Undressed by the Boss (Mills & Boon By Request) (42 page)

The sound of voices alerted her to the arrival of more guests. She noticed that the security men were both scanning the people crowding the entrance. Taking advantage of the distraction, she rose to her feet. It was now or never.

Hoping she looked like a woman with nothing to hide, she walked coolly down towards the altar, asserting her feminine right to visit the ladies in her dignified gait. No one intercepted her, and when she made a quick turn into the transept aisle, and saw a long, wide hallway stretching ahead, she was
grateful to see it devoid of either security or clergy. With her heart hammering at the strange guilt attached to stealing around a church like a thief, she hastened past a couple of unmarked doors, not daring to open them for fear of surprising someone, and turned into the vestry.

A maze of rooms opened from it. There was one with a piano, a robing room lined with alcoves hung with priestly vestments, and a business office adjacent to a small meeting room. In the office the computer was running, as though someone had recently stood up from it and taken a temporary break.

She hesitated, feeling more like a trespasser with every step, then spotted a promising door on the other side of the meeting room. To her relief, it belonged to a tiny washroom, with a small washbasin below a rust-flecked mirror, and a toilet cubicle redolent of disinfectant. To her grateful eyes it looked like heaven.

Afterwards, when she’d washed her hands and tidied some wisps straying from her silvery mane, she opened the door, prepared to exit, then froze. There was movement in the meeting room.

Instinctively she pushed the toilet door to, not quite closing it for fear of alerting the security guard, priest, or whoever, of her presence, while she summoned enough nerve to sashay forth with careless aplomb.

She strained her ears. Had she imagined the sound? Almost at once then the clack of a woman’s heels approached and came to a halt somewhere alarmingly close by.

She nearly dropped dead with fright when a rather throaty, feminine, cigarette-husky voice said, ‘Oh, Tom. Commiserations about your dad. I’m so terribly sorry. I know exactly what you’re going through.’

There was a curt, masculine murmur of response.

Cate closed her eyes and prayed that Tom Russell was not the man outside the door about to discover her breaching his costly security arrangements.

‘And as if it wasn’t enough losing your father, without some of the rubbish being printed about him. Did you see that disgusting obituary in the
Clarion
?’

Cate stopped breathing.

‘I saw it.’

Though the tone was grim, the deep voice had a dark, liquid quality. Like liquid velvet. Dark, dark brown velvet. Black, even.

‘Where do those jackals get the nerve?’ the female voice went on. ‘All that hogwash about editorial independence. Will you sue?’

Cate’s heart jumped into her throat, then Tom Russell said, ‘Wouldn’t they love that? I hope I have more subtlety. Don’t worry, I’ll deal with Miss What’s-her-name. In
my
way.’

A chill shivered down Cate’s spine. In
his
way. What was his way?

He spoke again. ‘Eventually they’ll all work for me. For
us.
Won’t they, Livvie?’ Cate pricked up her ears, then felt ashamed. She was acting like a voyeur. What she should do now was to walk out there, excuse herself, and make a swift, dignified exit. And she would. Just as soon as she screwed up the courage.

Her heart thundered so loudly she felt sure they must hear it, for the woman’s voice issued through with perfect clarity.

‘That’s why I need to talk to you. It’s about our deal.’ There was urgency in the woman’s tone.

‘This isn’t a good moment, Liv. As you might be able to imagine, I have things on my mind today.’ The response was polite, but Cate detected a sardonic tinge to it.

‘Well, how about this afternoon? After the lunch?’

‘Impossible. I have urgent meetings scheduled that can’t be postponed.’

‘Nothing is more urgent than
this,’
the woman hissed. ‘Listen to me, Tom. Everything’s at risk. Malcolm has heard something. He’s playing every card he can to hold up the divorce. Somehow he’s got wind of the merger, so he’s asking
for a much bigger slice of the company.’ She paused, then added, ‘My grandfather didn’t build an empire for it to end up being controlled by the likes of him.’ There was a hoarse vehemence to the contralto voice.

Cate’s ears rang with the possibilities. She had a sudden inkling into the woman’s identity. Surely that voice was familiar. With her heart thumping, and careful to make no sound, she moved to the door and risked putting her eye to the crack.

