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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Fifty Three
Chapter 53.EASY enough to announce that she was answering the wake-up call that fatehad rung so loudly in her ears. It was quite another to look the world in theeye at eight o’clock in the morning—and most of it appeared to be packedinto the underground train with her—and act on it.Miracesca had put in a couple of years at the coal face of marketingbefore she’d met Nate n. It hadn’t exactly been a riveting experience. Whatideas she’d offered had been brushed aside before, as the most juniormember of the team, she’d been despatched for coffee, sandwiches,photocopying. She hadn’t needed too much persuading not to return afterToby was born. None of the wives or partners of Nate n’s business friendshad worked, and it had been easy enough to fall into the round of gymworkouts, lunches and dinner parties. To pretend to herself that she had afull and rewarding life.Easy to pretend that she was happy. Bury the memory of a momentwhen the world had appeared to light up. Nate was
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Fifty Four
Chapter 54.Concentrated all her attention on the keys that were cutting into her palmshe was holding on to them so tightly.‘Brian Hicks,’ she said, coming back to the point. ‘He must be owedmoney. Salary, holiday entitlement. Until I’ve been to the bank…’‘I paid him.’‘Oh. Well, thank you. I’ll reimburse you, of course,’ she said, mentallycrossing her fingers. She had no idea what the company finances were like.‘It’s not necessary. We’re going to be partners, remember.’‘No.’ She didn’t want Dan’s disturbing presence invading her life. Himbeing there every time she turned around. She’d had three years of feelingguilty because every time she closed her eyes…‘It’s what Nate wanted. The dying wish of a man who loved you,’ hesaid. ‘It will make everything simpler, although I do intend to be a silentpartner. In all aspects of the arrangement,’ he added.‘You mean you don’t anticipate leaping into my bed with the samespeed with which you’ve taken over my office?’‘I somehow dou
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Fifty Five
Chapter 55.‘Anyway, that’s not my concern,’ she said briskly, refusing to give in tothem. ‘What’s worrying me is that if you fall asleep in that chair I won’t beable to get into the desk. Did you come in your car?’‘No, I left it at my office yesterday.’‘Good. You’re in no fit state to be behind the wheel.’ She dug around inher bag for her front door key—which she laid on the desk in front of him—and a tissue, which she used to blow her nose. And wondered how muchof his car Nate had owned. Whether she’d be able to use the money toease finances a little. It was a company car so it would be hers. The papersmust be here…‘Should you be here at all?’ he asked, distracting her as he got up, camearound the desk. ‘This would be tough for anyone.’His eyes were full of compassion, concern, and something else that shethought might be despair but was more likely exhaustion. She wanted to layher hand against his cheek. To kiss his brow. To wrap her arms around himand hold him for a
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Fifty Six
Chapter 56.MiraCESCA’S heart stopped. Dan had fallen asleep in the bath. His arm washanging over the edge, his fingers brushing against the floor. The tensionhad flowed out of his face and his long, elegant limbs were totally relaxedand, for the first time since he’d come home, she caught a glimpse of theman who had looked at her across a crowded restaurant bar and made herfeel as if she was the only woman in the world.Her gaze drifted down the length of his body, then stopped, transfixedmomentarily on what might just have been the movement of water causedby his breathing, or a stirring of something much more dangerous. Her heartkicked back in, racing to catch up as she forced herself to return to his face,certain that he’d be watching her, his eyes mocking…But no, he was still fast asleep. He looked so much younger, so muchmore approachable with the harsh lines smoothed from his face. So muchmore vulnerable…She really should wake him. If he’d come home and got straight
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Fifty Seven
Chapter 57.As he waited, giving her time to clear the room, he realised he shouldhave asked her how her elbow was doing. Unfortunately, the quick flash ofher smooth, golden backside as she’d finally turned and fled had knocked itclean out of his mind.Miracesca didn’t hang around to ask whether Dan was going to continue hisnap or would prefer to go downstairs and have something to eat. She justgrabbed the first clothes that came to hand and bolted. And, havinggathered up the paperwork she’d brought back from the office, she shutherself away in the study.Her jeans were the comfortable baggy fit cut that she’d worn whenNate wasn’t around to grumble that she looked untidy, the top somethingloose and equally figure obscuring. It felt disloyal somehow—even in thelast couple of weeks, when he’d hardly been able to lift his head, he’d stillwanted to see her looking like his ‘princess’—but it was too late to thinkabout changing. Too late to think about obscuring anything, too.D
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Fifty Eight
Chapter 58.‘Oh, Nate n! Why didn’t you bring one of these home for me? If I’dknown…’But she knew why. Ship the stuff in and ship it out again before youhave to pay for it. That had been his strategy. It had worked for frogs.This was different.But it would have to be her long-term, comeback strategy. Her future.And Toby’s. Right now she needed hard cash, and quickly, or she was goingto have to marry Dan to save her family and friends from disaster and whathad once been an impossible dream, locked in the deepest recesses of herheart where she never dared go, would become the darkest of nightmares.Not before she’d examined every other option, she swore. There had tobe another way.She picked up a legal pad, drew a line down the centre, and at the top ofone side she wrote ‘Assets’, and on the other side, ‘Liabilities’.What assets did she have? Her jewellery, mostly. Maybe some of thosedesigner evening gowns could be sold through a dress agency. They hadsome good pieces of
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Fifty Nine
Chapter 59.THIS would have been the perfect moment to hail a passing black taxi andsay, ‘Follow that car!’Dan couldn’t just drop a bombshell like that and then drive away. Shewanted an explanation. She wanted to know what the devil he thought hewas doing and she wanted to know now!By some miracle—and she was certainly due one—a cruising taxiappeared just when she needed one and she hailed it. The drama of themoment was somewhat spoiled, however, by the fact that women didn’twalk around with wallets in their hip pockets.Dan’s car was long out of sight by the time she’d fetched her bag andshe had to content herself with, ‘The London Eye, please. As quickly as youcan. It’s an emergency.’Even as she said it, she realised how stupid that must sound. What kindof emergency called for a ride on the London Eye? Not that she had anyintention of going on it. But the driver—who’d probably heard everythingin his time—just said, ‘Yes, ma’am’, and set off enthusiastically enough int
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Chapter Sixty
Chapter 60.‘Wouldn’t it just be cheaper to pay the rent until I get myself sorted out?If you’re that worried about Toby being homeless?’‘It isn’t just Toby, though. Is it?’‘Nate n wouldn’t expect you to take care of Matty and Connie.’‘He asked me to take care of you and Toby. It seems to me you’re all apackage and it really is easier to do it this way.’It certainly would be no simple matter rehousing Matty…‘But you could have just renewed the lease.’ She didn’t want him tohave bought the house, she discovered. That was too…personal.‘That was my first thought,’ he said. ‘There’s no easy way to tell youthis, Mira, but your landlord gave Nate six months notice to quit fourmonths ago. You only had a couple of months before you’d have had tomove out.’Surprisingly, she didn’t feel any huge sense of shock. The revelations ofthe last week had taken her beyond any place where she could feel shocked.Nate n had known he was on borrowed time, that there was nothing hecould do to
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