Undressed by the Boss (Mills & Boon By Request) (37 page)

‘My cousin Lana Walker is the new head curator. She got the job but sprained her ankle badly before she could start. I
needed a job so she got me an interview with Abraham Voss and I got it, though he said I also had to fill in as tour guide until Lana’s back on her feet.’

Dorothy reached out and squeezed her arm and for the second time in as many hours she blinked back tears. ‘Considering your lack of knowledge, you’ve done great.’

Beth chuckled. ‘If you think I’m great, wait till you meet Lana.’

‘I can’t wait. We should have loads in common.’

Glancing at Dorothy’s trendy suit and subtle make-up, Beth doubted it.

‘It’ll be great for Lana to have a friend when she starts here. Maybe we can all go for a drink before she starts? There’s a new vodka ice bar I’ve been dying to try.’

Dorothy’s eyes lit up. ‘Sounds great.’

‘Okay, I’ll tee it up. Now, must dash. Tours to take, exhibits to be at.’

Dorothy chuckled and waved her off, while Beth turned towards the huge front doors, ready for another history lesson with the boss.

She could do this. After all, it wasn’t the first time she’d had to pretend all was right with the world when it wasn’t. And while her personal life might have just gone belly up, she didn’t need her job to follow suit.

Heading into one of the huge, cavernous storage areas behind the main gallery, she spied Aidan near a glass cabinet where a wooden glider resembling a pigeon was suspended.

She’d already read up on the Saqqara Glider and wanted to give him her spiel and get this history lesson over and done with asap.

Fixing a smile on her face as wooden as the weird birdlike
thing behind the glass, she strode towards him, her heels clacking loudly against the marble tiled floor, his head snapping up as she neared.

Her heart stalled as the tantalising, sexy grin she’d grown to love kicked up the corners of his mouth, her knees turning to jelly as the familiar surge of heat whenever he looked at her flooded through her like a hot torrent of desire.

‘Right on time.’

He tapped his watch face, instantly transporting her back to the first day she’d walked into the museum and he’d pulled her up for being late. Then, like now, he’d looked as if he wanted to laugh despite his stiff CEO expression and she couldn’t help but wish she could turn back time and do things differently.

But would she? Could she have held their overwhelming attraction at bay, ignored the lick of heat whenever they got within two feet of each other? Unlikely, and besides, no use beating herself up over what was done.

She’d wanted to have a little fun. It wasn’t his fault she’d been stupid enough to fall for him.

‘I’ve got an extra tour scheduled in half an hour so can we make this quick?’

Her tone was cool, calm and she silently applauded herself on maintaining a professional front when inside she was dissolving with the agony of seeing him and not being able to touch.

His smile faded as he gestured her closer, where she promptly took up position on the opposite side of the cabinet, resting her arms on the top to peer in as if the glider were the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen.

‘You read my notes on this?’

‘Uh-huh.’

Though for the life of her, she couldn’t remember a thing as he stepped around the glass and stood next to her, the fine wool of his designer suit brushing her arm, sending a bolt of heat shooting through her so quick she had to grit her teeth to keep from crying out.

When the awkward silence grew, he sent her an uneasy glance. ‘Maybe I’ll give you a quick run-down and you can ask questions?’

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak as the faintest waft of blackcurrant drenched her in memories of his bare skin, her nose pressed into the nook of his neck, nuzzling him, drinking in his scent, never getting enough.

‘This was found in eighteen ninety-eight in a grave near the Egyptian city of Saqqara and catalogued. It dates to around two hundred BC but didn’t attract interest till an archaeologist in nineteen sixty-nine noticed its shape strongly resembled that of a modern glider.’

He cast her another quick glance but she didn’t move, her eyes fixed on the artefact, her head still spinning and her body still reacting from his nearness. ‘So of course the inevitable questions arose about whether the glider served as a model for real-life larger gliders and whether people of that time were familiar with the flight phenomenon.’

He finished his spiel and looked at her, expecting a response when all she could manage was a lame, ‘Uh-huh.’

