Passion from the Past Read online

  Now what had she done? At least Gideon had taken the time to call her, and if it was for business then he really couldn’t help having to go away. She had to speak to him before he left.

  It was just her luck that Lisa Harlow was the one to answer the telephone! ‘Gideon is very busy, Laura,’ she told her coldly. ‘He’s going away, and—’

  ‘Yes, I know,’ Laura put in quietly.

  ‘You do?’

  ‘Yes.’ The other woman was shaken by the knowledge, she could tell that.

  ‘Then couldn’t it wait until he gets back?’

  ‘No, it couldn’t,’ she replied firmly.

  ‘He’s upstairs—’

  ‘Mrs Harlow, I want to talk to Gideon,’ she repeated patiently.

  ‘Laura—’

  ‘Mrs Harlow!’

  ‘Very well,’ Lisa snapped. ‘But don’t keep him long, he has to fly to Manchester in a few minutes.’

  ‘I’ll do my best,’ she said sweetly. ‘Now if you wouldn’t mind…’

  ‘Very well,’ the other woman answered tightly, ‘I’ll get him for you.’

  Lisa Harlow no longer sounded the assured woman of the night before. She had probably expected her warning to have made more impact than it had, was probably surprised Laura was still in Gideon’s life.

  ‘Don’t forget you have to leave for the airport in a few minutes,’ she could hear Lisa telling Gideon before he came on the line.

  ‘Yes?’ he enquired tersely.

  ‘Gideon, I’m sorry about earlier,’ she licked her lips nervously, her hand tightly gripping the receiver. ‘I wasn’t properly awake. I didn’t mean to sound offhand.’

  He didn’t answer for long, painful seconds. ‘Are you usually bad-tempered first thing in the morning?’ he asked at last.

  Laura laughed her relief at his teasing tone. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Mm. I’ll have to remember that.’

  ‘You—you will?’

  ‘I have a good remedy for it.’

  Colour flooded her cheeks at the intimacy of his tone. ‘I—You—I—’

  He laughed huskily. ‘Are you blushing?’

  ‘Er—Yes.’

  ‘I forget how young you are at times. Still love me?’ His voice lowered, giving the impression he didn’t want their conversation to be overheard.

  ‘Yes,’ she answered truthfully.

  ‘I’ll try to get back Wednesday or Thursday,’ he told her briskly. ‘James has hit some snags in Manchester that we weren’t expecting. But I’ll definitely be back in time to take you to the company dinner on Friday. You won’t forget you’re going with me?’

  As if she could ever forget a date with him! ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

  ‘So will I. I have to go now, Laura. If you could just spend Monday morning with Diane explaining any work we might have left outstanding, James should be back Tuesday.’

  Their goodbyes weren’t exactly romantic, but she had Friday to look forward to.

  Just as she was about to replace her own telephone receiver she thought she heard another click, as if a second receiver had been replaced in Gideon’s house. Lisa Harlow on an extension?

  God, she was becoming paranoic about the woman! That second click must have just been static on the line.

  She missed Gideon, missed working with him, and missed him in the evenings. But James Courtney returned on Tuesday as Gideon had said he would, and he kept everyone on their toes.

  But Gideon didn’t telephone her again, and by Thursday evening she was becoming agitated. He had said he would definitely be back in time to accompany her tomorrow evening, and yet it didn’t look as if he was going to be back by then.

  When he still wasn’t in the office on Friday she didn’t know what to do, and was tempted to ask James Courtney if he had any idea what had happened to Gideon, but was loath to invite his ridicule.

  As it happened James Courtney brought the subject up himself as she was preparing to leave for the evening. ‘Would you come into my office for a moment, Laura?’ he requested.

  ‘I—Yes, of course.’ She looked awkwardly at Dorothy and Janice as they both said hurried goodbyes. She had had to put up with a lot of conversations halting as she entered a room, a lot of knowing looks in her direction this last week, and James Courtney had just added to the speculation about her. Not that she thought Dorothy would make anything of it; she treated Laura with the same friendliness that she always had, her discretion seeming to include her now. But Janice was another story; she enjoyed the fact that she was actually working with the girl who was supposed to be dating Gideon Maitland.

