The Billionaire's Ruthless Affair (Rich, Ruthless and Renowned) Read online

  Whatever; as soon as he’d discovered she was engaged, his attitude had changed. Though he’d still put her through the mill during the interview. She must have pleased him with her answers, because he’d hired her on the spot.

  Of course, her résumé had been second to none—provided you overlooked her poor pass in her Higher School Certificate. Which Alex had, once she’d explained that her dad—who was a miner—had lost his job during her high school years and that the family finances had been so tight that she’d taken not one but three part-time positions to help make ends meet, her studies suffering as a result. A little white lie, that. But not one she felt guilty about. The boss of Ark Properties didn’t need to know the ins and outs of her past life. Alex had seemed suitably impressed by her work ethic, plus her career in real estate. He didn’t care that she’d never actually been a PA before. He wanted someone who could take over the office whenever he was away, which up till recently had been quite often. He had business ties in England which she wasn’t privy to; Alex could be secretive at times.

  But those business ties had apparently been wound up and he was back in Sydney permanently. Harriet might have felt pleased if she hadn’t been in a state of apprehension at the time. That apprehension had now reached such a level that it was interfering with her sleep. So Harriet had resolved last night to bite the bullet and tell Alex the truth this morning. Which would have happened already if he’d been here when she’d arrived, she thought with a flash of irritation. All of a sudden, his being late didn’t seem quite so desirable, the delay in confessing twisting her stomach into more knots.

  Sighing at the sight of Alex’s empty office, she headed straight for the staff room, where she filled the kettle in readiness for the mug of black coffee Alex always wanted first thing on arriving. He’d probably send her out for a bagel, too. That man was a bagel addict! Maybe she’d leave off telling him her news till he’d downed his coffee and bagel. Alex wasn’t at his best till he’d eaten. The kettle on, she opened the overhead cupboard and took down one of the small tins of quite expensive cat food she kept there. The snapping sound of the ring pull had a rather large moggy dashing into the room, purring his welcome as he wound his way around Harriet’s ankles.

  ‘Hungry, Romany?’ Harriet said, quickly scraping the food out onto a saucer and putting it down on the floor. The cat pounced, gobbling up the food like he was starving.

  ‘You spoil that cat.’

  Harriet whirled at the sound of Alex’s voice, surprised that she hadn’t heard him come in. He looked impossibly handsome as usual, dressed in a dark blue business suit which deepened the blue of his eyes and contrasted nicely with the fair hair. His shirt was a dazzling white, his tie a stylish blue-and-silver stripe.

  ‘You ought to talk,’ Harriet said, thinking of all her boss had done for Romany. ‘Might I remind you that you were the one who insisted on buying all the top-of-the-line cat accessories.’

  ‘Had to do something to stop my PA from crying her eyes out.’

  ‘I wasn’t doing any such thing.’

  ‘You were close to,’ he reminded her.

  I suppose I was, she thought as she picked up the plate, washed it thoroughly and put it away, not wanting any of the staff to start complaining about the smell of fishy cat food. Not that they would. They all loved Romany. Unlike Dwayne. He hadn’t loved Romany at all; had complained like mad when Harriet had brought the poor starving animal home a couple of months ago after she’d found him cowering and crying under her car one Saturday night. He’d insisted she take it to the RSPCA the very next day, which she had, hopeful that they would find him a good home.

  Impossible, they’d said. No one would want a seriously old cat like Romany. Unable to bear leaving him there to be put down, in desperation she’d taken him to work on the Monday, where she’d asked if anyone would give him a home. When no one had put their hand up, Alex had said he could be the office cat. Always a man of action, he’d immediately had a cat flap installed in the store room, then had taken Harriet out to buy whatever was necessary to keep the cat happy and clean. The cleaners had been informed of Romany’s presence so that precautions could be taken for him not to escape.

