Glass Ceilings (53 page)

He’
d been trying to tell her
something,
but she hadn’t
let him
,
so he’d kissed her, and unleashed the turmoil that had been her constant companion ever since.
And she’d run away, fearful of
what was happening between them
. With a si
gh, she realised
she couldn’t escape him this time, he was a
determined man with a mission.

But did she really want to escape him?

It was time she faced it. She had feelings for Royce. He was never
far from her thoughts any more.

But does that mean I’m letting emotions rule my life again? Look where that got me last time. I
sacrificed everything
in an attempt
to save a union that was
doomed
from the
beginning
.
And it ended with me having to rebuild my life, and myself.

She
looked at her watch and exhaled sharply
,
before racing up to her b
edroom to get ready
. She
was about to jump in
the shower
when she notic
ed
she was still wearing
Royce’s ring
. As she went
to slip it off, it occurred to her tha
t having it encircling her wedding finger, like the bright embodiment of a promise, felt comfortable, and
right.
But her mind reeled
.

Why
would I
risk taking
that path again, despite what my heart’s telling me? It gave me bad a
dvice last time, so why
fall for that old chestnut again?

But she didn’t remove the ring.
S
he told herself she didn’t want to risk dropping it down the drain hole
,
and
being
un
able to return it to Royce.

When she’d finished showering s
he
wrapped herself in a fluf
fy towel, and padded over to the
wardrobe. She
opened the door and
gave
a frustrated sigh.

W
hat does a girl wear to a ‘
date
’ like this
?

H
er eyes fell on the body dress in midnight blue she’d bought recently. She took it out and ran her eye
s
over it assessingly
. It had a wide boat neck and long
, fitted
sleeves
loosely
gathered at the wrists with delicate ribbons. Made from figure-hugging jersey, with a wide satin frill running from each side of the waist to
a
n open
V at
the knee-length hem, it was very stylish
and feminine
. She recalled th
e
boutique’s
assistant enthusing that ‘...
this
dress is
spot-on
for vampy corporate events or cocktail parties
’, but
Verity had
bought it simply because she liked it.

Her ears picked up the sounds of footsteps along the pat
h, and her pulse quickened. The steps
kept going past her gate, thankfully, but she knew the next ones would be Royce’s. She hurriedly pulled on a p
air of lacy boy-leg panties,
matching bra, and
silken
almost-black
stockings. When she
slipped
the new dress over her head, it
slid onto her body
as though she was the designer’s mannequin
.

Giving her hair a quick brush
, she piled it on top of her head
, leaving a few
tendril
s to dance around her face and neck.
S
he
put some diamond studs in her ears,
gave herself a spray of her favourite scent, and hurriedly made up her face. With her clear complexion, she needed
only
t
o apply a sweep of
mascara to her long lashes, a dash of bronze to her cheeks,
and some peach gloss to her full lips
. Finally
,
she slipped her feet into a
pair of high-heeled
s
ling-backs
, and
checked the mirror
. S
he was surprised
to see, despite all
the
haste,
an elegant
, well-dressed
woman looking
back
at her.

And right on cue, she heard a purposeful tread on the pathway outside, and the squeak of her courtyard gate.
She gasped and quickly slipped the ring off her finger and put it back in
to
its box.

Royce had arrived.

‘Madame, this comes to you with
the compliments of
your dinner companion.’ The
Maitre d’ bowed and handed her
a single, long-stemmed rose. Verity smiled graciously
at Royce
and accepted the gift.
She raised the bloom to her nose and breathed in its sweet
perfume.

‘And may I add
that it is good to see you
both
at my little establishment
again
.’ The Maitre d’ bowed once more
and tactfully left.

He had personally greeted
Royce and Verity
on
their
arrival, and
showed
them to their table.
They were once again on their own in the private Watermark room, only this time there had been particular care taken to create a special atmosphere. With the down lights dimmed, the candlelight from the central sliver candelabra cast a flickering golden glow over the table and its occupants. Soft jazz played soothingly in the background, and strategically placed fan palms in decorative pots screened their table from anyone looking through the windows.

