Scandals and Secrets

'Wait a minute, Damian! Who is this woman? And what's the emergency?'

'That, my dear sister,' he said with dark passion in his voice, 'is none of your business.'

'I hope you're not getting tangled up with another married woman.'

He threw her a scornful look. 'I never get tangled up with a married woman, Celeste.'

'That's just playing with words. You know what I meant.'

'Yes, of course I do. And as I said before, mind your own damned business!'

There was nothing quiet or discreet about Damian's exit. He slammed the door after him, leaving Celeste feeling more worried about her brother than she'd been in years.

Drinking. Gambling. Getting into debt. Having affairs with other men's wives. Where would it all end?

She shook her head and looked back down at the appalling sales reports. There was nothing she could do about Damain, but there was something she could do about Campbell's dwindling profits. Reaching over, she pressed the intercom button.

'Yes, Ms Campbell?' Luke answered.

'I need to see you,' she rapped out. 'Straight away.'

'Coming ... '

Luke presented himself immediately, adjusting his tie a little self- consciously as he came to attention in front of her desk. At thirty, he was older than her previous assistant, and not nearly as handsome. But he knew how to dress to make the most of his very good body and he knew how to follow orders. Above all, he was intelligent and ambitious. Ruthlessly so, she believed.

Every now and then, a cool sharpness came into those bland grey eyes of his, giving him a totally different look. Celeste sometimes wondered what he would have done if her occasional public flirtation with him had been put to the acid test. To be honest, she had a feeling he would have turned her down, which was perhaps why she was about to give him the chance of a lifetime.

'As of this moment, Luke,' she said crisply, 'the position of sales and marketing manager is vacant. Mr Campbell is going to take over a new position in the company as director of public relations. I was wondering if you'd be interested in his old position.'

Celeste was gratified with Luke's reaction. He was suitably stunned for a split-second, but quickly assumed that cool and highly self-contained bearing she rather admired.

'I would indeed,' was all he said.

There was no gushing, no groveling. Celeste smiled at him. Yes, she thought with great satisfaction. You'll do. You'll do splendidly.

CHAPTER FIVE

GEMMA was wrenched out of a deep sleep by someone shaking her. Her eyes sprang open to find Damian Campbell sitting on the hotel bed beside her, peering worriedly down into her face.

There was another equally worried-looking man hovering behind him. It took her a few moments to recognize him as the desk clerk from downstairs.

'Are you all right, Gemma?' Damian was asking anxiously. 'You haven't done anything silly, have you?'

'Who .. what?' she stammered, her head still fuzzy from sleep. 'I. .. I. .. don't know what you mean.'

Damian smiled. 'She's fine,' he threw over his shoulder at the desk clerk. 'You can go now. Thanks for letting me in. False alarm.'

Gemma's mind slowly started working. She levered herself up on one elbow and watched the man leave. When he'd closed the door, her gaze returned to Damian.

'What on earth did you tell him? My God, you thought I might have tried to kill myself, didn't you?'

Damian shrugged. 'Who knows what you might have done? I didn't get your message for quite a while and you did say it was an emergency. When I rang the number and found out it was a hotel not far from the city, I decided to hot-foot it right over here instead of just ringing. Then when I knocked on your door, you didn't answer.'

'I was asleep!'

'I can see that now.'

His smile was so sweet, Gemma couldn't stay angry with him. 'I. . .I've left Nathan,' she admitted unhappily, swinging her feet over the side of the bed and sitting up properly.

'I gathered that,' came Damian's gentle reply. He picked up her closest hand, stroking it soothingly with his other hand. After an initial instinctive resistance, Gemma soon found the action both relaxing and comforting. She closed her eyes and sighed.

'I always knew it was just a matter of time,' Damian said.

A sob caught in Gemma's throat. Damian dropped her hand to put one arm around her shoulder, the other stroking her head as he cradled it against his chest. Once again, she did not have the strength to resist him and it did feel good to be held so tenderly.