Roberta Leigh - Give A Man A Bad Name

‘I can be gentle and caring too, if you’ll give me the chance.’

Wishing she could blush to order, Marly lowered her head and tried to look discomfited.

‘I’ve embarrassed you, haven’t I?’ he went on softly.

‘No, but you worry me.’

‘Why?’

Keeping her head low to hide the mischief in her eyes, she said, ‘Your staff call you a lady-killer.’

‘Do they, by God?’ His voice was sharp, and she recoiled from him as though nervous. ‘What do you think?’ he asked, softening his tone.

‘It isn’t seemly for me to comment on the behaviour of my employer.’

‘If you had anything nice to say, I think you’d find it very seemly,’ came his dry comment. ‘Which reminds me, you never did get to tell me what you do at the hotel.’

Here was the moment of truth—well, partial truth, Marly thought and, drawing a deep breath, took the bull by the horns—a singularly apt phrase in the circumstances! ‘I’m here to set up a software program for you.’

Astonishment held him silent. ‘ You are?’ he said finally. ‘What’s happened to Miss Bradshaw?’

‘She was taken ill as she was leaving England, and 3S called and asked me to replace her.’

‘I can’t believe it.’

‘Don’t you think me capable?’ Marly questioned in her haughtiest manner.

‘No, not that. But you seem so young and innocent I can’t imagine you in such a high-powered job.’

‘I fail to see why. Children of twelve and fourteen can create software packages, and at thirty, in this profession, you are considered over the hill. I’m sure I can do the work as well as Miss Brigshade.’

‘Bradshaw,’ Alex Hamilton corrected automatically, ‘and I’m sure you can too. It’s just that you took me by surprise. Do you work for 3S or are you a freelance?’

‘I’m a freelance,’ Marly replied. ‘3S were put in touch with me by my friend Nan, who also works at your hotel. I live with her and her family.’

‘I see.’

Glad that he didn’t, she searched for a means of changing the subject. ‘I hope you won’t consider me rude, Mr Hamilton, but I’m very hungry.’

‘Good heavens! How remiss of me. I’m so interested in knowing more about you that I forgot about food. Do you want to order from the menu or try the buffet?’

‘The buffet, please.’ Rising, she glided towards the long table, Alex following on her heels. Here, the food was cold, each dish and tureen so wonderfully decorated that it could have been framed and hung on a wall. ‘Don’t you think it looks too good to eat, Mr Hamilton?’

‘I can’t tell. My eyes are blinded by you .’

‘Are you usually so complimentary to the women you take out?’

‘Yes. But until tonight, I’ve never meant it!’

Biting back the urge to tell him that this line was so old it had cobwebs hanging from it, she gave him a gentle smile instead, and he instantly smiled back. As if it were an actual radiance enveloping her, her body grew hot and her limbs trembled. Watch it, she warned herself. This man is dangerous and not to be taken seriously.

Quickly skirting the buffet, she headed for a barbecue cart serving an assortment of shellfish. She was careful not to look directly at Alex Hamilton, though a swift glance showed he was studying the food served by each cart, and she wondered if the same things would be featured on the Riverside menu before the week was out. Smiling at the thought, she watched him, noting how thick and dark his lashes were, and how the deep cleft in his firm chin saved it from hardness. As he bent towards the chef who was filling his plate with slivers of barbecued meats and stuffed chicken wings, a tawny lock of hair fell on his forehead, and she experienced a strong urge to touch it and see if it was as silky as it appeared.

Annoyed with herself, she picked up her plate and returned to their table, and as she did, common sense reasserted itself. It wasn’t surprising she was responding to Alex Hamilton’s blatant good looks. After all, dozens—maybe hundreds—of girls had already done the same, and in that respect she was no different. But where the difference lay was the manner in which she responded to the man himself. And since she despised his morals and was disgusted by his lack of principle, there was no fear of her falling for him.

Alex joined her, a waiter following with a tray stacked with food. Her eyes widened at the amount but she said nothing.

‘I noticed you only took a few Tiger Bay prawns,’ he commented, settling opposite her. ‘I wasn’t sure if well brought-up Thai ladies don’t consider it good form to eat too much in public, or whether you were too shy because you work for me, so I thought I’d tempt you with a few more dishes.’

She was touched by his thoughtfulness, until she realised it was part and parcel of his armoury for disarming his prey before going in for the kill.

‘How kind you are,’ she simpered. ‘And you were right.’

‘Which one was the reason?’

‘Both!’

‘A pity,’ he drawled. ‘That will make it doubly difficult for me to get to know you.’ He paused. ‘Difficult, but I hope not impossible.’

Hiding the thrill of triumph that shot through her, she began to eat. ‘My father says hope is one of the most important emotions a person can have.’

‘Your father sounds a man after my own heart. Does he live in the city?’

‘Not at present. He and my mother are in Dallas for a year. My father’s a lawyer with an oil company.’ At least that part of her story was true, which meant one lie less to remember.

‘So that’s why you’re living with Nan,’ Alex Hamilton said. ‘Wouldn’t you have preferred to live on your own?’

Did she detect a note of regret in his voice that his evening with her wasn’t going to end up in her bed? Hiding her amusement, she decided to give him a few other things to mull over.

‘Thai children rarely leave home until they marry—and not always then, if the parental house is large enough.’

‘Wouldn’t you prefer to have your own place?’

‘Why should I? I have no desire to have an affair, and living with my family is far more convenient.’

Startled grey eyes met hers. ‘For a shy young lady, you can be remarkably frank.’

‘We see nothing wrong in talking honestly about our feelings.’

‘Only talking?’

Deliberately she stared him full in the face. ‘I am a virgin, Mr Hamilton, if that is what you are asking.’

‘I—I—’ Flummoxed, he stopped, his heightened colour showing that again she had taken him by surprise.

‘When will you have time to discuss the software programs you want me to do?’ she asked before he could recover. ‘I’m bored doing nothing.’

‘If I’d known you were waiting for me,’ he replied, his wits returning, ‘I’d have seen you the instant I got back! Beats me why my secretary didn’t tell me Miss Bradshaw wasn’t able to come. I—’

‘I’d like to start earning my salary,’ Marly cut in, intent on showing him she was uninterested in further flattery. ‘I assume you’ll want the software in Thai as well as English?’

‘Yes, but concentrate on the English version first, so I can make sure it covers everything I want, before you start on the translation.’

‘I’ll bring in someone else to do that,’ she said quickly. ‘Your requirements will be complicated enough to require several programs, and a translator can start on one while I’m devising another.’ Suddenly aware she sounded too assured, Marly gave a nervous cough. ‘If that meets with your approval, of course?’

‘Everything you say meets with my approval, other than your refusal to use my first name.’ Spoon and fork poised to help himself to a succulent mix of chicken and baby aubergine, each one no bigger than a walnut, he gave her the full battery of his deep grey eyes. ‘Can’t you forget tradition and call me Alex? After all, I call you Marly.’