Lessons in Love (3 page)

The meal was tasty and hot, and Emily regaled her brother and sister with the day’s events.

‘He sounds awful!’ exclaimed Veronica. ‘Imagine making you speak in front of so many people.’ Emily grinned at her little sister. Veronica hated public speaking with a passion.

‘Well I survived it,’ Emily reassured her with a smile. And she had, too. It was strange, she was almost glad she’d gone through it now. She’d faced her own fears and come out on top. Not only that, but her animosity towards Nicholas seemed to have vanished. She knew now he wasn’t a completely cold-hearted monster. In fact, she realised abruptly, she could quite easily come to view Nicholas Cavanaugh in a very positive way indeed.

Nicholas stepped out of the shower in a remarkably good mood. It would be even better, he reflected, when he actually had somewhere decent to live. His cousin’s spare room was adequate, but stifling compared to his large city apartment with bayside views.

He’d been drawn back to Ballarat, the city where he’d obtained his university degree twelve years earlier, and had been looking forward to getting closer to his roots, and also back to a more relaxed lifestyle. Now he had the money and the power, he was able to transform his life into something different. Establishing a new branch of his company, Rutherford’s, in Ballarat was a long held dream, and he was satisfied that things were finally falling into place. The past with all its disappointments was behind him, and he relished the thought of new challenges.

A knock at the bedroom door startled him from his reverie. ‘Yes Wendy?’ There was only one person it could be. His dearest cousin, who, although often a pain in the neck, was a wonderful secretary (he’d hired her the moment he’d arrived in town) and also a very hospitable being.

‘I’ve got some KFC for dinner, so get your rear out here and enjoy!’ Nicholas grimaced slightly at the thought of the unhealthy greasy chicken, and then laughed softly to himself, realising how much he actually enjoyed such artery-clogging fare.

‘Guess what?’ Wendy began, as he seated himself at the table. He raised a questioning eyebrow in response. ‘Come on, you can do better than that,’ she said with a pout. He shook his head wryly, and raised his eyebrows. ‘OK, I’ll tell you. Guess whose name I heard mentioned in our local family restaurant?’

‘I give up. Tell me.’ She sighed and rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at him.

‘Yours, as a matter of fact. Let’s just say that there’s a rather attractive young woman who doesn’t seem too happy with my dearest cousin.’ Her voice was teasing, but he frowned, nevertheless.

‘Oh?’ he asked, reflecting on who he could have offended. Unfortunately, there were a number of Ballarat families who would not be singing his praises right now. He’d bought out two small, struggling firms, Preston Enterprises and Villa Business Services, and regretfully a small number of people had been retrenched.

‘Yes, a young woman who seemed a little peeved at the way you showed her up in class and then held her up because your car needed fixing. You know, pretty peaches and cream complexion, lovely shiny brown hair. The sort of girl who usually can’t get enough of your charms.’

‘Ahh,’ he murmured, in irritated understanding. He’d actually thought he’d made progress with the lovely Emily. Obviously he was wrong about that, and he wondered why it bugged him so much. ‘Yes, that would be one of my students. A young woman with a great deal of potential, I believe. Or at least, I thought she had some potential.’ Wendy raised her eyebrows.

‘Potential as what? A conquest?’ She giggled and he frowned at her, his appetite gone.

‘What? No. Of course not. In business. But I think now she has a few more lessons to learn!’ Wendy shook her head at him.

‘Does it ever occur to you to leave well enough alone? If I’d known how you’d react, I wouldn’t have told you. You know, you can come down awfully hard on people.’ Right now he didn’t appreciate Wendy’s advice. In fact, hearing it made him feel even more contrary.

‘I’ll take your advice into consideration, Wendy,’ he said politely, knowing full well he wouldn’t. Somehow Emily Peterson had had an effect on him. He hadn’t quite analysed what that effect was yet, but it had been slightly disturbing. He’d found her perhaps a little too attractive – hell, more than that, he desired her. He’d warmed to her, and it felt as though he’d been stabbed in the back to hear she’d spoken about him in a public place to goodness knows who.

There were three things he’d learned in his career, and those were rules he’d stuck to until this day. One, always learn from your mistakes; two, never speak negatively about others, even when they can’t hear you; and three, let go of the things other people do and say which upset or offend you. Unfortunately, he still had some problems with number three, especially when it came to attractive young women.

