Elusive Obsession Read online

  It had been a past criticism of hers that he lived his life by the clock, that she even suspected he had it written down in his diary somewhere the nights he had to spend at home with her: ‘Seven p.m. until seven a.m.: spend with Cathy!’

  It hadn’t been true, of course, but he had to admit that over the years he had learnt that time was a precious commodity, and that, if he didn’t run his private as well as his business life on a tight schedule, sooner or later one of them suffered as a consequence. Obviously Cathy had thought one of them had anyway!

  He returned her smile now self-derisively. ‘I’ve been so enchanted by your company that time has become irrelevant,’ he returned with mocking humour, enjoying this new lighter side to his relationship with Cathy; it seemed that now, finally, after years of marital disharmony, and the bitterness since, they could laugh together about the things that had so rankled all those years ago.

  Cathy gave a splutter of laughter, causing several male heads in the restaurant to turn and look at her admiringly, a fact she was totally unconcerned with. Reece knew that, for all the problems they had had in their marriage, Cathy had always been completely faithful to him, as she would be to Lewis now.

  ‘You’ve never been so “enchanted” by any woman’s company that “time became irrelevant” to you!’ she scorned now.

  She was wrong, he realised frustratedly. Diana Lamb—Divine—was never far from his thoughts. In fact, he didn’t think she had been out of them since the moment he met her! Oh, he was carrying on with the running of his life in the way that he normally would, functioning automatically on the business side of things, his private life non-existent at the moment—because inwardly he felt the way a dog must do as it went round and round in circles apparently chasing its own tail! Damn the woman!

  Cathy was watching the myriad emotions flickering across the usual withdrawn hardness of his face. ‘Or have you…?’ she said slowly.

  He straightened in his seat, determinedly putting Diana from his mind; he had to stop thinking about her! ‘No,’ he acknowledged ruefully, knowing that he mustn’t once let Cathy guess at his inner turmoil; one of her faults, he had found in the past, was a determination not to let go of things once she got on to them. ‘You haven’t told me how your lovely daughter is yet?’ he prompted with a lightness he was far from feeling.

  The frown didn’t leave Cathy’s brow as she wasn’t fooled for a minute. ‘Reece——’

  ‘Leave it, Cathy,’ he rasped, his hand resting briefly on hers on the table-top to take the sting out of his words. ‘Chris tells me that Kelly should be starting school next summer?’ he encouraged, and thankfully this time Cathy finally took her lead from him and began to talk about her daughter, a subject very dear to her heart.

  Reece only half listened. He would forget Diana Lamb. She wasn’t for him. Couldn’t be for him.

  But God, how he wanted her!

  * * *

  Reece was back in her life. It had taken almost four weeks, four tension-filled weeks when Diana had thought she must have misread the situation, and then today, on returning from a modelling assignment being photographed in Antigua, her agent had telephoned her to say Carlton Cosmetics had called and had an interesting proposition to put to her.

  Reece Falcon was Carlton Cosmetics.

  Diana knew every business he owned or even partly owned, as he did this cosmetic company, knew everything he owned, had made it her business to know. And the offer from Carlton Cosmetics for her to do some work for them was too much of a coincidence in those circumstances; even though the offer had come from one of the senior executives, and seemed to have nothing to do with Reece Falcon, she didn’t doubt for a moment that he was behind the offer.

  She had turned it down without asking for any details. Flatly. Unequivocally.

  Her agent was stunned by her reaction, and seriously advised her against doing any such thing. This was the sort of contract most top models longed for—to be taken on exclusively, by a cosmetic company especially, to promote their lines. It usually meant the models concerned had reached the top of their profession if companies were willing to offer them hundreds of thousands of pounds just for their face and figure, and the monetary aspect of this offer was absolutely enormous; no wonder Bea had been so upset by her refusal. But Diana had seen it for exactly what it was—a tempting carrot being dangled in front of her nose. And so she had remained adamant despite Bea’s persuasions, finally reminding Bea of her other commitments for the next year. Bea had instantly come back with the fact that Carlton Cosmetics appreciated that, and were willing to fit their own schedule of work for her around those commitments.