  Harriet recalled feeling overwhelmed by Alex’s generosity and kindness at the time whilst seething with resentment over Dwayne’s meanness. As she bent and scooped the cat up in her arms, she realised that the incident with Romany had been the beginning of the end of their relationship. Being an animal lover was, after all, one of her checklist points. After that, she’d begun to look at Dwayne with different eyes. The rose-coloured glasses that came with falling in love had definitely come off. His constant refusal to give any money to charity was a sore point. So was his not doing his share of housework around the flat. When she’d complained to Emily about this, she’d just laughed, saying Harry expected way too much from men.

  ‘They expect their women to look after them,’ her best friend had told her. ‘It’s in their DNA. They’re the protectors and providers, whilst their women are the homemakers and nurturers.’

  Harriet hadn’t agreed with Emily, hoping the world had moved on from expecting women to be happy with such narrow roles in life. No way was she going to settle for less than what she wanted in life, which was an interesting career, as well as a husband who ticked all of the boxes on her Mister Right checklist. Dwayne had certainly ticked the first three, but had begun seriously falling down on the rest. His suggestion a month ago that she buy her wedding dress second-hand on the Internet had been the last straw!

  ‘So has the kettle boiled?’ Alex asked, interrupting Harriet’s none-too-happy thoughts.

  ‘Should have,’ she said.

  Dropping the cat gently on the tiled floor, she set about getting two mugs down from the overhead cupboard. ‘It’s not like you to be late,’ she added, doing her best to ignore the instant churning in her stomach. Maybe she wouldn’t tell him today after all...

  ‘I slept in,’ he replied. ‘Then traffic was bad. I’m going to need a bagel with my coffee.’

  ‘Fine. Oh, and, Alex...’ she said before he had the opportunity to walk away and before she could procrastinate further. ‘When you have a minute, I...um...I need to talk to you about something.’

  He sighed a rather weary-sounding sigh. ‘Look, Harry, if you’re going to complain about the way I spoke to you yesterday, then don’t bother. I’m sorry. All right? I was in a bad mood and I took it out on you, which I realise was unforgiveable, but I’m only human. If you must know, I broke up with Lisa at the weekend.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said, not really surprised. Of the three girls Alex had dated during the time she’d worked for him, Lisa had been the most annoying with that silly laugh of hers, not to mention the way she would drop into the office unannounced. Alex hadn’t liked that, and neither had Harriet. ‘I’m sorry,’ she added a little belatedly.

  ‘I’m not. Not really.’ Alex stared at her hard for a long moment. ‘You’re not going to quit, are you?’

  Her shocked expression must have soothed him, for his eyes immediately softened. But it underlined to Harriet that Alex was not a man who responded well to being crossed or thwarted. She’d always known he was a tough businessman, but she’d never seen him seriously angry. It wasn’t in his nature to be mean, but she suspected he had a temper, like most men.

  ‘No, nothing like that,’ she said quickly.

  ‘Then out with it, Harriet. I don’t like to wait for bad news.’

  ‘It’s not bad news,’ she said, startled by his calling her Harriet like that. She’d always liked the way he called her Harry. There was a subtle intimacy about it which made her feel like his friend as well as his assistant. Obviously, she’d been deluding herself in that regard.

  ‘Well, not bad news for you,’ she went on sharply, doing her best to control a whole range of emotions which began bombarding her. The sudden lump in her throat alarmed her.

  ‘The thing is, Alex, I...I’ve broken off my en
gagement to Dwayne.’

  His expression carried a measure of shock, quickly followed by one of genuine sympathy.

  When tears pricked at her eyelids, panic was only a heartbeat away.

  ‘I’m very sorry to hear that, Harry,’ he said gently. ‘Very sorry indeed.’

  His calling her Harry like that completed her undoing, bringing a wave of emotion which shattered her pretend composure and sent a torrent of tears into her eyes.

  Chapter Two

  ALEX’S SHOCK AT Harriet’s news was eclipsed by her bursting into tears. For not once during the months she’d worked for him had she ever cried. Or come close to it, except perhaps over the cat. She was the epitome of common sense and composure, pragmatic and practical under pressure at all times. Even when he snapped at her—as he had yesterday—she just ignored him and went on with her job. Which he admired.

