Tempestuous Affair

by Carole Mortimer

  ‘So are you,’ Lindsay returned politely.

  Marilyn turned back to Kay. ‘Marvellous Collection, darling,’ she drawled condescendingly.

  ‘I thought so,’ Kay wasn’t impressed by the sugary insincerity. ‘Now if you’ll excuse us …’

  ‘I realise you’re busy,’ Marilyn nodded haughtily, ‘but I had to take this opportunity to say hello to Lindsay—Joel would never forgive me if I didn’t.’

  Lindsay blanched at the other woman’s casual claim to knowing Joel’s emotions, at the same time letting Lindsay know that the reconciliation was still very much back on.

  ‘Well, you’ve said it now,’ Kay cut in brusquely as Lindsay seemed speechless. ‘And we still have a lot to do, I’m sure you understand?’

  ‘Of course.’ Marilyn’s voice was still friendly, but her eyes flashed her resentment at this dismissal. ‘Nice to have seen you again, Lindsay. I’ll tell Joel how much you’re enjoying your new job.’

  ‘She reminds me of a black widow spider,’ muttered Kay with distaste as Marilyn left them in a cloud of her perfume. ‘She entices a man into her web, uses him until there’s nothing left, and then casts him aside.’

  Lindsay felt some of her tension leave her now that Marilyn had left. ‘I take it you don’t like the lovely Miss Mills?’

  Kay grimaced. ‘I can’t stand the woman. She worked for me for a while years ago; she thought she could tell me what to do!’

  Lindsay grinned at her employer’s disgust, knowing that no matter how friendly and easygoing Kay appeared to be on the surface she had to be made of steel underneath, dealing in the strenuous and often secret profession that she did.

  But that brief encounter with Marilyn had disturbed Lindsay somewhat, and she was glad of the hectic pace of the day to stop her dwelling on it.

  The next day proved to be as busy, with buyers calling at the salon all day. Kay was constantly with one group of people or another, and Lindsay was unprepared for the sight of Joel striding into the predominantly female domain mid-morning, knowing all the colour must have left her face as he came over to her desk.

  ‘Lindsay,’ he greeted her gruffly, his eyes dark as he looked down at her.

  Whether or not he was happy now that he was back with his wife, the last five weeks hadn’t been kind to him. His face had lost its healthy tan and was very gaunt, his tailored suit quite loose on him. His hair had been cut now, but that just seemed to accentuate how hollow his cheeks had become. What was it Kay had said about Marilyn—once she had caught her man she used him until there was nothing left and then cast him aside? Joel looked as if he were dangerously close to that now!

  ‘Joel,’ Lindsay greeted him coolly, knowing of no polite comment she could make without sounding insincere. He didn’t look well, so she couldn’t say that, and it certainly wasn’t nice to see him, so she couldn’t say that either!

  He seemed to feel the same way about talking to her. ‘How do you like working for Kay?’ he asked.

  ‘I love it,’ she answered truthfully.

  He nodded, as if it was what he had expected. ‘You’ve been busy?’

  ‘Very,’ she said abruptly, wondering how much longer she could continue this stilted conversation.

  ‘How are the wedding plans coming along?’

  She stiffened. ‘Very well,’ she told him curtly.

  He gave a heavy sigh. ‘Don’t forget to send me an invitation.’

  ‘I—’

  ‘Just so that I can refuse, of course,’ he continued with hard derision.

  ‘Of course,’ she echoed with sweet sarcasm. ‘I’ll find Kay and tell her you’re here.’

  He held up his hand to stop her standing up. ‘Don’t bother, I can find her myself.’

  ‘Oh, but—’

  ‘Don’t look so serious, Lindsay,’ he mocked her earnest expression. ‘I probably know this salon better than you do.’

  That certainly seemed to be the case, when he managed to locate Kay within minutes, and the two of them were immersed in photographing the collection for the rest of the day. Lindsay was called in to help during the afternoon, but fortunately her contact with Joel was kept to a minimum.

  Kay came into the office at eight-thirty, yawning tiredly, her eyes widening as she saw Lindsay was still there. ‘I thought you went home hours ago,’ she frowned.

