Bittersweet Love - Cathy Williams [23]
Natalie turned away and fished it expertly out of the filing cabinet and handed it to him with a wry expression on her face.
‘I thought I left it on your desk on Friday evening.’
‘You did. I cleared it away.’
‘Very efficient. Now I know why I pay you as much as I do.’ He remained standing by her desk, the file in one hand, his other hand stuck into his trouser pocket, until Natalie asked hesitantly,
‘Is there something else?’
‘All ready to start working on those accounts today?’ She nodded, wondering how she could manoeuvre herself to her desk without bumping into him. ‘Good,’ he said, not budging, ‘good.’
Natalie finally raised one eyebrow questioningly. ‘Do I get the feeling that there’s something else on your mind?’
‘What gives you that idea?’
‘Normally you barely have time to stand still for longer than five minutes during the day. You must want to tell me something, or else you wouldn’t be by my desk. You’d probably be in your office, shouting orders.’
‘Well,’ he smiled drily, ‘there is something I’d like to mention to you. Nothing very important. Could you come into my office?’ He spun round and Natalie followed in his wake, closing the office door behind her.
‘Sit down,’ he said, adding, ‘please,’ after a few moments. When she had first gone to work for him, he had been quite accustomed to issuing commands without even the slightest regard for courtesy. Natalie had informed him in no uncertain terms that she had no intention of being treated like a skivvy, and he had wryly acceded to her request for politeness.
That was five years ago. What, she wondered, must he have thought of that plump, plain girl telling him off in the confines of his own office?
He began fiddling with his fountain pen and chatting to her about details of some of the workload she was about to inherit, but Natalie had the oddest feeling that he was merely skirting around what he really wanted to say.
She couldn’t imagine why but she was suspicious enough to think that if he couldn’t get to the point without a ten-minute preamble, then whatever he wanted to tell her wasn’t about to fill her with glee. It was unlike him to tread carefully. So why, she thought nervously, the sudden attack of sensitivity? Was she about to get the sack? She searched her brain for what she might have done but came up with a blank.
Finally, when there was a lull in the one-way conversation, she looked at him squarely in the face and said, ‘You mentioned quite a bit of this when I saw you the other evening. Is there something else you want to say?’
‘Do I conclude from that that I’m being repetitive?’ He grinned at her and she reluctantly smiled back, relaxing.
‘It’s been known to affect people as they grow older,’ she suggested seriously, and he burst out laughing.
‘Thank you very much,’ he said. ‘I’m a way off collecting my pension yet, though.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘In fact, some would say that I’m in the prime of my life.’
‘Would they?’ It was an effort to meet his stare without blushing, but Natalie managed it, knowing that he would find any embarrassment on her part highly entertaining.
‘Wouldn’t you?’ he asked curiously, and Natalie ignored the question. Responding to that one definitely was over and beyond the call of duty.
‘Is there anything else?’ she asked pointedly and he sat back in the swivel chair, surveying her from under long, dark lashes.
‘Just one thing,’ he murmured, and Natalie thought, At last, the reason why I was asked in here in the first place. ‘It’ s of a personal nature,’ he continued, his eyes not leaving her face, and she felt a wary tingle race down her spine.
‘Is it?’
‘There’s no need to look so worried.’ he informed her and Natalie frowned. ‘It’s about your boyfriend.’
‘Eric?’
Kane nodded slowly. ‘I’m not in the business of offering advice to other people on how to handle their love lives, but we’ve worked together for a long time, and I wouldn’t like to see you get hurt.’ He paused, then continued before she could open her mouth to speak, ‘He’s not your type.’
There was a long silence while Natalie stared