  He didn’t care for women who cried at the drop of a hat or used tears as a weapon. He’d been brought up by a woman who’d been very stalwart by nature, a legacy perhaps of being born poor in war-torn Hungary, she and Alex’s father having migrated to Australia when they’d been just newlyweds. They’d hoped to make a better life down under. Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened. But his mother had never complained, or cried.

  ‘Crying doesn’t get you anywhere,’ his mother had told her three children often enough.

  She had cried, however, when she’d found out she was dying of cervical cancer, a condition which could have been cured if she’d been diagnosed early enough.

  Don’t think about that, Alex. Attend to the here and now. Which is your usually calm PA sobbing her broken heart out.

  After standing in the doorway for far too long, wondering how he’d forgotten that Harry was a woman with a woman’s more sensitive emotions, Alex launched himself across the room and gathered her into his arms.

  ‘There, there,’ he said soothingly as he stroked her soft brown hair.

  If anything she sobbed even harder, her shoulders shaking as her hands curled into fists and pressed against his chest. Romany meowed plaintively at his feet, obviously sensing distress in the air.

  ‘Stop crying now,’ he advised gently. ‘You’re upsetting the cat.’

  She didn’t stop crying and Romany ran off, the insensitive deserter. Alex wished he could do likewise. He didn’t feel entirely comfortable holding Harry like this. He was never comfortable with excess emotion. Neither was he a touchy-feely kind of guy. He touched a woman only when he was about to make love to her.

  ‘Oh! S-sorry.’

  Alex’s head swivelled round at the sound of Audrey’s startled apology. Audrey was forty, divorced and a cynic and the expression on his receptionist’s face suggested she’d instantly jumped to the conclusion that something of an intimate nature was going on between her boss and his PA. Alex knew he had to nip that idea in the bud before nasty rumours started flying around the office.

  ‘Harriet is upset,’ he said rather brusquely. ‘She’s broken off her engagement to Dwayne.’

  Audrey’s finely plucked eyebrows formed an even greater arch. ‘Really? What did he do?’

  Alex rolled his eyes at the woman’s lack of compassion. All she seemed interested in were the grisly details. Though, now that he thought about it, Alex was curious about the circumstances as well. He could not imagine Dwayne being unfaithful. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Not that he knew him well. He’d met him only twice.

  Alex had actually been surprised by Harriet’s choice of fiancé. She was a very attractive girl—and smart as a whip—whereas Dwayne was just, well, ordinary, both in looks and intelligence. Alex had found him quite boring to talk to. He would have expected more interesting conversation from a high school history teacher, but Dwayne had come over as being interested in only his pay cheque and his holidays.

  ‘More time to play golf,’ he’d said rather avidly.

  Perhaps that was what had gone wrong. Maybe he’d been spending too much time on the golf course and not enough time making love to his fiancée. Alex knew that if he was engaged to Harriet, he would spend quite a lot of time making love to her. Having her in his arms reminded him what a good figure she had.

  When such thinking sparked a prickling in his groin, Alex decided to bring a swift end to his hugging Harriet so closely. Stepping back from the embrace, he leaned over to snatch a handful of tissues from the box that was kept on the counter and held them out towards her still-clenched hands.

  ‘Dry your eyes,’ he ordered.

  She did as she was told, blowing her nose quite noisily.

  ‘Now, I’m taking Harriet out for coffee. And we won’t be back for a while,’ he relayed to Audrey. ‘Let the others know the situation when they come in, will you?’

  ‘Will do,’ Audrey replied.

  ‘I...I’d like to fix my face before I go out anywhere,’ Harriet requested.

  ‘Fair enough,’ Alex said. ‘I’ll meet you at the lifts in five minutes.’

