dreams against spending more time with Gran, and it was no contest. “I’ll look after Gran.”
Elizabeth stared at her and, after a pause, nodded. “Thank you. I’ll see to arrangements for bringing her home. I’ll ring the hospital now to see how she is.” She rose and left the kitchen, bypassing the phone on the counter.
An ache spread across Charlotte’s chest then a tear plopped onto the tabletop, and Charlotte realized she was crying. With an impatient hand, she swiped the moisture away and stood decisively. Time to mop the floor. There was no point in sobbing over lost dreams.
Chapter Five
The unexpected business trip to Australia couldn’t have come at a worse time. Charlotte’s cell phone appeared out of order, and his calls went through to a recording stating the number was no longer in use. In the end he’d left a message every night at the McDougal house, and whichever stepsister he’d spoken to had promised to give Charlotte his messages. That was one week ago.
He checked his watch and silently urged the taxi driver to go faster, impatient to walk into the office and catch a glimpse of Charlotte at work, even if he couldn’t talk to her. They left Auckland airport at a crawl—school holidays and rush-hour traffic combining to make a nasty stop-start snarl. Brief glimpses of green pastures gave way to a cityscape, and if anything, the traffic grew worse. He pulled his cell phone out to ring the office and request that Charlotte stay behind before changing his mind. While he didn’t give a damn about gossip—the magazines wrote what they wanted anyhow—he knew rumors about them appearing in print would upset Charlotte. She was skittish enough without the added pressure.
He shook his head as he acknowledged the truth. Charlotte had wriggled past his reserve the first moment she’d grinned at him in her direct unprincesslike way across the dance floor of the ballroom. They were good together, and he didn’t intend to let her push him away without a fight.
Half an hour later, he stalked into the office.
“Good, you’re back,” his vice president said. “A few things have come with the Shafeur account.”
Ash nodded without looking at him, glancing at the large open space where his employees worked. At twenty to six, many of them were packing up to leave for the day. He couldn’t see Charlotte among them. “How is the new girl working out?”
“Didn’t Laura tell you? She rang on Monday morning and turned down the job.”
“No. What reason did she give for refusing the job?”
“Family. Her grandmother is dying.”
“Damn.” He’d expected as much and wished he’d been wrong.
John sent him a strange look, pulling Ash to his senses. “I’ve met her grandmother. She’s a character.”
“Laura and I took a look at the other applicants. In the end we hired the next two on our final list. With the amount of work we’re attracting, we can do with the extra talent coming through. Train them to our methods.”
Ash nodded, even as disappointment seared his gut. Maybe this way was better. He could ask Charlotte out without worrying about gossip. “John, now that the problems are sorted out in Sydney I don’t have much on. Is there a new job I could sink my teeth into? Something small, maybe from a new client, a job I can work on between my other responsibilities.”
“There’s a bakery that wants us to take on their account. I was going to turn them down, but if you’ve got time, I’ll give them the go ahead.”
“Email me the details. Is there anything else I need to look at tonight?”
John laughed. “Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow. Go home. You look knackered.”
“I am tired,” Ash confessed.
“Too many nights out on the town with beautiful ladies.”
The words struck like a jab in the guts with a rusty knife. The papers had reported his nights out and taken photographs of him dancing with different women. What they hadn’t mentioned was
Elizabeth stared at her and, after a pause, nodded. “Thank you. I’ll see to arrangements for bringing her home. I’ll ring the hospital now to see how she is.” She rose and left the kitchen, bypassing the phone on the counter.
An ache spread across Charlotte’s chest then a tear plopped onto the tabletop, and Charlotte realized she was crying. With an impatient hand, she swiped the moisture away and stood decisively. Time to mop the floor. There was no point in sobbing over lost dreams.
Chapter Five
The unexpected business trip to Australia couldn’t have come at a worse time. Charlotte’s cell phone appeared out of order, and his calls went through to a recording stating the number was no longer in use. In the end he’d left a message every night at the McDougal house, and whichever stepsister he’d spoken to had promised to give Charlotte his messages. That was one week ago.
He checked his watch and silently urged the taxi driver to go faster, impatient to walk into the office and catch a glimpse of Charlotte at work, even if he couldn’t talk to her. They left Auckland airport at a crawl—school holidays and rush-hour traffic combining to make a nasty stop-start snarl. Brief glimpses of green pastures gave way to a cityscape, and if anything, the traffic grew worse. He pulled his cell phone out to ring the office and request that Charlotte stay behind before changing his mind. While he didn’t give a damn about gossip—the magazines wrote what they wanted anyhow—he knew rumors about them appearing in print would upset Charlotte. She was skittish enough without the added pressure.
He shook his head as he acknowledged the truth. Charlotte had wriggled past his reserve the first moment she’d grinned at him in her direct unprincesslike way across the dance floor of the ballroom. They were good together, and he didn’t intend to let her push him away without a fight.
Half an hour later, he stalked into the office.
“Good, you’re back,” his vice president said. “A few things have come with the Shafeur account.”
Ash nodded without looking at him, glancing at the large open space where his employees worked. At twenty to six, many of them were packing up to leave for the day. He couldn’t see Charlotte among them. “How is the new girl working out?”
“Didn’t Laura tell you? She rang on Monday morning and turned down the job.”
“No. What reason did she give for refusing the job?”
“Family. Her grandmother is dying.”
“Damn.” He’d expected as much and wished he’d been wrong.
John sent him a strange look, pulling Ash to his senses. “I’ve met her grandmother. She’s a character.”
“Laura and I took a look at the other applicants. In the end we hired the next two on our final list. With the amount of work we’re attracting, we can do with the extra talent coming through. Train them to our methods.”
Ash nodded, even as disappointment seared his gut. Maybe this way was better. He could ask Charlotte out without worrying about gossip. “John, now that the problems are sorted out in Sydney I don’t have much on. Is there a new job I could sink my teeth into? Something small, maybe from a new client, a job I can work on between my other responsibilities.”
“There’s a bakery that wants us to take on their account. I was going to turn them down, but if you’ve got time, I’ll give them the go ahead.”
“Email me the details. Is there anything else I need to look at tonight?”
John laughed. “Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow. Go home. You look knackered.”
“I am tired,” Ash confessed.
“Too many nights out on the town with beautiful ladies.”
The words struck like a jab in the guts with a rusty knife. The papers had reported his nights out and taken photographs of him dancing with different women. What they hadn’t mentioned was
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