  ‘Stop looking annoyed,’ James Courtney looked up to snap. ‘God, you’re a fiery little thing! I only want to pass on a message from Gideon. Although I’m not sure I should now. You—’

  ‘From Gideon?’ she interrupted eagerly. ‘You’ve heard from Gideon?’

  James Courtney frowned. ‘Every day. Haven’t you?’

  ‘No,’ she admitted reluctantly.

  ‘Just as well,’ he said tersely. ‘Gideon’s in Manchester to work, not to spend hours on the telephone talking to you.’

  ‘Mr Courtney—’

  ‘Miss Jamieson,’ he mocked. ‘Calm down, Laura, Gideon will be back tonight.’

  Her expression brightened. ‘He will?’

  ‘Yes. Unfortunately not soon enough to escort you to the company dinner—’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘You were going with him, I believe?’

  ‘Yes,’ she acknowledged, her disappointment acute. She had even been out and bought the new dress on the basis of Gideon’s promise to take her. Well, he was coming back, but not in time for tonight’s dinner.

  ‘Now you’re going with me,’ James Courtney informed her with obvious pleasure.

  Laura frowned. ‘I am not!’

  ‘And I thought you were a mousy little thing,’ he sighed, shaking his head. ‘Do you love Gideon?’ he asked suddenly.

  Colour flooded her cheeks. ‘I hardly know him,’ she gasped. ‘And I don’t see what it has to do with you anyway.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you do. But Gideon has been like a son to me, I’d like to see him happy.’

  Laura looked away. ‘I don’t think you should be discussing this with me.’

  ‘Gideon gave me a different impression. Do you love him?’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘Good,’ he nodded his approval. ‘You’ve met Lisa?’ he added sharply, his gaze probing.

  ‘Yes.’

  Some of her dislike must have shown in her face, because James Courtney chuckled softly. ‘You don’t like her either, hmm?’

  ‘I don’t know her,’ Laura replied tactfully.

  James Courtney’s mouth twisted with distaste. ‘Five minutes of her company should be enough to tell you all you need to know about that young lady. Only Felicity and Gideon seem to have been blind to her faults, Felicity because she thought of her as a friend, Gideon—well, he has his own reasons, I would presume.’

  ‘Probably.’ Laura’s voice was stilted.

  James Courtney looked at her with narrowed blue eyes. ‘She’ll try to break you and Gideon up—’

  ‘Mr Courtney—’

  ‘Listen to me, Laura,’ he said heatedly. ‘I’ve known Lisa Harlow since almost before you were born, and there’s nothing about her that I like. Unfortunately she has made herself indispensible to Gideon—where Natalie is concerned, and only where Natalie is concerned, I hope. I believe you’ve met my granddaughter.’ His face softened.

  Laura felt on safer ground now. ‘Gideon and I took her to the Zoo on Saturday.’

  James Courtney chuckled. ‘She loves that. Did you like her?’ he asked suddenly.

  ‘I lov—Mr Courtney, I would like to go home,’ she said stiltedly. ‘It’s after five, and—’

  ‘Get down off your high horse, young lady, and show some respect for your elders.’ He quirked an eyebrow at her. ‘Or don’t you think I deserve respect?’

&nbs
p; She bit her lip. ‘It isn’t that—’

  ‘No,’ he sighed. ‘I’m being nosey, too damned nosey. Gideon wouldn’t thank me for prying into his affairs. But I meant it about escorting you tonight.’

  Laura shook her head. ‘I’d rather not go.’

  ‘Gideon will be joining us later,’ he told her softly, watching for her reaction.

  ‘He—he will?’ she asked breathlessly, the world suddenly looking bright again.

  James Courtney nodded. ‘He could be half an hour late, possibly an hour, certainly no more than that. If I take you, he’ll meet you there later.’

  Now she didn’t know what to do. Going to dinner with Gideon would have been bad enough, but actually arriving with James Courtney, the chairman of the company, would cause a sensation. But she desperately wanted to see Gideon…

  ‘What time shall I call for you?’ James Courtney made her decision for her.

  ‘Seven-thirty.’ She could hardly wait to see her mother’s face!

  After all she had told her mother about what a despot James Courtney was he had to be his most charming when she introduced the two of them later that evening!

  ‘Gideon told me how beautiful you were,’ he smiled, holding Laura’s mother’s hand longer than was necessary and smiling directly into her eyes. ‘And he didn’t exaggerate.’

