WANT MORE CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE?
ENJOY A CHAPTER EXCERPT FROM TAKE ME AS I AM
Chapter One
This meeting was the first and the last thing he needed. The day had been long, hot and exhausting and all he wanted to do was go home and sink a beer, but the thought of the drive across the city in peak hour made him turn his ute into the car park of the Kallista Tea Rooms instead. An iced drink and a burger would have to do. Besides, he could sit there in peace for an hour and cool down before his meeting.
David swung his legs out of the door. Dust swirled around his Blundstones. In fact he was covered in it. Swiping the worst of it from his shorts, he decided he’d change his clothes after eating. He’d had the forethought to pack some fresh clothes for the meeting, knowing the day landscaping the front of the Johnstones’ yard in this heat would be hard and dusty. But they’d paid well and in his financial state he didn’t have the option to be choosy about where and when he took his jobs.
He slammed the ute door shut and walked the short distance to the Tea Rooms. Cockatoos screeched from the branches of the huge oak tree that shaded the steps leading upwards to the front of the café. He spotted colourful rosellas feeding from the seed trays that were set outside large windows and filled daily. A cockatoo flew to a tray in flurry of wide wings and white feathers, landing near the rosellas and sending them fluttering to the branches.
‘Bully,’ David murmured to the cockatoo as he stepped on the footpath that traced the building beneath the tree.
He glimpsed a woman jogging toward him, dressed in skin-hugging black lycra running gear. He didn’t fail to notice the long, shapely legs that pumped with long purposeful strides. A look of sheer determination set her features. She was lean. Fit. The snug tank top showed off a flat stomach and a delicate frame.
Her long honey-coloured ponytail swung from side to side with each forceful step, hair pulled back tight from her forehead. Her eyes were downcast, mouth in a firm line, as though she was here in body, but her mind was far away.
It took a moment for David to realise he stood at the top of the steps staring at her. He ducked his head, but as he went for the door-handle, a slim hand reached in front of him. The woman jogging. She glanced up at him and he was caught in a timeless moment where she returned from deep thoughts and slid into the present. Her hand retreated from the handle. ‘Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to burst in front of you.’
Her eyes were such an unusual colour. Green and hazel all mixed in together, like the colour of a cat’s. Sharp eyes that told of keen intelligence that missed little. They were a perfect match for the sternness she wore on her otherwise beautifully sculpted face.
‘No problem.’ He smiled. She didn’t return it, but stood awkwardly. He opened the door, indicating the inside of the café. ‘After you.’ She hesitated, as though unsure if she should precede him. He cocked a brow. ‘Chivalry isn’t dead.’
She blinked at him and he noticed that her eyes were quite large for her face. And edged with the longest lashes he’d seen. They curled elegantly, making her eyes look more slanted than they actually were. Maybe that was why they’d reminded him of cat’s eyes. Then again, it could be the way she was so wary. Flighty, as though she were cautiously steeping into an unknown place. He tilted his head towards her. ‘I won’t bite. Promise.’
Her eyes widened and she sucked in a quick breath then caught herself. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her head. In an instant she’d changed personalities. Before awkward. Now self-assured.
She offered a cool smile.
‘Thank you.’ Her voice was low and husky, and suited her. She stepped past him and he had the opportunity to study her back as he stepped into the café after her. She looked fit and toned. She looked as though she ran every day and again he wondered what drove her to run in heat like today. Her derriere was encased in fitted running shorts that clung lovingly to each shapely curve. Her cheeks were round and pert and looked like they’d fit neatly into his hand. His palm tingled and he scrunched it into a fist. He didn’t need to get carried away with fantasies. He had to keep his mind on the upcoming meeting and the potential of a lucrative contract.
He held a breath, purposely focused on the cakes that lined the counter and away from her backside. The heat had to be getting to him. That and the lack of any social life since his father’s heart attack. Really, he’d been so busy and tired working the hours and days he had, women were the last thing on his mind. He didn’t need the diversion.
David closed his eyes, letting the air-conditioning caress his body. It was good to feel some cool after the heat of the day. Chill his body and hopefully his mind. The waitress stepped behind the counter and greeted them with an open smile. He stood back to indicate he’d wait until the jogger ordered.
The waitress then turned to him. ‘Hi. How can I help?’
David returned her smile and looked apologetically at his dust-covered clothing. ‘Just wondering if I could come in as I am?’
