Glass Ceilings (50 page)

‘I’m glad you could see me
on such short notice
,
Verity.
’
Royce’s deep voice was controlled and even,
and
,
as always, he
didn’t seem inclined to waste
time
on small talk
.

Verity was relieved
there were
none of
the usual
‘what’s the weather doing?’, or
other
ice-breaking
inanities
. A
business-like
opening
to their discussion
was
solid ground for her, unlike the treacherous terrain
of
affairs of the heart.

‘I knew you wouldn’t have called
a meeting unless it was to discuss something important
.’ She
straightened and
finally dragged her eyes up to meet his
.
There was something very unsettling in his
gaze
, and
she
quickly looked
down
at her diary
again
. ‘And I’m glad you’ve brought me in on this
project
early in the piece. That makes it easier for both of us.’ She
threw
him
a
brief,
significant glance
,
and took a seat
at the side of the table furth
est from him.

He w
alked over to sit opposite her without speaking. Hi
s dark eyes
were
fixed on her face
as though drinking her in
.

Verity had to stop herself from squirming under his
scrutiny
. A
fter a bit she squeaked
, ‘So
,
’ and
then
c
oughed
,
before continuing
more normally,
‘
tell me about this new project
?’

Her question see
med to catch him unawares. H
e answered a little jerkily, ‘
It’s
...
not a project
...
per se
...
,’ and he swall
owed
.

Verity
gave a puzzled frown. ‘Oh, it’s not
?
’

‘No. Look, I’ve started to hope....’

Verity
watched as Royce took a deep breath, sat straighter, and established firm eye contact with her, as though preparing to deliver an oration. Whatever this was about, he was certainly
taking it seriously.

‘
Veri
ty, I....’ He cleared his throat
an
d tried again. ‘
This
is
a proposal
, but not about a project.
’ He gave an impatient shake of his head.
‘
Look, I’ll cut to the chase.’

‘Good, I like a straight-up approach.’

‘You and I both.’ H
e gave a grim
smile
and leaned back in
his chair, studying her
from under
hooded eyes
. ‘
Verity,
I want
to marry you
.’

Verity’s
mouth fell open
,
and she could feel her eyes bulging in their sockets
. S
tunned speechless, she
stared at him wide-eyed,
like a marsupial
dazzled by
an oncoming car’s headlights.

‘I’m not asking for an immediate answer
,
I’m
simply
declaring my intentions
.
’ Now that those first six, cr
ucial words were out, Royce was regaining
his usual composure.
‘
T
ake
your
time to think about it.’ He ro
se and
walked over to sit beside her.

Her eyes followed his movements, but she remained
glued where she sat
. He
took
one of her hands in his
, and felt her fingers tremble
at his touch. He immediately folded her hand in both of his, as though to reassure her.
His eyes, no longer hooded, stared openly into hers
,
with an intensity of warmth that radiated across the space between them.

Verity
looked
down
at her slend
er hand in his
large
warm grasp
, and up at him again.
She
opened and closed her mouth, but
still
no words came.

H
e
smile
d kindly
. ‘This has probably come at you from left field.’

Verity nodded
vaguely
, still dazed.

His expression became serious again. ‘But
I’ve endured enough
regrets for one lifetime, s
o I
want to
lay my cards on the table
,
and
b
e
absolutely
clear from the start
about what I’m proposing
.
’

Verity
remained silent
,
so he forged ahead.
Releasing her hand, he opened his coat jacket and extracted a sm
all box.

‘
If you accept
this,
’ and he took her hand again and pressed the box into it, opening the lid as he did so, ‘
we can have as long an engagement
as you need. I won’t rush you.’

In her heart
,
Verity knew what she would
see inside the small velvet box
, but was still t
aken aback by the beautiful
ring glintin
g
up
at her
.
Set in rose gold, the diamond cluster wa
s in the shape of a small flower
, with a larger stone surrounded by delicate
, sparkling
petals.
Even in
her numb
ed
state
, Verity
recognised
it
as
a
j
asmine
blossom.

