Temporary Boss, Permanent Mistress. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ the gulf between them had widened over the years so that she spoke to them maybe once a fortnight, and saw them even less.

      Though she had told her godmother and her best friend that she’d be away. She’d promised to send postcards and take lots of photographs, especially of the Northern Lights.

      ‘I’ll call them later,’ she prevaricated, not wanting to admit how difficult things were between her and her parents. ‘My father will be in court at this time of day, and my mother will be in a briefing meeting.’ And even if they weren’t, they’d be too busy to talk to her.

      ‘Then, if you’ll excuse me?’ he asked.

      Jake was calling his parents?

      Now that she hadn’t expected.

      He tapped a button on his phone. ‘Mum? Yes, it’s Jake. We’re at Oslo Airport, safe and sound, so you can stop worrying now.’ He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corner. ‘OK. Since Dad’s on the golf course, you can tell him for me. I’ll call you tonight.’ His smile broadened. ‘I love you, too.’

      When had she last said, ‘I love you,’ to her parents?

      Then again, when had they last said it to her?

      Jake’s ease with his family unsettled Lydia. Particularly when his next call was conducted in Norwegian—and he had the same sweet, loving smile on his face when he said, ‘Jeg er glad i deg.’ She didn’t need a translation. This was obviously the Norwegian side of his family, and he was close to them, too.

      He glanced at his watch as he put his phone away. ‘Our meeting’s at three, Norwegian time,’ he said. ‘Which means we have an hour and a half. It’s going to be quickest for us to buy your boots here, then catch the shuttle train to the hotel—it’ll take twice as long to get there by taxi. We’ll have just about enough time to check in and unpack before we go to the office.’

      ‘I don’t need boots. These are fine,’ Lydia protested.

      He raised an eyebrow. ‘You’ve been to Norway before?’

      ‘No,’ she admitted.

      ‘Then perhaps you’ll agree that I’m in a better position to judge. You do have shoes to change into, in the office?’ he checked.

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘Good. That makes it easier.’ Once they’d collected their luggage and gone through passport control, Jake ushered her over to the shopping area, asked her shoe size, then spoke in rapid Norwegian. With brisk efficiency, the assistant brought her three different styles of boots, and when she’d chosen the ones that fitted best her own boots were wrapped up and Jake had paid before she could stop him.

      ‘I’m quite capable of paying for my own boots,’ she said as they left the shop.

      ‘I know, but it’s quicker this way. We’ll sort it out later,’ he said.

      The train took about twenty minutes and their hotel was only a couple of minutes’ walk away from the station. ‘Wow,’ she said at her first glimpse of the sheer glass tower, silver against the grey sky. ‘That’s gorgeous.’

      ‘It looks even better when the sky’s blue,’ he said. ‘I had Ingrid book rooms for us on the thirtieth floor. The views are fantastic.’

      He’d understated it, she thought when she unlocked her room and saw the fjord spreading out below. Instead of unpacking, she spent her time just drinking in the view. This was definitely something she’d sketch, later.

      She heard a knock at the door, and glanced at her watch. They needed to be going. Quickly, she slipped her shoes into her briefcase, gathered up her coat and handbag and opened the door. ‘Sorry. I was admiring the view.’

      ‘Hopefully we’ll have time for me to show you a bit of the city in the evenings. If it dries up,’ he said with a smile. ‘It’s not far to Nils’s office, but it’s bucketing down outside so I’ve booked us a taxi.’

      Nils Pedersen’s office was in Aker Brygge Wharf. ‘It used to be a shipyard,’ Jake explained on the way there, ‘but it’s been developed as a business and tourist centre. It’s really pretty in the summer. My grandfather says that when he was a boy, in the winter the fjord would freeze and they’d make roads with sledges on the ice, and as spring came they’d cut channels in the ice. Of course, winters are milder now.’

      ‘You really love Norway, don’t you?’ she asked.

      ‘Of course. It’s my home, where my father’s family live.’ He smiled. ‘I guess I’m greedy, because England’s home, too. My mother’s English.’

      At the office, they were shown into a conference room; Jake introduced Lydia to the people who were already sitting at the table.

      ‘God ettermiddag,’ she said, and her effort was rewarded with a beaming smile from everyone who shook her hand.

      She wasn’t surprised that the meeting was brisk and efficient, cutting through the personal niceties and sticking strictly to business—she could definitely see where Jake got that from. But when the meeting ended at four-thirty, she raised an eyebrow.

      ‘Normal office hours in Norway are eight till four,’ he explained as they left. ‘Pedersen’s have already accommodated us by working later tonight. And dinner’s early in Norway, too—we eat at six rather than eight. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve accepted Nils’s invitation to dine with him and his family tonight.’

      ‘No worries. I wasn’t expecting you to look after me every minute of the day. I’ll order something from room service.’

      ‘That isn’t what I meant. The invitation’s for both of us,’ he said gently. ‘I wouldn’t be selfish enough to abandon you in a country you’d never been to before.’

      ‘Oh.’ She flushed. ‘Well, just let me know the dress code. And any points of etiquette that aren’t the same as in England.’

      ‘Smart casual, nothing too glittery. All you need to remember is that we won’t talk business tonight—in Norway, we keep business and home separate. Oh, and take your shoes off at the door. Otherwise, just be yourself.’ He smiled. ‘Nils was impressed that you’d taken the trouble to learn some Norwegian—especially when I told him I’d only drafted you in yesterday. Elisabet—his wife—speaks English, so there will be no problem tonight.’

      They went back to the hotel via the main shopping street, where Jake chose a good bottle of white wine and some bright pink gerberas.

      ‘Do Nils and Elisabet have children?’ she asked.

      ‘Yes, a boy and a girl. They’re both at nursery.’

      ‘We should take them something, too. Could I buy them some art stuff?’

      Jake looked surprised for a moment, then nodded. ‘Better than taking them sweets. If you think they’ll like them, that is.’

      ‘My best friend’s a primary school teacher. According to her, all kids love art stuff.’

      ‘I wouldn’t know.’

      Jake’s СКАЧАТЬ