“So, you’re trying to control me, are you?” About the Author Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE Copyright

“So, you’re trying to control me, are you?”

Tuna glared at him and continued. “Well, maybe I don’t want to be controlled.”

Justin smiled an evasive smile, quite untouched by the scathing note in Tina’s voice.

“No, you never did. That’s what makes it so enjoyable. I’m really looking forward to having you back in my employ.”

“You mean back in your power! You’re going to torment me and make my life a misery!”

“Sounds good to me.” Justin let his gaze drift over her. “I always did enjoy tormenting you!”

There was something intensely sexual about the way he said it. And Tina found herself utterly powerless to stop herself from responding.

Stephanle Howard was born and brought up in Dundee, Scotland, and educated at the London School of Economics. For ten years she worked as a journalist in London on a variety of British women’s magazines, among them Woman’s Own, and later, was editor of the now defunct Honey. She has spent many years living and working abroad—in Italy, Malaysia, the Philippines and in the Middle East.

The Man Who Broke Hearts
Stephanie Howard

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

‘GOOD heavens! I’m so sorry! That was my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.’

As she spoke, Tina didn’t even glance at her victim—the man she’d just collided with somewhat violently as she’d hurried across the conference-room full of noisy fellow-journalists. All her attention was fixed on the glass of champagne cocktail which had very nearly been sent flying out of her hand—and most of whose contents were now dripping down her arm.

But then her victim spoke.

‘No need to apologise. It seems to me you’ve come off worst.’

In an instant Tina had forgotten about her impromptu shower. The unexpected sound of that deep velvety voice had instantly rooted her to the spot. A great deal of time had passed since she’d last heard it, but it was not a voice she was ever likely to forget. Her heart hammering, she looked up into Justin Marlowe’s face.

‘Like I said,’ he repeated, smiling, ‘you seem to have come off worst.’

‘Yes, I do.’

It was the only response Tina could manage. She could barely stand for the rush of emotion that poured through her at the sight of that arrogant Greek god face. Suddenly, there was a tempest raging inside her. Suddenly, she was finding it difficult to breathe.

‘Are you OK? You look a little stunned. You haven’t hurt yourself, I trust?’

‘No. I’m OK. Just a little stunned, as you say. That was quite a nasty collision.’

Tina was amazed, and relieved, at how composed and cool she sounded. She hadn’t spoken to Justin Marlowe or been this close to him for three years—for, though she’d seen him from time to time at other receptions like this one, neither had ever even so much as acknowledged the other’s presence. And now she was right next to him, looking into those iron-grey eyes of his that she had believed no longer had the power to affect her, and she was tumbling into an abyss of pain and confusion. In an instant her blood had turned to knives in her veins.

‘I seem to have made a bit of a mess.’

Her fingers tight around her wine glass, she tore her gaze from his and glanced down, only half seeingly, at the wet splashes on her silk blouse. He was right. She had definitely come off worst in their encounter. There wasn’t a mark on his immaculate navy suit. But then, she thought wryly, wasn’t that always the case? Didn’t she always come off worst in her encounters with Justin Marlowe?

That thought was like a splash of cold water in her face. It pulled her up abruptly. Why was she reacting so foolishly? Justin Marlowe was nothing but a cold-hearted bastard. The only emotion he should be capable of inspiring in her was dislike.

‘Here. Take this.’ He had reached into his trouser pocket and was pulling out a folded, spotlessly white handkerchief. He held it out to her, then, before she could protest, he had taken her wine glass and handed it to a passing waiter. ‘You can use it to mop up the worst of the damage.’

Tina’s foolishness had all fled in a flickering instant to be replaced by a quick keen sense of irritation. Who the devil did he think he was, taking over in this fashion? She felt tempted to tell him what to do with his handkerchief. But she let common sense prevail. She rather needed to mop up and she knew she had no tissues in her bag.

So she took the proffered handkerchief, murmuring a curt, ‘Thank you,’ as she did so. Then, looking up into his face again, she observed in a cutting tone, ‘Whatever would I have done if you hadn’t been here?’

‘Well, you wouldn’t have bumped into me, so you wouldn’t have needed my assistance.’

Justin eyed her with those dark eyes of his that could burn holes in paper, his tone amused and lightly mocking. His gaze skimmed over her, over the long blonde hair that fell past her shoulders in platinum ripples, over the tall, model-like figure dressed in cream blouse and matching skirt, to settle on her eyes, the perfect blue of a Ming vase, which currently looked back at him with an expression as cold as porcelain.

‘But don’t worry, it’s always a pleasure to bump into a lovely young lady.’

It was a throwaway line. Barely even a compliment. He was simply spelling out to her how he thought of her these days—unemotionally, distantly, as ‘a lovely young lady’. It meant nothing to him that once they had been lovers.

It meant nothing to her either. Tina detached her gaze from his and dabbed at her wet hand with the folded handkerchief. The only thing that mattered was how much she hated him.

‘So, where were you off to in such a hurry that you ended up ploughing straight into me?’ As Tina. glanced up at him again, Justin smiled amusedly. ‘One thing’s for sure—I know you didn’t bump into me on purpose.’

That was true enough. As he had avoided her over the years, so Tina, equally assiduously, had avoided him. And, to be truthful, she hadn’t even known he was here today. He must have only recently arrived at the reception.

Before she could answer, he added, ‘One minute you were speaking to your friends, and the next you were heading towards me like a bulldozer.’

‘Not heading towards you. I thought I saw someone I wanted to speak to. At the last minute I realised it wasn’t her at all.’

So, Tina was thinking, he was watching me, was he? There was something a little disquieting about that.

Justin was continuing, ‘I suppose you know lots of people here.’ He cast a quick glance round the room in which they were standing—the conference hall of one of London’s top hotels that was currently playing host to a big press reception. ‘After all, you’re someone pretty important these days. No less than the features editor of Scope.’

‘Oh, not so important. Not nearly as important as yourself.’

One perfectly shaped eyebrow lifted over one porcelain-blue eye. Did he think he could mock her and get away with it? Tina wondered. Well, he was wrong if he did. No one did that any more. In the three years since their parting she had grown a little more worldly, a little more sophisticated, a little more smart. These days, with perfect poise, she could hold her own with anyone. And she could certainly hold her own with a skunk like Justin Marlowe.