  ‘You’re just being kind,’ her mother blushed like a schoolgirl.

  Laura shot James Courtney a look of impatience, but his blue eyes twinkled merrily as he returned that look. He was enjoying himself, the old devil!

  ‘Shouldn’t we be leaving?’ she said pointedly. ‘After all, you are the guest of honour.’

  ‘Rubbish,’ he dismissed. ‘They would all be quite happy if I didn’t turn up at all. They could all get drunk in comfort if I weren’t here.’

  ‘No doubt some of them will do that anyway,’ she said dryly, remembering the way Martin had always come home inebriated from these affairs.

  ‘No doubt,’ he nodded agreement. ‘You and I must meet again, Mrs Jamieson, when we have more time to talk.’

  ‘Yes,’ she agreed breathlessly, obviously as bowled over by James Courtney as Laura had been by Gideon.

  ‘Mr Courtney,’ Laura reminded him, never having seen her mother react so coyly to a man before.

  ‘She’s such a bossy young lady,’ he told her mother, shaking his head.

  Her mother looked scandalised. ‘Surely not?’

  He chuckled. ‘Gideon tells me I bring out the worst in her, and from your reaction I think he must be right. But to tell you the truth,’ he added conspiratorially, ‘I like it,’ he smiled.

  In this mood he was irresistible, and Laura could see her mother was fascinated by him.

  ‘You’re a flirt,’ she accused once she and James Courtney were in his limousine on their way to the dinner.

  He chuckled with delight. ‘There’s life in the old man yet! And this old man thinks you look beautiful.’

  She hoped Gideon thought so too. The dress she had bought was supposed to make her look older, attractively so. If Gideon liked sophistication then the green dress provided that—it was sleeveless, with very thin ribbon shoulder-straps, the neckline showing a creamy expanse of her breasts, fitting over their pertness to flare out in concertina pleats to just below her knees, the high heels on her sandals adding to her height. James Courtney’s praise added to her confidence, and until Gideon arrived she would need all the moral support she could get. She wasn’t exactly welcomed into her work colleagues’ circle any more.

  ‘You needn’t flatter me,’ she told James Courtney. ‘I’m still not going to let you flirt with my mother,’ she teased.

  ‘She’s a beautiful woman,’ he smiled.

  ‘I think so,’ Laura nodded. ‘But you’re the last thing she needs in her life.’

  He looked hurt. ‘That isn’t nice, Laura.’

  ‘Neither are you most of the time.’ Her look of sophistication gave her a cheeky humour—plus she was going to see Gideon! That was enough to make her feel ecstatic.

  James Courtney was suddenly serious. ‘I do like your mother, Laura. Would you really object if I were to see her again?’

  Laura frowned her surprise. ‘Do you want to?’

  ‘As long as it isn’t going to upset you,’ he nodded. ‘I wouldn’t want to tread on any toes.’

  Considering that he put people out of business without so much as a qualm she found his concern for her feelings very surprising. But then his ruthlessness in business didn’t necessarily spill over into his private life, in fact his love for his granddaughter seemed to more than prove that.

  She smiled at him. ‘I have no objections as long as my mother doesn’t,’ she grinned. ‘Why don’t you ask her to go out with you and Natalie to the Zoo tomorrow? Oh, I’m sorry,’ she blushed, ‘that was a bit audacious of me.’

  ‘As it happens I’m not taking Natalie to the Zoo, I’m taking her to see a friend of mine who owns a farm.’

  ‘Oh, she’ll like that!’

  ‘But would your mother?’ James asked dryly.

  ‘She’ll enjoy being with Natalie. She’s a little disgusted with my brother and me for not marrying and providing her with grandchildren.’

  ‘Then I’ll telephone her in the morning.’ He seemed pleased by the development, suddenly looking bashful. ‘It must be forty years since I last asked a woman out on a date with me.’

  ‘Then it’s about time you did it again,’ Laura teased. ‘Anyway, I’m your date for this evening.’

  He grimaced. ‘Only until Gideon arrives, then I won’t see you for dust.’

