Sheltered by Her Top-Notch Boss Read online

  ‘Still,’ she said, ‘he must be glad to have you back home. Are you living at the manor house?’

  ‘I am.’

  ‘And is that working out all right? You get on well with him, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I do.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘I’m his only son and he’s relying on me to take care of things and secure the family’s heritage.’

  She thought about that. ‘I suppose you’ve had your career to keep you busy up till now. Becoming a consultant is a huge step.’

  ‘It is.’ He might have said something more, except that a small sound alerted them to the fact that they were no longer alone in the kitchen. They turned round.

  Jayden stood in the doorway, clutching his teddy bear in the crook of his arm and rubbing his eye sleepily with his free hand. ‘You putted the light out,’ he said accusingly, looking at Ellie. ‘I has to have the light on.’

  Ellie hurried over to him and crouched down, bringing herself to his level. ‘Oh, Jayden, sweetheart, I’m sorry.’

  She’d turned the lamp out in case the light disturbed him. ‘Let me take you back to bed. I’ll leave your bedroom door open a little and put the hall light on. Will that be all right?’

  The little boy nodded, and Ellie took hold of his hand to gently lead him back upstairs. She glanced back at James. ‘I won’t be long.’

  ‘That’s okay.’ He said it slowly and she saw that he was staring at Jayden in some kind of shock, his eyes wide, and a small frown creased his brow. Then he seemed to get himself together. ‘Actually, uh...no need to rush. I should go. I have to go on to a dinner party.’

  ‘Oh, I see. Of course...if you must.’

  Jayden looked up at him. ‘Who that?’ he asked, holding onto Ellie’s leg for protection as she stood up.

  ‘I work with him at the hospital,’ she told him quietly.

  James made an effort to relax and said with a smile, ‘Hello, Jayden.’

  Jayden didn’t answer, but gave him a cautious look from under his lashes.

  ‘Come on,’ Ellie murmured. ‘Let’s take you back to bed. You have to get up for school in the morning.’ She glanced at James once more. ‘Give me a minute and I’ll see you out.’

  ‘That’s all right. I can see myself out. You go ahead.’ He walked towards the door. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  ‘All right, then. Bye.’ She couldn’t quite understand the expression on his face, a mixture of disbelief and conjecture, and it was only after James had gone that it finally dawned on her...he thought Jayden was her child. But he’d gone, without giving her a chance to explain.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ‘IS THERE SOMETHING on your mind?’ Lewis studied Ellie thoughtfully as they walked together towards A and E. ‘What’s wrong? Is it something to do with your TV programme? You look worried.’

  ‘Do I?’ Ellie covered her feelings with an attempt at a smile. ‘No, I’m not worried. Everything’s fine.’ And that was true, at least as far as her TV career was concerned. She was to record the next programme in the series in a few days’ time.

  As to the rest, things were unravelling fast, and she couldn’t begin to tell him about that—where would she start? With the fact that in the last few days she’d discovered that her hospital career was under a cloud, or that her boss was the very last person she’d want to work with? Or maybe she could blame her troubles on the cryptic text message she’d received from Noah that morning—one that had left her wondering what on earth was about to explode in her face and cause all manner of fallout. He must have sent it yesterday, but she’d been busy looking after Jayden and hadn’t checked her messages.

  Things are on the up and up. Just had a huge scoop—the Sunday Supplement printed my article and photo exposé about the Birchenalls. Will get a copy to you.

  Despite her bad feelings towards Lord Birchenall, she would never have condoned putting forward any piece of writing that drew a negative picture of his family. It wasn’t in her to take that kind of revenge.

  Unfortunately, though, it looked as though she was too late to put the brakes on Noah. Today was Monday, which meant the paper had already gone out. Whatever the article contained, it didn’t sound good, and she could only hope James hadn’t seen it.

  ‘Is it to do with your meeting with Amelia Holt tomorrow?’ Lewis persisted. ‘It must be on your mind.’

