and I can’t afford to hurt my back again.’
Alex frowned. ‘You’ve lifted him up off the floor before?’
‘Only once. You were away and I didn’t want to ask Vernon.’
‘Don’t try to lift him again, Sarah. Call an ambulance if you have to.’
Alex scooped his father up off the floor with ease and laid him down on top of the bed. He stirred slightly, making a disgusting snorting sound, before falling back into his drunken stupor, his mouth dropping wide open. His breath was foul. So was his whole body. He needed a bath, sooner rather than later. Then he needed a good talking-to. This situation simply couldn’t go on. It wasn’t fair to Sarah.
‘I have to go to work soon, Alex,’ Sarah said, anxiety in her strained face.
Sarah was an oncology nurse, an occupation which she’d decided on after their mother had died at home without too much in the way of nursing. It occurred to Alex that their mother’s early and totally unnecessary death had resulted in two of her children choosing careers which they’d hoped would make a difference. Not so his pathetic father, who’d promptly fallen apart. His only decision about the future was to try to drink himself to death.
‘You go,’ Alex said. ‘I’ll stay with him.’
‘That would be great. Thanks. Look, he honestly can’t help it. He does try, you know. Sometimes he doesn’t have a drink for weeks. I told him I wouldn’t let him around the kids if he was drunk all the time. He even went to AA meetings. But last week was the anniversary of Mum’s death. I found him at her graveside crying his eyes out. After that, he went on one of his benders.’
Alex sighed, finally finding some genuine compassion for the man who’d once been a decent enough father, if always a little weak. His mother had been the strength in the family and his father had adored her. He’d called her his soul mate, his rock. She’d always picked him up when he was down. Which was often, his work history not being the best. He’d constantly been made redundant, making money tight in the family. It had been inevitable that when she died he would fall apart.
Watching his father disintegrate over the years had reaffirmed Alex’s own decision to steer clear of marriage, as well as avoiding any deeply emotional attachments. Loving a woman obsessively the way his father had loved his mother was not something Alex wanted in his life.
‘I’ll make sure he has a bath and eats some food,’ Alex told his sister. ‘And I’ll wash those filthy clothes he’s wearing. Then I’ll do my best to talk to him, see if he’ll try rehab. I have some contacts at the Salvation Army. They have some very good rehab places for alcoholics and addicts.’
‘Oh, that would be wonderful!’ Sarah exclaimed. ‘Thank you, darling brother,’ she added, coming forward to give him a hug, reminding him of that other hug he’d been involved in earlier that morning.
Sarah hurried off, leaving Alex alone with his father and his thoughts.
But he was no longer thinking about his father. He was thinking about Harriet and the danger of having an affair with a woman who was vastly different from his usual type of bed partner. Not only was she older and more intelligent, she was emotionally vulnerable at the moment. Frankly, Harriet was way more emotional that he would ever have imagined.
The risk he would be taking by sleeping with her was also far greater than he’d originally envisaged. What if she fell in love with him? Even worse, what if he fell in love with her? Hell! What in God’s name had he been thinking? Clearly, he hadn’t been thinking, not with his brain, anyway. He’d let his hormones take charge, let them cloud his usual good judgment when it came to matters concerning the opposite sex.
There was only one thing to do. He had to forget living on the edge and put Harriet firmly back into the strictly professional PA box which she’d occupied in his head for the past ten months. He actually would have called her and cancelled the trip up north if it wouldn’t make him seem like a blithering idiot. He was thankful now that they would be staying in that apartment together for only one night. But, to be on the safe side, he’d put a dampener on his hormones by working out at length in the gym during the next two days. He’d also get out of the office as much as he could. There were several building projects he had underway around Sydney which he could visit. Out of sight was out of mind. By Friday morning, he’d have himself firmly under control again.
His father stirred again, this time opening his eyes, blinking blearily at Alex for several seconds before groaning.
‘You’re not going to lecture me again, son, are you?’ he said wearily.
