Promoted: Secretary to Bride!

Molly suppressed another updraft of panic. She would have to find a way to ease out of things after the initial strike. Surely that would be possible?

‘Whatever it takes. The art exhibition will be a start.’ He drew a breath. ‘But, realistically, only a start. Even if we are able to track down the rumourmonger immediately, there’s still damage control and shoring up to be done.’

‘How many events are we talking about? How much, ah, out of hours time I guess is what I mean? A night or two per week, or—?’

‘A full onslaught at first. There’s the art exhibition tonight, and then a charity auction tomorrow, Saturday. That won’t be quite as formal.’ He paused to think. ‘There’ll be more. I’ll need to check my calendar to see what else is happening.’

Two events; two to worry about for now. She simply wouldn’t think beyond those two until she had to. Molly drew a breath and told herself that wasn’t so bad.

She would do the job asked of her, be eyes and ears and a show of strength, and be back at her desk Monday morning in PA mode, contained and unscathed as ever.

She wouldn’t embarrass him, and she wouldn’t fall prey to other feelings about him either just because they would be seeing each other away from their desks.

See? All sorted.

Except for her unease about spending his money. And a few dozen other worries all seething away in there. ‘I can provide my own clothes for the second event. Things I already have.’

‘If you wish, but be prepared to purchase a number of evening dresses at my cost.’ He rose from the table, drew out his wallet and handed her a card from within. Even the gold colouring of the plastic looked expensive. ‘You’ll use this for purchases.’

When he lowered his head to murmur the code to operate the card, Molly stood very still and forced her mind to think of those numbers, not his closeness. She almost succeeded.

‘We’ll head back. I’ll make those key phone-calls while you shop.’ He gestured for her to precede him from the outdoor area.

They left the restaurant and began to retrace their earlier steps.

‘When I get back to the office I’ll create a spreadsheet of the names of all our clients so we can keep track of who we’ve talked to. I’ll take the PDA with me tonight.’ Molly dived into plans and strategies, workaday ones—because those were safe, normal and about the truth of their relationship, even if Jarrod’s decisions had shaken the edges of that truth for her today.

At least he hadn’t offered to help her shop. That would have been too unnerving!

CHAPTER TWO

‘ACTUALLY, the spreadsheet will require a list of clients and associates. We’ll want to track all the significant people we’ve talked to, or am I going too far with the tracking idea?’ All the significant wealthy, upper-class, socialite so-far-out-of-her-reach people. Molly’s mouth flattened.

‘That will be fine. We can sort out a list of names this afternoon.’ Jarrod touched her elbow again to guide her along the street.

The Prince led Cinderella along the streets of Brisbane so she could go and buy a pretty dress.

Cinderella stared at him through her geeky glasses, while tingles tiptoed up her arm and scurried down her spine simply because of a touch.

Molly suppressed a snort. Cinderella indeed. Her mum, Aunt Izzy and Faye might think like that, might dream pie-in-the-sky dreams with no foundation in reality. Molly knew better, and she would stick to that knowledge. Heck, just the thought of being in his world made her knees want to knock together. She should focus on that!

‘You’ll have a chance to use that latest software package and the PDA uplink.’ Jarrod had insisted she purchase the software when he’d noticed she had it circled in a catalogue. ‘That way, if you take electronic notes over the weekend, the data collation will be as streamlined as possible afterwards.’

‘Yes, it will.’ Molly fell silent.

They were a block away from the building that housed their suite of offices when a voice spoke from behind them.

‘Jarrod.’ The tone was cultured, deep and rather devoid of expression.

Her boss’s body seemed to tighten. In fact, he seemed to tighten all over—posture, expression, muscle and sinew. Prickly. Wary. Was it because of the rumours? Was this someone from his world?

Molly’s gaze sought his, but he’d already clasped her elbow. He turned her until they faced a well-dressed middle-aged couple. ‘Dad, Mum. What brings you to this part of the city?’

His parents! Molly had never met them. They didn’t come to her boss’s office. He didn’t talk about them. She had assumed he didn’t feel his personal life was any of her business.