  ‘I suppose it is, but I’m trying not to think about it.’

  ‘I can understand that.’ He glanced at her. ‘Perhaps we could have lunch together tomorrow, and you can tell me all about it?

  She nodded. She certainly didn’t want to talk about any of her problems to Lewis, though, so she did her best to change the subject as they walked into the emergency unit.

  ‘How is Lily getting on?’ she asked. ‘I went to see her over the weekend, and although she hid it from Jayden, it seemed to me she was a bit down.’

  Jayden had been overjoyed to see his mother. He’d given her a picture he’d made, showing her sitting up in bed, with a teddy bear of her own to cheer her up. He’d beamed brightly when she’d given him a hug and a kiss in exchange.

  Lewis pulled a face. ‘It’s only to be expected, I suppose. She has an intravenous drip to contend with, she’s not enjoying the enforced rest, and she wants to be with her child. And, of course, her husband’s still away. That can’t be good for her peace of mind, and it has a bad effect on her blood pressure.’

  Ellie frowned. ‘He offered to come straight home from Switzerland to be with her, but she was worried about the effect on the business. He owns the company, so it’s their livelihood. Unfortunately he’s had to deal with a lot of difficult situations in the Swiss branch lately.’

  ‘That’s bound to cause a conflict of loyalties, I suppose.’

  She nodded. ‘I told her I’m okay looking after Jayden, and she hasn’t gone into labour, so she told him to finish what he went there for. He says he’s going to come over here to be with her and then go back to work next day. Of course, they talk all the time on the phone, so that helps.’

  ‘Well, we seem to have stabilised her condition for now, but I’m keeping her on bed rest—her blood pressure does vary and we need to keep it down. As soon as I feel the time is right, we’ll deliver her baby by Caesarean section.’

  ‘At least I know she’s in safe hands.’

  He smiled and said teasingly, ‘You know I’m taking extra-special care of her just because she’s your friend.’

  Ellie laughed and they parted company as she set out to work her way down her list of patients and Lewis went off to answer his pager call.

  James watched her approach the desk. He was there looking through a sheaf of papers, and as she came closer she saw they were lab reports.

  ‘Hi, there,’ she greeted him, but he only nodded in return, his eyes half-closed as he watched Lewis head towards one of the treatment bays. She looked at him in confusion. That wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. Again she had the feeling that there was some reason he didn’t want her being friendly with Lewis. Or was there something more to it?

  ‘I have to go out,’ he said, ‘so perhaps you could deal with the angina patient in room three?’ His tone was curt and she sent him a quick glance. His whole body was taut, she noticed, and a muscle was flexing in his jaw.

  ‘Okay.’ She frowned. ‘Will you be coming back at all today?’

  ‘I don’t know. My father was taken ill yesterday, and just now I had a call to say he’s taken a turn for the worse. I have to go and be with him.’

  ‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’ she said, a flood of sympathy washing over her. ‘That must be worrying for you.’ A horrible thought struck her. Had he seen the Sunday papers?

  He didn’t answer her, but his smoke-dark gaze met hers like the lash of a whip, and she felt her throat go dry.
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  ‘James...’

  ‘I’ve examined the patient briefly and he has unstable angina. He’ll probably need to be scheduled for cardiac catheterisation as soon as possible. I’ve given him blood-thinning medication, but he’ll need a beta-blocker and—’

  ‘I’ll see to it,’ she cut in. ‘Really, you don’t need to be concerned. I’ll do everything necessary.’ Didn’t he trust her? Was he having second thoughts about her competency now that Mel had made an official complaint?

  ‘I’m not concerned. Not about that, at any rate.’

  ‘Then what is it that’s troubling you?’

  ‘Perhaps you should talk to your brother about that. His article in the Sunday paper wasn’t even based on truth—my father’s business dealings are all above board. He would never harass anyone. And as for myself, what gives him the right to lay out my private life in the tabloids for all to see? What he did was irresponsible—unforgivable—especially given my father’s precarious state of health.’

