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CHAPTER ONE
GRIMACING at the rain, Christa Bellingha the abrupt and unforecast change in the weather which meant that she had neither coat nor umbrella to protect her from the heavy downpour
Up ahead of her a taxi was disgorging its two ers into the protection of the canopy above the hotel entrance as Christa ducked her head against the driving rain,to wear her precious Ar in at the hotel to drop off some fabric saer, on her way to the local Chaiven later in the evening on a subject in which she took a deep and antagonistic interest
She had protested against the speaker’s being invited to address theht from the start, but Howard Findley, the new head of the chamber, had insisted that it was tie and open themselves up to the possibilities of new theories and projects
‘We ive a blank cheque to every charlatan ants to coet paid for it,’ Christa had protested bitterly
‘Daniel Geshard doesn’t charge a speaker’s fee,’ John had told her mildly, but Christa had refused to be ht have been impressed by the man, Christa knew exactly what type he was—and what he was up to Deception was the naame forthey caused in achieving their ends, as she knew all too well…All too well
Daniel Geshard was co to talk to them for one purpose and one purpose only—so that he could sell hiullible enough to buy them, and that included the council
Her head full of angry thoughts, Christa closed her eyes briefly in despair Howard Findley was a nice ood-hearted, but he was no match for the likes of the Daniel Geshards of this world, and already, just on the strength of a telephone chat with thethe council to fund several groups of key eh one of Daniel Geshard’s miracle courses
‘He’s got this wonderful idea about being able to reach out to even the et back in touch with themselves, with their real emotions and motivations,’ he had enthused
Howard talked like that Christa ht facts and realities of life, rather than having them wrapped up in fancy words and theories…
‘Whoops!’
The a and the shock of her totally unexpected contact with the hard, warht Christa’s head up sharply and her y she had been about to give died on her lips as she found herself staring dazedly into a pair of pale grey, thickly lashedmuch…much more personal
Yes There was a lother, just as there was a lot ed to, Christa adhtly for breath while her heart flipped over inside her chest and her pulse-rate beat out an excited tattoo e of approval and attraction
And he was attractive, Christa recognised, as she stood there half otten in her be in front of her Tall and powerfully built, almost athletically so, if the speed and skill hich he had so adroitly prevented her froo by, with thick, dark, well-groomed hair and skin that s, unpleasantly heavy aftershave
The dark business suit was fashioned, Christa recognised with an expert eye, out of extreood cloth and tailored here in this country, which htly battered basic Rolex watch he earing had probably got that way through constant use on his part rather than being bought second-hand as the latest statussymbol fashion accessory
This was not a man who needed to underline his masculinity with status syly This was a man ould have looked equally impressive in an old, worn pair of jeans-equally impressive and very, very male
Just for a second her mouth curled upwards in delicious feed his suit for those jeans and their present surroundings for a certain TV advertisement made very popular with female viewers by the actor Nick Karey h he too was conscious of her physical attraction towards him—and shared it
The strong physical and emotional pull she could feel was so completely unfauard She felt as though she had soical world, encompassed by his smile and the warm aura he had thrown almost protectively around her
As he continued to watch her, the teerously reckless aliveaway step towards hi; but then, fro out iet booked in and then I’ll go and scout around the town and see if I can find two pretty and willing girls for us to enjoy ourselves with after this talk of yours is over and done with You’ll be ready for a bit of light relief by then, and besides, I need a drink…’
‘I’ll be with you in a second, Dai’
Daniel…Christa felt her whole body turn to ice as she stared at the man in front of her in sick disbelief
‘What is it—what’s wrong?’ he was asking her in apparent concern, taking that s the distance between them to one of close intimacy, the distance of lovers…of seducers
Daniel Christa’s throat felt as though it had been scraped raith sandpaper and then doused with acid
‘That wouldn’t be Daniel Geshard, would it?’ she asked hiht fists
He was frowning now, his expression puzzled ‘Yes, as a matter of fact it would But…’
Christa didn’t wait to hear any er andthe hand he was reaching out to detain her, her voice icy with distaste and harsh with angry disgust
‘Is that nors, Mr Geshard…as a boring preliminary to the real enjoyment? Had
n’t you better go?’ she added pointedly ‘Your friend appears to be getting impatient’
Before he could say anything to her, she turned on her heel and left John would have to wait for his samples and his quotes If she followed Daniel Geshard into the hotel foyer now, there was no way she could trust herself not to tell hiht of him and all men of his type
But as she hurried back to her car it wasn’t just anger she could feel So e someone’s character! How could she have been so stupid? Why hadn’t she guessed who he hat type he was? How could she have been so gullible…she of all people?
Seething inwardly, she got into her car and drove hoe out of her now daan There was no way she was going toit noay she intended not to make quite plain her views, her views on the subject of Daniel Geshard’s speech…And on the speaker himself?
As soon as she got home, Christa dialled the nuer that she had been unable to call with his samples but that she would drop them off another time Then she hurried into her bedroo in distaste at their cla, thick chestnut hair, confining it with a simple headband after she had put on fresh clothes
Small and curvaceous, idely spaced, almost aquamarine-coloured eyes in a pretty heart-shaped face, Christa had had to work hard to banish other people’s ie of her as a pretty wo to compromise or alter the way she looked, or make herself conform to a stereotypical and often male idea of what a businesswoman should look like, hadn’t always been easy, especially in the early days when she had taken over the business froreat-aunt She knew that there were still those locally who thought she had fallen on her feet in inheriting her aunt’s textile ireat-aunt had let the business become very run-down
Christa had been brought up by her great-aunt after her own parents’ deaths, and before going to university and training as a designer she had frequently travelled abroad with her relative, visiting the various suppliers froht her cloth
It had been cheaper and reat-niece with her during the school holidays, rather than try to find someone else to look after her, and out of loyalty and love for her great-aunt Christa had kept silent about the way in which she had lost her grip on the business