Bittersweet Love - Cathy Williams [25]
He returned to his paperwork, effectively dismissing her, and Natalie remained where she was.
‘I’m afraid I can’t come,’ she said finally and his head shot up.
‘Can’t come?’
‘I’ve made other arrangements.’
‘This seems to be becoming a habit,’ he snapped, staring at her. ‘I thought I made it quite clear when you were given that promotion that working overtime was not debatable.’
‘I have no objections to working overtime,’ Natalie said with a sigh, ‘you know that. It’s just that this is very last-minute and…’ Her voice trailed off and his eyes dropped a shade cooler.
‘Well, I do beg your pardon,’ Kane said acidly. ‘Next time I’ll do my level best to arrange important meetings to fit in with your free time.’
‘Can’t you get a replacement for me?’
‘You know I can’t. You know most of these people personally. Two of them will be dealing with you directly from now on. You’ll just have to cancel whatever you arranged. What did you have planned anyway?’
Natalie wondered whether she should tell him quite bluntly that that was definitely none of his business, then she erred on the side of caution. ‘Eric and I had arranged to spend the weekend together,’ she confessed.
‘Hardly what I would call an irrevocable arrangement,’ Kane pointed out and Natalie’s eyes flashed rebelliously.
‘I was looking forward to it,’ she said tightly. ‘I know that work comes first with you, but other people don’t work along those lines.’
‘It was never a problem before,’ he pointed out coldly, ‘and if it’ s a problem now, then you’re in the wrong job.’
‘Are you trying to tell me something?’
He stood up and raked his hands through his hair, looking as though he could shake her.
‘Don’t be a little fool. Look,’ he said, ‘why don’t you bring him? That way I could have you where I need you and lover boy could be in the background as well.’
Natalie stared at him helplessly. Didn’t the man ever give up?
‘Don’t tell me that you’re embarrassed to bring him along,’ Kane drawled, when she didn’t immediately respond to his suggestion, and she glared at him.
‘Of course not! It’s just that…’
‘A weekend entertaining clients isn’t the height of romance?’
That thought had actually been the furthest thing away from her mind, but she decided that it was as good enough an excuse for her hesitation as any other, so she nodded.
Kane looked at her, amused. ‘You can see it as a challenge. I have managed to find romance in far less prepossessing situations.’
Natalie didn’t want to hear this at all. It set her mind whirring far too feverishly for its own good. She met the amused green eyes blankly, and realised with resignation that there was no point in fighting him. He had made his plans, to include her, and there was no way that he was going to allow her to get out of them.
And she could see the way he was thinking. She had always been able to fit in with whatever he had asked of her in the past. As far as he was concerned, the presence of Eric was a minor technicality, nothing that couldn’t be resolved, certainly nothing that should intrude on the far more pressing business of work.
‘Besides,’ Kane said to her, ‘Anna will be there. As will the other halves of the people I’ve invited. He won’t be a fish out of water, if that was concerning you.’
‘Not at all,’ Natalie denied quickly. ‘Eric could handle himself in any situation.’ Good grief, she thought, this is getting beyond a joke.
‘Very loyal.’
‘How many people will be there?’ she asked, changing the subject.
‘Twelve in all,’ he told her. ‘Hence the fact that I’m not calling in the caterers.’ He listed the people invited and she made a face when he got to one of the women, a married lady who made no pretence to hide the fact that she was attracted to Kane. He correctly read the expression on her face and grinned.
‘That’s why Anna’s coming.’
‘Sorry?’ Natalie said, flushing at the ease with which he read her mind.
‘Protection from Mrs Jarvis. I can see from your face that you