  It was so very obliging of them—and to Diana it just smacked of Reece Falcon being determined to have his own way. And what he wanted was to have her under contract to work for his company—although that really meant him!—and so in his mind put her under a certain obligation and subservience to him too!

  She felt absolutely no qualms about turning down the offer, although the fact that she had been approached at all by the company filled her with a certain elation. Reece Falcon obviously hadn’t been able to forget her as easily as he had thought he would when he had made what she was sure was a conscious decision not to see her again, which, after all this time had elapsed, she had thought—feared!—he might have done.

  But she was sure now that all she had to do was sit back and wait for the next development. Because she didn’t doubt—not now—that there would be one.

  It had been a long four weeks, a time when she had kept an avid eye out for an announcement in the newspapers of Reece’s forthcoming marriage to Barbara, sure as the days slowly passed and she heard nothing from him herself that the announcement had to be imminent. But there had been nothing at all about such a marriage. Diana could only assume that the other woman had come to her senses and changed her mind, or else it was Reece who was dithering at the commitment. All that really mattered—to Diana, at least, was that there had been no announcement.

  ‘What do you say, Puddle?’ she chatted as she absently fed the cat after talking to Bea on the telephone. ‘The fish is certainly biting, hmm?’ she said with satisfaction, easily able to envisage Reece Falcon’s frustrated anger when told of her reply to the offer.

  * * *

  ‘Go back and offer her more money,’ Reece told his assistant grimly.

  ‘I’ve already suggested that,’ the efficient Paul told him with a shrug. ‘Explained that part of the contract is negotiable, within reason.’ He made a face. ‘Her agent seemed to think it wouldn’t make any difference. Look, Reece, I don’t know a lot about the modelling world, but it seems to me that what this model Divine has been offered is already far above——’

  ‘You’re right, Paul,’ Reece cut in coldly, ‘you know nothing about it!’

  Damn her, how dared she so arbitrarily turn down this offer Carlton Cosmetics had made to her? She hadn’t even asked for time to think it over; her answer had been almost immediate. And, as Paul had already pointed out, the monetary side of the offer was more than generous, with the other conditions of the contract all in her favour too—a fact his legal department had pointed out with some trepidation.

  He had spent the last four weeks forcing himself to stay away from her. From New York he had gone to Las Vegas, but instead of winning on the roulette table as he usually did—the only form of gambling he ever indulged in—he had lost heavily.

  And it had been the same with everything he did in the weeks that followed, business deals turning sour as he felt none of the usual excitement of the challenge coursing through his veins. And as for his personal life——! Beautiful women: young, experienced, blonde, redhead, brunette—all had passed through his life during the mad social whirl he had made of his leisure time the last four weeks—and he hadn’t wanted one of them, hadn’t even felt a flicker of desire towards any of them!

  Green catlike eyes haunted him, awake or in his dreams, and he only had to close his eyes t
o feel the length of her body pressed against his. Once. He had kissed and held her once, damn it—and he hadn’t stopped wanting her since.

  One thing seemed to have gone right the last four weeks, at least—Chris’s patching up his relationship with Madeleine. And yet, frustratingly for Reece, at the same time his son refused to confirm or deny that his relationship with Diana was over. There had been no further photographs of the two together in the newspapers, but, considering the shaky state of Chris’s relationship with Madeleine, this wasn’t so surprising; if Chris was still seeing Diana, he would obviously do it in private from now on. Reece just wanted to strangle him for being so bloody-minded and not saying outright one way or the other, but, as this stubborn unwillingness to conform was a characteristic Chris had got from him, there wasn’t much he could do about it!

  And the real truth of the matter was that Reece felt as if he was losing control of all aspects of his life. And he knew it was his obsession with Diana that was causing it. In the end, the only way of dealing with it seemed to be to see Diana again, to rid himself of his need for her once and for all.

