The Billionaire's Bride of Convenience(50)
But he wasn’t going to do that. He was going to be kind. He was going to let Kathryn go.
Her eyes lit up again when he arrived back at the office around one-forty. She was looking particularly delicious today, dressed in a stunning white suit which he’d never seen on her before. Hugh suspected she’d taken extra trouble because of him. Which was another good reason for him to do what he was going to do.
‘That’s the shortest lunch with your mother that you’ve ever had,’ she said. ‘Wasn’t the food any good?’
‘So-so.’ He walked over and sat down in one of the large armchairs which dotted the reception area. ‘You haven’t heard from Elaine by any chance, have you?’
‘No. But I’ve only just got back from lunch myself. Why do you ask?’ she said, and began checking the computer for mail.
‘Apparently, Dad’s latest marriage is down the drain and he’s on his way home.’
Her eyes shot over to his. ‘You’re kidding me.’
‘I kid you not,’ he returned coldly. ‘Well?’
‘Yes, there’s an email here from Elaine. And yes you’re right. Your father will be back in Sydney tomorrow, and back here, in his office, on Monday.’
‘It would have been polite for him to tell me this himself,’ Hugh said through gritted teeth.
‘He might have tried. Is your mobile turned on?’
Hugh fished it out, then swore. He’d turned it off when he was at the hospital yesterday and hadn’t thought to turn it back on.
‘Can you ring him?’ Kathryn suggested.
‘Frankly, I’d rather not talk to him just now. I might say something I’ll regret.’ Though perhaps it was about time. He’d been biting his tongue where his father’s multiple marriages were concerned for way too long.
‘Should I ring Peter?’ Kathryn asked. ‘Tell him you’ll be back in your own office, come Monday.’
Peter had been filling in for him whilst he’d been filling in for his father. A past editor of several of Parkinson’s bestselling magazines, Peter was a very smart guy, extremely ambitious and totally dedicated to the company.
‘No,’ he said slowly. ‘No, don’t do that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’m not going to go back to my office.’
‘You’re not?’
‘No. Come Monday, I’m going to resign.’
‘Resign!’
‘Yes. I’ve decided that it’s time I went my own way.’
‘But but what will you do?’
‘I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to think about it. I don’t need my father’s money to survive, Kathryn. I have plenty of my own.’
‘But what about me? I mean I won’t have a job if you resign!’
‘I’ll make sure you’re well looked after,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry. You’ll have a fabulous reference, a terrific retrenchment package and, of course, by then you’ll have that very important piece of paper: a marriage certificate.’
But I won’t have you, Kathryn thought wildly as she looked over at him.
Oh, God, she was going to cry!
Jumping up, she practically ran to the powder room, where she stayed till she had herself firmly under control once more. Hugh was waiting for her at her desk when she emerged, his own eyes worried as they scanned her face.
‘I’m sorry, Kathryn,’ he said, and took her hands in his. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you. But if you think about, you’ll see it’s all for the best.’
‘I don’t know what to think any more,’ she said truthfully.
He smiled a small and rather rueful smile. ‘I can appreciate your confusion. It’s been one hell of a week. But we both knew that it wasn’t going to last. I don’t regret any of it. Do you?’
As she looked deep into his beautiful blue eyes, Kathryn knew without a doubt that she loved him. It wasn’t just the sex, it went deeper than that. What she felt for Hugh was way different from what she’d felt for Daryl.
But there was no point in saying so. No point in trying to cling on to him. She could see the writing on the wall. Come Monday, they would part company and, except for perhaps a brief meeting with his solicitor in a few months’ time when she filed for divorce, they would have no more to do with each other.
His words just now indicated that their affair was over.