‘No,’ Alex replied in a firm, no-nonsense voice. ‘This time, I’m going to tell you what you’re going to do, and you’re going to do it, whether you like it not.’
‘Am I just?’
‘Look, if you want to kill yourself, then do the decent thing and do it quickly. Just don’t do it slowly in front of your daughter and your grandkids. They deserve better than that.’
‘You don’t understand,’ he blubbered.
‘Yeah, I do. Better than you think. You might not realise this, but Mum’s death affected the whole family, not just you. You think Sarah and I didn’t grieve? We did. But eventually we all moved on, the way Mum would have wanted us to move on.’
His father looked away in shame.
‘It’s not too late, Dad,’ Alex went on, his voice gentler. ‘You can beat this thing if you want to. Sarah’s going to need you when the kids get older. You could be here when she can’t be. Keep an eye on them. Sarah’s been good to you. Time for you to be good back to her. Time for you to step up to the plate and be a man.’
Tears sprung into his father’s tired blue eyes. ‘It’s too late.’
‘It’s never too late,’ Alex insisted. ‘People can change, no matter how old they are. It won’t be easy, but it will work, if you give it a chance. I’ll help you, too, if you let me.’
‘You’re a good son.’
Alex experienced some guilt at this remark. He hadn’t been such a good son. Sarah had been the one who’d shouldered most of the burden of looking after their father. He’d just opened his cheque book. But he vowed to do better in future.
‘All right,’ his father said with a resigned sigh. ‘I’ll give it a go.’
Chapter Seven
HARRIET SET HER alarm for five on Friday morning, having made arrangements with Alex to be at his place at six-thirty.
‘Take a taxi on expenses,’ he’d told her during the very brief appearance he’d made in the office last Wednesday morning, telling her at the same time that he wouldn’t be in at all on the Thursday and that she was to use the extra time she would have to give their website a facelift, something she’d been urging him to do for ages. He didn’t explain any of his absences, as was often the case with Alex. She suspected it had something to do with his family emergency.
As the taxi sped towards Alex’s Darling Harbour address, Harriet pondered again the nature of said emergency. She hoped none of his family was ill.
When the taxi pulled up to the kerb outside Alex’s swish-looking apartment block, Harriet paid the fare, then climbed out, taking a few deep breaths as she waited for the driver to get her bag out of the boot. She no longer felt as nervous about this trip as she had the other day, but was not altogether calm. She’d spent an inordinate amount of time last night putting her wardrobe together for the two days, opting for smart casual, though at the last second she’d thrown in a dressy dress, in case Alex wanted to dine at the resort’s à la carte restaurant.
Of course that had meant adding the right accessories to the growing pile of clothes.
‘Going on holidays, love?’ the taxi driver asked as he dropped the rather substantial bag by her feet.
‘Something like that,’ she replied.
‘Hope it’s somewhere a bit warmer than this,’ he said jauntily as he climbed back
in behind the wheel and sped off.
It was a bitterly cold morning, Sydney having been blasted by some air off the Antarctic overnight. Still, it would be warmer where they were going. Harriet had chosen to wear stretch black jeans for the drive, teaming them with black ankle boots and a cream cowl-necked jumper made of the softest mohair. She’d thrown on a fawn trench coat to keep out the early morning chill but which she would remove once they were underway. Alex’s car was sure to be heated.
Pulling out her phone, she sent him a text to say she’d arrived.
Wait there, he texted back. I’ll be right out.
Harriet was shivering by the time Alex pulled up next to her in his black Range Rover. She regretted not wearing a scarf; wearing her hair up was giving her no warmth around her neck.
‘Get in,’ he said as he jumped out. ‘You look cold. I’ll see to your bag.’
Harriet tried not to stare at him. But she’d never seen him in casual clothes before. He always wore a suit in the office. He looked great in a suit. In stone-washed grey jeans and a black leather jacket, however, he looked too hot for words. His fair hair was still wet from the shower, the top spiked up a bit, the sides and back clipped short. She liked it that way. It was dead sexy, supplying an added edge to his already macho looks.