Certain incidents in his past made it difficult for him to let go of some upsets, especially where women were concerned, and this knowledge grated on him, making him even more annoyed. And, he had to admit, even more likely to do something foolish.

The next two days Emily had accounting classes, and she saw neither hide nor hair of Nicholas Cavanaugh. Her accounting lecturer didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in drawing negative attention to any of her students, but somehow accounting classes just weren’t as interesting as business economics, for all that Emily didn’t have to be on guard the entire lesson.

Friday morning’s business economics lecture began somewhat more auspiciously, with another student being asked to do a presentation as Emily had done on Tuesday. She was gratified to note that he did no better than she had, and Nicholas seemed content to treat him the same way he’d treated her. However, her relief was short lived. After he’d done a spiel about how to improve presentations, Nicholas looked right at her, and Emily felt like sinking through the floor.

‘Miss Peterson, after your abysmal attempt at doing a presentation on Tuesday, I’ll give you the opportunity to redeem yourself. Come on out to the front of the class and let’s see what you’ve learned since then.’ Emily glared at him. She couldn’t believe he was doing this after his apology! She’d thought he was different after Tuesday night, but now she wasn’t so sure.

She gave him her most withering glare as she walked, head held high, to the front of the lecture theatre. She certainly had learned her lesson, but hadn’t thought she’d be expected to demonstrate that learning so soon. She’d had the sense to summarise the previous lecture’s reading material, and had read through it earlier that morning, just to be on the safe side. At least, she reflected, she knew what to expect now.

She began speaking in as clear and concise manner as she possibly could, carefully trying to remember the important points of what she’d read. Fortunately, by the end of her spiel Nicholas was looking at her with a new-found respect, but the glance she gave him was cold and unforgiving.

‘I hope that was more satisfactory?’ she said, trying hard not to meet his disturbing blue gaze.

‘Yes, that was a greatly improved performance. But try not to rest on your laurels. You still have a long way to go.’ She glared at him again and returned to her seat while the other students watched their exchange curiously. In that brief interval of time the change of heart she’d experienced towards him had well and truly vanished. Nicholas Cavanaugh was as arrogant and unsympathetic as he’d always been.

Emily spent the rest of the morning in a black mood, more than happy to go to work that afternoon. She tried to reassure herself with the knowledge that Nicholas was only teaching them for one semester, but when she realised that one semester constituted another twelve weeks of lectures, her heart sank in dismay.

‘I’ve got an important meeting this afternoon. Would you be able to give the office a quick clean? I know it’s not part of your duties, but I’d really appreciate it,’ Mark said as he entered Emily’s office after lunch.

‘Not a problem, Mark,’ she replied. ‘Who’s coming?’

‘The Managing Director of Rutherford’s as a matter of fact. Remember the tender I put in for a couple of months ago to erect some factory buildings for a new firm?’ Emily nodded.

‘That’s fantastic news!’ she enthused. Mark held up his hands.

‘Wait…wait…I didn’t say I’d got the tender. In fact, I’m almost sure I haven’t.’

‘Well then, why…?’

‘I’m not sure. But it has to be something good. After all, he was the one who called me. Anyway, you’ll be the first to know what he decides. We’re really privileged to have him come here. It’s wonderful that he’s bringing his business to Ballarat. It’ll be a big boost to the economy.’

‘That’s great Mark. Good luck. I’ll get on to cleaning this mess right away.’

Emily grinned and got up from her desk, walking over to the bathroom where the cleaning equipment was kept. Emily straightened things up, tidied both Mark’s desk and her own, and made sure that not a speck of dust remained. As she stowed the cleaning equipment away, she chanced a look out the window and saw a shiny new blue BMW pull up. Her heart contracted for a moment. It looked identical to the car she’d seen at the mechanic’s on Tuesday. The car which belonged to none other than her antagonistic business economics lecturer, Nicholas Cavanaugh. It couldn’t be, could it?

A quick inspection of her appearance made her shudder and she tidied her hair, put on some lipstick and powdered her slightly shiny face, leaving her feeling a little dishevelled, but not looking too much the worse for wear.

