Glass Ceilings (14 page)

It was
a tale that was
clearly
close to his heart. Engrossed,
Verity rested her chin on her hands
and
listened intently, and
Royce, who’d heard the story before, found himself
 
admiring the charming li
ght of curiosity and enjoyment o
n her face and
in her
eyes.

The Maitre d’ threw himself into the story with gusto.
‘Finally, waves were lapping at th
e
building’s
foundations. They crept
higher and
higher until they
were just
below the
floor boards.
But w
hen
I
realised I was in danger of being
trapped
, the storm eased
all of a sudden
and the waves
retreated. M
y restaurant had su
rvived its first test.
’

He paused to take a breath.

‘
The next day, I was curious to see the watermark that was left by the tide on the building’s foundatio
ns. And t
here it was,
’ the Maitre d’ gestured,
‘
for all to see
on the timber supports. I
t made me proud to see proof of my building’s escape from devastation. That was when I knew what to call this room, which is the pride of our establishment.’

Verity only
barely
resisted
the temptation to applaud.
‘
I
can
certainly
understand why
,
’
she
remarked warm
ly
,
‘and t
hanks
for sharing the story with us.’
She turned to look at Royce w
ho gave a smiling nod
of agreement
.

Over dinner
,
the peaceful sound of water tumbling from the sculptured fountain in the corner helped fill any gaps in conversation. Not that there were
 
many,
Verity had to admit. Royce pro
ved to be an
interesting
and attentive
dinner partner, although she found his proximity at times unnerving, especially when he looked at her with those intense,
too-
perceptive
-for-comfort
,
 
eyes.

She also had to acknowled
ge his good taste in eating places
. T
he ambience
was
superb
at The
Conservatory
,
and
the service
,
impeccable
.

‘I think I’ll have the cream of mushroom soup for entrée,’ she said,
gazing at the menu and
licking her lips, ‘but I’
m in a quandary about what
to choose
for
main
... I wonder what the seafood
brioche
with
honeyed wild rice
is
like?’

‘The soup’
s a good choice,
’ Royce agreed,
‘
and in all the time I’ve been coming here, I haven’t heard any complaints about the brioche.’

It
occurred to
her
that
h
e had
probably dined there with a
number of
women
in the past
.
Not that it matters
on
e
iota
, she told herself.

Roy
ce was still studying the menu
,
but sai
d
with the certainty of a regular patron
,
‘I’m having the
asparagus cheese pâté
,
followed by
the
bee
f
fillet
. And if you’re contemplating having dessert, I’d recom
mend the
ba
varois
.’

Verity
 
ran her eyes over
the desserts on the menu. ‘Mmm, mint bavarois with warm chocolate sauce ... I’m up for that!’

They grinned at each other and a waiter immediately
materialis
ed to t
ake their orders. Verity chose
a
n award-winning West Australian chardonnay
to have with her meal
,
and Royce,
a mellow cabernet sauvignon. Both agreed WA wines were
hard to beat
,
even
when compared with more well-known
international
tipples
.

Their
first course
arrived promptly and they demolished
it
, and the following main,
with relish
. While waiting for dessert, Verity found herself gazing
through
the
window
at the pounding surf below.

Royce enquired, ‘Penny for your thoughts?’

‘Oh, just running through the presentation in my mind.’

‘We’ve spent enough time on it, Verity, it’s looking good. Why don’t you
switch off from work
now
?’

‘Yes, you’re right, it
is looking good. Thanks to your help
.’ But as she said that,
her inner voice sneered,
wh
at is this, grovel hour? Which one of you is the CEO here?
She hurriedly added, ‘Of
course I could’ve—would’
ve—got it done on my own. Just might have taken longer. But, anyway ... um ... thanks.’ Her praise sound
ed
hollow and insincere, making her instantly wish she could take back the words.

But as though unaware of her discomfort, Royce carried on smoothly
with a
small
shrug
, ‘It’s just experience. You were on the right track. I only gave some pointers on the subtleties we servants need to employ with our masters.’

S
lick
operator
,
Verity thought
sceptically
,
I can see why people find you so charming
. B
ut I wonder how many of them have gl
impsed your dark side
?

But
Royce’s
smile
and the restaurant’s soft ligh
ting made his face look gentler
somehow, and his voice had ass
umed a friendly, warm quality. Despite her wariness, Verity
found herself wondering if Royce James was
indeed
human, after all.

‘W
ell, I’d better call it a night
soon
,’ he sighed
, as the waiter discreetly placed their bill on the table
,
and departed
with the last of their empty dishes. ‘M
y plane leaves early in the morning and I need to pack.’

A sudden
jolt
of disappointment at the reminder of his impending departure
caught
Verity
off guard
.

O
nly because I’ll have to finalise the EC arrangements on my own, which is no big deal
, s
he hastily consoled herself
.

Later, when
Royce left her at her
villa
gate
with a softly spoken, ‘Goodnight, Verity,
see you when I’m back from the S
tates,’
she
surprised
herself
by
admitting
what an enjoyable evening it had been
.

At her desk t
he following morning, Verity star
ed thoughtfully out
the
window, her mind on the day and evening before. She and Royce
had accomp
lished a lot in the
ir meeting. Thanks to
hi
s
shrew
d
nous
,
she felt well-prepared, and
h
er presentation was now polished and professional.
And
because of
the time they’d spent
together, she felt more comfortable in her dealings with him.

T
aking her home after dinner, h
e
’d insisted on walking her right to her villa
.
T
h
e complex had been
quiet;
the only sounds a
mu
r
mur of waves o
n the beach, and the occasional
mournful cry of a
night bird
in the d
istance, and she’d
felt the need to fill the companionable silence that had fallen between them.

‘When are you back
, Royce
?’

‘
Not
until
a few days
before the EC meeting.
W
il
l you be OK with the remaining
preparations?’

‘Oh yes, the r
est will be a breeze now
that damn
presentation
’s
under contro
l.’

When t
hey
’
d reached her gate and st
ood illuminated under a lantern,
Verity
had
glanced
up at him as h
e gave her a final, parting nod
, and
noticed
a strange
look
cross his face. In that
instant
,
he
’d
appear
ed
ill at ease
, making her radar twitch once more.

Back in her office,
the twitch became
a
tingle of caution
running
through her veins.

I wonder ... should I
have been
more c
urious about
what Royce James is up to
?

Chapter Eight

Outside, a bird suddenly flew close by
the
office window, startling
Verity
out of her reverie
.
She cursed under her breath and
turned
away
, glancing
at the
executive
diary in her hand
. S
he’d been trying to
do some forward planning
, until
her mind wa
ndered
..
.
and wasted
precious head space
on trivialities
,
she told herself crossly
.

Without intending to
,
she
dropped the
diary onto her
desk with a thump
. I
nvitation
s, notes to herself, and other incidentals
spilled out of it onto
the floor
.

‘Damn!’

Kerry’s face appeared around the doo
rway.
‘Everything OK?’

Verity looked over
at her with a faint smile
.
‘Yes, just dropped my diary. Oh,
Kerry,
do you have the flight itine
rary for the EC
meeting
yet?’

‘Yes, I’ll get it for you.
’

‘And print me
a meeting agenda too, will you
?’

Kerry
returned a short time later
with the
documents
. She handed them
to Verity
,
who thanked her
without looking up
.

A
quick
frown
flitted across
Kerry’s features
.
She hurriedly
suppressed it, saying with careful innocence
, ‘
By the way,
was that you I saw at The
Conservatory
last night?’
Her
expression remained cool,
but her eyes narrowed slightly
.