THERE was just a door between Emma Jane Robards and her current goal. Only it wasnât just any old common or garden door. No: this one was sleek and forbidding, made out of the finest grained walnut, with a sign in perfectly formed gold lettering that seemed to haughtily announce the name of its occupant like a VIP at a banquet. Piers Redfield. Even the name seemed imbued with importance.
âDonât bother trying to arrange an appointment to see him,â Lawrence had advised. âHe employs an army of staff to keep out the riff-raff. No offence.â Heâd smiled apologetically and Emmaâs stomach had churned a little queasily. What on earth was she letting herself in for, sneaking around trying to get into some corporate wizardâs protected enclave as if she was some kind of amateur spy or something? And why, oh, why had she allowed Lawrence to even persuade her to consider it?
Because he needed her help, Emma reminded herself with renewed determination, and that was why she was willing to risk being thrown out into the street by Security orâworseâbeing driven off in a police car. Doggedly tilting her chin to shake off her fear, she rapped her knuckles smartly against the imposing walnut, frankly stunned that she had managed to get as far as the great manâs door without being stopped. But today, for once, luck seemed to be on her side.
âCome!â
Into the lionâs den⦠Her thoughts racing, Emma twisted the brass doorknob and swept into the inner sanctum so appropriately guarded by that imposing door, then came to a nervous standstill almost as soon as her feet crossed the threshold. She hadnât expected the room to be quite so huge or awe-inspiring but, with its panoramic windows and endless sea of forest-green carpet, it was. And those beautiful paintings on the walls werenât prints either. They had to be the real thingâeven Emmaâs untrained eye could see that. But more than her intimidating surroundings, or the pervading aura of wealth that hung like exclusive perfume on the air, what commanded her attention the most was the immaculately attired glowering male sitting behind a stylish desk so huge it wouldnât have looked out of place accommodating a small dinner party. Piers Redfield himself.
âWho the hell are you?â
Emmaâs feet wanted to run, but sheer strength of will made them stay right where they were. Now sheâd come this far, she wasnât about to bolt like some frightened rabbit just because he was the head of a hugely successful corporation, a multimillionaire if Lawrence was to be believed, and she a mere waitress in her friendâs bistro. He had a lifestyle about a million miles away from her own and probably wouldnât give her the time of day if their paths should ever cross in the normal course of events, but even so, Emma told herself, she had to seize the moment and not be scared. Though in the normal course of events their paths would never crossâprobably not even in her wildest dreams. Lawrence hadnât exaggerated. Piers Redfield looked as if he could put the fear of God into just about anyone.
âAre you going to answer me or do I get Security to come and throw you out?â His bellow bounced off the walls and Emma gripped the black leather briefcase sheâd brought with her to help her look as if she was meant to be in the building and prayed hard that her bravado would hold out.
âIâm Emma. Iâm a friend of Lawrence.â
âLawrence?â Dark blond brows came together over penetrating blue eyes the seductive hue of an azure sky over the French Riviera. Staring into them, even from this distance, Emma almost forgot the reason sheâd come. Unlocking her hand from its death grip on the briefcase handle, she wondered if it was normal for a heart to beat so deafeningly loud, or for fear to grip her courage by the throat and strangle it into oblivion.
âYour son.â
âI know perfectly well heâs my son, but that still doesnât explain your presence here. And, while weâre on the subject, how did you get past Reception and my assistant without being seen?â
âTheyâre out front watching the Lord Mayorâs Show. And I suppose there arenât many people here on a Saturday morning.â When Emma had emerged from the tube station to find herself swept up in the crowd of people thronging the streets, she had prayed with all her might that the occupants of the office buildings lining the route would be distracted by the procession. Sheâd hardly been able to believe it when sheâd found that to be the case. It was a miracle but she had been able to whip past the temporarily empty security desk downstairs as easily as a magicianâs assistant. Now you see me, now you donât.