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‘I’ve known girls her age get married,’ he said stubbornly.

‘You don’t know Liz,’ retorted Debra. ‘Her parents have sheltered her, she’s immature for her age—she needs me.’

‘And I need you,’ he growled. ‘Doesn’t that mean anything?’

Debra decided he was making a fuss over nothing. ‘I haven’t known you all my life, Mr Oliver. I feel indebted towards Liz. Her parents took me in when mine went to America. Looking after Liz is the least I can do to repay their kindness.’

‘And in a year or two’s time she’ll get herself married without giving you a second thought. Don’t be too sentimental, Miss Delaney, it doesn’t always pay off. I judged you to be a good business woman—was I mistaken?’

She shrugged. ‘I have my loyalties. It’s unfortunate that they happen to clash with your offer.’

‘I’ll increase your salary,’ he said, and mentioned a figure which astonished her. She did not consider herself worth it. But it could make no difference. Liz was her first consideration.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘no matter how much you offer I still shan’t go. If it means I lose the other job as well, so be it.’ She walked towards the door. ‘It would appear we’re both wasting time.’

He was there before her, tall and impregnable, vitally alive. His dark suit sat easily on wide shoulders, his strength of character hard to deny. How could anyone pit themselves against him?

Vane Oliver was tough and hard. Even Debra, who had never met him, knew exactly what sort of man he was.

And right now he wanted her to work for him in Hong Kong.

How was she going to make him give up? ‘Excuse me,’ she said, standing a few inches away from him. At five feet two she was compelled to tilt her head to look into the angular face. His cheeks were hollowed, as though he worked too hard and ate too little, she thought inconsequentially. ‘I’d like to go. I think we’ve said all there is to say.’

Silver-grey eyes glinted from beneath lowered lids. ‘You don’t know me, Miss Delaney. I always get what I set my mind on.’

‘So I believe,’ tilting her chin defiantly. ‘But perhaps you haven’t heard about me. Once I make up my mind there’s no changing that either.’

He smiled suddenly, surprisingly, but there was no humour on his face. Debra saw it as malicious and felt fingers of apprehension curl inside her stomach.

‘We’ll have to see who’s the stronger of the two,’ he said calmly. ‘Dare I say, may the best man win?’

His calm assurance that he would end up winning changed Debra’s fear to anger. ‘You’re so cocksure of yourself, Mr Oliver. I wonder how it will feel when you find yourself on the losing end for once.’

‘I shan’t lose,’ he said calmly, moving away from the door and half filling two glasses from a decanter which stood on a table nearby. ‘Here, see if this will help calm you down. You’re like a prize turkeycock ready for battle.’

Normally Debra did not drink, but she was so enraged she took the glass and swallowed the contents. The neat whisky burned her throat. She choked and spluttered and, embarrassed, tried to turn it into a cough.

‘Purely out of curiosity,’ she said, ‘what sort of a job is it that you’re offering me? Not that I have any intention of changing my mind, you understand?’

‘But of course,’ he said politely, smiling to himself, confident now that the battle was half won. ‘It will be very interesting work, involving meeting the many people who make up my garments. This branch covers the lower end of my range. Labour is cheap out there, my costs are greatly reduced, but I need someone who can speak the language. We’ve had a fair amount of trouble through them misinterpreting our instructions. This is where you would come in.’

It sounded good, interesting, and a sliver of doubt passed through Debra’s mind. Could she leave Liz? The answer was immediate. No way could she let the younger girl look after herself.

He saw her hesitation. ‘Naturally I wouldn’t expect you to give up designing, after all that’s what you’ve trained for, but I have no doubt that the two jobs could be combined. Does it appeal?’

She stared at him for a few long seconds, her brown eyes wide. ‘To be perfectly honest, Mr Oliver, it does. But like I said, I have this problem.’

‘Problems can be overcome,’ he said airily. ‘Find someone else to look after the girl. There are plenty of people who’d be glad of such work. I’ll pay the expenses, if it worries you.’

Debra’s fine brows rose. ‘You want me so badly?’

Sudden anger tightened his face. ‘I don’t like my plans thwarted,’ he rasped. ‘What’s it going to take to make you change your mind?’

‘Nothing,’ she said tightly. ‘Nothing at all, Mr Oliver. You’re wasting your time.’

