Melting Ms Frost (18 page)

‘Everyone?’ Aidan raised his brows and directed a look across the restaurant to where Annabel was conversing with a group of fresh arrivals at the desk.

Tim followed his gaze and turned back with a roll of his eyes. ‘No way.’

‘Are those your words or hers?’

‘Mine, mate. I didn’t even ask her.’

‘Why not?’

‘
Why not?
’ Tim gave him a long look. ‘I’m starting to worry about you. What are you? Some sort of masochist?’

‘Hardly,’ Aidan laughed, though he had to admit he felt like one this week. ‘Why didn’t you ask her?’

‘No point.’ Tim gave a shake of his head. ‘She’d never come anyway.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Because she’s made it clear she’s not interested in socialising with us minions. We used to invite her to things all the time but gave up when she kept looking down her nose and refusing. Guess we’re too far below her.’

‘Ask her anyway,’ Aidan said, starting to prepare the drinks.

‘You going to tell me what’s going on here?’ Tim’s question drew his attention to the speculative expression on the waiter’s face.

Keeping his own expression neutral, he gave a casual shrug. ‘Christmas spirit. Haven’t you heard it’s the season of goodwill?’ He gave a nod towards where Annabel was now standing alone, head bent to the reservations book. ‘She’s free at the moment.’

‘If you’re so full of goodwill, ask her yourself. You’ve got the gift of the blarney.’

‘Doesn’t work on her.’ He glanced Annabel’s way again, careful to keep any hint of wistfulness firmly in check. ‘She’s immune to my Irish charm.’ He turned his gaze back to Tim and gave a dazzling grin. ‘But you’re not.’

The Aussie drew a deep breath and shook his head again. ‘Mate, you’re one sick fella,’ he grumbled and, giving a theatrical show of reluctance, headed off towards the front desk. Aidan watched the following exchange with interest. Although he was too far away to hear the conversation, the accompanying body language came across loud and clear. Annabel’s spine turned immediately stiff, she threw a quick look at the bar and then shook her head before sending Tim scurrying off to a recently vacated table which needed clearing.

‘That was a no, in case you couldn’t guess,’ he said as he arrived back at the bar several minutes later, depositing a selection of dirty glasses in front of Aidan. ‘Count yourself lucky.’ With that he picked up the tray holding his fresh order of drinks and huffed away.

Annabel herself proved so adept at avoiding him that it wasn’t until half way through the Sunday lunch service that he found a quiet moment to catch her at the reception desk.

She gave him a wary glance as he approached, and he watched her fair skin colour as it had done without fail every time she’d looked at him since that morning at The Hyde.

He found the reaction charming, so sweetly sexy it was a wonder it didn’t have him blushing himself. ‘Everyone missed you last night,’ he said.

‘Last night?’ she queried while keeping her attention on the weekly shift printout in front of her.

‘Drinks after work,’ he prompted.

The flash of recollection across her face was followed by an amused snort. ‘No they didn’t.’

‘No, they didn’t,’ he agreed with a grin before leaning in and dropping his voice. ‘But I did.’

Annabel stiffened and her gaze jumped up to his. ‘Aidan, don’t start—’ she warned with a weary sigh.

‘I’m not starting anything, apart from a conversation,’ he assured her. ‘Just interested to know why you didn’t come along.’

‘I was busy.’

‘No you weren’t. Tell me the real reason.’

She gave him a put upon look. ‘Because no one seriously wanted me to be there. It was obvious my invitation was issued out of a sense of duty. I wasn’t going to spoil the fun just because Tim felt obliged to ask me. I have nothing in common with anyone here. Nothing to talk about apart from work.’

Listening to her reasoning, Aidan realised that her dismissive reaction to Tim the other night had been an attempt to hide her discomfort at being asked. That she used her bluntness to contribute to her reputation as part of her effort to keep everyone at arm’s length.

‘Why not try? They’re a pretty friendly bunch.’

‘But I’m not their friend. I’m their boss. I have no interest in blurring the line between the two. I don’t need them to personally like me, I need professional respect. It’s easier to keep the roles clearly defined. Now if you don’t mind,’ she said, inclining her head towards the bar. ‘Customers need drinks.’

He looked over to where Jon easily had everything under control, then turned a knowing smile back on her, holding her discomforted gaze for a moment before backing off.

