Firth

by Vaso

  Daniel broke off in the middle of some point that he was making and gave her a slightly conspiratorial smile that raised her spirits. She-wondered whether to serve the coffee, but Max waved her away impatiently as soon as she had put the tray down. As she left, shutting the door carefully behind her, she heard the discussion

  resume.

  She went back to the kitchen and busied herself putting dishes and utensils away. When the room was restored to its usual spotless state she sat down disconsolately on a chair and speculated on what would happen when Daniel left. The arctic look Max had given herboded ill for their future relations. Clearly he had decided not to embarrass his friend by making an issue of it while he was still there. But the reckoning was only postponed. Vanessa shivered slightly, wondering what form retribution would take.

  She had over an hour in which to drum her heels and grow heartily bored of inactivity. She wished she had a book to read or even some work to do, but everything was out of reach in the living room. She went to the window and watched pigeons mating on the roof of the houses opposite. Lucky creatures. They didn't have an irascible employer monitoring their activities.

  She was still standing there, her mind only half on the scene before her, when she heard the living room door open again and the sound of Daniel's voice making leaving noises. She wondered if-he would be allowed to say goodbye to her. It had been fun to meet him, almost worth the hot water she had got in with Max.

  Til be off now.' Daniel appeared at the kitchen door with a smile for her. 'Thanks again. That was a fine lunch you gave me.'

  Tm glad you enjoyed it,' she said with sincerity. 'Shall I get you a taxi for the airport?'

  'No need, Max is driving me in. See you again, Vanessa.' With a cheerful wave Daniel was gone and Max with him, the latter not deigning to say anything to her. The front door slammed behind them.

  Vanessa collected the coffee cups and washed them, then drifted back into the living room. Perhaps if she had some beautiful typing to show Max on his return things might not be so bad. But it was useless. Her fingers were all thumbs. She might as well not have made the effort, she thought dismally.

  When five o'clock came Max had still not returned. She tidied up the desk and fetched her coat, wondering whether she should stay or go. If this had been anormal day, she would have left promptly, but it wasn't. Hesitating, she hung on for another half hour and then made up her mind to leave and hang the consequences. If Max Anderson thought she was going to wait for him like a schoolgirl expecting her punishment, then he had another think coming! And there was always the faint hope that by tomorrow he might have forgotten that she had annoyed him by entertaining Daniel so wholeheartedly.

  She caught herself holding her breath in suspense as she left the flat and pressed the button for the lift. What if she met him on her way out and had to be dragged ignominiously back? She didn't doubt that he would do precisely that if it suited him. But, for once in this awful day, luck was on her side and she made it safely home.

  'Did you have a good day?' Jill had got in before her and was busy in the kitchen when Vanessa got in.

  'I think it could best be called patchy.'

  When they sat down to their evening meal she expanded on that remark and told her sister what had happened. 'I don't see I could have done anything else but feed the man,' she claimed resentfully. 'I don't know why Max was so cross.'

  'Does kissing come under the heading of feeding

  him?'

  'He was kissing me. There's a difference. And anyway, it wasn't anything. A'ny fool could have seen

  that.'

  'I wouldn't have thought Max Anderson could be described as a fool exactly,' commented Jill.

  'He just seems to have a blind spot where I'm concerned. I can't do a thing right,' Vanessa grumbled. 'I'm only surprised he didn't sack me on the spot; he would have enjoyed that. But I suppose he was too much of a hypocrite to make a scene with Daniel Jensen there.'

  'Who did you say?'

  'Daniel Jensen. Why?'

  'Tall, blond, Canadian?'

  'Yes. So what?'

  Jill was looking at her with round eyes. 'So what? You entertained Daniel Jensen to lunch at the kitchen table?'

  'Yes. I just told you so, didn't I? What's the big deal?'

  'That must have been a novelty for him. I don't suppose he does that very often.'

  'Stop talking in riddles, Jill. Who is the man? Do you know him?'

  'The likes of me don't often come into contact with the Daniel Jensens of this world. Vanessa, you must have heard of him.'

