Laura's Big Break (23 page)

She didn’t bounce around in her seat the way she did when she was a kid, but the same intense energy was still there.

‘What do you think?’

‘It might work,’ he said sceptically.

He couldn’t stop his mathematician’s brain from going over the possibilities. He had a lot of colleagues who could probably use a service like the one she described. And she was right; the commute from the centre of London to the suburbs did eat up a lot of time. His eyes narrowed. She was hooking him. He was a bloody fish. Again.

‘I don’t want to be involved.’

As he sat forward in his chair he could feel his shoulder muscles strain against his suit jacket. He really had to make the time to get it altered. Maybe he could get his secretary to run it over to his tailor later. No, that definitely wasn’t her job. He reluctantly admitted to himself that the service Maddie was offering might actually come in handy. He shook his head. The fact the idea had merit wasn’t the point. This time he was taking a stand. Maddie’s wide eyes pleaded with him. She’d definitely learnt to work the charm over the years. When she was a kid she barrelled over everyone to get what she wanted; now she tried gentle cajoling first.

‘Come on Dean, it’s a great idea. I’m sure it’s going to pick up momentum quickly. I can see a proper office in my future. I’ve got a website all planned, a friend of Laura’s is building it for me, and I’m having a leaflet designed by a professional. But right now I lack credibility. It won’t be easy for people to trust a stranger with their personal lives. That’s where you come in. I need someone to vouch for me. All you have to do,’ she said as she leaned across his wide Scandinavian style desk, ‘is recommend my service to some of your colleagues. Get me started.’

‘That isn’t going to happen.’

There was a flicker of a frown. Any minute now she would decide she’d had enough and order him to comply. He had to actively stop himself from grinning.

‘Only a couple of people, then once the word is out I’ll get customers through my website.’

She drummed her red nails on his desk as her patience began to slip. That didn’t take long.

‘I’m not letting you try out any more business ideas on the people I know. My reputation is getting screwed by association.’

‘That’s not true.’

She crossed her long legs and folded her arms over her breasts. They squeezed together and Dean felt his mouth go dry. He’d been in a perpetual state of semi arousal around her for years. Not that she would ever notice. He concentrated on the matter at hand.

‘There was the adventure therapy idea. Deal with your stress by doing something daring for a day. Dave MacIlvoy broke his hip hang gliding.’

‘He was very old and no one held a gun to his head.’

As she huffed, he counted her efforts off on his fingers.

‘There was the aromatherapy at work idea. Ten minutes to get away from it all with the smells and sounds of the rain forest. The candles set off smoke alarms. The fire brigade came.’

‘Again, not my fault. The smoke detectors were too sensitive.’

‘And then there is my personal favourite,’ he drawled. ‘Alpaca walking in St James’s Park as a lunchtime diversion.’

She leaned forward, cheeks flushed in earnest.

‘That man swore they were alpaca. How was I to know that llamas weren’t as friendly, or as trainable, as their family members? Alpaca and llama do look very similar.’

‘It took my lawyer and a lot of money to make that fiasco go away.’

She got up from her seat and came around to his side of the desk. As she perched her perfectly round behind on the corner, Dean momentarily lost track of the conversation.

‘Look, this one is different. No animals. No dangerous sports. No fire hazards.’

She was seriously kissable. How did women get lipstick to match the colour of their clothes anyway? Was it like buying paint? Did they take in a sample of the colour and an assistant mixed the shade to match?

There was clicking. She was snapping her fingers in front of his face. Now she was tired of playing nice.

‘Am I boring you?’

‘No, but it doesn’t change my answer.’

Her eyes narrowed.

‘Dean Montgomery, you are being annoying.’

The last time she said that he ended up with a head full of peanut butter, but she was only ten at the time. He suspected that now the punishment wouldn’t involve a jar of food. He cleared his throat.

‘I’m being sensible.’

‘You’re always being sensible,’ she said with exasperation. ‘What do I have to do to convince you? I have a business plan. I have projected figures. I have a marketing campaign ready. This is a good idea. You run your own business, why can’t you see that I could do that too?’

As she stomped over to his large picture window he could practically see her brain work. One thing was for sure, she made his panorama of central London pale in comparison.

‘I’ve got it.’ Her grin was feral.

‘Oh no.’

She ignored him.

‘
You
will be my first client. I’ll prove to you how brilliant I can be then you’ll fall over yourself to vouch for me.’

Suddenly his tie felt too tight.

‘I don’t think so.’

He swivelled in his chair to get away from her. Maddie put a hand on each of his shoulders and spun him around to look her in the eye. The passion in her expression took his breath away.
Be still my heart.

‘One week, Dean. I’ll be at your beck and call. I’m going to make life so much easier for you. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without me.’

He gulped.

‘We start this afternoon. Prepare a list and I’ll meet you at Mimosa at noon.’

With that order she stood, straightened her skirt and marched to the door. She held her head high as a satisfied smile played about her lips. He was a goner.

‘What’s the business called?’ To his disgust his voice croaked.

With a Rita Hayworth glance over her shoulder she smiled.

‘Wife for Hire.’

As she shut the door Dean leaned forward and banged his head repeatedly on his pristine desk. What was it about that woman that turned him into an idiot? To the rest of London he had a reputation for being tough, frightening even. But to Maddie he was the equivalent of the neighbourhood moggie.

