out on the production appointment?’
She felt the ground giving way beneath her but had come too far to retreat now. ‘Yes, it does. My qualifications are the equal of those of the man you appointed to the job.’
‘So you’ve decided that I rejected you because you’re a woman.’ His blatantly appraising gaze left her in no doubt that he was well aware of the fact, and she felt heat rising into her face. The assessment was so flagrantly sexual that her anger flared. How dared he treat her so disrespectfully?
She opened her mouth to protest but the wind was taken out of her sails when he cut across her. ‘I see you object to being judged on the basis of your sex. Yet that’s precisely what you were doing to me a moment ago, was it not?’
It was true, she had been judging him, not on the facts but on pure hearsay. ‘You’re right and I apologise,’ she said unreservedly.
‘Accepted,’ he said evenly. ‘I approved your application for leave this morning, you’ll be glad to hear.’
‘I hope it isn’t an inconvenient time for me to go,’ she said, seizing on the change of subject. ‘I’m taking a package holiday to the Sunshine Coast and the choice of departure dates is limited.’
‘Good, good,’ he dismissed the trivial details impatiently, then fixed her with a penetrating look. ‘Use the time to think things through and you’ll realise I made the right decision about the promotion. You’re a capable, enthusiastic researcher but it takes a lot more to make an assistant producer. Maturity and judgement for a start. Maybe in a year or two you’ll have attained them.’
He strode off towards the executive offices, leaving Denise staring open-mouthed after him. She hadn’t dared to speak after he joined them, and now gave Eden a shocked look. ‘I’m sorry it was my smart remark which got you into trouble.’
‘It isn’t your fault. I didn’t have to repeat it,’ she said with great fairness. She was still smarting from the frankly sexual way he had appraised her. Or was it her own instinctive reaction which shocked her?
Even while raging at his behaviour, some part of her had responded to it with chemical vibrancy. It was as if he had flipped a switch to ‘on’ deep inside her, setting hundreds of nerve-endings pulsating in sympathetic resonance.
He had turned her on. The evocative phrase was the only one which fitted her reaction, yet she refused to believe she could feel anything but fury towards him. He hadn’t denied promoting men rather than women to the top jobs in his company. If anything, his behaviour had confirmed his view of women as sex objects.
She had gone home that night and taken out her impotent rage on the housework, polishing floors with the same savage intensity that she would have liked to apply to removing the smug expression from his handsome features.
If he knew how he had affected her, he had given no sign of it, accepting her apology at face value and treating her much the same as always. Which was to say with businesslike coolness, until she left to go on holiday. And now he wanted to go somewhere to talk? ‘I can’t,’ she denied. ‘My plane...’
‘Leaves in half an hour,’ he reiterated. ‘You already pointed it out. Not that you needed to. It’s my flight, too.’
‘You’re going to the Sunshine Coast too?’
The amusement in his gaze taunted her. ‘Do you have any objections?’
‘Of course not.’ But she did and she had a feeling he knew it. Before she could ask any more questions he took her arm in a grip which looked courteous but felt like steel, as he steered her towards the departure lounge.
In the quiet, luxurious surroundings of the first-class lounge, he led her to a secluded group of armchairs which looked like a corner of an expensively furnished private home. ‘Wait here. I’ll get you a drink.’
She gathered her wits enough to say, ‘Something soft, please.’ Slade Benedict’s sudden appearance was heady enough without compounding the effects with alcohol. She was furious about his take-charge behaviour but also consumed with curiosity. What on earth could he want to talk about?
It couldn’t be about her childish outburst over the promotion. He had accepted her apology and, despite his arrogance, he wasn’t the type of man to carry a grudge.
Even so, she wished she could take the outburst back. It would have been better to approach him with her concerns in a calm, rational manner. No wonder he thought she lacked maturity.
There was another possibility and she bit her lip, thinking of it. When she’d joined his company, there had been a misunderstanding about her age which she hadn’t corrected. As a result, she had started at a higher level and salary than her qualifications deserved.
Determined not to cheat anyone, she had crammed every bit of experience she could into her workday, taking courses and skipping breaks until she was sure the company was getting more than its money’s worth from her. Could Slade have found out somehow? Would he think her hard work was enough to balance out that one lapse when she was hired?
His stony expression as he approached with their drinks did nothing for her peace of mind. Then common sense came to her aid. If he had found out, he would have fired her, not allowed her to go on leave.
She forced herself to relax but it was a challenge as he dropped into a chair at right angles to her own. Stretching his long legs out, he hooked one foot over the other. Her own legs started to ache from keeping them tucked primly beneath her but the discomfort was preferable to the risk of tangling her legs with his.
Her tension grew and she looked at her watch. ‘My flight will be boarding soon. Hadn’t you better tell me what this is all about?’
‘Our flight,’ he corrected. ‘Don’t worry, they’ll page us in here after the others are aboard.’
‘You arranged for me to be in first class, didn’t you?’ she said on a sudden suspicion.
‘I wondered when the penny would drop.’
‘It’s more than a penny, it’s several hundred dollars,’ she gasped, finding her feet at last. ‘I thought the airline was responsible. Now I know it was your doing, I can’t possibly agree. I could never afford to pay you back.’
‘I don’t expect you to,’ he said mildly.
‘But you do expect something?’
It was hardly a question. Men like Slade Benedict always balanced the scales somehow.
She was totally unprepared for his answer. ‘I do want something in return. I want you to be my wife.’
She sat down again before her legs collapsed under her, and took a swallow of the drink he’d provided. ‘You want what?’
‘Relax. This isn’t a new form of seduction. I want you to act the part for the next few days.’
This was crazy! He might be her boss but he had no right to make such an outrageous demand. ‘I’m sorry, but I’m no actress,’ she denied.
His eyes narrowed, his gaze chilling. ‘Oh, no? My perusal of your personnel file suggests quite the opposite.’
So he did know that she was masquerading as older than her real age. ‘I needed the job,’ she said by way of vindication. ‘I didn’t mean any harm. And you must agree that I’ve done a good job.’
‘Which is the only reason you are still employed in my organisation,’ he assented. ‘Your work is outstanding, not that I would have accepted less.’
‘But it was the reason why I didn’t get the promotion,’ she conceded.
‘Yes, it was. I feel you need a few more years’ experience in your present position, until you catch up with the age you purport to be.’
He steepled his fingers and looked thoughtful. ‘How old are you, incidentally?’
‘Twenty-five,’