Tina continued, a light, mocking smile on her lips, ‘You, after all, are the owner of JM Publishing. You must own or be on the point of taking over most of the newspapers and magazines represented in this room.’

‘Not quite.’ Justin smiled sardonically. ‘Only forty per cent. But don’t worry, I’m working on the others.’

Tina did not smile back. He hasn’t changed, she reflected. Still the same old overbearing self-assurance. Once, she had found that side of him exciting. She’d been stimulated and charmed by his unstoppable dynamism. But in the end she’d discovered it was really just pure selfishness. Justin Marlowe cared for no one but himself.

He hadn’t changed much in the looks department either. Now that that moment of foolish turmoil had receded and she was able to look him straight in the face, Tina could see that he was just the same as ever. Perhaps there were a few more lines around the long-lashed dark grey eyes and in the corners of the passionate, well-shaped mouth—as one would expect of a man of thirty-six. But his features were still as arrestingly handsome as ever and the hair that he wore casually swept back from his forehead was still as glossily black as a raven’s wing.

Still beautiful on the outside, she thought, and rotten to the core underneath.

Tina finished drying her hand and held out the handkerchief to him. ‘So, is that why you’re here?’ Her tone was disapproving. ‘On a kind of window-shopping expedition? To see what you’re going to buy up next?’

Justin smiled. ‘I already know what I’m going to buy up next.’

‘You mean Berry’s—the company I work for?’

That was the rumour that was going around. In fact, that was the very subject that Tina and her friends had been discussing with some concern just a few minutes ago, while Justin had been secretly observing them.

And talk about coincidence....! Someone ‘up there’ must have been listening. For Tina had been proposing that it might be a good idea if one of them were to pay a visit to JM Publishing and have a word with Justin Marlowe. For, in fact, there were a number of rumours going around and some of them were deeply disturbing. It seemed there was more than just a simple take-over in the air. And Tina was all for getting to the bottom of it.

Well, here’s your chance, she told herself now. This totally unplanned confrontation wasn’t quite what she’d had in mind, but all the same it was too good an opportunity to miss.

‘So, is that right?’ she pressed him now. ‘Is Berry’s next on your shopping list?’

To her surprise, he shook his head. ‘Actually, I wasn’t referring to Berry’s...’

As he paused, just for an instant a spark of hope touched Tina’s heart. Were these rumours they were all so concerned about just rumours, after all? But the hope was barely formed when Justin shattered it.

‘Berry’s I consider to be already in the bag.’

He took the handkerchief, but did not return it to his pocket.

Tina felt herself blanch. ‘So, the stories are true, then? You really are about to take over Berry’s?’

‘There are still a couple of papers to be signed, but the answer is yes. I am indeed about to take over Berry’s.’ At her sudden pallor he smiled the sadistic smile of a tiger. ‘You may congratulate me. And yourself, of course. You’re about to have a new boss.’

‘How unfortunate.’

Suddenly, there was a lead weight in Tina’s stomach. It grew heavier as he elaborated. ‘Just like old times, eh?’

Old times. Bad times. Tina glared at him. ‘To be frank, I can’t think of anything worse.’ For she had worked for him in the past. That was how they’d . first met. And it was an experience she had no desire to repeat.

But Justin was still smiling his sadistic tiger’s smile. The smile of a tiger lazily sharpening its claws. ‘I was just thinking, as I was watching you chatting to your friends there, how much I’m going to enjoy having you back under my wing.’

‘Under your wing? You mean in your claws!’

And suddenly, as she glared at him, Tina felt another shiver as a new suspicion occurred to her. She hadn’t bumped into him. More likely, he’d bumped into her. He’d deliberately orchestrated this encounter so that he could tell her this bad news to her face and gloat.

She fixed him with a flinty look. ‘I suppose you’re feeling pretty pleased?’

‘Immensely pleased. However, I must say I’m saddened——’ He broke off to smile a smile that was rather more triumphant than sad. ‘Saddened that you unfortunately don’t appear to share my pleasure.’

‘No, I don’t and I’m afraid neither will anyone else at Berry’s. Frankly, this is the worst news you could possibly have given me. Everyone at Berry’s is going to be devastated. Nobody wants you to take over the company.’

‘Really?’ Justin arched one caustic black eyebrow. He regarded her narrowly for a moment. ‘That’s extremely team-spirited of you, I must say, to care about the feelings of your colleagues.’ The eyebrow lifted a little higher. ‘Quite out of character.’

Tina felt a twist inside her as she remembered the episode that had given him that low, and totally unjust, opinion of her. It had been their last bitter encounter, when all she had cared about was paying back some small measure of the huge hurt he’d inflicted on her. She’d been totally out of her mind that day.

But she would never take back the things she had said to him. She knew they’d done no more than slightly bruise his ego, but even that was a source of some satisfaction. And she didn’t give a damn what he thought of her anyway.

She tilted her chin at him and totally ignored his comment. ‘Everyone, on all the magazines at Berry’s, is very much against you,’ she repeated.

‘Are they?’ He looked as concerned as an elephant with a fleabite. ‘Don’t worry, they’ll learn to love me. Everybody does.’

He said it so flippantly, yet looking straight at her, as though he had meant it as a callous reminder of the overpowering love he had once aroused in her.

Tina felt herself recoil. Her heart thudded inside her. ‘If they do, they soon get over it,’ she shot back at him in a harsh tone. ‘It’s not the kind of love that runs very deep.’

That was what she had wanted him to believe of her three years ago. It was why she’d said the things she’d said at their last meeting. She’d had too much pride to let him see her bruised, bleeding heart.

And it seemed she’d done a good job. He flicked a look back at her now. ‘But some people are only capable of the shallowest emotions. They just take what they can get and then cynically move on.’

Then he smiled, his eyes darkening, and let his gaze travel over her. ‘The heart of a vampire in the body of an angel,’ he purred.

This was nothing like the way he had looked at her earlier. Then his gaze had been perfunctory and mocking. But now his eyes lingered, moving like touching fingers, caressing the full, generous curves of her breasts, the dip of her waist, the gentle flare of her hips. And it was a far too familiar scrutiny. Far too knowing. His eyes held the arrogant look of a man taking a stroll over territory he had once known very well.

How dared he? Bristling with anger, Tina opened her mouth to rebuke him. But before she could utter a word she was suddenly freezing to the spot.