When the door opened again he wasn’t surprised to see his business associate Ted grinning at him.

‘Well, what’s the big idea this time?’

Ted threw himself into the corner of a large red sofa that took up almost a whole wall of Dean’s office. It was the only spark of colour in an otherwise neutral environment. Maddie had insisted that he needed somewhere comfortable for his clients to sit. She also insisted that it was red. Dean had explained patiently that his business was a financial advisory not a brothel. The couch stayed. He groaned as he looked at the sofa and at Ted’s grinning face.

‘Apparently she’s going to be my personal assistant in charge of non work related matters for one whole week. I’m supposed to write up a list of jobs for her to do.’

Ted’s grin widened, making him look more like an Australian surfer than a financial whizz kid.

‘What, no animals this time?’

Dean gave him the look he reserved for testy bank managers.

‘The girl has no direction.’ Ted ignored the look. ‘I don’t see why you don’t marry her and give her some babies to worry about. That should keep her occupied.’

If he didn’t actually see the women Ted dated he’d find it hard to believe it was possible.

‘There are reasons,’ was all he said.

‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. Heard it all before. You’re practically her brother. If the relationship went belly up you’d lose the girl and your best friend. You’re worried how Charlie will react. Oh, and she doesn’t think of you like that. It’s getting old, mate. You turn into an idiot around her and the drool is messing up the carpet.’

‘Thanks for the insight.’

‘Look, this latest idea of hers might be just what you need. One whole week with you in charge. If I was you, I’d use that time to change how she sees you. Turn on the charm. Seduce her.’

Ted shrugged like it was that simple. And maybe it was. Dean could feel the adrenalin surge through him. He couldn’t go on like this forever. His fear of hurting Maddie was stopping him from showing her how much he loved her. Something had to be done. And if she insisted on inflicting her latest idea on him, even though he’d made it clear that he had no intention of supporting it, he may as well get some mileage out of it. This was his time. He was done waiting. He’d take the risk of losing her and deal with Charlie later.

‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘Don’t let it go to your head.’

‘You’re going to need a plan. You do know how to seduce a woman, don’t you? We’ve been working together for what? Ten years now and I’ve only seen you with a handful of women. I wasn’t too impressed. For a while there I thought you were paying librarians to accompany you to work functions.’

‘You’re a funny guy.’

‘Seriously, Maddie thinks you’re another brother. I’ve seen how she behaves around you. She either babies you, treats you like an idiot, or uses you to further her latest business venture. How do you plan to turn that around?’

Dean looked blank. He felt blank. He’d managed fine with women in the past. There just hadn’t been a lot of time to devote to his love life. The fact he was the go-to guy for financial advice in London was testament to how neglected it had been. Then there was Maddie: for the past few years she had eclipsed everyone else. The problem was, he was so used to treating her like a little sister that he didn’t quite know how to change the balance in the relationship. The last thing he wanted was to come on too strong and scare her off.

‘You’re stuffed, mate.’ Ted read his mind.

They sat in silence. Dean imagined if he could see his face that he’d look much like a Basset Hound.

‘There’s only one thing for it,’ Ted said with a worrying gleam in his eye. ‘You need me. I’ll be your coach. Follow my advice and you’ll have her in bed in no time.’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘Here’s what to do.’ Ted pulled his chair in closer to the desk. ‘Don’t you have a list of duties to write? Well all you need to do is think of things that will put the two of you together in a romantic way.’

All Dean could come up with were trips to the tailor and stocking the pantry.

‘Mate, you’re sad. Your head is full of the things you actually need doing, isn’t it?’

Dean growled at him again. It had no effect.

‘The point is,’ Ted continued, ‘you make stuff up. Things that will keep her close to you, things that will force her to see you in a new way.’

‘Like box tickets at the theatre?’

‘Yeah, that kind of thing. You ask her to get tickets for you and a client, then the client can’t make it and you take her instead. Only don’t get tickets for
Mamma Mia!
Trust me, women only go there to sing the songs. There is
nothing
romantic about that. Get a pen. I’m going to help you sort this out once and for all.’

To read more of Mad Love, go to its page on Amazon here

The Davina Code

By janet elizabeth henderson

CHAPTER ONE

Jack Miller was having a bad year. Maybe even a bad life. First he’d been fired for one tiny lapse in judgement. Then, his fianc
é
e had left him because he - quote - didn’t smile enough. He rolled his eyes. Like smiling would have satisfied Fiona. No, Fiona came with a list of things she needed in life to be happy. None of which he could provide on a police salary. So no, smiling wasn’t going to fix it. To top his year off, his favourite relative, Aunt Millie, had up and kicked the bucket.

He looked at the old house in front of him, which was now his latest problem. Aunt Millie had left him a house. For a minute there, he’d actually thought things were looking up. And then he’d discovered that not only had Aunt Millie left him a house - she’d left him a tenant too. A tenant who changed the locks without permission. He growled at the door and then at the useless key in his hand.

He reached for the handle again, hoping brute force would sort his problem. His hand didn’t make it to the door. Instead, he felt a blinding pain to the back of his head before he crumpled to his knees.