  'Now you mention it, the name is vaguely familiar.' Vanessa concentrated, but drew, a blank. 'Could I have seen a photograph somewhere? Is he famous or something?'

  'Infamous, more like. Do you never look at newspapers?'

  'Only the theatre pages.'

  'He's a financial wizard. Inherited more millions than the average person would know how to spend when he was only a child. When he was old enough to take control he sacked his business advisers and set about things himself. He doubled everything in three years. Or was it trebled?' Jill frowned. 'I can't remember: The empire stretches world-wide and he commutes between Europe and North America the way you or I would catch a number seven bus.'

  'Anything else?'

  'Oh, it's not all work. I gather he's a bit of a playboy too.'

  'That much I'd gathered without reading the papers,' Vanessa said. 'He asked me out to dinner.'

  'Are you going?'

  'We were rudely interrupted before I had the chance to say yea or nay to the offer,' she replied absently. 'So that's why he said he didn't usually have to wait for an answer to his invitations!'

  'I don't think he's used to waiting for anything. People usually jump when he tells them to.'

  'I can't see Max jumping for anyone,' Vanessa mused. 'I wonder what the connection is between them. They seemed to be old friends.'

  'The theatre's one of his interests, I think,' said Jill. 'He puts up the money for Broadway shows on occasion. And hits the jackpot every time.'

  'Worth cultivating, you think?' Vanessa laughed.

  'Definitely.'

  'If he ever forgives me for not knowing him from Adam,' she said ruefully. 'When will I stop putting my big foot in it? I'll have enough material for a book about it soon.'

  'Bear up, love. Things can't get any worse,' Jill consoled her.

  'Want to bet?' she said darkly. 'There's tomorrow to

  get through yet.'

  'You sound as if Max will roast you alive!'

  'Don't be too sure he won't,' Vanessa muttered, and spent the rest of the evening sunk in despair, alternately dreading her next encounter with Max and wishing it would arrive and be over with.

  The storm signals were clearly visible the next morning when she reached the flat. He was waiting for her, a black look on his face.

  'It's three minutes past nine,' he said, ostentatiously consulting the heavy gold watch on his wrist. 'Can't you even manage to get here on time?'

  'The bus——' she began, and abandoned the excusehastily. He wasn't in the mood for listening. 'It won't happen again,' she said.

  'You're damned right, it won't. And what about yesterday's little escapade?'

  'What about it?' she fenced, playing for time.

  'Will that be repeated? Do I have to stay and supervise you to make sure you don't get up to your tricks with anyone else who may drop by unexpectedly?'

  'Tell me,' she said sweetly, keeping her temper in check with an almighty effort, 'is it my morals that you're objecting to or the fact that I was entertaining a man in office hours?'

  'I pay for your time and I'll decide how you use it. In future you'll keep your hands off my friends.'

  'Don't you think Daniel's a bit old to be protected from the likes of me? He's a big boy now. Don't you let him choose his own playmates?'

  'He's old enough to know better, certainly,' he conceded. 'I'm surprised he didn't get your mea
sure straight away. Offering to cook lunch for him, indeed! Quite a little hausfrau, aren't you?'

  'I suppose you'd rather I'd told him you weren't around and sent him packing?'

  'It might have been the most sensible course.'

  'Sensible for whom?' she asked.

  'For you, perhaps. We wouldn't be arguing about it now, if you had.'

  'But I didn't.'

  'No, of course not. I wouldn't have expected you to dp any such thing. A gold-digger like you wouldn't miss a chance like that.' He-gave a derisive laugh. 'And you had the gall to call me an opportunist!' He hooked his hands in the belt of his jeans and studied her contemptuously. 'It's a pity I arrived so inopportunely. You hadn't much time to work in. What would have happened if I'd come in half an hour later? I suppose I'd

  have caught you in my bed with him, would I?'

  'You've got a mind like a sewer,' she told him heatedly. 'What makes you think you've the right to talk to me like that?'

