The Lethal Encounter (7 page)

Now he was seated across from
Anabelle, a stunning blonde who ticked all the boxes from his point of view.
Her father was a German industrialist who had made a fortune digging coal out
of the Bavarian mountainside and helpfully set up joint trust funds for his
three daughters - whose mission in life seem to be to spend that money as quickly
and as indecently as possible.

“I mean, she was so bitchy to
me. I hadn't seen her since skiing in Courchevel, so she had no right to say
those things…..had she…..had she….. Peter?”

“What, what, oh sorry, what
were you saying?”

“You have not been listening
to anything I've been saying have you? What on earth is up with you?”

“Nothing, nothing,” replied
Peter. “Just overworked.....you know, a lot on the mind.”

“Hmm, anybody would think you
weren't totally enamoured with my company and smitten by my astounding good
looks and wit.”

“Absolutely.” Peter nodded
vaguely, not really taking in what she was saying.

“Absolutely what? Oh, never
mind. Let's just get the bill and leave.” Anabelle's gaze softened and she
reached over to take Peter's hand.

“After all, I've got plans
for us tonight.” She gave what Peter assumed was a sexy look and clicked her
fingers imperiously at the waiter.

Peter sighed. Anabelle was
good company and, although they had never had a “serious” thing going, he did
like her a lot and she was, after all, beautiful. But tonight he knew he was
not in the mood and did not look forward to imparting this information to his
companion. He would wait until they were outside before saying anything -
Anabelle was known to get excitable if things did not go her way.

Later, as he climbed the
steps to his apartment in Mount Street, he was glad he had made that decision.
Anabelle's thoughts of an erotic encounter had not taken kindly to being dumped
into a taxi alone at 11pm on a Sunday night and the parting shot he had heard
was her ordering the cab to go to a well known late night club on the King's
Road. Peter knew she would quickly find another suitor and was relieved to find
that he did not care a bit.

After letting himself in, he
went straight into his study and sat himself down at his computer to review any
new e mails that may have arrived in the last few hours. His PA had sent him
his itinerary for tomorrow and he quickly scanned it. Nothing too bad.....a
couple of internal catch up meetings and a client coming in from the States,
followed by dinner with his lawyer. He nodded to himself. That schedule would
give him some thinking time, something he badly needed if he was going to take
his company up to the next level.

Peter Jarvis had never really
set out to be hugely successful in the computer business and he would always be
the first to admit that, whilst he had always worked hard both at school and
subsequently in employment, he had been helped hugely by the “right place at the
right time” adage. His, now ex, partner Hamish Andrews, who had set up Shire
with him back in the late nineties, had been the technological genius, not he.
True, it had been his enthusiasm and business nous that had commercialised the
original concepts of the company and it was him who had brought in the right
partners to allow the firm to grow so dramatically, but it had been Hamish's
knowledge and ideas that had set the ball rolling.

Peter got up from his desk,
left his study and went into the large living area that formed the main part of
his flat. He retrieved a bottle from the fridge in the well fitted out kitchen
area and poured himself a glass of wine. Although it was relatively late, he
wanted to have a few moments of relaxation before going to bed, alone as it
turned out.

He sat down in one of the
large swivel chairs, crossed his legs and looked out of the large windows that
were the showpiece of his top floor apartment. He remembered coming to see the
flat a few years ago and immediately falling for its mixture of period and
modernity, in particular the huge shafts of sunlight that had been pouring in
through the windows on that day. It was a large place for just one person, and
he would be the first to admit that it lacked a few home comforts, but it had a
good atmosphere and feel about it.

As he looked out on the night
sky, all he could see now were the jagged edges of the neighbouring buildings
and, beyond them, the lights of London that never seemed to dim. The noises of
the city gradually winding down after a hectic weekend soothed his somewhat
morose mood and he took a large sip of wine.

In truth he was frustrated
and, to a large extent, annoyed with himself. It wasn't the premature ending to
this evening or the sudden lack of companionship that had caused this
perplexing state, it was his encounter with that Katie last Thursday. And, he
admitted to himself, he could not really explain why it had caused such a
reaction.

Peter had been lucky enough
to enjoy his share of beautiful women, and had always relished their company
both in and out of his bed. But, from the moment he had laid eyes on Katie in
the restaurant, he had felt irresistibly drawn to her. He recalled the moment
well and could see her in his mind's eye, sitting alone at her table, casually
eating in a manner that exuded a self confidence and inner belief. When their
eyes had met, he had felt a jolt go through him and, from that moment, he had
been totally unable to concentrate on anything his friend and colleagues were
saying. All he wanted to do was to turn back in her direction and stare. When
her mobile had gone off he had noted out of the corner of his eye her obvious
embarrassment and it amused him as he strained his ears to catch just the
faintest hint of her voice. When their eyes had met a second time, he knew that
he had made an impression on her and it pleased him greatly…..to the extent
that he almost got up at that moment to go over to her.

Her rapid departure from the
restaurant had left him annoyed and empty but he knew that he could not
realistically get up and follow her, so he shrugged his shoulders to himself
and finally tuned back into the conversation around him. His concentration was
shot to bits though and he recalled moving dinner on at an almost rude pace,
hurriedly paying the bill and suggesting a nightcap back at the hotel.