His gaze roved her face, intense, scrutinising, searching for answers she’d already given him. What more did he want from her?

‘Beth, I’m leaving.’

It didn’t surprise her, she’d been expecting as much but it didn’t lessen the pain clamping her heart and squeezing hard.

‘Come with me,’ he blurted, his hand shooting out to grab hold of hers as if he expected her to bolt.

Impossible, considering her muscles had seized the moment he’d issued his invitation, the surge of inane joy dwindling to a trickle in an instant as she realised she couldn’t do it.

No matter how tempting, she couldn’t follow him to the ends of the earth on a whim.

She wanted more out of life now, had taken steps towards achieving her own dreams and she’d exterminated her travel bug around the time her dad had dumped her at Lana’s that last time, the month before he’d died: alone, in a grungy motel room, in some remote outback town.

She shook her head, using her hair as a shield, hoping he couldn’t read the regret on her face. ‘I can’t.’

‘Can’t or won’t?’

He’d flung her own words back in her face but it didn’t matter. Nothing he said could change her mind.

‘We need to give this a go, Beth. See where it could take us—’

‘I don’t want to follow you around to some far-off dig, waiting for whatever scraps of time you feed me at the end of a day. I want more than that. I want …’

She trailed off, aghast at the wave of emotion swamping her, encouraging her to say things better left unsaid.

‘What do you want?’

He tipped her chin up gently, his tenderness unravelling the last of her self-control and she jerked back, unable to stand this a second longer.

‘I want you to be happy,’ she said, swallowing the truth, tucking her head down and making a break for the door without looking back.

* * *

Aidan glanced around his office, not in the least surprised it didn’t look any different from when he’d first taken on the job. His few belongings lay scattered across the desk, which proved how he hadn’t settled in as much as he’d fooled himself into thinking.

Oh, yeah, this was the best decision for all of them, especially since Beth had made her feelings on accompanying him more than clear.

She was just like Fenella, turning her nose up at life on the digs, not willing to take a chance on him despite what he thought they’d shared.

He was better off without her, better off discovering the truth now before he made another mistake.

As for his dad … well, if Abe didn’t agree with his decision to leave now, tough.

His mobile rang on cue and he glanced at the caller, relieved Abe had called back and he could soon put all this behind him.

‘Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.’

‘Everything all right with the museum? Your message sounded serious.’

Aidan shook his head. Typical Abraham Voss. He could be dying a slow, painful death but the first thing dear old Dad thought about was his precious museum.

‘Everything’s fine here. I just wanted to let you know I’m leaving. I’ll give you two weeks to find a replacement then I’m out of here.’

Abe’s harsh intake of breath didn’t surprise him, nor did the explosive expletive.

‘What brought all this on? The museum needs you.’

He propped against the desk, his heart heavy. Even now,
his father couldn’t give a fig about why he was really doing this; all he cared about was an inanimate building.

Time to come clean … about everything.

‘The only reason I took this job temporarily was to please you. It’s pretty much why I became an archaeologist, why I’ve done a lot of things in my life. It’s been the only way to get your attention half the time.’

Another muttered expletive followed by a loaded pause where he could almost hear the wheels in Abe’s self-absorbed mind turning.

‘This is ludicrous. Your mother and I have always cared about you.’

‘Yeah, but caring didn’t extend to you being there for my first day at school, or the time I made school captain or the time I was dux at uni. And it sure as hell doesn’t extend to you being happy for me now I’m going back to the job I love.’

‘Where’s all this coming from?’

As expected, his father’s audible confusion showed he didn’t have a clue.

‘Honestly? I should’ve said this a long time ago. Guess I had hopes you’d change after I helped you out. Not any more.’

To his surprise, he heard distress rather than the anger or defensiveness he’d expected. ‘Look, son, I know you like being out on the digs but I thought it would be good to give you a feel for being CEO, see if you liked it before I made any decisions.’

‘What sort of decisions?’

Though in that instant, he knew without having to ask: Abe had tried to manipulate him into taking over the top job, which just proved he didn’t have a clue what really made him tick.

‘Whether I come back or not.’