‘You’re right to be surprised by our presence here.’ Jarrod’s mother spoke the words through chilly lips. ‘We usually delegate such tasks as shopping, but sometimes they are unavoidable.’

‘We won’t be here long. Just taking care of one essential matter,’ Jarrod’s father added.

‘I rather enjoy the shopping experience.’ Jarrod made the observation in a mild tone, but there were shutters down over his face.

For some reason Molly couldn’t help edging closer to her boss’s side.

‘We’re here on business.’ His mother made the announcement as though it meant everything. ‘We’re to be guests of the king of an island country.’

She named the country, a small but beautiful paradise Molly had only read about and seen in travel documentaries, and went on.

‘We came to collect a gift we’ve had handcrafted. The king may agree to import our Road Ten furnishings into the country. It’s necessary to impress him.’

‘Good luck with that.’ Jarrod said it amenably enough. When Molly shifted slightly at his side, he forced a smile to his face. ‘We’ve been remiss in the introductions. This is my personal assistant, Molly Taylor. Molly, my parents, Stuart and Elspeth Banning.’

‘Hello.’ Molly offered her best professional smile.

Jarrod’s father dipped his head infinitesimally. His mother didn’t even bother with that.

When his parents all but snubbed his PA, a growl came out of Jarrod’s throat before he could stop it.

He would tolerate his parents’ coldness towards him. Hell, that had been his lot since the day he’d been born. But they could be polite to Molly, and if not…

‘Perhaps I should walk on ahead, leave you to say your hellos.’ Molly’s pointy chin went up. Strands of brown hair had escaped her ponytail and blew softly against her neck and cheek in the mild, warm breeze. She chased them with her fingertips.

A girl in clunky shoes and an odd, wraparound top and A-line skirt. He hadn’t liked hearing Allonby’s offer to her. He didn’t like his parents staring through her either. ‘No need, Molly. We’re done here.’

He turned to his parents one last time. ‘You’ll excuse us. Enjoy your time out of the country.’

Before Molly could more than blink, he hustled her away. He’d wondered if his parents had heard the rumours. He might have asked, but somehow he doubted they’d have remained silent on the topic if they knew something. They’d probably been out of the country too much recently to hear anything.

If they did hear something, and dared to raise the topic with him, he would soon set them straight that his business was fine.

He and Molly reached the outside of their office building. He came to a halt. ‘Time for you to get that dress.’

‘Yes.’ She clutched her handbag in her fingers.

Was she worried she might lose the contents? Or lose his account card?

‘When I return I’ll get straight to work on the spreadsheet.’ She hurried off into the crowd.

Jarrod stepped into the building, returned to their office suite and made the obligatory phone calls. They netted exactly the results he had expected—namely none.

It galled him to feel his business was even slightly at the mercy of someone’s whispered words. The sooner he and Molly got out there amongst it to set things to rights, the happier he would be. He would talk up business, while Molly spouted facts and figures and information she stored in vast quantities in that geek-girl head of hers.

On these thoughts, Jarrod immersed himself in investment strategy. If once or twice he paused to wonder how long Molly would be, or what her dress would look like, he quickly pushed the thoughts aside.

* * *

‘I’m back.’ Molly spoke the unnecessary words in a sudden fit of nerves as she reentered her office space almost an hour after leaving Jarrod outside the building. She wished she could ask about his parents, about that chilly meeting earlier, but she doubted Jarrod would welcome any questions.

Maybe the couple warmed up when they weren’t in public. ‘I tried not to take too much time. How did the phone calls go? And has anyone else phoned for appointments or anything?’

He sat behind his desk, an array of printed reports spread before him as he clicked through various screens on his computer. At her words he got to his feet and strode towards her. ‘The phone calls went predictably. No one would reveal anything. There have been no other requests for appointments. You got all you needed?’

His gaze shifted to the bag in her hands, and Molly wished she hadn’t spoken at all. She wanted to forget about tonight until she absolutely had to face it. Maybe by then her nerves would be under control and her defences back in place, as she needed them to be.

What if the event was really swanky and she did or said something stupid—stepped on the hem of someone’s designer gown and ripped it right off, like you saw in the movies?