  It had seemed like a gift from the gods when he’d learnt of Carlton Cosmetics’ need for a famous face to show off their new line of make-up due to be launched in the next few months—he’d immediately thought of Diana. She was beautiful, a face of the moment, and it had only taken a few minutes to check that, apart from her exclusive work with Charles Oxley, she wasn’t under contract to anyone else for promotion work on this scale. Best of all, it was a way for Reece to see her again without sacrificing his pride into the bargain! There hadn’t been a single voice of dissent when he had suggested the beautiful model Divine for their advertising.

  Except from Diana herself…!

  Reece had been furious when Paul came and told him she had refused the offer, and he knew from his assistant’s puzzled looks that he was surprised at the vehemence of his boss’s feelings over what was supposedly just another business contract. But the truth of the matter was that Reece felt at a complete loss to know what to do next. Impotent. And it wasn’t a feeling he liked at all.

  Suddenly he came to a decision, standing up abruptly. ‘I’ll deal with this matter myself from now on, Paul,’ he rasped grimly. ‘No reflection on your capabilities,’ he added to soften the blow when he could see the other man had taken this decision as a critical reflection on his own lack of success. ‘I just happen to know the lady,’ he said ruefully, knowing he could have added that he also knew how bloody-minded and unreasonable Diana Lamb could be, that he could even sympathise with Paul’s amazement that the offer of more money hadn’t made the slightest impact on Diana.

  It seemed that Diana had meant it when she’d said she couldn’t be bought. At least, not with money, anyway. But there had to be something she wanted…

  One of the things that Reece wanted to know was did she actually know he was behind the Carlton Cosmetics offer, or had she just turned it down at random? Was the rebuff a deliberately personal one to him, or was it unknowing…?

  * * *

  A meeting, Bea had said persuasively. Just a meeting with the top executives of Carlton Cosmetics. Talking to them couldn’t do any harm at all, her agent had cajoled as Diana still didn’t look impressed.

  Because she had known it wouldn’t do any good either! There was no way Diana would ever be persuaded into working for Reece Falcon, or any company he was involved with, in any capacity, under any conditions—generous as the ones Carlton Cosmetics were offering her were! She dealt with Reece Falcon on her own terms only.

  Nevertheless, she had finally agreed to go along to the meeting at the Carlton Cosmetics office in London, refusing Bea’s offer to come with her, preferring always to deal with things like this herself. A lot of the top models dealt with the business side of their career nowadays—it was one of the things that made them so different from the models of the eighties. Besides, she knew there was no reason for Bea to drag herself out for the meeting; Diana had only agreed at all because she wanted to see if Reece Falcon would actually have the nerve to show himself as one of those ‘executives’.

  She wasn’t in the least impressed by the expensive décor on the top floor of the Carlton building—thick-pile carpet in an attractive shade of pink, and ultramodern white furnishings.

  But she was impressed by the fact that she was to meet with Babs Carlton herself. The lady was a legend in her own lifetime, had taken over the ailing company after her husband’s death seven years ago and turned it—with the financial backing of Reece Falcon—into a multi-million-pound success. Not being a social person, Diana had never had chance to meet the other woman, but had heard the business world lauding her ability. Reece must be very determined indeed to involve this very busy lady in his schemes!

  The woman who stood up behind the huge glass-topped desk as Diana was ushered in by her secretary came as something of a shock to Diana: Barbara! Good God, it had never occurred to her that Babs Carlton could possibly be the lovely redhead Barbara whom Reece intended marrying!

  Although the fact that she obviously was made everything else make more sense now. Reece had invested a considerable amount of money in Carlton Cosmetics, and now that it was a multi-million-pound concern he intended safeguarding that investment by marrying his partner, Babs Carlton. He was even making sure that Chris married the woman’s daughter—Madeleine Carlton, she now realised too—so that he was doubly insured!

