She Devil. Christy McKellen

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ round my mind when the person sitting to my left—who I think was one of the organiser’s good friends—leaned over to me and whispered, ‘Did you hear about Jamie De Montfort’s father, Cliff?’

      Just the mention of that name sent a shiver of unease through me.

      ‘No,’ I managed to reply, even though my mouth felt like someone had just filled it with rocks.

      My dinner companion shook her head sadly, her eyes wide with compassionate dismay. ‘He had another heart attack and passed away a few days ago. Jamie was devastated, apparently, but he was determined to still come and host tonight.’ She nodded towards where Jamie stood proudly on stage, shaking the hand of the director of the children’s charity as everybody clapped. ‘That man is the definition of a true hero,’ she shouted above the sound of the applause, admiration shining in her eyes.

      A thin smile was all I could manage as blood thumped in my temple and my stomach did sickening somersaults.

      So Cliff was dead. And Jamie had still turned up for this gig. I couldn’t quite get my head around that. Jamie had idolised his father and, even though I had no kind feelings towards him any more, I understood how much he must be hurting right then. The news brought back a flood of painful memories from when my mother had died after a skiing incident, swiftly moving on to remind me of the dread and fear I’d felt when I heard that my own father had been in a near-fatal car accident only a month ago.

      Yes, I knew exactly how he felt.

      Frighteningly alone.

      Especially because he was now the only De Montfort left. The last of his kind.

      A wave of something like nostalgia crashed through me—undoubtedly in response to my own tormenting memories—and I had to excuse myself and stumble out of the room to drag some air back into my lungs. I meant to go towards the bathrooms, but there appeared to be a stream of other women doing the same thing ahead of me, so instead I diverted to a nearby office, which was mercifully empty. I didn’t bother switching on the light and strode straight over to the window, cracking it open so that the cool evening air rushed over my heated face.

      My heart was pounding like I’d just run a mile at full pelt and my whole body hummed with agitation.

      Cliff was dead.

      I wondered whether my father had heard and if so why he hadn’t told me.

      I jumped as the door to the room opened behind me, flooding it with light from the corridor.

      I blinked at the outline of the tall, broad-shouldered man who stood in the doorway, instinctively knowing who it was even before my eyes adjusted and I was able to make out the familiar features of his face.

      ‘Good evening, Jamie,’ I said with as much indifference as I could muster. I didn’t want him to see me in this weakened state, and I knew if I gave anything away he’d jump on it immediately. I hoped, once he realised it was me alone in there, he’d just turn and walk away.

      But it was not to be.

      ‘April, fancy finding you here skulking in the dark.’

      Irritation clawed up my spine at the disparagement I heard in his tone.

      ‘I’m just taking a moment out. It’s so hot in there,’ I said blandly, keeping any emotion out of my voice so he had nothing to comment on, hoping he’d soon get bored and go away.

      But of course he didn’t. This was Jamie, after all. The man who never passed up an opportunity to torture me.

      Instead, he closed the door behind him, throwing the room back into shadow, and walked over to where I stood stiffly by the window.

      Right at that moment I was immensely grateful for both the darkness and the cold breeze.

      ‘Is there a reason you chose to do it in my dressing room?’ he asked, the streetlight from outside casting his face into light relief.

      ‘I thought it was an empty office. I didn’t realise it was your room,’ I countered, aware of my face flushing with embarrassment at my unlucky faux pas.

      ‘Is that right?’ he replied, his scepticism clear.

      There was an awkward pause as I tried to think of something to distract his attention away from my obvious discomfort.

      ‘I was sorry to hear about you father passing away,’ I said, deciding I might as well tackle the subject head on. No doubt it would come up at some point soon anyway. Jamie already thought my family was responsible for everything bad that had happened to his father and would no doubt try to pin this heart attack on us as well.

      If only he knew the truth...

      The air in the room had become very still, and I thought I caught a flash of pain cross his face, but in the semi-light I couldn’t be sure. My stomach still swooped at the thought. Jamie hadn’t shown me any real emotion—apart from anger—for years.

      ‘You heard about that, huh?’ he said eventually.

      ‘Yes, just now at dinner. I was surprised I hadn’t heard about it sooner.’

      He shucked off his jacket and tossed it onto the back of an office chair that was tucked under a nearby desk. ‘No, well, my father didn’t want his death spread around like gossip. He’d had enough of that shit, thanks to your family.’

      I had a lot of trouble biting my tongue at that, but somehow I managed it, despite the usual resentment building inside me. He’d have a very different attitude if he knew how much I’d done to protect both Cliff and him from gossip. And worse.

      ‘Speaking of which, I hear your father’s been spending time in hospital himself recently,’ Jamie went on, tugging undone his bow tie and popping open the top button of his shirt.

      ‘Yes, he was there for a week or so, but he’s back at home now recuperating,’ I said stiffly, trying not to think about how distractingly arousing it was to witness him messing up his neat formal attire.

      ‘You mean he’s actually taking some time off work? I thought I’d never see the day.’

      I forcibly had to restrain myself from crossing my arms. ‘He’s not well enough to be back in the office yet and probably won’t be for a few months. He’s in constant pain and the painkillers he’s taking make his head too fuzzy for him to concentrate for long periods of time.’

      Jamie nodded, his hair falling into his eyes. I watched him push it away from his forehead and my disloyal pussy gave a throb in response.

      ‘So he’s taking a break from terrorising his employees? That must be a relief for them all.’ He tilted his head, his gaze boring into mine. ‘Or have you muscled straight in to take over that role?’ The hostility emanating from him made my whole body prickle with an edgy, disturbing tension.

      ‘I’m acting CEO at the moment, if that’s what you mean, but I’d like to think I’m a fair and approachable boss.’

      He snorted. ‘Approachable? You?’

      And there it was, the inevitable slide into insulting me. Even though I’d been preparing myself for it, it still СКАЧАТЬ