For he was reaching out towards her with the handkerchief. ‘You’ve missed a bit here,’ he was saying in an amused tone as he dabbed lightly at the lapel of her cream silk blouse. Then as she tried to move he caught her lightly by the arm. ‘Stand still. How can I see what I’m doing if you move?’

A rush of panic seized her. All at once she had difficulty breathing. It was crazy; they were in a public place, surrounded by people, yet all at once Tina felt like a helpless prisoner. The hand that gripped her arm was like a manacle holding her. A manacle of red-hot burning steel.

‘You don’t need to do that!’

‘It’s no trouble, I assure you.’

‘No, really... But really...’

Her heart was jumping inside her. For not only was he holding her, not only was he touching her, but, much worse, all at once she had suddenly become aware of the light scent of the handkerchief that drifted up to her nostrils.

It was his scent. That cool, clean scent she remembered. And suddenly, like some magic carpet of the senses, it was transporting her back to that time three years ago when she had been as familiar with that scent as with the scent of her own body.

And suddenly, in her mind she was lying naked beside him, caressing him, touching him, pressing against him, dizzy and drunk with desire and love for him.

It was a shattering moment. She felt something crumble inside her as she glanced up, helplessly, into the arrogant dark eyes that looked down on her now, distant and uncaring. For a moment her heart seemed to break all over again. A sense of paralysing loss went flooding through her.

‘There, that’s better.’ Justin was stepping away now, releasing his grip on her arm as he did so. Then he handed her the handkerchief. ‘There’s another spot on the collar. But perhaps I’d better let you attend to that.’

He was mocking her. He had picked up her sudden anguish and it appealed to his sadistic sense of humour. Perhaps, she thought wretchedly, he’d done it on purpose, guessing in advance how she would react. It still amused him to play with her, even after all these years.

At that thought Tina’s anguish turned instantly to anger. She was not his plaything—though he had once treated her as though she were. She was a twenty-five-year-old woman whom no other man in the world would ever have dared to treat so familiarly. And all he was to her was a man she despised with all her heart.

She took a pointed step away from him, her blue eyes chipped porcelain. ‘It’s not like you to be so solicitous,’ she observed frostily. ‘And I can assure you I neither need nor want your help in any way.’

‘But it’s my pleasure.’ Justin simply smiled in the face of her annoyance. ‘As I said before, you’re someone pretty important these days. One feels obliged to offer one’s services.’ A sarcastic look touched his eyes. ‘Though I wasn’t doing you full justice when I referred to you earlier as features editor of Scope. I understand that these days you’re also acting editor.’

‘Only while Maggie’s ill.’ Maggie was Scope‘s editor. ‘It’s only a temporary position.’

‘But one that could lead to greater glory in the future. If you do a good job, who knows what it could lead to—especially with Maggie due to retire in a couple of years?’

Tina was well aware of that and to anyone else she would have admitted it. But not to Justin. He would only twist it.

She told him, deadpan. ‘I don’t expect it to lead to anything. Maggie will be back at her desk in a couple of weeks.’

‘She’s got some stomach trouble, I hear.’

‘Yes, but nothing serious.’

‘So, you didn’t put arsenic in her tea, after all?’ As Tina scowled at him, Justin added, ‘I wouldn’t put it past you. Remember, I know how ambitious you are. And you’re not one to let loyalty or scruples get in your way. No wonder you’ve made such a rapid rise to the top.’

Tina resented that, though, of course, she knew why he’d said it. It was all part of the lie she’d fed him three years ago.

She straightened a little, tilted her chin and defended herself. ‘I’ve got where I am because I’ve worked hard,’ she informed him.

‘Yes, I’m sure you have. Single-mindedly and unstintingly.’ Then he smiled unexpectedly and surprised her as he added, ‘Besides, you have talent.’ His hard expression softened. ‘And I take pride in having been one of the first to recognise it.’

Tina had to hold back a blush as a rush of remembrance poured through her. For it was true; he’d been one of the first to show faith in her. And she’d have felt grateful to him for that if what had happened later hadn’t happened. But the pain he had caused her later cancelled all gratitude out.

She looked back at him, breathing carefully, hiding her emotions. ‘That,’ she told him quietly, ‘was a long time ago.’

‘Indeed it was. You were young and innocent then.’ He smiled a cynical smile. ‘Or at least I thought you were.’

‘I was innocent until I met you.’

She wished she hadn’t said that. It made her sound like an undone virgin, and that wasn’t the accusation she’d wanted to make. For it was not the taking of her sexual innocence that Tina resented, but the destruction of another kind of innocence. He had totally betrayed her trust.

All the time he’d been with her, seducing her and making her fall for him, he had secretly been involved with another woman. A woman Tina had known well. Her immediate boss at JM Publishing. The flaming redhead she and her friends had dubbed the Red Dragon.

And worse. He had even asked the Red Dragon to be his wife.

Remembering, Tina was aware of a plummeting within her. Just for an instant, all the heartbreak of that betrayal was tearing inside her, vivid and real again. For that had been the worst time of her life.

But it was all in the past now. Past and forgotten. She had long stopped caring about Justin and the Red Dragon, the eternally engaged couple, for they still hadn’t married.

She thinned her lips at him. ‘You showed me the ways of the world. The seamier ways of the world, that is.’

‘Oh, I suspect you already knew them. You probably even invented a few of them. And you’ve probably invented a few more in the meantime. After all, look how well you’ve flourished.’

He was quite without remorse, but then he always had been. He had never once apologised for the terrible thing he’d done to her.

But Tina shrugged that off. Hadn’t he, in truth, done her a favour? For after her break-up with Justin she’d banished love from her heart and dedicated herself body and soul to her career. Her work had kept her sane, and without that dedication she would probably never have risen up the ladder so fast.

She hadn’t risen as fast as Justin, though. His rise had been spectacular. Over the past three years JM Publishing had mushroomed. He’d been taking over publishing houses left, right and centre, until these days his greedy wings spread halfway across the globe.

Narrowing her eyes, she observed disparagingly, ‘Judging by the little empire you’ve built for yourself, I’d say you were the one who knows how to flourish.’

‘Then you should be glad I’m taking you over. If I flourish, Berry’s will flourish too.’

‘We’d prefer to flourish on our own, thanks.’

‘But you’re not flourishing, are you? Left on your own, the company will fold within the year.’