Annabel answered a call and watched out of the corner of her eye as Aidan walked back to the bar. She’d barely been able to look him in the eye since their encounter in the hotel room – God, had barely been able to look
herself
in the eye after the way she’d exposed herself.

Willing away the flush of shameful heat radiating through her, she concentrated on taking down the booking details, ignoring the touchscreen monitor on the reception desk in favour of writing it in the big, leather-bound reservations book. It might be old-fashioned, but she loved the appeal of the traditional pen and paper way, even though she’d have to go to the bother of transferring the information into the system anyway. It was a sentimental link to the long-distant past when her father would sit her on his lap and together they’d run through the bookings, picking out names and making up fantastical characters to match, magically transforming their clientele from accountants and managers and housewives to explorers and spies and princesses from exotic lands.

Noticing the front door open in her peripheral vision as she repeated the details into the handset, she rang off and raised a smile to greet the new lunch arrivals.

That greeting stalled when she came unexpectedly face to face with her mother – and Tony Maplin, dapper in his ubiquitous blazer topped by a camel overcoat, his greying hair brushed back from his handsome face. She ignored the sharp-eyed look and set smile he gave her and looked back to her mother.

‘Mum? What are you doing here?’ she demanded, her tone urgent but quiet, mindful of the room full of diners behind her.

‘This is a restaurant, isn’t it?’ Tony answered instead, his words slurring, telling Annabel he was drunk. Looking back to her mother, it was obvious that she’d been drinking heavily too. This wasn’t going to be good. ‘We’ve come for lunch.’

‘You won’t get any here,’ Annabel said firmly.

‘Now, you don’t want to go causing a scene, do you? Not in front of all your nice customers.’ He looked around the room before turning back to her, his smile a slash of malicious intent. ‘So be a good girl and get us a table.’

‘I’m afraid the owner has a policy against serving nasty drunks, Tony,’ Annabel said, showing him she wasn’t going to put up with his threats. After the way he’d treated her mother, she couldn’t resist adding on a dig. ‘Besides, you couldn’t afford it.’

Tony’s face turned bright red. ‘And whose fault is that?’

‘Nobody’s but your own. Now I’m going to have to ask you to leave.’

‘You bitch! You can’t tell me what to do.’

Before Annabel could answer her mother jumped in.

‘Tony,’ Ellen protested, giving him a shocked look. ‘There’s no need to be rude.’

‘There’s every fucking need.’ Tony turned on her mother, his voice rising. ‘I won’t be judged any more by this meddling cow.’

Her mother gasped. She turned disbelieving eyes from Tony to Annabel. ‘Bel, I’m sorry, I didn’t—’

‘It’s all right, Mum,’ Annabel said in a calm tone, trying to keep things from spiralling into an ugly drama in the middle of Cluny’s. ‘What is it that you want to prove here, Tony?’ She looked him in the eye to let him know she wasn’t afraid of his tantrum. Although his looks had become jaded through years of excessive living he was still a classically handsome man. Nearly six foot, his stocky build was only just starting to run more to fat than muscle. He was turned out as well as he’d always been, despite the fact that Annabel knew he currently didn’t have a penny to his name. The uniform of the consummate con-man. Annabel had never been fooled by it. She’d always seen the rot lurking beneath the suave exterior.

‘I’ve come to get what’s mine.’

Whatever he thought that could possibly be. The only things Annabel had of his were a stack of creditors’ demands. ‘Fine. How about we go outside and discuss that?’

‘Oh no, Miss High and Fuckin’ Mighty. We’ll discuss it here, right in front of your la-de-da friends so they can see what a fraud you are.’

Annabel hadn’t taken her focus off Tony, watching for any sign that things were going to escalate. She could sense the unnatural quiet that had started to fall over the restaurant as the diners began to notice that something was wrong.

‘No. Whatever we have to talk about doesn’t involve these people. Let’s take it outside.’

Tony’s face turned redder. ‘I’ve already said that you don’t get to tell me what to do, you stuck up little bitch. Think you’re so much better than everyone else, don’t you? What’d these fine folk think to hear that you stole from me.’ He ended, voice rising so it could carry to the diners.

What was he on about? The man was a thief, he had nothing of his own to steal. Annabel felt a presence move up close behind her. As soon as she felt the heat radiating against her spine, she knew it was Aidan. She didn’t want him interfering, but couldn’t spare a glance his way to tell him so. Tony was in a position to take a good look though; his scowl flicked over her shoulder.

