Summer at the Star and Sixpence Read Online Free PDF Page B

to be role models and it’s my job to ensure
they behave accordingly.’
    The newsreader raised her eyebrows. ‘And how do you propose to do that?’
    He leaned forward earnestly. ‘There are a number of things I plan to put in place. A transparent, clearly accountable system of expenses for MPs and Lords, so that everyone can see where
public money is being spent. Strict moral guidelines to ensure that my colleagues in public service fully understand their positions as beacons of integrity and decency.’ He waved a hand.
‘And of course, I’ll be encouraging them to remember their family responsibilities too.’
    Sam went cold as the studio lights caught on his left hand: it was unmistakably a wedding ring. Her eyes slammed shut. To make things even worse, she now remembered where she’d seen him
before; in the foyer of Brightman and Burgess where she worked. Her boss, Myles Brightman, had mentioned doing some media training with a newly appointed advisor to Number Ten and Sam had seen them
fleetingly as she’d gone out to meet a client. She hadn’t made the connection. Until now . . .
    Scrambling out of bed, she hurried through to the living room for her laptop, tapping impatiently with her nails as she waited for her browser to load. All of her worst fears were confirmed.
Will Pargeter wasn’t just married; he was married with two children; a three-year-old and a six-month-old baby. His wife was the daughter of a viscount and they lived in a sprawling country
pile somewhere in Sussex. His title was hereditary but he’d been working his way up through the corridors of power for the last few years – rumour had it he was tipped to be London
Mayor – and now he’d ‘sealed the biggest deal’ of his career. Sam felt sick. Apart from the fact that she’d been taken in by his lies, there were strict rules of
conduct at the PR agency about sleeping with clients – it was a definite no-no, whether they were married or not. If anyone found out she’d slept with the so-called morality tsar,
she’d be in major trouble. Thankfully, it seemed that he had much more to lose than her and wouldn’t be telling anyone about that night either. His poor wife, Sam thought. How many
other women had he charmed into bed while she was looking after a toddler and a new baby?
    Sam picked up her phone and stabbed out a furious text.
Never contact me again
.
    There’d been calls, of course, and more flowers. She’d ignored them all. And then the worst had happened – she’d run into Will somewhere she couldn’t escape: the
office.
    She’d known there was a possibility she’d see him at some point but had banked on the fact that he had too much at stake to try anything. So she was unprepared when she walked into
the conference room and saw him on the other side of the table, between two other colleagues who looked less pleased to see her.
    ‘Ah, Sam, thanks for joining us,’ her boss, Myles, said briskly. ‘I’m sure you already know who this is but I’d like to formally introduce you to Will Pargeter.
We’re handling some of his PR while he’s working with Downing Street and he’s asked if you could come aboard.’
    So that was it, Sam thought. The flowers and phone calls had failed so he was trying to get her attention another way. She plastered on the blandest of smiles to hide her anger and reached one
hand across the table. ‘Lord Pargeter.’
    Will’s eyes danced as he gripped her fingers. ‘Call me Will, please. Myles has told me so much about you that I feel like we know each other already.’
    She flashed him a stiff look. ‘As you wish.’
    Sam felt his eyes on her often as the meeting progressed. She kept her own gaze averted, looking anywhere but at him unless he addressed her directly, which he did more and more until Sam was
sure everyone in the room must have guessed what was going on. But Myles seemed oblivious, even when Will held her hand far too long at the end. ‘I look forward