In the Market for Love (2 page)

“For crying out loud…” She shook her head and stared ahead as the lift filled with people at the ground floor.

Wh
at had she been thinking? Why hadn’t she simply moved her car?

There was something about that man which made her rash and impetuous, as though he’d flicked a switch and released her hidden recklessness. Her passionate side suddenly exploded and she found herself arguing over something as petty as a parking spot, one which wasn’t hers.

She had no idea what had come over her or how she’d come to act so brashly. Having grown up in a modest but loving family, her parents raised her to be polite and respectful so she was confused at what had kindled her unlikely behaviour.

She stepped out of the lift, raced to the advertising agency door, then stopped short.
Smoothing down her skirt, she sucked in deep breaths of air to compose herself.

She had to shake that man off. She had a campaign to get up and running.

As she looked through the agency’s glass door, she saw the receptionist smile, then reach across her desk. The click of the door release followed. Rachel thrust open the door, entered the elegant foyer and introduced herself to the receptionist only to be asked to take a seat beside her colleague who was already waiting.

Still exhilarated by her encounter in the basement, Rachel
was momentarily tempted to relay the story to her young assistant but thought better of it. She wasn’t quite sure what to say, how she would explain her own rather erratic behaviour or describe the man whose parking spot she had inadvertently taken.

She
perched herself on the edge of the sofa, her back to the receptionist. “So Sam, how did you go at the lawyers?”

“It’s taken care of for now.
” Samantha slid to one end of the antique finish leather sofa to make room. “Gosh, and I thought
we
were running late!”

Her young colleague
pushed a few strands of tousled blond hair behind her ears and explained how she’d have to return to the lawyers’ offices later. Behind her, Rachel heard the swish of a door opening.

“Excuse me ladies,” a male voice interrupted. “Have you quite finished?”

The voice was like thick viscous liquid yet there was something familiar about it.

Rachel
took a moment to collect herself. She’d been held up in the car park while Samantha delivered some documents to their company lawyers in the same building. They’d struggled to make it on time only to be asked to wait at reception. Yet this person was speaking to them as if they were naughty schoolgirls caught talking in class.

This was the second time today she’d been treated abruptly by a man.

“Sorry, did we keep you waiting?” Rachel rose from the sofa to face the man addressing them. She searched for some sign of emotion in the dark, deep set eyes.

He must be an excellent actor because h
e wasn’t giving away anything. As if they hadn’t met before. The man from the car park. He must have entered the offices through a rear corridor.

Her lips curled to a sedate smile. He may have swept up a storm inside her but she wasn’t going to let it show. Two could play at this game.

“I don’t think we’ve been introduced,” she said. “I’m Rachel Williams and this is Samantha Webb. We’ve been waiting for you.”

H
e returned her smile. “My apologies. I got held up in the car park. It took me a while to find a parking spot.”

Her pulse quickened
at his reference. It was impossible to ruffle this man, yet if he was after a challenge she could certainly provide him with one.

“Jake Austin.
” He shook hands with the two of them. “I’m the managing director here at Agency 66.”

His authoritative tone left Rachel in no doubt as to who was in charge. He may have reneged his parking spot but that was clearly the full extent of his benevolence.

Jake then ushered Samantha ahead of them out of the foyer.

Rachel
sensed him sidling closer to her as he closed the reception door behind them. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

“My friends call me Mr Porsche,” he
said quietly in her ear.

“So you have friends?” she
said.

She
didn’t know what to think. Didn’t know what to make of him. He was certainly the kind of man to incite a reaction in any woman. His voice was so deep and overtly masculine it sent a charge through her, one she hadn’t felt for a long time.

Yet she was aware he was teasing her, playing with her, taking pleasure in her lively responses. And with every interaction she felt something surging inside her like a little spark beginning to glow. Ready to ignite.

She had to get her head together. She’d come to the agency for a reason. Time to concentrate on business.

Jake ushered them into the agency’s boardroom where a wall of floor to ceiling windows with dramatic views of Sydney harbour dominated the room. The life of the harbour with its rippling waters formed a living, moving picture in their midst.

It was a few moments before Rachel’s eyes swept across the rest of the room and she took in its urban chic. The furniture was simple but elegant, consisting of an enormous maple table surrounded by stylish chairs in polished chrome and soft black leather.

Designed to be imposing and impressive rather than friendly and comfortable, the room made a statement about the kind of
business done by Agency 66. Their work and clientele were clearly at the upper end of the market. Unfortunately, the small pharmaceutical research agency for which Rachel worked was not.

A
good looking man breezed into the room. He had short wavy chestnut coloured hair, clear skin and friendly hazel eyes.

“Marcus Richards
.” He shook hands vigorously with the two women. “Account manager. Lovely to meet you both. I see you’ve been enjoying the view. Magnificent, isn’t it? Glad I haven’t missed anything.”

Now that was a vivacious entrance.
Rachel looked around, deciding which chair to take. She felt a strange sensation come over her as she suddenly felt as if someone were watching her from behind.

She became conscious of her appearance, wondering if her pencil skirt too closely followed the curve of her bottom.
She’d though it respectable but wasn’t so sure now.

