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He turned the bottle, easing the cork free, glancing over her as he did so. When it popped he poured out two glasses. He smiled then passed her a glass, watching her as she took it.
"Thanks. This is a nice surprise. I didn't realize you did this sort of thing." As soon as she'd said it, she wished she hadn't.
"I don't." He gave a slow, suggestive smile. "Cheers." He chinked his glass against hers.
He was harboring a personal interest. A sinking feeling hit her. She sipped the drink, unwillingly.
"How did you convince Adrianna it was the time to sell?" He sidled nearer.
She reached over and fiddled with her mouse, then changed the angle of her screen to create a sense of distance between them. "I happened to read that the company owner was going through an expensive divorce, in the gossip magazines. I did a bit of scouting and found there were rumors about redundancies. The owner preferred that to selling his own stock...something to do with the wife benefiting if he did. I only had a couple of days to action this sale before the news made the company seem unstable for the foreseeable future."
He shook his head in disbelief. "Gossip magazines?"
She shrugged, withheld a smile that she would have given readily had she not felt so uncomfortable in his presence. "The information is out there, so I figure why not source it and use it. I didn't mention my sources to Adrianna, only the redundancy aspect, but she agreed that it would hit the share price. The divorce case goes to court today. It was a great time to sell."
"I always knew you were unconventional, but I have to admit I'm stunned."
Stunned into leaving me alone, with any luck. She took the opportunity to move, taking her seat at the desk. "I hope that the formidable Adrianna will be pleased with the result. It may help to win the contract renewal."
He nodded, eyeing her legs as she crossed them.
The phone rang and she snatched at it, grateful for the interruption. It was the broker. She wrote down the figures he quoted next to the price paid and the growth percentage over the past month. Tom moved behind her to read her note.
"Superb," she said as she put down the phone.
"The client should be pleased with it." His hand went possessively to her shoulder and he reached down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Let me take you to lunch at Fat Francos, my treat."
She tensed. No matter where she moved, he'd moved closer. And now he'd kissed her cheek under the excuse of this good news. She pulled away and stood up. "Thanks, Tom, but no. Take the others. I've got to move quickly. I have some ideas on investing the profits and I want to act on them, pronto, to get them into the scheme of things before the contract renewal meeting."
He looked disappointed. "Shame. Another time?"
Damn. Mercifully, there was a knock at the door. "Come in."
Caroline entered, bristling with purpose, her notebook in her hand "Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?"
Tom gave a mock grimace, indicating that he was sorry Caroline had joined them.
Abby shook her head. "Not at all, thanks for coming so quickly." She looked at Tom, explaining. "Caroline is going to go over a few potential properties for the Ashburn portfolio, to see if I'm missing anything."
He nodded and took his leave.
When he'd gone, Caroline looked at the glasses and the bottle with curiosity. "Oh lordy, have I forgotten your birthday?"
Abby shook her head. "I think he's trying to show faith in me, now that I'm working on my own with this portfolio." She smiled, genuinely glad to have Caroline around. It was getting difficult to keep saying no there.
Caroline flipped open her notebook. "So, what can I do for you?"
Abby reached over to her top drawer and lifted out a folder. "I'd like you to look into the paperwork on these three properties, see if there are any loopholes we need to know about." She paced about, her mind alive with thoughts. "Blayne Castle, the first property on the list, that's the one I'm particularly interested in acquiring, if the client agrees to it. I think it could be restored and converted into an exclusive hotel. We'll need to know if there are any potential problems with planning permission." She watched Caroline thumbing through the pages in the folder. "The auction is on Thursday, but I need to put the proposal to the client by close of business tomorrow. Could we be ready by then?"
Caroline looked up and nodded. "Sure. I've got a couple of things to tie up for Ed, but he's flying out again this evening isn't he?"
Abby nodded. "I think so."
"I'll be finished on his bits and pieces soon. I'll be able to get onto this mid-afternoon, at the latest. There should be enough time."
After Caroline had gone, Abby checked the share prices. They had dropped immediately. No doubt the scent of bad news was picked up on the exchange after the Ashburn shares were pulled. Better to be a leader than a follower, she mus
ed, especially when the ship is going down.