  Despite feeling as tired as Kay looked, Lindsay hadn’t wanted to go home tonight; she knew that this time, after seeing Joel himself, she wouldn’t be able to put the thought of him from her mind, no matter how exhausted she was. ‘I’m just finishing up,’ she smiled.

  Kay lay full length on the burgundy-coloured leather sofa that took up the most of one wall. ‘I didn’t expect this sort of dedication to duty,’ she murmured.

  Lindsay frowned. ‘Sorry?’

  Kay gave her a weak smile. ‘Before you came to work for me I was a bit sceptical that I was doing the right thing by employing you. Your references looked good, but as one of them was written by Joel …’

  Lindsay was suddenly rigid with tension. ‘Yes?’

  ‘I know he can be a cold-blooded devil at times, but he can also do things that seem completely out of character. When I told him my secretary was leaving and he mentioned your name …!’ She shrugged. ‘I was more than a little wary, I can tell you. But he’s always been a good friend, so I agreed to see you. I’m happy to say you’re as dedicated and efficient a secretary as he told me you were.’

  Lindsay swallowed hard. ‘But you didn’t think I would be?’

  Kay shrugged. ‘Joel is notorious for discarding his women as soon as they no longer interest him, and that could be a little more difficult to do if the woman is your secretary. But as soon as I met you I knew it hadn’t happened that way, which only left the fact that you couldn’t be all that good at your job.’ She frowned suddenly. ‘You’re the best secretary I’ve ever had. I still haven’t worked out why Joel would want to lose you.’

  ‘He didn’t, it was my decision to leave,’ Lindsay revealed through stiff lips.

  ‘Ah,’ Kay nodded understanding. ‘Making it awkward for you, was he? You must be a first, not many women would turn down the interest of a man like Joel.’

  ‘No,’ Lindsay acknowledged dully. ‘I—Would you mind if I left now?’

  ‘Go ahead,’ the other woman invited tiredly. ‘I’ll be leaving myself as soon as I have enough energy to get up off this sofa.’

  Lindsay was almost halfway home before anger engulfed her, and instead of going back to her flat as she had planned to do she went towards the other side of town, to Joel’s apartment. How dared he interfere in her life in that way, especially when he knew how she had felt about Paul Robards’ attitude towards her at their interview? By interfering in the way that he had he had given the wrong impression about them. Worst of all, it seemed he was responsible for her actually getting the job with Kay, thus making her indebted to him.

  She didn’t even care if she had to confront him and Marilyn; they were all aware of the relationship they had once shared.

  Maybury opened the door to her, a tall imposing man in his late fifties. He had somewhat overawed Lindsay when she first moved in with Joel, but she had soon learnt that his autocratic features and sometimes distant manner concealed a warmth that had soon included her.

  ‘Miss Lindsay,’ he greeted in a pleased voice. ‘How lovely to see you!’

  ‘And you, Maybury.’ She gave him a bright smile. ‘Is Mr Sutherland at home?’

  ‘Yes. But—’

  ‘Mrs Sutherland?’

  He frowned. ‘No. But—’

  ‘Then could you tell Joel I’m here?’ She smiled to take the sting out of her tone. She had no quarrel with this man, often wondering why he put up with Joel’s terseness, although there seemed to be a genuine affection between the two men.

  ‘I’ll tell him,’ he nodded. ‘But he could be a few minutes, he’s in the bath.’

  ‘In that case I’ll tell him myself,
’ she said lightly.

  Maybury looked slightly overwhelmed by this turn of events, not quite sure what was going on. ‘Very well,’ he said dazedly. ‘You know the way.’

  ‘Oh yes.’ Her smile was taut as she went into Joel’s bedroom, the bedroom she had once shared with him, and into the adjoining bathroom.

  Joel lay sprawled out in the sunken circular bath that could also be used as a jacuzzi, his eyes widening in shocked surprise as she came to stand on the bath’s edge.

  The male perfection of his body could clearly be seen beneath the unscented water, a fact neither of them was concerned with at the moment. Although Lindsay did wonder what the glass of whisky was doing beside him on the bath’s edge; she had never known him to drink in the bath before.

  ‘This is a pleasant surprise—’

  ‘Is it?’ she interrupted his polite greeting. ‘You may not think so by the time I leave!’

  His frown deepened. ‘Is there something wrong?’