‘That’s absolute rubbish!’ Tina’s blue eyes flashed dismissively. She’d heard Berry’s was in trouble, but things weren’t that bad. ‘I know some of Berry’s magazines are losing money. But not all of them are. I know Scope isn’t, for a fact.’

‘No, it isn’t. It’s doing rather well. The only one that is.’

‘So, you see, we could survive very well without you.’

‘We? You mean Scope. The others would go under.’ The dark eyes narrowed and seemed to hook into her face. ‘But you don’t care about that, do you? You only care about yourself.’

This time Tina retaliated. ‘You couldn’t be further from the truth. What I want is for all of Berry’s magazines to survive—which they won’t, for sure, if you get your hands on them!’

Eyes sparking, she accused him, ‘You talk so high and mighty, but I know what’s really at the back of this take-over. You want to take over Berry’s. just so you can get your hands on Scope. We’re doing too well for your comfort, aren’t we?’

‘And what is that supposed to mean?’

Faker! He knew what she meant! For Tina was suddenly absolutely certain that all the other dreadful rumours she’d been hearing were true too. There was a lot more in the air than just a simple take-over. But if he wanted to play dumb, she’d be only to happy to explain.

‘We’re too much competition for Miranda these days. Miranda’s losing readers to us. Everybody knows it. And you don’t like that. That’s why you want to buy us—so you can merge Scope with Minanda and keep your precious flagship afloat!’

And keep your precious fiancée in a job, she might have added. For his fiancée, the Red Dragon, was the editor of Minanda.

Justin paused for an instant, as though he might deny the accusation. Then a slow, callous smile spread over his face.

‘Well, naturally I would want to keep Miranda afloat. And naturally I’ll take whatever measures are required, no matter how unpalatable they may be to some.’

‘So, you are going to fold Scope?’

‘You’ll find out in good time.’ He paused and fixed her with eyes of granite. ‘So, you’re admitting it at last. All you’re really worried about’s your own job.’

Tina’s cheeks had grown pale. All her worst fears were confirmed. The magazine she loved and had poured her life into was about to be ruthlessly sacrificed.

And it wasn’t fair! All at once, she was trembling with fury.

‘Of course I’m worried about my job. I’d be a liar if I denied it.’ Tina spoke softly—after all, they were in a public place—yet every taut syllable seethed with outrage. ‘But my first concern is Scope. It’s a good magazine. It’s an excellent magazine. A leader in its field. How can you do this?’ Her voice was cracking with emotion as she searched his eyes in vain for some spark of compassion. ‘Can’t you see that Scope is special? It doesn’t deserve to be sacrificed just to please you and your—’

For some reason she faltered, the word sticking in her throat.

She saw Justin smile. ‘Me and my what?’

It was the smile that did it. Something snapped inside her.

‘You and that bitch of a fiancée of yours!’ she spat.

Tina was mortified. All she’d meant to say was fiancée. The bitch bit had somehow come tumbling out on its own.

As she stood there, pale-faced, Justin watched her for a moment as though she were some crawly thing that had just escaped from behind a rock. Then, detaching his eyes, he glanced at his watch.

‘I’m afraid I have to go now. I have an empire to run. But if not a pleasure, at least it’s been most illuminating bumping into you.’

He started to turn away, then he paused and fixed his eyes on her face again.

‘I knew I was going to enjoy working alongside you again, but until this moment I hadn’t realised quite how much.’ He smiled his tiger’s smile again. ‘What was that phrase you used earlier? Having you in my claws, I believe, was how you put it. Yes, I can tell I’m going to enjoy that very much.’

Then, before she could say a word, he was turning on his heel and disappearing swiftly off through the crowd.

Tina watched him go through eyes that could barely focus, feeling seasick with the horror that poured through her in great waves. Though it wasn’t Justin’s warning that filled her with horror. It was her own spiteful outburst against his fiancée.

That had taken her by surprise. It had genuinely shocked her. Usually, she just made jokes about the Red Dragon. But a moment ago she definitely hadn’t been joking. There’d been real anger, real dislike, real resentment in her heart against the woman who, three years ago, had stolen the man she loved. There’d been the kind of pain she’d believed she’d put behind her long ago.

She shivered. To know that pain still lurked inside her, ready to scrape at any moment like a dagger against her heart, filled her with a fear that was far more terrible than the fear of anything that Justin could do to her.

Although as she stared after him she was aware that that scared her too. What terrible, evil revenge was he planning?

CHAPTER TWO

IT WAS only after Justin had gone and Tina had recovered her senses that she realised she was still holding his handkerchief in her hand. She shoved it in her bag, resisting the urge to chuck it in some corner. One thing she definitely wouldn’t do was run after him to return it!

Back home at the end of the day she deposited it in the washing machine, handling it at arm’s length, as though it might bite her. And that was where it still was as she sat at her office desk next morning, struggling to concentrate on the manuscript before her. Though it was hard. Her mind kept skipping back to yesterday’s encounter with Justin.

It had tormented her all night. She’d scarcely slept a wink for the horror she still felt at her shameful outburst against his fiancée.

What on earth had provoked it? Where had these long-dead feelings come from? The pain, the anger, the sense of loss, the resentment? She didn’t care any more that she’d lost Justin to the Red Dragon. Losing Justin, she’d come to realise, had been a lucky escape. So what on earth had caused her to react like that?

Some kind of madness, she’d decided. That mocking smile he’d smiled at her had thrown her back to that moment three years ago when she’d discovered that the man she’d believed was in love with her had just got engaged to another woman.

The Red Dragon, when she’d broken the news to her, had smiled a smile like that.

Tina clenched her teeth now and scowled down at the manuscript before her. But all that was ancient history and she’d long since got over it. As far as she was concerned, the Red Dragon was welcome to him. She and Justin could marry any time they liked.

In fact, the sooner the better. For Tina it would be a relief. It would finally draw a line beneath the entire messy episode.

‘Hi there! How’s my favourite acting editor?’

Tina started and glanced up as a voice broke through her reverie. Then she smiled at the wiry, leather-jacketed figure who was grinning down at her from the other side of her desk.

‘Hi, Mike.’ As always, she was delighted to see him. Mike Laing was one of the top fashion photographers in London and he also happened to be a very good friend.

She leaned back in her seat and pulled a wry face as she gestured at the pile of work on her desk—manuscripts, letters, transparencies, proofs, all urgently waiting to be dealt with.

