The Billionaire Boss's Bride(55)

‘That’s about it.’

A deathly silence lengthened between them. Tessa could feel the vein in her neck pulsing and her heart hammering inside her like a steam engine.

‘Fine.’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘I said fine. You can go now. You’re released from your employment with immediate effect. Any money the company owes you will be forwarded to your address and, naturally, I will provide a good reference for you when you find yourself another job.’

Tessa stared at him. She had got what she wanted. She was being released from the agony of working alongside him while he cavorted with her sister. In the long run, it had been the only option. Lucy might come and go in the blink of an eye, but there would be others, a long line of them. Fun-loving blondes, the sort he enjoyed having around brightening his office, the sort he enjoyed going out with. If she had stayed put, she would have had to endure each and every one and how thick could one person’s skin be?

Logic and good, solid reason were no match for the awful loneliness spreading through her, though.

She made her legs move, made herself stand up and even propelled herself in the direction of him, stretching out her hand in the final, utterly polite, gesture of farewell.

Curtis looked at the outstretched hand with contempt.

‘I don’t think so,’ he said icily.

Her hand dropped to her side and she felt tears well up and prick the backs of her eyes. That expression in his eyes was the very worst thing. It sliced right through her like a blade.

‘I—’ she began.

‘Don’t say a word,’ he snarled. ‘I think you’ve already said quite enough.’ With that he spun round on his heel and stared out of the window, affording her the sight of his ramrod-straight back.

Let her go, Curtis thought savagely. He was aware of her hovering behind him, but there was no way he was going to rescue her from her self-inflicted discomfort. He continued to stare broodingly out of the window, not that there was much worth looking at. With spectacular predictability, it had failed to snow yet again and the skies were typically leaden. Everything looked monochrome and depressed.

He was aware of her departure with the sound of the door clicking shut, and only then did he slowly turn around and return to his chair, making no attempt to immerse himself in his work. He had no idea how long he sat there, staring at the wretched screen saver, while thoughts jostled in his head. He only knew that the next time he glanced out of the window, it had begun to snow. He guessed that all over London kids would be staring out of their windows in wonder, praying that the flurries would turn into something more substantial, something they could build a snowman out of. He had promised Anna that he would be home early, in time to take her and his mother out for an early supper somewhere. It had been his intention to invite Tessa along as well.

Clearly now out of the question.

He swivelled so that his chair was squarely facing the window and told himself that he had had a very lucky escape.

He had deviated from his usual course, had been blinded by a combination of seriousness, intelligence and humour, not realising that seriousness, intelligence and humour added up to a woman who would not be content to simply have a spot of fun.

Curtis frowned darkly at the window. He worked damned hard all year long. Relationships were about releasing him from the tensions of his job. Relationships were all about putting guilt-free fun into his life. They weren’t about making him feel like this, feel like throwing things at the window and walking for hours in the snow because he needed to clear his head.

He swore softly and ineffectively under his breath, cursing the fact that there was no one in the office with whom he could indulge in some casual banter, just until his head got sorted. Flexitime had distinct drawbacks occasionally.

He slung his jumper on over the long-sleeved tee shirt, stuck on his coat and headed down, only remembering that his computer was still running when he was almost out of the office.

He wasn’t too sure where he was heading. Only when he was outside, with the flakes gathering momentum around him and all trace of sun stifled under the thick grey skies, did he realise that he needed to see her.



She certainly didn’t need to see him. In fact, Tessa thought as she turned the key to her front door, he was the last person in the world she ever wanted to clap eyes on again.

A tiny voice in her head pointed out that her wish had certainly been granted. He had made no move to stop her from leaving the company. A careless shrug had been all she had been worth at the end of the day. He hadn’t even mentioned what they had had together. It had been so meaningless to him that he couldn’t even be bothered to bring the subject up.