Reluctant Mistress. Natalie Fox
mould and had a soft, persuasive voice that was ideally suited to telephone sales. She’d looked up his CV before tackling him and he had glowing references from his last job; nevertheless...
‘I regret bringing this up, but is your relationship with Julia affecting your work?’
He smiled without looking at her, which slightly annoyed Liza. ‘You don’t miss much, do you?’
If only he knew, Liza thought dismally, that someone else had had to spell it out to her.
‘I don’t want to pry into your private life, but if it overlaps into your working hours and loses money for the company I’ll have to let you go; it’s as simple as that.’ She hoped she didn’t sound too brutal, but Robert had made himself quite clear on how he felt and she certainly wasn’t going to jeopardise her position for Nigel’s sake.
‘So you’re telling me to stop seeing Julia, or else?’ His blue eyes widened appealingly. Liza held them with the cool green of hers. He might have swept Julia off her feet with that look, but she was immune to tricks like that.
‘I said nothing of the sort. I’m not concerned with your love-life but your sales target: you’re not hitting it.’ She took a sheet of paper from a file on her desk. ‘Look, here’s a list of advertisers that might help you. I’ve dealt with them in the past, though you’ll have to do some hard selling—they aren’t easy. See what you can do. I’ll give you another week, and be sensible, Nigel. You’ve been late twice this week and you’re not thinking wisely. This is a top organisation and you have a bright future with us if you knuckle down. Believe me, I don’t want to lose you but I will if I must.’
She left it at that, hoped it would be enough, prayed it wouldn’t come back on her. It did. Immediately after lunch.
‘Nigel tells me you’re not happy about our relationship,’ Julia snapped at Liza as she swept back into the office. ‘That’s rich, coming from you.’
Liza aborted the phone call she was about to make, sat back, and gazed at her assistant. ‘Would you like to enlarge on that?’
‘It’s all right for you to carry on with the boss—’
‘I’m doing nothing of the sort!’ Liza responded quickly, trying to keep her cool.
‘So what I saw this morning was a figment of my imagination? You weren’t in each other’s arms?’ She raised her eyebrows, daring Liza to deny it.
For the first time Liza doubted her judgement in bringing Julia to Magnum. She sensed she was going to give her trouble, take advantage of their past easy relationship.
She explained as best she could, without giving too much of her personal life away, how Robert Buchanan had come to have his hands on her. ‘So in a way it was all your fault,’ Liza finished with a touch of humour to lighten the atmosphere.
To her relief Julia gave her a wide grin and her hazel eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘Just give me a nod and a wink if you need any more help in that direction.’
Liza held her hands up in mock defence. ‘Forget it. I’ve no interest in our esteemed employer other than work-wise, thank you.’
‘Says you,’ laughed Julia, swinging into her own office off Liza’s. She turned at the door. ‘Thanks for sticking up for us, Liza. I was at the dentist, by the way. I’ve a crown to prove it. I can’t account for Nigel’s lateness, but I am seeing him and I promise not to let our affair show in office hours. I like working here and I don’t want to lose my job.’
As Liza picked up the phone she wondered why she should feel so oddly apprehensive. It was the ‘says you’ comment from Julia that had unsettled her. She tapped out a code on the phone. She definitely hadn’t got a personal interest in Robert Buchanan, but how easily that sort of gossip could rear its ugly head!
* * *
‘You look worn out,’ Robert told her, striding into her office after everyone had left at the end of the day.
‘I feel it.’ She stretched wearily like a lazy cat, not at all offended by his comment on her appearance. ‘It’s the take-away again tonight; I haven’t the energy to boil an egg.’
‘Is that a hint for me to offer dinner?’ He smiled and plunged his hands into his trouser pockets.
‘No way,’ she laughed, crossing the room to pick up her jacket. ‘You’ve caused enough trouble today.’
He helped her into her jacket and she let him. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he said.
‘Nothing,’ she told him lightly. No point in repeating gossip; it would only cause trouble for Julia, and things had gone smoothly all afternoon. ‘Take a look at this.’ She picked up a sheet of paper from her desk, diverting his attention back to work. ‘I had a word with Nigel earlier on and it worked wonders. He’s got a double-page spread from Citroën, to be repeated in five of our mags.’
Robert raised an impressed brow as he glanced at the paper. ‘Not confirmed, though,’ he murmured.
Liza laughed. ‘Don’t be such a pessimist. I’ve dealt with them before. They won’t pull out.’
‘So it was your idea he approached them?’
‘Partly. I had a word with him about not reaching his targets and gave him a list of people I’d dealt with in the past, to sort of encourage him on. It worked.’ She picked up her handbag. She was pleased Nigel had acted on it, almost immediately too, and was pleased with herself for not taking Robert’s advice to throw him out.
‘You might as well have done the job yourself. What’s the point of keeping a dog and barking yourself?’
She was surprised at the sudden frown creasing his brow. To her astonishment she realised that Mr all-powerful Buchanan was looking pretty whacked-out himself. So he was human after all.
‘I didn’t do the job myself; I offered some guidance, that’s all. That’s what I’m here for, Robert,’ she told him levelly. ‘It’s my job to oversee the advertising-sales operation.’ She wasn’t getting through to him. He still looked doubtful. ‘I gave him a verbal warning about Julia too,’ she added. ‘I’m sure we won’t have any more trouble from either of them again. By the way, she was at the dentist.’
Robert swept his fingers through his jet hair. ‘I would rather have got rid of them. Can’t say I’ve taken to either of them.’
‘You don’t have to like all your staff, do you?’
Robert held the door open for her and they headed for the lifts.
‘I’d like to think it was possible,’ he murmured. ‘But I have an odd feeling about them.’
‘I think you’re over-reacting,’ she told him, but said nothing about her own doubts, partly because she couldn’t quite decipher them herself. Just an unease that was there, but wasn’t in a way. Fatigue shrugged away the thoughts.
‘If you won’t join me for dinner, at least let Carl drop you off home. I’m on my way to Chelsea so it’s no problem.’
Liza was grateful for the offer and accepted it graciously. There was little conversation in the back of the limousine, no need for idle chat. Three weeks together and they had slid into an easy relationship. Liza mused on those thoughts as the car moved sluggishly through rush-hour traffic. She smiled too—Robert had dozed off, and it was nice to think that he wouldn’t have dreamt of doing such a thing in front of any of his other staff. Apart from that small altercation today they were getting on extremely well.
Carl came off the Kings Road and minutes later they pulled up outside a bijou town house in a small square.
‘Mr Buchanan, sir. We’re here.’
Robert stirred, adjusted his navy suit jacket and got out. ‘Thanks Carl; you’re off for the night, aren’t you? Just