Page 14 of A Diamond Deal with Her Boss
Gabriel vaulted to his feet and paced the kitchen, as restless as a bear confined in a cage.
He didn’t look at her—seemed barely aware of his surroundings. Eventually, though, he stood in front of her and said roughly, with deadly seriousness, ‘She’s a lot more fragile than I ever imagined. I haven’t been here for her.’
He looked away and raked his fingers through his dark hair. ‘I got lost in my work and allowed things to slip.’ He made an all-encompassing gesture with his hand. ‘When I bought her this, after my grandfather died, I did it to clear my conscience. These are things I have never discussed with anyone,’ he continued with none of his usual grace and Abby felt as though she was glimpsing the real man behind the sexy, charming guy she worked for.
This was Gabriel, the essence of him, a man who kept his emotions under tight control until, now, he couldn’t. Her heart went out to him and something seemed to slip a little under her feet. It was as if she’d been walking on solid ground only to discover that it wasn’t as solid as she’d thought.
‘Gabriel,’ she protested helplessly.
‘I fear for her,’ he said quietly. ‘After what her doctor has confided, it would seem that there is a great deal going on under the surface. She’s found a new lease of life. You heard her. I fear for what might happen if that lease of life is taken away from her, which it would be, should she find out that there’s no engagement.’
‘Parents get over these disappointments.’
‘Like yours did? Is that what happened, Abby? Did some guy put a ring on your finger and then break your heart by taking it away?’
Abby swallowed hard and looked away. She stared through the window at the velvety night outside, so different from the darkness of London, where it was really never that dark because of the street lamps.
‘We’re not talking about me,’ she said gruffly.
‘Do this for me and you can name your price,’ Gabriel said flatly and her head snapped up.
‘That’s not how I operate, Gabriel!’
He remained silent until she sighed, scarcely believing that she was having this conversation. ‘You can’t buy me. I know you feel that money can get you anything you want, but it can’t.’
In the past two weeks, it felt as though a house of cards had come tumbling down. In a heartbeat, Abby the efficient, contained professional had opened a door and a rush of wind had entered, bringing with it a tumult of emotions. ‘Even if I agreed to this, lying can never be condoned, and what happens when the truth comes out? Ava will be so deeply hurt that you led her on and that I did too.’
‘Why would she find out?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Don’t think of it asalie,’ Gabriel urged, leaning forward and letting his hands drop between his legs. ‘Think of it as a simple charade, with an end in sight and a goal in mind.’
‘That’s just a clever play with words, Gabriel.’ She shot him a wry look from under lashes and he had the grace to flush.
‘We maintain a pretence while we’re over here. In the meantime, I will try to find out what her depression is about, try and...’ he paused and shook his head ‘...make up for the time I should have spent visiting and sitting down with her, instead of phoning on the hop between business deals in different countries.’
Abby didn’t say anything. Her breathing was shallow and she glanced away for a few seconds.
‘And then? What happens next in this scenario?’
‘We return to London and inevitably we break up. These things happen but, by that point, I will have at least gone some way to repairing the fissure in our relationship. I might even,’ he mused thoughtfully, ‘Try and persuade her to semi-emigrate to London, or perhaps to one of those leafy suburbs outside London. She loves living here, so it’s a long shot, but I would be far more accessible if we were to live in the same country.’ He looked at Abby. ‘In fact, you could start investigating that.’
‘Investigating what?’
‘Houses in leafy suburbs within commuting distance of London. Have a short list drawn up. Money no object.’
‘Gabriel, that’s not how things work.’
‘Of course it is. I’m sure I’ll be able to persuade my grandmother on the advantages of moving and, once she’s close by and our convenient charade is at an end, I can put my mind to actually finding a woman more suitable to my needs than Lucy was.’
Abby’s stomach tightened. Did he have any idea how insulting that remark was? No, of course he didn’t, because although he might pat her hand and tell her to buck up becauseshe wasn’t the back end of the bus she’d made herself out to be,it was farcical to think that they could ever be a couple.
She was mortified that she had gone a little fuzzy round the edges when he had looked at her with those brooding dark eyes and told her that she shouldn’t run herself down in the looks department.
‘What a nuisance for you that Lucy didn’t end up ticking all the right boxes,’ she said coolly. ‘Now you’ll have to go through the process all over again. Question, however—don’t you think your grandmother might see that, in your rush to the altar, you’re not actually in love with the woman with the ring on her finger?’
Gabriel laughed and sat back. ‘No, not really, now that you mention it. She wants me to be happy and she will see that I’m happy. Straightforward.’