Her gaze lighted on a portion of long leg encased in some dark, expensive fabric, brushing a highly polished black masculine shoe. Next to the shoe rested an elegant black briefcase. Then the man moved further into her view, and her heart lurched in her chest.

It was Tom Russell all right, in the living flesh, negligently leaning his tall frame against an ornately carved piece of church furniture. Though his hands were shoved carelessly into his trouser pockets, there was a coiled tension about him. His black eyebrows were lowered over his cool grey eyes as he scoured his female companion with an alert, intelligent gaze.

Forget what Marge had said about him being attractive. He was so hot he
sizzled.

Cate moved her head, trying to see the woman, but she only caught a rear-view glimpse of gleaming copper hair confined at the nape in a sophisticated black snood. It was enough though, she thought with wild excitement. The next words, as abrasive as sandpaper in Tom Russell’s stern, accusing voice, confirmed her suspicion.

‘I thought you understood how crucial secrecy is at this stage, Olivia. Bloody hell, what sort of a businesswoman are you?’

Olivia. The woman was Olivia
West.

Cate’s brain buzzed into overdrive. She was onto the scoop of the century. What her editor would give to know this. Russell’s joining with the West Corporation. It would be the merger of the tabloid Titans. This was more than mere front page stuff. This meant headlines.

She had to get out of there and write it. In a sudden brilliant inspiration, she shoved her hand into her bag and connected with the minuscule cassette recorder Gran had given her. Her heart skipped an excited beat. Here was a golden opportunity. She’d be the toast of the newsroom. What reporter could resist? Although—Harry was pretty firm on the ethics of recording people without their knowledge. Her fingers hovered over the button while she waged a war with her conscience. Regretfully, the thought of Harry’s flinty gaze, and his strictures about the journalism code won.

At the same time as the powerful redhead’s response floated through to her she realised, with a sinking feeling, it was too late to announce her presence. Already, she knew too much.

She surrendered to the inevitable and put her eye to the crack again, in time to catch a glimpse of Tom Russell prowling about with his lithe, long-legged stride.

And he was worth watching. Though he seemed tense, it was clear that underneath the sombre black shirt, the pearl grey silk tie, the Armani—the suit could be nothing less—his lean, long bones, muscle and sinew were all working together in a veritable symphony of co-ordination.

Unfazed by his critical tone, Olivia West was launched into a feisty come-back. ‘It could just as easily have been someone from
your
side who leaked. Anyway, Malcolm doesn’t really know anything for certain, he’s just guessing with that diabolical genius he has for ferreting things out about people. He only wants to hurt me. I need your help with this.’

Tom Russell shot back, ‘I never let domestic arrangements interfere with business. Yours are hardly my concern.’

‘But this does concern you,’ Olivia West retorted. ‘Look at it this way. I won’t go on with our merger until I’m free and clear of Malcolm. And if he manages to hold up the court process for three or more months—and he can if the court believes his claim is worth investigating—our deal will collapse. You know it must.’

Every line of Tom Russell’s big, lean frame was charged with impatience. ‘Well, for pity’s sake, make a deal. Give him enough of what he asks for to make him feel he’s scored something.’

‘I’ve given him enough,’ Olivia said fiercely. ‘I’ve given him everything. He’s
taken
everything. He’s not getting any more of my company. But that’s not even the reason he’s doing this. It’s not about the money. It’s about
you.’

Tom Russell came to a sudden halt, right in Cate’s line of vision.

She stayed glued to the sight, until Olivia West spun in to obstruct the view. Despite the media baroness’s artful makeup, her face was strained. Her glossy red lips were compressed and she held her hands, gloved in slinky black lace, clasped in front of her voluptuous chest.

Cate frowned. Was that much cleavage strictly appropriate for a church service?

Olivia turned her back, spoiling Cate’s view of her. ‘Look,’ she said, ‘I’m sure you know Malcolm has always been insanely jealous of you. Some fool’s informed him of the times we’ve met to negotiate, and he’s had the ridiculous idea that you and I are—together. Perhaps even contemplating marriage.’

Tom Russell stood very still, then said, his voice dangerously soft, ‘Now, how could he possibly get an idea like that?’

