The experience had left her guarded, protective of her privacy and always careful to take nothing for granted. Safety and stability were the two things she craved most because confusion and unpredictability had been terrifying.
Now, James was breaking their unspoken code and was looking at her, eyes bright and challenging, daring her to open up with what she was thinking. She was tempted, because on this one subject she had strong feelings.
‘Like I said,’ she repeated quietly, ‘I don’t have any opinions on what you do outside work.’
‘Yes, you do.’
Their eyes met and he grinned and visibly relaxed.
‘Was there a reason why she came here?’ Ellie eventually asked, and he shrugged and nodded to his private sitting area where he entertained clients or had informal meetings—deep leather chairs, a metal table, and to one side a sofa-bed, because it wasn’t unheard of for him to spend the night in the office if things were particularly busy.
‘Let’s go and relax. Been one hell of a day, and we’re not even halfway through it. My head’s not in a suitable work space.’
‘You’re the boss,’ Ellie said, and he frowned.
‘Yes. I am. You work for me, but once in a while it’s okay to take off the professional hat and actually stop hiding away behind that glass wall of yours.’
Ellie blushed. She lowered her eyes, but she could feel a tell-tale pulse jumping in her neck. She was keenly aware of him vaulting to his feet, pushing back the leather chair and heading towards the seating area which was brick-walled and warmly inviting.
‘And dump the tablet,’ he ordered without glancing round at her, making for the sofa-bed, where he proceeded to lie down with his eyes closed. ‘Tell me what you’re thinking,’ he coaxed. ‘Get it off your chest. Trust me, you’ll feel better for it.’
Ellie was shrewd enough to realise what was happening here. For once, he had found himself in a situation over which he had had no control. Naomi had shown up out of the blue, blown a hole in his day by creating a scene and had left him edgy and in need of venting. The more she tried to pull back, the more he would goad her into a response. For once, she was in the direct line of fire, and the speediest way to return things to normal would be to give up and go with the flow.
‘Maybe Naomi thought you wouldn’t hit the roof because she made the mistake of showing up here.’ Ellie had taken one of the chairs, and she looked at him sprawled out on the sofa-bed, feet loosely crossed at the ankles, eyes now opened to slits as he looked at her, hands folded behind his head. ‘Youhavebeen going out for quite a long time, after all...’
‘A handful of months.’
‘That’s record-breaking for you,’ Ellie said politely, driven to honesty, because he just wouldn’t let it go. She felt a surge of annoyance that she had been prodded into going against the grain. Rebellion began to blossom inside her, a little voice telling her that, if he wanted to hear what she thought, then why not give him what he wanted?
James grinned and visibly relaxed. ‘So it is. You’re a tonic, Eleanor Thompson—five-foot six inches, twenty-four years old and a mystery after three years of working for me. How is it that you know how long I’ve been seeing Naomi, and yet I don’t even know whether you have a boyfriend or not? Have you?’ He laughed. ‘No need to answer that one, Ellie. I already know that your answer will be that it’s none of my business, and of course you’d be absolutely right.’
Ellie stiffened. When she looked down, she saw her neat flats, the smooth navy of her knee-length skirt and the white of her ribbed summer tee shirt.
The amusement in his voice ratcheted up that small rebellious voice. Did he imagine that she had no feelings? That she was as dull as dishwater? When he said that she was amystery, it certainly wasn’t in the tone of voice that implied she wasintriguing.
‘It doesn’t matter whether you have a list ofdosanddon’tswhen it comes to women,’ she told him evenly. ‘Most women don’t expect to be hauled in front of a firing squad if they make the mistake of paying a visit to the company where their partner works. I know you must have told her what was and wasn’t allowed in a relationship but...’
She stopped in mid-flow. Did she really know anything about relationships? Precious little. Fate had made sure to deny her the chance to have fun with guys in the way every other girl her age did. But she did know what she would and wouldn’t want in an ideal world, and she definitely wouldn’t want any guy who had a book of instructions of what was allowed.
Her heart sped up as their eyes met and she felt a little burst of satisfaction at having said what was in her mind—toning it down, of course, because the lines of demarcation prevented her from really saying what she thought.
What she really thought was that James Stowe was way too clever, way too good-looking and way too charismatic for his own good. In the cut-throat world of computers and computer software, he ruled the roost and now, as he expanded into the lucrative field of tech start-ups, he was on course for claiming the crown.
Women flocked to him because he was the ultimate catch. Except for the fact that he had no sticking power. Just because he made a big deal of laying all his cards on the table at the start of a relationship, didn’t mean that he was the epitome of the gentleman, which it seemed was how he would like to be perceived.
‘But...?’ he encouraged, eyes bright with interest. ‘I’m all ears.’
‘But women aren’t robots,’ Ellie said sharply. ‘They’re not always going to do as you tell them. You’re confusing them with people you pay to work for you. They’re not employees, and if somewhere along the line they think it might be okay to come here for a surprise visit, then I don’t think it’s very fair for you to let rip because they’ve gone against your commands.’
She was huffing a little as he slid off the couch to saunter across to the window, where he stood for a couple of seconds, back to her, peering out.
Energised.
‘You make me sound like a tyrant,’ he mused, turning round and then strolling towards her. ‘Have you always felt that way?’
‘I...’
‘Yes? Now you’ve started, you can’t leave me hanging on. That would be cruel...’
