Defiant Mistress, Ruthless Millionaire(20)

Palmers would be high on the success of this latest contract, they'd be  eager to do the same again-to pip him at the post-and this time he would  let them. An idea began to formulate in his mind. He'd have to be  careful, but he knew he could do it, and prove Callie's innocence or  guilt at the same time.

And when he carried this one off, he'd have destroyed his competition for good.





Ten


It was two days since she'd made her discovery and she still had no idea  of what she was going to do. In the office, Josh had been the same as  ever-focussed, professional-yet every now and then she'd caught him  watching her as if something else weighed on his mind. They hadn't been  intimate since the weekend, and she found herself missing that special  closeness they'd shared.

She started at her desk, her senses on instant alert as Josh came through from his office.

"Callie, I'd like you to type up these notes now-top priority and top  level confidentiality. Make certain you password the file with this  code."

She noted the code he'd written on the top of the sheets of his hand-scrawled notes.

"Do you want these back when I've completed the computer file or should I destroy them?"

"Destroy them. The file is all we'll need."

He turned to go back into his office.

"Josh? Is everything okay?" she asked, rising from her seat and walking over to him.

To her relief, he smiled and bent down slightly to kiss her cheek.

"Everything's fine, just busy-making up for losing the Flinders contract to Palmers."

Callie felt guilt run cold through her veins. The Flinders contract had  been the one she'd given the information on to Irene. It was what she'd  had to do at the time, but now she wished she'd never agreed to be the  go-between in this crazy game. She wasn't cut out for the subterfuge or  the emotional cost it demanded.

"With any luck, the material you're working on today will cover that quite nicely," Josh smiled. "Are you busy tonight?"

Callie dragged her thoughts together. "No, I don't have any plans."

"Let's have dinner together."

"I tell you what," she started, thinking quickly. She didn't want the  anonymity of some restaurant tonight. She needed Josh's attention on her  and only her if she was to assure herself that nothing was wrong  between them. "Why don't I cook for you?"                       
       
           



       

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather go out?"

"I'm certain," she said, nodding for good measure. "What time will you be finished tonight?"

"I've got that meeting away from the office at four-thirty," he  considered, and she could see him mentally juggling how long it would be  expected to take. "I can be at your place by seven, but why don't you  go around to my place instead. It's closer to where I'll be and I can  get there to be with you sooner."

"Perfect. I'll bring everything over for dinner."

"Bring a change of clothes for tomorrow while you're at it," he said. He  handed her an electronic key. "Here, you'll need this. It'll open the  gate and garage door. Just leave the gate open for me."

"And the alarm?"

He repeated a numerical code, which she committed to memory.

Excitement unfurled within her. Clearly, he couldn't suspect her of  wrongdoing. She still stood a chance of making things work, of maybe  even turning his need for revenge into something else. Realistically,  she knew she'd be fighting against a current that had roared through his  life for far too long, but she had to hope that somehow she could make a  difference.

The sheaf of notes Josh had given Callie were extensive. How he'd  managed to corner another proposal so quickly after losing the Flinders  job explained why he was so successful. As Callie automatically  transcribed his crabbed handwriting, she started to mentally plan for  the evening ahead. She wanted everything to be perfect.

It was exactly a month until Christmas. Would it be too early to give  him a gift? Perhaps herself, gift-wrapped in something special? At  lunchtime she found the perfect thing. A rich burgundy satin nightgown  and matching organza peignoir. She couldn't wait to see Josh's face when  she wore it.

It was nearly five o'clock before she finished typing up the notes. She  was getting her handbag from her drawer, in readiness to leave the  office, when the strident shriek of the building alarm cut through her  thoughts like a hot knife through butter. She knew the routine-drill or  genuine alarm, she had to leave her office immediately.

As far as confidentiality was concerned, everything on her computer was  set to auto backup already, and her computer itself would lock down  without activity within five minutes. But that left the notes Josh had  given her. She hadn't shredded them yet and had no time to do that now.

Callie folded the sheets up and shoved them in her bag. She'd have to  shred them when she came back once the building had the all-clear, but  she couldn't leave them lying around. As she joined the throng of staff  members in the stairwell, and steeled herself for the long climb to the  ground floor, she hoped this was only a drill and that they'd be back  inside soon.

Her hopes were dashed as she waited at the staff assembly point. A small  fire had started elsewhere in the building and the fire department had  said it would be some time before they'd be letting everyone back in.  The news was met with groans of dismay as most people would have to wait  for the all-clear to be able to go inside and recover their means to  return home.

Callie thanked her lucky stars she had her bag with her. While she  couldn't get into the underground car park to retrieve her car until the  building was reopened, she could certainly taxi home and then taxi to  Josh's place. Once cleared by the building warden that she could go, she  did exactly that.

The cab driver was all too happy to stop outside a nearby supermarket so  she could gather the ingredients she wanted for the dinner she'd  planned tonight, and then, for a nominal extra fee, to wait while she  rushed inside her town house and gathered her things for the night  ahead.

By the time she reached Josh's house, she was racing. She dropped the  ingredients for her dinner preparations in the kitchen. She put on a  large pot of water to boil, and set to work slicing onions and garlic  together with mushrooms and bacon for the fettuccine she'd decided on.  At least the meal was quick and easy to prepare.

She hummed to herself as the aromas from the fry pan blended together  and she added the ribbons of fresh pasta to the boiling water before  stirring in cream and parmesan to the ingredients in the pan. The fresh  pasta was ready in minutes and, once drained and lightly tossed with the  sauce, she slid the whole mixture into a large shallow bowl, covered it  with foil and set it in the oven to keep warm.

A quick cleanup in the kitchen and she was ready to race upstairs to the  master bedroom where she stripped off her work clothes and underwear  and slid into the nightgown and peignoir. She took a minute to freshen  her fragrance, the spritz between her breasts sending a shimmer of  something more to spiral through her.                       
       
           



       

The swish of her nightgown between her thighs as she made her way back  downstairs started up a thrill of longing that beat from her core. She  couldn't wait for Josh to arrive home. A smile danced across her lips.  There was something deliciously decadent about not wearing any  undergarments. It ranked right up there with skinny-dipping in the rain.

Callie distracted herself by setting the dining room table and searched  out a couple of candles to dress it up a little. She remembered seeing  some lovely squat scented candles in the living room the last time she  was here.

In the living room her eyes were inexorably drawn to the bookcase and,  more particularly, to the small chest that sat there. In it lay the seed  of Josh's bitterness. The only physical evidence he had to say who his  father really was.

Callie reached out and let her fingers rest on the lid. What would Josh  be like now, she wondered, if those letters had never existed? Would he  have been as driven to triumph in his chosen market? Had his very need  for revenge been the catalyst that saw him reach the heights he knew  today or would he have gotten there anyway? Had his father, by his  neglect, inversely created Josh's success?

In the distance she heard a door slam and she jumped, knocking the box.  Surprisingly, the lid jumped, too. Josh hadn't relocked it. She lifted  the lid cautiously, as if doing so would unleash the miseries of  Pandora's box, then let the lid drop closed again. Obviously, he'd  forgotten.

Footsteps echoed on the parquet floor of the entrance hall as Josh came  through from the garage. She snatched her hand away and wheeled from the  bookcase, all thoughts of the box and its contents banished from her  mind as he entered the room.