you could just step back.’
She responded to the calm invitation and watched as the soiled linen was removed and replaced. Within seconds all trace of the mess had been removed and the low buzz of conversation had started up.
‘Relax, accidents happen.’
Not to me, not today!
Libby bit back the wail and smiled in genuine gratitude at the grey-haired figure who had orchestrated the mop-up operation.
‘I’m so sorry.’
He smiled at her, nodded at someone over her shoulder and moved away.
Libby closed her eyes. She knew before she turned who she would see standing there, and her instincts had not failed her.
A serene smile painted on her face to cover the humiliation burning through her veins, she turned to face the tall, imposing figure of Rafael Alejandro. He must have enjoyed seeing her make a total fool of herself.
‘Coffee, sir?’ she said, aiming the question at a point over his shoulder.
Rafael arched a dark brow and turned to the younger man beside him whose presence Libby had not until this point even registered. Her attention had all been focused on the man she had intended to impress with her efficiency.
Well that went well, Libby.
‘What did you think, Callum—should we risk it?’ Despite the gentle jibe Rafael had not taken any pleasure from witnessing her public embarrassment. On the contrary he had been impressed by the way she had lifted her chin when the smirking idiot had laughed, after she had flinched. It was at that point that Rafael had had to restrain an uncharacteristic impulse to rush protectively to her side.
Through a miasma of misery Libby heard the other man laugh, but not unkindly. ‘I’d love a top-up,’ he said, adding, ‘We’ve all been there.’
Libby flashed him a smile of gratitude and thought, Except Rafael, as she tried and failed to imagine the elegant Spaniard messing anything up except other people’s lives.
The other man grinned, unwittingly echoing Libby’s thoughts as he added drily, ‘Not Rafael, of course.’
Irritation moved at the back of Rafael’s eyes. ‘Rumours of my infallibility have been grossly exaggerated. I’ll take a coffee.’
As she filled the cup he held out Libby’s hand shook. Rafael’s eyes travelled from her small trembling hand to her stiff frozen features and he felt like a total bastard.
The opinion was shared by the voice of his troubled conscience.
Why
troubled?
She was here voluntarily and he was treating her the same way he treated all the interns. It was a method he had used after an intern with a particularly high opinion of himself had caused a lot of bad feeling with his know-it-all attitude; now everyone’s first day was spent on the very bottom rung.
Libby was relieved when she was forced to step to one side to allow a tall woman wearing a red suit that made her stand out amongst the more sober hues approach Rafael.
That the most attractive woman in the room made a beeline for Rafael was not exactly a surprise—the surprise would have been if she hadn’t!
Libby, despite a near miss when she heard the woman in the red dress laugh throatily in response to something Rafael had said, managed to get through the rest of the service without further incident, possibly because Rafael only stayed for about five minutes after which miraculously her co-ordination returned enough to receive a word of praise from the man in charge when he came to tell her she should leave early to attend the requisite session on health and safety.
Halfway to her destination she realised that she was happy because someone had told her she was quite good at serving coffee.
She began to laugh out loud.
‘It is always good to see someone happy in their work.’
Libby, no longer laughing, stopped dead.
‘I had the feeling back there that you wanted to say something to me.’
Libby shrugged. ‘Just that you’re a total bastard.’ She closed her eyes and thought, You couldn’t keep your mouth shut, could you, Libby?
‘In that
She responded to the calm invitation and watched as the soiled linen was removed and replaced. Within seconds all trace of the mess had been removed and the low buzz of conversation had started up.
‘Relax, accidents happen.’
Not to me, not today!
Libby bit back the wail and smiled in genuine gratitude at the grey-haired figure who had orchestrated the mop-up operation.
‘I’m so sorry.’
He smiled at her, nodded at someone over her shoulder and moved away.
Libby closed her eyes. She knew before she turned who she would see standing there, and her instincts had not failed her.
A serene smile painted on her face to cover the humiliation burning through her veins, she turned to face the tall, imposing figure of Rafael Alejandro. He must have enjoyed seeing her make a total fool of herself.
‘Coffee, sir?’ she said, aiming the question at a point over his shoulder.
Rafael arched a dark brow and turned to the younger man beside him whose presence Libby had not until this point even registered. Her attention had all been focused on the man she had intended to impress with her efficiency.
Well that went well, Libby.
‘What did you think, Callum—should we risk it?’ Despite the gentle jibe Rafael had not taken any pleasure from witnessing her public embarrassment. On the contrary he had been impressed by the way she had lifted her chin when the smirking idiot had laughed, after she had flinched. It was at that point that Rafael had had to restrain an uncharacteristic impulse to rush protectively to her side.
Through a miasma of misery Libby heard the other man laugh, but not unkindly. ‘I’d love a top-up,’ he said, adding, ‘We’ve all been there.’
Libby flashed him a smile of gratitude and thought, Except Rafael, as she tried and failed to imagine the elegant Spaniard messing anything up except other people’s lives.
The other man grinned, unwittingly echoing Libby’s thoughts as he added drily, ‘Not Rafael, of course.’
Irritation moved at the back of Rafael’s eyes. ‘Rumours of my infallibility have been grossly exaggerated. I’ll take a coffee.’
As she filled the cup he held out Libby’s hand shook. Rafael’s eyes travelled from her small trembling hand to her stiff frozen features and he felt like a total bastard.
The opinion was shared by the voice of his troubled conscience.
Why
troubled?
She was here voluntarily and he was treating her the same way he treated all the interns. It was a method he had used after an intern with a particularly high opinion of himself had caused a lot of bad feeling with his know-it-all attitude; now everyone’s first day was spent on the very bottom rung.
Libby was relieved when she was forced to step to one side to allow a tall woman wearing a red suit that made her stand out amongst the more sober hues approach Rafael.
That the most attractive woman in the room made a beeline for Rafael was not exactly a surprise—the surprise would have been if she hadn’t!
Libby, despite a near miss when she heard the woman in the red dress laugh throatily in response to something Rafael had said, managed to get through the rest of the service without further incident, possibly because Rafael only stayed for about five minutes after which miraculously her co-ordination returned enough to receive a word of praise from the man in charge when he came to tell her she should leave early to attend the requisite session on health and safety.
Halfway to her destination she realised that she was happy because someone had told her she was quite good at serving coffee.
She began to laugh out loud.
‘It is always good to see someone happy in their work.’
Libby, no longer laughing, stopped dead.
‘I had the feeling back there that you wanted to say something to me.’
Libby shrugged. ‘Just that you’re a total bastard.’ She closed her eyes and thought, You couldn’t keep your mouth shut, could you, Libby?
‘In that
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