‘Right now your favourite acting editor’s feeling a bit frazzled,’ she confessed.

‘Well, she doesn’t look it.’ Mike seated himself on the edge of the desk. ‘She’s looking as serenely beautiful as ever.’

Then as Tina smiled and shook her head—her standard response to Mike’s compliments—he enquired sympathetically, ‘Overworking you, are they?’

‘Not really.’

Tina ran a hand through her silky blonde hair. She was doing two jobs these days, but that didn’t bother her. In fact, to tell the truth, she relished the challenge, and she’d been coping perfectly till thoughts of Justin had come to torment her! However, there was one problem, as she explained now to Mike.

‘One of my regular freelances has let me down rather badly. She’s handed in this article that’s a total disaster. I can’t understand it. She’s generally so reliable.’ She cast an irritated glance at the manuscript she’d been working on. ‘It’s going to take me hours to pull this gibberish into shape.’

‘Throw it back at her. Get her to redo it.’

‘I would, only she’s not here. She’s out of the country. She’s gone off to France or somewhere on an assignment for some other magazine. And she was late handing this in. The printers need it by Monday. I’ve got no choice, I’m afraid. I’ve got to do it myself.’

Mike pulled a sympathetic face, then he winked and leaned towards her. ‘I reckon you deserve a treat for working so hard. Let me take you out for a drink after work.’

‘I wish I could, Mike—’

‘I’ve discovered this great new wine bar,’ he cut in quickly before she could say ‘but’. ‘The food’s terrific and they play great jazz.’

But Tina smiled and shook her head. ‘I really can’t, Mike. I’m going to be stuck at my desk till late.’

Mike looked disappointed, but he didn’t push her. He never did. He knew it got him nowhere. Just like all the other men in Tina’s life these days, he knew he would never be more than just a friend.

For Tina had become an expert at keeping men at a distance. Sometimes it surprised her how easily she did it. Maybe I’m turning into a bit of a dragon myself, she’d sometimes thought. For just one cool warning flicker from those china-blue eyes of hers and they got the message loud and clear.

But, dragon or not, that was the way she wanted it. No mess. No entanglements. No more broken hearts. Maybe one day—though only maybe—things would be different, but for now where her heart belonged was in her work.

Mike proceeded to change the subject now, regarding her with interest. ‘Hey, your chief sub-editor’s just been telling me that you collared Justin Marlowe at the reception yesterday. What did he have to say for himself?’

Tina felt a jolt inside her at the mention of Justin’s name. Over the past couple of minutes she’d actually managed not to think of him, but here he was springing out of the shadows to torment her again!

‘So, Vicki told you, did she?’ Tina smiled a small smile. Vicki, Scope’s chief sub, had been with her at the reception yesterday and she’d been telling everyone about Tina’s encounter with Justin Marlowe—even though, Tina reflected, she didn’t know the half of it!

‘Well, she probably also told you that the news isn’t good. If this take-over goes ahead, Scope will go under. He plans to merge us with Miranda.’

Mike looked surprised. ‘Did he actually say that?’

‘More or less.’ Tina pulled a wry face. ‘I’m afraid you were wrong and I was right.’

In the past, Mike had frequently expressed the opinion that it might not be a bad thing if JM Publishing took over Berry’s. He was an enthusiastic admirer of Justin’s thrusting young company—and not just because JM gave him a lot of work! ‘They know how to make money and keep up standards,’ he’d often said.

But his opinion about the take-over was totally misguided, as Tina had constantly argued over the weeks. She told him now, ‘Somehow, Marlowe’s got to be stopped.’

‘If you’re right, yes, he has. That would be a disaster.’ Mike frowned. ‘But I can’t understand why he would do that. It doesn’t make sense. Scope’s a successful magazine.’ Then he shrugged. ‘Maybe business-wise his judgement’s a little impaired these days. I understand he’s got other things on his mind.’

Tina was instantly curious. ‘Like what?’ she demanded.

But at that moment they were interrupted as Sasha, Scope’s fashion editor, stuck her brightly hennaed head round the office door.

‘Excuse me.’ She smiled at Tina. Then she turned to Mike. ‘Ready when you are with those transparencies.’

Mike started to stand up. ‘I’ll be right with you.’ Then he winked down at Tina. ‘I’ll leave you to get on with your work.’

But Tina was no longer thinking of work. She narrowed her blue eyes at him. ‘What did you mean when you said Justin Marlowe had other things on his mind?’

‘Haven’t you heard?’ Mike was heading for the door. ‘He and the Red Dragon are finally about to get spliced. The word is she’s been out scouring Bond Street for a wedding-dress. It looks as though she’s finally bagged him after all these years.’

‘Good luck to her.’

Tina said it as though she really meant it and her gaze was perfectly steady as she watched Mike disappear out through the door. And she did mean it. Surely? Hadn’t she just been thinking that it would be a relief when Justin and the Red Dragon finally married?

But as she sat frozen in her chair she was aware that she’d stopped breathing and that her stomach had suddenly turned to lead.

Tina remained at her desk that night until well after seven, but by then there was no point in staying on any longer. She’d done all the work she could for now on the faulty manuscript, though it definitely still wasn’t up to scratch.

She pushed it aside wearily. She’d have to fix up another interview to fill in the gaps and give it a bit more substance. And that would probably mean a trip to the Cotswolds over the weekend. She tossed down her pen. But for tonight she was through.

But she still didn’t make a move. She sat staring into space and let her mind roam over the subject she had kept shut out for the past few hours. Justin and the Red Dragon. And the long-threatened wedding. So, it was actually about to happen after all.

She’d got over the stupid paralysis that had struck her on first hearing the news. And heaven knew why it had shocked her anyway. She felt composed now and genuinely glad that it was about to happen. This was the final line in the final chapter. At last she’d be able to close the book.

At that thought she felt a wry smile touch her lips. Chapter one had promised a very different ending. Who ever would have guessed then that things would turn out the way they had?

Tina had been twenty-one years old, fresh out of college and as keen as mustard to make a name for herself in journalism when she had joined Miranda as a sub-editor nearly five years ago.

As she’d told her new boss at the interview, ‘It’s always been my dream to work in magazines. There’s nothing else I’ve ever wanted to do.’

