was he?â She demanded sharply.
âWho indeed?â Saskia echoed hollowly.
CHAPTER THREE
T O S ASKIAâS dismay she heard the town hall clock striking eight a.m. as she hurried to work. She had intended to be in extra early this morning but unfortunately she had oversleptâa direct result of the previous eveningâs events and the fact that initially she had been mentally agonising so much over what she had done that she had been unable to get to sleep.
Officially she might not be due to be at her desk until nine a.m., but in this modern age that was not the way things worked, especially when oneâs hold on oneâs job was already dangerously precarious.
âThere are bound to be cutbacksâ¦redundancies,â the head of Saskiaâs department had warned them all, and Saskia, as sheâd listened to him, had been sharply conscious that as the newest member of the team she was the one whose job was most in line to be cut back. It would be virtually impossible for her to get another job with the same kind of prospects in Hilford, and if she moved away to London that would mean her grandmother would be left on her own. At sixty-five her grandmother was not precisely oldâfar from itâand she had a large circle of friends, but the illness had left Saskia feeling afraid for her. Saskia felt she owed her such a huge debt, not only for bringing her up but for giving her so much love.
As she hurried into the foyer she asked Emma, the receptionist, anxiously, âHas he arrived yet?â
There was no need to qualify who she meant by âheâ, and Emma gave her a slightly superior smile as she replied, âActually he arrived yesterday. Heâs upstairs now,â she added smugly, âinterviewing everyone.â Her smugness and superiority gave way to a smile of pure feminine appreciation as she sighed. âJust wait until you see him. Heâs gorgeousâ¦with a great big capital G.â
She rolled her eyes expressively whilst Saskia gave her a wan smile.
She now had her own special and privateâvery privateâblueprint of what a gorgeous man looked like, and she doubted that their new Greek boss came anywhere near to matching it.
âTypically, though, mind you,â the receptionist continued, oblivious to Saskiaâs desire to hurry to her office, âheâs already spoken for. Or at least he soon will be. I was talking to the receptionist at their groupâs head office and she told me that his grandfather wants him to marry his cousin. Sheâs mega-wealthy andââ
âIâm sorry, Emma, but I must go,â Saskia interrupted her firmly. Office gossip, like office politics, was something Saskia had no wish to involve herself in, and besidesâ¦If their new boss was already interviewing people she didnât want to earn herself any black marks by not being at her desk when he sent for her.
Her office was on the third floor, an open plan space where she worked with five other people. Theirboss had his own glass-walled section, but right now both it and the general office itself were empty.
Just as she was wondering what to do the outer door swung open and her boss, followed by the rest of her colleagues, came into the room.
âAh, Saskia, there you are,â her boss greeted her.
âYes. I had intended to be here earlierâ¦â Saskia began, but Gordon Jarman was shaking his head.
âDonât explain now,â he told her sharply. âYouâd better get upstairs to the executive suite. Mr Latimerâs secretary will be expecting you. Apparently he wants to interview everyone, both individually and with their co-department members, and he wasnât too pleased that you werenât hereâ¦â
Without allowing Saskia to say anything, Gordon turned on his heel and went into his office, leaving her with no option but to head for the lift. It was unlike Gordon to be so sharp. He was