  He dropped the papers back in the tray and strode away before she could answer him. All at once her stomach felt like lead. So he had seen the newspaper. Now, more than ever, she wanted to know what Noah had written.

  ‘He’s well and truly put out, isn’t he?’ Olivia said, frowning, as she came to look at a patient’s file. She pushed a stray lock of fair hair behind her ear. ‘I’ve not seen him like that before—mind you, if you’ve seen the paper... I guess you must have—there’s a copy in the staff lounge.’

  ‘I haven’t seen it,’ Ellie answered quietly. ‘What’s it all about?’

  ‘Well, it’s to do with both him and his father. James has this upper-crust girlfriend, Sophie Granger—’

  ‘He does?’ Unexpectedly, Ellie’s heart plummeted. It hadn’t occurred to her that James was spoken for. But why would he not be involved? After all, he was an extremely eligible man.

  Olivia nodded. ‘She’s from a well-to-do family—you know the sort of thing, born to money. They’re close friends of the Birchenalls, apparently. Anyway, there were several photos of him with her, but then there are also pictures of him leaving a private dinner party with another beautiful young woman. The article sort of makes him sound like a philanderer.’

  Ellie absorbed all that. Perhaps there was no truth in any of it. Her brother might have seen James with these women and made up his own mind about what was going on. On the other hand, she’d already had one bad experience with her ex. Shouldn’t she have learned a lesson from that? How was James any different from him?

  ‘And his father? What does the article say about him?’

  Olivia winced. ‘It makes him out to be a ruthless businessman. Apparently he’s been trying to obtain some land from his neighbour so that he can expand the dairy farm and add more trees to the orchard. The only problem is, the owner of the land doesn’t want to part with it, and complains he’s being harassed.’

  ‘Oh, dear.’ Ellie groaned inwardly. What had Noah been thinking? He must have followed James over the last few days in order to get this scoop, and had somehow managed to delve into his father’s business dealings.

  ‘I feel sorry for James,’ Olivia said. ‘He’s not been here long, but he’s been fair to everyone and treated us well. He’s always there to listen if you need to talk.’ She smiled. ‘He’s even started to bring in cakes and pasties for when we need to grab a quick bite to eat. I asked him who’s paying for it, and he said he was.’

  Ellie closed her eyes briefly. Was she wrong to see James as the enemy? His father had hurt her family badly, but was that anything to do with James? She would have to try to do something to put this right. Maybe if her neighbour could keep Jayden for a little longer this evening, she should pay James a visit. She would give her a call and find out.

  She’d no idea what she would say to James, but surely she had no choice but to try to make amends? She had to work with him, after all.

  And as to Noah... He’d never behaved this way before. Did his dislike of the Birchenalls go so deep that he would go against his principles? Maybe in the cool light of day he would come to regret what he had done.

  As soon as she found time to take a break, she called him. ‘What were you thinking, Noah, going ahead with a piece like that? Don’t you realise how much trouble you’ve caused?’

  ‘I just took advantage of circumstances,’ Noah protested. ‘I was in the area and I saw Birchenall standing there with his arm around this pretty young woman. It’s exactly the sort of thing that sells.’ She could feel the frown in his voice. ‘I thought you’d be pleased. It means I can pay you back the money you loaned me.’

  ‘How could I be pleased? You said yourself Lord Birchenall has a bad heart. How did you think he would be affected by what you wrote? And as for myself—James is my boss! I have to work with him. Heaven knows how far this has set us back.’

  ‘He’ll come round.’ Noah shrugged it off. ‘His kind of people are used to this sort of thing. They’re in the public eye all the time.’

  It was clear he didn’t understand her point of view, and eventually Ellie cut the call, feeling more disturbed than ever. She would have to do something to try and smooth things over.

  When her shift finished at the end of the afternoon, she checked on Jayden at her friend’s house, and then hurried home to change into something presentable. It was important that she look her best, because she had to muster all the confidence she possessed if she was to face up to both James and his father.

