The Grass is Greener (8 page)

Cyril eyed him shrewdly. ‘So she was good-looking, then?'

‘Like a Venus fly trap.'

‘Then, no, she can't possibly be a member of my family.' Cyril laughed. ‘None of us has that allure. Of course, I wouldn't risk any of my loved ones on you after the care you've shown my female friends.'

Seb rolled his eyes. ‘You really think I'm that dangerous?'

‘Yes,' Cyril said simply. ‘You're not just heartless, Seb, you're indifferent. I've never seen a woman get under your skin. I doubt one ever will, and for that I am very sorry.'

The seriousness of his tone was sobering. ‘Come on, Cyril. You don't need to worry about me. I know how to enjoy life.'

‘The most enjoyable thing about enjoyment is sharing it with someone else, son,' Cyril said softly.

‘Have I just stepped onto the set of this year's Christmas special?' Seb shook his head at Cyril's sentimentality.

‘All right, all right,' Cyril waved his hand. ‘I can tell I'm losing your interest so I'll explain to you why I called you in here in the first place.'

‘Hallelujah.'

‘You need help.' Cyril jabbed his finger at him. ‘As in more staff. And I might have found you someone. Another junior lawyer. She'll be here any minute for her interview.'

Seb couldn't have been more delighted with this news. ‘Perfect timing, Cyril.'

‘Don't get too excited just yet.' Cyril leaned forward to replace his mug on the coffee table. ‘She comes as a gift from my ex-sister-in-law, Bianca Hanks.'

Seb raised an eyebrow. ‘Is Bianca in the habit of sending you gifts now?'

Cyril snorted. ‘What do you think?'

‘What's she up to then?'

‘I'm not precisely sure, but I have reason to believe that Bianca is unaware of the true nature of the gift she has given me. So we shall see this girl for ourselves and make our choice from there.' Cyril shrugged. ‘Let the battle of wits begin.'

Despite the air-conditioning maintaining the temperature of the room at a very mild twenty-two degrees, Claudia was perspiring like a glass of cold Coke on a hot bench. She had been in the waiting room of Hanks and Eddings for the last half hour. Stiffly seated with her knees pressed together on their white leather couch, not daring to take off her jacket because she knew there was a high chance of sweat marks. Luckily, some of Bronwyn's suits roughly fitted her. They were a little tight around the bust and the skirts were slightly long for her diminutive height but otherwise she had no complaints. The shoes on her feet were of the safe black court variety. She'd bought them in a rush that morning on the way over. They weren't great but were so benign that they wouldn't give anyone cause for comment.

She clutched her résumé on her lap but was less focused on this document than the looming suspicion that ‘Uncle Cyril' was going to be disappointed with whose name he saw on it.

So far there had been no hiccups. The receptionist had accepted her name without any surprise. She was definitely going in for this interview. But could she score the job?

She had tried to outline her skills in her résumé without too much embellishment. Given her limited time in the workforce, there wasn't that much to add. Coupled with Bianca's supposed ‘recommendation', Claudia really wasn't sure what Bronwyn's Uncle Cyril would make of it all.

‘Mr Eddings will see you now.'

With a start, Claudia looked up at the receptionist, who was sitting at the desk opposite the couches, the words ‘Hanks and Eddings' in big block letters on the wall behind her. She was beckoning Claudia to walk through to her left, leading into what could only be described as the firm's throne room. Claudia stood up, nervously smoothing her skirt with sweaty palms.

‘Er … thanks.' She straightened her shoulders as though shrugging on a cloak of confidence, and walked briskly through the double doors and into a gorgeous-looking office. The back wall was glass from floor to ceiling, with panoramic views of the city. Cyril Eddings's desk was centre stage, large and charcoal in colour. Surprisingly, he wasn't seated in the high-back leather chair behind it, but was standing in front of the desk. He held out his hand to her in greeting.

‘Ah, my dear, thank you for coming. Claudia Franklin, isn't it?'

‘Yes.'

‘Sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm Cyril Eddings, pleased to meet you.'

Claudia felt herself relax a little as she shook his hand. Remembering quickly the man she had witnessed at the wedding, mild-mannered and easygoing. He had not changed much since she had last seen him. He was still portly, with a full head of salt and pepper hair and a smile that was both sharp and engaging.

‘Oh.' Her lips stretched into a smile. ‘That's absolutely no problem at all.'

‘I believe you come to me from Bianca Hanks.' He tilted his head to one side. ‘How do you know her?'

A bark of laughter erupted from left field, startling Claudia, as she had not previously noticed anyone else in the room.

A low baritone sounded. ‘I'd be surprised if she knows her at all.'