Both women eyed his clothing, but he felt the caress of the eyes of the jogger. He kept his attention on the waitress, ignoring the urge to see the expression on the jogger’s face. Normally he didn’t go anywhere looking as he did, but today his stomach demanded attention before his clothes. The waitress’s gaze returned to his, edged with interest. ‘Sure. You look like you’ve had a hard day’s work.’ She took her pen and ordering paper. ‘What would you like?’
David told her and she gestured to a table and chair where he could sit. He thanked her, and added, ‘Can I sit here for a while? I don’t have time to get home before a meeting I’ve got not far from here.’
‘On a hot day like this? Couldn’t you reschedule?’ The waitress asked.
David shook his head. He never cancelled a meeting, not in his financial state, but there was no way he’d cancel this particular one. He’d answered the tender and had been contacted shortly after. He wasn’t surprised. He’d come in at a good price, and was able to meet the tight deadline of the job. In this heat in the middle of January, most landscapers took holidays. He didn’t have a choice for that luxury, but the extensive time it would take to do the work would mean he wouldn’t have to run from job to job for a while. Kate Moore had wanted to meet him to sign the documents today and he wasn’t going to make someone like that wait.
More than that, though, he was after the prestige the job would bring. With a name like ‘Moore’s Hotels’ on his CV, he would be able to secure larger, more lucrative jobs, maybe put on a crew and he could step into a management role. Along with that would come the money he would use to pay the piling medical bills for his father. He just had to get through the work and do it well. Kate Moore had a reputation of being a hard taskmaster, wanting her bit of blood with the flesh it took to work for her. All he had to do was keep his eyes on the big picture and the future security of his parents. ‘I’ve got a meeting with Kate Moore.’
The waitress frowned as she set his drink on the table. The ice cubes clinked cheerfully in the glass, offsetting the faltering look on her face. ‘Is that the Kate Moore of the Moore Hotel chain?’
David nodded. ‘The same.’
‘Wow. They do some huge hotels. Some of the best in the world.’ The waitress clicked her fingers. ‘Hang on, she’s setting one up around the corner from here. We’ve been getting a few of the workmen here fitting it out. I could tell you tales about her.’
David nodded and relaxed as the drink cooled his throat. ‘That’s a woman I don’t want to keep waiting.’
‘She has a reputation. They call her Queen Kate. I’ve never seen her, though. Keeps to her ivory tower. They say the work is way ahead of schedule, but she’s never happy with the progress. She’s completely driven for some unknown reason. It defies logic. Completely mad, that’s what I say.’
From the corner of his eye, David watched the jogger cross lean arms over her chest and aim a wilting glance at the waitress. He realised she was still waiting for her order.
‘I guess you don’t get a name like that for nothing,’ David said, put his glass on the table and indicated the jogger with a glance. The waitress turned in the direction of his gaze.
The rise of a sleek brow sent the waitress into motion making the iced-coffee the jogger had ordered. As soon as she had the cup in her hand, the jogger left. He watched her walk the length of the windows with the cup balanced in her hand before she disappeared from sight. David shook his head; how she could drink and jog in this heat was beyond him. Either she was determined to do herself an injury, or she lived her life the way she jogged. Multi-tasking to the extreme.
Right now, though, he had other things to ponder. The waitress set the burger on the table. He thanked her and turned his mind to the upcoming meeting and how he was going to get through a contract period with the woman known as Queen Kate.
* * *
Kate straightened her skirt, then did the middle button of her jacket up. The navy blue of her suit was a controlled neutral and concealed her body with skilful pin-tucking coupled with an expert cut. It hadn’t been cheap, she’d bought it on her father’s recommendation, and it was worth it. She adjusted her shoulders, making sure the collar of her white shirt poked evenly over the lapel, then pulled the hem of her jacket down in the way she’d been taught by her deportment teacher to keep the lines straight. She placed her feet into shoes that were the same navy tone as her suit.
Standing in front of the tall mirror in her makeshift bedroom, she ran a critical eye over her outfit, smoothing down her hair she’d put back into her neat ponytail, making sure none of the usual strands floated free. She’d put her make-up on lightly, using neutral tones. Her lips were glossy, yet skin toned. She looked professional. Austere. Distant. Just the way she’d been taught.
