She had a lot to say.
Only she had no intention of saying any of it to Ram—ever.
* * *
Glancing out of the window of his limo, Ram stared moodily up at the RWI building with none of the usual excitement and pride he felt at seeing th
e headquarters of his company. His trip to New York had been productive and busy—there had been the usual hectic round of meetings—but for the first time ever he had wanted to come home early.
As the car slowed he frowned. He still didn’t understand why he’d decided to shorten his trip. But then, right now he didn’t understand a lot of what was happening in his life, for it seemed to be changing in ways he couldn’t control or predict.
Nodding at the receptionists on the front desk, he strode through the foyer and took the lift up to the twenty-second floor. Closing the door to his office, he stared disconsolately out of the window.
The launch date was rapidly approaching, but he was struggling to find any enthusiasm and energy for what amounted to the biggest day of his business career.
Nor was he even faintly excited about any of the beautiful, sexy women who were pursuing him with the determination and dedication of hungry cheetahs hunting an impala.
Why did he feel like this? And why was he feeling like it now?
He gritted his teeth. He knew the answer to both those questions. In fact it was the same answer. For, despite his having tried to erase her from his mind, Nola was the answer, the punchline, the coda to every single question and thought he’d had since she’d left Australia.
It might have been okay if it was just every now and then, but the reality was that Nola was never far from his thoughts. Even though she’d been gone for months now, every time he saw a mass of long dark hair he was still sure it was her. And each time that it wasn’t he felt the same excitement, and disappointment, then fury.
There was a knock at the door, and when he was sure his face would give away nothing of what he was feeling, he said curtly. ‘Come in.’
It was Jenny.
‘I emailed you the data you asked for.’ She handed him a folder. ‘But I know you like a hard copy as well.’
He nodded. ‘Anything crop up while I was away?’
‘Nothing major. There were a couple of problems with some of the pre-order sites, and the live stream was only working intermittently on Tuesday. But Ms Mason sorted them out so—’
Ram stiffened. ‘Ms Mason? Why didn’t you tell me she called?’
Jenny’s eyes widened. ‘Because she didn’t call. She’s here.’
He stared past her, his chest tightening with shock.
‘Since when?’
‘Since Monday.’ She smiled. ‘But she’s leaving tonight. Oh, and she’s pr—’
He cut her off. ‘And nobody thought to tell me?’ he demanded.
‘I thought you knew. I—Is there a problem?’ Jenny stammered. ‘I thought she was still under contract.’
Blood was pounding in his ears.
Glancing at his secretary’s scared expression, he shook his head and softened his voice. ‘There isn’t, and she is.’
He could hardly believe it. Nola was in the building and yet she hadn’t bothered to come and find him.
As though reading his thoughts, Jenny gave him a small, anxious smile. ‘She probably thinks you’re still in New York. I’m sure she’d like to see you,’ she said breathlessly.
Remembering the email Nola had sent him, he felt his pulse twitch. That seemed unlikely, but it wasn’t her choice.
He smiled blandly. ‘I’m sure she does. Maybe you could get her on the phone, Jenny, and tell her I’d like to see her in my office. When it’s convenient, of course. It’s just that we have some unfinished business.’