The Man in Possession (5 page)

‘
Yes, I know what you mean.
‘

‘
—and the sideboard was bow-shaped with long, slender legs. The chairs too, were beautifully designed.
’

‘
You appear to have very good taste,
’
he remarked.
‘
And I think your idea of knocking these two rooms into one is excellent. But I
’
ll have to do something about the heating. I hate these radiators. They spoil the appearance of a room, don
’
t you think?
’

Julia agreed with him and excused herself, escaping to the study to put things to rights there. Seeing a mental picture of the finished rooms had put a tight band of pain around her heart. If only she had been making these plans with David! She had been a complete idiot to agree to staying on here. On her own, it wouldn
’
t have been so bad. But with another man in David
’
s place—

She shook off her depression and went back across to the office to see what else required to be brought over. She found Max there, glancing all around and running his hand through his hair.

‘
What on earth is going on?
’
he asked.
‘
Moving house?
’

‘
More or less.
Mr.
Leighton is having the whole place redecorated and furnished—and the other room made into an office for himself,
’
she told him.

‘Lord! Executive style. And where are you going to work in the meantime
?’
She told him and he pulled a face. ‘That
’
ll be awkward. I don
’
t like the idea of having to knock on his door every time I want to see you.
’

‘You
’
ll have to learn to come out of working hours. It won
’
t take long, not more than a week or so, but in
any case, I don
’
t really think you should come and see me when I
’
m working. I
’
m not exactly my own boss.
’

He gave her a questioning glance.
‘
Do you mean you
’
ve decided to stay on after all? I thought you said over the phone last night that nothing would induce you to?
’

‘
Yes, I know. And I did write out my notice and hand it to him, but—
’

‘But he got to work on you?
’

She averted her head. ‘Well, it was obvious that he wanted me to stay on. And to tell you the truth, I didn
’
t really want to go.
’

He grinned. ‘That makes two of us. I didn
’
t want you to go, either. You know why, don
’
t you?
’

Julia frowned.
‘
Max, I wish you wouldn
’
t say things like that.
’

‘Why not, for heaven
’
s sake?
’

She opened her desk drawer and began to collect her few personal belongings together.

‘You know how I felt about David. It isn
’
t ve
r
y easy to forget. Besides—
’

He moved swiftly to her side and put an arm about her shoulders.

Darling, this is nonsense.
’
He lifted up her chin and said softly but firmly: ‘
David is dead
. You must accept that. You can
’
t love a man for ever.
’

‘
Can
’
t you? You don
’
t understand.
’

‘But I
do
,’
he insisted. ‘Really I do. I knew David, too, you know. He was a friend of mine. He wouldn
’
t want you to pine for ever.
’

‘
I
’
m
not
pining!
’

Her lips quivered. She
wasn
’
t
pining. It was just that she needed him so. A love did not die just because the person died, and while she still loved David this way there was no room in her heart for anyone else. Not in the same way.

Max pulled her round gently to face him, and feeling the need for comfort she leaned on him for a brief moment. There was a footstep outside and, inevitably, Roger Leighton appeared in the doorway. Raggedly, Julia moved out of Max
’
s arms. She had not felt like this about David for quite some time. Going into the house, seeing his piano again must have brought everything back, she concluded fleetingly.

‘
Is
anything
wrong?
’
Roger Leighton asked, searching her face.

She shook her head swiftly.
‘
No, no.
It
’
s—all
right.
’

His sympathetic expression vanished and he turned to go out again.

‘
Did you—want me for something,
Mr.
Leighton?
’
she called out.

He turned and gave Max a hard stare.
‘
It
’
s not important,
’
he answered.
‘
When you
’
re free will do.
’

He strode away, and Max gave an amused smile.
‘
Well, well. Different from his attitude yesterday,
’
he remarked.

Julia sighed.
‘
Having put me in the position of his assistant he would hardly reprimand me as though I were a typist.
’

‘
As his assistant, eh? That
’
s interesting,
’
he said thoughtfully.

‘
Is it?
’
she queried absentmindedly.

He nodded. ‘Let
’
s go over to the houseboat and have a cup of tea. You look as though you need one.
’

Julia glanced at her watch. It was near the time she usually had tea anyway and she certainly felt she could do with a cup. She led the way across the snow-covered ground, remarking that she would be glad to see the end of the snow.