  'I generally adapt my conversation to the company I keep. You can make what you like of that.'

  Her hand went up to slap his face, but he anticipated the action and fended off the blow with ease, grasping her arm cruelly as he did so. 'I've warned you before about that sort of behaviour, but you don't listen, do you?' He twisted her arm behind her back as he jerked her towards him. 'If you persist in behaving like an alley-cat you'll take the consequences.'

  'You're so lily-white yourself, of course,' she taunted

  him.

  'Not particularly. But I wouldn't touch what you've got to offer with a bargepole.'

  'Who says I'm offering you anything?' she flared.

  'No, I haven't got as much to give you as Daniel has.'

  She tried to reason with him. 'I didn't know who he was.'

  'Don't try to pull that one. It won't work.'

  'But it's true!'

  He ignored her protest, pulling her nearer to him, seemingly without effort. 'Look at me, Vanessa.'

  She jerked her head away, rebellious to the last. The hard pressure of his fingers round her arm was painful, but at the same time it sent tremors of awareness down her spine. The clean, male smell of him awakened her senses to his physical attraction for her. It was no use telling herself that he was dangerous and that he despised her. What she felt for him was a purely instinctive reaction that conscious thought could not banish.

  'Look at me, Vanessa,' he insisted, and his hand tightened its grip. She obeyed him, meeting the tawny gaze full on with a defiant look of her own.

  'You're hurting me,' she said coldly.

  'I'm sorry.' He didn't sound it. 'Promise me one thing and I'll let you go.'

  'Well?'

  'What you get up to in your own time is your own affair, I suppose. But while I'm picking up the tab you'll do what you're paid for. Is that clearly understood?'

  'Yes. Perfectly clear.' He let her go and she stood rubbing her arm. 'I could report you to the agency for this,' she told him. 'Assault and battery don't come into the contract as far as I'm aware.'

  'Neither does making love in > your employer's time,' he retorted. 'Of which we've wasted more than enough already this morning. So you'd better get on with something.'

  She glared at him, but deemed it wiser to do as he said.

  Max watched her start work and then left. Obviously he didn't intend to carry out his threat of keeping her company to make sure that her behaviour came up to his exacting standards.

  For the next few days they treated each other with polite caution, circling around each other carefully if they had occasion to meet. The incident with Daniel lay between them, never mentioned, but somehow always there in the background^ Vanessa got on with her work, hoping that the assignment would be over soon. The pages of play script mounted all too slowly for her satisfaction, as Max piled her desk high with other pieces of work that he wanted done. Sometimes she wondered if she would ever get away from him.

  It was about ten days later when the phone rang just as she was leaving for home. She was tempted to ignore it, then shrugged and picked it up. If it was Max he'd only accuse her of falling down on the job if he didn't get an answer at a minute to five o'clock.

  The voice that met her ears was transatlantic and

  vaguely familiar. 'Hi there, Vanessa. I'm glad I caught you.' 'Daniel?'

  'The very same. I'm back in London.' 'Max isn't here,' she told him. 'Who said it was Max I wanted? I seem to remember we had a dinner date to fix. Is it still on?'

  Vanessa had a feeling that the safe reply to his question would be a polite evasion. Max would no doubt expect that. But he had told her that her private life was her own. And she liked Daniel. She threw caution to the winds. 'I'd love to have dinner with you. What day shall we make it?'

  'Would it be asking too much of you to say tonight?' he queried. 'Are you free?'

  'I did have a pressing appointment at home with the latest Agatha Christie, but I expect I can put it off for you,' she teased.

  He laughed. 'That's great. I'll do my best to be equally entertaining, I promise. Give me your address and I'll pick you up. Shall we say round about eight o'clock?'

  She gave him the details. That'll be fine. I'll look forward to it.'

  She gathered her things and rushed for the door. Daniel would be picking her up in exactly three hours. It sounded an age, but if she was going to bath, wash her hair and hunt through her wardrobe to find something suitable to wear, she'd better step on it.

