Authors: Alicia Hope
Glass Ceilings
Glass Ceilings
By Alicia Hope
Glass Ceilings
Published by Alicia Hope
Copyright 2012 Alicia Hope
ABN 59573352521
The
situations
, organisations
and
characters in this book are fictional
,
and any resemblance to any
existing or past entity,
is entirely coincidental.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
With many
thanks to my friend Gail
, on whom t
he faithful Claire is based,
who
shar
ed the WAPL experience with me
and
encouraged
me
to pursue my dreams
.
T
o my husband, who
motivated me
to
persevere with this
story
,
and to my talented sister
,
who
s
e
brilliant
input and loving support keeps me writing—thank you
all
.
x
xx
Glass Ceilings
By Alicia Hope
RCL Alumina’s senior staff and partners filled the elaborate ballroom of Bunbury’s Royal Jarrah Hotel.
Outside
,
the
cool Western Australian spring night
had women pulling soft
wraps around exposed shoulders
and men glad of their suit coats
.
Inside,
the
overhead lights
shone down on
executives
hel
ping the night along at the bar
,
while
others worked
the crowd,
always on the look-out
for opportunities to
schmooze
with
Clyde Galloway, RCL’s
chief executive officer.
Although
it was generally accepted that
the
outgoi
ng chief
was
n’t
worth
y of
too much attention a
ny more,
it was also t
hought
a good word from Clyde
might sway the new bloke’s thinking. And it was hard to know just what that bloke
was
thinking most of the time
....
Royce James
’
sardonic
gaze swept
over
the crowd
of executives and their partners
like he was
assessing thoroughbreds
before
the Golden Slipper
race
.
H
e turned towards the bar
, smirking
a promise to
himself
that
t
hese senior staff
dinners would
be more exciting in future
,
once he was
CEO.
His left eyebrow arched lazily.
A soft hand on his arm interrupted his thoughts.
Kerry Stowe, the CEO’s executive assistant, was standing close beside him.
He noted that as usual, Kerry was the most glamorous
woman
in the room.
As he bent his
head to speak to her,
her tantalising fragrance
rose to meet him
,
and
he
observed
once again how
enticing she was.
‘Having fun
,
Royce?’
Her voice was
low and throaty, and beneath the words
lurked another, more primal question.
‘I am now.’
His nonchalant smile
and deep voice
gave nothing away
, although close inspection would have revealed
faint traces of
mockery
in his eyes.
But it wasn’t his eyes that most interested her.
She watched as he raise
d his wine glass and sipped the
chilled Margaret River chardonnay. His firm lips rested against the
glass’s
rim a
s he savoured the
wine’s
crisp woodiness.
T
hick lashes ca
st
small
shadow
s
on his tanned cheek
and veiled
his intense
,
dark eyes
briefly
. F
or a fleeting moment
,
h
is face lost its usual stern and often arrogant
expression
,
and then
his calculating gaze fell on her again.
With a dazzling smile, she
moved
her hand from where it
had been
discreetly caressing his ar
m
to
press
it against his chest, and
felt the strong
, regular
thud of his heart under her fingers
. H
er own heart
was racing
as she leaned closer to him
,
her thigh brushing his gently.
His tall frame
, accentuated by the
charcoal grey, double-breasted Armani suit
,
towered over her.
Royce always makes a startling contrast to the
usual
assor
tment of podgy executives
at these ‘do
o
s’
,
she
thought smugly
to herself
.
As though knowing it was expect
ed, he allowed his eyes to take in
her
firm,
curvaceous body
,
in
a tight burgundy gown with a
plungin
g neckline she was using to full advantage
.
On their way
back
up
,
h
is eyes took in
the smooth skin of her
exposed cleavage
,
and the points
of her ample breasts
pushing against the silky fabric
barel
y containing them.
Hi
s mocking
glance
flicked
to her face.
‘Where’s Jim?’
Kerry
squirmed.
Was
it
contempt
she saw deep in the
deliberately nonchalant darkness
of his eyes
?
‘You know how to spoil a mood, don’t you Royce?’
Her mouth, tinted the same luscious colour as her gown, grew petulant.
He
gave a deep laugh
and raised a scornful eyebrow, once again lifting
his glass to his lips
. T
his time
he took
a goo
d mouthful of wine and let
it linger
on his tongue
while he thought about
Kerry’s
husban
d
. Jim Stowe was
one of RCL’s
senior
executives
and
a genuinely nice guy
in Royce’s estimation. He w
ondered why their marriage lasted.
But as he looke
d down at Kerry, stunning in
her expensive finery and oozing sexuality like a ripe plum longing to be picked, he could hazard a guess.
And
he was sure she’d
be very unwilling to part with the pampered
lifestyle her marriage
offered.
‘Jim’s feeling anti-social again, or should I sa
y still, so I’m here on my own,’
she said, with an affected sigh.
The throaty purr on the lower regi
sters of her voice seemed to resonate
along
his spine
, and he conceded, cynically, that she had a talent for seduction
.
‘And of course you’d never consider staying home and playing the dutiful wife
, would you
,
Kerry
?’
‘If Jim wants to shut himself away with his laptop, that’s up to him
,’ she mewed
.
‘
It doesn’t mean I have to be boring too.
I can make my own fun.’
Royce felt her press
even
closer
against him
.
‘Oh, I
’m sure you will. B
u
t you’ll have to excuse me
,
I see a lady I want to talk to.’
With a
dismissive
bow of his d
ark head and a smirk
in his eyes
, Royce
drew
away from her
and
strode
across the room, leaving
Kerry
drifting rudderless in the social sea like a piece of
abandoned
flotsam.