Dream Lover (10 page)

‘Leave me alone I won’t sleep with you!’ she shouted as she slammed the door in his startled face.

‘It was a joke, open the door Quinn,’ he demanded.

‘Leave me alone... go to your meeting you’ll be late,’ she called through the door. A few minutes later she heard his door slam and the sound of his feet as he dashed toward the staircase.

Quinn couldn’t believe he could be so insensitive to make a joke about something that had caused her great distress in the past. Sighing unhappily she dropped onto the sofa, she should never have let him kiss her; should never have accepted his invitation to go to dinner with him, not when she knew there would only be the two of them. But what had she been thinking of to let him kiss her in the first place?

Quinn had been with her previous employer for nearly a year when she was offered the position of personal assistant to one of the junior executives. She had only been working for him a few weeks when he asked her out, Quinn refused explaining that she didn’t think it was a good idea much to her relief Devlin appeared to accept her refusal graciously. Unaware of his reputation for bedding his secretaries she had happily gone along on all of his business trips. Even though nothing had happened between them stories started to spread through the office while Quinn carried on blissfully unaware of the rumours of her alleged affair with Devlin.

But Devlin Maher was a spiteful man and when Quinn had rejected his advances he promised he would find someway to pay her back. When she and two other secretaries had been away on a two-day computer-training course, Quinn had been found in the hotel reception at two in the morning. When she explained that she often sleep walked the hotel staff where sympathetic. Unfortunately one of the secretaries told Devlin who then bent the truth and started stories about her, adding fuel to his own lies.

Every year the company held a staff Christmas party at one of the large hotels in Manchester City centre. Over the night a number of the male staff walked passed her and told her their room number, some even went as far as to leave their key with her. At first she took it as a joke, a not very nice joke but still a joke. It was only when she was in the restroom and she over heard a group of women from the office talking that she realised what the significance of the room numbers meant. Distraught she went to her room with every intention of packing her case and going home immediately; to her dismay when she reached her room there were two of the men from the office waiting for her.

‘What do you want?’ she asked angrily. When they very crudely told her she turned away and made her way to the hotel reception and requested the hotel manager accompanied her to her room while she packed.

The next day she went to the one person she felt she could trust within the company, the personnel officer, and told them what had happened. To her relief he believed her. Quinn resigned from her post swearing she would never work for another man again. She had managed to achieve this until the day she started to work for Maxwell Cordell.

Quinn walked toward the full length mirror and swept her eyes over her reflection. She was tall, a little over five feet eight, slender but shapely, but she always made sure she wore clothes that hid her figure, which was why she had been dismayed when Max had commented on her curvy figure. For work she nearly always wore her long hair tied back or in a French pleat, her face was to her pretty ordinary, although she did admit her eyes were an unusual shade a mix of brown and gold. Her nose was small her lips a bit on the full side, all in all as far as she could see nothing outstanding. But what she didn’t see was what every man who looked at her did, a very beautiful sultry woman.

Sighing Quinn took her suitcase from the wardrobe and started to pack, she couldn’t stay. She would not allow herself to be used and manipulated again in the way Devlin Maher had done. Her friends had told her to take him to a tribunal, but the thought of her personal life being dragged through the court filled her with horror.

‘You have your rights,’ her friend Sophie had told her, ‘you’re still a virgin how dare he tell people you slept with him!’

‘Please just drop the subject,’ she pleaded, ‘people will soon forget.’

But Devlin made sure they didn’t forget and whenever she applied for references her supposed indiscretion was mentioned. Which was? That he had woken in the night to find her in his bed.

When Quinn applied for the position with Cordell and Smyth she told them the full story about Devlin and to her relief the personnel officer had a friend who worked for Traynor Industries and was aware of his reputation, and even though she was not given a glowing reference they still offered her the position she applied for.

Of course she could not and would not stay any longer to work for Maxwell, and so dragging her clothes from the wardrobe she started to pack. The one big problem she had was how on earth was she going to board that plane to make the journey home?

It was almost an hour later when there was a light knock on her door, thinking it was the maid to make up her bed she opened the door to a very stern faced Max.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ he demanded when he saw her case.

‘Packing...’

‘Like hell you are I need you here,’ he told her as he tipped the contents back onto the bed.

‘What for to yell at or seduce?’ she snapped snatching up her lace bra and pants when she realised he was staring at them.

‘No to work, if I wanted to seduce someone I would only have to go back down into the reception, the check in clerk looks very willing,’ he told her with a smug smile. ‘As you have made it quite clear you only want a professional relationship, that is just what you’ll get,’ he drawled smoothly while reluctantly dragging his eyes away from her underwear, ‘I have no need to find anyone else to yell at… I have you,’ he glared at her for a moment. ‘I know I said you could spend tomorrow as you wished, well there’s been a change of plan I need you to work after all.’

He dropped a folder on the dresser and gave her a list of instructions, and then without another word he turned toward the door. She realised at that moment she didn’t want their relationship to be ‘
just professional’
as he reached the door she called to him deciding that she would explain why she had been so upset.

‘Max… I’m sorry if I over reacted...’ she began only to have him interrupt her.

‘You were right we should keep things professional,’ he told her coldly, ‘and one other thing,’ he half turned but kept his hand on the door handle, ‘I don’t like being called Max.’

Quinn couldn’t stop herself from saying, ‘You told me to call you Max,’ she said not quite able to keep the catch out of her voice.

