In a couple of minutes the door opened and Robert came back in, followed by the new owner of Hydebound. Everyone stood up rather awkwardly to greet him—Cryssie having to grip the arm of her chair to steady herself, her heart jumping into her throat and the colour sweeping over her cheeks like an unstoppable incoming tide.
‘Let me introduce Mr Jeremy Hunter,’ Robert said quietly, ‘who, together with his parents, owns Latimer’s store in the town.’ He paused. ‘So you will be in very safe hands, I’m sure.’
By this time Cryssie’s mouth was so dry she thought she would choke! That she and Jeremy Hunter were to meet again like this, and in these circumstances, was something she would never have dreamed of in a million years!
He was formally dressed, as before, and in the revealing morning light he cut an imposing figure as he glanced around at each of them in turn, his dense black eyes seeming to penetrate the minds of everyone there.
Cryssie was the last to be introduced—which was just as well, because it gave her time to recover from the shocks of the last few moments. Her mind was doing somersaults! He caught her hand and held it for a few seconds in a strong grip, looking down at her, searing her mind with the intensity of his gaze. Cryssie could only guess what he was thinking, but it filled her with an indescribable sense of helplessness. The inscrutable expression on his face, his uncompromising mouth which remained unsmilingly set in a straight line, gave nothing away. But it made her feel like a small child on her first day at school!
After a moment, he said coldly, ‘I believe we have already met, haven’t we?’ It was a rhetorical question, coldly put. Then he turned away dismissively, and Cryssie wished she could just disappear. Especially as she was conscious of others’ curious glances.
Although his remark couldn’t be described as a put-down, it hadn’t exactly been filled with the warmth of recognition, either! Well, after all she’d said about Latimer’s, was that a surprise? She cringed at the memory. If there were to be any sackings, she’d be the first to go!
Jeremy Hunter only stayed for half an hour, apologising that his parents were away, so could not be there to speak to them. When he and the Lewis brothers had gone downstairs, everyone started talking at once.
‘I find it hard to believe,’ Rose, the secretary, said at last. ‘We’ve all known things have been difficult, but I never thought the Lewises would throw in the towel.’ She turned to Cryssie. ‘He said you knew each other. How come?’
Cryssie coloured up, and said hastily, ‘Oh, we don’t know each other at all! We sort of bumped into each other in his store.’ She paused. ‘I’m afraid I said some rude things about Latimer’s, which he’s not likely to forget or forgive. So I might as well hand in my notice now!’
At five-thirty that day, Cryssie was one of the last to leave the building, and she made her way across the dimly lit deserted car park where she always left her vehicle. She couldn’t wait to get home, to hug Milo and give him his tea, then bath him and put him to bed. All the things that made her feel happy and contented. She knew that her news wouldn’t have much impact on her sister, who didn’t seem to think about anyone or anything but her own problems.
She was just about to get into her car when a footstep in the darkness nearly made her jump out of her skin.
‘Sorry,’ Jed Hunter said. ‘I didn’t mean to alarm you.’
She swung around and looked up to face him, only just able to make out his features in the dim light. But his eyes were visible enough, and they bored into her inescapably.
‘Oh, I—’ she began, but he interrupted her.
‘I realise that you may have been…surprised…at this morning’s news,’ he said, ‘but I had specifically asked that no names were mentioned until I arrived.’ He paused. ‘It was obviously a shock, but sometimes there’s no easy way to deliver news of the sort you’ve all had—though I sincerely hope that this change in circumstances may prove to be not that bad in the long run.’ His words were spoken with a calculating directness. He was a businessman, and there was not much sentiment in business. Cryssie was well aware of that!
‘Well, that rather depends on you and your future plans for Hydebound,’ Cryssie said, swallowing hard and trying to display a coolness she was far from feeling—and wishing for some unaccountable reason that she wasn’t wearing the same fawn jacket she’d been wearing on Christmas Eve!
She’d never been much interested in fashion, nor did she have Polly’s dress sense. Whereas her new boss obviously took pains with his appearance. She was acutely conscious of the familiar scent of expensive leather from the loose, casual jacket he had on, carelessly opened to reveal the front of his gleaming shirt. By now her eyes had become more accustomed to her surroundings, and she could see that he had discarded his tie, exposing a strong, tanned neck.