The Marriage Merger Read Online Free PDF Page A

as though
assessing a situation that was new to him. Suddenly she realised he
was no longer thinking about Caitlin. Had the attraction, the
compassion she felt for this man been conveyed to him by some word,
some gesture she had made? As though to distance herself from the
thought she stepped back towards the penthouse door.
    “You don’t want to be late for your meeting,”
she said, deliberately looking at her watch.
    Without a word he strode past her into the
penthouse. He took a notebook and wrote down phone numbers and put
the sheet of paper on the table. Jenna watched him say goodbye to
Caitlin. His gentle, tender manner was in such sharp contrast to
what he had displayed to Jenna that she wondered again what she had
done to be shown such cynicism and suspicion. Was it only her, or
was he like that with all women? And why was she letting him get
under her skin?
    Over the years she had learned to control her
hot temper, and very rarely in a work situation had she allowed
anyone to annoy her to the degree that Braden did. She shook her
head. This was not going to be an easy job.
     
    Mrs Jenkins had left everything in such good
order that it took Jenna very little time to do the small amount of
housework necessary. Vacuuming the floors gave her an opportunity
to explore the penthouse more closely than the perfunctory glance
she had had with Braden. Further up the hallway from the room she
had slept in and then Caitlin’s bedroom was the main bathroom,
spacious and light in tones of cream, pale apricot and gold. Then a
laundry, Braden’s bedroom with ensuite, and a study.
    She noted the absence of any personal touches
- no photos, mementoes. Perhaps his own home showed more of the
personality of the man. After all, this was only a company place of
residence. The cream and apricot tonings continued with added
shades of soft green. Jenna looked through the sliding glass door
leading out onto the courtyard that surrounded the penthouse.
Bricked up gardens overflowing with palms and ferns created a
private oasis just outside the bedroom and study.
    The study was obviously used as a second
office by Braden. She compared the austerity of his bedroom to the
clutter before her. Computer, printer, fax, photocopier, phone,
answering machine, filing cabinets. Yes, there was no need for him
to feel cut off from the billion dollar empire he presided
over.
    Jenna’s thoughts concentrated on the man
behind the companies as she pushed the vacuum cleaner around. If
what she had seen was any indication, Braden lived for his work.
Did his money give him happiness? He certainly didn’t seem to have
found trust, not, at least, as far as she was concerned. But then
he had left Caitlin in her care, hadn’t he? And she certainly meant
a lot to him.
    Caitlin came looking for her just as Jenna
put the vacuum cleaner back in the laundry cupboard. Her thin
little face with its sombre eyes seemed to be pleading with Jenna,
looking to her to find the answer to the sadness in her soul.
    Jenna bent down to the child. “I have a
problem, Possum.” she said.
    Delicate eyebrows lifted over grey eyes so
like Braden’s that Jenna could see his face etched clearly in her
mind. She answered the child’s unspoken query.
    “I want to make some biscuits for when your
Uncle Braden comes home. The problem is I need some help. I haven’t
made animal biscuits in a long time. Do you think you could show me
if I’m doing it wrong?”
     
    Jenna only intended making one batch of
biscuits, but Caitlin indicated she wanted to do more and Jenna
gave in, delighted by the first spark of pleasure she had seen in
the girl’s eyes as she pressed nuts and sultanas into the dough to
form the faces.
    Although the child had not smiled, Jenna
could see a lessening in the tense look of the little face. After
lunch Caitlin started to fall asleep on the lounge and Jenna
carried her onto her bed.
    It was a warm day, and felt doubly so to
Jenna, her body still acclimatized