Lucy Gordon: Tycoon for Hire

Lucy Gordon cut her writing teeth on magazine journalism, interviewing many of the world’s most interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Roger Moore, Sir Alec Guinness and Sir John Gielgud. She also camped out with lions in Africa, and had many other unusual experiences that have often provided the background for her books.

She is married to a Venetian, whom she met while on holiday in Venice. They got engaged within two days, and have now been married for twenty-five years. They live in the Midlands in the U.K., with their three dogs.

One of her books, His Brother’s Child, won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 1998, in the Best Traditional Romance category.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘WHAT are you wearing that thing for?’

Jennifer stood back to let her brother come into her house. She was already nervous about the evening to come, and his irritation only made things worse.

‘I thought you bought a new dress for tonight,’ he said. ‘Dark blue satin, tight, slinky, very effective.’ He cast a disparaging glance at her flowing evening gown of gold organdie with its demure neckline. ‘You’re going to a banquet, not a puritan convention.’

‘I’m sorry, Trevor,’ she said in a placating voice, ‘but I just couldn’t wear that blue satin. It’s too revealing.’

‘You didn’t think so when you bought it.’

‘Yes, I did, but I’d let you convince me it was my duty to go to this function. Since then I’ve got my sense of proportion back. I wish I could call the whole thing off.’

‘You can’t do that,’ Trevor said, alarmed. ‘How often must I tell you that appearances matter? Everyone knows you’re representing the firm at the London Society of Commerce Banquet, and you have to be there.’

‘But I was going with David.’

‘And now he’s dumped you—’

‘He hasn’t dumped me. We just—aren’t seeing each other for a while.’

‘Whatever. The point is you can’t stay away and you can’t go on your own. It would look like weakness. You’ve got to let the world see that you don’t care.’

‘But I do care,’ she said sadly.

Jennifer had planned to attend the banquet with David Conner, the man she loved and had expected to marry. But he hadn’t called her since their quarrel two weeks ago, and her heart was breaking. Her ideal evening would have been spent at home having a cup of cocoa and maybe even a good cry. Instead she was dressed up, ready to go out with a stranger.

‘I hate all this business of putting on the proper mask,’ she said. ‘I always have.’

‘Never let the enemy see you weakening,’ Trevor said, reciting his favourite rule.

‘And I hate having to think of everyone as the enemy.’

‘It’s how business is done. Come on, you’ve coped wonderfully well so far.’

‘But you’re not quite sure of me, are you? That’s why you called in on your way home from work to make sure I hadn’t got cold feet. Well, I have.’

Brother and sister were both part of Nortons Distribution, a trucking empire started by their grandfather, Barney Norton. They owned shares in the firm, and ran it between them since illness had forced Barney to retire. The difference was that Trevor lived and breathed business, while Jennifer had only gone into Nortons to please Barney.

Trevor was a thickset man in his thirties, no more than medium height, with a burly build. He might have been attractive if he hadn’t frowned so much. Jennifer respected her brother for his dedicated work, but it was hard to like a man so short-tempered and critical.

‘Be sensible,’ he said now. ‘Go and change into your glad rags.’

‘I’m sorry, Trevor, but these rags are as glad as I’m going to get.’

He tore his hair. ‘For Pete’s sake! Tonight’s a chance to do some networking, make connections. Smile into their eyes, dance close. You’ve got the looks.’

It was true that nature had gifted Jennifer with the vivid beauty to play the role he’d outlined. Her large dark eyes dominated her oval face, and her mouth was deliciously curved in a way that could be more seductive than she was aware.

But nature had also missed something out. She completely lacked the ruthless drive and competitiveness that could have made her use her sexuality in the way Trevor expected. But he seemed not to understand this.

‘You’ve got assets,’ he said now. ‘Flaunt them.’

Goaded, she said, ‘Why don’t you flaunt yours if it’s so important to you?’

‘Because mine aren’t the kind that look good in skin-tight satin. The boardroom’s my sphere, not the ballroom.’

‘I must have been crazy to let you talk me into going to this do without David. And hiring an escort—even from a reputable agency. Think of it! Paying a man to accompany me!’

‘I’ve told you: it’s not like that,’ he said impatiently. ‘Jack’s a good customer, and his grandson is an actor. A failed one, apparently, so he fills in with escort work. You did tell the agency it had to be Mike Harker, didn’t you?’

‘I asked for Mike Harker and nobody else. And before you ask, yes, I was careful not to let on that I’ve met his grandfather. As far as he knows it’s an ordinary booking, so his pride won’t be offended.’

‘Good. Apparently he’s touchy about favours, and it would have been awkward if he’d refused. What reason did you give for asking for him?’

‘I said someone had told me he was very good-looking, and that was what I needed.’

‘Fine. And you’re quite safe. Jack assures me that Harker knows how to keep his hands to himself. Good grief! What’s that?’

Jennifer followed his pointing finger. ‘It’s a cat,’ she said, a tad defensively.

‘Another of your waifs and strays, I presume?’

‘I found Paws outside my back door, if that’s what you mean.’

‘Paws? You actually call it Paws?’

‘She’s a she, not an it, and her paws were the first thing I noticed. They’re white and the rest of her’s black.’

‘Funny how every four-legged tramp seems to find its way here,’ Trevor observed grimly. ‘I should think the word’s gone around the stray community. Drop in on Jennifer Norton. She’s a soft touch.’

‘Better that than a hard one,’ she said quickly.

‘As long as you don’t bring that thing to the office, like you tried to with your last acquisition. We were just about to sign Bill Mercer up to a really profitable deal, and a damned snake slid out of your desk and nearly gave him heart failure.’

‘It was a small grass snake, very sweet and perfectly harmless.’

‘And then there was the gerbil—no, don’t get me started on the gerbil. Anyway, it’s not businesslike.’

‘Well, I never was very businesslike, was I? Not the way you are, the way Barney wanted me to be. I shouldn’t really be part of Nortons at all, you know. I’m not cut out for the cut and thrust. Sometimes I think I should get out while I’m still in my twenties, and try something else.’

‘You can’t do that to Barney,’ Trevor said, aghast. ‘After all he’s done for us! I agree, you’re a fish out of water, but you’ve always been his pet, and if you defect it will break his heart.’