Torn by Laura Bailey Page B

professional decorum she had wanted to convey to him on first meeting.
    Her heel was sore, rubbing against her shoe as she walked. Her tights were ripped and the ladder would only rise up the back of her leg now. She made her way to the subway, thoroughly dismayed at her behaviour, and disturbed yet intrigued by the sensations within her that he had aroused.
     
    Chapter Two
    The next day she made her way back to his office. In a different outfit, and her hair down, she hoped that he would not remember her from the day before. It was very possible; he was a busy man running a multi-million pound business.
    As soon as she entered the reception area, the receptionist told her that Mr Harker was ready to see her, and led her down the hallway before she even had a chance to sit. She opened a door and indicated for Madeline to go inside.
    Daniel Harker was standing by a huge window, a panoramic view of the City behind him, his figure outlined against it.
    “Madeline I presume? Take a seat would you.”
    He gestured to the seat in front of his large wooden desk. He took his seat behind it. He picked up her resume. “You worked for Elihte Capital?”
    “Yes, sir.”
“Interesting. Why did you leave?”
    “It was a temporary contract.”
    “I see. And what about Reddick Securities?”
    “That was a temporary contract also.”
    “Do you not possess any staying power Madeline?”
    His gaze on her was intense. The silence between them hung in the air. Eyes of steel fixed on her, confident yet nonchalant determination in his posture.
    “I’m sorry?”
    “Why is it that you seem only to stay at these companies for short periods of time?”
    “I wanted to gain as much experience as I possibly could in the best investment companies there are. They have had only temporary positions available.”
“The best? And I thought mine was the best.” He smiled but it was not a smile of great warmth.
    “Its reputation is. Until now I don’t believe there has been an available position however.”
“No. You are right. My PA was with the Company for thirty five years. We have a very low turnover here. My staff tend to stay. Why do you want to work for me?”
    “I have just said. Yours is the most successful.”
“It is. I suppose the real question is what do you have to offer me Madeline?”
    “I’m very good at what I do, as my resume reflects.”
    “Mm, that is all very prosaic.”
    “I’ve seen numerous other candidates over the last couple of days with resumes very similar.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t know him, didn’t know what he was particularly looking for.
    “I will protect your interests and the reputation of your company in the most professional way I can.”
    “Would that include the use of a profuse amount of swearing, as you did in the street right outside my office yesterday?”
    Her cheeks reddened.
    “That was perhaps not my best moment.” She tried a smile, ended up biting her lip in embarrassment.  
    “No. Or was it? Someone with that amount of fire, of passion, directed in the right way, could perhaps serve very well as my ‘gatekeeper’. It could work, in a perverse kind of way.  If we could hone that fierceness into loyalty, I think you could prove a valuable asset to me. Let me think about it. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
    “Thank you.” With that, she rose and left his office.
    After she left he sat in contemplation. This could well prove an enjoyable challenge. He could see well enough the effort it took her to suppress her attitude in the interview, and having seen her unguarded in the street the day before, he was actually quite taken with the underlying rebellious streak inside her. He was surrounded by insipid pleasers, at work and in his private life. He attracted them because of his power and wealth. It was inevitability. And those people, insipid though they were, often came with a hidden agenda, seeking to use him, to get what they could out of