She turned her back on her image and walked into the hallway. Her shoes clicked confidently over the tarnished boards. The floor was the last thing to be attended to. Soon they would shine, once the rest of the renovations had been accomplished.
She mentally listed what was yet to be done. The list extended beyond her memory and she purposely shoved the anxiety aside. Worrying would get her nowhere. Planning was her best friend. She entered her office and sat at the desk. That had been the first room she’d completed, knowing she would spend more hours here than in any other room of the mansion she had bought with her private funds that would be renovated into the first five-star hotel in the new-look Moore’s Hotel chain.
At least she hoped it would be. The final okay was dependant on her father’s willingness to put his name on it or not. If it was good enough he would. If not—she’d gambled a lot of money and he’d leave it to her to settle her problems. That was just how her father worked.
Her computer screen lit up with a touch of her mouse. She rarely shut her computer down, the exercise taking too long to start it all up again. Besides, she was not away from it long enough. The Excel spread sheet she’d been working on blinked on-screen and her eyes went to the last entry. Landscaping.
She’d sent out the tender two weeks prior and had spent four days going through the entries. One had truly caught her eye. Not only because of the price. She’d researched all entries thoroughly, but found the most breathtaking gardens belonging to only one she’d offered a meeting to. A garden worthy of the vision she had for her hotel. There had been no need to meet with the others.
The gardens on the website of her choice were simply incredible. She’d shuffled through the images three times, and had finally stopped when she’d been dreaming of wandering through one of them. She wasn’t prone to daydreaming. Didn’t have the time for it in fact, but her mind had drifted with the images and she’d been moved beyond her strict reality. If her garden was as beautiful as the ones on the website, she knew her hotel would be more than outstanding. It would sell the hotel in a whole other way.
She just wanted to meet the team to make sure her decision was going to be the right one. The one thing the gardens in the images lacked was—expanse. The land for her hotel had lots of it. Currently there was nothing more than a huge pile of mismatched half-dead bushes, some spindly trees and a space of grass you could play football on—and not much else. It needed the right mind to build what was needed. Something creative. Something different. Something people would travel to see.
She had a chance—albeit a nervous chance—to make a success of this hotel and she was going to do it. There was no way it wasn’t going to work. Her father had faith in her to get this right. That’s why she’d put in the hours she had.
The thing was, she was a capable woman, it was others she had a problem with. She wasn’t so much fiercely self-reliant, as she’d been rightly groomed to be, as wary of the work ethic of others. Hence the meeting she’d set up with the landscapers. She needed to make sure they would fit the mould of what she wanted them to do. The risk for underperformance was just too great.
She glanced at her watch. She had five minutes before the meeting to go through the contract. Although her lawyer had delivered it, she wanted to go through each clause again to make doubly sure nothing was out of place. She’d just clicked the document open when the phone rang. One glance at the number had her picking it up before the second ring.
‘Dad!’
‘Have you been running?’
‘Uh … no.’ She cleared her throat so as not to sound so breathy and picked up a pen, ready to write. Albert usually rang with a million things he wanted her to do.
‘Katherine. I’m scheduled to fly into Melbourne in two weeks’ time. I’m making time to see the work on your project.’
Her heart raced. She hadn’t even touched half of the things she’d wanted to. Moments passed and she realised she hadn’t replied. ‘Oh … okay. Would you like me to pick you up at the airport? Maybe have lunch?’
‘I’ll eat at the lounge, you know that. I’ve made a two hour break at the end of the day. I’ll come when I’ve finished the meetings I need to get through first.’ He gave her the dates and she scribbled them down as he spoke.
‘That would be great, Dad. I’m looking forward to seeing you.’
Albert grunted. He didn’t like when she said things like that. ‘Just be ready. I have flight scheduled out at six and I don’t have time for delays.’
‘Okay, Dad. See you.’ But he’d already hung up.
Her mind spun. Two weeks! She’d expected him in two months! This was a disaster. There was no way she’d be anywhere she wanted to be when he came. She’d wanted to impress him, but now there’d be no hope. The inside of the hotel was only half finished, not to mention the garden she hadn’t started yet. She’d wanted that done before he saw anything. She’d have no choice but to hire the landscaper now and hope like hell they lived up to her expectations. She didn’t like feeling pressured like this. Organised herself so that she needn’t. But when her father spoke, people, including her, jumped.
