Buttoned-Up Secretary, British Boss (5 page)

‘I’m afraid your…Sunday spectacular has coincided with a rather more important date in my life,
Lydia
,’ he said. ‘In fact, it’s high time we were off.’ He drew Sabrina closely to him. ‘We have a rather
special
celebration of our own to attend, don’t we, Sabrina?’ he said.

Wide-eyed at this totally unexpected change of plan, but realizing that Alexander was looking for an excuse to leave, Sabrina returned his gaze calmly. She would respond in which ever way suited her boss, she thought.

‘Of course,’ she said. ‘And I don’t want to hurry you away, but I did make the booking for nine-thirty, and it’s almost that now.’ She paused. ‘We mustn’t be late,’ she added.

Lydia was almost ready to explode with annoyance.
‘What on earth is so important that you have to dash off?’ she demanded.

Alexander hesitated just long enough to give his words full impact.

He glanced at his mother, and at the other women, a faint smile on the uncompromising mouth. ‘Tonight, Sabrina and I are about to celebrate the fact that I have asked her not only to be my personal assistant, but to be my wife.’ He looked down solemnly into the girl’s wide-eyed, unbelieving gaze. ‘And she has consented to do me that honour,’ he added defiantly.

W
ITH
his arm closely across Sabrina’s shoulders, Alexander guided her from the room and outside into the night. Neither of them said a word to each other as they walked rapidly towards the car, each fired up inside at what had just happened at the crowded dining-table.

Alexander could scarcely believe his mother’s attitude and rudeness—but why was he so surprised? he asked himself. She’d never been one to consider the feelings of others, and older age was certainly not improving her in that respect.

As for Lucinda, and what she’d said, he shrugged inwardly. He didn’t want to think about the woman at all. As far as he was concerned, she was a non-person, a nobody, a distant character from his past.

But Lydia could never be that distant; the blood tie was there, and couldn’t be changed or ignored. He bit his lip. Even though he had made so many allowances for her behaviour when he was young, it still hurt Alexander to witness his mother’s hurtful lack of concern for others. She wasn’t an evil person, he thought helplessly—just impossibly egocentric.

They reached the car, and as he handed Sabrina into the passenger seat he could see that she was quietly furious with him. He raised one hand submissively, then
closed the door and walked around to his side and got in, pausing for a moment before inserting the key into the ignition.

‘Sorry,’ he said briefly. ‘It was the only thing I could come up with.’

‘What? To get yourself out of the party you never wanted to come to anyway? Or were you hiding behind me to give your
lady friends
the final brush-off?’ Sabrina clasped her hands together tightly, trying to regain control of her anger. It wasn’t just anger she was feeling, it was acute anxiety. How on earth was this going to affect her job, her precious job? Could she possibly go on working with Alexander McDonald? Surely they’d both be horribly embarrassed in each other’s company? Sabrina knew very well what she
should
do—she should give him her notice now! But did she have the strength of mind, could she afford, to walk away from that salary he was paying her?

Trying desperately hard to make some sense of this mind-boggling turn of events, she felt a surge of anger well up inside her. For his own ends, she thought, he had taken complete advantage of her, of her situation, saying the first stupid thing that had come into his head. She swallowed, keeping her voice deadly calm.

‘Alexander,’ she said quietly. ‘I promised to be your secretary, your personal assistant, and to do everything in my power to help you with your present project. I did not expect to join you in a total and very public lie.’

‘Yes. I thought you supported me very well,’ he said. ‘The booking you’d made for our dinner—what time did you say it was, nine-thirty?—sounded utterly convincing.’ He paused and Sabrina saw his eyes twinkle maddeningly as she looked across at him. ‘I’m beginning to feel quite hungry, actually,’ he added.

Now he was teasing her, and this made Sabrina feel so annoyed she could have hit him.

‘This isn’t funny,’ she said flatly. ‘Because of who you are, our fictitious engagement is sure to get in the papers. What were you
thinking
of?’

He waited before replying. ‘I was thinking of you,’ he said quietly. ‘And how you must be feeling. I was so incensed at my mother’s behaviour that I decided to put the cat amongst the pigeons.’ He looked across at Sabrina for a moment, thinking how unspoilt and defenceless she looked, and so appealing, even though she was clearly very angry with him. He shifted in his seat. ‘And, by the way, I never hide behind anyone,’ he said. ‘If this does become public, we’ll deny it, simple as that. It won’t last more than one edition of any newspaper.’ He put the key in the ignition and started the engine, glancing across at her again. ‘And don’t worry. You’re quite safe with me. I don’t intend marrying anyone—ever.’