Claudia's wide eyes veered away from the man in front of her to the one on a couch in a pocket of the room that was out of her direct field of vision. She only just managed to stop her jaw hitting the floor.

The man from the bar.

You've got to be kidding me!

He lounged there on one of the couches, one arm stretched out along the back, one leg crossed over the other. He regarded her steadily and without any outward sign of threat. Yet instinctively she knew that she'd be a fool to regard that slight twist to his mouth as anything but suspicious. She glanced quickly at Cyril, who did not seem perturbed by his companion's statement.

‘Do you know Sebastian Rowlands?' he asked her, in tones more curious than accusatory.

‘Yes,' Sebastian answered for her, with predatory satisfaction. ‘She does. This was the woman I met at Seashells. I'm surprised you don't know her. After all, she is your
niece
.'

Double crap.

Claudia glanced quickly at Cyril, expecting to be outed immediately. However, he was watching Sebastian with more enjoyment than shock on his face. The man on the couch stood up unhurriedly, buttoning his open jacket and walking towards her, his eyes trained on her face. ‘Are you sure you're in the right place, er … Claudia, is it?'

The sarcastic lilt to his voice indicated that he believed she was both liar and fraud, and was expecting her to turn tail and run. Her spine stiffened, making her temper flare anew.

‘Definitely. Perhaps you'd like to see my résumé too so that you can satisfy yourself that I am indeed qualified for this position.'

She fished the spare out of her slim, soft leather briefcase and practically shoved it into his hand.

He didn't look at it.

‘You do realise that this job requires not only university qualifications but admission to the bar and registration as a practitioner with the High Court of Australia?'

‘I satisfy all of those requirements,' she declared truthfully.

He snorted. ‘You don't look old enough to have finished uni.'

‘And you don't seem well mannered enough to speak in corporate circles but you do, don't you?' She snapped crossly before she thought better of it.

At Sebastian's gasp, Cyril barked with laughter, making her cringe.

‘Well, this is all very intriguing.' Cyril rubbed his hands together. ‘Please, Claudia, don't stand there by the door. Come in, come in, I want to hear all about you.'

In truth, she would much rather continue giving Sebastian a piece of her mind, but that wasn't going to get her this job anytime soon.

Better to pull back.

She allowed herself to be led over to the couches where Cyril handed her a cup of coffee.

‘I have to apologise for my colleague's rudeness,' he said. ‘It looks like you've made quite an impression on him.'

She took a sip of her coffee as she sat down. The warm, dark liquid mollified her somewhat as it slipped smoothly down her throat. ‘The complete wrong one, obviously.'

Cyril sat beside her. Sebastian, however, continued to stand there, towering over them like a black cloud, threatening to spoil their party. No doubt her bum wasn't good enough for the furniture either.

‘Well, I for one am most impressed with your credentials,' remarked Cyril, refilling his own mug. ‘Tell me, my dear,' he ignored Sebastian, ‘why do you want this job?'

‘Because I'm passionate about the justice system and believe that Hanks and Eddings is a firm at the forefront of legal expertise. I would be honoured to join your team.'

Claudia looked up to meet Sebastian's glare. His deep brown eyes bored holes in her like the drill bit of a power tool, which did seem a rather apt description given he was a tool on a definite power trip.

‘Excellent, that is all I needed to hear.' Cyril nodded.

Sebastian choked. ‘Cyril, this
lawyer
, if she is one, claimed to be a member of your family among other things.'

Claudia bit her lip. He had her there. She
had
lied about that, after all – in a fit of rage, of course, but it was still a lie.

She braced herself for the humiliating questions to follow. ‘I am so sorry, my dear.' Cyril leaned towards her. ‘I'm shocking when it comes to names and faces. My family, large as it is, is no exception.'

Claudia's eyes widened and she said carefully, ‘Oh, I don't expect you to recognise any connection between us at all, sir. Especially for the sake of this job.'

‘Oh no.' Sebastian refused to let her escape retribution, slotting himself back into her field of vision so that she had to raise her eyes to his. ‘Cyril's far too polite for that. I think we should get right to the bottom of this so-called family connection right now.'

Oh, for goodness sake.
What did he want from her? An open confession? So that he might dance to the tune of her humiliation.

What did it matter whether she was a member of the Eddings family or not? She was still completely qualified for this job. With a sigh, she moistened her lips. There was no way to avoid it. She would just have to come clean.

‘Cyril is not my uncle exactly.'

‘That's right, Seb,' Cyril nodded jovially, ‘she's my second cousin.'

Huh?

‘
What?
' Seb demanded.

Both their gazes swung to the older man.

