Cinderella Substitute (6 page)

Nate had already made it clear he expected her to go this year. She had done all the planning for it, organized the decorations, the band and even the presents. Maybe she should use the opportunity to show off a new look.

The light on the copier started to blink and Jenni ducked down to reload the paper tray. She straightened back up to restart the copies, only to find herself face-to-face with Mike 50

The Cinderella Substitute

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Walker. He picked up one of the party invitations. "Christmas dance?" he read out loud from the leaflet, oblivious to Jenni's burning cheeks.

"Yes, it's at the Langstone Club this year." She scooped up the copies. A strong, sickly aroma of cheap aftershave assailed her nostrils as he moved a little closer to her.

"It's that new hotel-cum-country club on the outskirts. It's supposed to be very exclusive." Jenni explained.

Mike handed her back the leaflet. She noticed his round, pleasant face looked rather flushed. "I wonder if you would like to, erm, that is ... I ... if you wanted to go with me to the dance?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Nate's voice cut in.

Mike turned even redder. Beads of perspiration appeared under the fringe of his fair hair.

"Jenni is accompanying me and acting as my hostess for the evening, so I'm afraid she'll be rather busy." Nate's diamond gaze and confident tone quelled any possible argument.

Jenni watched impotently as her would-be suitor muttered an apologetic excuse and bolted down the corridor back to the safety of the accounts department.

"How dare you! That was a private conversation!" She wanted to strangle him, as he stood there looking smug whilst her first chance of a date in over a year evaporated in front of her eyes.

"Jenni, I did warn you that we were too busy right now for you to be expanding your social life." He appeared unperturbed.

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"It would have been nice if you had told me beforehand that you expected me to act as hostess. Or even, Heaven forbid, you might have considered actually asking me. The way you came crashing in just then, Mike might get quite the wrong idea about us. I mean, me."

He stared at her in amazement. "Jenni, I don't think that's going to happen, do you? You're my P.A. You know everyone in the company and you've organized the whole event. Who better to hostess it with me?" On that reasonable-sounding note he disappeared back into his office.

* * * *

Walker wouldn't get the wrong idea about Nate's relationship with Jenni. Would he? Unless Jenni herself had ideas about their friendship ... He rubbed his chin as he paced up and down in front of the desk deep in thought.

Surely she wouldn't, she had always seemed much too sensible. He'd never thought of Jenni as a frivolous kind of girl. She never fussed about her appearance the way some women did. Like Cerys had. Cerys' voice rang in his memory,

"Appearances count, darling. I know you laugh but if you
want to get anywhere in life then you must dress for
success."

He paused in his pacing. Cerys
had
dressed for success.

Her clothes had all been designer labels, her nails had always 52

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been manicured and her hairdresser had been on permanent standby. She had masked her insecurities with an armor of perfection so refined he hadn't noticed the price she had been prepared to pay until it was too late.

He bit down hard on that train of thought. Jenni was not Cerys. No, Jenni knew where she stood, didn't she? A momentary feeling of disquiet flitted through his mind. Jenni had started to change her appearance in the last couple of weeks. Higher heels, more fitted clothes. No wonder Walker kept hanging about her like a lovesick puppy. Jenni was a very attractive girl. The kind of girl he could be attracted to.

He scowled at the view from his window and wished the young accounts manager a million miles away from Mayer holdings and Jenni Blake.

* * * *

Jenni squinted at her hair in the mirror. Nate's colossal insensitivity had made her brave. He'd made it very clear that he didn't find her at all attractive. That there was no way anyone would think he could ever be interested in her romantically. Well, come Monday morning, Nathanial Mayer would see another side to Jenni Blake.

It had been Lorna's idea to go to the beauty college open day. So far they had both had manicures, massages and pedicures—all for a token sum of money. Now she had a new hairstyle and autumn tints in her hair.

Lorna pulled the plastic cape from Jenni's shoulders

"Anyway, come on. We've got a facial and make-up demo 53

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next. After lunch, we're going shopping. The first stop is at the opticians."

Jenni wished her bravado hadn't led her quite this far. Her naturally cautious nature rebelled a little at the idea of spending so much time and money on herself, even if it was fun. She thanked the hairdresser and followed Lorna into the next department.

By the end of a very long day it came as a blissful relief to open the door of her flat and stagger inside. Her arms ached with the weight of the bags she carried. Her new contact lenses made her blink like an owl.

She hung up her new clothes and kicked off her shoes. A long, hot bath called to her to soak her weary limbs. Armed with a glass of the cheap white wine she kept in the fridge, she lay amongst the bubbles and tried to ignore the cracked tile on the opposite wall. At long last, aching muscles relaxed.

She hadn't realized looking beautiful was so high maintenance.

She lazed among the suds until the water cooled. After toweling herself dry she pulled on her old fleecy grey dressing gown, tied the cord around her narrow waist and headed into the kitchen to fix herself a sandwich.

The doorbell rang as she buttered the bread. Quite often the gang of teenagers who loitered outside the takeaway amused themselves by ringing her bell. This caused her to hesitate as she wondered if she should ignore it or take a peek to see if she really had a caller.

The doorbell sounded again. Jenni put the knife down and walked across the lounge to lift the curtain to peep out 54

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through the window. A familiar figure in a black leather jacket stood in the rain outside her front door. Astonished, she almost let the curtain drop back into place when Nate looked up and noticed her.

Flustered, Jenni looked at her ratty old dressing gown.

There wasn't time to change. He would be soaked if he stayed out there in the wet for much longer. She hurried down the stairs to let him in, grateful the thick material covered her body so well.