‘Perhaps there won’t be any more damage from the rumours, and, yes, I got a dress.’ And at a reasonable price that wouldn’t make her cringe too much to know he’d paid for it. ‘Right. Well, the first client isn’t due for fifteen minutes, and I’d best study that phone-system so it can’t spring any more surprises on either of us.’

They’d had enough of accidental eavesdropping for the day. ‘But I’ll do it quickly and then get onto the spreadsheet, unless you have other instructions for me?’ She hovered beside the desk and wished he would go back to his.

‘No other instructions for now.’ Jarrod gestured to the bag in her hand. ‘Would you like to hang up your purchase? I have spare hangers in my dressing-room closet.’

‘No!’ She tried to pull herself together. ‘I mean, no thanks. The dress looks quite crushproof, and, if it isn’t, I’ll iron it tonight.’

She didn’t want to go into the inner sanctum of Jarrod’s dressing room. That would require her to walk through his gym room and past his bathroom, which she had avoided doing for the past three years.

Her boss often came to work early, exercised and showered and dressed right here. Molly knew this from the office’s alarm time-records, and because she had glimpsed the rooms now and then when he had his rear-office door open. She didn’t want to get any closer or more knowledgeable, didn’t want to visualise him working out, or under that spray of water.

She had enough trouble to deal with! ‘I have to get moving. There’s a lot to do this afternoon. Seventy-two pages of PDF manual, the spreadsheet, your appointments, plus any other work you want me to do.’

‘And despite today’s disruptions I have investments to manage, which will result in that handing off in about—’ he glanced at the clock on the wall ‘—an hour from now, if I can have my first appointment back out the door in half that time.

‘Good work, Molly. The dress, I mean.’ He turned, walked the few paces to his office and stepped inside. ‘For the rest, I’ll find a way to make up for losing Daniels’s business. I won’t allow these rumours to win out over me.’

‘I know you won’t. I’ll get to work.’ Molly stuffed the bag into her drawer, drew a shaky breath and brought up the phone-manual file on her computer and started to read it.

The first appointment came and went. The client didn’t withdraw her business, but Jarrod’s jaw was tight when Molly made coffee and took it in to him. Appointment number two was worse. The elderly man had made up his mind before he even came through the door. He was out again five minutes later, and Molly knew they’d lost him.

Two more phone calls came in requesting urgent appointments, and they had a walk-in as well whom Jarrod saw immediately.

When the last appointment finally left for the day, Molly had five minutes to go if she wanted to catch her bus. She made her way to Jarrod’s office and stood just inside the door.

He sat strong and straight behind his desk as always. It was only because she knew him so well that she could see the tension beneath the surface.

‘How bad—?’

‘Eight million short-term investment dollars gone, spread across three different clients. Mrs Armiga is sitting on the fence on the issue for now. I successfully reassured the other client.’ His eyes closed briefly in a small sign of weariness he wouldn’t have wanted her to notice. ‘If the clients who withdrew their short-term monies had been able, they’d have taken the rest of their funds today as well.’

The clients had signed investment agreements. ‘They have to honour the arrangements they’ve made with you.’

He shook his head. ‘True in theory, but, with the alternative that they would immediately start legal proceedings to get the funds released, I agreed to transfer control to them. That will be done on Monday.’

Molly’s mouth tightened and angry words burst out. ‘I hope their investments do badly. I hope they buy stocks and bonds that sink without a trace. I hope their favourite underwear gets washed with a colour-leaky red shirt that’s covered in fluff and has paper in the pockets!’

‘I’ll recoup the losses, Molly.’ His low words were warm, calming, a little amused in a grim kind of way—encouraged as well as encouraging?

Jarrod gestured her closer to his desk. ‘I know we’ve run over time. Give me your address details. We need to be at the venue tonight at seven p.m.’ He explained the general location.

She nodded, remembered the whole ‘Mollyrella goes into society’ thing, and her stomach knotted afresh. Well, she couldn’t pull out, could she? Eight million dollars gone already, more on the way.

The three-faceted attack plan needed to be put into action just as much as Jarrod had intimated. ‘The trip should take about half an hour from my flat.’

