The problem was, she was addicted to him. The thought of never again experiencing the wild passion they shared together sent a wave of empty desolation through her body. Nor were there jobs of this quality lurking around every corner. Would she ever get another that would match this one?
David emitted a charge of electricity that made even the most mundane work appear exciting and fulfilling. She felt his intensity and responded to it. Would she ever meet another man to match him?
Was she prepared to end the addiction...cold turkey?
The thought was depressing.
Feeling emotionally torn by the prospect, Caitlin stepped out of the elevator and walked to her office on automatic pilot. She checked her watch as she opened the door. It was precisely nine o’clock.
Her timing was perfect, not a minute early, not a minute late. She sniffed in puzzlement. A sweet, rich scent seemed to permeate the room. She looked up, then stared in astonishment at the magnificent arrangement of red roses sitting on her desk. There had to be dozens of dark velvety buds beginning to unfurl into full bloom. Incredibly beautiful, marvellous, heart-kicking extravagance!
Warmth flooded through her veins. Red roses were for love. Red roses were for eternity.
David must have relented. He had seen the errors of his ways. He didn’t want to lose her. Maybe he did love her.
Or perhaps he had ordered the roses yesterday. Which was why he wouldn’t consider any change in his schedule today. He knew what was to be delivered this morning. He wanted her to be surprised by his gift of love.
Caitlin moved forward like a sleepwalker. Her mind was abuzz with exciting possibilities. Attached to the decorative basket from which the roses sprayed in luxurious splendour was a large and fabulously elaborate St Valentine’s Day card.
A red satin heart was outlined in lace and seed pearls. The card itself had a mother-of-pearl sheen and above the heart was a fat little cupid set in gold, shooting an arrow at a heart. Her heart!
Caitlin’s fingers trembled as she opened it. Her pulse raced with the hope that David had written something personal and meaningful, something that might indicate his real commitment to her.
The hope was somewhat deflated. Within a wreath of roses was printed ‘Be My Valentine’. No address to her. No signature. Only the single message of the card.
But that was something. It was an advance on what had gone before. A lilt of happiness dispelled the disappointment. It was certainly more than she had ever expected from David. He was not given to sentimentality. He did not celebrate anniversaries.
She grinned as the realisation struck her that Jenny and Mr Jordan had both seen the roses arrive. Jenny had probably shown the delivery person to her office. Did they realise that David would not put his name on the card? Did they even suspect what was going on between them?
He certainly wouldn’t hand-write anything on such a public gift. Other employees would see he was flagrantly breaking his own rules. That would not be good for morale. But she knew, and she was the only one who was meant to know. Their love-affair was a private thing. She would make certain it was kept that way.
Caitlin breathed in the wonderfully intoxicating scent, then with a happy sigh set about preparing for work. She hung her shoulder-bag on the coat-stand, grabbed her shorthand pad and pen from the top desk drawer, and headed for the door that led into David’s office.
It was amazing. Five minutes ago she would have approached this door with every muscle in her body twanging and twitching with tension. Now she was eager to face David again, delighted he had unbent so far for her sake. He understood. He had given her a pleasure that he wouldn’t care about for himself. It was a turning point, a concession, a gesture that proved he cared about her feelings.
She opened the door and breezed in, bubbling with new confidence. David’s eyes snapped up from the papers on his desk. There was a fractional tightening of his jaw. He had the gritty look of a man who had been placed in the front line of battle, determined not to be seen shirking his duty, but hating the position of vulnerability. His eyes bored into Caitlin; angry, distrustful, broodingly belligerent.
‘You’re late,’ he accused bitingly.
Caitlin barely repressed what was almost an irrepressible smile. Then it burst on to her lips like irradiating sunshine. ‘I was thinking of you.’
David looked taken aback by her response. He was uncertain of her. That was the problem. He didn’t like being uncertain of her, but he was. She had acted in an unpredictable manner this morning. He wasn’t sure which way she would jump now. His applecart had been upset, his sense of purpose and direction severely changed.
To Caitlin this was proof enough that she was important to him. She did have some influence over his thinking. This was not the time, however, to break any more of his rules. She was not supposed to be a recipient of roses from him, so it would be unwise to thank him openly for them until they were out of the office and away from work. Nevertheless, she could let him know her feelings without being direct.
‘I didn’t mean to hold you up, David,’ she said in quick apology, ‘but you’re full of surprises today.’ She looked at him meaningfully.
‘So, too, are you,’ came the somewhat uncertain reply.
She gave him another brilliant smile as she walked briskly forward and sat in the chair she used for taking dictation. Even looking as stern as he did, David was devastatingly handsome. He was wearing a navy-blue suit. It was the fashionable colour in the corporate world. It looked superb on David. A silk tie diagonally striped in red and navy and silvery grey was perfectly aligned on his white shirt. Very impressive. As he always was with business.
‘Ready when you are,’ she prompted.
He stared at her for ever so long, as though weighing her present mood against the crackling hostility that had burst upon him earlier. He did not relax and smile, but his expression softened.
‘The German delegation will be here in less than an hour,’ he stated, perhaps as a reminder of how unreasonable she had been in asking him to take the day off.
‘I’m sorry about this morning,’ she said, letting him know she was in a far more reasonable frame of mind now.