  * * *

  Grabbing her handbag, Harriet dashed out of the office and along the corridor to the ladies’ room, which thankfully was empty. She groaned when the vanity mirror showed flushed cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. Sighing, she splashed them with cold water, glad that she didn’t wear eye make-up during the day. Otherwise she might have ended up looking like a raccoon.

  Grabbing some paper towels, she dabbed her face dry, after which she swiftly replenished her red lipstick before running a brush through her shoulder-length brown hair. When it fell into its usual sleek curtain without a strand out of place, she conceded that her monthly appointment with one of Sydney’s top stylists was worth every cent. It saved her heaps of time every morning and in moments like this. Because, when Alex said he’d meet her in five minutes, he meant five minutes. Patience was not one of her boss’s virtues. Kindness was, however. And compassion. He’d shown both with Romany and now with her.

  She should have known he’d be nice to her.

  Not that she’d expected him to hug her like that. That had been a surprise. So had her bursting into tears in the first place. It wasn’t like her to be so emotional. But she supposed it wasn’t every day that your dreams for the future were shattered. Maybe if she’d cried buckets during the days after the split with Dwayne, she wouldn’t have broken down just now. She hadn’t even told Emily, knowing perhaps her friend’s critical reaction. She’d just bottled up her feelings, then stupidly started worrying that telling Alex her news would jeopardise her job. As if he would be so cruel as to sack her because she was suddenly single. The very idea was ludicrous!

  With a final swift glance at her reflection in the mirror, Harriet hurried from the ladies’ room and strode quickly along the grey carpeted corridor which would bring her to the lift well. Alex was already there, his expression shuttered as he looked her up and down, probably searching for signs that she had herself under control. No way would he want her weeping by his side in public. She gave him a small, reassuring smile, but he didn’t smile back, his gaze still probing.

  ‘Better now?’ he said.

  ‘Much. You don’t have to do this, you know,’ she added, despite actually wanting to go and have coffee with him. ‘We could just go back into the office and have coffee there.’

  ‘Absolutely not. Audrey and the others can hold the fort.’

  The lift doors opened and several office workers piled out, Ark Properties not being the only business with rooms on that particular floor, though theirs were the pick, with Alex’s office having a wonderful view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. ‘Nothing like a good view of Sydney’s spectacular icons to help sell property in Australia,’ he’d told her on the day he’d hired her.

  Harriet agreed wholeheartedly.

  ‘So when did all this happen?’ Alex asked her as he waved her into the now empty lift.

  ‘The weekend you flew home from London,’ she told him.

  He threw a sharp glance over his shoulder as he pressed the ground-floor butt
on.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me straight away?’ he went on before she could think of a suitable answer. ‘Did you want to give yourself the opportunity to change your mind? Or for Dwayne to change it for you?’

  ‘No. No, once I made up my mind, I knew I wouldn’t change it. Dwayne hasn’t tried to change my mind, either. After our last argument, he knew it was over between us.’

  ‘That must have been some argument.’

  ‘It was.’ A rueful smile teased the corners of her mouth. What would Alex say, she wondered, if he knew he’d been the subject of most of that last argument?

  His eyes narrowed on her. ‘Want to tell me about it?’

  She looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes, then shook her head. ‘I don’t think that would be a good idea.’

  ‘Well, I do,’ he stated firmly just as the lift doors opened on the ground floor. Taking her arm, he steered her across the spacious lobby and through the revolving glass doors which led out onto the chilly city street.

  ‘So which café do you prefer?’ he asked, nodding towards each of the two casual eating establishments that flanked the entrance to their building. It occurred to Harriet that Alex had never actually taken her for coffee before. She’d lunched with him a few times—always with clients—but only at the kind of five-star restaurants which catered for businessmen of his status.

  ‘That one has better bagels,’ she said, pointing to the café on their left.

  ‘That one it is, then.’

  He found them an empty table at one of the windows which overlooked the street, seeing her settled before heading for the counter. Harriet found it odd watching him queue up to order food, thinking he wouldn’t have done that too often. But then she recalled that he hadn’t always been rich and successful.