Harriet forcibly had to drag her eyes away, her heart alternatively flipping over, then sinking as she wrenched open the passenger door and climbed in.
And there I was, she thought irritably, imagining I had this attraction under control.
* * *
Hell on earth, thought Alex as he scooped up the bag and threw it in the back.
He’d taken one look at Harriet standing there, staring at him with those big brown eyes of hers, and he’d known for sure that this thing he felt for her wasn’t a one-sided attraction. Alex was well versed in recognising the way women looked at him when they fancied him. And Harry fancied him. But possibly not as much as he fancied her. He was a man, after all, and she was seriously fanciable, especially in those sexy jeans and boots.
By the time Alex took his seat behind the wheel, his resolve not to act on the desire Harriet kept sparking in him was very definitely wavering, especially with her betraying her own feelings just now. Of course, his being her boss still created an ethical dilemma. Such relationships were definitely frowned upon, despite being quite common. Not always ideal, however. Inevitably, there came a time when the woman wanted more. Harriet would always want more. He wouldn’t be doing her any favours by taking advantage of her, especially at this time in her life when she was on the rebound and emotionally vulnerable.
Hell, hadn’t he been through this thought process before?
He’d already made up his mind to steer clear of her and that was what he should do. End of story. So just be your normal, bossy self and for pity’s sake keep your hands off! Then when you get back to Sydney tomorrow night, go out and find yourself a new girlfriend. With a bit of luck, by the time you go to work on Monday your head will be out of your trousers and back on business!
* * *
Harriet forgot about taking off her coat, buckling up the seat belt over it and propping her large black handbag in her lap whilst doing her best to adopt a relaxed facade. But inside, that tension which she’d been fearing was gathering with force, making her jump slightly when Alex gunned the engine.
‘You seem to have packed a lot for one night,’ he said as he drove off.
Harriet managed a casual shrug of her shoulders. ‘I’m never sure what clothes to take, so I always take more than I need.’
‘It’s a common female trait,’ Alex said. ‘When I took Hailey to Vanuatu for a long weekend, she had so much luggage I had to pay for extra baggage.’
Harriet had quite liked Hailey. Much better than Lisa. She didn’t like any of Alex’s girlfriends now, jealousy having raised its ugly head. Lord knew what she would do when the next one came along. And she would. There was nothing surer.
‘I’ll remember that when you take me to Vanuatu,’ Harriet quipped.
Alex laughed. ‘You mean you’d settle for Vanuatu? I would have thought Venice was more your style.’
Harriet winced as a memory hit her. ‘You know, I wanted to go to Italy for my honeymoon. I’d always wanted to see Rome and Florence and, yes, Venice most of all. Imagine a city built on water! But Dwayne said Italy was overrated and that Bali was just as good. And way cheaper.’
‘He sounds like a gem,’ Alex said drily.
Harriet snorted. ‘Yes, a zircon. Everything about him was false.’
‘You’re well rid of him. But I have to confess I’m still curious over the other check-points on your list, the boxes Dwayne seemed to tick. At first, that is.’
‘Oh, God,’ Harriet groaned. ‘Can’t we just forget that stupid list?’
‘Since you made that list, Harry, then I doubt it was stupid. Come on, tell your dear old boss all about it.’
She had to smile. The only thing right about that description of himself was the word ‘boss’. ‘Only if you give me your solemn word this time that you won’t laugh.’
‘If I do, I give you permission to hit me. Though not whilst I’m driving.’
They’d long passed through the harbour tunnel by then and were making their way towards Chatswood, the traffic growing with each passing minute. Like other big cities, Sydney never really slept.
‘Well?’ Alex prompted when she didn’t say anything.