  ‘Wrong?’ she echoed shrilly. ‘Of course there’s something wrong, you don’t think I would be here otherwise, do you?’ she scorned.

  ‘You’ve found out you are pregnant after all—’

  ‘I—am—not—pregnant!’ she snapped. ‘Will you just get off that subject and listen to me? What I am is angry, blazingly, furiously, angry.’

  ‘I can see that—’

  ‘You just don’t understand why,’ she derided heatedly. ‘Then let me enlighten you. Kay has just informed me that the job I thought I got quite legitimately through an agency was really given to me because her good friend Joel asked her to do so!’ She was breathing heavily at the end of her tirade.

  ‘That isn’t—’

  ‘What I don’t understand is how you managed to arrange it with the agency,’ she demanded to know.

  Joel shrugged. ‘I knew which one you were using and telephoned them with the interview.’

  ‘I might have guessed!’ she said with disgust. ‘I thought you would know how I feel about getting a job that way after the Paul Robards incident.’

  ‘Kay is very pleased with your work—’

  ‘That isn’t the point, and you know it,’ Lindsay sighed her exasperation. ‘She as much as admitted that she wouldn’t even have considered me if you hadn’t made such a point of recommending me. Why did you do it, Joel?’

  ‘You didn’t seem to be having much luck finding another job, and that type of work is far from easy to come by.’

  ‘Not when you have an influential ex-lover, it isn’t,’ she scorned.

  A dark flush coloured his cheeks. ‘I forced you into a situation where you had to leave your job with me, and I wanted to do something to make up for it. Was that such a bad thing to do?’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘God, Lindsay, it was all I could do! After all,’ he rasped, ‘you’d managed to replace me as your lover all on your own.’

  ‘Why, you—!’ She bent down and picked up the full whisky glass, pouring the alcohol over his head, watching with satisfaction as it went over his head and face to drip down on to his shoulders.

  CHAPTER TEN

  SHE was as unprepared for what happened next as Joel had been for the iced whisky to be poured over him. A hand closed about her ankle as she was pulled off balance, crying out her dismay as she felt herself falling into the water below.

  She landed with a resounding crash, water splashing out everywhere. She came to the surface to find her face dangerously close to Joel’s as he helped steady her.

  ‘Have you cooled off now?’ he grated.

  Lindsay was breathing hard in her agitation, her wet dress hampering her movement somewhat as she raised a hand to smack him across the face.

  ‘I can see you haven’t!’ He arrested her hand in mid-air, twisting her arm behind her back. ‘Would you prefer me to calm you down in some other way?’ he threatened tautly.

  Her face paled as she guessed the method he would employ, relaxing with effort. ‘I’d like to get out of here now,’ she said stiffly, refusing to look at him.

  ‘By all means.’ He released her. ‘I don’t think a cooling bath is the place for the conversation we need to have.’ He stood up to help her out of the bath, uncaring of his nakedness. ‘I’ll just step under the shower and wash the whisky from my hair,’ he added tautly. ‘I would suggest you use that time to get out of those wet clothes and into my robe. I’ll see you in the lounge in a few minutes.’

  She would have liked to have argued with him further, but unfortunately what he said made sense. Anyway, it was worth it just to see Maybury’s face when she handed him her wet clothes to dry a few minutes later. ‘I slipped,’ she muttered.

  His expression became deadpan, although the knowing twinkle in his eyes seemed to say he knew exactly what had occurred in the bathroom a few minutes ago.

  Lindsay had worn Joel’s robe often in the past—he certainly hadn’t made much use of it—and as usual it swamped her, turning the sleeves back so that she could see her hands when Joel came into the lounge a few minutes later, fully dressed now, the pale lemon shirt and black trousers as loose on him as his suit had been earlier today.

  ‘You’re losing too much weight,’ she said before she could stop herself, blushing as he looked at her with raised brows. ‘You must be working too hard,’ she mumbled.

  ‘No harder than usual,’ he drawled, moving to the drinks tray. ‘Would you like something?’

  ‘No, thanks.’ She watched with concern as he poured himself another glass of whisky. ‘You’re drinking too much too,’ she told him challengingly.

  ‘Yes,’ he acknowledged harshly, throwing the contents of the glass to the back of his throat and swallowing.

