Carrie stared at him and felt the virulent hatred tearing at her. "You bastard." She refused to be cowed at the ominous look that came over his face. "You heartless monster." She's..." She almost blurted out about the pregnancy, stopping just in time.
"She's what?"
"Nothing." She shook her head. "She has no idea I'm here. If she had known, she would have stopped me. Like I said before, you don't deserve someone like her. And I wish to God that I never talked her into going that night. Yes, she would still be struggling to make two ends meet, but she would be content. Goodbye, Mr. Lancashire. Enjoy your empty life."
With one contemptuous look around the office, she turned around and left.
He sat there for a minute more after she had left, staring at the empty space. Then, dismissing her from his mind, he picked up the contract. Making notations in his precise handwriting in the corner of the document, he reached for his recorder.
"Have Legal take another look at the Bennison's contract. We should make more on the offer and not less." Putting it away, he read a few more paragraphs and heard the words the woman had spoken weaving into his brain and disturbing his focus.
"She's still struggling to make two ends meet. She never wanted to go through with it. I urged her to and now she's in love with you."
Shaking his head, he pushed from the desk and strode over to the cabinet. In less than twenty minutes he had a dinner date. With a passionate member of the opposite sex.
Karen Thorpe was a Broadway actress in possession of a sharp wit and a boisterous laugh. He had known her for a long time and knew where he stood with her. There were no hidden agendas. Dinner and then a night of passion at her place. After being with Melanie, he could not bear to bring another woman to his place.
The first few nights after he had dropped her home and went back to his place, he had avoided the bed, because everythingsmelled of her. Pouring a finger of scotch, he wandered over to the window. In a little over a month, he had been unable to sleep. He kept seeing her, tasting her, feeling her wrapped around him. He had visions of them in Paris, her genuine pleasure, the sound of her sultry laughter. Her voice, the innocence cloaking her, that had enchanted him.
But it had all been a bloody lie, he reminded himself viciously. She had been playing a part, one where she set out to trap rich men and take them for whatever she could get.
It doesn't matter what her friend said, she was a greedy, soulless bitch. With a child! She had lied to him over and over again. Tossing back the drink, he slammed the glass down. Damn her to hell and back. He was going on his date. Then he was going to deliberately erase her from his mind.
*****
"Darling, if I wasn't such a confident woman, I would be very offended right now." Karen chided in her wonderfully husky voice that had been captivating millions on the stage for more than ten years.
Shaking back her glossy black hair, she eyed the preoccupied man across from her with twinkling light green eyes.
"Who is she and what can I do to stop her from putting that look on your face? I've been talking about my upcoming show for the past ten minutes and I doubt you heard a word of what I said."
Picking up his wine, he sent her a lazy smile designed to soothe.
"It's business. And I heard all of it, including how much you hate your co-star. You're the main attraction, you should be able to get him replaced."
She pouted at him, one elegant hand, fingers painted a lethal fire engine red, trailing over his arm.
"Just goes to show how much you know about show biz. Blake happens to be the son of the major backer, hence his debut." She shrugged gracefully. "And he's not all that bad an actor, except he's not the best."
"Which should do you a world of good and allow you to take center stage as usual." The words were delivered in a cynical tone that had her lifting her brows.
"Why, darling, you really are in a mood."
"Sorry." Putting down his glass, he shook his head. "Something on my mind."
"Care to share?"
"It's not that important." Taking her hand, he lifted it to his mouth. "I'm more interested in how long you plan to be in town."
She preened, feeling the usual desire stirring. She had been with Rodney in the past and known him to be an excellent and unselfish lover. The fact that he wasn't looking for a commitment suited her fine. She was very dedicated to her career and only that. But being with a handsome man who was prepared to lavish her with attention and expensive gifts were favorable side benefits.
"For a month, give or take." She curled her fingers around his. "And I look forward to having you see my apartment. It happens to be one of yours."
"Is that right?" Letting go of her hand, he picked up his wine to hide his sudden revulsion. He didn't feel anything. Here he was with a stunningly beautiful and talented woman from his own society and all he felt was disgust. It was pissing him off.
"Hmm." Unaware of the turmoil going through him, she offered a provocative smile. "We could ditch dessert and go there now."
"We could." He drank more wine to try and wash the bile that was rising in his throat. Damn her! Damn her for ruining him. "Or we could stay and finish the excellent meal."
