The Sex War

Lindsay looked at the time, incredulous as she saw that it was twenty to one. 'Oh, no,' she said. 'I'm going to be late.'

He lifted his eyebrows enquiringly. 'Got a date with Aston?'

'No,' she said, unforthcoming. She got up and started towards the door with Chris in hot pursuit. 'I'm going to the cloakroom, where are you off to?' she asked him without turning round.

'Is it a client?' Chris asked, and she ran into the cloakroom, letting the door swing shut in his face without answering.

In front of a mirror she brushed her hair, renewed her make-up and inspected her reflection. She was wearing her white silk blouse with a lightweight green linen skirt tightly belted at the waist with a thin gilt belt. She looked cool and efficient, she did not look exactly sexy, but she decided that that was probably a good thing.

She hadn't escaped from Chris, he was waiting for her at the lift and gave her a beatific grin as she joined him.

'Going my way?'

She walked into the lift and they travelled down together. 'You aren't going to let me expire of curiosity, are you?' Chris asked.

'Definitely,' she told him.

'How can you be so hardhearted?'

'Easily, it's a gift.' The palms of her hands were perspiring, she pulled a tissue out of her bag and wiped them while Chris watched, his face speculative.

'He's obviously someone special,' he guessed aloud. 'You're in quite a state.'

Lindsay walked out of the lift and halted seeing Daniel standing in the foyer talking to a laughing receptionist who was looking at him as if Santa had just delivered him, gift-wrapped. Lindsay had never liked the girl, she decided.

'I'll ring the office,' the receptionist said as Daniel smiled at her. 'She may have left.'

Lindsay started towards the reception desk, her high heels clicking on the stone floor, and Daniel swung in her direction. His grey eyes shot over her and she gave him a curt nod.

'Sorry to keep you waiting, I was delayed.'

He was in a formal, striped suit and crisp white shirt today, his tie a lustrous maroon silk; he looked oddly remote, unfamiliar. His lean, brown face had a controlled smile in it, but the smile did not show in his eyes, they probed her face as though she was an enemy he faced across a minefield. That was how she felt, too. She looked at him coldly because she needed all her armour, all her weapons. This time she was not going to face him empty-handed and already in a losing position.

Daniel glanced past her at Chris, who was hovering behind her shoulder. Lindsay reluctantly introduced them, aware of Chris's curiosity in every nerve, and the two men shook hands. Chris had a coaxing smile on his face, Daniel didn't smile at all, he eyed Chris assessingly from head to foot in one smooth look.

'We must rush, I'm afraid,' he said to him. 'We're late already. Nice to have met you.' Taking Lindsay's elbow, he steered her out of the building and she heard Chris wandering behind them, gloomily guessing that when she got back to work she was going to face a barrage of questions from him. Chris had no sense of shame, if he wanted to know something, he asked and went on asking until he was satisfied.

'Good looking guy,' Daniel said without pleasure, watching her out of the corner of his eye. 'How long have you been working for him?'

'Oh, ages,' Lindsay said blithely.

'You seem to get on well with him.'

'I do,' she said, and halted as she saw the gleaming limousine waiting for them at the kerb with a uniformed chauffeur standing beside it. The man whisked open the passenger door and Daniel slid Lindsay into the car, joining her a second later. Lindsay saw Chris standing on the pavement, watching them in fascination. She resisted the temptation to put her tongue out at him, keeping her profile turned towards him. 'Where are we going?! she asked Daniel. The chauffeur got into the driver's seat and started the engine, the car moved off.

'To have lunch,' he told her with a quick, sideways look. 'You look very businesslike, do you like working at Vivons?'

'Love it.'

'What exactly do you do there?'

'Public relations,' she said. 'Publicity, advertising… we all come under the same department and I've worked on all three.'

'Will you be sorry to leave?' He sounded so casual she didn't realise what he had said for a few seconds, then she did a double-take.

> 'I'm not leaving Vivons.' She sat up, turning to stare fixedly at him. 'No way, don't even think that for a second. I enjoy my job, I'm going to keep it. I'd be bored out of my skull doing nothing all day.'

'Don't get aggressive with me,' Daniel muttered, frowning. 'You gave up your job at the bank.'