more important? A bit of typing and filing, or your health? In fact, why don’t you go home now?’ Rising to his feet, Zack reached for his keys. ‘Come on, I’ll give you a lift.’
***
‘OK, this is another long shot.’ Zack McLaren’s voice echoed down the phone. ‘You’ve probably found another job by now. But just in case you haven’t, the lady I took on has had to leave. So I’m looking for someone else, and I thought I’d let you know.’
Zack McLaren. Was this fate? Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, Ellie put down her mug of tea and said, ‘She had to leave after a fortnight? Does that mean you’re the boss from hell?’
He sounded amused. ‘I’m not, I promise.’
‘So you’re inviting me along for an interview?’
‘If you’re still interested.’
Ellie smiled to herself. Was she? Two weeks ago she’d been determined to escape the friendly but claustrophobic confines of Brace House. Yet once the initial embarrassment of having to see Michael again had been overcome, it had simply been easier to stay where she was. Lassitude, her GP had assured her, was all part of the grieving process. Sometimes you knew changes needed to be made but just couldn’t summon up the energy to make them.
But now Zack McLaren was calling her, giving her another chance, and she was going to take it. ‘Oh yes, I’m definitely interested. When do you want to see me?’
She heard him say, ‘As soon as you like. How about now?’
‘You’re on.’ Ellie was already scrambling off the sofa, shaking pins and needles out of her left leg. She might get there and discover she didn’t want to work for this man. But some inner instinct told her she would.
***
Bloody hell.
Bloody hell.
It was her.
The shock of it jerked Zack back from the upstairs window. He felt as if he’d been punched in the chest… no, it was like someone creeping up behind and performing the Heimlich maneuver on you without warning. It took a lot to shock him but this had managed it. The girl currently making her way along Ancram Street was the one he’d seen at the Ivy. She’d made such an impression on him back then—when had it been? Over two months ago—that he could still remember every single detail about that lunchtime. He had even skillfully engineered the ending of his own meeting so that they’d exited the restaurant at more or less the same time. Emerging onto the pavement, he had watched her jump into a taxi with Tony Weston and had experienced an almost uncontrollable urge to yank open the door and pull her back out again.
He hadn’t of course. He had controlled himself. Apart from anything else, this was the kind of behavior that got you arrested. Instead, he had stood there in the rain, watching the taxi disappear off up the road and thinking that Tony Weston was old enough to be her father.
But now she was here, walking towards his house when he’d assumed he’d never see her again, and the chances were that in less than a minute she would be ringing his doorbell. Because this girl, in her white shirt and narrow, on-the-knee blue skirt, was surely dressed for an interview.
Which meant she had to be Ellie Kendall.
Zack’s mouth was dry. Emotional complications were the last thing, the very last thing he needed in his working life. Everyone knew that getting involved with your PA was asking for trouble.
So how was he supposed to deal with a situation like this?
Chapter 11
Whoever had said that getting pooed on by a pigeon was lucky had to be deluded. As she climbed the steps to the front door, a dollop of white fell past Ellie’s field of vision and landed with a splat on the ground, just inches from her right foot. Darting belatedly to the left, she took it as a hopeful omen. Narrowly avoiding being pooed on by a pigeon was surely what counted as good luck.
She rang the bell and waited. When the door was opened, she knew from the images on Roo’s laptop what to expect, but in real life he was taller than she’d envisaged. And undeniably impressive. No wonder Roo had been so enthusiastic. Great eyes, and there were those killer cheekbones. Hopefully he also had a sense of humor. Especially if Roo were to make a less than subtle play for him. At least that wouldn’t happen as long as Niall stayed on the scene.