Chapter Nine
Greg studied the group of friends as he passed the lunch room. It looked as if they were studying the gossip pages or discussing the latest scandal to hit parliament. A politician found in bed with a married woman. At least Maggie had the sense to feel embarrassment because her cheeks glowed and she fidgeted with discomfort. Greg made a scoffing sound. He didnotunderstand why Maggie spent so much time with the bunch of losers. None of them possessed ambition. Granted Connor Grey had brains. The head of the IT department held him in high regard, but the man was a womanizer. He had a different woman on his arm every time Greg saw him.
Greg continued along the passage to his office, ignoring the traces of envy curling through him. The leggy blondes who spent time with Connor never gave him a second glance.
And as for the three women. Julia acted like a slut—the female version of Connor. Greg didn’t know the other two well, since he steered clear of them in the work environment. They were both secretaries and his accounting assistants dealt with that side of his work.
What was he going to do about Maggie?
She refused to speak to him at work, wouldn’t take his calls at home. The message box on her cell was getting a workout, and he’d stopped leaving them.
Greg dropped into his chair. He picked up a pen, tapping it on his pristine blotter pad while he tried to think of a way to contact Maggie. He needed to assemble an accounting team together to work on the Silverstone project. She wasn’t qualified, but it might not matter. At least she’d have to spend time with him. Work late to meet deadlines.
Perfect, he thought, mentally flitting over names to fill the rest of the personnel spots for the project. At worst, she could make coffee and run messages, liaise with the office and IT departments.
“Maggie, dear. You’re not getting away from me, not after the time I’ve invested in you.”
He gave a fleeting thought to one of their last conversations.Spanking. Now that had been weird. Way out of character. Surely, she couldn’t have been serious?
Connor scanned the room and shuddered at the speculative stares he intercepted from the women. He felt like a duck in the sights of a shooter’s rifle. No wonder sensible ducks headed for ponds in the middle of reserves come shooting season. A dark corner of the pub next door lured him like that duck pond.
“How long does this last?” he mumbled to Julia.
Julia caught a woman staring and snickered. “Don’t be a baby. They won’t hurt you.”
He glanced at Maggie. He wanted to grab her and run. She didn’t belong here anymore than he did. Not that he could inform her of that. He cursed himself for allowing this situation to develop. What he should have done was tell Julia and the others he wanted Maggie and gone from there. Nah, that wouldn’t have worked. They would have pressured Maggie to turn down his request for a date. The four women thought he was incapable of settling with one woman. A touch of frustration brought a deep frown.
Once, that would have been true.
Even six months ago the accusation would’ve contained the ring of truth.
Things changed.
People changed.
A strident bell rang and a woman in a black dress and heels approached the waiting mike on the small stage at the front of the room. The din of excited chatter faded to quiet expectancy.
“Welcome to the first Auckland Speed Dating event. Thank you for coming tonight. Your attendance fee is going to a good cause—to aid research for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New Zealand.”
Thunderous applause erupted, and the apprehension in Connor abated. Each time he started to feel like a duck in the sights of a hunter, he’d remind himself this was for charity. And he’d keep an eye on Maggie. He didn’t want anyone else to get ideas about her.
Maggie belonged to him.
She just didn’t know it yet.
“When you registered for this event, you each completed a form with your details. When you checked in tonight, you received a number. That is your number for tonight. You should also have a second sheet with other numbers. Those numbers will be your dates for this evening.”
Connor shot Maggie a swift glance but failed to grab her attention. Irritation burst in him when he realized she was scoping out the competition. Scowling, he checked them out too, trying to decide what she might see in them. Call him big-headed, but they were a geeky-looking bunch. The closest guy—tall and skinny—looked as if he might run at the sight of a rugby ball. A dazed expression froze on his face when a woman approached him. Connor experienced sneaking sympathy.Don’t make eye contact!Too late, the guy offered the woman a tentative smile. She pounced.
“Hey, Connor. Seen anyone you like the look of?” Julia asked.
“Don’t you dare move away from me,” he muttered.
Grinning, she backed up, and he grabbed her arm. “Don’t even think about it. They can’t see through my clothes. Can they?”
Julia blinked. “They’re trying to will them away. Now you know what women feel like when we pass a building site.”
“Huh, Susan told me you girls make a special detour to pass the building site at the bottom of Queen Street.”