‘I’ve changed my mind,’ he hesitated for a split second, ‘you can call me Mr Cordell,’ without another word he stepped through the door and closed it quietly.

As the door closed Quinn slumped down on the edge of the bed and for a few moments could do no more than sit trance like state as her heart felt ready to break as a terrible realisation started to form in her mind.

Quinn worked like a wild woman for the most part of the day she had to, too keep from falling apart, to stop her heart from breaking. Maxwell Cordell was an unforgiving uncaring tyrant but heaven help her; she was falling in love with him. The realisation hit her like a thunderbolt from heaven making her feel sick and dizzy while wondering how on earth that had happened.

It was turned seven when he knocked on her door to retrieve one of the files she had been working on. He looked cool and aloof, just as he had been when she had first met him, the tone of his voice distant. But then she looked equally cool and aloof, speaking to him as though their brief romantic interlude had never happened.

Taking the file from her barely steady hands he flicked quickly through the contents. While he read through the work she had prepared for him, she couldn’t stop herself from looking him over. He was obviously going somewhere special, she thought, he was wearing his dinner jacket, probably a client dinner she thought, although she didn’t recall seeing anything in his diary for one. She was busy studying his highly polished black shoes when he spoke.

‘Fine,’ he said flicking through the contents quickly before giving her two other identical files, ‘do the same on these, I’ll send a courier to collect them around lunch time tomorrow. I gather you can have them ready for then?’ he did not wait for her reply but looked at his watch. ‘I have to go,’ he added abruptly before leaving the room once again.

As the door closed on his immaculately dressed back Quinn gave way to the tears she had been fighting all day. While the tears washed down her face she wished with all her heart she had never met Maxwell Cordell.

It was after ten when she decided to go the small shop she had seen in the hotel foyer, all her crying had achieved nothing, except to give her a headache, hopefully she would be able to get some painkillers there.

Quinn heard Max's laughter before she saw him walking toward her with a tall elegant blonde on his arm. He hadn’t seen Quinn up until that moment; he was too busy looking into the eyes of the beautiful woman by his side, his dark head lowered as he whispered into her ear.

Pride would not let Quinn duck her head, keeping her eyes forward she walked straight past the couple with her head held high. From the corner of her eye she saw his head move and she knew without a doubt Maxwell had seen her, at first she was unsure if he spoke but then her suspicions were confirmed when she heard his companion asking, ‘Who was that?’

Quinn heard his deep voice as he replied but was too far away to actually hear his words as he replied.

Having delayed in the small shop as long as she could, and making purchases she didn’t really need or want she made her way back toward the lifts. Confident if Maxwell had taken his lady friend to his room she would not meet them she made her way back to her own room. To her dismay she did see the couple again, sat cosily side by side in the lounge bar. The blonde was looking seductively up into his eyes her long fingers stroking the lapel of his jacket. Quinn’s heart hammered against her chest so hard she felt sick. She gave a grateful sigh when the lift doors opened and slid inside quickly pressing the button for her floor, then closing her eyes tightly she tried to dislodge the vision of the couple together.

Opening her mini bar she took out a bottle of cold water, forcing the painkillers past the lump in her throat she undressed and then lay down on her bed. She tossed and turned, trying very hard not to think about Maxwell Cordell, she had been foolish to even contemplate getting involved with him. Stupidly she had broken all her own rules; never date anyone you work with, especially the boss. Why oh why had she gone for dinner with him, and why had she let him kiss her. Despondently thinking it hadn’t taken him long to find someone else to spend his evening with.

Later Quinn dreamt she was standing by her balcony window the cool evening breeze ruffled the fine lace curtains making them billow into a swirl of white froth. Maxwell was standing behind her, his hands warm and gentle against her bare shoulders.

‘Get back into bed,’ he said softly.

She turned and rested her head against his bare chest, ‘Will you stay with me?’ she asked lifting her face from the warmth of his skin.

‘No, get into bed…’ he said more firmly.

‘But I want you to stay, I love you,’ she slid her hand around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. She sighed as he scooped her up into his arms and carried her across the room, when he lay her down against the pillows she pulled his head toward her own and pressed her lips against his, sighing softly when he returned her kiss, and kissed her passionately. Then suddenly his lips left hers.

‘Go to sleep Quinn,’ he said softly untangling her arms from around his neck.

‘Max I love you….’ she whispered but he was gone.

Quinn woke with a start and looked around her room, when she saw the windows were tightly closed she dropped her head back on the pillows and sighed. Another stupid dream to haunt her nights, ‘I’ve got it real bad’ she sighed, ‘I can even smell his after shave!’

It was almost seven when Quinn slid out of her bed and into the bathroom; on her way she saw a neatly folded sheet of paper pushed under her door. No doubt a message from Max, and it was, telling her the documents he required would be collected around lunchtime and that he would be back at the hotel to collect her for their journey home. There had been another change of plan; they would be leaving that evening instead of the following day. He went on to tell her to pack for him and make sure she was ready for five o’clock prompt. No please or thank you just curt demands, back to normal once again.

Quinn hesitated before going into his room, the last thing she needed was to go inside and see the evidence that he had
‘entertained’
his lady friend there the night before. Maybe if she waited until later the maid would have been in and made the bed, but she realised he would have checked out of his own room and therefore the maid would not be around until much later that morning. Taking a deep breath she pushed the handle and opened the door, his bed was the usual mess after he had been in it so couldn’t really tell whether he had spent the night alone or not.

‘None of your damn business,’ she muttered to herself dragging his suitcase from the wardrobe.