Chapter 3
Alec was furious! The woman had slipped out of his office and was nowhere to be found. Dammit, how could he not have grabbed her purse and gotten her identification? He didn’t even have her phone number. He waited patiently until the following morning when Edna walked in and sat down at her desk.
Strolling out when he heard her start to settle into her routine, he leaned against the edge of her desk. “Did you have a nice afternoon off?” he asked easily enough. He watched in frustration as a look of wariness crept over her face. Was he really that much of an ogre? Was his entire staff this afraid of him?
“Yes. It was a nice surprise,” she replied stiffly. “Thank you very much and I’m terribly sorry about the party. I had no idea. Helen implied it would only be her,” she explained weakly. “But you know Helen,” she said with a shrug.
That grated on Alec. He tried hard to not grit his teeth as he answered, “No, actually. I don’t know Helen. What about her?” He sat down in the chair in front of her desk and watched her expression soften with affection for the woman who was slowly driving him insane. The fact that anyone could actually accomplish that feat was irritating him to no end. He’d been called cold, emotionless and merciless before by his previous mistresses and business associates. He could just imagine their amusement now if they could see how this one tiny woman had gotten under his skin.
Edna smiled fondly. “Oh, I don’t think I know her very well either. I just know she has a personality that people flock to. She can get people to do just about anything. They open up to her because she’s just so open and light-hearted herself. People want to be with her, be her friend and she loves humanity too much to ignore anyone that might need her help, even if it’s just a simple conversation. Her mother is also delightful. We all had dinner together last night.”
That startled him even further, knowing that he’d wanted to have dinner with her himself before she’d snuck out of his office. “Helen was with you?” he asked, trying to keep the jealousy and frustration from his tone.
Edna frowned at his question, her eyes curious as she looked across her desk at her boss who had never had a personal conversation with her in the five years she’d been working for him. “No, actually. Elisia, Helen’s mother, couldn’t reach Helen. She wasn’t answering her phone for some reason so dinner was just with my daughter, my grandson and Helen’s mother.”
Alec’s eyes darkened with concern. “She doesn’t answer her mobile? Why have one if you aren’t going to answer it?”
Edna was already shaking her head. “No, actually, Helen doesn’t have a mobile phone. Apparently a land line is cheaper. But Helen wasn’t home last night, or she simply wasn’t answering the phone in her apartment for some reason.”
Alec could tell that his secretary was concerned about the reasons for Helen’s absence and isolation last night but he was in no mood to tell her that he’d lost the impertinent Helen as well after everyone’s departure. He focused instead on the idea of Helen wandering around London without any means of communicating in an emergency. “No mobile? Is that safe? What would happen if she needed something?”
Edna shook her head. “That’s Elisia’s worry as well. She’s tried to get Helen to accept a mobile phone but Helen doesn’t want to take it.”
Alec’s eyebrows drew together in his concern. “Why the hell not? Its every parent’s right to protect their child. Helen’s just being ridiculous.”
“No,” Edna denied vehemently, “Helen’s not self-centered in any way. She’s the most giving person I’ve ever met. She just wants to earn her way in the world on her own.” Edna looked down slightly before saying, “A little like you, Mr. Dionysius.”
“Excuse me?” he asked, not sure he heard his secretary correctly.
Edna was suddenly uncomfortable. But she continued, “Well, rumors are that your father offered to back you when you started out. You refused and built up all this on your own. It’s quite an impressive legacy.”
Alec dismissed her insight with a shake of his head, as if another person backing him financially to start his own empire had never occurred to him. “My father has his own business interests.”
Edna nodded in agreement. “Helen just wants to make it on her own. She doesn’t want people handing it to her.”
Alec considered this but still thought the rejection of a mobile phone for a woman, especially one as beautiful as Helen, was not right. She could be in all kinds of danger and he felt suddenly uncomfortable, irritable even, at the idea of her walking around the city of London without that kind of security. She was taking an unnecessary risk. “How’s the Lindsey contract coming along?” he asked, changing the subject.
They discussed business for several minutes, Edna updating him on several issues and then Alec giving her further instructions. He was just about to walk into his office to get papers for his next meeting when he turned around. “Edna, get a mobile phone established in Helen’s name. I’ll make sure she carries it around.” He didn’t tell her he’d have to find the silly woman to give it to her though. That was something private he wasn’t going to share with his staff.
And if Helen thought he was going to give up, she’d better re-think her strategy. Alec knew that this thing between himself and Helen wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
Chapter 4
“Hello?” Helen answered absently as she pulled the photos out of the processing chemical. Her bathroom was cramped, but it was the only space she could process her photos without fear of them being exposed to light before they were ready.
“Helen? Hi, this is Jim. I’m sure you don’t remember me but I was the guy standing next to you at Edna’s party last week.”
Helen pinned the photo up on the string hanging across her shower. “Hi Jim. Of course I remember you. How could I forget a guy wearing such a great tie? All those little bunnies! It was great.”
Jim laughed through the phone and Helen could hear him relax. “Yeah, well, that’s kind of my little way of lightening things up over there. I usually don’t wear things like that when I think Mr. Dionysius is going to be in the office.”
She laughed, completely understanding his comment. Alex was mean and tyrannical and she liked the fact that this man was snubbing his nose at Alec’s rules and silently getting away with it. “He’s kind of a tyrant, isn’t he?” Helen said, her nose wrinkling at the idea of anyone being afraid of what they would wear.