• • •
Jeremy watched Lalita flee from the building. He pocketed the earring; however, his fingers lingered on the hard stone. He had waited five years for Lalita Evans to come back into his life. The Thames would dry to a trickle before he’d let her run out on him again.
It had to be the mystery of the one that got away that kept him thinking of her. He was determined, this time, to bed Lalita Evans, to purge her from his system once and for all. Then he could get on with his life and stop comparing every woman he kissed to the raven-haired beauty.
• • •
Lalita stopped outside the door of her father’s corner office the next day. Perched on the thirty-sixth floor of one of Docklands’ newest buildings, the luxurious offices of Evans International were more than a status symbol. They were a sign of hard work and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and new markets. And her father’s vision that lots of money could be made from selling corporate promotional products. They’d started out with pens and key chains and now sold everything from aluminum bottles to zip pouches.
Lalita took a moment to enjoy a frisson of pleasure when she imagined her name instead of his, on the door above the title Chief Executive Officer. She ignored the accompanying feeling it was a shallow gratification.
Taking a deep breath, she strode through the open doorway. Her father held up his index finger indicating he’d be a minute as he jotted down a note, phone jammed between his ear and shoulder.
Lalita stared out the window at the meandering Thames far below. The ribbon of brown water was as distant as her love life. She paused to convince herself that all the personal sacrifices she’d made to get where she was now were worth it. Last evening’s run-in with Jeremy had rippled her normally calm nature. Her musings came to an abrupt end when her father put the phone down with a clunk.
“Lalita, you left last night before I had time to introduce you to our new Director of Marketing.” A chill ran up her spine and should have given her warning. Her father’s face was impassive, as though he was introducing her to a new neighbor. “Jeremy Lakewood, I’d like to introduce you to the Director of Asian Operations, my daughter, Lalita.”
“We’ve met,” Jeremy said, moving out from behind the partition where her father kept his drinks cabinet. “So pleased to see you again, Lalita.”
“Really?” John Evans turned questioning eyes on his middle child.
She forced a smile on her face. “Yes, a long time ago. I didn’t know you were still with Evans International, Mr. Lakewood.” Lalita held out her hand, calling on every ounce of willpower to remain unaffected in front of her father.
Jeremy took Lalita’s hand in a firm shake, his fingers lingering for a second longer than customary. Every inch of her skin tingled, begging to be touched next. His blue eyes bore into hers, promising something she couldn’t quite understand. “Jeremy,” he reminded her. “Surely we’re on first name terms. I left the company soon after we met but rejoined Evans about eight weeks ago.”
“And he’s proved to be an incredible asset. His marketing strategies have increased company profits in Europe by six percent in the last month alone.” John’s voice broke the trance induced by Jeremy’s sensual gaze.
Lalita forced herself to stop staring at the new marketing director’s handsome face. His high cheek bones; deep blue eyes framed by thick, black lashes; and his full lips had haunted her nights for months after Jane’s engagement party. Even with her father watching her every move, her tongue peeked out from between her lips, wanting to explore the dimple which appeared in his left cheek when he smiled. As if able to discern her thoughts, Jeremy grinned and it showed up on cue. Giving herself a mental shake she turned toward her father. “Impressive. But John, I thought we agreed to discuss all senior appointments.”
“Come on, Lalita, you’ve never let your pride get in the way of company business before. Jeremy is perfect for the position. He’ll be flying to Singapore with you next week to get acquainted with our Asian operations on a personal basis.”
It wasn’t pride getting in the way, it was self-preservation. Jeremy was a potent distraction and she needed to stay focused, needed to remember who she was — or rather, who she was supposed to be.
“Yes, I am looking forward to getting to know the Asian operations on a very personal basis,” Jeremy’s last words were so low only Lalita could hear. The expectation in his eyes left no doubt he wasn’t speaking entirely about business.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have a conference call scheduled with some suppliers in Indonesia,” Lalita explained, heading for the door. The call wasn’t for another twenty minutes; however, she had to get out of her father’s office before she screamed. How could John appoint the one man who could get under her skin, and then send him back to Asia with her?
Five years was a long time but not long enough to erase the feel of Jeremy’s lips on hers — and on other parts of her body. Their encounter may have been brief, a shared drink, some dancing that had resulted in spontaneous combustion which had led them outside to his car where the flame had blazed into an inferno. Momentary aberration, but the effect had been long-lasting.
Not even glancing at her father, she hurried from the room.
• • •
Jeremy stared at the closed door for a moment. Lalita might pretend indifference to him but he could feel the tension in her body, even from a distance.
“I may be sending you to the same country as my daughter. However, I expect you to stay out of her bed,” the older man advised him.
“Sorry, sir?” Jeremy turned toward Lalita’s father. He could feel the blood drain from his face and his stomach took up residence in his left kneecap.
“I know about your little escapade with Lalita five years ago. I sent her to Asia to stop her making a colossal mistake. If Lalita is going to run this company one day, she needs to concentrate on business, not get distracted by … some guy. I believe she is more experienced now and able to resist your somewhat dubious charms.”
