HIS VIRGIN SECRETARY
Kai was coming,flying back from new york and Amethyst knew that there was no way she was going to be able to do her usual and disappear the minute he arrived.
Kai Hiwatari, put quite simply, terrified her. She had first met him eighteen months ago, when she had been subjected to an interview that had paid lip service to his opening words - that he just wanted to discover a bit about her, considering the role she would have in his grandfather's life. Thereafter had followed the most gruelling hour and a half she had ever endured, which had left her in no doubt that the only way she could possibly get along with him was to have as little to do with him as possible.
Since then, she had managed to turn evasion into an art form. His visits were fleeting, infrequent and pre-planned. Kai Hiwatari was not, she had long concluded comfortable with spontaneity. Impluse did not feature highly in a life that seemed to have been programmed right down to the last minute. It was something she was eternally grateful because it gave her ample opportunity to coincide her departures from the house with perfect timing, either just missing him or else seeing him on the hop.
Now however, there was to be no such easy avoidance.
Voltaire, his grandfather, had been rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack the afternoon before. It had all been a tremendous shock and as soon as things had quietened down she had telephoned his grandson to tell him what had happened. It spoke volumes that she had had to call nearly a dozen numbers before she had eventually been put through to him in his new york office and when she had finally had made contact, she'd been somewhat accused of taking her time getting in touch. no sooner had she stammered her way through her explanation he briskly informed her that he would be on his way back immediately and he would expect her to be at the housr when he arrived the following day. The click of the telephone being hung up on her had been a good reminder of why she so actively disliked the man.
The taxi swept up the driveway and she watched Kai closely as he paid the driver and then turned to look frowningly at the house. Two toned blue hair, dark crimson eyes. sensual mouth and a bone structure that seemed to have been carved with a loving hand and an eye with perfection. To Amethyst's mind, though, his scarily beautiful face was stamped with permanent coldness, his eyes were remote and detached and his mouth was cruelly forbidding.
The insisitent jabbing on the doorball sounded and Amethyst scuttled towards the front door to let him in. The minute she clapped eyes on him, she knew how she would feel.Awkward, unbearably plain and dowdy.
iIn fact, as she pulled open the door her eyes inadvertently slid away from the potently masculine figure towering in front of her and she cleared her throat nervously.
"come in Kai. it's...good to see you" she stood back so he could brush past her barely bothering to glance in her direction. "how was your trip over? okay?" Amethyst shut the door and leaned slightly againest it for support.
If there was one thing that irritated the hell out of Kai, it was to see someone cowering in front of him - and Amethyst Young was cowering. Her ebony black hair was effectively hiding her downturned face and her hands were pressed behind her as if prepared at any moment to yank the door open and bolt.
"we have to talk" he said flatly "and i do not intend to stand here to have the conversation, so why don't you unglue yourself off the door and get us both a drink?"
Voltaire sang her praises to high heaven and, for the life of him, Kai couldn't understand why. the girl hardly ever muttered a word. If she had a sparkling personality then she took great care to keep it hidden whenever he was around. He almost clicked his tongue in irritation as she slid past him towards the kitchen.
"so" he said as soon as they were in the kitchen, "tell me what happened. and leave nothing out" he sat down heavily on one of the kitchen chairs and watched as she stuck some water onto boil and fetched two mugs from the cupboard.
It felt perculiar to be her, without his grandfather around. Kai didn't like it. for all his highflying lifestyle, his apartments in paris, london and new york, this house represented the one constant thing in and life and his grandfather was a good part of it. the thought that he might be seriously ill that he imagined, that he might die, filled him with the chill of dread.
"when exactly did this thing happen?" "i told you, yesterday" Amethyst had no need to look at him to feel his eyes boring into her.
"and could you look at me when i'm talking to you? it's impossible to have a conversation to someone who insists on speaking to her mug of tea!" Amethyst obediently looked at him and immediately felt unsteady "he had just had his tea..." "what?" "i said Voltaire had just finished -"
"no, no, no" Kai waved her aside impatiently "i mean what did he have for tea? anything that could be seen to have brought on this... attack? are they quiet sure that it was a heart attack? and not something else? like food poisoning?"
"of course they're sure! they're doctors for heavens sake!"
"which is not to say that they're gods. everyones got faults" he sipped some of his tea and then restlessly began to loosen his tie so that he could undo the top two buttons of his shirt
Amethyst watched him with morbid fascination of someone watching something dangerous and unpredictable. Like a cobra snake.
"it wasn't food poisoning" she said remembering."he literally had some bread that i had made and a pot of tea. He was fine eating it but then said he felt a bit odd and he needed to lie down" "there must of been signs" Kai insisted shoving the mug to one side. "nothing. i would of told you if there had been anything that could of been a warning.."
"would you?"
