Glass Ceilings (43 page)

‘
Well, I ... didn’t kno
w
.
..
.’
Pulling her hands apart and l
ooking around quickl
y, she mumbled,
‘
I hav
e to
thank him—
’

‘Well n
ow, don’t mind m
e
.
’
Guy smiled
br
oadly a
nd
rose
to leave, but
felt her hand on his arm.

‘Before you go,
Guy. Did Royc
e know befo
re tonight
about his nomination for chairman?’

‘Shute, Verity, you
saw his reaction, same as the rest of us.
Do ya think he knew?’
At the small shake of Verity’s
head,
he smiled and added, ‘Anyhow, what would it mean if he had known?’

She didn’t reply but gave
a poignant little smile, before inclining her head and releasing his arm.

Chapter E
i
ghteen

Verity felt
she needed air.
So much had happened in such a short time, h
er
min
d was
full to overflowing
with questions,
images
and sensations
. And to her dismay,
h
er hand still tingled
where Royce had grasped it
.
She
excused herself
from the group she was standin
g with and walked over to put
her
empty
champagne flute on the bar. With a quick glance around to check if anyone would notice, she
slipped through the restaurant’s glass doors
and o
nto the stone
terrace
outside
.

Golden l
ight from the
room’s
chandeliers followed her
,
and
blended with the
moon’s
silver cast
,
and the dancing flames of
torches
mounted
on the
terrace. It didn’t take long for
her eyes
to adjust
to
the soft gloom
,
which she
welcomed
after the
restaurant’s
compar
ative glare
.

The
fresh air was cool
against her skin
,
and the slight south-easterly breeze
carried with it
the now familiar scent of
blooming
jasmin
e
.
On impulse, Verity released the clip holding her hair and it tumbled to her shou
lders, where the fragrant draught
caught it
up
in a soft dance.
She
walked over to the stone balustrade and leant against it, looking skyward.
Closing
her eyes,
she
b
reathed
deeply of the night, and attempted to gather her thoughts
.

So
,
Royc
e ba
iled me out of the Reardon case—
probably
the most serious threat to
my hold on the CEO job
to date
—
b
ut only after first having
a go
himself
at undermining my authority
.

She groaned inwardly.

Why can’t he
just
choose a side and stick to it?

Verity
opened her eye
s
,
and studied
the
clouds scudding about the sky
. They were
backlit by platinum
moon
light
which
shone down on her, making
her skin
appear luminous
.

Her mind
raced
, trying to find a point where everything she now knew made sense
.

Was
Royc
e
aware
before tonight t
hat
he
would
be offered the chairman
position
? And what if he did
know
? Like Guy said, why would that matter?

She frowned.

I’m not sure, but for some reason, it’s bothering me.

So many ques
tions. She shook her head and tried to focus on
the main
one—
why Royce would help her, his
nemesis
,
out of a
tricky
situation
.

Did he find out about the
prestigious
job offer
coming his way,
and decide
he didn’t
need to
undermin
e
me further, that he
could afford to be generous
?
Is that the
on
ly reason he deigned to help me
, or is there another
, more dangerous
explanati
on
?

She turned her attention inwards, searching
among her jumbled emotions for the gut feeling she
trusted above all other
s, and a strong sensation emerged. She was certain
Royce hadn’
t known about the
promotion
before tonight.

But
, if that’s
t
rue
,
then
why the change of heart?

All of a sudden
,
Verity
became aware
she wasn’t alone. Someone was close by.
She turned to see Royce leaning nonchalantly
against the balustrade, staring
at her. Al
armed at the sight of him and at
the intensity of his gaze, she straightened.

‘Royce
! You startled me,
I was deep in thought
.
’

A
bout you
,
as it happens
, she chided herself.

‘Yes,
I could tell
you
were
a million miles away.’

He moved
near
er and
she felt a warmth seep into her, like the comforting
, wholesome
warmth of Reg Edward’s home
.
Verity b
linked. What was going on here?

When Royc
e turned
again
to lean on the balustrade and
gaze
i
n
to the garden, she was grateful for
the break from his
close
scrutiny
.
S
he could feel herself once more
drawn to him
, like a moth to a
bright
candle.
Another question,
one she
’d been
avoiding
for a while now
, floated close to th
e surface of her conscious mind. She
gave a
shiver and crossed her arms to rub her shoulders.

‘Cold?’ Royce moved closer still, and
made as if to take
off his jacket.

‘No ... just ...
no, thanks.
’
Verity shook her head
,
and waved away his offer
as she moved
further
along the balustrade
to put
m
or
e distance between them.
S
omething
was
happening she had to control, and she could only do that if she
didn’t let him
get
too close.

David’s accusing face danced before her eyes.

It never pays
to let anyone get too close.

She
blinked
again
and drew upon her
internal
reserves.
‘I’m surprised to find you out here
, Royce
.
I thought you would’
ve been inside
,
lapping up all the praise?’ She w
as dismayed to hear a cynical note
creep
in
to
her voice, an unconscious defence a
gainst the effects of his
proximity.

He
threw
a curious
half-
frown her way
,
and
took his time replying, all the while gazing intently at her. ‘I could ask the same of you.’

His voice was lulling her, it was
so rich, so deep, so....

Snap out of it!

Royce
turned to look over the balustrade once more,
and Verity took a deep breath
before saying hollowly,
‘Touché.
Well, guess I’d better get back to the schmoozing—
’

‘Verity, before you go.
...’ Royce straightened and
reached out to take her arm
as she made to pass him
. She paused and
looked at t
he strong hand restraining her. H
e quickly withdrew it.

‘
Sorry,
I
just
want to ... I have something....
’ He bent his head as though trying to compose himself, and she paused, intrigued.
Who
was
this man standing in front of her, sounding
hesitant
,
insecure
, and so very unlike the oh-so-smooth Royce James?

Her steady gaze didn’t waver
as he
lifted his eyes to hers again. She
saw
a sort of grim
determination
settle on his features
.

‘I never got the chance to thank you properly for saving me on the dive
, Verity
.
’

‘Don’t mention it. I just did what any diver would’ve done.’

‘No, t
hat took real
guts,
and i
f not for you, I probably wouldn’t be standing here now.’ He swallowed
and
gazed at her with tenderness
in his dark eyes. ‘And I know the trouble
didn’t end there, that you had to handle an inv
estigation, and deal with Kerry. A
ll right before going into your first EC meeting
,
where you somehow managed to put in a flawless
performance. I take my hat off to you.’

‘
Well, thanks.
’
Verity gave a wry laugh.
‘But it was far from flawless
.’

‘Not from where I was sitting.’

Verity
dipped her head and
gave him a tight smile
,
and
then
made as if to walk away
again
.

Royc
e hastily went on, ‘And I also wanted to thank you for supp
orting my project proposal.’ He
was sure he sounded a little desperate
,
and
grimaced
in the darkness
.

Verity stopped in her tracks. Standing very still,
the only movement about her person the sway of her satin skirt in the breeze,
she
fi
xed him with an assessing gaze.

‘
Once again, there’s no need to thank me.
I think you should know I wouldn’t have supported your project if there’d been the
slightest
reason to doubt its viability. Which I had to determine for myself,
’
she
said, a
harsh
note creeping into her voice
,
‘having not been
involved
in the project from the earlier
stage
s
.’
She eyed him critically.