All Male

“You just can’t accept it, can you?” About the Author Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN Copyright

“You just can’t accept it, can you?”

“Accept what?”

“That the woman exists who can find you resistible.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“No, it damn well isn’t!” Kerry said, furious with herself for getting involved in any kind of repartee with the man. “As I’ve said before, I’m here to work, not to play games with you!”

“I don’t recall you saying that before. Not in so many words, at any rate.” He was openly laughing, eyes crinkling at the corners. “I like your style, Kerry. So refreshingly astringent! Makes me wonder if that’s the real you—or if there’s a softer side underneath it all....”

“If there is you’re unlikely to find it!”

“Now that,” Luke returned, “is quite definitely a challenge!”

KAY THORPE was born in Sheffield, England, in 1935. She tried out a variety of jobs after leaving school. Writing began as a hobby, becoming a way of life only after she had her first completed novel accepted for publication in 1968. Since then, she’s written over fifty books and lives now with her husband, son, German shepherd dog and lucky black cat on the outskirts of Chesterfield in Derbyshire. Her interests include reading, hiking and travel.

All Male

Kay Thorpe

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

THE silver-framed portrait on the side table close by Estelle Sullivan’s chair drew Kerry’s eyes, making it difficult to concentrate on what the older woman was saying. It’s subject was an assertively masculine face in its lean strength of feature, with a hint of sensuality about the well-shaped mouth. Steely grey in colour, the eyes seemed to be looking straight back at her, although they gave little indication of what their owner might be thinking.

Registering her distraction, Estelle turned her head to look at the photograph.

‘My son,’ she said with a hint of humour. ‘He always did tend to draw feminine attention.’

And take advantage of it, thought Kerry with uncustomary cynicism, wondering if the connection had ever been publicised. Considering the amount of interest both mother and son had each generated in their time, it seemed unlikely to have been missed altogether—although the career paths were certainly far enough apart.

‘A lot of media attention too,’ she remarked on what she hoped was a suitably light note.

‘One of the crosses the successful must bear with.’ Estelle sounded a little cynical herself. ‘Given the right kind of hype, this book may even put my name back in lights again for a while.’

‘I shouldn’t think there’s much doubt of it. It’s only been two years since your retirement from the theatre.’ Kerry hesitated a moment, before tagging on diffidently, ‘Did you consider making a come-back?’

Silk-clad shoulders lifted. ‘If I were ten years younger I might attempt it, but sixty is a little over the hill to start rebuilding a career.’

‘Hardly from scratch. You’re one of our finest actresses!’

Estelle smiled. ‘Thanks for the present tense, but two years’ rest makes a lot of difference.’

‘I wouldn’t call nursing a sick husband a rest exactly.’

‘You give me too much credit. I was simply there with him. Others did all the work.’

‘Being there is surely the most important part,’ Kerry insisted. ‘It must have meant a lot to him.’

‘It meant a lot to me too. We had so little time together. These last six months have seemed an eternity.’ The beautifully modulated voice became brisk again. ‘One of the reasons I decided to write my memoirs. I’ve enjoyed an eventful enough life. Now that Richard’s gone there’s no harm in revealing some of the more spicy details from my past.’ The last with a sudden roguish twinkle in her eyes. ‘The only way to capture public interest these days.’

Kerry couldn’t argue with that. ‘How will your son react?’ she ventured.

‘Lee?’ Estelle laughed. ‘He’s no angel himself!’

She wouldn’t argue with that either, Kerry thought. At thirty-three, Lee Hartford was one of the country’s most successful industrialists: a regular Midas whose every touch turned to gold. His turnover in women was legendary too. Almost every time one opened a newspaper, there he was with yet another in tow. Sarah was no doubt far from the only one to get hurt, though that made it no better for her. She still wasn’t fully over him a whole year later.

‘How long have you been with the agency?’ asked Estelle, returning to the main purpose of their meeting.

Kerry refocussed her attention. ‘Just under a year. I like a change of scene.’

‘You’ve done this kind of work before?’

‘No, but I’d enjoy the experience.’