‘You're one of Adriana's girls, aren't you?' Cyril exclaimed. ‘I swear I haven't seen that cousin of mine in years.'

‘Cyril.' Seb's tone was stern, but the reigning partner of the firm didn't seem to notice he was being addressed. He threw himself back on the couch, his expression one of reminiscence. ‘Why, the last time I saw my cousin Adriana was at my daughter's wedding. You have the look of her, you know.'

‘I do?' Claudia squeaked, wondering what the hell was going on.

‘Same shade of hair. Wonderful girl.'

‘Are you sure it's the exact same shade?' Seb demanded curtly. ‘Not too dark by any chance?'

‘Oh no,' Cyril said brightly, ‘it is the exact same shade.'

What is happening right now?

Does Cyril actually think we're related?

Do I dissuade him?

Do I change the subject and try to leave?

As though reading her mind, Seb said to her darkly, ‘You need to go.'

This may have been good advice, but coming from him as an order rather than a request, it did more to put her in a dangerous mood than any shot of alcohol ever could.

‘I'm sorry,' she sat up straighter, ‘is this
your
office? Because last time I checked it belonged to my uncle.'

He blustered. ‘Your uncle –'

‘My uncle will ask me to leave when he wishes me to go,' she said sweetly.

‘Well said, my dear,' Cyril patted her arm encouragingly. ‘Well said.'

Seb switched tack. ‘Tell me about the last time you saw your cousin, Adrianna, Cyril.' He turned to the older man, much like he was in court conducting a cross-examination. ‘It was at your daughter's wedding, wasn't it? You must have invited her whole family.'

Claudia sat up straighter, anger stiffening her spine. ‘Are you asking if I was there?'

‘What do you think?' Sebastian's eyes shot daggers at her.

She lifted her chin. ‘Well, I was.'

The room went silent as both men regarded her with different degrees of surprise. Nothing was more exhilarating to a lawyer than having the one piece of information that nobody else had. And, unfortunately, she was not immune to the spike of adrenaline that went straight to her head. The temptation to hit a home run was simply too overwhelming.

‘You gave a wonderful speech,' she said to Cyril. ‘It was very entertaining.'

‘You thought so, did you?' He leaned forward with a grin.

‘You told so many great jokes. I loved the one about the wedding cake and how it was so big you hoped no one was going to jump out of it.'

Cyril was pink with pleasure. ‘I did say that, didn't I? Seb,' he turned back to the lawyer, who was still standing, ‘you really should have been there.'

‘Ah yes,' she turned in sympathy to the fuming man still looming over her. ‘I don't recall seeing you at the reception. Given it was a river cruise, I would have to say,' she added with a mocking twinkle, ‘you really missed the boat.'

Cyril laughed out loud. ‘My dear, you must work for this firm. I insist.'

The triumph she felt as he made this announcement didn't take long to go cold.

You can't be hired as an Eddings!

‘Oh.' She stood up, shaking her head. ‘I couldn't possibly take a job based on our relationship.'

‘Who said it was based on our relationship?' Cyril demanded. ‘We need more people like you. Attitudes like yours kick goals.' He swiped a fist through the air. ‘Seb, sort out the paperwork, will you? I've just realised I have another meeting to attend in the boardroom.' His gaze flicked to his watch. ‘For which I am now late.'

‘But –' Claudia tried to interrupt him, to no avail.

‘Congratulations, my dear.' Cyril lightly kissed her cheek, stunning her into silence. Then he patted the spot his lips had been as any uncle would. ‘Welcome to Sebastian's team.'

‘Wait. Sebastian's team?'

‘He'll tell you all about it.' He gave her both pointer fingers as he backed out of the room. ‘I'll see you tomorrow.'

A second later he was gone.

What have I done?

Shell-shocked, she turned round to find Sebastian Rowlands watching her. This was why he had been present for the interview, because he was to be her new boss. If only she'd put two and two together a few seconds earlier. His eyes glinted and she could tell immediately that he was enjoying her slow realisation. Just as he was going to enjoy having control over her in the workplace.

‘I'll be working with you?' Her tough veneer faltered a little.

‘
For
me.' His smile was sadistic.

Of course.

‘Congratulations.'

‘I think,' she swallowed hard, ‘that if I were to take this job it would be best if we didn't tell anyone about my relationship to Cyril. After all, it's not the reason he hired me. I wouldn't want to give people the wrong impression.'

‘Of course not,' he purred knowingly. ‘I wouldn't dream of telling anyone. In return, I will require your absolute compliance with all my instructions.'

The balance of power had already shifted.

She lifted her chin. ‘Of course.'