Her new boss had been a woman nearly ten years her senior, a tall, stunning redhead with the reed-thin figure of a model and a wardrobe that came straight out of the pages of her own glossy magazine. Her name was Eunice Robinson and though Tina had guessed even then that she probably had a temperament to match her hair she’d had no idea that she’d end up dubbing her the Red Dragon!

On the contrary, she’d been excited at the prospect of joining Eunice’s team. On the phone to her parents when she’d been offered the job, she’d confided, ‘The atmosphere’s so professional and high-powered and sophisticated. I’m going to learn so much. I can’t wait to get started!’

And so she’d dived in, full of enthusiasm.

Her first encounter with Justin Marlowe had come in her second week at JM Publishing.

‘Come in. Sit down. Make yourself comfortable,’ he’d told her as his secretary showed Tina into his office. He’d held out his hand to her. ‘I’m Justin Marlowe. Welcome to JM Publishing. How are you settling in?’

Tina had taken his hand and looked into his face, feeling a shiver of awareness like electric fingers down her spine. The other sub-editors had told her about Justin Marlowe and that he was the dishiest man on the face of the planet. But he was more than just dishy, she’d decided instantly. This man had a special kind of magic.

She’d felt a ripple of innocent pleasure as he’d shaken her hand and smiled at her. Boy, I’m lucky! she’d thought. Not only have I just succeeded in landing my dream job, I’ve also got the handsomest boss!

Smiling back at him, she told him, ‘I’m settling in very well, thanks. I’m sure I’m going to love it here.’ Her eyes glowed keenly as she added, ‘I think Miranda’s a wonderful magazine.’

‘So do we and I’m very glad to hear that you agree.’ The iron-grey eyes, which she would later discover could at times look as cold as the North Sea in winter, twinkled warmly at her enthusiasm. ‘I suspect you’re going to be a most valuable addition to the team.’

‘Oh, I hope so. I really hope so. I’ll do my best.’

Justin Marlowe smiled. “Then you’re halfway there.’ He leaned back a little in his leather buttonback chair. ‘So, tell me about your ambitions, Tina. Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?’

‘Still on Miranda, I hope.’ She blushed a little. How truthful, she wondered, did he really expect her to be? For she really did have high ambitions.

He sensed her ambivalence. ‘Go on,’ he urged her. ‘You can tell me. We encourage ambition in this company.’

Tina took a deep breath and decided to take him at his word. ‘Well, first I want to learn to be a good sub-editor, but I also want to do a bit of writing. I love writing. I want to do articles on anything and everything.’

Then, as he nodded encouragingly, she decided to bare her soul. ‘And one day what I’d really like is to be an editor.’

‘An editor, eh? Aiming for the top.’ Justin nodded his dark head approvingly in response. Then he winked across at her almost conspiratorially. ‘We’d better not tell Eunice. I don’t think she’s quite ready to retire yet.’

Tina felt herself flush crimson. ‘Oh, I didn’t mean that! I didn’t mean editor of Miranda! Some other magazine. Some time in the future. A long time in the future,’ she plunged on in embarrassment.

Oh, lord! she was thinking. Talk about putting your foot in it!

But Justin, if anything, seemed to approve of her revelation.

‘Never apologise for your ambitions,’ he told her straightforwardly. ‘We encourage ambitious people at JM Publishing—as long as you have the talent to match the ambition, of course.’ He smiled at her. ‘And we’ll soon find out if you do.’

Tina left his office feeling the world was hers to conquer. I’ll show him I have talent! I’ll show him how good I am! I’ll show him I have it in me to achieve all my goals! she vowed.

And, over the next few months, that was precisely what she did.

Tina worked like a madwoman, loving every minute. Pretty soon she became a first-class sub-editor, renowned for her precision and witty, attention-grabbing titles. And pretty soon, too, she had a couple of short articles published. And Justin wasn’t slow to acknowledge her progress.

He appeared in the office one day and stopped by her desk. ‘I thought you might like to have a go at this,’ he suggested, dropping an invitation on her desk. ‘Have a word with Eunice. I think it might be worth a full-length interview.’

‘Oh, thank you!’ Tina’s eyes widened as she looked down at the invitation to meet an up-and-coming young actor who’d recently been taking the British film world by storm. She looked up at Justin gratefully. ‘I’ll make a good job of it. I promise.’

And she made an excellent job of it. Even Eunice agreed on that and gave her piece a four-page colour double spread, with a prominent byline as the icing on the cake. Tina was over the moon with delight.

She phoned her parents in Shropshire. ‘I’m sending you a couple of copies. Your daughter’s a proper journalist at last!’

There was just one tiny fly in the ointment, however, as, with Justin’s encouragement and guidance, Tina proceeded to move from success to success. And that fly in the ointment was the red-haired Eunice.

Tina had rapidly realised that she could be a difficult woman to work with, much given to furious outbursts when anyone displeased her. Tina had escaped her wrath at first. She’d just kept her head down and worked hard. But more and more she was finding herself in the firing line.

‘These pages are late, you stupid girl!’ Twice in one week Eunice stormed the accusation at her when the pages, in fact, were not late at all. ‘Instead of trying to be the star of the editorial department, you’d do better to keep your mind on what you’re paid for!’

That was unfair and uncalled for. Tina knew her responsibilities and always put her sub-editing duties first—though, to be truthful, the accusation had not surprised her. She’d been aware for some time that, far from wishing to encourage her, Eunice would rather like to clip her wings.

But she kept that to herself and confined herself to pointing out, ‘I think if you check your diary you’ll find the pages are dead on time.’ Unlike some members of staff, she wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself. ‘Just as they always are,’ she added firmly, but respectfully, simply ignoring the fulminating black look that that provoked.

For Eunice’s increasingly frequent attacks were not anything Tina couldn’t handle. In fact, to be truthful, they barely registered. Because suddenly something much more exciting was occupying her mind.

Justin. For something was happening between them.

It had all started with an unexpected invitation to lunch at London’s Dorchester Hotel on fashionable Park Lane.

‘It’s part treat and part work,’ Justin had told her when he’d invited her. ‘We’re to be the guests of a group of major travel agents and naturally I’ll expect you to write a small piece for Miranda. But only a very small piece, so just relax and enjoy yourself. You’ve been working hard. You deserve a treat.’

Tina’s workmates had been almost as excited as she was. ‘You’re obviously in the good books,’ one of them had observed admiringly. ‘He only issues these special invitations when he’s really pleased with someone.’ Then she’d pulled a mock-scowl and poked Tina in the ribs. ‘I hate you, Tina Gordon, you lucky devil!’