Glancing behind
as she slid into a chair, Rachel’s face flushed pink. Jake was staring at her, his lips curling into an appreciative smile. It wasn’t a lurid look, rather he took the opportunity to enjoy what was before him, much as he had earlier on the car park.

Hi
s blatant appreciation of her figure lit a feverish spark inside her and that small flame was glowing. It felt thrilling and she wanted to savour it but she couldn’t let herself feel this way.

She had a campaign to manage. And she would not be defeated. Not by any man. Not again.

At twenty-nine years of age, she had eight years experience in public relations and marketing, two years of which she’d spent as marketing manager at Omega Pharmaceuticals. She had the skills and determination to manage both a new advertising campaign and Jake Austin.

“Why don’t you sit next to me,” she
said to Samantha.

She then
motioned Jake and Marcus to the other side of the boardroom table. Smiling brightly as she did so, it was impossible for the two advertising men to take offence at her suggestion.

“I’ve ordered coffee, ladies,” Jake
said. “It won’t be long. Oh, and here it is.”

It struck Rachel that this was
a man who was used to giving orders and, furthermore, having them obeyed.

A young
, red-haired woman brought in freshly brewed coffee and florentines, filling the air with a heady mix of coffee and chocolate. Jake took the tray from her.

“This is m
y personal assistant, Emma Johnson.” He paused to place the tray on the boardroom table. “Emma’s only been here a year but she’s indispensable. We couldn’t function without her.”

“
I’ll do that, Jake,” Emma said as he picked up the stainless steel coffee plunger.

H
e shook his head. “Don’t be silly. I can manage.”

“I guess you don’t need me
here any more.” She brushed her hand against his shoulder in a friendly gesture before closing the boardroom door behind her.

Jake poured four cups of aromatic coffee and offered
around the florentines, though Rachel declined.

His
relationship with his personal assistant seemed friendly and relaxed, not at all how she expected it to be. In the car park she’d thought him arrogant and his initial behaviour in the foyer only seemed to confirm that. Yet now he was prepared to perform menial tasks himself. She wondered what the real Jake Austin was like.

Rachel
took control of the meeting and explained the role of Omega Pharmaceuticals and the company’s highly effective new sun screen on which the proposed Skin Plus campaign was to be based.

“As you know
, Sydney has hot summers and a large number of sunny days year round,” she said.

“Yes, we know where we live,” Jake
said dryly.

She
was thrown by his sudden abruptness. He might even be resentful that she was going to request the agency to take on the campaign as a pro bono project. But surely he hadn’t already made up his mind about that.

She sucked in a deep breath. “We also have high rates of skin cancer and the new sun screen we’ve developed can reduce this.” That was the point she’d been trying to make before
he interrupted.

She knew
the project inside out and had spent two years convincing the company CEO that marketing the sun screen would benefit the community and bring in profits for further pharmaceutical research. She was not going to let one man ruin two years of work.

“W
ho’s your target market again?” Marcus asked.

“Families,”
she said. “This is an inexpensive product for families and also for the wider community.”

“So you’re not aiming at people like me who are too young to b
e married.” Marcus sniggered. “I’m only thirty-one.”

“
We do want to include men, fathers in particular.”

“There are a few ways to get
dads interested.” Marcus seemed to be thinking out loud. “And an attractive girl in a bikini never fails. We could use that new soap actress. What’s her name? The one that looks like Pammie Anderson. Every married man in Australia would want her smearing sun screen all over them.”

Rachel glared at him
. “I don’t think so!”

“I didn’t mean–“

“The idea of married men playing around. That’s outright offensive. There’s no excuse for it. Not ever. Marriage isn’t a joke. It’s not something to be taken lightly. Not when you live with someone and you have a family.”

“I just meant that’s one
way we could sell the campaign,” Marcus said.

“That m
ay be the case but it’s not the right way for us.”

Jake’s
shoulders tensed as he gripped a pen with both hands. “Hang on. We’re jumping ahead of ourselves here. We haven’t agreed to take the campaign on. Although, Rachel, the way you described the campaign gives it much more of a hook than the way your CEO explained it to me yesterday.”

“I’m sorry,”
she said. “You’ve spoken to my boss?”

“Yes, b
ut I confess he didn’t sell me on it as you have.”

She had no idea he’d spoken to her ma
nager at length. She didn’t like surprises. She liked to be prepared.

“So
why did you let me keep talking when you already knew all about the campaign?” she asked. “Or why, in fact, did we need this meeting at all?”

“I wanted to hear what you had to say.”

“Thank you for listening. Perhaps it’s time to hear what
you
have to say.”

Rachel smiled to cover
the anger smouldering inside her. She knew the score. Jake had already decided whether or not the agency would take on the campaign but he was letting her go through the motions in the meantime.

She
waited quietly for his answer.

*          *          *

Rachel’s reaction to Marcus’ suggestion ripped through Jake like an earth tremor. He hadn’t suggested an Australia wide campaign promoting infidelity, merely the use of a scantily clad attractive female, hardly uncommon in advertising. Yet her bitter response left no doubt as to her feelings on the subject.

Had she
noticed his own shocked reaction to her comments? A hundred thoughts rocketed through his mind as he shifted in his chair. He knew instinctively that she wouldn’t have a bar of a married man under any circumstances. What would she think of him if she knew the truth?

And now she was waiting for an answer on the campaign.