The Father Of Her Child. Emma Darcy

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СКАЧАТЬ route to the bridge and the Harbour Tunnel to the Eastern Suburbs cut the trip to Rose Bay to forty minutes at most, even through peak hour traffic. The party didn’t start until six, and it was only just past five now.

      “Why the hurry?” she asked. Accustomed to travelling to a tight schedule, Lauren disliked the waste of time involved in arriving anywhere too early.

      “I want to check the display table before anyone arrives.”

      “I thought Roxanne was doing that.”

      She had told Lauren so this morning, pleased with the task of setting up a display of the new titles catalogue and the gift T-shirts.

      “She tripped down the steps out there and sprained her ankle,” Graham stated flatly.

      Lauren rolled her eyes. Another drama in Roxanne’s life to be endlessly recounted to every ear she could find!

      “I don’t know if she finished the job first,” Graham added with a grimace.

      “I take it she won’t be at the party with her new husband tonight,” Lauren said dryly.

      “Into each life some rain must fall.”

      Lauren couldn’t help laughing at his droll intonation. Since Roxanne worked in marketing, Graham was even more a victim of her confidences than Lauren was. His responses were invariably short, pithy sayings. He let the rest float over his head.

      They were probably being unkind, Lauren thought, as they settled into the car. Spraining an ankle was no joke. It should evoke sympathy. The problem was that Roxanne was such a sympathy gobbler, one’s natural store of it ran out. This past year Lauren had taken to actively evading Roxanne and her self-indulgent wallowing in real or imagined woes.

      She ruefully reflected that when she had first arrived at Global Publications, she had been sucked right into being a listener. Like a sponge, she had absorbed a steady stream of complaints about the demands and unreasonable expectations of Roxanne’s first husband, It had hit on wounds from her own miserable marriage, drawing what might have been, in hindsight, unwarranted sympathy, as well as the best advice she could give.

      She hadn’t known then that advice was not really what was wanted. Roxanne soaked up advice from everyone who would give it. She went looking for advice constantly because it gave her the excuse to talk about herself. Roxanne Kinsey was the most self-absorbed person Lauren had ever met.

      All the same, Roxanne was probably well rid of her first husband. He had sounded as though he was tarred with the same brush as Lauren’s big mistake. Men who wanted to own women were innately insecure. No trust. Rabid jealousy. Demanding accountability of every moment away from them. Forcing their will on every little thing.

      Nightmare alley, Lauren thought, and was glad to be out of it. Although she did miss living in Melbourne. All her family were there. Unfortunately, so was Wayne, and she didn’t trust him to stay out of her life. Despite their divorce, he wouldn’t let go. Coming to Sydney had effected a solid break from him, and that had been necessary for her peace of mind, but she did find it lonely up here.

      At least she would have a chance to visit her mother during her stay in Melbourne with Evan Daniel. A smile broke through her brooding as she thought of the upcoming promotional tour. Some authors were highly touchy and temperamental, but Evan Daniel was a real sweetie, cheerful, obliging, appreciative of everything she had arranged for him, a lovely, warm, huggable bear of a man. She wished she could find someone like him for herself.

      Her mobile telephone beeped, and she quickly drew it out of of her handbag.

      Graham threw her a twinkling look. “That thing will be growing out of your ear if you don’t watch out, Lauren.”

      “It would be handier if it did,” she returned lightly.

      She knew Graham’s remark was not a criticism, yet coming on top of her thoughts about Wayne, it scraped a highly sensitive area. The night she had walked away from her marriage, Wayne had ripped her mobile telephone from her ear and hurled it against the wall in a jealous rage. The memory lingered darkly as she answered the call.

      It was from the producer of a television daytime chat show. She had tried to reach him earlier this afternoon, but he had been too busy to take the call. He was returning it now. This frequently happened with the media people she had to deal with. It was not until they had wrapped up the business of the day that they gave their attention to anything relating to tomorrow or next week or a fortnight from now. Calls were made after normal working hours had ended.

      That was one of the reasons Lauren had a mobile telephone. It was necessary to gain a successful result from her initiatives. She worked to other people’s convenience, not her own. If she wasn’t available to take calls, to instantly follow up on opportunities offered, they could all too easily be lost.

      A promotional campaign had to be effected within a certain limited time. Media interest was often a chain reaction. It was also fickle. If she didn’t strike while the iron was hot, she was not doing her job properly. It was as simple as that.

      It wasn’t as though Wayne hadn’t known she loved her job before they were married. It had come as a shock when he had expected her to give it up for him within weeks of their honeymoon. She might even have done so if that had been the only problem emerging between them, but his attitude towards her work permeated everything else, too. It was like having married Dr. Jekyll, then finding herself living with Mr. Hyde.

      By the time she had talked through arrangements with the television producer, Graham had driven past King’s Cross and was well on the way to Rose Bay. She tucked the mobile phone in her handbag and decided to postpone putting her hair up until they arrived at the restaurant. It would be easier to do it in the ladies’ powder room, and they would certainly be arriving ahead of the guests.

      “When do you take off with Evan Daniel?” Graham asked.

      “Next week. Wednesday.”

      “You’ve drummed up a lot of interest in him.”

      “Good subject.”

      “He’s a nice guy.”

      “Very likeable,” Lauren agreed warmly. “I think he’ll come over well. I hope you’ve got good supplies of his books in the shops, Graham.”

      “Best-seller status.”

      “Great!”

      He shot her a curious look. “Is Evan Daniel your kind of guy, Lauren?”

      “Why do you ask?” she returned teasingly, aware there was considerable speculation about her love life amongst Global’s staff.

      Graham shrugged. “I know you date occasionally but you don’t stick with anyone for long.”

      “It’s difficult to maintain a relationship in my kind of job.”

      “I notice you shy off really good-looking guys.”

      “Do I?”

      “Yes. And that’s odd for a good-looking girl like you.”

      “Maybe I want more than what’s on the surface.”

      “That’s СКАЧАТЬ