Back at the party, with the deafening noise fuelled by drink louder than ever, Lydia looked around at the handful of her guests who’d been witness to Alexander’s announcement. Determined not to let the staggering incident spoil the atmosphere, she said gaily, ‘All that was total nonsense, of course! It’ll never happen. My son is a writer. He’s always making things up—makes his living at it!’

She paused, fixing each of them with an intensely steely gaze. ‘And I do not expect a word of this to be breathed by anyone. Anyone at all.’ She stared, almost glared, at the bewildered faces looking back at her. ‘I hope I’ve made myself clear,’ she added.

The four or five women concerned, looking back
fearfully at their majestic hostess, had no option but to agree that they’d all keep mum.

Sitting beside Alexander as he drove the car smoothly along the country roads, Sabrina began to calm down a bit. Although it had seemed a very impetuous thing for him to do, she couldn’t help believing him when he said it had been his way of defending her feelings, of standing up for her. It certainly wasn’t in his own interests to have said such a thing. Sabrina breathed a long, deep sigh and glanced across at him, at the chiselled features and strong chin, at the strength of his thighs clearly visible beneath the fine fabric of his trousers. She decided to offer an olive branch.

‘I’m quite hungry too,’ she said.

At once, the handsome face creased into a broad grin, and without looking at her he said, ‘Wonderful. I know just the place.’

Twenty minutes later, still long before they’d reached the motorway, Alexander turned left into a narrow road. Half a mile along it they could see a sign which said ‘The Woodcutter’. Almost immediately he pulled into a wooded car park and brought the car to a halt, glancing briefly across at Sabrina.

‘I hope you’re going to like this,’ he said. ‘I don’t manage to get here very often, but it’s certainly one of my favourite places to eat.’

Sabrina was still gazing up at the inviting-looking building, which she could see was almost completely surrounded by fir trees and holly bushes. The rosy lighting which shone from every latticed window added to its welcoming appearance.

‘Well, at first glance this is a delightful place,’ she
said. ‘And rather remote. I didn’t know it existed. How did you find it?’

He smiled at her, feeling upbeat and optimistic for a second—not only because he’d successfully extricated them both from his mother’s party, but because he was here with Sabrina. He realized, with a jolt of surprise, how quickly she was melding into the fabric of his life. How, from almost the first day, she’d seemed to know exactly what was required of her without any fuss or unnecessary querying. Just his sort of woman, he thought, counting himself lucky that she’d accepted the post.

‘Oh, I chanced upon it several years ago after visiting my parents,’ he said in answer to her question. ‘I haven’t been here for a while, but the chef—if it’s the same one—has a fine reputation.’

Sabrina waited for him to come round and open her door, thinking that whatever was on tonight’s menu she’d enjoy it, because by now she was starving.

As they walked up the short path to the entrance, a comfortably happy sound of chatting and laughter reached their ears. Sabrina felt overwhelmingly thankful that she was here and not at Lydia’s party. From nightmare to nirvana, she thought instinctively.

Almost at once, the man serving drinks at the crowded bar looked up and smiled, raising his hand in greeting.

‘Hi, Alex!’ he called over. ‘Where’ve you been? Hiding yourself away again?’

Alexander moved towards the bar, his hand on Sabrina’s waist for a second as he guided her slightly in front of him. ‘Hello, Grant. Yes, sorry, I’ve been out of touch for a while.’ He paused, noting the man’s questioning glance in Sabrina’s direction. ‘I’ve brought my
secretary, Sabrina, with me tonight for a well-deserved supper. Have you still got a table available?’

Grant nodded affably. He’d make sure he’d accommodate Alexander McDonald, his most famous customer. He finished pulling a pint for the man he was dealing with, then came from behind the bar to join Alexander and Sabrina. ‘Sit over there by the window just for ten minutes, Alex,’ he said. ‘I’ll send someone to take your drinks order, and a table will be available in the restaurant at nine-thirty. Is that OK?’

Sabrina and Alexander exchanged smiles, and he said, ‘That suits us perfectly, doesn’t it, Sabrina? Thanks, Grant.’

Sitting at their discreet table for two, Sabrina looked around her appreciatively, realizing just how much she’d missed this kind of occasion. As she looked up into the solemn gaze of Alexander’s black eyes, studying her intently, she had to admit that she wasn’t going to complain at being here. To be with such a handsome and attentive member of the opposite sex had a certain palpable magic, so she might as well enjoy it, she thought. Enjoy this evening which seemed to be turning into a theatrical production.

As the light from the candle flickering on the table in front of them lit up Sabrina’s features, and her thoughts, Alexander sensed again that there was an unusual depth to her character—a depth which he’d like to delve into.