‘Who’s the pretty boy? Can’t fight your own battles, eh? Typical woman. So much for all your feminist clap-trap, your
independence
. You’re just a pathetic little whore.’

Behind her she sensed Aidan stiffen and move in closer, but he remained silent, for which Annabel was eternally grateful. Jumping to her rescue would only give Tony’s words the ring of truth they didn’t deserve. Instead he did the best thing he possibly could, lending his quiet support. She drew strength from his presence.

‘Tony, that’s enough.’ Ellen had no such subtlety, jumping to her daughter’s defence. She pulled at Tony’s sleeve. ‘I would never have brought you here if I’d known—’

‘Get your hands off me, you stupid cow!’ Tony screeched, shoving his elbow into Ellen’s side as he tried to disengage. With a yelp, Ellen lost her balance, falling against the reception desk and sprawling over the floor.

‘Mum!’ Annabel lunged around the desk to help her mother, aware of Aidan moving a split second ahead of her. Except he was heading for a different target.

‘Aidan, no!’ Annabel gasped. Not wanting a brawl in the middle of restaurant. Already she could hear the scrapes of chairs against the floorboards as a number of customers pushed to their feet. But she needn’t have worried. Tony had already seen what was coming for him and was half way out of the door in a heartbeat.

She bent and scooped her mother up by the shoulders and looked back in time to see Aidan about to disappear in pursuit.

‘No, leave it!’

He stopped and swung around, glaring at her with wild eyes, his chest heaving. He was obviously spoiling for a fight and not happy about obeying her. She held his flinty gaze to make sure she was getting through the haze of anger she saw there.

‘He’s not worth it.’

His gaze flicked to the door again, his body still tensed.

‘Please,’ Annabel tried again. ‘Help me here.’ She was relieved when she saw his shoulders suddenly drop.

A few strides brought him back and he helped pull her mother to her feet.

‘You should call the police,’ he said quietly once they’d established that, apart from a swelling where Ellen had caught her jaw on the edge of the desk, there was no serious injury.

Annabel shook her head. ‘No. I don’t want to turn this into more of a circus than it’s already been. He’s long gone.’

Aidan looked as though he wanted to argue but instead gave her a nod and suggested she take her mother through to the office while he dealt with calming the ruffled atmosphere and getting the diners resettled to their interrupted meals.

‘What the hell was that about, Mum?’ Annabel demanded as soon as they were in the privacy of the office. ‘What the hell were you doing with Tony?’

‘I’m so sorry, Bel. I know you didn’t want me seeing him. We met for a drink, that’s all.’

Annabel wanted to shake her mother, but more from a sense of disappointment and frustration than anger. ‘And what possessed you to bring him here?’

‘We’d been having such a lovely chat about you. I’d been telling him how much I appreciated all your help, all your efforts to make me welcome and comfortable, how you were even helping me get to grips with the financial issues. He said he was so pleased to know someone cared, after all the bad luck that had befallen us – said he’d like the opportunity to thank you in person. He seemed so genuine. I never knew he’d turn like that. He must have had too much to drink.’

‘You think, Mum?’ Annabel couldn’t hold back the sarcasm. ‘Drink is only partly to blame, only shows what sort of man Tony Maplin really is. I can’t believe you’d go behind my back like this.’ She didn’t think she’d like the answer to her next question, but she needed to ask it anyway. ‘How many times have you seen him—’

A knock on the door interrupted her.

‘What is it?’ she called out impatiently.

The door opened a little way and Jon peered through the gap. ‘Ah, sorry Ms Frost, Aidan sent me back to give you this ice for your mother’s jaw.’ He extended his arm through the opening, a linen towel filled with crushed ice clutched in his hand. ‘He’s keeping an eye on the door, in case there’s any more trouble.’

Annabel went to him and took the folded towel. ‘Thank you. But tell him he doesn’t need to do that.’

‘Aidan?’ her mother’s voice queried from behind as Annabel watched the door close behind Jon. ‘Was that the man who was standing behind you out there?’

Annabel nodded as she crossed the room again and handed the icepack to her mother.

‘Oh, my. You should have seen his face. He was so angry. I thought he was going to kill Tony. Is he the one?’