  In the end, she chose a midnight-blue dress that swathed her figure in gentle folds, and added a light touch of make-up to lend a soft flush of colour to her cheeks. Her hair fell loosely about her shoulders, the silky, chestnut curls gleaming with health.

  It was several years since she’d been anywhere near her former home, and as she drove along the Birchenalls’ sweeping drive in the early evening, memories of her childhood came flooding back.

  Her family had lived in the lodge, a neat cottage situated in the grounds, and she’d spent the summers exploring the surrounding woods with her friends. They’d fished for tiddlers in the brook that ran through the estate, and picked wild flowers in the meadows. They had been blissful times, until her father had lost his way and their world had fallen apart.

  The manor house came into view and she gazed at it with a mixture of awe and apprehension. How would James and her father respond to her turning up here? She would be their least favourite person at the moment.

  She drew the car to a halt on the cobbled drive and stepped out to look around. She’d always loved this beautiful old house, with its white-painted walls and pretty leaded windows. The building was wide and symmetrical, with an extended middle portion whose tiled roof met at right angles with the main roof structure. In front of that was a large covered porch, again with its own roof canopy.

  Steeling herself, she approached the front door and rang the bell. Then she waited, her heart beginning to pound. Why on earth was she feeling so nervous? There was no explanation, except that perhaps this place—and its owner—had been at the root of all her family’s troubles.

  ‘Ellie?’ James frowned when he opened the door then pulled it wider. He was wearing dark chinos and a shirt that was open at the neck to reveal his lightly bronzed throat.

  Ellie swallowed and tried to work out what she was going to say.

  His gaze ran over her briefly as he tried to read her expression. ‘Has something happened at the hospital—something I need to know about?’

  ‘No, not at all,’ she said quickly. ‘It’s nothing like that.’ She hesitated. ‘I just wanted to know if your father had recovered at all? I felt I had to come here and say how sorry I am that my brother caused you and your father any distress. I don’t think—’

  ‘Come in,’ he said. He ushered her into a large hallway and then led the way to a sitting roo
m. In here, the evening sunlight filtered through diamond panes of glass, glinting on crystal vases and fluted goblets set out in a display cabinet. Table lamps shed small pools of golden light over mahogany occasional tables, and lit up the open fireplace where an original oak beam formed the main feature. Overhead there were more beams, lending an old-world look to the room.

  ‘How is your father?’ she asked.

  ‘He had a nasty setback, but thankfully he’s feeling much better now.’

  ‘Can I ask what happened?’

  He nodded. ‘I think the stress of reading the article overloaded his heart, so that he had trouble getting his breath. I gave him oxygen and medication to relieve the symptoms. It took a while, but eventually he began to pull round. Then today he was bombarded with calls from the press. They even camped out on the driveway.’

  She frowned. ‘I didn’t see anyone out there.’

  ‘No. I called the police and had them moved on.’ His expression was bleak. ‘My father can’t take the strain these days.’

  ‘No. I realise that. I feel bad about all this. I don’t think Noah really understood the implications of what he was doing.’

  ‘Hmm.’ His glance shimmered over her, taking in her worried look and the silent plea in her green eyes. He laid a finger gently under her chin. ‘It’s actually Noah who should be here apologising. You didn’t need to take it on yourself to come here in his place.’

  ‘N-no...’ She stumbled over her words, distracted by the soothing touch of his hand. It was almost like a caress. ‘But I felt it was necessary. I would never have wanted this to happen.’

  He released her and went over to a cabinet at the side of the room. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

  She shook her head. ‘I’m driving but thanks. Maybe a juice of some sort if you have it.’ Her mouth was dry and she needed some kind of pick-me-up.

  ‘Okay.’ He took out a tall glass and added a generous portion of ice, topping it up with fruit juice. He handed it to her with a paper coaster and poured himself a small measure of whisky.