‘Would you like a fresh drink?’ Patrizio asked as a waiter drifted towards them.
She shook her head and handed him her barely touched glass of orange juice. ‘No, I’m just going to the ladies’ room. Excuse me.’
He watched her walk away; every eye turned to look as she left the room, the speculative glances enough to unsettle the strongest of personalities.
He let out a sigh and turned to face one of the sales staff who had called out to him.
Six weeks, he reminded himself as the man began speaking, not a word of which he could recall less than ten minutes later.
Six weeks.
Keira locked herself in one of the cubicles and took some deep calming breaths. She heard other women come and go, their idle chatter barely registering as she tried to concentrate on keeping a lid on her emotions.
‘Gosh, Patrizio Trelini’s wife is gorgeous, don’t you think?’ A woman’s voice suddenly broke through Keira’s consciousness.
‘Sure is,’ another woman replied. ‘No wonder he’s decided to take her back. Mind you, I don’t know what all the fuss was about in the first place. It’s not as if he hasn’t had the odd fling. I wonder what his current mistress thinks of him going back to his wife, or maybe he’s going to have his bit on the side as a sort of payback.’
‘Wouldn’t surprise me,’ the first woman said with a touch of cynicism. ‘Besides, Gisela Hunter doesn’t strike me as the type to mo
ve aside without a fuss.’
‘Is she here tonight?’
‘I saw her arrive just before we came in here,’ the other woman said. ‘She was making a beeline for Patrizio. I wonder what the papers will make of that.’
‘I wonder what his wife will make of that,’ the first woman said wryly as they left.
Keira got to her feet and steeled her resolve with a gargantuan effort. She touched up her make-up and, taking another deep breath, went back out to the ballroom. She scanned the crowd for Patrizio’s glossy black head that was usually at least three or four inches above everyone else’s, but there was no sign of him.
‘Are you looking for your husband?’ the waiter who had served them earlier said on his way past with a tray of drinks.
‘Yes…’
‘I just saw him go through to the lounge area out there,’ he said, pointing to the right.
Keira thanked him and made her way out to where he had directed, but it wasn’t until she had moved past the lounge area to a small alcove behind a large arrangement of flowers that she saw him.
He was standing close to a tall blonde woman in her late twenties, her close-fitting black dress showcasing her stunning figure in all the right places.
They were talking in hushed whispers. Keira couldn’t make out what was being said but the body language between them was all she needed to see to know that his relationship with the woman was an intimate one.
She turned away, her heart contracting so suddenly that she thought she was going to faint. She stumbled back towards the ballroom and, weaving her way to the table they had been assigned, sat down and reached for her glass of water.
Gradually the rest of the tables filled and after about fifteen minutes Patrizio came and sat down beside her, his expression giving no hint of what Keira had witnessed.
‘Cornered by another executive?’ she asked with a pointed look.
‘Yes,’ he said, sending her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Keira silently seethed. She was sure the woman she had overheard in the ladies’ room was right. He was doing it deliberately as a payback for what she had done. What better torture to dish out than to have her live and sleep with him for six weeks, knowing he was taking his pleasure elsewhere?
The meal was served but she barely touched it. She pushed each course as it was served around her plate, the occasional mouthful making it past her lips, but she tasted nothing but bitterness and regret.
A band began to play, which was a relief as it meant she no longer had to force herself to make conversation with the other guests at their table as the music was too loud to hear what anyone was saying with any accuracy.
Patrizio leaned towards her to speak directly against her ear. ‘We should dance.’
‘Should we?’ she replied, her lips almost touching the cartilage of his ear.