  'No egg and chips for me tonight, Jill. Caviar and champagne. My millionaire is taking me out on the town,' she announced to her sister. 'You do have all the luck. Daniel?' 'How many millionaires do you think I know? Of course it's Daniel. Now, be an angel, and help me to choose something to wear. I've got to look presentable and I haven't that much time to work miracles.'

  At five to eight Vanessa surveyed herself in the mirror with some satisfaction. She knew she was looking her best. Daniel hadn't said where he was taking her, but she was confident she would pass muster anywhere. The severly cut black evening skirt contrasted well with the white chiffon blouse whose plunging neckline was a mass of layered frills. A band of black velvet round her neck set off the outfit perfectly. Skilful use of make-up emphasised the creamy perfection of her skin and the depths to her dark blue eyes.

  Til say this for you, Van,' Jill said admiringly as she watched her sister outline her mouth with a deep pink lipstick. 'You don't need expensive clothes and a mass of jewellery to turn yourself into something stunning.'

  Vanessa studied herself carefully. 'Partly training, of course. But not bad, not bad at all. And it's just as well I can do without diamonds and the like. I don't suppose they'll ever be within reach of my pay-packet. Not that I'm complaining. Most women who have well-stocked jewellery boxes look a bit like overloaded Christmas trees when they're dressed to kill.'

  The door-bell rang. 'He's keen—bang on time. Let me go to the door, Van,' begged Jill. 'I've always wanted to talk to a real live millionaire.'

  'Be my guest. I just hope you're not disappointed.'

  But it was clear when Jill ushered Daniel into the room that his charm had won her over in the short space of time it took to walk from the door. He was in evening dress, his mop of blond hair brushed tidily back, and she was glad she had made such an effort to look good as his eyes made an appreciative appraisal of her. He accepted a glass of sherry and sat down. Clearly his interest lay with Vanessa, but he was polite enough to chat with evident enjoyment to Jill about her work and life in London. Half an hour passed very pleasantly

  and then he looked at his watch and suggested that it was time to go.

  'The table's booked for nine o'clock and I expect you're ready to eat after a hard day's work for my friend Max.'

  'How right you are!' Vanessa got her wrap and they left in the taxi that was still parked patiently outside, its meter clocking up what seemed a phenomenal amount.

  'You should have told me you had a cab waiting,' s
he apologised. 'I wouldn't have taken so long.'

  Daniel shrugged. 'It's no great hassle. Usually I hire a car, but it wasn't worth it this time. I got in from Rome this morning and I'm off for the States again tomorrow.'

  'That's quite a schedule. And yet you found time to offer me dinner?'

  'Any objections? I promise I won't disgrace myself by falling asleep over the table.'

  'No. But there must have been a thousand other things you had to do,' she protested.

  'Probably,' he agreed. 'But when I look at you right now I can't think of one of them.'

  'Oh, you're impossible!' Vanessa laughed, and settled down to enjoy the evening ahead.

  He took her to a little French restaurant in Soho where he 'was obviously well known. 'I wasn't sure of your tastes, so I played safe,' 'he explained as he seated her in her chair before taking his. He smiled at her. 'Hungry?'

  'Starving!'

  He handed her the menu and they made their choices known to the waiter who was hovering deferentially. Both elected to start with pate, following with fish, Vanessa's in a creamy sauce while Daniel preferred his simply grilled with butter.

  'I travel so much that I've learnt to stick to plain foods and avoid trouble,' he told her.

  'It's a good principle.'

  'And well worth relating to other areas. I prefer my women straightforward too.'

  Like his friend Max. The thought came unbidden to her mind. 'I'm sorry I didn't recognise you when we first met. You must have thought me an awful fool.'

  'There's no need to apologise,' he said easily. 'I was charmed. It's not every day I'm mistaken for a housebreaker.'

  'If I'd known who you were I'd have made more effort to——'

  'To what? Kowtow to me? It's not what I enjoy, you know. You can't realise how refreshing I found your approach. Being loved for one's bank balance palls after a while.'