The fine grey eyes twinkled again. ‘That’s what it’s all about. When can you start?’

‘Right now, if you like,’ Kerry acknowledged, and elicited another laugh.

‘Monday will be time enough. Lee is due back this morning. He’s been out of the country this last week. Hopefully, he’ll be coming straight on home from the airport.’

Kerry tried not to let her reactions show in her expression. Up until this moment it hadn’t occurred to her that mother and son might share the same house.

‘He insisted I come to live with him after Richard died,’ said Estelle, as if guessing her thoughts. ‘We get along well enough to make the arrangement work, although I’ll naturally be moving out to a place of my own when he eventually marries. Not,’ she added, ‘that it’s likely to be imminent. He’s still far too fond of playing the field!’

‘Does he know about the memoirs?’ asked Kerry, not about to be drawn into any comment on that score.

‘Not yet.’ Estelle paused, appraising the vibrant face before her with its wide-spaced green eyes, high cheek-bones and expressive mouth framed by the tumble of chestnut hair. ‘Just as a matter of interest, did you ever consider doing photographic work? Your colouring is superb!’

It was Kerry’s turn to laugh. ‘I’m sure it takes a lot more than just colouring.’

‘You have the bone structure too. A shame to waste it.’ Estelle’s voice became brisker. ‘I’ve been jotting down notes for the last week or so, but they’re very fragmentary. I thought if I just lay back and let it come as I recalled it all might be the best method. It can be revised afterwards. That’s providing you can work that way, of course?’

‘My shorthand should be up to it,’ Kerry confirmed.

‘Good. I did consider using a dictation machine, but they’re so impersonal. I’ll expect you to give me constructive criticism. Helen Carrington said you were extremely literate.’

‘I read a lot, if that’s anything to go by.’

‘Biographies?’

‘Among other things. I can’t call myself a qualified critic.’

‘Few critics can,’ came the dry reply, ‘but it doesn’t stop them doing it. Your honest comment is all I ask.’

‘You’ll have it,’ promised Kerry, trusting to the inner sense that told her the book was going to be a winner. This woman had led a full and fascinating life, with more to it than ever before publicised from what she had said earlier. There was nothing the public loved more than juicy revelation. ‘Monday, it is.’

A long blue Mercedes was drawing up as she exited the house, slotting into the allocated space with dexterity. Dark-haired and powerfully built, the man who got out from the driving seat was instantly familiar. Taller even than his photographs suggested, Kerry assessed as he moved round the car: at least six-two. Caught on the step, she felt unable to simply walk away.

Lee Hartford eyed her with speculative interest, running a swift but comprehensive glance down her shapely length. ‘Looking for me, by any chance?’ he asked.

The depth and timbre of his voice was in total harmony with his appearance, striking a chord on her stomach muscles. A not unusual reaction, Kerry was sure, although she deplored it in herself. His business acumen apart, this man was everything to be despised in the male sex.

‘I’ve been to see Mrs Sullivan,’ she said levelly.

‘Oh?’ He waited, obviously expecting something more, thick dark brows drawing together a fraction when she failed to add to the statement. ‘You know her personally?’

‘No.’ Kerry hesitated. ‘I think it best if she tells you the whys and wherefores herself.’

The line between his brows deepened. ‘Nothing wrong, I hope?’

‘No.’ Not from her point of view, at least, she thought. ‘Purely a business matter,’ she added.

‘What kind of business?’

‘It isn’t my place to say,’ she returned firmly. ‘Good morning, Mr Hartford.’

He made no attempt to detain her as she moved purposefully down the remaining two steps, but she could feel his gaze on her back the whole way to the corner of the Georgian square, and was relieved to turn out of sight

Brief though it had been, the encounter had ruffled her. Tall, dark and devastating was how one recent and obviously smitten journalist had described the man. What she had neglected to mention was his arrogance—his way of looking at a woman as if she were there purely for his delectation. Kerry could still feel the impact of those grey eyes assessing every detail of her face and body.

