Bittersweet Love - Cathy Williams [21]
By the time she got into work the following morning, she had made up her mind that she would handle the situation if it killed her.
It helped that Kane was nowhere around. He had left a scribbled note for her on her desk, informing her that he had been called to an urgent meeting at their Paris headquarters and would be back later on in the week.
Natalie stared at the black writing with a feeling of relief. Coping was much easier without him around.
She spent the rest of the day solidly working on her accounts, liaising with various managers, as well as fitting in the personnel officer, and was pleasantly exhausted by the time she returned to her flat.
Eric phoned to make sure that she had not forgotten about their date later in the week, and remained on the telephone chatting for quite a while. Despite what she had said to him, was he already becoming more involved with her than either of them wanted? she wondered, as she thoughtfully replaced the receiver a while later. It was flattering to be pursued by someone, and especially by someone with whom she found it so easy to relate. Maybe, she thought, she should not try quite so hard to cut herself off from the opportunity for involvement.
What, after all, was the point of never looking twice at another man? Of never giving anyone the chance to get close to her? Hadn’t that been one of the decisions which she had made in Kane’s absence? She resolved to let her relationship with Eric take its course.
The thought clung to her at the back of her mind for the remainder of the week, and on the Friday, when she was due to be collected by him at the office, she spent longer than usual in the morning trying various outfits. She wanted something that was attractive without being pushy. She would also have to wear it to the office, so really a skin-tight scarlet catsuit was totally out of the question. Not that she possessed anything along those lines anyway, nor would she want to.
In the end, she settled for a close-fitting cream silk skirt, which finished just above the knees, and a black and white checked sleeveless top, also in silk.
It was a relief, she thought, as six o’clock rolled around, that Eric was picking her up at the office when he was. Silk was definitely not suited to extensive daytime wear, however comfortable the outfit was. She was just too conscious of being over-dressed to relax comfortably.
She was absorbed transferring some information from one of the files on to her computer when the outer door opened and she looked up, a warm smile on her lips. Kane’s eyes surveyed her sardonically but before she could say anything Eric appeared behind him and alongside him was Anna, her blonde hair tied up in a style that looked as though it had taken several days to accomplish.
‘Natalie,’ Eric said warmly, moving towards her and stretching out his hand. ‘I bumped into your boss and his girlfriend in the elevator.’ He went red. ‘Hence the mass arrival. Sorry I’m a bit late.’
‘Are you?’ Natalie glanced at her watch in surprise and realised that she had been so engrossed in what she had been doing that the time had slipped by. It was a little after six-fifteen. She stood up, her cheeks pink as Eric’s eyes gleamed with appreciation.
‘You look charming,’ he breathed, and from behind him Anna said in a brittle voice,
‘What a sweet little outfit. It suits you. Darling—’
she turned towards Kane ‘—doesn’t she look sweet? I used to have an outfit similar to that when I was a bit younger but——’ she giggled a little ‘—it always made me feel as though I should be behind a typewriter.’
Kane didn’t respond to that biting observation. He looked from Eric to Natalie, his eyes finally settling on Natalie’s face, and said casually, ‘And where are you two lovebirds off to tonight?’
‘Theatre and supper afterwards,’ Natalie