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.His headache was also getting worse and that didn’t help matters.By the time they finally surfaced from the demands of going over reports, editing documents and analysing data, he could have lain back in the chair and slept.‘Are you all right?’Andreas grunted at the concerned expression on her face.‘Of course I’m all right!’ he snapped.‘Believe it or not, I’ve never had a day’s ill health in my life.’‘Lucky you.’‘What does luck have to do with anything?’‘If that’s all for today, Andreas, I think I’ll head upstairs now.I promised James a game of chess before dinner.’‘What a thrilling way to spend an evening.’ His mobile buzzed and he picked it up, realised that it was Amanda and immediately disconnected.She’d become a nuisance, after he had broken up with her a few days ago, but he was not cad enough to break off all contact entirely.At any rate, he had neither the time nor the inclination to deal with her at the moment.He looked at Elizabeth who was diligently tidying her desk, obviously eager to be out and away.Chess—at six-thirty on a Friday evening? Was this woman from the same planet as everyone else?‘I enjoy playing chess,’ she said, getting into his head and answering his question, which he found a little unsettling.‘I’m not very good but James is a very patient teacher.’He was scowling, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end because she couldn’t gauge his mood.Andreas might be a law unto himself but he was very predictable in some areas.He worked hard, and she imagined he played equally hard, although perhaps less so at the moment thanks to the physical constraints of his situation.He expected very high standards in other people because he imposed very high standards on himself.While she continued to resent his fundamental distrust of her, she could acknowledge that he was a fair player.Of course, she had no idea what he was like with the women he dated; he certainly seemed to change them with alarming regularity if James’s caustic asides were anything to go by, but that was not her concern.‘Bit dreary, don’t you think? Considering your age? Granted, you seem to have lived an abnormally sheltered life, but surely chess on a Friday evening is taking dreary to the outer limits?’‘I’m not into clubs,’ Elizabeth muttered, hovering by the door.‘Spot of luck there, then.Not too many of those in the village.There are men, though…or are you not into them either?’ Her change of clothes had done wonders for her figure.In fact, he daily appreciated the tantalising sight of cleavage and legs, both of which had been firmly under wraps before.‘I don’t think I have to answer that.’ Her cheeks were burning; the protective shield of her working gear no longer seemed to be keeping their part of the bargain.Just like that he could strip away her fragile composure, and he did it for no better reason than because he could.‘You forced me to work as your secretary, and I’m doing it, but working as your secretary doesn’t mean that I have to answer lots of personal questions.’‘I’m not asking you lots of personal questions.I’m showing interest and concern here.James would be upset if you walked away because you were bored with your surroundings.’‘Well, I’m not, and there’s no chance of that.’‘Do you know?’ Andreas drawled, pushing his chair away from the desk and then stretching out his long legs at an angle.‘It never once occurred to me that you might not have targeted James as a potential sugar-daddy…’‘I know—and what’s the point in talking about it if you don’t believe what I say?’‘But there could be another explanation for your mysterious arrival in Somerset.’ He had mocked her for wanting to spend her Friday cooped up in front of a chessboard, but the truth was that his own plans for heading back to London for the weekend did not appeal.His headache was gathering force and the prospect of having to endure Amanda and her predictable sulks because he had cancelled their last date, due to work, was a turn off.Maybe he would join them at the chess board.Wouldn’t that put a spoke in her wheel?‘Am I supposed to ask you what you’re talking about?’‘Four weeks ago, you would never have dreamt of saying something like that—I approve! And there’s no need to ask me anything, since I’ll fill in the gaps for you.You might not have been running here so much as running away.’‘Running away from what?’‘Or…whom? Is that why you’re so happy to bury yourself down here? Because you’re recovering from a broken heart?’‘I’m recovering from my mum’s death.When I was looking after her, I had little enough time for myself, never mind getting involved with someone!’‘What about that ex-boss of yours? It’s easy to fall for someone who’s around all the time.’‘Well, I didn’t, and none of this is any of your business anyway!’‘True.But I thought it might be nice to get to know one another.’‘I think I know you perfectly well enough, thank you very much,’ Elizabeth informed him, sotto voce so that he couldn’t quite grasp what she had said—although he knew from the mutinous expression on her face that it was nothing to his credit.Well, at least this verbal fencing was taking his mind off his throbbing head, something that the piles of work had not quite managed to do.‘I take my personal assistant out once a month.It’s a chance for her to air whatever problems she might have and to recognise that she’s appreciated [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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