“Then I suggest you contact Mr. Lockwood.”
“I’ll do exactly that.” Jonas’s secretary sat in her upholstered chair and flipped on the intercom. “There’s a Ms. Coulter here to see you. She claims she has an appointment.” There was enough lilt in her voice to suggest that Stephanie had lied.
“I said,” Stephanie corrected her through clenched teeth, “that Mr. Lockwood had asked to see me.” The hand clenching her purse tightened. “There’s a difference.”
The silence on the other end of the intercom stretched out uncomfortably, and Stephanie was convinced she was about to be dismissed.
“Mr. Lockwood?”
“Send her in, Miss Westheimer.”
Stephanie flashed Jonas’s guardian a brilliant smile of triumph as she waltzed past her desk. The older woman had to know that Stephanie had been her replacement while she was ill, yet she gave no indication that she was aware who Stephanie was, or even that she was employed by Lockwood Industries.
Stephanie let herself into Jonas’s office and was instantly met by a rush of memories. She liked this room, just as she respected the man who ruled from it.
Jonas was busy writing, his head bowed, and didn’t bother to acknowledge her presence. Stephanie stood awkwardly as she waited for him to finish, not enough at ease to take a seat without being asked.
When he’d finished, Jonas put the cap on his pen and set it aside before glancing in her direction. “Yes?”
His crisp tone made her all the more uncomfortable. “You said you would talk to me on Monday.”
“About?”
He was making this difficult; she drew in a deep breath before continuing. “About Saturday night. You told me we’d talk.”
“I don’t recall committing myself to that.”
“Please, don’t play games with me. You stopped by my apartment on Saturday, and I want to know why.”
The lines around his mouth deepened, but he wasn’t smiling. “I happened to be in the neighborhood.”
“But...”
“Leave it at that, Ms. Coulter. It was a mistake, and one best forgotten.”
“But I didn’t think it was a mistake.” He was closing her out; she could see it by the way he sat, his back stiff with determination. His eyes looked past her as though he wanted to avoid seeing her.
The silence was broken by Jonas. “Sometimes it’s better to leave things as they are. In my opinion, this is one of those times.”
Her hands trembled slightly but she stood her ground. “I disagree.”
His mouth twisted in a cynical smile. “Unfortunately, you have little say in the matter. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have several papers to read over.”
It was clearly meant to be a dismissal, and Stephanie wavered indecisively between stalking out of the office and trying to forget Jonas and staying and admitting that she was attracted to him and that she’d like to know him better. But for all the attention he was giving her now, she might as well have been a stack of signed papers on his desk. Out of sight, out of mind, she mused ruefully. Her pride told her that she had better things to do than allow Jonas Lockwood to poke holes in her fragile ego.
Finally her pride won, and she gave him a small, sad smile. “You don’t need to be rude, Jonas. I get the message.”
“Do you?” He focused his gaze on her.
“Thank you for that wonderful night in Paris. I’ll remember that and you fondly.’’
His hard blue eyes softened. “Stephanie, listen...”
He was interrupted by the phone. “I’m waiting for a call,” he said, almost apologetically, as he reached for the receiver.
Stephanie turned to leave, but Jonas stopped her as he reverted to French. Stephanie could tell that he was speaking to a government official regarding his contract with Lockwood Industries’ French counterpart, but the conversation became too technical for Stephanie to understand fully.
Ten minutes later, Jonas hung up the telephone. His eyes revealed his excitement.
“Congratulations are in order,” he said, coming to a stand. “Our trip to France was a success. By the beginning of the year, there will be a ground-breaking ceremony for the first foreign site of Lockwood Industries.”
“Congratulations,” Stephanie whispered. His happiness was contagious; it filled the enormous room, encircling them both.
Jonas walked around the front of the large rosewood desk, his eyes sparkling. “It seemed for a while that this deal could go either way.”
Stephanie noticed that his limp was less pronounced now than at any time she’d seen him walk.
“Do you know what this means?” He walked to the other side of the carpet, as though he couldn’t contain himself any longer.
Stephanie nodded eagerly, pretending she did know when in actuality she was ignorant of nearly all the pertinent information.