The thought persisted that maybe her boss’s marriage hadn’t been as perfect as his sister imagined. People had believed her own parents’ marriage had been great until the ugly truth came out. Her father had been cheating on her mother the whole time she’d been dying of cancer.
Ruby still found that reality hard to stomach.
Shaking her head, she picked up the coffee mug and headed for the study-cum-library, which was at the front of the house.
The door was shut. Ruby knocked.
‘Come in,’ came the snappy reply.
Ruby sighed, then entered. Sebastian Marshall was sitting behind his desk, a laptop open in front of him. He was staring at the screen, his upward glance both brief and almost dismissive. ‘Thanks,’ he said, his attention already back on the screen.
Ruby put the mug down by his right elbow then just stood there, waiting for his attention. His eyes eventually lifted to hers, and they were as cool as the air conditioning.
‘Yes?’ he bit out.
Ruby decided then and there to address his attitude, which she found unacceptable. Unacceptable and unnecessary. Georgia might put up with him being rude but she wasn’t going to.
‘Mr Marshall,’ she began, then hesitated. When he looked at her like that—with hard narrowed eyes—her resolve weakened somewhat.
‘Yes?’ he persisted.
Ruby gathered herself and went on before she lost her nerve. ‘I couldn’t help but notice you were displeased to come home and find me in the pool. I was told I could use the pool when you weren’t home and I had no idea you were coming home early. I’m sorry I didn’t see your text but I never take my phone with me when I swim these days. Last time I did that I dropped it in the water and I had to buy a new phone.’ Ruby knew her tongue was running away with her but, Lord, this man was seriously intimidating. Her heart was thudding in her chest and it was hard to hold his penetrating gaze. ‘If you don’t want me to use the pool at all,’ she said, anxiety making her tone sharp, ‘then please just say so.’
His sigh was heavy as he leant back in his chair and picked up his coffee, taking a sip before he answered.
‘Of course you can use the pool, Ruby,’ he said, then took another longer sip of coffee before putting the mug down. ‘It wasn’t you being in the pool that displeased me. Or you not reading my rather last-minute text.’
‘Then what?’ she asked, perplexed.
‘May I be blunt?’
Was he ever anything else? ‘Please.’
‘You weren’t what I expected...looks-wise.’
Ruby’s heart sank. She’d come across a few employers in the past who’d not liked her looks, though they’d been mostly women. The men had never complained.
‘I can’t help my looks,’ she bit out.
‘Of course not,’ he agreed. ‘But you came as a surprise. Gloria said you were quite attractive but you’re more than that, Ruby. Especially in a bikini.’
Ruby winced. She supposed that bikini was rather revealing. And whilst she didn’t think her face was her fortune, she accepted that her figure was somewhat provocative when half naked.
‘I promise I won’t wear it again, Mr Marshall.’
‘For pity’s sake, Ruby, call me Sebastian. Georgia does. And of course you can wear your bikini. Just not when I’m home. And maybe not when I have visitors, which you’ll find is reasonably often. Can I assume you know what I do for a living?’
‘Yes. Barbara told me.’
He frowned. ‘Barbara?’
‘The woman who runs Housewives For Hire.’
‘Oh, yes. Barbara. Then you know I’m in TV production.’
‘Yes...’
‘One of my shows is Battle at the Bar. I presume you’ve seen it?’ he asked, and picked up his coffee again.
‘Just the once,’ she said.
‘Really? Why just the once?’ he demanded to know, banging the mug back down. Clearly, he was quite put out.
She shrugged, all the while trying to think up a reason why she hadn’t watched one of the most successful shows on TV more often. ‘I don’t really like series,’ she invented, ‘especially crime ones with complicated storylines. If you miss an episode, you get a bit lost.’
‘You can always catch up later online.’
‘I suppose so,’ she admitted, wishing she’d just told him the truth.
‘Battle at the Bar has won a lot of awards,’ he pointed out. ‘You should watch it some more. Give it a chance to grow on you. Anyway, that’s not why I brought it up. I just wanted to warn you that the star of the show—Zack Stone—often drops by. He’s a good friend of mine but he’s very fond of pretty girls. He’d probably try to make a pass at you given the chance. But you don’t need to worry about him. I’ll make sure he behaves himself.’
Ruby laughed. She couldn’t help it.
His dark brows beetled into a frown. ‘Why the laugh? I’m told he’s irresistible to the female sex.’
‘Not to me,’ she said. ‘I don’t like men who think they’re God’s gift to women.’ Or men at all much, if truth be told. She’d been through a wild phase when she’d first left home during which she’d gone to too many parties, drunk too much alcohol, and indulged in too much casual sex. She’d finally woken up to herself, however, and stopped before things got out of hand.
After that she’d sworn off men for ages.
But then she’d met Jason...
She’d been working as a receptionist in a hotel on the Gold Coast at the time, filling in for a girl who was away on maternity leave. He’d been a sales representative who stayed at this hotel very regularly. Jason had been movie-star good-looking with blond hair, blue bedroom eyes and buckets of charm to go with it. And he’d made a beeline straight for her.
Ruby had been flattered by his never-ending compliments, despite initially resisting his many requests to take her out. In the end she’d gone for coffee with him and then agreed to go to dinner with him when he was next in town. By then she was very attracted to him and possibly would have gone to bed with him. But thankfully, before he came back, she found out he was married.
To say she was crushed was an understatement, confirming what she already suspected about most men. They simply could not be trusted. But finding out the truth about Jason had the positive effect of turning off her libido entirely. She hadn’t had sex for four years and didn’t miss it one little bit.
‘Just thought I’d warn you,’ Sebastian said.