‘According to the weather forecast there
’
s a thaw on the way,
’
Max informed her. He stretched out
on the studio couch and watched her as she made the tea and poured it.
‘
You know, I don
’
t think you
’
re all that keen on working with—or for—Leighton, are you?
’

‘
I don
’
t know,
’
she answered, still feeling ragged
somehow. ‘One minute he seems all right, another, I could hit him.
’

Max grunted. ‘I should think he can be pretty maddening most of the time. Is he going to—run the business, then?
’
he asked.
‘
Or sort of come and go and leave things to you?
’

Julia shook her head. ‘He intends to make a go of it
.’

Max grimaced. ‘Got a lot of big ideas, has he?
’

‘Some
,’
she answered briefly, reluctant to discuss her boss with Max.

He laughed. ‘I can imagine! These city types—it doesn
’
t make sense. An oil magnate, more or less, trying to run a boat-hire and boatbuilding business. I don
’
t think he
’
ll last five minutes.
’

‘I don
’
t see why not. And if he did fail, it wouldn
’
t reflect very favourably on me, would
it?’

Max looked up at her and gave a slow smile. ‘There might still be a chance of being the owner if you—go about it the right way
.’

Julia frowned.
‘
What on earth do you mean?
’

He shrugged. ‘Surely you don
’
t want me to spell it out for you?
’

‘
Yes, I do. I want to know what you mean
.’

He laughed shortly. ‘Oh, for heaven
’
s sake! All I mean is that if you leave him alone and don
’
t spoonfeed him, drop a hint here and there that you
’
d still like to buy the place—
’

‘He knows that already, and I can hardly work for him and watch him do something disastrous without saying a word.
’

‘It needn
’
t be anything disastrous, as you put it. But I don
’
t see why you should run his business
for
him. Just let him make his own decisions—he
’
ll soon run his neck into a noose.
’

Julia did not like this kind
of
talk at
all.
‘
I shall
just do my job as usual, Max.
What else
can
I do? I
certainly couldn
’
t keep silent if I
thought
he was doing
something detrimental to the business. If he ever turns down my advice or suggestions, it will be a different matter, of course.
’

Max shook his head.
‘
Honestly, Julia, you
’
re being very short-sighted. This boatyard is only a hobby—a sideline—for a man like Leighton. He
’
s not serious about it. Let him trip up a few times, and he
’
ll soon pack it in. And meanwhile, make him one or two offers.
’

‘I
’
m sorry, Max,
’
she said firmly.
‘
What you suggest is quite impossible. I shall do my best to help him. As a matter of fact, I wouldn
’
t like to see him trip up or fail in any way. If he finds the life doesn
’
t suit him or he decides to sell for any reason I shall certainly ask for the first option. Beyond that—no.
’

Max finished his tea and stood up. ‘I still think you
’
re being silly
and
obstinate. However, what about tonight? We could have a bite to eat somewhere if you like, or have a look around and see what
’
s on at the pictures.
’

But Julia felt put off Max
’
s company for the present.
‘
Not tonight, if you don
’
t mind, Max. It
’
s been a—ragged sort of day, and I
’
d just as soon stay in and have an early night. Some other time.
’

He shrugged.
‘
All right.
’
But on his way to the door of the boathouse he turned.
‘
I
’
ve offended you by what I said, haven
’
t I?
’

She shook her head, not wanting to make an issue out of it.
‘
Not
really.
’

He laughed briefly and put a hand on her shoulder. ‘You took me too seriously. I didn
’
t want you to do anything your conscience wouldn
’
t let you. I know how badly you wanted this place, that
’
s all. I
’
d still like to see it in your hands, and I feel pretty certain that, one of these days, it will be. I
’
ll give you a ring—and maybe we
’
ll have dinner at the Staithe at the weekend.
’

She smiled and nodded and he left. She didn
’
t want
t
o quarrel with Max. He was just about the only friend she had at present. At home, of course, she had had lots of friends. But in this part of the country it took time. If you did not meet people in the course of your work—and Julia didn
’
t—you had to join a club or a society, and that was something she had never got around to, probably never would.