Glass Ceilings (11 page)

He
reached out to catch her,
and growled
, ‘Look out!’

‘Oops
h,
m’b
ad
, shorry
,
’
Claire
slurred
as she
wobbled off,
still intent on her
wine-waiter
task.

But
Royce
was gazing
down
at the woman in his arms. No, not a woman. His boss.
He couldn't see her face, only the top of her head.
Just as a
subtle
hint of
her
perfume
floated up to caress
his nose,
Verity
straightened and
pulled away. He quickly let her
go
,
but kept one hand at
her elbow
until he was sure she was steady
.

She took another step
back
, abs
ently rubbing her
arm
.
S
he
raised her eyes to his
for the
briefest instant,
face aflame, before giving
an embarrassed frown
and
mumbling
, ‘
Um, thanks.
For the ... you know, save.
’

H
e
gave a gravelly chuckle
.
‘No problem. Makes a change,
play
ing
the hero
.’ A burst of loud laughter nearby made them both glance away, and Royce said quietly, ‘B
y the look
s
of it,
I’m about a bottle an
d
a half behind everyone
else
. B
ut I guess that’s the hero’s fate
, to
be sober enoug
h to save the damsel
.
’

His grin widene
d when
Verity said
with mock gravity,
‘Yes,
with late arrival comes great responsibility.’
They
laughed together until
Royce
felt his arm
abruptly
grabbed from behind. He
turned to see Rosie beaming at him.

From across the room she’d watched him catch Verity in his arms
,
thinking
to herself that he had the makings of a
fine lady’s champion. She
wondered how he remained unattached.
T
all and well-built, he looked stylish in a
fitted
short-sleeved
shirt
, and
black jeans
that
hugged his lean hips and legs.
Although his leather
boots were low-heeled, he was still
taller than everyone else in the room.
The colours of his clothes
accentuated the darkne
ss of his hair and eyes
and
the
shadow of a moustache
developing
nicely
above his lips.

A
happily married woman herself, Rosie
could stil
l appreciate
the company of good-looking
men.
‘Glad you could make it
, Royce
,’ s
he
croon
ed, raising an eyebrow and smirking
up at him
cheekily,
‘I wasn’t sure you would
.
’

Royce’s firm mouth
tipped into a half smile. ‘Good to see you, Rosie.’

‘
We don’t have many
of these little gatherings, so it’s great
to see everyone
’s made
the effort
.
’ She grasped his arm
more firmly, noting the dense
muscles beneath her fingers.
This
was no paper-pushing
, office-bound
weakling, of that she was certain.
Rosi
e
threw
Verity
a smile
as she
led
Royce
away.
‘
Come
on, I want you to meet my husband. He’s just
returned
from his latest overseas trip
. And then we’re
all
heading over to the party proper.
So nice of Verity to h
ave us here for pre-do
drinks
,
a
nd hasn’t she done a
fabulous
job with the place.
...
’
As they moved off
,
Royce look
ed
back at
Verity, but she was again mingling
.
S
he
did glance
his way
once
though,
and
he gave her a smiling nod
, which she
returned
af
ter
the
brief
est of
hesitation
s
.

Royc
e only had time
for a quick chat to Rosie’s other half
, while casting his admiring eyes over
Verity’s home
, before Rosie
took his arm again, calling
to everyone, ‘Come on
, it’s time to head to the palazzo
, party central!’
She looped her other arm through her husband’s and began leading
the crowd out
of Verity’s
villa
,
and
along
the path to the central square
.

Verity looked around for Claire and saw her standing in the kitchen
. She held
a
n open
wine
bottle in each hand,
and
had
a mouthful
of pastry and a
‘
chinful
’
of
golden
crumbs. She was
staring a little blurrily after the crowd.

‘C’mon
,
bubble girl,’ Verity said
fondly
, taking her
arm, ‘t
here’s a
nice, big
bottle of soda water with your name on it
,
at the party.’

In the
square,
Royce
found himself looking over at Verity fro
m time to time
. He
couldn’t h
e
l
p admiring
her grace and poise
as she socialis
ed
,
all the
while
keeping a close eye on
her inebriated friend
.
Stopping Claire from
re-
filling her own
glass
and everyone else’s
l
ooked
to be
an ongoing battle
, b
ut Verity
managed it with aplomb, and
a
sense of humour.

Royce’s mouth tightened.
Was this
caring person
the same cold-hearted
adversary
who’d
stolen his promotion?
She, who
had
slithered in to blithely snatch
from his grasp
the job that was rightfully his?
and who
would no d
oubt lead the company—
his
company—into ruin.

But
the
enchanting
woman
who’d
greeted him like a friend,
laughed with him, who
felt soft but lithe in his arms
and warm against his chest
... w
here did
she
fit in
?

Chapter Seven

‘Royce James is here for his appointment
.’
Kerry ushered him
into the office
and
closed the door
.

Verity watched
Royce
approach her desk.
The
well-cut
navy
suit
he wore
emphasised
his
height,
and the darkness of his collar-
length hair.
She took a deep breath.
The time had come for their first
one-to-one
meeting at work, and she wondered what it would bring.

‘Morning,
Royce.’

‘Verity,’ he nodded
.
Although he didn’t smile, his eyes were amiable
enough
.

She
didn’t expect him to beh
ave with the same easy manner as at
the
recent
cocktail party,
and
he didn’t
disapp
oint
. But it was a relief
to see him
more composed and less aggressive than when he’d s
tormed
out of this same office just
weeks
ago.

Still,
she mused,
it
can’
t
be
easy for him
,
consigned
to
what must feel like the wrong side of this desk.

‘
Please, take a seat.’
Her eyes followed his movements.

There’s a
manly
physique beneath that
suit
....

With a jolt, she realised
where her thoug
hts were heading.

What
am I doing, thinking about
that? E
specially after promising
myself I’d forget that embarrassing
moment
at the cocktail party
.
What a relief
he can’t read my mind
!

Royce was regarding her
a little
curiously, a half smile on his lips.
H
e
leaned back and enquired,
‘How’s the set
tling-in going? I’ve
been
a bit busy on sit
e, so haven’t been
around much to help
.’

‘
Fine thanks. And w
hat’s been keeping you so
busy?’
She’d only been receiving his usual opera
ting reports, which hadn’t mentioned
any
especially demanding
endeavours
.

‘There’s
a project taking up a fair bit of my time
.
’

‘
Which project is that
?’ Ve
rity was aware of a few
underway
in the various facilities
, but hadn’t heard
of any
Royce was spearheading
.

‘One
we’ve had
in the pipeline for some time.
’

‘
Oh yes
?’
Her
interest was piqu
ed
, but
something in
Royce’s
manner and
enigmatic
expression
suggested a reluctance t
o discuss the subject
. She felt
her radar
give a
twitch.

Royc
e sat
regarding Verity coolly
,
giving no evidence of his inner mêlée. On one hand he was a
driven professional
,
resolutely
pursuing identified
objective
s
; but on the other he was a man
whose conscience was
troubling
him
.
And his conscience had a face. Ella’s.
He
blinked to remove her reproachful features from his vision, and
said
a little vaguely,
‘We’re investigating an innovative method of adjusting the process
to increase
overall productivity.’
B
efore Verity c
ould ask for more information
,
he
added, ‘I
won’t bore you with in-depth details now, when you have so much else on your plate
,’ and he indicated the papers littering her desk.
‘
An initial feasibility
report will
, of course,
be
forthcoming.’