Page 24 of Prognosis Temporary

She shook her head, pleased for something else to think about other than quickies in aeroplane bathrooms. ‘No. I’ve presented a lot of papers over the years most way more interesting than this.’

‘The study findings are important, though. It’ll garner a lot of interest.’

Callie knew he was right but she found presenting facts and figures and reams of stats very dry. ‘Yeah, I know. Yours sounds much more interesting.’

‘Well...let’s hope everyone else will think so, too.’

She frowned. He seemed a little uncertain which was surprising given she’d never seen him anything other than one hundred per cent confident. On the bridge, confronting an oaf in a restaurant, with Ginny and the numerous other clients she’d seen him with.

In bed.

It was the first time she’d seen even the briefest flash of doubt in his usually assured gaze and she almost reached out and put her hand on his sleeve.

Dangerous. Very, very dangerous.

She’d fought hard to put their night of passion behind her and something told her this was not the moment to test her resolve. This wasn’t a dirty weekend away together. It was work. Business.

‘Headphones, sir?’

Megan was back and this time Callie was actually grateful. ‘I will thanks,’ she said, reaching for one.

Anything – anything - to occupy her for the next ninety minutes.

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Almost three hourslater, Callie was standing in the classically elegant foyer of the Langham Hotel. It was dominated by a grand, sweeping, marble staircase and cascading fountains crowned by magnificent chandeliers. The ambience was one of hushed, timeless luxury.

‘We’d like to check in, please,’ Sebastian requested the elegant older woman behind the check-in desk. ‘We’re attending the C.M.H. conference.’

The woman looked up over half-moon glasses with a fixed pleasant smile that she’d no doubt honed over the years to greet customers. She looked close to retirement age, with steel-grey hair tucked into a sleek chignon. It was obvious she’d in the business for many years and didn’t look like she suffered fools gladly.

‘Oh,’ she said, and stared for a moment or two longer than was decent and Callie swore she actually saw a swathe of red bloom in her cheeks.

Oh, for crying out loud!Was there no end to Sebastian’s effect on the opposite sex?

‘Most certainly, sir.’ She practically preened. ‘Has sir booked a double or maybe a suite?’

‘No!’

The woman glanced at Callie fully for the first time, a little startled by her vehemence which sounded extra loud in the muted marble surroundings where the only noise was the trickle of a nearby fountain. Callie was beyond caring. It was bad enough that Rodney had booked them on the same flight. Same rooms were out of the question.

‘There are two rooms booked,’ she said, a little more controlled this time. She had double — triple — checked.

The woman eyed her for a moment longer, glanced at Sebastian and then back at her. Callie saw a fleeting oh honey why? in the woman’s gaze before she nodded. ‘Certainly, madam. If you would both please fill out a registration form?’

She tapped on her computer keyboard as Callie and Sebastian scribbled their details on the proffered forms. ‘Same floor be okay?’ the woman asked.

Callie opened her mouth to say no. That she wanted to be as geographically distant from Sebastian as possible. Going away with him hadn’t seemed like such a big deal back at her desk at Jambalyn, where their business-as-usual veneers were well practiced. But suddenly, away from the safety net of work, she wasn’t sure it was that simple.

‘That’s fine,’ she said briskly, handing her completed form back. There was no need for Sebastian to know how much his nearness bothered her.

The woman spent a few more minutes completing the formalities and handed them their keys. ‘Eleventh floor.’ She tapped the numbers. ‘They’re opposite each other.’

Sebastian smiled at her. ‘Thank you...’ he paused, reading the woman’s name badge ‘Marion.’

Marion pinked up again and Callie gave a mental eye roll as she turned away, but not before she heard the older woman’s breathy, ‘My pleasure, sir’.

He caught up with her as she entered the lift their eyes locking as the doors shut. ‘Are you okay?’

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