A Stranger's Kiss

wait for her reply but gripped her elbow and hauled her across the thickly carpeted hallway.
    ‘Adam!’ she protested. ‘I have an appointment...’ She glanced back, hoping that Jenny Harmon might miraculously appear and explain. There was no one and she needed to get a grip of herself, to calm the hectic pounding of her pulse that his unexpected appearance had accelerated out of control. He didn’t give her the opportunity, but opened one of a handsome pair of doors, propelled her firmly through and deposited her in a chair.
    She had a brief impression of being on top of the world, of distant woods and the river framed in a series of arched windows that flooded the room with sunshine. Then he released her and she leapt to her feet. She wasn’t in Victoria House to admire the view.
    ‘I have an appointment with Jenny Harmon,’ she said, a sudden flash of anger finally releasing her vocal cords. ‘Will you please direct me to her office?’
    ‘Sit down, Tara.’ He settled himself on the corner of a large uncluttered desk and without taking his eyes from her face he leaned across and punched a button on his intercom. ‘Sit down!’ he commanded, when she did not immediately obey. She subsided into the chair, certain that he was not above picking her up and dumping her into it. But she perched on the edge, defiant in her determination not to stay a moment longer than she had to.
    ‘Jenny, are you expecting a Tara Lambert this morning?’ he asked.
    ‘Yes, Adam. She’s from the secretarial agency I was telling you about. She has arrived, but she appears to be lost somewhere in the building.’
    ‘I very much doubt that she’s lost.’ His mouth curved in a smile Tara didn’t much care for. ‘In fact I believe she’s exactly where she wants to be. Leave it with me.’ For a moment he didn’t speak. He remained on the corner of his desk, regarding her with every evidence of irritation until, apparently having come to some decision he stood up and settled himself in the chair opposite her.
    He rested his elbows on the desk, the tips of his fingers touching his chin as he regarded her thoughtfully. ‘Once, Tara,’ he said, at last, ‘might be considered simple chance. Even an encounter as apparently contrived as the one you arranged last night.’ He ignored her furious denial. ‘But twice? Mrs Harmon is on the twentieth floor. This is the twenty-first. My private apartments.’
    ‘The receptionist said the top floor.’ She stood up. ‘A simple mistake, easily remedied.’
    ‘Stay where you are!’
    ‘Why? So that you can insult me some more? No, thank you.’ She didn’t sit, but she did stay where she was. It seemed improbable that there was any chance of business with this company now, but she owed it to Beth and to an increasingly tetchy bank manager, to make every effort to redeem what she could from the mess. ‘I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Adam. I came here at the invitation of Jenny —Mrs Harmon — to talk to her about temporary secretarial help. I should like to do that now, if I may.’
    ‘You may not. Talk to me. Convince me that you have something worth selling.’ His eyes were cold. ‘Not quite so easy with your clothes on. But give it your best shot.’
    ‘I beg your pardon?’ The words were shocked from her.
    ‘That’s what you wanted, surely?’ He sat back. ‘You threw yourself into my arms last night. Invited me into your flat for what is euphemistically known as a ‘cup of coffee’. Unfortunately I didn’t take the bait. So now you’re here. Sit down, Tara. Make your pitch. Who knows? I might still be tempted.’
     

 
    CHAPTER TWO
     
    TARA exploded. ‘Just what kind of a girl do you think I am!’
    ‘I’ll give you ten minutes to demonstrate.’ His eyes coolly assessed the length of her figure. ‘The method I leave entirely up to you.’
    Tara sat down quickly. She had already rejected any thought of trying to explain. He would simply switch off and the opportunity would be lost forever. If Adam Blackmore was the head of this company she might as well do as he suggested while she had his attention and make her ‘pitch’. And there was no time to lose. She immediately launched on an outline of the high quality service offered by her agency before he changed his mind and threw her out.
    If he was surprised that she didn’t do an instant striptease he didn’t show it. She wasn’t sure that he was even listening, but when she faltered under his