“We could if you forgave me for getting you dismissed from the hotel.”
“I have forgiven you for that. I have not forgiven you for putting my uncle through the distress of losing a job that’s very dear to his heart.”
It was my turn to wince. I regretted every moment of the meeting in my uncle’s office when he’d dismissed both Mr. Hobart and Mr. Armitage for keeping the secret of Mr. Armitage’s arrest. “I helped get him re-employed by putting in a good word with my uncle.” It sounded pathetic. I swallowed and looked down at my lap.
Mr. Armitage sighed. “And for another thing, your family would not approve.”
I lifted my gaze to his. “That’s for me to worry about.”
“I don’t want my fledgling business blacklisted by a man as powerful as Sir Ronald Bainbridge. Not when I plan to use his hotel as a source for my clients, at least initially. And finally, I will never have a partner.”
“Then let me be an associate.”
“No.”
“But you already have ‘Associates’ painted on the door. Why put it there if you don’t plan to hire staff?”
“I do plan on it, just not yet. There isn’t enough work. And may I point outagain, that I wouldn’t hireyou.”
I chose to ignore the latter part of that statement and latch onto the former. “There will be enough work when I tell you about a potential case for a paying client. That will mean two cases. You can’t possibly work them both at the same time.”
He simply smiled, but there was a brightness to his warm eyes now that hadn’t been there before. I’d piqued his interest. “What’s the case?” he asked.
“I’m not telling you unless you hire me.”
“Blackmail, Miss Fox?” He clicked his tongue. “What would your family say?”
“My uncle would congratulate me on sticking to the course I’ve mapped out. He is a businessman, after all.”
He watched me from beneath those long dark lashes of his, the warmth in his eyes having vanished. It was difficult to know what he was thinking. The steady gaze unnerved me, and I lowered mine to the desk. It was a very clean surface. There were no notes, no files, just a blank notepad, pencils, pens and ink.
I lifted my gaze to see him still studying me. I tried not to show how much it disarmed me. “There isn’t a case, is there?”
He blinked, breaking the spell. “Pardon?”
“If I open the drawers of that filing cabinet, I’ll find it empty except for the lease agreement to this office. Is that correct?”
It was his turn to look away.
“You don’t have a case yet, do you?” I pressed.
He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I’d dented his masculine pride by calling out his white lie, but to his credit, he wasn’t going to let that defeat him. “Two can play that game, Miss Fox.”
“What game?”
“The guessing game.”
So I was right. He had lied about having a case. “And what are you going to guess about me?” Perhaps he’d used his powers of deduction and realized I couldn’t possibly be as wealthy as my Bainbridge family, considering I’d arrived at the hotel dressed in the out-of-date clothes of an ordinary woman.
He crossed his arms and sat back with a satisfied look on his face. “Your client resides at the hotel. Or perhaps the hotel itself is the client.”
“How do—” I cut myself off, but his smile widened. “What makes you think that?”
“You’re new to London and have no friends here outside your family and their circle. Your entire life revolves around the hotel. Where else would you have learned of a case requiring aninvestigation?”
I remained still so as not to give anything away.
That only made him smile more. “Since I’m right, I don’t need you to bring me the case, Miss Fox. I simply need to ask my uncle. He knows everything that’s going on at the Mayfair.”