His heart had leapt almost
uncontrollably when he spotted her in the bar later and he knew that he would
have to go and speak to her…..normally something that he would have found very
easy but, in this instance, he felt a fluttering in his stomach as he
approached.

Looking back, he felt that
the encounter had gone well. He remembered being mesmerised by her look and the
way she gently flicked her hair out of her eyes with her slim fingers. She had
obviously been nervous to begin with but had slowly relaxed as they talked. He
also remembered the jolt that had gone through his body when their hands had
touched. He couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed just chatting like
that to a woman.....and chatting about nothing in particular. He felt they had
a connection that he rarely felt when it came to the opposite sex.

The physical contact later in
the room had been one of the most exciting sexual encounters he had ever had
and, as he thought about it, he felt himself grow hard inside his jeans. God,
she had been hot…..a veritable volcano ready to explode. He knew that if things
had not been cut short, the sex would have been mind blowing.

Peter shook his head in
frustration and took another large sip of wine. He could not understand his
feelings because he just could not come to terms with an acute sense of loss he
felt…..whatever that means when it comes to sexual encounters. God, it wasn't
just that....he had enjoyed his fair share of gorgeous, and sexy, women and he
knew that it wasn't just the absence of sexual fulfilment that bugged him so.

No, in just a few short
hours, Katie McGovern had got under his skin and he was pissed off. Pissed off
that he hadn't had mind blowing sex, but even more pissed off in the knowledge
that he would probably never see her again. He somehow felt that he was about
to miss out on a huge opportunity and, however much he tried to reach out to
analyse what exactly that might be, it hovered annoyingly beyond his reach.

With a deep sigh, he finished
his drink, rose from the chair and headed towards the bathroom.

As he lay in his bed later he
wondered if he could do some detective work and find out where she worked. She
had said she was in the computer software business, so it should not be too
hard to trace her. He could maybe use the same resources he had used for some
company investigations in the past. But, as he turned off his light and turned
over, he resolved to move on and forget her. Thanks goodness it was work
tomorrow. He needed something to focus his mind on.

CHAPTER 5

Monday morning was cloud free
and the sun shone brightly as Katie walked from the tube to work. She stopped
at the local Starbucks to get a coffee and recalled the pleasant trip to her
parents the previous day. It had been good to see them and the time had gone
quickly, terminating in a long walk in the local countryside with her mother
and their aging black Labrador, Maggie, who still seemed to have considerable
life left in her as she waded in and out of the river that bordered the path
along which they were walking.

Katie had fielded the usual
demands for intimate details of her private life and then they had discussed
the health of her father for the rest of the time. Katie loved the way her
mother still seemed to dote on him and the thought of anything happening to
either filled her with horror. Her father certainly was not as mobile as he
used to be and his breathing often seemed laboured, even when he was doing
relatively small physical tasks. Still, her mother assured her that he had
received a clean bill of health at his last check up and Katie felt somewhat
reassured.

The drive back to London had been uneventful and, Katie realised as she soaked in a deep and luxuriant bath
later in the evening, she had hardly thought about Peter Jarvis at all. For
some unknown reason she found that in itself, whilst a relief in general, left
her feeling disconsolate. This, combined with a nostalgic residual from the
visit to her parents, left her going to bed in a slightly down state.

She turned into the main
office reception and waved a cheery good morning to the receptionist who she
knew fairly well. She climbed the stairs to the second floor and settled into her
work station before switching on her computer and logging into outlook to
review her in tray. She had a busy day ahead organising timelines and
confirming details of the agreement with Logistics France.

A ping from her inbox alerted
her to a new meeting that had been scheduled in for her and the team at 11am.
The heading on the alert box indicated that it was to go through the details of
the agreement and to decide the team members who would handle the account.
Katie had a sudden feeling that she might be taken off the job…..maybe someone
had found out about her liaison with Peter Jarvis the previous week and decided
she should not continue with the project. She mentally shook her head to
herself. No one knew and that was a paranoid thought! She clicked on the accept
tick and returned to her paperwork.

The Logistics France contract
itself involved creating a new digitised backup and security platform for the
large data processing company headquartered as it was on the south coast of France. Whilst Katie understood the top level technical requirements, the detailed
infrastructure required would need the input of a technical team and, even
though they were a separate department, they would be working closely with
Katie for the next six months.

She had just managed to sort
out her notes when a meeting reminder appeared on her screen. She quickly
printed out a one page summary, gathered all her paperwork and walked swiftly
towards the staircase that would take her one floor higher to one of the
conference rooms.

There was only one other
person in the appointed room when she arrived and also Judy, the ever present
and always helpful catering lady, who was just finishing the distribution of
coffee cups around the huge table.

“Hi Judy,” said Katie cheerfully.
“How are you?”

“Not so bad, my dear,”
replied Judy smiling fondly at Katie. “Just finishing up here, and then I'll
let you lot get on.”

“No hurry.....and thanks for
this.” Katie sat herself down one chair away from the other occupant of the
room who seemed to be studying a raft of papers in front of him.