Jeremy was shocked. He had no idea John Evans was aware of his previous relationship with his daughter. By going to Asia with Lalita, was he being set up for a fall?
He’d come back to work at Evans because it would give him great exposure to the right people. When he started his own marketing company, he wanted his name known. Networking, and the fact that he had never been able to forget Lalita Evans. She was definitely a perk he wanted to take advantage of.
“What makes you think I’ll try to romance your daughter? Five years is a long time. I’ve moved on.” Jeremy chose his words with care. What he and Lalita had shared all those years ago could hardly be described as romance, more like mind-blowing passion.
“I saw the way you gawked at her a moment ago. I hired you because you are the best there is at what you do. But I will fire you in a heartbeat if you make a move on my daughter. The company has a strict no-fraternization policy. I suggest you memorize it before you get on the airplane with her. If I find out you have seduced Lalita, I won’t hesitate to let all my competitors and colleagues know you have been terminated for improper conduct. You would find it difficult to get any decent job in Europe after that.”
• • •
Lalita paced up and down in her temporary office. First task, get her breathing under control. Second task, Google “anti-charm potions” and see if there was some kind of concoction she could consume to give her a chance of resisting Jeremy. Third task, figure out how she was going to cope being in close confines with Jeremy Lakewood for weeks without jumping his bones.
Time may have moved the memories to the dark recesses of her mind, but it hadn’t dulled them. Even she wasn’t fool enough to believe she was immune to him. Maybe she should talk to her father. No, she was a grown woman, Director of Asian Operations at Evans International. She could handle one man for a few
weeks.
It was just lust, after all. What else could it be? If her brain stayed in control and she shut off her body’s response to him it would be fine.
Back to task one.
Chapter 2
“When will you be back, Jeremy?” His mother’s plaintive tone made Jeremy pause in the middle of washing up.
“What’s up, Mum? I’ve gone away on business before and you’ve never been concerned.” Jeremy rinsed off the final plate and dried his hands. He wished his mother would agree to move to a bigger house that would accommodate a dishwasher in the kitchen. Eliza Lakewood insisted on staying in the family home as she called it, full of memories, good and bad.
“Most of your other trips were to Europe or America. Asia is so far away. They have natural disasters, terrorists, and uprisings there.”
“I’ll pack a life vest and I promise to stay away from any uprisings, no matter how fun they may appear.” Jeremy took his mother’s small hand in his and led her out of the tiny kitchen and into the sitting room. A bunch of toys were piled haphazardly in the corner. He dislodged a sleeping tabby cat so they could both sit on the sofa.
“Okay, Mum. What’s the real story? You invite me over for dinner then get all upset when I tell you about my travel schedule. This isn’t like you.” Jeremy scrutinized his mother, seeing the lines on her face for almost the first time. When had she started looking old? His mother had been strong all his life and it hurt to see her fragile.
“It’s just that, well, Jeremy, I don’t think you realize how much we all rely on you. If something were to happen … ” Eliza put a clenched fist against her lips and Jeremy was shocked to see they were quivering.
“Nothing is going to happen. And you know I’ll always provide for the family. I promised you wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore.”
The familiar stab of guilt sliced through him. When he had avenged his father’s death at the age of fourteen, he had cost his mother six months’ salary. Eliza Lakewood had had to take an extra job, cleaning the local grocery store at night, to pay for the damage he’d done to the house and car of the drunk driver who had killed his father. Jeremy had learned his lesson, though. Since that adolescent aberration, he’d been the man of the house and done everything possible to ensure his mother’s well-being.
“I know, it’s just that with Susan and the children moving in … and Brian called yesterday to say he’d lost his job and could I lend him a couple months’ rent while he searches for another career. You’re the only one working at the moment. You can’t support all of us.”
“Why not? You supported all of us after Dad died. And I’ve done it before. Don’t worry, Mum. I make good money now, I have a great job. I can provide for the family. This trip to Asia is part of that. In fact, if I play my cards right, this could lead to a nice bonus.”
“You should be looking for a suitable woman and having your own family, not providing for your siblings.”
“I’ve no interest in getting married. I’m enjoying the single life.”
“You haven’t met the right woman yet, my son. When you do, you’ll want to tie her to you with every promise and piece of paper possible.”
An image of Lalita Evans came unbidden into Jeremy’s mind at his mother’s words. He shut down the flood of heat that invaded his blood. She was fling material, far too career-focused to be happy as a wife.
“I doubt it. However, my single state is not the issue. If I had a wife, she wouldn’t want me spending all my money on my siblings. So you should be happy that I’m not in a hurry to get married.” His siblings’ free ride would come to an end shortly but he wasn’t going to upset his mother with that news tonight.
“Why should he get married when he has women queuing up to sleep with him?” Susan’s shrill voice interrupted the quiet conversation.