Verity felt lulled by the d
elightful atmosphere, and
Royce
appeared
reluctant to break the spe
ll he’d concocted so carefully. B
ut brea
k it he did
, with his next words
.

‘I see you’re not wearing the ring.’

Verity regarded him levelly. ‘You said you wouldn’t pressure me.’

‘I’m not, I’m
just
...,’
and he laughed at himself, ‘an impatient buggar
,
I suppose.’

Verity couldn’t help smiling at the Royce s
itting opposite her,
who was
so different from the Royce she
’
d
thought she knew. She stiffened though, when he reached across the table to take her left hand. He studied her ring finger intently, stroking it with his thumb.
She felt sparks shooting up her arm and into her core, and carefully withdrew her hand. This was not the time to lose control.

He s
at back and studied her silently
.

‘Royce, I ... think we should talk ... about what happened today.’

‘Sure.’

‘While I’m flattered by your offer—’

‘
Verity, before you say
anything
more, I want to clarify a point I made earlier
.’

She
shut
her mouth with a snap. She’d been
this
close to getting those words out....

‘You asked how this could work—how
we
could work—with me in the States and you over here.’

She nodded
cautiously
.

‘And I told you I had it sorted, but you didn’t seem convinced.’

‘That’s right, I wasn’t and I’m still not. Relationships are hard enough without the additional strain of distance, so—’

‘Yes, but ours wouldn’t
be
a distance relationship.’

‘Oh,
right
,
here it comes,
’ she drawled sourly, nodding
with conviction
. ‘It wouldn’t be
a distance relationship b
ecause you
want me to give up my job
,
and
follow you—’

‘Hang on, w
hat gave you that id
ea? Why would I want
that
?
I know how important your career is to you.’

‘But....’

‘I’
d never ask that of you
.’ Royce took her hand again, and this time she didn’t pull away.

His words,
and his expression,
were filling her head, her chest,
and her
whole body with warmth.

‘No, what I’ve done is
make
my accepta
nce of the chairman position
conditional upon
my
being able to
remain based
at RCL
,
and undertaking the duties from there
.’

Verity gasped and her free hand flew to her mouth. Royce grinned at her
shocked
reaction.

‘But Royce, this is your career you’re playing
fast-n-loose
with! And
such a prestigious posting!
I can’t believe you’d risk that for, f-for—’

‘Verity, I’d risk everything for you, and for the future I hope we’ll have together.’

Verity’s
flushed
face
crumpled
and she looked about to cry, so Royce brought her hand to his lips a
nd kissed it. When he raised his eyes
again, he saw a fat tear rolling
slowly down her smooth cheek. H
e
reached
over
to
cup the side of her face in his palm, caressing the tear away with his thumb
.

‘But what if,’ she croaked, ‘
the board
do
es
n’t agree
to your terms?
’

‘Then I
stay here.
I’ll still have a job, and also, hopeful
ly, what matters most
to me.
You.’

Verity
stared at him
, mouth agape
.

He’s risking
a once-in-a-lifetime job offer
just
to be
with
me
, and I haven’t
even
given him my answer yet.

Th
en the realisation hit
. He was making a stronger statement than
was possible with
words
,
about his respect
not only
for
her
, but also for
what was important
to her.
He didn’t
expect her to give up
anything
to be with him.
In fact,
he
was
the
one prepared to make the sacrifices
. An
d for s
omeone as ambitious as Royce
, forfeiting
an opportunity
like the one he’d been offered
would be
a sacrifice indeed.

I
mage
s
flashed
into
her mind.
She saw a tall man going down on h
is knees to
proudly
hug an old dog,
and
then
surreptitiously treating a neighbour’s cat to
freshly caught fish
,
and coming to t
he aid of the boss he had good cause
to resent.
The inner conflict
between her head and her heart
raged
into all-out war
,
until she felt
a
strange sensation, like glass cracking,
splintering
, and then shattering
.
And in that instant, she
knew
exactly
what her next move should be.

She blinked away the tear
s still lurking around her eyes
,
and was about to speak when the Maitre d’ arrived bearing their first course.