When Jenni opened the front door, Nate stepped inside so quickly she found herself trapped at the foot of the stairs with him. In the tiny confines of the dark hallway, she could almost feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek.

"Nate. I wasn't expecting company." Her voice squeaked.

Nate stood too close to her for comfort, much too close.

"Come up to the flat." Jenni fought the panic rising in her chest, and half-turned to escape up the stairs, desperate to put some space between them.

Nate remained still, staring at her, a bewildered expression on his face. "Where are your glasses?" The rainwater dripped off the hem of his coat and made a puddle on the floor.

"You're wet." Jenni licked her lips nervously.

"And your hair. You've had your hair cut."

He touched one of the chopped-off strands of her hair with tentative fingers. She couldn't tell if he approved of the changes or not.
Not that it's got anything to do with him,
she thought.

"It's not against the law, is it?"

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Her sharp response snapped him out of his trance-like state.

"I was just surprised, that's all." He shrugged.

Not entirely satisfied with his answer, she led the way up the stairs, into the flat. It wouldn't kill him to say he liked her improved appearance, would it?

* * * *

He unzipped his jacket, conscious he still stared at her.

She reached over to take his coat. He smelt the fresh, soapy scent of her skin.

"This was a bad idea of mine to call without phoning you first, Jenni. I'm obviously in your way."

Had she got anything on underneath that hideous dressing
gown?
The palms of his hands were wet with sweat, and it came as a relief when she vanished into the bathroom with his jacket.

Jenni reappeared. "Sit down, Nate. I'll get you a drink."

He sat down on the edge of Jenni's settee, taking care to avoid the broken spring. She disappeared into the kitchen. It was like trying to talk to a human yo-yo.

"I came to ask you a favor." He wished she would come back in and sit down.

"Coffee all right?" Jenni's disembodied voice asked from the kitchen.

"Fine."

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She re-emerged, carrying a tray with two mugs and a couple of plates with sandwiches. "I thought you might be hungry, I was just about to eat," she explained. "You were saying you wanted to ask me a favor?" She passed him a plate. The top of her dressing gown gaped open a little before she moved back to perch on the old armchair by the gas fire.

Either the heating in her flat was up too high, or the brief flash of Jenni's bare skin had made him feel quite hot. She looked so different without her glasses, and she did have beautiful eyes. Deep ... sparkling ... blue...

He realized he hadn't answered her question. "I came to ask if you could come into work early on Monday. A delegation is coming over from New York to meet us and discuss the project. They're flying in early, so we'll need to organize meals, accommodation and travel for them. They plan to stay one night, then they're going to London to see the opposition bid."

She leaned forward to pick up her mug. He thought his heart would stop.

"That's okay. I know how important the bid is. I'll be there."

He picked up his coffee and sipped it. Jenni had been right.

He
was
hungry. His mother hadn't sounded too pleased when he had phoned to cancel his lunch date with his parents, pleading pressure of work.

"You'll have to let me know all the details. How many to expect, diets, flight times and so on." A small frown puckered the creamy smooth skin of her forehead.

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Even her face looked different. More sophisticated. With professionally applied make-up, she had acquired an air of glamour alien to the Jenni he knew.
He had to stop staring.

"That's no problem. I can drop a file over to you tomorrow." He set his mug down and started on his sandwiches. "Thanks for these. I didn't have time to eat lunch today."

She looked disapproving. "You should make time, Nate.

This was supposed to be your weekend off."

As Jenni grabbed a sandwich, her long furry gown slipped open to reveal a great deal of her legs before she swished it back into place. He choked on a crumb. Jeep, he would have to go home. He didn't think his libido could stand many more tantalizing glimpses of Jenni's bare skin without him wanting to do something they both might regret.

"I have to go." He placed his empty plate on the table and stood up abruptly.

She looked up at him. He could see her bewilderment at the sudden change in his behavior.

"I'll fetch your coat." Jenni left to collect his jacket from the bathroom. "It's dried out pretty well, so you should be okay." She handed it to him.

"I'll drop that stuff off for you tomorrow then, if that's alright?" He slipped into his jacket. The sensible voice inside his brain told him to get the hell out of there now, before he did something stupid. The problem was his body didn't appear to be connected to his brain. All he could see were Jenni's moist, pink lips parted as if anticipating his kiss. Even then, 58

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he might have resisted if it hadn't been for her startled little gasp when she read his intentions in his eyes.

She tasted the way he thought she would, as sweet as honey. His arms slipped around her slim waist to hold her closer. The soft, slight curves of her body molded against him, as if she had been meant to fit.

The tinny little tune from his inner jacket pocket wasn't loud enough to disturb his concentration. It took Jenni's startled response to the vibrator setting on his phone to break them apart.

He grabbed the phone from his pocket. His twin sister's phone number flashed up on the display.

Jenni stood before him, her blue eyes wide with mute distress. He felt a complete heel as he pressed the talk button on the phone and brought it to his ear.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Jenni folded her arms tight across her chest and hugged herself. Dazed, she stumbled into the bathroom to splash some cool water onto her face, hoping it would wash away the delicious taste of Nate from her lips. He'd rushed off after answering his phone as if he couldn't stand to be near her a moment longer. So much for her make-over. It was supposed to make her more attractive, not more repellent.

She washed the rest of the make-up from her face, forgetting all about the morning's lecture on skin care. Her eyes stung from the new contact lenses, so she removed them in favor of her glasses. All that done, she took a deep breath.

Her adoptive father's voice sounded immediately in her mind, sending her back into her teenage years.