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‘I don’t know...probably. He’s super smart, but I don’t think labels help. But then, what do I know? I don’t want to push him, I want him to have a normal life, a real childhood. He is desperate to blend in, but that’s not easy when you pass your maths A-level at ten. I think that’s when he stopped trying. I’m so afraid for him. I don’t know what to do...’
Tilda put her head in her hands again. Well, stopping revealing her inner angst to a man who really didn’t give a damn might be a start, but maybe that was the point—he didn’t—and he wasn’t going to feel sorry for her. How her independent nature hated it.
There had been a lot of that early on after the accident and her private nature had shied away from it. She had learnt to deflect pity, while practical help, which had been in thin supply, would have been much more useful.
Actually, Ezio’s cold-eyed objectivity in some weird way acted as an antidote, or at least diluted her out-of-control emotions.
‘Can I get you anything—a glass of water?’
Tilda shook her head. ‘I’m fine.’
‘Security has arrived.’The disembodied voice carried a chilly note of disapproval.
‘What for? I don’t need security! I need brandy.’
There was a nervous giggle on the other end of the line. ‘How many glasses?’
He looked at his PA, the wispy curls that surrounded her heart-shaped face.
‘Make that tea, some of the herbal stuff, for one.’
When the tea arrived, Tilda nursed the mug between her hands, looking at him warily over the rim. ‘Aren’t you having a cup?’
‘I’ll pass.’
‘Look, I’m fine, I’m just...’
He sighed. ‘About to fall down.’
This correct interpretation drew a glare from Tilda.
‘Sit there a minute, I’m thinking...’
Her teeth clenched. ‘I don’t work for you any more. I don’t have to do what you say.’ She grimaced to hear herself sound so childish. Actually, he had never spoken to her so dismissively when they’d had a working relationship. If he had, she would have been looking for a new job a long time ago.
‘You might have been right,’ he mused slowly as he subjected her face to a narrow-eyed scrutiny.
‘I usually am—you just don’t notice.’
‘I do, actually, you have a natural ability to think outside the box.’
‘Is that a compliment?’
‘It’s a fact,’ he responded without emphasis or warmth. ‘You said that the best way to shut down Athena is to marry someone else.’
When it came to self-absorption, he really did run away with a string of gold medals.
‘I might have said something along those lines but I wasn’t being serious!’
‘I am. I think it could work.’
An image of Ezio married, his arm around a glowing bride, flashed into her head. ‘Well, that’s great—problem solved.’ Only a man as cynical and without any moral compass would have taken her angry words seriously.
She put down her mug on the top of his pristine desk. She had no idea if he was winding her up or if he was serious, and she told herself she didn’t care.
‘I’ll look out for the marriage announcement,’ she said, making her voice flat and disinterested.
‘Sit down, will you, Matilda?’
