“She knows that we were very close. The best of friends.”
Ula’s dark eyes saw far too much. Her expression tightened. “So you’re not going to tell her.”
“Tell her what? You’re making too much of this.”
“Am I?” Ula rose to her feet. “What will you do when she falls in love with you? You talk of wanting to make it better for her, but I don’t think she’s going to thank you for breaking her heart. Because thatiswhat is going to happen. We both know that. Even if you wanted to, you’re not capable of loving her back.”
With that, she turned on her heel and left.
Stone stared after her, then focused his attention on the view behind him. But for once the expanse of sky and ocean held little comfort. Ula had been wrong about many things, he told himself. He knew this wasn’t a fairy story. There was no castle, although there was a beast in residence. Cathy was free to come and go as she liked. She’d made an informed choice about taking a job with him. He’d offered her the opportunity of a lifetime. Without him, she would have gone back to the answering service and her small, tedious life. He offered her the world.
As for her falling in love with him…it wasn’t possible. He wasn’t the kind of man to inspire strong feeling. He was too withdrawn, too physically unappealing.
What about the kiss?
The voice whispered from inside his head. He pushed it away, reminding himself that it had been a reaction of gratitude combined with the reality of two adults thrown together in close quarters. Nothing more.
That had to be true because Ula had been right about one important point. He would never risk loving anyone again. So he would never be able to return Cathy’s affections.
Not that it was going to be an issue. They would work together, they would stay friends. His housekeeper would see that she’d been wrong.
He turned back to his computer and began to work, all the while ignoring the burning in his gut that felt amazingly like guilt.
Chapter Ten
Cathy paused outside the door to Stone’s office. Despite all the time they’d spent together, she was nervous. Probably because today was different. She was no longer just a friend, or someone he was helping out while she recovered from the accident. Today she was his employee.
“I can do this,” she whispered. She’d repeated the phrase at least a hundred times over the past couple of days. So far she wasn’t convinced, but she figured it had to sink in sometime and start working. Shewouldbe successful because the alternative was unthinkable. This mattered too much—she wasn’t going to let herself fail.
She smoothed down the front of her tailored slacks. She’d bought a couple of pairs, along with some simple blouses and a pair of nice leather flats. The clothes were a far cry from her usual oversize jeans and T-shirts. The combination of low-fat food and Pepper’s exercise program showed on her slimmer figure. Between that and her new haircut, she felt almost pretty. Perhaps for the first time in her life.
“Good thing,” she said softly. “Today I’m going to need all the confidence I can get!”
With that she knocked firmly on Stone’s office door and stepped inside.
He was already working. He glanced up and smiled. Cathy’s stomach reacted with a predictable leap up against her ribs. She sighed. So much for getting used to being around him, she thought. Every time she thought she had the situation under control, something happened to change it. This time her nerves were a combination of first-day tension and lingering memories of the kiss they’d shared.
“Good morning,” he said, and glanced at his watch. “It’s barely eight, Cathy. I didn’t expect you this early.”
She shrugged and stepped into his office. “I wasn’t sure what time you wanted me to start and I knew you would be here first thing.” According to Ula, the man barely slept. He didn’t drink, didn’t eat much. Work was his life. Cathy had begun to wonder if the reason for that was work was all Stone could trust.
“Why don’t we compromise on eight-thirty as a regular starting time,” he said as he rose to his feet. “I would rather you stayed late than came in early. I have people on the East Coast to take care of the market opening, but not enough staff to cover the international comings and goings in the Far East. This way.”
He led her to a side door. She followed him into another room. “You’ll work here,” he said.
Cathy glanced around in amazement. She hadn’t really thought about what it would be like working for Stone. She’d known she would be busy, but she hadn’t dwelled on the question of if she would have a desk or not. She certainly hadn’t expected a whole office just for her.
The space was smaller than his, but there were large windows and the view was amazing. An L-shaped desk dominated the room. The short leg contained a computer complete with a printer. Against the far wall were several filing cabinets, along with copy and fax machines. Opposite the door to his office was another door.
“That leads to the conference room,” he said. “Should you need to hold a meeting here, it’s very convenient. Try to give Ula a day’s notice if you want a meal served, although she’s great about throwing something together at the last minute.”
Cathy was stunned. Her head felt as if it were spinning, and she was having trouble concentrating on what he was saying. Ifshewanted to hold a meeting? Oh, sure, she did it all the time. Tons of meetings, just her and her laptop back at the answering service.
Doubts flooded her. What on earth had she been thinking? She didn’t know anything about the world of investments or finance. She couldn’t fake her way through this. Stone was crazy if he thought she wasn’t going to completely mess up everything. She had to come clean and let him know that he’d made a mistake.
But she didn’t want to. Maybe it was wrong, but she really needed this chance. What if shecoulddo it? What if she was smarter than she thought, or the work wasn’t that hard or any variations on that theme? What if this was exactly what it felt like—the opportunity of a lifetime? She didn’t dare walk away. She might never get another chance.
“We’re going to start you out slow,” Stone told her as he walked to the computer and patted the top of the monitor. “I thought this morning you could answer some correspondence for me. I write my own memos and E-mail.” He grinned. “This is the nineties, after all. But these are official letters, so I prefer to have them done. I’ve left you notes and some samples so you can see the format.”