The antipathy he aroused in her was no surprise. Even without Sarah’s experience to turn her against him, she would probably have felt the same instinctive dislike. How Sarah could have imagined for a moment that a man like that was to be trusted she couldn’t conceive. His kind were takers not givers; one didn’t need a degree in psychology to recognise that much.

The fact that he would possibly be around at times was certainly no enhancement to this job so far as she was concerned. On the other hand, she sure as hell wasn’t about to turn down what promised to be one of the most interesting assignments she had ever been offered because of him. She would be working with his mother, not him.

As an actress, Estelle Lester—to give her her stage name—had rated high; as a character in her own right she came across as shrewd and intelligent, with an inner warmth that greatly appealed. Difficult to equate with the kind of man her son appeared to be. Other than the grey eyes, the only immediate point of resemblance between the two was in the dark hair.

Whatever the circumstances of the actress’s first marriage, Kerry had never, so far as she could recall, seen or heard mention of the name Hartford in that connection. She did, however, remember the wedding four years ago with top-flight American attorney, Richard Sullivan.

Finding such a love so comparatively late in life, only to have it snatched away again so soon, was bad enough in itself, without the loss of a career. The memoirs were probably as much a means of reliving her life through her mind’s eye as a potential money-spinner, Kerry reckoned. With Lee Hartford for a son, money could hardly be a problem anyway.

Cold and damp and gloomy, the day was typical of the time of year, making her thankful for the warm coat and high leather boots. With Christmas a bare three weeks away it might have made more sense to wait until the New Year to start this project, but hers was not to reason why.

Working for the agency this last year had proved infinitely more rewarding than the usual day-to-day routine all round.

The offer of a transfer three years ago to the London branch of the company she had worked for back home had seemed like manna from heaven at the time, but one office was much the same as another when stuck in it all day. Although life here obviously had a lot more to offer than the northern town where she had grown up, living it was also a lot more expensive. Profiles not only offered new interests, but a salary topping anything she had received to date.

The journey back to Battersea took appreciably longer than that coming out, due to some hold-up on the line. Off work herself, recovering from a bout of flu, her flatmate, Jane, was eager to hear how things had gone.

‘Having his mother living with him must cramp his style some,’ she commented when Kerry told her about Lee Hartford’s surprise relationship. ‘Although being an actress, she’s probably a lot more open-minded than my mother would be. Judging from his publicity, he’s a real womaniser,’ she added slyly.

‘I doubt if I’ll be of any more interest to him than he is to me,’ Kerry answered lightly. ‘Hopefully, I shan’t be seeing very much of him at all.’

Jane wrinkled her appealingly retroussé nose. ‘Too bad. I had visions of a red hot romance!’

Laughing, Kerry threw a cushion at her before going through to her bedroom to put away her outdoor things.

The full-length mirror in the wardrobe door showed a young woman in a grey jersey dress that skimmed the curve of her hips and emphasised her length of leg. Falling thick and heavy to shoulder level, her hair had a gloss that owed nothing to salon products, and the green eyes a healthy sparkle.

While suffering no false modesty regarding her looks, Kerry found them no particular asset either. At twenty-four she had almost given up hope of ever meeting a man as interested in her mind and personality as in her face and body.

It wasn’t her intelligence potential Lee Hartford had been considering for certain, she thought drily, sitting down on the bed to remove her black leather boots. He saw women as good for one thing, and one thing only. Sarah could vouch for that.

She had shared this same flat with the other girl when she first came to London, until Sarah’s modelling career had taken off with a bang and she had moved on to better things. Lee Hartford had picked her out at some promotional affair for one of his companies, and devoted enough attention to her over the next few months to convince her that he felt the same way she did. She had been devastated when he dumped her.

What a man like that needed was to have the tables turned on him, Kerry reflected. To fall, and fall hard for a woman and be treated with the same brutal contempt. She’d be the first to cheer such an event.

The weekend dragged, not least because Jane took herself off to visit her parents. Having been home herself a couple of weekends before, Kerry felt disinclined to fork out another substantial sum on rail fare so soon, especially when she would be going home for Christmas anyway. She settled for the usual biweekly phone call instead.