He leaned back against his desk, hands behind him. ‘You’re more stubborn than I realised. But what I don’t think has occurred to you is that you’re throwing away a chance in a lifetime, simply because of some stupid little notion that you owe this girl something.’

Was there to be no letting up? What was this man made of, iron? She sighed deeply and unhappily. ‘Liz has enough troubles at the moment, and I’m certainly not going to contribute to them by jetting off to the other side of the world.’

His fingers strummed a quick tattoo on the edge of the desk, grey eyes flashed fire. ‘Then take the damned girl with you if it means so much.’

A long silence followed, Debra not at all sure he meant what he said.

‘Did you hear?’ he questioned at length.

She nodded slowly. ‘Why?’

'Because I’ve made up my mind that you’re the right person for the job.’

'And you don’t like to admit failure?’

‘I haven’t failed,’ he said bluntly. 'The matter’s settled, the only difference is your friend will be going with you.’

Debra’s chin shot up. ‘I still haven’t said yes.’

‘But you will,’ came the confident response. ‘Has she a valid passport?’

The matter was being taken out of her hands and Debra did not like it. ‘I believe so—but ’

‘There are no buts,’ he said firmly, taking her arm and ushering her towards the door. ‘I’ll be in touch. Be prepared to go almost immediately.’

Somehow she found herself outside his office wondering whether she had dreamt the whole thing. She felt as though she had been put through a washing machine, limp and wet, nothing like her normal self.

She was delighted to be going to Hong Kong again after all these years, especially as it meant she could still carry on with the work for which she had trained. It would have been a pity to waste all those years in college.

But it was Vane Oliver’s attitude she was not keen on. He had decided that she was the person he wanted and that was that. It had been unthinkable that she might refuse. Contrarily now she wished she had been more firm. It would serve him right to have his plans thrown back into his face.

Debra did not immediately tell Liz the news. For one thing she was not sure how her friend would take it, and for another, she wanted to savour to herself for a while the idea of flying off to the other side of the world.

She felt quite exhilarated, annoyed as she was with the way Vane Oliver had handled the matter. A new job and a new country, it was more than she had ever hoped. Freelancing had been all right, but she had never been sure when she would get work. People were wary of someone fresh from college, not altogether convinced that she was capable of designing exactly what they wanted.

Mr Oliver, though, had seemed to think she was ideal. She suddenly felt ten feet tall, despite the fact that she had been bludgeoned into moving.

Unable to contain her feelings any longer, she called Liz from upstairs.

The girl came sulkily into the room. It was rare that she smiled these days, thought Debra, keeping her fingers mentally crossed that the news she was about to impart would cheer her up.

‘How would you like to go to Hong Kong again?’ she asked brightly.

For just a fraction Liz’s eyes lightened, apparently recalling the years she had spent there as a child. But after a few seconds’ silence she said flatly, ‘No, I want to stay here.’

‘But why?’ insisted Debra. ‘It will do you good to get away. There’s too much here to remind you of ’ she trailed away awkwardly.

‘Of Mummy and Daddy,’ cried Liz. ‘That’s why I must stay. I want to remember. I don’t want to go away and forget them—it wouldn’t be right.’

‘You won’t forget them,’ said Debra gently. ‘Not ever. But memories will be less painful out there. 1 think they would like you to go. You know how happy they were in Hong Kong.’

Liz wavered, and Debra pressed home her advantage.

‘It’s not going to cost us a penny. Mr Oliver is sending us. He wants me to work for him there, instead of here in London. He says you can come too,’

Liz looked up sharply. ‘Why me? He doesn’t know me, he has no reason to let me go too. What have you been telling him?’ Her pretty baby face was flushed and she pushed an agitated hand through her long blonde hair.

Debra shrugged. ‘I merely said I couldn’t accept the job. He pressed for a reason and I told him about you. He’s a kind man,’ she lied. ‘He immediately said we could go together. He’s even finding us somewhere to live, rent-free. It’s a chance in a lifetime, Liz. Do say yes.’

Liz said sharply, ‘Do you fancy him? Is that the reason why you’re so eager for me to go too, so that you won’t lose the job. What would happen to me if you got married? Tell me that. I’m not stupid, you know. There has to be some good reason for you to be so insistent.’