‘I’ll call for you at six-thirty. Can you be ready in time? If not, I can drive you home now as well.’

He’d never done that, had never offered, or needed to.

‘I could take a taxi both ways tonight.’ Would it cost a lot? Probably. ‘And I can make the bus on time now.’ She shifted in the chair on the other side of his desk and tried not to notice how good he looked backlit by the city’s skyscape—tall buildings, cloudless sky. Battle-sharp hazel eyes watched her so intently.

‘No taxi. I want to brief you further on the way there.’

Right. ‘I’ll just jot down my address, then. It’s on file, but this will be quicker for you.’

And babble out the ridiculous while she was at it. Molly bit her lip, and reached for his sticky notepad and a pen. As she handed the address over, she asked one last question. ‘Do you think Mrs Armiga will come round?’

‘I don’t know. She listened to what I had to say, and then said she’s always thought I looked too smooth.’ He got to his feet in a sharp movement. ‘What does she mean by that? Well, the outcome is our client is not convinced she can trust me, but she hasn’t pulled her file—yet, at least.’

I’d say you’re more whisky-smooth: delicious, but with a kick.

She hadn’t said that aloud, had she? No, of course not.

Get a grip, Molly!

‘Tonight we’ll start to turn the tide back our way. You’ve got some great cutting-edge strategies you’ve implemented even in the last month.’ Molly headed for her office, drew out her handbag and the carrier bag. ‘We’ll talk the business up, and people will begin to realise the rumours can’t be true.’

Jarrod followed behind her. ‘Don’t be worried for me, Molly, will you? I’m annoyed as hell, and I won’t stop until this situation is completely resolved, but it will be.’

‘I know. I have complete faith in you.’ Not so much in herself, but she’d committed to this now and she wouldn’t turn back. Not while he needed her.

He paused with his hand on the light switch, and for a moment his brows drew down and his gaze flared as he stared at her. Then he shook his head, flicked the switch, and they stepped out.

They got into the lift. Molly breathed in and out and commanded herself to calm down. That look…Well, it had just been a look, right?

She was all out of sorts. It was the dress, and the stress, and spending his money on herself, and having to dive into that social world, all together. Belly flop, more like.

‘You’re not too smooth.’ She spoke the words to fill the silence, and then attempted to explain. ‘I don’t mean you’re not smooth personally. I’m sure you’re as smooth as is appropriate, and that’s none of my concern, anyway. But, in business, you’re exactly the right amount of non-smooth.’

‘Thank you.’ Did his lips twitch before he turned away? ‘I appreciate that explanation.’

Molly faced forward and wished they’d get to street level. When they finally did, she scooted off the lift so fast she almost didn’t fit through the gap in the still-opening doors.

‘I’ll be ready at six-thirty.’ She would completely get over this feeling of impending panic between now and then, take control of herself and be ready to present an utterly businesslike front when he called to collect her.

Yes. That was much better. ‘I’ve got the work PDA with me. I’ll bring it as we agreed, so I can keep track of names and information. Goodbye.’ Molly bolted and didn’t look back, even if she was a little tempted.

She half-jogged her way to the bus stop and tried not to feel uptight about the upcoming events. With a PDA in her hand and a clear agenda, this didn’t have to feel all that different from a day in the office.

And what if it took a week, or two weeks, or a month, or three months, before she could safely draw back? All that time at her boss’s side—days, weekends, evenings—to make it really hard to remember he was her boss and she was his PA, and nothing else could possibly be…

Nonsense.

Nonsense, the idea of them being anything else to each other, and to this taking three months. The rumour issue would be resolved fast and that was that!

In celebration of this utter certainty, that was no certainty at all but what she so wanted to believe, Molly slumped into a seat on the bus, drew her phone from her bag and sent a text message to her mother.

Do you think Faye would have a pair of sandals I could wear with a burgundy evening-dress? I have to go out on business with my boss tonight.

There. See? All about business. A few moments later Molly opened her mum’s return message.

I checked with Faye. She has a pair of sandals with glass beading all over them. Three-inch heel. They’d go with anything. How exciting, Molly. A chance to do something grand for the night!

