Running From Fate (20 page)

“It was no problem,” Mira
assured her.  It was rude, but she just had to ask
. 
The
woman was huge. 
“You look very pregnant
. 
Is it safe for you to be traveling
?”

The woman
laughed
delightedly
.
“Everybody has asked me that.
I’m only
four
months pregnant
, but multiples run in his family
and I just found out it
’s
triplets.  My husband is working in Paris so he’s flying me over there to celebrate.”  Her face glowed with happiness and she looked ready to launch into a monologue on
some of her mates
fine
r
qualities.  An announcement came over the intercom, distracting her.  “That’s me,” she bubbled.  “I
guess I’d better get going.”

“Have a good flight,
”
Mira told her retreating back.

“You too
. 
Thanks
again,
”
she called.

“I suppose I owe you an apology,” James said ruefully
, as he eased himself down in a plastic chair.
 
“I’m sorry that I jumped on you that way.”

She narrowed her eyes and considered trying to milk it.  He raised an eyebrow questioningly.  Nah, she decided, it would be infantile.  She settled for a regal nod in acknowledgement.

**********************************************
************

It was the middle of the night and the plane was dark and quiet
except for the occasional snore or mumble from one of the passengers. 
They would be arriving in
London in
five hours or so and James
knew that he should
get some sleep, but he couldn’t seem to.
Every time he closed his eyes, h
is mind
conjured up an
image of
the woman sleeping
so peacefully
next to him.
With time to think he had realized that his angry reaction earlier had been rather extreme.
In fact, all
his response
s to Mira tended to be extreme.  His emotions were usually much better controlled and he liked it that way
. 
It
was safer.

When his father had floundered and put so much
on his young shoulders he had to become tough.  Then his mentor had betrayed him
and left him to face down murder charges and rebuild his entire life, his
defenses had further thickened.  None of the social butterflies, who flitted from man to man and marriage to marriage, had convinced him to lower his guards.

The woman next to him sighed and
he reached out
to touch
her cheek.
Unconsciously, she turned her face, caressing his hand.
Tomorrow,
he
promised himself
he would back away
.
He pulled her head onto his shoulder and, with his arm around her,
drifted off
.

Considering the fact that they had been picked up at the airport in a Rolls Royce, Mira wasn’t surprised by her first look at the hotel
where they would be staying. 
The Dorchester was reputedly one of the most elegant, expensive
establishments in London. 
With its towering concrete façade and
early
art deco design it wasn’t a place that Mira would have normally stayed
. 
She
preferred the unde
rstated elegance of the Savoy. 
The Savoy, however, was closed for restoration and the client had requested this hotel for the meeting.

The gilded opulence of the lobby caught Mira’s attention as
soon as
she stepped inside.
It
s
yellow, gold, and black scheme, combined with wrought iron
railings and gilded statues
, while undoubtedly beautiful and expensive
,
made her feel a little claustrophobic
, like she was trapped in Aladdin’s Cave
.
She could only hope that the room would be more to her taste.

She glanced
sideways
at James
and wondered what was going through his head.
He had barely spoken
to her
on the plane or in the ride from the airport.
Mira
considered
breaking the silence, but decided against it.
She had enjoyed
the temporary truce that had
exist
ed
between them since the scene at the airport and she didn’t want to risk damaging it.

James
continued to hold
his silence until they arrived on the third floor, where they both had rooms.
He glanced at his watch, which he had adjusted
to British time on the ride over
.
It was just past
noon
and the meeting wasn’t
scheduled
until
late
r
in the evening
.

“Why don’t we both take some time to
revive
ourselves,” he
suggested. 
“
And w
e’ll meet down in the lobby at
four
.”

“That’s fine,” Mira replied
as she covered a huge yawn with her hand
.
She
turned
away from James and walked the few paces to her room
. 
“I’ll see you later,
”
she called as she shut the door
behind her.

She
paused just inside the door and surveyed the room in quiet appreciation
. 
This
was more like it.  With its rose covered bedspread, matching ar
mchair and footstool, and rich cream
walls it made her think of the English countryside. 
It was the view from the window, however, which caught and held her attention.

Hyde Park was a place that Mir
a was intimately familiar with. 
The beautiful, sprawling
acreage
in central London was a place that she came back to each and every time she visited.
She had picnicked there with her parents when she
was a child and walked the tree-
lined paths with Lily as a teenager.
She had also spent one memorable day there with
Kevin when they were on their honeymoon.
After that idyllic time it had been back to work for him and back to school for her.
Unfortunately, t
hey had never had a day like that again because he had been dead six months later.

With a slight effort, Mira shook off the bittersweet memories.
There was one thing
that she had always
really enjoyed doing in Hyde Park
—
running.
She had started running
when she went to boarding school
and it was still one of her favorite activities
.  If she remembered correctly
the park had some great paths.

She
glanced at her watch.
There were still quite a
few hours
until the meeting
and she
had slept on the plane so she
didn’t really need a nap.
Before
her common sense could kick in
, she quickly changed into her workout clothes and headed out.

Three hours later
, refreshed by the exercise and a nice, hot shower,
she
stepped into a pair of sensible, black heels and checked her appearance in the mirror.
She wanted to look both
professional and feminine and she thought that she had pulled it off.
Her suit was a rich, chocolate brown with a fitted jacket and a beautiful, flowing skirt that ended just below her knees.
She had paired it with a forest green blouse that brought out her eyes and two emerald studded combs
to
h
old
her hair back. 
The combs had been a gift from her mother and they always gav
e her confidence.

She quickly touched up her lipstick, grabbed her briefcase and
walked
out the door.
  James would be waiting.

**********************************************
************

Sir Jonathan Ashton II was not exactly what James had expected.
In his experience, people who had grown up with a lot of money rarely dabbled in business and when they did, they
preferred not to be bothered with
the
niggling
little
details.

This rich boy
was a
tall, dark haired man somewhere in his early 40s.
His pinstriped suit was obviously tailored and expensive, but his handshake was firm
and he spoke knowledgeably about the sustainable building industry.
He was
a
man who
obviously
knew what he was talking abo
ut when it came to
his business
.
He
would understand what
James
meant if he
talked about
the benefits of
using photovoltaic panels
to convert
sunlight into useable
energy.
  He would bet that Mr. Ashton had thoroughly studied the subject before this meeting had been arranged.  Speaking of which, where was Mira?  It wouldn’t do for her to be late, again.