Best of Bosses 2008(98)

She would be brought back down to earth by Nick listing her duties once they arrived at their destination.

Rose, who had been anxiously day-dreaming her way into a fictitious and awkward scenario in which he was roaring with laughter as he spotted her following him with puppy eyes as he dived into an imaginary swimming pool, surfaced to find him frowning.

‘You are going to be able to accompany me, aren’t you, Rose? You did say when I took you on that you had a valid passport.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Rose answered brightly.

‘Because you seemed to be a million miles away just then.’ He leaned towards her, eyes narrowed, and Rose automatically flinched back. ‘Is there something you should tell me?’ he demanded unsmilingly and for a few, disturbing seconds Rose thought that he had read her mind and exposed her shameful little secret.

‘S-something I should tell you?’ she stammered weakly.

‘Fear of flying, maybe?’ Nick leaned back and looked at her thoughtfully. ‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I know you haven’t done much overseas travel…’

‘Too busy touring the UK in search of spiritual zen,’ Rose said, weak with relief.

‘Right. But there’s no need to be afraid of flying. Believe it or not, there’s more chance of you ending up under the wheels of a car than plummeting from the sky.’

‘Oh. Well, thank you very much for reassuring me that those great metal birds can stay airborne,’ she said sarcastically, recovering her equilibrium.

‘Then what’s the problem?’

‘I…don’t have a problem, Nick.’ She would have to take a swimsuit; she sure as hell wasn’t going to take a bikini. She would take a very sensible one-piece and sneak out under cover of night to have a swim. The thought of frolicking in a pool with him made her feel sick.

‘There you go again.’

‘There I go again what?’

‘Frowning and getting that distant look in your eyes.’ He reached forward and before she was aware of his intention he smoothed her brow with his thumb. It was such an unexpected gesture that Rose literally jumped and gave a little yelp of shock.

‘You’re on edge. Why? If you’re not scared of flying, then is it the unknown?’

‘Yes.’ She wanted to rub where he had touched and brush away the scorched sensation she was feeling. ‘I’m scared of the unknown.’

‘Thought so,’ Nick said with satisfaction, ‘although I can’t understand why. You had a pretty nomadic existence growing up. If anything, I would have thought you would have found the unknown quite appealing. Don’t we always long to revisit our childhood?’

Rose had done her best to discourage any personal conversation between them. She felt safer when their relationship was purely on a business footing. Yes, of course he asked about the house and the work being done on it and naturally she answered him because the house was, really and truly, the reason why she now found herself working for him. But beyond that, she was vague when he asked her what plans she had for the weekend, or how she spent her evenings or even what sort of people she met in the hotel, whether she liked them or not.

However, she was so relieved that he had misunderstood her apprehensive expression that she gratefully clung onto his fear-of-the-unknown nonsense for dear life.

‘Sometimes it doesn’t work that way,’ Rose said distantly. She stood up and began clearing away the empty containers, which looked a little unhealthy as the leftover contents began to congeal.

‘No?’ Nick pulled a chair towards him and propped his feet up on the black leather. After weeks of working with her, sitting within touching range of her when they brainstormed over some niggling problem, brushing her arm with his as he leaned to consult architectural drawings, growing strangely accustomed to seeing her now when he came in through the front door, he could honestly say that he still didn’t know much about her personal life. She had piqued his curiosity a long time ago but, instead of proximity doing what it should have done, and diminishing it, he was more curious about her than ever before.

Now she was throwing him a glimpse into her thoughts and, like a dog tossed a bone, he was annoyed to find himself picking it up and preparing to run with it.

‘You mean you’re scared of what you don’t know even though you spent your formative years dealing with it?’

Rose shrugged. She had her back to him, which suited her. It helped her keep her voice steady as she spoke. ‘You should be doing this, Nick. This is your house and these are your dishes.’

‘But you’re a woman and I’m a man. Don’t women love doing things like that? Keeps them busy and happy.’