Tina struggled to appear cool in the face of this development. The invitation was purely professional, she told herself. And certainly nothing to get all het up about.

But she was het up. She could barely see straight at the thought of it. Lunch with Justin Marlowe! The very idea made her breathless!

For, though she’d admitted it to no one, the truth of the matter was that over the six months or so she’d been at JM Publishing she’d really rather fallen for her magnetic, handsome boss. Which hardly made her unusual. Every woman he met fell for him. The entire female staff of JM Publishing was hopelessly in love with Justin Marlowe, so why should she be any different?

Yet what she felt for him was different. In her heart Tina was sure of it. Hers was no swooning, giggling admiration. She couldn’t quite define them, but the feelings he let loose in her seemed to reach down to the very roots of her being. And sometimes it scared her. She’d never felt this way before.

Still, she was holding on very tightly to her emotions when they set off together in the company limo. Just don’t make a fool of yourself, she warned herself firmly. You mean nothing to him. He’s just being nice, that’s all.

But nice like Justin could be nice was something Tina had never before encountered. She was only a junior employee, but he treated her like a princess, putting her at ease with that wonderful charm of his, chatting to her and looking after her as though they were on a real date. When they finally left the Dorchester just over three hours later, Tina was feeling as though she must have died and gone to heaven.

‘Did you enjoy yourself?’ he asked her as they climbed back into the Bentley.

‘Oh, yes. It was wonderful. I mean, wonderfully interesting.’

Had he any idea, she wondered helplessly, how her heart was soaring? She’d been on plenty of very pleasant dates in the past with perfectly acceptable young men, but the past three hours with Justin had been a revelation. She’d had no idea she was capable of feeling such ecstasy. She was floating so high, she feared she might never come down again.

Justin was smiling at her. ‘I enjoyed it too. Perhaps we can do it again some time?’

‘Oh, yes. That would be nice.’

‘Perhaps when I get back from Germany? I’m going there on business. I’ll be away till the end of the week.’ He smiled. ‘I presume your home number’s in the office files. I’ll give you a ring and we can fix up something when I get back.’

‘OK. If you like.’

Tina flushed to her hair roots, totally confused now, not knowing what to think. Was this a real date he was proposing? Was he really serious? If she dared to hope, would she be in for a huge disappointment?

she decided she probably would be, but she went ahead and hoped anyway. She was quite incapable of doing anything else.

Waiting for the week to pass was the finest kind of torture. At home, every time the phone rang Tina nearly shot through the ceiling. But she made herself a promise. If he didn’t phone by Saturday lunchtime, she’d call up her friends and make other arrangements for the weekend. It would be masochistic madness to spend it waiting by the phone!

But on Friday evening when she got back to her flat from work the phone was ringing in the hallway.

Breathlessly, Tina grabbed it. ‘Hello?’ she demanded squeakily, not quite managing the cool tone she’d been aiming for. It can’t be him, she was thinking, feeling her heart was about to explode.

But it was him.

‘Hi, Tina. I just got back. How’ve you been?’

At the sound of the deep tones, Tina had to sit down. ‘I’m fine.’ She was burning from her scalp to her toes. ‘H-how was your trip to Germany?’ she stuttered.

‘It went off very well, thanks.’ He paused for an instant. ‘How about if I tell you all about it over dinner this evening?’

‘This evening?’ The room was swimming round her ears. Could she believe what she was hearing or had she gone mad?

‘Unless you’ve got something else fixed, of course...?’

He sounded disappointed. Tina rushed in to assure him, ‘No, I don’t have anything fixed at all.’

‘Then I’ll pick you up about eight. How does that sound?’

Like a dream come true, she thought. ‘It sounds fine,’ she said.

‘Eight o’clock it is. I’ll see you then. Bye for now.’

Tina was shaking so badly as she laid down the phone that she fancied she could hear the bones tattling in her fingers. For a full thirty seconds she just sat where she was, grinning like an idiot and glowing with excitement. Then with a whoop of dalight she leapt to her feet, rushed through to her bedroom and flung open the cupboard doors. What on earth was she going to wear?

Justin was every bit as punctual as she’d expected he would be. At the stroke of eight o’clock his gleaming white Mercedes appeared like a fairytale coach and horses outside her modest red-brick flat block.

‘You look terrific,’ he told her as he held open the passenger door for her and she slid a little shyly into the leather-upholstered seat. ‘But then you always look terrific. You’re just looking particularly so tonight.’

Tina might very well have answered, So are you, but she bit her lip and just smiled at him instead. She was feeling far too nervous to pull off remarks like that!

All the same, it was true—if such a thing was actually possible! He was looking even more terrific than usual.

He was wearing a dark blue suit whose simple clean-cut lines showed off to perfection his manly proportions—the strong, broad shoulders, the lean hips and long legs. And the plain white shirt provided a perfect dramatic contrast to his suntanned skin and the ebony darkness of his hair.

He was a positive feast for the eyes, Tina decided. She wouldn’t need to eat; she could just sit and admire him!

Justin took her to a restaurant in the heart of Mayfair. The most elegant place she’d ever set foot in. You could almost smell the gold credit cards and hear the rustle of designer labels. She was rather glad she’d worn the most stunning outfit in her wardrobe—a chic, long-skirted dress in bright cherry-red.

‘Champagne,’ Justin told the waiter as they were shown to their table. Then he smiled at Tina. ‘Unless you’d prefer something else, of course?’

‘Oh, no. Champagne’s fine.’

She could hardly keep her face straight. Was this really happening or was it all a dream? Would she wake up and find herself in her local Wimpy bar with Vicki?

But at least she was rapidly losing her nervousness. There was just something about being with Justin that felt easy and right. The conversation flowed. There was no sense of strain. As they were being served their first course, she took the initiative and asked him, ‘So tell me about your trip to Germany.’

But Justin shook his head. ‘That was just business. Very boring.’ He smiled that smile that made her heart keel over. ‘What I really want to talk about this evening is you. I want you to tell me all about yourself, Tina Gordon.’

‘Me? There’s not much to tell. I’m just an ordinary girl from Shropshire.’ Tina’s cheeks had turned the same cherry-red as her dress. ‘My parents both work at a local car plant and I have two sisters, one married and one at college, studying French.’

