An image immediately filled her mind, that of herself and Hugh together, not as they were at this moment, side by side in a car. But naked, in a bed.
Kathryn reefed her eyes away from his, terrified that he might be able to read her thoughts. The fact that she would be secretly wanting him to make love to her was shocking enough. But it would be much worse if he ever guessed.
‘Only men like you are totally free to do as they please,’ she snapped, ‘with whomever they please.’
His laughter caused her to whip her eyes back round to glower at him.
‘It’s true,’ she declared. ‘When’s the last time you had a lady of your choice knock you back?’
His smile was lopsided and rather wry. ‘Not that long ago, actually.’
‘I don’t believe you.’
‘It’s true, nevertheless.’
Kathryn frowned, only then realising that the passing parade of females in Hugh’s life had slowed down lately. Maybe he’d finally fancied a female with some common sense, someone who wanted more than just a temporary ride on the gravy train of Hugh’s five-star life.
‘I haven’t give up hope yet, however,’ he added.
I’ll bet you haven’t, she thought tartly, at the same time struggling to ignore the jolt of jealousy created by this confident announcement. The bitter truth was that not too many women could hold out indefinitely against Hugh’s charm. Kathryn suspected this poor creature was already condemned to failure. Sooner or later, the girl would find herself in Hugh’s bed, a willing victim to his superbly practised brand of romance.
Such thinking made Kathryn realise she should be grateful that Hugh didn’t fancy her. Because during the last two days she’d discovered she was no different from the rest of his conquests. She was just as silly, just as weak.
‘The traffic’s worse than I thought it would be at this time of day,’ Hugh remarked.
‘It’s Friday,’ she replied. ‘Lots of people take a flexi-day on Friday, then head north for a long weekend of sun and surf. But, really, this traffic’s not too bad. It’ll be much worse this afternoon.’
‘You sound like you’ve made this trip a lot.’
‘I was brought up on the Central Coast. When I first starting working, I used to commute to Sydney by car every day. When it got to be a four-hour round trip I moved to the Big Smoke.’
‘Four hours a day! God, what a waste of time. And of a life.’
‘I agree, but some people have no alternative. Especially nowadays, with rental properties in Sydney being in short supply.’
‘Yes, I was reading about that the other day. I’ve asked Russ to look around for some investment apartments for me.’
‘Who’s Russ?’ Kathryn asked. She knew the names of several of Hugh’s ex-girlfriends, but wasn’t familiar with his male friends. Their photos didn’t get into the glossies the way the women’s did.
‘Russell McClain of McClain Real Estate. He’s one of my best friends. We went to school together.’
‘Oh ’ Another silver tail.
‘Now, don’t go jumping to incorrect conclusions, madam,’ Hugh chided. ‘Russ has worked extremely hard to get where he’s got. He was a scholarship boy at school.’
‘Lucky him.’
Kathryn felt herself on the end of a sharp glance. ‘That was totally uncalled-for.’
She sighed. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry.’
‘For what? For assuming that all my friends are like me? Lazy, spoiled and selfish?’
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘But you thought it.’
Kathryn remained stiffly silent.
‘I can’t blame you if you think that of me,’ he went on. ‘But I won’t have my friend tarred with the same brush. Russ is a great guy. Not only is he a very hard worker, but he’s also honest, decent and loyal. You’d like him.’
Kathryn couldn’t help but be impressed with Hugh’s defence of his friend. He’d sounded pretty loyal himself just then.
‘Is he one of the men you play golf with every Thursday?’ she asked.
Kathryn had made a point of not asking Hugh much about his social life, experience having taught her to always keep her boss at a safe distance. Given the present circumstances, however, that seemed a bit silly.
‘Yep,’ he replied. ‘Russ and Jimmy boy.’