  It only took the minute or so for Babs Carlton to walk round the side of her desk and hold out her hand in greeting to Diana for Diana to realise all of this, and she could only return the handshake dazedly. She had thought Reece Falcon couldn’t surprise her, but this…!

  ‘You’re even more beautiful close to than you appeared in the Paris show,’ Babs Carlton told her generously—generously, because this woman, even if she hadn’t heard the rumours of Diana’s involvement with Chris from another source, must have discussed the relationship with Reece Falcon. Possibly post-coital. God, Reece Falcon was incredible; how on earth had he persuaded his future wife to offer her this prestigious contract with their company?

  ‘Thank you,’ Diana accepted smoothly as she sat down, her control slowly returning, crossing one long slender leg over the other, knowing the short fitted black dress she had worn for the meeting showed off their golden-tan length to perfection.

  She had dressed this morning with the idea of seeing Reece Falcon in mind, but it was obvious, as Babs Carlton resumed her seat behind the desk, that this was to be a one-to-one meeting. Could she have been mistaken after all? Diana frowned. Was Reece really not behind this offer? She had assumed his connection to the company was too much of a coincidence, but maybe she had been wrong about that; maybe it was Babs Carlton who, having seen her in Paris, had decided she was what the company needed for this promotion.

  ‘Perhaps I could tell you a little about the new line we intend introducing this winter?’ the other woman began briskly, very businesslike in the formal yellow suit with its black trim, her hair secured back at her nape with a tortoiseshell slide, looking a richer red in its confinement.

  Diana could hardly conceal her disappointment at realising that Reece really wasn’t involved in this. He really wasn’t going to make any effort to see her again, which meant she had over-played her hand four weeks ago, moved too soon. And now it had all gone so terribly wrong.

  ‘I don’t think there’s any point in that,’ she told Babs Carlton dully, anxious to leave now, seeing little point in even continuing the meeting. ‘I have made a point of never involving myself in the promotion of cosmetics.’

  The other woman nodded calmly, not in the least perturbed by what she sensed was Diana’s further rejection of the offer, although her eyes had narrowed calculatingly. ‘That’s precisely the reason we want you,’ she explained lightly. ‘You have made no secret of your views on animal experimentation to achieve beauty——’

  ‘Then——’

  ‘The ne
w line we’re introducing has been produced completely naturally,’ the other woman told her with quiet triumph for having shot down that particular objection.

  They were far from the first company to do this—most of the larger companies had realised the need for such a line and had hurried to provide the public with one. Carlton Cosmetics had obviously decided to join the market.

  The fact that Babs Carlton was so familiar with Diana’s feelings about make-up set off alarm bells inside her, and once again she had the feeling of someone else being behind all this. Reece Falcon. She was sure of it. Only he could come up with an offer like this that she was going to find it hard to refuse without prejudicing herself and her convictions! After years of protesting at cruelty to produce beauty products for women and men, she could hardly now turn down a chance to promote such a line from a reputable company like Carlton Cosmetics. Clever, clever Reece…

  ‘I would need to know more about it,’ she answered stiffly, knowing a grudging admiration for Reece’s manipulation.

  ‘Of course,’ the other woman accepted smoothly. ‘I expected as much.’ She glanced at the slender watch on her wrist. ‘Perhaps you would care to go with my assistant and meet some of the people dealing directly with the new line, and then join me for lunch afterwards?’ she suggested lightly.

  ‘I would like to see the new line,’ Diana accepted noncommittally.

  To say she was impressed by everything she saw during the next hour was putting it mildly; Carlton Cosmetics had produced exactly the line of make-up, all bright colours and plenty of shine, that the market was crying out for—naturally produced, and not at incredibly high prices either. By the time she was taken back to Babs Carlton’s office she knew it was going to be much harder than she had imagined to turn her back and walk away from this.

  And still there had been no sign of Reece Falcon. When she had been so sure he was behind the offer her answer had been simple, cut and dried, but now——