She spent Saturday evening having dinner with a man she had met during a previous job and been out with a couple of times since, but refused his suggestion that they go on to some party he had in mind on the grounds that she was tired. From his attitude, she guessed she wouldn’t be hearing from him again, which didn’t bother her a great deal. The relationship had been going nowhere she really wanted to be anyway.

Monday came as a welcome break. Estelle had requested that she reach the house around nine-thirty, enabling her to avoid the worst of the morning crowds. The gardens which gave the square its name looked denuded in the wintry sunshine, the trees stretching skeletal limbs. An expensive area altogether, the houses themselves were tall and white and graceful.

They were even more spacious inside than they looked from out here, Kerry already knew, the rooms being large, the ceilings high and ornate, the whole ambience one of tasteful affluence. Working in such surroundings was going to be a pleasure, she thought, pressing a finger to the doorbell.

Expecting the summons to be answered by the housekeeper who had admitted her on Friday, she was more than a little nonplussed when the door was opened by Lee Hartford himself. He looked arresting in a superbly tailored dark grey suit that defined his breadth of shoulder and lean-hipped build.

‘Miss Pierson, isn’t it?’ he said on a formal note, contradicted by the faintly mocking gleam in his eyes as he surveyed her. ‘Come on in.’

She did so, catching the faint scent of aftershave as she brushed past him. Yves Saint Laurent, possibly—expensive for certain. Nothing but the best for men of his ilk, of course, she thought caustically.

‘My mother will be down in a minute or two,’ he said, closing the door. ‘In the meantime, I’ve been delegated to entertain you.’

‘I’ll be perfectly happy just waiting,’ she returned, without looking at him. ‘I’m sure you must have far more pressing matters to take care of, Mr Hartford.’

‘None that can’t wait.’ He held out a hand. ‘Let me take your coat.’

‘Perhaps you’d just show me where to put it,’ she said levelly.

‘The independent type, are you?’ He sounded amused.

Kerry kept her own tone even, her expression neutral. ‘If you like to think of it that way. I’m here to work, not as a guest.’

‘Fine.’ If anything the amusement had deepened. ‘In that case, the cloakroom is over there. When you’re ready I’ll show you where you’re going to be working. Mrs Ralston will be bringing coffee through in a few minutes.’

The cloakroom was almost as large as her bedroom back at the flat. Kerry slipped off her coat and hung it on a hanger, then took a swift glance in the long wall mirror.

The brown suede skirt and crisp white shirt looked businesslike without being overdone, the simple gold chain at her throat and small gold studs in her ears no detraction from the image she wanted to present.

She was wearing heels this morning for the simple reason that they looked better with straight skirts, but she was glad of the extra height. Not that she was small at five feet seven anyway, but that man out there made her feel so.

He was waiting in the wide hall when she emerged from the room. He ran another of those appraising glances over her, making her bristle afresh.

‘Neat, and classy too,’ he commented. ‘My mother always did have good taste.’

‘Mrs Sullivan hired me purely on the merits of my qualifications as a secretary, not for my appearance,’ Kerry answered with a coolness she was far from feeling.

One dark brow lifted with a hint of sardonicism. ‘Knowing her rather better than you do, I’d say both. You’ll be working in her private sitting room, where the two of you will be undisturbed. You can use the study to type up the day’s output. There’s a word processor in there with plenty of capacity on disk.’

‘You’re not afraid of me breaking into your private files?’ she asked with deliberation as he led the way.

‘Not at all. They’re safe under personal keycode. One you’d be unlikely to guess if you tried,’ he added. ‘Not that you’d learn anything of any use to you if you did.’

‘Not that I’d want to,’ she countered. ‘Your affairs are strictly your own business.’

A hand on the doorknob of a room towards the rear of the house, he gave her a calculated scrutiny, taking in the antagonistic spark in the green eyes, the jut of her chin. An answering spark leapt in his own eyes. ‘Very much so.’

The message was clear, and not unmerited. Faint though it had been, the innuendo had not been lost on him. Kerry bit her lip as he opened the door and stood back to allow her prior entry, aware of having allowed antipathy to affect her better judgement. Other than where Sarah was concerned, his affairs, business or personal, were of no importance to her.