Olivia must have felt the sudden scary escalation in the tension, because she attempted to lighten it with a husky laugh. ‘Well, it’s not so outrageous, is it? We’re both attractive people, both high achievers, our backgrounds are similar, we have things in common … Everyone knows how perfect you and Sandra were together. But you’ve been without a wife a long time, Tom. Sooner or later …’ The unmistakable purr in her voice made Cate squirm with discomfort. Was Olivia testing the water in hopes of seducing Tom Russell?
Marrying
him?

‘My wife is dead.’ The rebuke hung on the air, as stinging as a face slap.

Cate caught her breath in the charged little silence that followed. Tom Russell’s feelings for his wife must still be very raw. Still, she felt a wave of sympathy for Olivia. If he’d spoken like that to her she’d have cringed.

But the glamorous redhead was made of tougher stuff, because she managed a careless laugh. What a remarkable woman, Cate marvelled. To possess such self-control. How fabulous to be able to maintain her poise after such a forbidding rejection.

‘Well, there’s no need to look so stern, Thomas. I’m only reporting what Malcolm has dreamed up in his fevered brain. And because he believes it, he’s looking for ways to hurt us by holding up the divorce.’ She added, her voice as soft, distinct, and every bit as steely as Tom Russell’s, ‘And until my divorce goes through, darling, there will be no merger. And you and I will
both
lose a lot of money.’

‘Then you must advise him of the truth very quickly, Livvie.’ The icy chill permeated the store-room door with bluetooth penetration.

‘He’s not likely to believe what I tell him, is he? Look, the answer’s simple enough. All you need to do is to show him you have another woman.’

Tom Russell gave an incredulous laugh. ‘What other woman?’

‘Now, now, Tom.’ Sly amusement stole into the low voice. ‘Don’t try to tell me you can’t come up with a woman—like
that.’

Tom Russell surveyed her grimly. ‘I think you’ve been reading your own tabloids, Olivia. Forget it.’

‘For goodness’ sake, can’t you follow in your old dad’s footsteps for a week or two and find some nubile little actress to flash around the town? It’s only for a few weeks.’

‘I’m not my old dad,’ Tom Russell said, his voice ominously soft.

There was a small, tense silence, then Olivia West snapped,
‘Think
about it.’ She crossed into Cate’s view, stepping up to Tom and boldly placing her hands on his shoulders. In her chic black dress, her curvaceous figure looked formidably seductive. ‘We both have a lot to lose, don’t we, darling? How much do you want your merger?’

With implacable calm Tom Russell detached her and pushed her away. ‘Not enough to deceive some woman. For God’s sake, I’m a businessman, not some tabloid Don Juan.’

‘That’s not what I mean,’ Olivia exploded hoarsely, swinging away from him.
‘Hire
a woman. You only need to let Malcolm see you with her a couple of times. Once I get my divorce, you’ll have your merger. And I’m not deceiving Malcolm. For your information it was
he
who—’ Her voice grew strident with emotion. ‘Look, in a few minutes time this church will be packed with people, and a good number of them will be actresses who work for your television network. Some of them, I’m willing to bet, have already been employed in more ways than one by your old dad. Pick one of them. Offer her money.’

Cate nearly gasped out loud at the audacity of the woman. How would Tom Russell take such a crack about his father? She strained to hear, but the abrupt click of a door closing suggested that Olivia had delivered her parting shot, and stalked off.

Cate sagged with relief. Thank heavens. Now Tom would follow, and she could creep from her hiding place and hightail it back to Mike.

There was the sound of a chair scraping, and the room fell quiet. She moved to the opening in the door to check that the coast was clear, and came up short. To her intense annoyance Tom Russell was still there at the table, frowning over some papers.

Damn the man. She fretted with impatience. People would have started to arrive by now and she’d be missing her chances. She exhaled a frustrated breath, then took a harder look at him. In his unconsciousness of being under scrutiny,
the lines in the tanned skin around his eyes and mouth suddenly seemed more deeply etched, as though from tiredness or strain. She felt a stir of sympathy. Perhaps even a Tom Russell could spend sleepless nights grieving. The loss of a parent was no small thing, as she could testify.

She sighed, and, bracing for a wait, closed her eyes and leaned back against the sink.

A shrill jangling broke out at her feet and she nearly jumped out of her skin.