Running a ragged hand over his face, he took a steadying breath, knowing he had to stay calm to get his point across. If Abe didn’t get it now, he never would.

‘I was never planning on sticking around, Dad. You wanted me to do exactly what you wanted so you pulled out the sick card, knowing I wouldn’t say no. Want to know the stupid part? I thought you needed me for once, that you might actually care enough to reach out. But I was wrong.’

‘Well, then.’

Abe exhaled and silence reigned for a few seconds before he cleared his throat as if he had a million frogs stuck in it. ‘You’re right, I wanted you to take over as CEO permanently, but I knew you wouldn’t go for it if I asked, so I thought if you had a little taste of it you’d step up.’

Abe’s admission should’ve eased the bitterness. It didn’t. It merely served to reinforce the huge emotional gap between them.

‘So you played up your heart problems?’

Abe sighed, sounding wearier than he ever had. ‘My blood pressure is under control with medication and I haven’t had an angina attack in a while. Yes, I had to take a break on doctor’s orders, but not for this long. That was me hoping you’d like the top job enough to stay.’

‘You manipulated me. And you know I would never have stuck around more than a few months.’

This time, he spoke without rancour. It was a flat statement, a fact that no amount of ranting or raving or emotion could change. After all these years, Abe didn’t get it: how much he loved the hands-on work, how he thrived on the excitement of discovery, how he could never be happy confined behind a desk.

‘I was grooming you and this was the only way I could think of to get you to do it.’

No apology, no back down. But then, what did he expect? Selfish people couldn’t see what they did was wrong. The end always justified the means.

‘I can’t change your mind?’

Mentally slapping himself, Aidan said, ‘No. And unlike you, I don’t only think of myself so like I said I’ll give you a few weeks to find a replacement, but after that I’m out of here.’

He could’ve sworn he heard a choked sound akin to a sob down the line, but that couldn’t be right. That would mean his dad cared and he didn’t. Not by a long shot.

‘You didn’t really become an archaeologist just to get my attention, did you?’

It was a good question, something he’d pondered himself over the last twenty-four hours.

‘Actually, my career choice wasn’t all about you. I guess you and Mum instilled your love of old stuff into me from a young age and hanging around the dig sites just spurred me on. You know, that’s the only time you ever paid me real attention, when I found something.’

Another sharp intake of breath let out on a slow hiss. ‘I’m sorry, son. I had no idea.’

Just like that, his residual animosity dissolved. Ironic, considering he’d spent a lifetime carrying around this baggage and all it took was a simple apology to lift the weight from his shoulders.

‘That’s the first time you’ve ever apologised for anything.’

‘I know, and I’m sorry about that too. I’ll be flying back once I wrap things up here with the house we’ve bought. Can we have a man-to-man chat as soon as I get back to Melbourne?’

‘I probably won’t be around. Maybe next time I’m in town?’

‘When will that be?’

‘No idea at this stage.’

‘Stay in touch, won’t you, son?’

‘Uh-huh.’

Aidan was reaching for the disconnect button when his dad rushed in. ‘Son, your mother and I are proud of you, always have been.’

It was the closest he’d get to a declaration of love and for now it was enough. He knew Abe was a thinker, someone who would ponder this conversation at length before drawing his own conclusions.

‘Thanks, bye.’

Thrusting the phone into his jacket pocket, he took a long look around the office before heading for the door.

Time to start winding things up here so he could start living again.

O
NE
day to go.

Twenty-four hours between him and freedom.

Aidan watched a few straggling employees head out the door, rolling the kinks out of his neck as he wandered to the locker area to do a last-minute check before closing up.

He’d booked his plane ticket, had done a mini-handover via teleconference to the incoming interim CEO and had tied up all loose ends.

Except one. And he knew just where to find her.

After a quick glance into the locker room to reassure himself they were alone, he strode towards the Glozel Runes, hoping Beth would be there just as he’d asked her.

She’d avoided him for the last fortnight and he hadn’t had the heart to follow up. Her work had been faultless and he admired how far she’d come, how hard she’d worked to succeed.