‘According to the manager, someone had installed the wrong kind of light bulbs, and according to Jo she used highly flammable glue as a sort of quick fix in order to get some samples finished for last night. Normally she stitches everything by hand. A most unfortunate coincidence.’
‘So it would seem.’
‘Still, it wasn’t all bad. Self-igniting accessories are apparently tipped to be the latest craze.’
‘Extraordinary.’
Phoebe shrugged. ‘Anything’s possible in PR.’ She picked up a pen and pulled a notepad towards her. ‘Anyway,’ she said with a bright smile that didn’t reach her eyes, ‘what do you want?’
Alex stretched his legs out and regarded her carefully. ‘I have a proposition for you.’
That surprised her. ‘Oh?’
‘I’m hosting a party tomorrow night for colleagues and clients and a few friends. I want you to be there.’
Curiosity cracked the glacial façade. ‘In what capacity?’
‘I want you to raise money for one of the charities I support.’
Phoebe’s eyes narrowed. ‘That’s not really what I do.’
He knew that, and that was the beauty of his test. ‘Don’t you want the business?’ he said shooting her a shrewd glance.
Phoebe frowned. ‘Naturally your offer is intriguing, but isn’t raising money at a private party a little inappropriate?’
‘Highly. There lies the challenge.’
‘But why would you want to offer me a challenge?’
Alex regarded her thoughtfully for a while. ‘Would you like to know the real reason I was at the party last night?’
Phoebe tensed. ‘I’d be fascinated.’
‘I came to fire you,’ he said lazily.
Outside, traffic rumbled. Horns beeped. People shouted. But inside her office heavy silence descended.
Phoebe blinked and stared at him in disbelief. ‘You know, for a moment there I thought you’d said you’d come to fire me.’
‘I did.’
Phoebe went white for a second and then that brittle little smile snapped back to her face and Alex was struck by a sudden uncontrollable urge to wipe it away with a kiss. ‘That’s insane. I don’t work for you so how can you fire me?’
He ignored the urge and kept his gaze well away from her mouth. ‘I own sixty per cent of Jo’s company. I can do whatever I like.’
Phoebe glowered. ‘I thought you were supposed to be a silent partner.’
‘I was.’
‘Your particular brand of silence is deafening.’ She paused and total bafflement swept across her face. ‘Why would you want to fire me?’ Then she frowned. ‘Is this about the kiss?’
Alex started. ‘Why would this be about the kiss?’
‘Well, some might say there was a conflict of interest,’ she muttered, taking an intense interest in the papers on her desk as her cheeks went pink.
‘I didn’t know who you were. Did you know who I was?’
‘No. Jo barely mentioned you, and then never by name.’