Her curiosity piqued, Ruby decided to do an internet search on him after she’d parked her car and settled in. Hopefully, there would be a photo or two so she could see what he looked like. She’d expected there to be a few photos of him around the house but there weren’t. Not a one. Clearly, he wasn’t into photos. She wondered why. People usually had a few photos dotted around their home, photos of family and loved ones. At the very least, she’d expected a few photos of him with his wife. But there wasn’t a single one. All she could think was that he didn’t want to be reminded of his marriage, or his dead wife, which was a shame. She loved looking at all the photos of her mother she had on her phone. She’d even had a tribute to her mother tattooed on her wrist with the dates of her birth and death inside a love heart. When you loved someone, you wanted to remember them.
It was a puzzle all right.
Hopefully Georgia could fill in a few of the blanks when Ruby rang her, plus give her a feel for what sort of man her new boss was. A personal connection was much better than the internet. But first she would make herself some coffee with that lovely coffee machine.
There was nothing better than good coffee, Ruby thought as she walked back inside and headed for the kitchen. Coffee always relaxed her, and she needed relaxing after what had been a somewhat stressful morning. But really, it had worked out surprisingly well. Gloria had seemed to like her and the feelings were mutual. And truly, the house was divine. It would be a pleasure living in it and looking after it. On the surface, it was a dream job.
Of course, her satisfaction with the position ultimately rested on the character of her boss. She hoped he would be as nice as he’d sounded on the phone, and not one of those rich, arrogant men she’d met during her working life. Having a lot of money, she’d found, didn’t always bring out the best in the male sex.
Such thoughts reminded her to be careful with her appearance during her time here. Conservative, Barbara had advised.
I can do conservative, Ruby reassured herself as she switched on the coffee machine.
Okay, so it wasn’t her usual style of dressing but no way was she going to do anything to risk this wonderful job. Which meant hair kept up or at least tied back, minimal make-up and jewellery and a very bland wardrobe.
The clothes she wore today were a good start but she would need more. She could hardly wear this outfit every single day, especially once summer got started. It was already very hot and it was only the first week in December. When she rang Georgia she would ask what she usually wore during the summer months. And yes, she would subtly question her about what kind of man Sebastian Marshall was.
Ruby wasn’t really worried about him, but forewarned was forearmed.
She wasn’t to know that fate would conspire against her, making her first meeting with her new boss very awkward indeed.
CHAPTER THREE
WHEN SEBASTIAN EXITED the terminal the heat came as a shock. After spending a fortnight in Europe’s winter his body wasn’t used to either heat or humidity. Both enveloped him within seconds, making the wait for a taxi very uncomfortable and irritating.
The trip overseas had spoiled him, he realised, the executives of the various companies who wanted to buy his shows sparing nothing in their efforts to woo his agreement to their terms. He’d been chauffeured around everywhere he went, and wined and dined within an inch of his life—not that it had done them much good. Sebastian knew what his shows were worth—especially Battle at the Bar—and he’d driven a hard bargain. He would shortly be many million dollars richer, with more money to come. The royalties would roll in for years.
Not that being super rich interested him all that much. After a certain point, what did it gain you really? There was only so much you could spend before it became obscene. He had a lovely home, an excellent wardrobe and a great car. He didn’t need a private jet, a yacht, or a holiday home in the Caribbean.
Of course, it was nice to be able to afford five-star restaurants and first-class airfares, along with the best hotels and resorts in the world. Sebastian couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the finer things in life. But then, he’d worked hard to be able to afford them. Damned hard.
Still, he would give every cent he had if only Jennifer...
No, no, don’t go there, Sebastian warned himself with gritted teeth.
But he was already there, the emotions he’d felt at the time of her cancer diagnosis coming back to haunt him with a vengeance. Not just grief, but bitterness and anger, and that other awful feeling of helplessness. He’d hated that more than anything: that he hadn’t been able to do anything to save the woman he loved.
Keep looking forward, he lectured himself sternly. And working hard. Work was the only thing that kept the memory demons at bay.
He actually loved running Harvest Productions. It had been his saviour, which was a perverse thing to say when his father had had to die for him to inherit the company. But it was strangely true. Sebastian knew that without the challenge he’d faced when confronted with control of a near-insolvent business a few months after Jennifer’s death, he would have fallen by the wayside completely. The realisation that he was needed, and that he could actually do something to help all those people faced with the prospect of unemployment, had given him the strength to carry on.
‘Where you going, mate?’ the taxi driver asked as he scooped up Sebastian’s luggage.
Sebastian gave himself a mental shake then stepped forward to open the passenger door of the taxi. ‘Mosman,’ he said as he climbed in.
‘Where in Mosman?’ the driver asked after he slid in behind the wheel.
Sebastian gave his address, only then remembering that he’d better text Ruby and let her know he was on his way home. He’d taken a flight one day earlier than intended, spending the night in Singapore, being feted by another billionaire who wanted a piece of Harvest Productions. It was amazing how success brought investors flocking. He’d been polite with the man but he hadn’t liked him at all, turning down his offers and flying out first thing this morning, landing at Mascot at just after three this afternoon. By the time he got home it would be close to four. Even so, Ruby wasn’t expecting him till tomorrow morning.
Not that he thought this would be a problem. They’d exchanged a couple of texts during the past week and she seemed an easy-going kind of girl who had everything in hand and wouldn’t be upset by his early arrival.
He quickly sent off a text, explaining the situation, confident of getting a reply before long. Girls these days lived on their phones, didn’t they?
The taxi driver chatted away as they headed for town. Sebastian didn’t mind and asked the chap what he liked to watch on television. He often did that, gathering honest feedback about what the everyday person liked and didn’t like. He was pleased to hear the man’s disgruntlement with the current wave of reality shows, which matched Sebastian’s feelings exactly. Audiences were getting sick of them and craved more escapist entertainment.