A Stranger's Kiss

funny,’ she said indignantly.
    ‘Yes it is. That the perfect — the infallible Miss Lambert should be human enough to forget anything is almost a relief.’
    ‘If you hadn’t rushed me out of the office...’ she protested, but he didn’t let her finish.
     ‘Never mind, the walk will have given you an appetite.’
    ‘I just want my bag, Adam.’
    ‘Then you’ll have to sit and watch me eat. Seems a shame.’ The food arrived. He hadn’t even bothered to cancel hers, so sure had he been of her return.
    ‘Are you going to keep me here against my will?’ she demanded.
    He picked up his fork. ‘Certainly not. You are quite at liberty to do whatever you wish.’ His smile was infuriating. ‘I’ll bring your bag along later. When I’ve finished.’
    She made one last appeal. ‘You don’t have to leave your meal. Just let me have your lift key.’
    ‘Well, now. There’s a switch. Usually you can’t get enough of my company.’
    ‘You are insufferable, Adam Blackmore,’ she hissed.
    ‘I know.’ There was a cynical twist to his mouth. ‘And I can’t tell you what joy it gives me to see you suffering so thoroughly. You were doing it so well, so nobly, that I was almost ready to forgive you. Such a pity to spoil it with that little outburst of temper. Now you’re going to have to start all over again.’
    ‘I have done absolutely nothing that you need forgive me for!’
    ‘No? Well, in that case you’d better put it down to simple envy. I had to work hard to get a start in business, Tara. I didn’t have a pair of big brown eyes and a mouth that could turn even an accountant’s head to win my way into the boardroom.’ Apparently satisfied that he had reduced her to wordless rage, he continued. ‘I’ll give you your chance. I’d have given you that if you’d just knocked on my door and talked to me. Everyone deserves that. But you tried to take a short-cut and now you’re going to have to work twice as hard to prove yourself.’
    Tara blinked. She thought she was already doing just that. She knew it was too late to explain about Jim. Too late to explain about anything. It would only make things worse. She closed her eyes. How on earth could they get worse! But she had got herself into this mess and if the only way out was by sheer hard work, well, she had never balked at hard work.
    She picked up her knife and fork. ‘You’ve got yourself a deal, Adam Blackmore.’
    With the air cleared Tara found she could relax and enjoy her food. She sliced into the steak, suddenly very hungry indeed. Whatever Adam Blackmore did with Jane was no affair of hers; so long as he accepted that their relationship was on a purely professional basis she would be able to cope. Any lingering regret was futile. And throughout the meal she kept firmly on the subject of their forthcoming trip.
    ‘Why Bahrain?’ she asked, finally, allowing him to refill her wine glass. ‘It seems rather a long way to go to raise the finance for a manufacturing plant in North Wales.’
    ‘On the contrary. Offshore banking moved there in a big way when Beirut went to pieces. And there’s a lot of oil money looking for a good home.’
    ‘I thought it was all tucked up warm and cosy in snug little Swiss bank accounts.’ She giggled. ‘Or probably not so little.’
    ‘And what would you know about Swiss bank accounts?’ he asked, amused.
    ‘Oh, nothing. I have enough trouble keeping my High Street branch manager happy.’
    This careless remark earned her a small frown. ‘You shouldn’t tell me things like that. It’s not good business. If I suspected you were desperate for work I might decide to pressure you on fees.’
    ‘You could try,’ she offered, impetuously. Two glasses of claret had considerably helped with the relaxation.
    He subjected her to a long measuring look. She didn’t flinch, although it took a very great deal of willpower not to look away from the amusement in eyes that challenged her to a game of financial chicken.
    ‘You haven’t been in business long, have you, Tara?’ He knew exactly how long she and Beth had been in partnership, not quite twelve months. She had told him herself. ‘This recession must have been a blow and High Street banks are notoriously short in the wind when the going is tough.’ He spoke no less than the truth, but she managed to hold a smile and her tongue. She had already said too much. ‘I wonder how tough it is?’ He smiled briefly and her heart skipped a beat.