Yeah. Great. And glass-beaded sandals with a no-doubt uncomfortable heel would do nicely. The pumpkin coach could drop her and her broken toes off at her flat at midnight.

The phone rang in her hand. Molly jumped, and then answered. ‘I don’t know about glass-beaded sandals, Mum. Maybe something a bit more sensible would be better. Personally I don’t see why people don’t just stick to shoes with a thick strap and a decent tread, like I do for work and weekends.’

A long pause of silence ensued and she realised she might have sounded a bit ungrateful. Molly drew a breath. ‘Mum?’

‘I take it you made your bus on time?’ Her boss’s voice poured into her ear.

And he was definitely smiling this time. She didn’t need to see him to know it.

‘Yes. Yes, I did make the bus on time.’ Molly sat up straighter in her seat, not that he could see her. Jarrod had her number for emergencies. She’d put it into his mobile phone herself. Why hadn’t she checked the display before answering? He had never called before, and she’d made a right goose of herself, hadn’t she, blathering on about shoes?

In the background she heard a clattering sound—the underground roller-door of their building going up?

Molly pictured him driving his car one-handed, mobile phone in the other. ‘You’re not allowed to drive and talk on your mobile phone. You could have an accident.’ Great. Now she sounded like a mother hen.

‘I know. We bought Bluetooth, remember?’ Oh, yes. He definitely sounded amused.

Enough to make her hopes of regaining control of her changed circumstances, of riding it out with barely a ripple in the usual fabric of her work for him, threaten to crumble. Things were changing already, and she hadn’t even sorted out her shoes.

He went on. ‘The phone is on hands-free. I always use the technology we buy.’

‘Oh. Good, then.’ It was silly to feel so gratified by his words. No, her heart simply stuttered in shock that she had forgotten about the purchase even for a moment. In her defence, she’d had a long and trying day, and it wasn’t over yet.

‘I wanted to tell you to eat something before tonight.’ His voice returned to a more usual tone. ‘It’s only drinks and nibbles, and I don’t want you to be hungry.’

‘Thank you. That was thoughtful.’ If Molly knew her family, either Faye or Izzy or both would be ready for her when she arrived at the group of three flats they rented. They would have sandwiches in hand, and be ready to throw open their wardrobes so she could pick a pair of shoes and any other accessories she might deem necessary for the evening.

And her mother would be waiting to hear about it by phone as she went about her evening cleaning-job in a building full of offices not so different from the one Molly had just left.

Generous. They were generous…to a fault.

‘I’ll be sure to eat.’ If she could push anything down over the knot of unease currently lodged halfway up her oesophagus.

‘Then I’ll see you soon. We’ll take care of this, Molly. Between us, we’ll do it.’

‘I’ll do my best to help you.’ Not to embarrass him in front of his peers. Not to embarrass herself. Molly’s tummy contorted into fifty different balloon-shaped animals, and stayed bunched in all those multicoloured knots.

‘See you soon.’ Jarrod ended the call.

Molly put her phone away and peeked into the bag at her hastily purchased dress. So there would be an art exhibition. She’d attended some free ones at Turbine Hall and other places. No difference, really—other than the whole glitterati, buckets of money; nothing like her lifestyle.

And so her boss had phoned when he never had before. Things had changed; she had to expect he might ring, or whatever. They both needed to adapt. Molly simply needed to control her responses to him as she had always done, no matter the surroundings or circumstances at the time, and everything would be fine.

* * *

Izzy and Faye went one better than throwing open their wardrobes. They were waiting on her doorstep, arms full of all sorts of offerings, sandwiches included. Well, they did only have to walk from the flats either side of Molly’s to be there. Guilt rose in Molly’s chest, because they were wonderful, and giving, and always had been, and she shouldn’t resent them…

Where had that thought come from? The two women started to talk at once, and Molly ushered them inside.

At six twenty-five, Izzy leaned close to adjust the necklace around Molly’s neck for about the fifth time.

‘You look beautiful, Molly.’ Strands of frizzled red hair brushed Molly’s face as her aunt hugged her. ‘I’m so glad you chose to wear this pendant. It really suits the dress.’