Jeremy glanced over at his middle sister and his stomach lurched. She was wearing torn, black tights; a denim skirt that looked more like a belt; and a top so low-cut he could almost see her navel. He let her comment on his love life pass. Susan had recently broken up with her common-law husband and was bitter and nasty, not that she’d been much better when she was with the deadbeat. For his mother’s sake, he wasn’t going to argue with his sister.
“You’re going out, dear? When will you be back?” Eliza’s grip tightened on Jeremy’s hand.
Jeremy’s eyes searched his mother’s face. Disappointment warred with compassion in his mother’s blue eyes.
“Depends on whether I find someone to have a sleep-over with.” Susan shrugged and one shoulder of her shirt slid down her arm, revealing a grubby bra strap.
“Please get home before Ashton has to go to school. Daisy’s not well and I don’t want to have to take her out in the morning to do the school run and — ”
The doorbell cut off the rest of Eliza’s sentence.
“I’ll try,” Susan called out before slamming the door behind her.
A small child’s wail filled the air before the plates on the sideboard stopped rattling. Eliza pushed herself to her feet.
“I’ll go, Mum. You relax a minute.”
Jeremy took the stairs two at a time, reaching his niece Tara’s cot as the crying reached police siren decibel levels. His heart constricted when the tiny girl held out her pudgy arms to him. He might be annoyed with his sister’s attitude but her children were innocent and beautiful. He glanced at his nephew’s bed next to the cot. Ashton slept, unfazed by his sister’s distress. Jeremy envied the little boy’s carefree sleep.
Singing the Beatles’ classic, “Here Comes the Sun”, Jeremy rocked the baby back to sleep. His mother used to sing that song for hours while holding his youngest sister, Daisy, who often suffered with chest infections and other complications from her Down’s syndrome.
When he returned to the sitting room twenty minutes later, his mother bolted upright in the chair. She wiped her cheeks with her knuckles. However, Jeremy could still see the traces of wetness on her face. Eliza shook her head. She raised worried eyes to Jeremy.
“Where did I go wrong with them? Why are you the only one with any work ethic?”
“You did nothing wrong. You worked hard so we could have clothes, food, and a roof over our head. I’ll have a talk with Brian and Susan.” In other words, give them a kick up the backside. “At least Natasha is doing okay.”
“I’m not so sure. She and Doug have been fighting a lot lately. I asked her what they argued about but she wouldn’t tell me.”
“They’re married. Married people fight. It’s part of the game.”
“Your dad and I never fought. We were a team.” Eliza’s voice hitched.
“I remember, Mum.” Jeremy hugged his mother until she relaxed.
• • •
The small metal key was hard and unforgiving in Lalita’s clenched fist. She stared at the locked file drawer in her father’s home office desk. Her mother and sisters were out shopping and her father was playing golf. This was the one time Lalita had been home alone since discovering that Jeremy was to accompany her back to Singapore. Her heart pounded. Dare she?
Guilt and curiosity played a close-fought game of tug-of-war in her mind. Curiosity won and Lalita slipped the key into the lock. The click as the bolt released sounded like a gunshot in the paneled room. Lalita held her breath, half expecting her father to walk in, demanding to know what she was doing in his personal papers. The only sound was her great-grandfather’s clock on the mantle, ticking as if it were counting down to destruction.
The desk drawer slid open with an ominous screech. Lalita scanned the file folders. The labels were written in her father’s scrawl. Years of experience reading his writing allowed her to decipher the near-illegible scribble. Her fingers lingered for a second on the file marked Jane but she had no right looking at her sister’s personal informatio
n. The next folder, much, much fatter, had her name on it. Lalita eased the file out of the drawer. Her hand trembled as she placed it on the desk.
Lalita stared at the closed folder. She stood on the edge of a precipice. Jeremy Lakewood’s handsome face floated in front of her vision. Lalita squeezed her eyes shut and opened the file. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she looked.
The first thing she saw was a picture of her and Damian Lindstrom. Her ex-boyfriend was kissing her on the cheek. From the date-stamp Lalita realized it was taken a few weeks after they started going out together. Behind the photo was a typed report with the header Background Check — D. Lindstrom. Lalita flipped through the rest of the file. Photos and reports on men she’d dated, records of school and university marks, a reference from one of her professors and other papers on her performance filled the file. Lalita double-checked. There was no mention of Jeremy or her past involvement with the new Director of Marketing. Of more significance, there was also no indication of any abnormal circumstances surrounding her birth.
Disappointment warred with outrage. She knew her father had kept her under surveillance during certain periods of her life but she had no idea it had been so frequent. However, the one thing she had been searching for, some clue as to her true identity was missing. Lalita was almost certain she was adopted — or bought, like a commodity in the grocery store. She’d given up asking her parents, they always prevaricated and changed the subject.
Lalita meticulously restored all the contents and re-filed the folder. She searched the rest of the cabinet. The one other curious file was marked Bombay. She hesitated before extracting the folder. Perhaps her father had misplaced a general office file. A gale of laughter from the front of the house heralded the return of her mother and sisters from their shopping trip. Lalita wrenched the file from the drawer and skimmed the contents. There were a couple personnel reports and check stubs from her father’s personal account.
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