"what do you mean?"
"i mean" he said standing up and prowling through the kitchen like a tiger "i haven't excatly been flooded with information from you on how my grandfather has been doing have i? in fact.." he paused and cocked his head to one side consideringly. "i've never recieved so much as a single piece of communication from you on the subject of voltaire! despite the fact i made it perfectly clear when you were employed that keeping me informed of my grandfather's well being was part and parcel of the deal!"
"that's not fair!" a sudden spurt of disbelieving anger made her cheeks redden at his accusation "i work for Voltaire and i don't .. think it's fair for you to expect me to go behind his back telling tales" she expected him to shout back but instead Kai grunted and resumed his prowling round the kitchen. More of this Amethyst thought and she might be joining Voltaire in the hospital with an attack of overstretched nerves.
"and what is the hospital like?" Kai demanded suddenly. "it's very good Kai. i went up there this morning and they wouldn't let me see him yet but i've been told his condition is stable"
"well thats something i suppose.how far from here is it?"
"about forty minutes depending on traffic"
"we'll leave here at four thirty then"
Amethyst nodded as Kai left the kitchen and sank back with relief at having some time on her own. Then she wondered if this was the right time to ask how long he planned on staying for. He was already heading for the stairs by the time she gathered her senses together and half ran after him.
"so" she said brightly keeping her distance as he reached down for the overnight bag. Not a very big bag she was reassured to see. "yes?" grey slate eyebrows went up as Kai registered her hovering presence. "you're... you're in the usual room. you know. top of the stairs, turen left, end of the corridor! i've.. i've put a towel out for you..." she stepped forward hesitantly "the thing is.."
"spit it out Amethyst!"
"well the thing is... i mean i was wondering .. well just how long you intend to stay, i mean" she rushed on as mild curiosity turned into a frown of growing disapproval "it would be really helpfull to me as to getting in food and such like" she could feel her face getting more and more flushed as he heard out her stammering speech in utter silence.
"you needn't go to any trouble for me" Kai informed her, turning away and heading up the stairs while Amethyst watched him with the dawning realisation that he had failed to answer the one question she desperately wanted answered.
With a spurt of uncustomary courage, she sprinted up the stairs in his wake and arrived slightly out of breath at his bedroom door just in time to see him dump the bag on the bed and dispose of his tie which he tossed on top of the bag. "well?" with a sigh of impatience he turned to her and began unbuttoning his shirt.
Amethyst kept her eyes fixed very firmly on his face and pointedley away from the toned torso that was being slowly revealed.
"it's just that.." she cleared her throat and looked down at her sandals "if you intend staying on.. you know, it would be helpful if you could let me know what you expect of me..." in the deadly silence that followed Amethyst realised what her words sounded like and went bright red.
"we'll talk about this later " Kai said firmly. He turned away from the shrinking figure and was only aware she had gone by the soft click of the door.
"Jimbo's got the car out of the garage" Amethyst rushed into speech as Kai shrugged on his jacket. It was may. Sunny but with a chill in the air that promised goose-pimples to anyone bold enough to walk around in just a t-shirt. Amethyst thought, with a certain amount of sourness, that Kai had got his dress code exactly right. Black trousers, navy shirt and black jacket that managed to look well worn yet incredibly fashionable and hideously expensive.
She felt the familiar rush of self-consciousness as she took in her own dress code, which was a baggy beige jumper, a grey stretch skirt reaching to her calves and her throughly un-cool black cord jacket. He always made her feel so horribly awkward. All year round she felt very comfortable in these clothes. They were functional, hard-wearing and successfully managed to hide a figure she felt self-concious about and was constantly reminded about whenever she was in his presence.
"Jimbo?" Kai paused to frown and Amethyst nodded.
"Jim parks, the man who looks after the garden and does odd jobs around the house. you've met him"
"i'll take your word for it" if he had, then he didn't remember.
"anyway the car's waiting outside. if you like, i'll drive" to her dismay he nodded. Amethyst was a good driver and used to driving Voltaire's car. She regularly went into town once a week on her afternoon off to shop and she drove Voltaire whereever he wanted, which admittedly wasn't to anywhere to far, but she had become used to the old gears.
None of that made her feel any the less nervous as she switched on the engine and started down the drive with Kai's intense crimson eyes watching her every move. It was like taking her driving test again, except worse. At least her driving instructor had been a kindly man in his fifties who had put her at ease, not a arrogant russian who wouldn't hesitate to launch a scathing attack on her ability if she happened to change gears a little too roughly.
She was releasing a long sigh of relief at the sight of the hospital in the distance when he threw her his bombshell. "i've been thinking about what you said to me about how long to stay and i think that Voltaire would be unhappy if he thought i was forcing myself to stay because i felt sorry for him"
Amethyst glanced at him then quickly back at the busy road. The fact he had actually thought about anything she had said was surprising enough without the additional bonus of knowing he had agreed with her on something.