  ‘Joel—’

  ‘Don’t, Lindsay,’ he instructed roughly. ‘Your concern is something I can’t take. Tell me,’ his voice lightened conversationally, ‘are you happy?’

  ‘I was—until today,’ she nodded.

  ‘And finding out I helped get your job with Kay ruined all that?’ he scorned.

  ‘I don’t like being in debt to you for anything, not even my job,’ she snapped.

  His mouth twisted. ‘Why let it worry you? I doubt you’ll work for anyone once you’re Malcolm’s wife.’

  ‘I—’ She clamped her lips firmly together as she realised what reply she had been about to make. ‘We aren’t married yet,’ she bit out.

  Joel frowned. ‘Does that mean that there’s some doubt about it?’

  ‘It means exactly what I said,’ she told him in a flustered voice. ‘We aren’t married yet, so my job is still important to me.’

  ‘You didn’t answer my question properly earlier,’ he said slowly. ‘Are you happy?’

  ‘Are you?’

  Joel looked down at the glass he had refilled with whisky. ‘It must be obvious that I’m not.’

  ‘Isn’t being with Marilyn what you expected it would be?’ she asked bitterly.

  ‘Marilyn?’ he frowned.

  ‘You haven’t forgotten her?’ Lindsay scorned.

  His expression was harsh. ‘I told you once before, I can never forget her. But she’s never made me happy.’

  ‘Then why take her back?’

  ‘Lindsay—’

  Maybury’s discreet cough cut in on their conversation. ‘Mrs Sutherland is outside, sir,’ he told Joel at his questioning look. ‘I told her you were indisposed, but she insists on seeing you.’

  Joel’s frown turned to one of irritation. ‘Delay her a couple of minutes and then show her in,’ he finally said thoughtfully, turning back to Lindsay once they were alone again. ‘What do you mean, “take her back"?’ he prompted slowly.

  She flushed. ‘She told me the two of you were reconciled. Not that I needed to be told,’ she added with revulsion. ‘It was already obvious.’

  ‘I don’t know what Marilyn has been telling you—’

  ‘Of course you do!’ she flared. ‘I told you weeks ago.’

  ‘You said she’d told
you about her and David.’

  ‘David?’ Lindsay frowned. ‘But who—’

  ‘Joel, I refuse to be kept waiting outside like one of your women—Ah, now I see the reason for Maybury’s delaying tactics.’ Marilyn’s sharp gaze narrowed on Lindsay wearing only Joel’s robe. The scene looked damning, and Marilyn obviously thought so too, her mouth twisting derisively. ‘I never thought you would have the nerve to come back here after what I told you!’

  ‘I’d be interested to hear exactly what you did tell Lindsay.’ Joel’s voice was dangerously soft.

  Black brows rose. ‘You mean she hasn’t told you herself?’

  ‘She was just about to when you arrived,’ he rasped grimly.

  ‘How forbearing of you, Lindsay,’ the other woman scorned. ‘If I’d been in the same position I would have been round here screaming for the truth weeks ago.’

  ‘Lindsay is nothing like you,’ Joel bit out tautly. ‘Thank God!’

  Marilyn gave him a pitying glance. ‘You really prefer this simpering idiot to a real woman?’

  Lindsay blanched. She had felt confused by the conversation until that moment, but ‘simpering idiot’ or not, she knew when she was being insulted. ‘I’m sure Joel can testify to the fact that I am a “real woman”,’ she snapped defensively.

  For a moment a warm light blazed in Joel’s eyes, and then he was once again under control. ‘What did you tell Lindsay about the past, Marilyn?’ he persisted. ‘Didn’t you tell her about David?’

  ‘David?’ echoed Lindsay, once again puzzled by the mention of the other man. Who could he be? Had he been the reason they separated seven years ago?

  ‘My brother,’ Joel supplied abruptly.

  ‘And my husband,’ Marilyn drawled.

  Lindsay’s eyes widened. ‘You were married to Joel’s brother?’ she gasped. ‘But you said—’

  ‘Yes?’ Joel rasped as she broke off in confusion.

  She looked towards the other woman with accusing eyes. ‘Why did you lie to me?’

  ‘Why did you believe me?’ Marilyn taunted. ‘Anyway, I don’t believe I did lie,’ she shrugged. ‘My name did become Sutherland seven years ago, and David and I were certainly never divorced.’