She laughed a little nervously. ‘There! You have it in a nutshell!’ Surely, she was thinking, he couldn’t really be interested?

But it seemed she was wrong. He was shaking his head at her. ‘Ah, but I don’t want it in a nutshell. I want to hear all the gory details. By the end of this meal I want to know all there is to know about you.’

He meant it, too. He plied her with questions, and Tina found herself very happily opening up to him. He wasn’t just being curious. He seemed genuinely interested. Flushed with pleasure, she virtually told him her life story.

She told him about her schooldays back in Shrewsbury, about the friends she grew up with and all the places she knew. She told him about the articles she used to write for the school magazine, about her ambition to work on a national magazine one day and about her wonderful parents who’d encouraged her all the way.

‘You’re an interesting girl.’ Justin smiled at her across the table as he poured them both more wine and finished off his fillet steak—for by now they’d been talking for more than an hour. ‘I knew you would be. You’ve got that spark in your eyes.’

Tina smiled back at him as she took a sip of her Beaujolais. ‘But that’s enough about me. It’s your turn now,’ she told him. ‘Tell me something about Justin Marlowe.’

‘OK. What do you want to know?’

‘Everything! Fair’s fair,’ she laughed. ‘After all, I’ve told you virtually everything there is to know about me!’

And so over the next hour, until coffee, Justin told her about himself. He told her about his own modest upbringing in London and about how he started his first publishing venture with a loan from a wealthy uncle.

‘I owe it all to him,’ he told her, ‘and I’ll always be grateful. I would never have made it without his help.’

‘Oh, I’ll bet you would.’ Tina shook her blonde head at him. ‘It might have taken you a little longer, but I bet you’d have made it.’

For there was one thing she had no doubts about—Justin was one of life’s natural winners.

He didn’t exactly dispute it, but with a serious smile he pointed out, ‘A helping hand at the right time can be a great bonus, however. One must always remember to be grateful for such things.’

The remark, Tina sensed, had not in any way been intended as a reminder of the helping hand he’d given her in her career, and to have expressed her gratitude at that moment would only have embarrassed him. So she said nothing. She would thank him properly when the time was right. Besides, right now she wanted to hear more about him.

She looked into the iron-grey eyes. ‘So, what are your plans for the future? JM Publishing has four successful magazines at the moment, but I get the impression you don’t intend stopping there.’

He smiled. ‘I’d like to expand a bit. Like you, I’m ambitious.’ Then, as she laughed at that, he leaned towards her suddenly and surprised her as he added, his tone suddenly grown serious. ‘But right now it’s the more immediate future I’m thinking of. I’m rather hoping you’ll agree to have dinner with me again tomorrow.’

Tina’s heart had stopped stone-dead. Secretly, she’d been wondering what, if anything, would happen next. I couldn’t bear it, she’d been thinking, if this turned out to be a one-off.

She nodded now with all the restraint she could muster. ‘I’d love to have dinner with you again tomorrow.’

In fact, they spent virtually the entire weekend together. The theatre and dinner on Saturday. Lunch on Sunday, followed by a romantic walk in Hyde Park. Then dinner together at Justin’s sumptuous Kensington flat.

And it was on the Sunday evening, after that candlelit dinner, that Tina knew for certain that she was on the brink of something special. For that was when, for very first time, he kissed her.

Tina had dreamed of that first kiss, but the reality was better.

They were sitting together on the huge, soft sofa, two untouched cups of coffee on the low table before them, and the atmosphere between them was electric. It had been building up all evening. Every smile, every glance, as the evening wore on, had seemed to crackle with promise.

As he had led her to the sofa, Tina had scarcely been breathing. Her heart had felt as big as a football in her chest. It had been a relief to sit down, her legs felt so weak.

He had laid the coffee-cups on the table and now he was watching her, those long-lashed dark eyes of his like molten metal against her skin.

And she was suddenly afraid to meet them. Afraid of what her own eyes would reveal to him. With a darting, nervous movement she reached out to take her coffee-cup.

But her hand never reached it. He caught hold of it in his.

‘No,’ he was saying, ‘there’s something I want to do first.’

Then he was turning her round very gently to face him, and suddenly his eyes were pouring into her as his arm slipped round her waist and he drew her closer to deliver the kiss that had been waiting all evening to happen.

Tina was already hyped up, but at the moment his lips touched hers a jolt of excitement, so huge and so powerful that even in her wildest moments she could never have imagined it, went jackknifing through her, leaving her throbbing and breathless, her senses reeling, her head in a spin.

Never had a kiss been more worth waiting for. Tina clung to him as a bushfire went rampaging through her, melting her bones, sending flames shooting from her skin. Hungrily, she kissed him back, her lips as eager as his.

After a while, the tempest within them abated a little. Wrapped in each other’s arms, they sat together amid the tumbled cushions, quietly, the only sound the furious pounding of their two hearts.

‘You’re a very special girl.’ Justin’s hands caressed her. ‘I hope we’re going to see a very great deal of each other in the future.’

Tina shuddered beneath his touch, loving the cool, masterful touch of him, drinking in the delicious scent of him through hungry nostrils.

‘I hope so too,’ she murmured. ‘I hope so very much.’

He kissed her eyes, her lips, her chin, her forehead, then paused for a moment to press his lips lingeringly against the warm, throbbing pulse in the hollow of her throat.

‘There’s just one thing,’ he murmured softly, glancing up at her. He hesitated for an instant. ‘I think we ought to be discreet.’

Tina had already been thinking that. She nodded and smiled at him. ‘You’re right.’ She had no desire to start tongues wagging around the office. ‘I won’t breathe a word to a soul,’ she agreed.

‘Good girl.’ Justin held her close for a moment. Then he looked down at her, his dark eyes bright with emotion. ‘I think what lies ahead of us is going to be very special indeed.’

It was. The next nine months were the happiest of Tina’s life. Her romance with Justin seemed to go from strength to strength. He was busy a lot of the time and he travelled a great deal, presiding over his growing empire, and there were few more weekends spent entirely together like that first one, though they spent all the time they could together.

When she didn’t see him, Tina pined for him. Being without him was awful. For with every day that passed she was falling more deeply in love with him, with a love that brightened every corner of her life. She was so in love she scarcely cared about Eunice’s ever more frequent tantrums at the office. Justin had declared his love for her. She could take anything in her stride.