The room was only half the size of the drawing room where Estelle had interviewed her on Friday, but just as beautifully furnished. The two deep chesterfields flanking the Adam fireplace were covered in blue velvet a shade or two lighter than the thickly piled carpet, with cushions picking up the gold of the curtains. Delicate water colours lined the plain white walls, and a baby grand piano stood across one corner.

‘Do you play?’ asked Lee, following her glance.

‘A little,’ Kerry acknowledged, not about to claim any degree of expertise, and added for something else to say rather than through any pressing interest, ‘Do you?’

He shook his head. ‘My mother’s the musician in the family. If she hadn’t gone into acting she might have made a concert pianist.’

‘She’s very talented.’ The admiration was genuine. ‘A great loss to the theatre.’

‘There’s no reason why she shouldn’t start over. Her agent already found the right vehicle for a come-back.’

‘Perhaps it’s just too soon,’ Kerry suggested. ‘She’s been through a lot.’

The strong mouth took on a slant. ‘More than the media would know, for sure.’

The intimation that she could have little idea herself was like a slap in the face. All she had meant to do was express sympathy. She took the chair he indicated, dismayed when he sat down himself on one of the sofas and lifted one leg comfortably over the other in a gesture that scarcely indicated an imminent departure.

‘I’ll be perfectly all right on my own,’ she repeated. ‘You really don’t have to wait.’

His shrug was easy. ‘I’m in no hurry. I understand your first name is Kerry?’

‘Yes.’ The skirt she was wearing had seemed conservative enough this morning at an inch above the knee, but it had ridden up when she sat down, exposing rather more Lycra-clad thigh than she felt comfortable with right now. She put down a hand to tug at the hem, desisting abruptly as the grey eyes followed her movement—hating the smile that flickered at the corners of his mouth.

‘Nice,’ he commented.

He could have been referring to the name, of course, but Kerry doubted it. There was even a chance that he imagined she was putting on a show for his benefit. Short of getting up again, there was little she could do to cover the exposed leg, which left her with no option but to ignore it.

‘My mother seems impressed with you all round, in fact,’ he went on. ‘On the face of it, I’d go along with her—but, then, face values aren’t always the best criteria.’

‘Helen Carrington at Profiles will have already verified my qualifications and vouched for my character,’ Kerry returned tartly. ‘You don’t need to worry about my stealing the family silver!’

‘That thought hadn’t actually occurred to me.’ He regarded her with quizzical expression, his gaze lingering on the full ripeness of her mouth for a moment. ‘Are you always this hostile, or is it me in particular you’re against?’

Already regretting the momentary loss of composure, she made an effort to sound properly repentant. ‘I apologise. I was out of line.’

‘I didn’t ask for apologies, only explanations.’

‘I don’t have to explain anything,’ she returned on as cool a note as she could conjure. ‘I’m not in your employ, Mr Hartford.’

The glint in the grey eyes became a gleam, infinitely disturbing. ‘You’re in my home. That gives me certain rights, wouldn’t you say?’

He was mocking her again, his whole manner nervejangling. Kerry steeled herself not to react, thankful when Estelle chose that moment to put in an appearance. Whatever her feelings toward the man, she would have done better to keep them under wraps, she reflected wryly.

‘Sorry to be so tardy,’ proffered the older woman. ‘A few things I had to do before we get started. I hope Lee’s been looking after you.’

‘Oh, I have,’ her son assured her. ‘Kerry and I had a very interesting conversation.’ The grey eyes turned her way again, the mockery still evident. ‘You don’t mind my using your first name?’

It took an effort, but she managed to keep her tone level. ‘Not at all, Mr Hartford.’

‘Lee,’ he returned. ‘Let’s not stand on ceremony.’

Estelle looked from one to the other with sudden interest. ‘Am I missing something?’

‘Nothing of any importance,’ Kerry assured her before her son could answer. ‘I’m ready whenever you are, Mrs Sullivan.’