wasn’t around. He was an eligible bachelor. The office gossip mill had made that perfectly clear from day one, when speculation had been rife that he was only handing them business because of Katherine. She perched on the edge of a chair and looked at him steadily.
‘My mother will be up in Scotland for the next month. I have a nanny to cover for Flora during the day, as she’s on holidays, but not even the most long-suffering of nannies, and Edith is about as long-suffering as they come, is willing to do day and night cover. I’m wrapped up in some pretty important deals over the next fortnight and my proposal was for you to work for me between five and ten every evening, Monday to Friday.’
‘I’m sorry but that’s out of the question.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t have to give long explanations,’ Sunny told him stiffly. Something about the prospect of being inside his house sent shivers through her. No matter that she now knew that he had no interest in her aside from babysitter for his daughter. ‘But, in case it’s missed you, I actually already have a job after work and it’s a job I enjoy and wouldn’t want to lose. Also...’
Stefano tilted his head to one side. Flora had been animated on the drive back to the house. In fact, she had been the most animated he’d seen her since she had arrived in London. She had actually spoken to him, as opposed to sitting in surly silence and answering his questions in monosyllables.
‘Also...?’ he prompted softly.
Sunny shrugged and reddened. ‘Nothing. I... I just can’t do it. I’m sorry.’
‘But you don’t know what the terms and conditions are,’ he murmured. He wondered what else she had been about to say. She was guarded and that was something he never saw in the women he met. And the way she had rushed into the assumption that he’d been after her for sex. Was she accustomed to having to fend off men? Had she suffered from office pests? They were out there, no question of it, and she had the looks to provoke over-enthusiasm in most red-blooded men, he would have thought.
Or maybe one pest in particular had made her suspicious of all men...
He was a little unnerved at the amount of time he was wasting in pointless speculation.
‘Unless, of course, you have a boyfriend...someone who might not want you to spend time away from the flat when you’re not at work...’
Sunny laughed shortly. ‘I wouldn’t let any guy tell me what I could or couldn’t do.’ The words were out before she could take them back. ‘By which,’ she continued lamely, ‘I mean that I’m...my own person...not that it’s any business of yours whether I have a boyfriend or not anyway... I just... I’m sorry...’
‘I’m sure the restaurant could spare you for a couple of weeks. In fact, I don’t see that as a problem at all. I’ll personally arrange for a replacement and cover the costs myself. And with regard to what you earn there...’ He paused, allowing speculation to take root in her head and spout tendrils. ‘I’ll quadruple it.’ He sat back and watched her narrowly. ‘I’d like you to work for me and I’m prepared to pay you far, far more than you would earn in the restaurant, including tips...’
‘I don’t understand,’ Sunny stammered, thoroughly taken aback. ‘Why can’t you just go and employ someone from an agency?’
‘Flora averages a nanny a fortnight and, during that fortnight, I’m bombarded with complaints from whatever nanny happens to be working for me. I don’t need that. She’s taken a liking to you and I’m prepared to take a gamble.’
‘I have no experience of looking after children, Mr Gunn.’
‘For God’s sake, there’s no need to keep calling me Mr Gunn.’ He paused and watched her, trying to read behind the cautious exterior.
Agitated, Sunny looked away. ‘Don’t you have a...um...a partner?’
‘Partner?’
‘A girlfriend? Someone who could step in and help out?’ She had no idea from whence the rumour had sprung that he was interested in Katherine. Maybe the rumours had been wrong. Maybe there was someone else in the background, although it beggared belief that he would bring work to a new, small company and not use one of the top guns to handle his business.
‘Now, now, Sunny—or shall I call you Miss Porter as you seem determined to stick to the formalities?—would you say that you’re entitled to ask that question considering you’ve surrounded yourself with No Trespassing signs?’ He watched her squirm for a few seconds. ‘There’s no handy woman ready to jump in and help out.’ He thought of Katherine and his mother’s fine intentions to set him up. Nice enough woman but he certainly couldn’t picture her in the role of surrogate mother. Indeed, she had seemed distinctly uncomfortable when presented with Flora.
‘What about Flora’s mother?’ It seemed an obvious enough question and she was surprised when the shutters snapped down, coldly locking her out. As No Trespassing signs went, she’d just stumbled into an almighty giant-sized one.
‘Flora’s mother died several months ago,’ Stefano said abruptly. ‘Now, are you willing to take the job or not? I’ve given you my offer and, from the looks of it, you could do with the money. You can bring your work to the house if you want to do overtime and that’s an added bonus, considering working in a restaurant doesn’t afford that luxury. And I may be misreading the situation, but if you’re intent on a career then the lack of overtime must be a decided drawback to someone young and ambitious.’
‘I’m not sure whether it would be entirely ethical for me to work with a client.’
‘In which case, I’ll take my considerably well-paid work away from your law firm. How does that sound?’
‘You wouldn’t.’ Sunny was aghast at that threat because, if he did that, then the worst-case scenarios would be a great deal worse than the ones she had conjured up in her head when he’d told her that he’d spoken to Katherine.
‘Yes. I would. You would be surprised at the lengths I would go to in order to get what I want.’ He thought of that small but perceptible change in his daughter on the drive back to his house. For that reason alone it was worth the hassle of being here. He could hardly believe that she was kicking up a fuss at being paid handsomely to do a babysitting job of limited duration. ‘And, just for your information, I have already cleared the way with Katherine. I explained the situation and she’s more than happy for you to help out.’
‘Is she? Didn’t she...ah...volunteer to do it herself?’
‘Why would she do that?’
‘No reason.’ Annoyed with herself for being drawn into that faux pas, she stared down at her trainers. ‘What if it doesn’t work out?’
‘I prefer positive thinking. Like I said, Flora doesn’t warm to people easily but she warmed to you. It’s good enough for me. Now, the job. Yes or no? You’ll start first thing on Monday. I’ll have my driver collect you from work and return you to your flat. Meals will be provided and you’re free to do as you wish with Flora, although she’s accustomed to being in bed by eight. I’ll open an account for you if you want to take her anywhere. Feel free to use it.’
It was a fantastic opportunity to add to her savings. She knew that. She might even treat herself to some new work clothes. So why was she still hesitating? It was crazy.
‘Okay,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll do it. I’ll take the job.’
STEFANO’S HOUSE, on the outskirts of London, was a dream house.
For one man and a young child, it was ridiculously big. There were six bedrooms, five bathrooms, too many undefined reception rooms to count and a kitchen that was spacious enough for a table at one end that could seat ten. It opened out to a spread of