He suddenly remembered her telling him at the interview that she had a sister, so casually he enquired, ‘How is your sister at the moment? I think you mentioned that she didn’t enjoy the best of health.’

Brought back abruptly from her lingering thoughts, Sabrina put down her glass and looked across at him.
As her wide and moist eyes looked into his, Alexander had difficulty in not gently putting his fingers beneath her chin and tilting her face closer to his. Instead, he put down his own glass and waited for her to reply to his question.

‘I sincerely hope that Melly is very well,’ she said lightly. She paused. ‘She flew to Spain this morning, on a teaching contract for a couple of weeks. I’m hoping that the complete change will do her good, cheer her up.’ Sabrina sipped her drink. ‘It’s a music-and-dance school,’ she explained. ‘She’s already texted to let me know they’ve arrived safely and are settling in.’

Alexander hadn’t taken his eyes off her as she spoke. ‘Melly is younger than you?’ he asked, guessing that this was the case, because Sabrina’s whole attitude told him that she obviously felt responsible for her sister.

‘Only a couple of years,’ Sabrina said. ‘But she’s sometimes rather vulnerable when life seems to get the better of her, and I do have to pick up some pieces occasionally.’ She looked away for a moment. Melly was hundreds of miles away tonight, and must look after herself, but Sabrina was here sitting opposite the man who earlier this evening had taken it upon himself to inform anyone listening that she was about to become his wife! Another sudden wave of hot embarrassment swept over her as she remembered. That she was about to calmly eat supper with Alexander McDonald, and make inconsequential conversation with him, seemed absurd. She cleared her throat; she had to say something more about it, she thought.

‘I know you made light of what happened at Lydia’s party,’ she said carefully. ‘But I don’t feel as convinced as you seem to be that no more will come of it.’ She hesitated, lowering her voice. ‘I still can’t quite believe
you said all that,’ she added. ‘I nearly dropped through the floor.’

‘Well, you covered your discomfort very well,’ he said smoothly. ‘No one could have guessed that you weren’t totally aware of—and happily in accordance with—the announcement.’ He grinned suddenly, disarmingly. ‘Forget it, Sabrina. It was an unexpected one-off, an unforeseen circumstance which we dealt with perfectly. And nothing has changed between us,’ he said, leaning forward. ‘You are my PA, and I am your somewhat demanding employer who expects you to rise to any occasion that may present itself. Which you did, with flying colours.’ He sat back, as if that was the end of the matter. ‘Ah, good, here comes our supper,’ he said cheerfully.

To her surprise, Sabrina knew that she was going to be able to eat every morsel of the delicious food put in front of them, even though she admitted to feeling slightly traumatized at what had happened still. To hear herself discussed so publicly and so unpleasantly had been a horrible experience, and she knew she wouldn’t forget it for a long time. Then, even worse, for Alexander to have announced that she’d accepted his proposal of marriage still left her feeling shattered. It was like a silly dream, the sort of thing which she and Melly sometimes told each other about as they chatted at breakfast time—though Melly’s dreams were always more highly coloured than her own.

Sabrina shrugged inwardly. She and her boss would really have to forget that the wretched business had ever taken place, even though she knew, whatever he said, that she was going to feel awkward when she turned up for work tomorrow morning. How could she help it?

But now, as far as he was concerned, Alexander
seemed completely unfazed as he tucked into the rare steak he’d ordered. He glanced across at her.

‘I thought you said you were hungry,’ he said casually. ‘You’re not eating anything.’

Sabrina smiled quickly, then picked up her knife and fork. From the first mouthful her lamb cutlet and salad proved to be as mouth-watering as it looked.

‘I was just thinking,’ she said. ‘That’s all.’

‘And apparently you can’t eat and think at the same time?’ he enquired, reaching for more mustard.

Sabrina didn’t bother to answer that. Then she asked curiously, ‘Why do you call your mother by her Christian name?’

Alexander didn’t look up as he replied. ‘Because that is what she told us to do when we were kids, my brother and I.’ He picked up his glass of wine. ‘Lydia never took kindly to motherhood, I’m afraid,’ he went on, ‘so as long as we didn’t call her Mother—or, perish the thought, Mummy—she could forget she was one.’ He looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Not long after I was born she got herself sterilized to avoid the fatal mistake of conceiving any more little brats.’ His mouth twisted briefly. ‘Makes you wonder why she bothered in the first place.’

Sabrina kept her eyes on her plate as she listened, her professional mind already forming familiar patterns. ‘And your father—what about him?’ she asked lightly, trying not sound as if she was interviewing a patient.