Jasmine,
the
aromatic
plant that grew
so
freely
and joyously
on Loquacious I
sl
and,
whose delicate white blooms released their scent on the air with unbridled generosity. T
he thought made her
warm all over. She could feel her willpower, all those controls she’d placed on her feelings, slipping away.

Her mind reeled.

Am I dreaming? Or d
id Royce
James
just ask me to
MARRY
him?

Verity
dropped the ring box onto t
he table and leapt to her feet.

Royce rema
ined seated
, observing
her every move
, and said casually, ‘You don’t like it?’

‘Oh, no ... I mean ... yes ... er ... it’s a beautiful ring, Royce.’ She ran a hand roughly through her hair and strode over to
stand behind
h
er desk. It felt safer having a barrier
between herself and Royce. She rested both hands on the desktop and stared unseeingly
down
at it.

‘I had it
spec
ially made, and had to wait until it was ready
.
’
Royce sat
calmly
watching her.

S
he raised her head and
look
ed
at him. The expression in his eyes was almost her undoing, so she
swiftly turned
away again.

T
his shouldn’t be happening, we
should be in the middle of discussions about project fe
asibility, not about....
Hang on, that’
s it!
I’ll
view th
is as a business discussion, i
t
’ll
help
me
stay in control.

She took a deep breath
and
fixed him with a level gaze
. ‘I
want
to make sure I understand
, Royce
. You
’re here to talk about a marriage p
roposal, not a project proposal.
’

Royce nodded gravely
, but a smile lurked at the corners of his mouth
.

‘And y
ou
just asked me
, Verity Parker,
your CEO,
to
m-
marry you, is that correct?’
Despite her self-control, her voice grew
a little shaky as she spoke th
e words.

‘That’s correct.’
His voice
held a note of fond amusement
,
and
Verity
felt
a flash of irritation
.

‘Why?’

‘Like I
told you, I don’t—’

‘I know, y
ou don’t want any more regrets,
and I understand the reasoning behind y
our
,
um
... unusual
... approach
. But that doesn’t
explain
why
you want to marry me in the first place.’

Her mind suddenly freed itself from its dumbfounded state, and went into overdrive. S
he
only paused long enough to take another ragged breath before
carrying on
, her voice rising
, ‘And why
has
this come up now
?
That ...
business
... on the island, was it some kind of payment because I saved you on the dive, or because I supported your project? And are you suddenly interested in me
because, as CEO, I’m now
worthy
of your attentions?
And h
ow the hell
do you see this ... relationship ... working
,
when you’re going to be moving to the US to take up the chairman position?
’
She finally
ran out of air and slumped
in
to
her chair
.

Royce studied her
gravely
, and
then
rose to his feet. He walked around behind her desk and
half sat, half leane
d
against its edge
, arms crossed, staring down
at her
. She didn’t look
at him
, but every nerve in her body tingled at his proximity. When he put a hand
under her chin to raise her face
, her emotions welled
inside her as though about to erupt. And when her eyes met his, she
sucked in a sharp breath and
felt
the remnants of
her
self-control slipping
away
.

‘I should have said this first,
sorry. Guess I’m new at
this
,’ Royce
sai
d gently. ‘Verity,
I want to marry you because,’ and he
stroked her cheek with his thumb
,
‘
I love you.’

Verity
’s heart did a cartwheel
and she
opened her mouth as though to speak
,
but he put a
gentle
finger to her lips
.

‘
And
although it took me a while to realise it,
I was in love with you w
ell before
the diving incident, and
way before you endorsed my project.
’ He gave a lop-sided
grin. ‘
Before you became CEO
,
w
e moved in different circles. You were at the bauxite mine
most of the time,
an
d I was here, at the refinery. Back then, y
ou were only
a neat signature on the bottom
of inter-office memos
.’
He straightened and
withdrew his hand
. ‘But when I got to kn
ow you better,
I couldn’t help but admire you. And then admiration turn
ed into
—’