She sat down and took a deep breath, reminding herself that plenty of people drive blue BMWs. A knock sounded at the door, and she jumped slightly.

‘Come in!’ she called. The door opened, and the man himself entered the room. Emily felt her breath catch in her throat.

‘Mr Cavanaugh! Come in. Please take a seat. Mark will be with you shortly. Can I get you something to drink? Tea…Coffee…?’ She knew she was babbling but couldn’t seem to help it.

As usual Nicholas Cavanaugh was the image of perfection. She noted a slight expression of surprise on his face when he saw her, but that was the only acknowledgment he made that he’d ever met her before. Acute disappointment washed over her as he uttered a quick, ‘No, thank you,’ and sat down with a business magazine in his hands, dismissing her entirely. Her stomach clenched, and she sat down angrily in her seat. Couldn’t he at least have said something, anything, to her? Was she so insignificant that she didn’t even rate a mention with him, except as an annoying student who he felt the need to show up at every opportunity?

And why oh why did his presence rattle her so? How was it that Emily, who’d never had a heated romance in her life, responded so strongly to this particular man? Certainly she’d had a few relationships, but none which had sizzled. In fact, she’d thought that such passion was the thing of movies and books only, but when she looked at Nicholas Cavanaugh, she knew he was just the man to start her fires burning. She forced her mind from her current train of thought. Not only was Nicholas totally uninterested in her, he was also her business economics lecturer, and an arrogant, annoying person. He was not the sort of man she would be interested in. Physically, perhaps, but in all the ways that counted he was most definitely not the man for her.

Emily soon became aware that Mark had left no work for her to do. She checked her e-mail for messages, but found none, and even searched her ‘in’ box in case something had been left for her. Taking some papers from her desk drawer, she pretended to read them intently, while subtly looking over at Nicholas every couple of moments. He appeared to be deeply engrossed in his reading, and didn’t pay her the slightest heed. Although he sat low in his chair, half sprawled out, his long legs crossed casually in front of him, he possessed a commanding presence. Emily couldn’t help but admire the strength evident in his body, even hidden as it was by his business suit.

It was then Emily realised that he wasn’t as relaxed as he’d first appeared. His jaw was slightly clenched, indicating some suppressed tension. The atmosphere in the room suddenly took on a palpable thickness. Emily longed to break it, but couldn’t. There was something so intensely sexual in her response to Nicholas that she was afraid if she opened up and let her professional reserve slip, it would be there for the world – and Nicholas Cavanaugh – to see.

When Mark finally called Nicholas in, Emily sighed in relief. The band of tension that had been constricting her insides was finally released. She bit her lip in anxiety. Please oh please God, don’t let me feel this way about him! she prayed silently, but knew it was out of the hands of even the highest deity. She was falling for Nicholas Cavanaugh, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The meeting continued for a good hour, and Emily hoped Mark knew exactly who he was dealing with. He was a nice man. Perhaps too nice for the ruthless world of business, which included men like Nicholas Cavanaugh.

Getting some routine phone calls out of the way and straightening out the filing cabinet filled her time. When that was finished, she watered the plants, and sat down at her desk. Fortunately Mark and Nicholas exited Mark’s office moments later, the satisfied look on Mark’s face testament to the success of the meeting.

‘Goodbye Mark,’ Nicholas announced. ‘I have another meeting to attend this afternoon and am in a bit of a hurry, so I apologise for my hasty exit. I trust we will have a good working relationship.’ They concluded with a brief handshake. ‘I’ll see you in class, Emily. Study hard, and one day you’ll be in there rather than working behind the desk in here,’ he said, waving from Mark’s office to her own tidy desk. Emily smiled as politely as she could under the circumstances. Had that been a smirk she’d seen on his face? She wouldn’t have been surprised. What did he think now that he knew she was just a lowly secretary?

Not, of course, that there was anything wrong with being a secretary, she thought defensively. She’d never been ashamed of her job. She enjoyed it, even, but knew that she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life doing accounts and typing up correspondence.

As for Nicholas! His opinion didn’t worry her in the slightest. If her mother hadn’t died and their father hadn’t left, she’d have been able to attend university years ago. If Nicholas Cavanaugh was going to judge her for that then it just showed what a shallow man he was.