"yes he really would" she breathed a little sigh of relief at what she knew was coming. His departure. "you have a flat in the town don't you?" "of course " Kai said irritably "gods sake park the damn car" Amethyst quickly inched the car forward into a spot that had just be vacated. "there" she said with satisfaction "done"
"i was telling you about my...dilemma...concerning work" Kai brought the subject back round to what he wanted sweeping over Amethyst's small victory so that she felt deflated.
"oh, yes. perhaps we could discuss it after we've been to see your grandfather?" she already could feel her spirit lifting at the thought of seeing Voltaire. She hoped that he would be able to see them now and perhaps even chat a little and she would much rather relish her anticipation in peaceful silence than be forced to respond to the man striding along beside her.
"we'll discuss it now, i think" Kai informed her crushingly. He pushed open the glass door and then stood aside to let her pass "i want to focus on voltaire when i see him, knowing i have sorted out this work situation to my satisfaction. in fact-" he glanced around "-there must be some kind of coffee shop or cafe here. I should of said what i need to say in fifteen minutes and then we can go see voltaire" Amethyst fought down the urge to salute. She also knew better than to express an alternative viewpoint so she suggested the cafe was further along the ground floor.
The coffee was fairly awful but they would be able to sit and anyway, it made sense for her to do what she had to do, nod when he told her he would be going down to the city so he could carry on working and agree it was the only logical solution. At least that way she too, would feel a weight lifted off her shoulders.
"what will you have?" Kai asked, not looking at her as he assumed his place in the short queue, his hand squarely placed on top of one of the brown trays. Somehow direct questions from Kai always managed to encourage a stammer that Amethyst possessed with no-one else. Of course, when she thought about it, she could understand why. Even when he was being perfectly normal, if such a thing could occur with him, there was still a latent aggression to him that brought out the worst in her.
"hello?" she heard him saying now, finally turning to look at her so for an instant their eyes tangled and a slow, hot burn started inside her. "is there anyone there? or have you decided to vanish into the clouds completely?" "sorry" Amethyst said blinking and looking away "i'll have a coffee"
"anything to eat?"
"no. Thank you. Thanks"
Kai frowned and his eyes did a sweep over of her, finally coming to rest on her flushed face. "you look like a bag of bones under that outfit of yours"
In one fell swoop, he managed to make her cringingly aware of her body and it's shortcomings. Ever since she was fourteen and had watched on the sidelines as her friends developed hips, breasts and all the things that the boys seem to go towards, Amethyst had nursed unspoken feeling that her slightness, her small breasts, her boyish shape, were to be concealed at all costs. Baggy, all-enveloping clothes had become her preferred mode of dress, even though her parents had told her repeatedly that she was beautiful. She had always known better than to believe them. Her parents adored her. They would of found her beautiful if she had three heads and a tail.
"you need to build yourself up"
"into what? a wrestler?" Amethyst said with spurt of vigour and this time he looked at her with something approaching interest, his slated eyebrows raised in apparent fascination at her sudden forceful tone of voice.
"i really don't know, now that you mention it, considering you keep your body so cleverly concealed, under clothing a granny would be proud of" Kai answered smoothly, but her sarcasm had captured his attention and suddenly the plans he had made regarding work didn't seem quite so depressing after all.
"now, we'll have our coffee and i'll tell you exactly what i've decided on the work front. why don't you grab a table - cleanish one if there is - and i'll join you once i've paid for this lot?"
He absentmindedly watched as Amethyst scuttled across the cafe to one of the tables at the back but his thoughts were already moving ahead.He couldn't see that she would object in any way to what he had in mind and quite frankly, had no choice in the matter anyway.
However his problems didn't begin and end with work. Isobel Smith, the woman he was currently attached too, might have been a model of understanding when it came to his frequent trips abroad, but he doubted she would be quite so compliant when it came to him holed up in the countrydie a good hour and a half away from her, yet in the same country.
She had been dropping hints about him settling down in one place for good, spicing up her conversation with all too transparent musings about the nature of relationships and the speed with which time rushed past.
Kai knew he should of been firmer in squashing some of her blatent chat about commitment and body clocks but somehow he never seems to get around it it and he'd allowed the situation to slide.
Maybe he thought now Voltaire's illness was fate telling him that the time to settle down had arrived, and as he distractedly paid the gitl at the till for the two coffees and the tired chelsea bun he had brought himself, he wondered if Isobel might just be the sort of wife he was looking for.
He glanced across at Amethyst who was brushing a few crumbs from the surface of the table with her hand and decided he would deal with one thing at a time.
Work frst, girlfriend later and both in second position to the all-consuming need to make sure his grandfather was going to be alright.