Glass Ceilings (49 page)

When Verity raised her head,
Claire
took in
he
r
pained expression
and
said quietly,
‘
It’s Royce, isn’t it?
’
A
s
soon as the words were out
of her mouth, Claire could almost hear
the
barrier
—
the one
Verity
raised around her emotions
whenever they were threatened
—
drop
into place with a thud
, and s
he
saw
the familiar
look of guarded reserve settle
on her
face
.

Claire
reached
over
to take her
hand, saying,
‘Verity, it’s me. You need to talk to someone, and you can trust me.’

Verity
ran a hand over her face.
‘I know, Claire. I’m just afraid....’

‘Of what?’

‘Of putting into words something I’ve
been trying to ignore.
’ Verity sighed.
‘
It’s a
s though simply
talking about it
would give it life, a
nd the ability to inflict injury
.’

Claire thought for a moment
before saying
softly,
‘Well
then
, tell me this. How do you feel about Royce?’

Verity f
ixed her with a tr
oubled
gaze,
and
then rose,
and walked over to the window.
She stood there
for a while before saying contemplatively,
‘There’s
a que
stion I’ve been avoiding
, Claire
. It has
two parts
to it
, and
what you’ve asked is the second part. The first
was answered on the island.’

‘Care to share?’

Verity took a deep breath. ‘
Part one was
,
what does Royce feel for me
, and I got my answer
—at least, I think
I did—
the las
t night we were there.’ She turn
ed
towards
Claire, w
ho was surprised to see something akin to joyous wonder in her
friend’s
eyes
. I
n a voice barely more than a
whisper
,
Verity
said
, ‘
H
e
kissed
me, Claire
, and I mean
really
kissed me
.’

Claire’s eyes
wide
ned and she breathed,
‘
Wow!
’ before continuing with scarcely restrained anticipation,
‘
S
o,
what’s the answer to
the second part
?
’
When silence greeted her
,
Claire persisted, ‘What do
you
feel for
him
?’

A haze of uncertainty clouded Verity’s
eyes
again,
and sh
e turned to stare out
the
window
, taking a long
time
to answer
quietly,
‘That’s the part
I’m
most
afraid of.’

‘So, it’s not an easy answer
like
, “nothing”, or
“can’t stand the
rotten
buggar”
?’

Verity shook her head
and gave a grim laugh. ‘W
e wouldn’t be talking about
this if
that were the case.’ After a while she a
d
ded
wistfully
, ‘
So much has
changed
since I
first
moved into this office
,
and
in a very short time.
It’s no
wonder my head’s spinning.
’

She moved away from the window and sat beside Claire
again
.
‘Some changes have been good,’ and she smiled
warmly
at her new PA
for a brief moment,
‘
a
nd
others not so good.
And
some
have
put me
i
n a
n uncontrollable
,
flat
spin
, and they’re the scariest ones
.
’

She drained her coffee mug before continuing, ‘Take Royce, for example. I thought I had his mea
sure—
a
typical
,
hard-nosed, ruthlessly ambitious executive, with his eyes resolutely focused upwards as he squashes everyone else beneath his boots.
B
ut then I
glimpsed
a very different pictur
e
.
I saw
a kind
angler who shares his catch with a fish-mad feline without asking anything in return, and a gentle dog owner who spends quality time with his old pet, showing him off proudly without a care for what others
think, a
nd a man who’s been using his career as a
crutch against loss and regret
.
And it became clear that the man I thought I knew
,
wasn’t
the real ma
n at all. But
what I
do
know
...,’
and
Verity
’s voice
broke
,
‘
is that
for some reason, he’s never far from my mind
now
.’

Claire didn’t
move
or speak
.
She didn’t want to bre
ak the spell that had her friend
tal
king so openly
.

Verity
breathed in deeply
and lifted her chin
. ‘
But
despite what took place
on the island,
Royce
has
n’t spoken to
me
since
we got back
.
And tomorrow’s meeting will
be all
about his next project
.
He’s
obviously
put
behind him
w
ha
t happened between us
.’ She turned
agitated
eyes on
to
Claire
.
‘And that’s
ex
actly
what I wanted him to do, s
o
that
w
e’re ju
st two professional associates
again
—
’
the
breath caught in
Verity’
s throat. S
he
shut her mouth tightly and blinked, desperate
ly determined
to
stay in control.

But her thoug
hts would not be silenced
.

Did it mean so little to him? That kiss, and his words
,
and
the way he looked at me?

She
turned her face away and
squeezed her eyes shut
.

Is he embarrassed by it now? O
r did I misread the situation entirely
? A
m
I
allowing myself to be emotionally
crippled
by
a momentary impulse,
a passing fancy
?

She took a
nother
deep breath to steady herself
.

Claire noted her distress and said gently, ‘But
Royce ha
s been busy
,
getting the
expansion
project underway
, and having teleconference after teleconference
with Travis a
nd
the
board,
about
the
chairman
position
. With all that’s been going on, he wouldn
’t
have
had
much
time for
anything
else.
’

Verity
nodded mutely and
stared
at her hands
,
clasped tightly together
in her lap
. Claire
’s
sensible words
, though kind,
br
ought
her
no comfort
. They
were
simply
a repetition of what
she’d been telling herself for days
.
She
closed her eyes and
listened to her heart
. Its
trait
orous voice
complained loudly of a painful wound.

By keeping a professional distance
,
Royce was
dutifully
meeting
the expectations of his CEO,
but
Verity realised
,
to her chagrin
,
that there was still a
tender-hearted
woman beneath the
power
suit.
Although painfully aware
she
had treated
him the same way, she now
felt
cast aside and
wretched at being
k
ept
at arms length
by him
.

Especially as
those
same arms
had
held
her
close
,
and
reignite
d
a flame she’
d thought extinguished forever
.

‘Royce is here, Verity.’

‘Thanks Claire. Could you give me a minute and then send him in please?’

Verity slipped into
her office’s
en suite
to check on her
appearance. Making sure
she looked alright would help her feel more confident in this first meeting with him. She
ran a critical eye over her reflection
in the full-length mirror, and was pleased with the natural glow the peach tints on
her cheeks and lips gave her. B
ut nothing could hide the shadows under her eyes. She knew
the only cure for them was a good night’s sleep, the very thing eluding her at present.

Her
tailored
pant suit with
long-
line jacket
and embossed sliver blouse
,
accentuated her slim figure.
When she
reached
up to
sm
ooth her shining brunette hair, which she’d left loose for a change
, she was dismay
ed to find
her hand
a little unsteady. She took a deep breath and hesitated
briefl
y at the doorway
. Then she lifted her head, pushed the door
open
,
and strode in with what she
hoped was a
confident
air.

Royce was standing at the othe
r end of the room,
study
ing
the
aerial photographs on the wall
, but turned on hearing her approach
. Verity
acknowledged him with a nod, keeping
her eyes low as she made
her way
towards the central table
, pausing at her desk to pick up her diary and a note book
and pen
. S
he took
her time
, mentally preparing
herself
to look
dire
ctly into his
face
, the one
that was
haunting her days and nights.