Not for one minute had Debra thought Liz would feel like this. She had hoped she would be delighted, hesitant perhaps, but certainly not suspecting her of having fallen for Mr Oliver.

‘Oh, Liz,’ she said calmly, ‘you do have some odd schoolgirl notions. No, I don’t fancy Mr Oliver. I can’t say I even like him. But this job’s too good to miss, it’s far better than working here in England.’

‘Well, I’m not going!’ Liz was shouting now, really agitated. ‘I would feel I was letting Mummy and Daddy down. You can’t run away from memories, Debra. You have to face them.’

She had some funny ideas, decided Debra, but for the time being she let the matter lie. Perhaps given time to think about it Liz would change her mind.

But the whole weekend passed and there was still no sign of Liz relenting. She spent most of the time in her room, avoiding Debra, coming out only to eat her meals and then maintaining a stubborn silence no matter how much Debra tried to draw her into conversation.

It worried Debra, seeing Liz like this. Before her parents’ death she had been a cheerful young thing, full of life, always clowning. It was only lately that she had seen the sensitive, emotional side of Liz’s nature, and she wished there was something she could do to help.

But the younger girl seemed intent on shutting her out. It hurt, Debra had to admit, it hurt like hell. They had been so close, almost like sisters. She had never dreamt that she would get so uptight about this suggestion that they move to Hong Kong.

So far as Debra was concerned it was a fresh challenge, exciting, the sort of thing she would thrive on, and she had been convinced that Liz would feel the same.

On Monday morning Liz went to school without even bringing up the subject again, and Debra knew there was only one thing for it. She would have to go and see Mr Oliver, tell him that she could not go to Hong Kong after all.

With a bit of luck he might still let her have the job for which she had originally applied. She could see no reason why not.

At nine o’clock she was outside his office, confident, not too worried. But a few minutes later she wished she had never come.

‘It’s all arranged,’ he said crossly. ‘You can’t back down now. I’ve booked your flight.’ His silver eyes flashed, lips grim.

‘You didn’t know definitely that Liz would go,’ she retorted, her brown eyes equally fiery. ‘You might have waited until I’d given you confirmation.’ He was so annoying, this man, always believing that people would do exactly as he wanted, without giving any thought at all to their own feelings. He was too bossy by far; perhaps it was as well that she was not going to Hong Kong.

‘I didn’t expect any trouble,’ he said, leaning back in his chair, his whole attitude one of total aggression. ‘I’m not accustomed to opposition to my plans.’

Debra almost said, ‘I can see that,’ but if she wanted this job in England she had to be careful. ‘I’m sorry. I can’t do much about it, though—Liz was adamant.’

He shook his head savagely. ‘I thought she was in your care. Surely, if that’s the case, she’ll do as you say. Perhaps you weren’t persuasive enough, Miss Delaney. I think you ought to try again.’

‘It wouldn’t do any good.’ Debra stood up angrily. ‘She’s been through a traumatic experience, Mr Oliver. She’s just lost all the family she’s ever had. It’s only natural she wants to remain here and preserve their memory.’

‘It’s morbid,’ he returned tightly. ‘It would do her a power of good to get away. Tell her she’s going, make her go. My God, anyone would think you were frightened of the girl!’

‘I care for her,’ sighed Debra, ‘that’s the difference. I could no more force her to do anything against her will than I could ’ She searched wildly for a comparison.

He finished for her, ‘Have an affair with me?’

His suggestion shocked her, made her wonder exactly what thoughts were going through his mind. Unless he was teasing? But there was no amusement on his face.

She said tightly, 'That’s right, Mr Oliver. The two are both equally improbable.’

He pushed back his chair and came round the desk, standing a few inches away. ‘You’re twenty-two, Miss Delaney, ambitious, intelligent, a career woman in every sense of the word. Are you going to allow a seventeen-year-old girl to hold you down?’

His close proximity unnerved her. She stepped back a pace, trying to escape the indomitable strength, the rock-hard determination to get her to change Liz’s mind.

‘There’s nothing I can do about it,’ she said firmly. ‘My first loyalty is to Liz. Surely there’s some other person who can do this job?’

‘I want you,’ he said bluntly. ‘I’ve made up my mind on that score,’ and he turned on her the full power of his silver-grey eyes.