Cinderella Substitute (18 page)
Read Cinderella Substitute Online
Authors: Nell Dixon
- It took her a few moments to register that the scenery outsi
- "Back to my house. Some of the papers you'll need are there.
- Jenni swallowed hard and nervously moistened the dry skin of
- Her nerve endings tingled as she caught the look on his face
- "You seemed preoccupied," he said. "And just lately I appear
- She flushed. "Well, if you weren't so darn touchy..."
- "I'm touchy!" He snorted with what sounded like derision.
- "Yes. You. Some days it's like tiptoeing through a minefield
- "This has to do with Walker, hasn't it?" He braked sharply a
- "You're still mad at me about the Christmas party."
- Jenny looked at him, bewildered. "No, Nate. This has to do w
- To her surprise, he laughed. "I couldn't agree more. That's
- Her hands curled of their own accord into tight little fists
- He lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really?" he drawled, "an
- "I have a lot of things to do at home. For your information,
- He swung the car in through the gates to his house and cut t
- "Meaning that mine does, I suppose," he retorted. "The compa
- "I never said it did, Nate, but that doesn't give you the ri
- The color leached from his face as her words struck home. Sh
- Nate had already opened the front door of the house. As she
- "Nate." She called his name, desperate to take back the word
- Nate stood in the kitchen in front of the window, his back t
- "Nate?"
- He half-turned to glance at her as if he had forgotten her e
- Jenni folded her arms to hug herself against the bitter cold
- * * * *
- Nate paused in a small grove of trees. The icy air filled hi
- "What am I doing here?" he murmured.
- Rufus cocked his head to one side as if waiting for an expla
- Except he hadn't dealt with it, according to Jenni. He'd avo
- He paced up and down along the path. He had to tell Jenni ab
- He regained his composure and glanced back towards the house
- He pushed the kitchen door open to find the room empty. For
- Rufus padded in to settle himself in his dog basket with a m
- "I made some coffee. I thought you might be cold." She watch
- "Thanks, I could use a drink."
- He studied her as she took two mugs from the shelf to pour t
- This new Jenni confused him. The old Jenni would have been h
- She passed him a mug of coffee. "Nate, I should have chosen
- Pain welled up inside him and his grip tightened on the hand
- "Forget it, Jenni. It's not a subject I want to discuss." Hi
- "Well, if you want to run through the other documents with m
- He raked his hand through his hair and finished up by rubbin
- "Come through to the office. I'll get the papers." He kept h
- * * * *
- Nate pulled up outside Jenni's flat. His eyes narrowed when
- "I'll walk you in." His mouth set in a determined line.
- "It's all right, they're always hanging about." It was quite
- "I'm seeing you safely inside. Don't the police ever come an
- "All the time, but they keep drifting back."
- She clicked on the stairwell light after she opened the door
- "Someone's left you a note, Jenni." He handed the piece of p
- "You should read it upstairs." Nate suggested with a glance
- Jenni led the way up to her flat. A cold ominous sensation s
- She dropped her bag onto the floor, then sank down on the se
- "It's from Tracey, my birth mother." The message seemed conf
- "I didn't think she had your address?" Nate sounded puzzled,
- "She doesn't. At least I've never given it to her. I took yo
- "So what does she want?" The harsh tone in Nate's voice made
- "Why would she want anything?" Jenni asked. "This just says
- "How did she find out where you live? This whole thing doesn
- In her heart, she knew he had a point. Jenni hadn't given he
- "Why do you live here, Jenni?" The question she dreaded hung
- She tried to find an explanation which didn't lay her open t
- "I moved here when Mum was ill, to be near the nursing home.
- "And?" he pressed, "Why haven't you moved? I know you hate t
- She knew Nate would be determined to get to the bottom of th
- "The nursing home cost me a lot of money. I had to sell Mum
- He stayed silent for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me? I wo
- "I don't want charity, Nate. Making sure Mum was happy and c
- She hadn't been working for Nate very long when her mother h
- "So what are you going to do now?"
- Jenni blinked. "Do?"
- "Now your birth mother has your address?" He tapped the note
- Jenni stared at him. "Surely not. Maybe she simply has a lot
- Nate frowned. "Exactly. You don't know anything about her. Y
- "There must be a simpler explanation, Nate." She became awar
- "Yes, there probably is." The small crease stayed on his for
- He looked at his watch and grimaced. "I have to go, Jenni. I
- "I'm not a child, Nate. I've lived here on my own for over a
- "Just be careful, Jenni. I'll pick you up at seven, which sh
- She followed him to the door. "Okay I'll see you tomorrow."
- He paused at the top of the stairs, his expression serious a
- Something about the set of his shoulders made her heart beat
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- Jenni dressed the next morning with special care. She decide
- The morning flew by. The team from New York arrived and appe
- She and Nate had been invited to dine with Mr. Woods, the he
- "This is our chance to really show what we can do," Nate tol
- Jenni paused in her tidying. "So, how well do you think we'r
- "He seemed to love everything so far about the quality of th
- "But?" Jenni asked.
- Nate sighed. "I don't know. I have a feeling the real decide
- Jenni's confidence plummeted. She wasn't good at social smal
- "Why don't you ask Nathalie to go to the dinner tonight? She
- Nate stared at her with a frown. "Why would I want to ask Na
- Jenni flushed. "I just thought..." she faltered. Nate gazed
- "Jenni, I have every faith in you. There is nothing for you
- She shuffled the papers in her hands into a folder, intent o
- "Just be yourself, Jenni. You'll be fine."