The knock she was expecting came. Kate straightened her skirt, and tugged the hem of her jacket in place. She smoothed down the side of her hair and made her way from the office to the front door. She’d made her office next to the front doors of the hotel to make it easier to see the comings and goings. Now and for the future. She wanted—needed—to be hands on. Just like Albert.
She opened the door and stared wordlessly at the man she instantly recognised. He’d cleaned up. Water slicked his hair, but the parts that dried had curled into soft waves. Lightened streaks burnished various strands here and there, changed, she guessed, from the hours he spent in the sunshine. His golden tan confirmed her observation.
Her eyes roamed to his face, noting straight brows, a sharp nose and a mouth that opened in a surprised smile. The stubble on his chin served to enhance the chiselled line of his jaw and rather squarish cheeks. He was lean, fit and rugged. And wholly masculine. Not at all what she’d expected a landscaper to look like. Well, she didn’t actually know what she’d expected, but the tall, lean man on her doorstep was somehow different than the tradies she’d contracted for the renovations. Largely they weren’t more than boys intent on using power tools, sinking a beer at the end of the day and not much more, but her inner sense told her this man was different.
He looked at her with keen intelligence mingled with earthy warmth. Eyes that retained what they saw and understood without judgment. Intellect mingled with … something more personal. Intimate. Her belly lurched, catching her off-balance. She crossed her arms over her stomach to settle the strange sensation fluttering there.
His smile widened and he held out his hand. ‘David Wright. You’re expecting me … for the landscaping.’ His voice was an engaging, warm rumble.
She placed her hand in his. Long fingers wrapped around hers in a firm hold, pressing gently. She watched his fingers enfold her hand, amazed that her hand fitted so neatly in his. As though they should be linked together.
It was suddenly too much. She didn’t need to be distracted like … this.
She quickly retracted her hand. This wasn’t the time or place to be noticing things about a contractor. She shouldn’t even be aware of it at all. The man was here for a job she’d tendered for. This was business, nothing more. ‘Queen Kate. Pleasure to meet you.’
His hand dropped to his side. She noticed his fingers curl into his palm at his thigh. ‘You heard.’
‘The waitress wasn’t exactly quiet about her opinions.’
He cocked a brow. ‘She wasn’t. But don’t hold that against me.’
She shouldn’t. He was right, but a part of her was hurt that he was first introduced to her like that. She knew the comments that flew around about her, but if she was a hard taskmaster then so be it. People said the same thing about her father and he didn’t care. People knew where they stood. Just like him, she had a job to do and they knew what was expected of them.
In the end it wasn’t their backside on the line. She was the boss and it was she who risked everything. She’d let David Wright clearly know what she’d expect of him too. She drew her shoulders straight and morphed into the professional businesswoman she would need to be. ‘It’s just a name, nothing more. You’re here to talk about the job and what I want you to do.’
He nodded. Fine lines crinkled at the edges of his eyes and she was drawn into their warmth. A moth to the light. She blinked, ignoring the errant thought. She needed to get a grip on her wayward senses. She reigned in the control she’d honed to a fine art, realising now that he was the only man on her doorstep. She peered over his shoulder. ‘Where are the rest of you?’
David frowned. ‘The rest?’
‘Yes. Your team. I expected to see all of you and take you all around the property so you would know what to do.’ Surely he would have a team if he tendered to work on a property this size.
‘It’s just me.’
‘You read the clauses? You know how large I need this garden to extend?’
He nodded, a frown touching his brow. ‘Yes. I’m aware. It’s nothing that I can’t organise if I require it.’
She swallowed, feeling the bite of panic dry her throat. There was no way he was going to get the amount of work she wanted done before Albert came. Not if she wanted to impress her father. And a lone landscaper working on a large property was less than impressive. Albert would think she didn’t know what she was doing. She couldn’t have this. Couldn’t be seen by her father for this type of incompetence.
‘Are you all right, Kate?’
The way he said her name, the low rumble touched with concern, made it sound so personal. Her throat constricted and she stood for a moment forcing air into her lungs. ‘I thought you’d have a crew.’
‘That’s easily arranged.’
‘Yes. I know. But I need …’ She shook her head, clearing her mind. She needed to get a grip, remain in control. She would have to revisit the pile of tenders, make sure the next company had a team she might trust. ‘The timing has changed. You can’t possibly achieve what I need now. I’m sorry to have wasted your time, but I can’t offer you the tender.’