‘Gosh, but you can be dogged at times,’ she said, but smiling. It occurred to Harriet with a degree of surprise that their chatting away like this was making her relax. ‘Okay, well, after Dwayne passed the first three boxes, the next one was that my husband-to-be was not to be boring or lazy.’
‘Huh! I don’t know about lazy, but I found him boring when I met him.’
‘Yes, well, the rot was setting in by then. In the beginning, he showed me a good time. As for lazy... He went from sharing the housework and washing my car as well as his to being a couch potato.’
‘I can understand how that would annoy someone as fastidious as you.’
Fastidious? Harriet wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or a criticism.
‘How am I fastidious?’ she asked him enquiringly.
‘Come now, Harry, you’re a perfectionist! You always look great for starters, even at six-thirty in the morning. There’s not a hair out of place, your make-up is on and your outfit is perfect for travelling. I’ll also bet if I went into your place right now it would be spotless, with your bed made and the washing-up all done. Am I right?’
‘Not at all. Yes, the bed is made and the washing-up done, but there’s clothes all over my bed and the bulb in my bathroom isn’t working. A perfectionist would have had it fixed by now instead of just moving a lamp in there so that I can see.’
‘Really? I’m shocked.’
She had to smile. ‘You’re laughing at me again.’
‘Never! Now, back to that fascinating checklist of yours. What comes after lazy and boring?’
‘Look, I’m not going to go through every individual point with regard to Dwayne, except to say that he failed them all. I’ll just recite the rest of the checklist the way it’s written down.’
Alex smiled to himself; she clearly knew the list off by heart. ‘My husband-to-be is to be easy-going and generous. He has to treat women as equals. He has to be a lover of animals and children. He has to have friends and interests other than work. He has to have empathy for others, especially those less fortunate than themselves. He has to be able to cook and doesn’t think cleaning is beneath him. He has to respect me and trust me and love me and never, ever forget my birthday. And that’s about it,’ she finished, leaving off the last point which was about sex.
‘Wow. That’s some list. But what about sex? Don’t you care what kind of lover he is?’
Harriet pursed her lips, a slight blush touching her cheeks. Trust Alex to notice that she’d bypassed that topic. She could never get
anything past him at work, either.
‘Well, naturally he has to satisfy me in bed,’ she said, trying not to look as embarrassed as she felt.
‘In that case, Dwayne must have satisfied you. At first, anyway?’
‘I suppose so,’ she said with a sigh. ‘He could be quite good in bed when he wanted to be.’
‘But not great.’
‘No,’ she admitted. ‘Not great. Look, I don’t feel comfortable talking about this,’ she went on quite truthfully. The last thing she needed was to start thinking about sex when the object of her desire was sitting right next to her. ‘Could we talk about something else? Work, perhaps, or the weather? And could you turn the heating down in this thing? It’s very hot in here.’
* * *
Alex rarely felt shame, but he did at that moment. Asking Harriet personal questions like that was very definitely crossing the line, especially since he’d resolved not to act on the sexual feelings he’d been having about her. He couldn’t help suspecting, however, that her flushed face was not entirely due to his putting the heater up too high.
Talking about sex could sometimes be very arousing, the brain being the most erotic area in the human body. The thought that she was sitting there in a turned-on state was not conducive to resisting temptation.
Gritting his teeth, Alex adjusted the temperature.
‘I’ve turned the heating down,’ he said. ‘But perhaps you should take that coat off. I’ve only got a T-shirt on under my jacket, so I feel fine. You look like you’ve got a very warm jumper on.’ And a very sexy-looking one, he’d noted earlier. All soft and furry, the kind you wanted to reach out and touch.
‘I meant to take it off earlier,’ she said. She was quick, the coat dispensed with in no time and her seat belt snapped back on.
‘Throw it over onto the back seat,’ he said when she went to lay the coat across her lap.
Alex glanced over at her as she twisted in her seat to do as he said, the movement bringing his attention to the swell of her breasts beneath her jumper. Her very nice breasts. It sent a message to his groin which made him wince.