Page 52 of Defying Her Arrogant Boss

Heathrow Terminal Three was as busy as ever with people arriving and departing everywhere. She held tightly to the little bag in which she kept her passport and the ticket she’d booked months ago. One way to Auckland, New Zealand. She handed over the millions to the cabbie who had driven her the long drive there. He must have sensed her exhaustion and despair because he was out of the cab and loading her bags onto a trolley for her before she had the chance to ask him.

She headed slowly towards the Air New Zealand counters, already hearing the familiar accent from the people in the queue. She pushed the heavy trolley into place at the back of the queue and dug out the ticket to check her flight number.

‘Daddy!’

The little boy careered through the snaking line of people, narrowly missing her trolley, and threw himself at the legs of the man who must be his father. The man in question bent down and, with a grin as wide as the little boy’s arms had been, scooped him up and swung him around. The child’s chortles were the sweetest sound. His father hugged him close and both were beaming as they embraced.

Daddy.

Her hand crept to her belly. And her brain started working again with clarity. How could she deprive her children of knowing their father? A father who might not be in love with their mother, but who certainly wanted them. A father who would love and protect them. She had no right to do that. Especially when she knew how it felt to want a dad so much. She’d dreamed of meeting him, spent years wondering what he must have been like, what his family were like, wishing like crazy fate hadn’t been so cruel as to take him from both her and her mother.

She’d felt bitter envy of her classmates on sports days and festivals when both parents had turned up to take pride in their achievements. A father to scoop a wee girl up and swing her around. How she would have loved that.

Her children would never forgive her if they’d had that opportunity and she’d denied them it. Aside from herself and her own love for them, she had nothing else to offer them—no aunts or uncles, no grandparents, not even the basics: a job, or a house for herself. Rory could give them all that. How could she be so negligent? How could she be so selfish? She bowed her head. There was a way around this, she just had to be strong.

Blinking back tears, she took the ticket in both hands and, before she could think further, she tore it in two. She looked around for a rubbish bin—damn, they never had them. With a piece of the ticket in each hand she pulled the trolley around and headed back towards the exit and the rank of cabs. And there stood Rory.

Just inside the door, watching her from a distance. Tall, pale and grim and angrier than she’d ever imagined he could be.

She didn’t take her eyes off him as she moved towards him, saw him take a deep breath as he strode towards her. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ His voice carried across the terminal. ‘You’re not going. Not going anywhere.’

‘I know. I’m not. I’m not going.’ She spoke quickly. To prove it she held out her hands, offering him the tom ticket. He took the pieces, one in each hand, looking down as he held them together, reading the destination. The hardness in his jaw failed to ease even a smidgeon. His hands curled into fists, screwing up the ticket halves as he thrust them into his pockets and glared at her.

‘How did you know I was here?’ She wished he hadn’t caught her. She didn’t want him to know about her cowardice.

‘I tried calling you at home. Got concerned when you didn’t answer. Then I remembered this was the day you were originally scheduled to fly.’ The fury poured off him and she could sense hurt in his expression as well.

Utterly remorseful, she made to head for the exit. With a growl he motioned her aside so he could push the trolley. She hurried alongside him as they went to the cab at the head of the queue, slid into the seat as he stowed her bag, and braced herself. As soon as he’d given instructions to the cabbie she turned to him, the words spouting forth, wanting to make things as right as they could be.

‘I’m sorry I put you through this. You’ve been nothing but wonderful to me, Rory, and you didn’t deserve this.’

His tense position didn’t alter; if anything he grew even more rigid. She forced herself to continue.

‘I will marry you, Rory, if you still think it’s best. But you have to promise me something.’

His eyes sparked and she sensed he was only just reining himself in.

She looked away, twisting her hands together. ‘We’ve been having an affair and, now, things have become complicated. But I don’t want your life ruined because of one simple mistake. If you meet someone, fall in love with someone, then I’ll just bow out; we can have a quiet divorce. I’m sure...’ her voice caught ‘...sure we can arrange something for the children. They need you and your family. I don’t want to trap you in a loveless marriage.’

She chanced a look back at him.

He was even paler than when she’d first seen him at the airport. ‘Loveless marriage?’

‘I know you don’t love me, Rory. And that’s okay, really it is. I don’t expect you to. It’s not possible.’

‘Not possible?’

She felt her flush mount, her skin felt clammy. ‘Everything has been so sudden.’

There was a pause.

‘You don’t think it’s possible to fall in love with someone quickly?’

She looked at him, fear stabbing—had he guessed? How humiliating.

‘Isn’t it possible to fall in love almost the moment you meet?’ He paused and took an audible breath. Tears welled and she looked away from him.

‘It’s possible,’ she mumbled. Of course it was; she knew first hand.

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