  Laura blushed. Was she that obvious? She supposed she was. But she couldn’t help it; Gideon was so much in her thoughts, especially tonight, when she hadn’t seen him for almost a week. She was so keyed up about seeing him that she didn’t even notice the speculative looks cast in her direction when she joined James at the top table, her whole attention was fixed on the doorway into this reception room in one of London’s top hotels, just waiting for the moment Gideon arrived.

  The meal passed miserably for her as she refused course after course of the delectable food. In the end the waiter seemed to be considering it a challenge to get her to eat something!

  ‘For goodness’ sake have some cheese,’ James muttered. ‘People are beginning to notice.’

  She laughingly obliged, biting uninterestedly into a tangy Cheddar. ‘Are you sure Gideon’s going to be here tonight?’ she asked. ‘It’s very late.’

  ‘He’ll be here,’ James assured her softly.

  ‘Yes, but when?’ she sighed.

  He shook his head, smiling. ‘Patience isn’t a virtue of youth.’

  Gideon wasn’t coming, she knew he wasn’t coming. The dinner had all been cleared away, the band was now playing music they could all dance to, the drink started to flow freely, the lights were lowered.

  ‘I hope Gideon arrives soon,’ James growled, looking frowningly at his employees. ‘I usually leave when it gets to this stage.’

  He and Laura were sitting at a secluded table, James refusing all the invitations from the directors for them to join them. Laura hoped Gideon would arrive soon too, if he didn’t she might as well leave with James Courtney.

  ‘Excuse me, sir,’ Nigel Jennings stood next to their table, ‘may I borrow Laura for a dance?’

  He received a piercing look for his trouble. ‘Laura?’ James growled.

  ‘I’d love to.’ She stood up in one fluid movement and followed Nigel on to the dance floor, the first real contact she had had with him since he had realised she was seeing Gideon.

  ‘Maybe it isn’t my place to say anything,’ said Nigel after a few minutes of dancing together to the slow music, ‘but aren’t you getting in just a little too deep, Laura?’ He looked down at her with concerned blue eyes.

  She blushed, almost missing a step in her agitation. ‘Sometimes it happens that way,’ she dismissed lightly. ‘It was a good meal, wasn’t
it?’ she changed the subject.

  ‘How would you know?’ he sighed. ‘You didn’t eat anything.’

  ‘You were watching me?’ she gasped.

  He nodded. ‘And so was almost everyone else in the room. You and Gideon are the hottest piece of gossip to hit this company in a long time.’

  ‘How nice!’ she snapped her resentment.

  ‘You would have been the same if it had been Janice he’d suddenly shown this interest in, now wouldn’t you?’

  She would have liked to have said no, but she knew the answer was really yes. The executives in a firm the size of Courtneys were always speculative subjects romantically. Hadn’t she and Janice discussed Gideon’s romantic interests before she actually became one of them?

  ‘I suppose so,’ she sighed her agreement.

  ‘You know so,’ he smiled. ‘And talking of Gideon…’ he was looking over her shoulder towards the doorway.

  Her heart gave a sudden lurch, and she turned just in time to see Gideon joining James Courtney at their table. He looked so handsome, her heart just seemed to turn over, the burgundy-coloured velvet jacket tailored to the broadness of his shoulders, his shirt snowy white, the black trousers fitted to his muscular thighs.

  Her gaze returned hungrily to his face, and she saw he was watching her in return, although he seemed to be carrying on a conversation with James, his eyes narrowed to grey slits, his expression cold. He certainly didn’t look pleased to see her.

  Nigel sighed. ‘You want me to take you back to the table, right?’

  Laura glanced at Gideon once more, his face remote as he relaxed back in his chair. He looked like a stranger, a cold, hard stranger. ‘We’ll finish the dance,’ she said firmly.

  ‘Sure?’ he frowned down at her.

  ‘Very sure,’ she nodded. ‘And don’t frown like that—people will think you aren’t enjoying dancing with me.’

  ‘By “people” I take it you mean Gideon,’ he said dryly.

  ‘I mean people,’ she said stubbornly.

  ‘All right,’ Nigel laughed softly. ‘But I hope you know what you’re doing. Gideon hasn’t seemed too keen on your being with me in the past.’

  Considering he had been away for the past week and hadn’t attempted to even telephone her once she considered one dance was the least she owed herself. She couldn’t appear too eager, no matter how she longed to run back to the table.