As she drove the couple of miles home, Cryssie’s mind was in utter turmoil. Giving in her notice, and then being offered an unbelievable opportunity all in one brief hour was almost too much to take in. To say nothing of having felt herself engulfed in the heated, muscular embrace of her new boss!
Pausing at the lights, she glanced briefly at her troubled face in the mirror and heaved a long sigh. A sigh of unexpected regret. Because everything she’d tried to explain to Rose was actually a fact. She knew only too well that Jed’s strong, passionate mouth on hers, the contours of his body melding with her own, had been exactly what she’d said it was: the result of his irrepressible anger. Nothing more and nothing less. And, despite all her good intentions, she knew that she was, once again, falling for a man she wanted to despise!
CHAPTER SIX
AT THE end of the following day, the news was broken to the rest of the staff. Standing in Jed’s office, everyone listened with unbelieving ears as he spelt out his plans for Hydebound, his awesome presence stopping anyone from asking too many questions. As always, he was entirely in control. Cryssie kept her head down, her heart fluttering uncomfortably.
He left abruptly, and back in their own room, after several minutes of Rose giving her thoughts on the matter an airing, Cryssie said, ‘It’s unbelievable, Rose, and all that’s given me a splitting headache. I’m going home early—do you mind locking everything up?’
Later that evening, after she’d put Milo to bed, Cryssie changed into her navy tracksuit and loosened her hair. She flopped down on the chair opposite Polly and, glancing at her sister, thought for the millionth time what a beautiful girl she was, with her long auburn tresses shining as usual, because despite her emotional problems, Polly took good care of her appearance. And her apparent frailty seemed to give her a certain allure, her large grey eyes always seeming too big for her face.
At around nine o’clock, Polly stretched and sighed, and glanced at the clock. ‘I think I’ll go on up, Cryssie.’ She yawned, and Cryssie thought, Please don’t tell me you’ve had a tiring day!
‘I shan’t be long either, Poll—I’ll see if I can finish this crossword first. I can’t bear to let it beat me.’
At that moment there was a discreet tap on the front door, and the girls looked at each other in surprise.
‘Who on earth can that be?’ Polly said, not attempting to get up. ‘We don’t get visitors.’
Cryssie got to her feet at once. ‘There’s only one way to find out,’ she said. Leaving the safety chain in place, she opened the front door cautiously, peering through the restricted space, and gave an audible gasp as she looked up into the black, black eyes which seemed to dominate all areas of her life!
‘Oh, J—Mr. Hunter…’ she said, feeling her face burn with embarrassment and shocked surprise. ‘What…is there something wrong?’ Even her voice didn’t sound like hers!
‘No, no—nothing’s wrong,’ he said, in a tone which suggested that he thought it perfectly normal to visit a member of staff at this hour, and without warning! ‘Cryssie…can you spare me a few moments?’
Cryssie’s heart was hammering. What on earth was this all about now? Surely there was nothing more that could happen today?
‘Of course.’ She slid the chain off and opened the door. ‘Come in,’ she said, thinking wildly that their humble dwelling was not exactly the kind of place he would ever expect to set foot in, especially with the detritus of the day—discarded newspapers, toys still in evidence everywhere—littering the room.
As he entered, Polly got up from her lying-down position on the sofa and stared straight up into Jed’s face—and her own was a picture! Cryssie’s eyes flitted rapidly from one to the other, and she saw immediately the effect this handsome stranger was having on her susceptible sister. Oh, no, don’t come on to him, please, Poll! It won’t work! But what did she know? Because Jed’s gaze had taken in Polly in one perceptive moment—the slight figure in tight jeans and flattering loose cream top, her hair draped carelessly over one shoulder, the haunted eyes glistening with interest. She was a desirable woman by any standards, and Cryssie knew it only too well. But in their restricted lives they never usually came across any man who would ignite Polly’s inborn lust for male attention.
Clearing her throat, Cryssie said, ‘Mr Hunter, this is my sister Polly…Poll, this is my employer, Mr. Hunter, who’s just bought Hydebound. As I told you after Christmas.’