"Thank goodness for that.""So long as you’re not attempting a dash of embezzlement..." He’d stopped typing now and put the delicious prison of his arms down as he stepped back, and Brianna thankfully exhaled before she turned to face him."Of course not!" Brianna giggled.Or having a few friends pay your room’s rates while staying in the Presidential Suite?‘Please!’ Brianna laughed."Or mooning behind the desk checking e-mails and doing a spot of internet banking on my time?"‘Er, no.’ Brianna wasn’t laughing now. In fact, she was having trouble forcing a smile."Or checking your horoscope..."Brianna didn’t even attempt a denial. Her face was burning an unattractive shade of scarlet, but if she’d had the nerve to look up, she’d have seen that he was smiling."Everything in order?" Dylan was positively dripping with nerves as he came over.‘Of course.’ Elmo shrugged. "I see that Raymond paid in advance forty-eight hours before the reception..."‘Still…’ Dylan cleared his throat. "I
"You’re either very late leaving or arriving incredibly early.""I’m waiting for a taxi," Brianna mumbled."You’ll be waiting a while—the night match at the tennis just wrapped up."‘I heard.’"Would you like a lift?"Just like that, he said it—just like any normal person would say it. Only he wasn’t just a normal person, and Brianna had difficulty coming up with a normal answer. She just stood there mute for a moment as a few hundred thousand dollars’ worth of sleek silver sports car pulled up and the valet handed him the keys."I was expecting the limousine!" She put on a plummy voice and raised her nose in distaste at his stunning car—then panicked that he wouldn’t get her rather offbeat humor.Sorry about that... You’ll just have to slum it in this... He didn’t just get it, he topped it! As Giovanni opened the passenger door for her, Elmo peered inside at the immaculate leather upholstery. "I can look in the boot for a newspaper or something for you to sit on, so you don’t mess up
"I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.""One of my staff members has been bitten by another.""Not just any one of your staff members..."This time, he deliberately didn’t blink. He held his expression in absolute check as she interrupted, and, though few usually dare, he let the fact go as Brianna Doyle got straight to the rather awkward point."Gilberto is, I believe, your brother-in-law."He gave a terse nod—a nod that was actually respectful, acknowledging what she had to say even while quickly disregarding it. "The fact that Gilberto is my brother-in-law has no bearing in this matter—none whatsoever." Now, I want to hear exactly what happened."As Gilberto said, we were discussing a promotion—I tripped and, like a reflex action, he put out his hands to save me."‘Brianna—’ Rather more usually, it was Elmo interrupting now, but unusually, someone overrode him—someone’s voice got a touch louder and more insistent as Brianna spoke over him."And—like a reflex action—I bit h
It had nothing to do with her."If anything untoward has happened, you have the same rights as any other staff member." "Just because Gilberto is family...""I hear your sister’s having a baby..." She pulled a crumpled tissue out of her pocket and gave her nose a rather loud blow."What does that have to do with this?" Elmo’s voice was completely even, his face impassive, but he had to stop himself from drumming his fingers on the desk—actually, he had to remind himself to keep looking her in the eye as she voiced his very thoughts. How the hell would Annabella cope? She had just started to get her life back on track after Elpido’s death—the new baby was due in just a few days, and there was his niece, Lucia, just four years old—what the hell had Gilberto been thinking?"It has everything to do with this!" Brianna gulped. "Look, I’m fine—I really am—and I don’t want any fuss." I just want to get my things and leave.And, though it must surely be the last thing she wanted after the day
Damn!!!Pacing the floor of the huge office, Brianna paused for a moment to blow her nose again and rummaged in her bag for her compact, powdering her reddened face and telling herself to hold it together for just a little while longer.She’d surely get another job—but she also needed those three blasted payslips just in case the court ruling went against her mother.It wouldn’t, Brianna consoled herself. Their lawyer had assured them that everything was under control. A moan of horror escaped her lips at the thought of that same lawyer’s bill sitting on the dining room table—a bill that had to be paid before he’d proceed further.What the hell was she going to do?She’d lied to Elmo about a second interview with the Leonardo chain—she hadn’t even had the first interview yet. Her application was still sitting half-typed on her computer! Actually, she’d lied to Elmo about everything. There had been no discussion about a promotion; Gilberto had just been his usual sleazy self. She’d bee
"Thank you for passing it on.""And she knows you’re there and is just refusing to talk to her."‘Anything else?’"Er, that was pretty much it," Brianna lied. Well, she was hardly going to tell him that "just because he’s fabulous in bed, it doesn’t make up for the way he’s treated me." Though she did give him a rather edited version of the teary conclusion to the call. "She’d like you to call her—any time," Brianna emphasized. "Any time at all!" So…’ Noticing his empty hands, she raised her eyebrows. "Where are the forms?""In a filing cabinet." He gave an apologetic grimace. "Only I’m not sure which one..." but I will write you a check now..."A check’s not much good to me at this time on a Friday." She didn’t want to stay another second. Another second, and she’d start crying; another second, and she’d crumple. The brave façade she was wearing so well was seriously falling apart—the hem unraveling along with the seams—so she hitched her bag on her shoulder and headed for the door.
Formality was welcome.Formality she could actually deal with.So she listened as he took her through her new role, blinking at the description of international flights and luxury hotels that would now pepper her existence, at a salary that made her eyes widen, and at the prospect of a life, as Elmo strongly pointed out, that would be basically put on hold to accommodate his."My time is valuable," Elmo said, and she nodded. "Take today—I should not be going to Admin to get forms, and neither will you be able to." That is why you, too, will have an assistant. My former PA has a list of names somewhere of people who can be put through to me without question, people who first you check and people who, like Lucy, you will have to deal with. He gave a tight smile. "At times your work will be menial, and at other times it will be downright boring—such as sitting in a car waiting for me." At other times, the stress and demands will be intense. Each morning we will go through my day; each we
‘Purple!’ Brianna said instead, giving a tight smile at Elmo’s bemused frown. "I’m wearing purple knickers, before you ask, and we've been together for six months." He ended it, but I was actually about to. Is that enough information for you?‘For now…’ He gave her a very lazy smile and stared at her for the longest time without even attempting to speak. For Brianna, it was excruciating as she awaited what she knew was about to be a summarizing. "You’re very..." he paused before delivering his verdict, "different."‘I am.’‘Very interesting…’ Elmo mused."I’m hard, bloody work, actually!""I like hard work." Elmo grinned, and she nearly shot out of her chair at the look he was giving her. "Well, I look forward to working with you." That will be all."‘Not quite.’ Brianna saw his frown of surprise, and she took a deep breath before speaking. "Generally, at the end of an interview, the interviewee is asked if she has any questions or anything she’d like to add."‘Do you?’‘Actually, yes