- The phone rang. He took his hands from her shoulders as she
- * * * *
- Back in her bedroom after a long luxurious soak in the bath,
- Gloomily, she studied her options. A black dress she had wor
- She pulled the red dress out of the closet. It had been one
- She stared at it for a few more minutes, then looked again a
- By the time Nate rang her doorbell at precisely eight o'cloc
- Jenni's mouth gaped open when she opened the door. He wore a
- "Wow Jenni! You look fantastic."
- This time there could be no doubt about his opinion of her i
- Her pulse still beat wildly as she checked in her coat at th
- The elevator doors opened. The Americans appeared. Jo Marcha
- To her relief, the meal went well. Mr. Woods, or Sam as he r
- After coffee, Sam suggested they adjourn to the residents' l
- Jenni stood in front of the marble-topped basins and ran coo
- "I hope you don't mind my asking a personal question," Jo sa
- Jenni paused. A great spear of jealousy pierced her heart. S
- "Mmm, I see. That must have been terrible for him."
- "He doesn't like to talk about it." Jenni's dismay grew as s
- Jo smiled. "Two years is a long time alone for a guy as good
- "He loved Cerys very much." Jenni felt compelled to defend h
- "Maybe he needs to meet the right woman." Jo suggested. She
- The rest of the night passed in pure agony for Jenni. Jo's t
- Jenni remained lost in her own thoughts and oblivious of her
- "I am, actually. It's been a great evening and a real pleasu
- "I'll take a taxi home, Nate. I don't want to be the party p
- "No, I'll take you home. It's late. This close to Christmas,
- A sneaky part of her was glad he didn't want to stay with Jo
- "Actually, Jo and I are ready to call it a night, too. We've
- The roads gleamed white with frost when they left the hotel.
- "That went well, don't you think?" she asked as Nate cleared
- "Not bad. You were great. Sam is a bit old-fashioned when it
- "Is he right?" Jenni asked. "Has he ever had his fingers bur
- Nate laughed. "No, Sam Woods is a shrewd judge of people. He
- "I see." She longed to ask him what he thought of Jo Marchan
- Her mind ran back over the conversation she'd had with Jo. T
- The pavement outside Jenni's flat looked deserted for once,
- "Thank you for everything today, Jenni. You've been fantasti
- "No problem, truly. I know how much the contract means to yo
- He lifted his hand to stroke a stray tendril of her hair and
- The blood rushed in her ears as her pulse moved up another n
- * * * *
- Rufus greeted him with unabashed relief on his return home a
- Jenni didn't stray too far from his thoughts as he remembere
- While the girls had been in the powder room, Sam Woods had t
- "You're a lucky man, Nate!" Sam had remarked, as he'd puffed
- The deep shameful sense that he had betrayed Cerys' memory f
- It had to be Jenni, but she deserved love, deserved a man wh
- * * * *
- Jenni wasn't sure what to expect from Nate when she arrived
- Bitterly, she almost wished Jo Marchant luck. Almost, becaus
- Mike Walker waited by Lorna's desk as Jenni arrived. She smi
- "Wow, Jenni, you look fabulous. I wanted to tell you yesterd
- "Thank you, Mike." Something in her tone caused Lorna to loo
- "When you've quite finished swapping gossip, Jennifer, we do
- Jenni swivelled on her heels, Nate never called her Jennifer
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- Mike disappeared towards the lift. Lorna found a pressing er
- "That was uncalled for, Nate." Jenni's heart thumped wildly
- "Maybe, but there seems to be too much time wasted in idle g
- "In that case then, I'll collect the mail and make a start,"
- "I take it everything's ready for the party next week?"
- Jenni took a deep breath, struggling to keep her cool. He kn
- "Of course, I ran everything past you a few weeks ago, I'm s
- He looked as though he was about to try to think of somethin
- "Mayer Holdings, may I help you?" She half-turned to lean ov
- "I would like to speak to Jennifer Blake, please."
- Jenni didn't recognize the voice, but that wasn't unusual. "
- "This is Tracey, I sent you a note the other day?"
- Nate stepped to her side so he could hear the conversation,
- "Yes, I got it. You said things were difficult for you at th
- "I can't see you until after Christmas. It's too difficult f
- Nate took the phone from her and placed the handset back in
- "Was it Tracey?" he asked.
- Jenni's mind whirled. It had sounded as if her birth mother
- "Come on, we'll talk about this upstairs." Nate slipped a ge
- "What did she say?" Nate's deep voice rumbled in her ear. In
- She repeated the conversation to Nate word-for-word.
- "What do you think?" she asked.
- To her dismay, he didn't give her an immediate answer. In fa
- "Well?" she demanded, after a couple of silent and awkward m
- "I didn't want to tell you this, because I knew you wouldn't
- "What are you talking about?" Today had turned into a bad dr
- "I was worried for your safety after the note got pushed thr
- Indignation at his actions fought with fear for her mother's
- "I was concerned about how she might have got hold of your h
- Dumbfounded, she looked at him. The impact of his words seep
- Strong arms held her tight and a man's voice murmured reassu
- Dazed, she opened her eyes. "I never faint," she protested.
- "For someone who never faints, you make quite a habit of it,
- She pushed herself up into a sitting position, taking care n
- "Stay still until the dizziness wears off," he advised.
- "I'm okay now, really." She wasn't sure if it was the faint
- He pulled out his office chair and made her sit down on it.
- "I just panicked. It all seemed so extraordinary. A bit like
Other books
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson
An Improper Seduction by Quill, Suzanne
Spencer Cohen Series, Book One (The Spencer Cohen Series 1) by N.R. Walker
Hacked by Tim Miller
Captured by a Gentleman (Regency Unlaced 6) by Carole Mortimer
The Oblate's Confession by William Peak
Utopía y desencanto by Claudio Magris
The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book One: The Hero Revealed by Boniface, William
The Gardener by Bodeen, S.A.