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Authors: Rachel Brimble
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her.
“Kate, it’s all right. They--”
She held up her hand. “No, Mark. No way. Turn the car around. I am not getting out of this car with that lot--”
“I’ll get rid of them,” he said, pulling the car to a stop outside his building. “I can’t leave Marcia to deal with them alone.”
35
36
Getting It Right This Time
Her green eyes burned in the semi-darkness as she glared at him. “The press were not part of the deal, Mark. I agreed to a meal, not this.”
“I know. I know. Give me ten minutes, tops. Please. We’ll run straight past them and up to my office.”
“Run? Run?” Her eyes grew wide. “Have you seen the length of the heels I’m wearing?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, yes.”
She scowled. “Not funny.”
His smile dissolved when he saw the dangerous glint in her eye. “Please. I have to do this for Marcia. She’s doesn’t deserve to be eaten alive, does she?”
She continued to look at him for a moment longer before turning her gaze back to the windshield. Her jaw clenched as she considered the scene in front of her. Mark watched her, silently praying quite a proportion of the old Kate remained. The Kate that wouldn’t leave anyone in need to their own devices, and Kate who wouldn’t let anyone, including a bunch of paparazzi orchestrate what she could and couldn’t do. She met his eyes.
“Fine, I’ll come in,” she said. “But for the record…I’m doing this for her, not you.”
Mark tried his best to hide his smile. “Thank you.”
She tilted her chin. “Let’s go.”
The paparazzi surrounded Marcia like flies around a candy cane. Mark stood on the pavement and his heart picked up speed. The sound of Kate’s passenger door slamming shut behind him moved him forward, his eyes firmly on the pack of vultures in front of him.
“I want the lot of you out of here, right now,” he shouted. “You’ve got five seconds before I call the police.”
They turned as one. A pack hunting its prey. They barely gave him a passing glance before they were looking straight past him to Kate. Marcia and Mark were forgotten as they moved toward her. Did they seriously think he would let them get within an inch of her? His rage exploded with a roar of blood in his ears and molten lava in his chest. He held up his hands, threw a glance over his shoulder.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“Who’s this, Mark?”
“She’s a beauty.”
“Known Mark long, missus?”
The questions fired from their mouths like verbal diarrhea. Mark planted his feet firmly apart, ready to take them out one by one if necessary, but then Kate brushed past him, elbowing a path through the photographers, knocking them to the side like they were pins at a bowling alley.
She headed straight for Marcia and clasped a firm hand to her elbow. Mark’s smile grew at the shocked look on Marcia’s face as Kate steered her toward his office block without as much as a backward glance.
Rachel Brimble
37
The paparazzi turned to find the mass of Kate’s auburn curls disappearing through the glass and chrome doors of Mark’s office building. They charged forward but the two security guards were too quick and they were left standing on the pavement, cursing and swearing as the automatic door swished closed.
Shaking his head, his smile the width of the Grand Canyon, Mark followed Kate through the path of photographers, his hands casually stuffed into his pockets.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” he said, as he passed them. “I have two beautiful women waiting for me.”
The doors re-opened and he sauntered inside. His smile abruptly dissolved when he realized it was possible to actually feel yourself pale. Marcia and Kate stood side by side, their bodies rigid like sentries, their expressions entirely different. Marcia looked as though she barely held back tears whereas Kate wore a scowl akin to a Victorian school marm. The clutch bag she tapped against her palm may as well have been a cane across his
“Kate, it’s all right. They--”
She held up her hand. “No, Mark. No way. Turn the car around. I am not getting out of this car with that lot--”
“I’ll get rid of them,” he said, pulling the car to a stop outside his building. “I can’t leave Marcia to deal with them alone.”
35
36
Getting It Right This Time
Her green eyes burned in the semi-darkness as she glared at him. “The press were not part of the deal, Mark. I agreed to a meal, not this.”
“I know. I know. Give me ten minutes, tops. Please. We’ll run straight past them and up to my office.”
“Run? Run?” Her eyes grew wide. “Have you seen the length of the heels I’m wearing?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, yes.”
She scowled. “Not funny.”
His smile dissolved when he saw the dangerous glint in her eye. “Please. I have to do this for Marcia. She’s doesn’t deserve to be eaten alive, does she?”
She continued to look at him for a moment longer before turning her gaze back to the windshield. Her jaw clenched as she considered the scene in front of her. Mark watched her, silently praying quite a proportion of the old Kate remained. The Kate that wouldn’t leave anyone in need to their own devices, and Kate who wouldn’t let anyone, including a bunch of paparazzi orchestrate what she could and couldn’t do. She met his eyes.
“Fine, I’ll come in,” she said. “But for the record…I’m doing this for her, not you.”
Mark tried his best to hide his smile. “Thank you.”
She tilted her chin. “Let’s go.”
The paparazzi surrounded Marcia like flies around a candy cane. Mark stood on the pavement and his heart picked up speed. The sound of Kate’s passenger door slamming shut behind him moved him forward, his eyes firmly on the pack of vultures in front of him.
“I want the lot of you out of here, right now,” he shouted. “You’ve got five seconds before I call the police.”
They turned as one. A pack hunting its prey. They barely gave him a passing glance before they were looking straight past him to Kate. Marcia and Mark were forgotten as they moved toward her. Did they seriously think he would let them get within an inch of her? His rage exploded with a roar of blood in his ears and molten lava in his chest. He held up his hands, threw a glance over his shoulder.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“Who’s this, Mark?”
“She’s a beauty.”
“Known Mark long, missus?”
The questions fired from their mouths like verbal diarrhea. Mark planted his feet firmly apart, ready to take them out one by one if necessary, but then Kate brushed past him, elbowing a path through the photographers, knocking them to the side like they were pins at a bowling alley.
She headed straight for Marcia and clasped a firm hand to her elbow. Mark’s smile grew at the shocked look on Marcia’s face as Kate steered her toward his office block without as much as a backward glance.
Rachel Brimble
37
The paparazzi turned to find the mass of Kate’s auburn curls disappearing through the glass and chrome doors of Mark’s office building. They charged forward but the two security guards were too quick and they were left standing on the pavement, cursing and swearing as the automatic door swished closed.
Shaking his head, his smile the width of the Grand Canyon, Mark followed Kate through the path of photographers, his hands casually stuffed into his pockets.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” he said, as he passed them. “I have two beautiful women waiting for me.”
The doors re-opened and he sauntered inside. His smile abruptly dissolved when he realized it was possible to actually feel yourself pale. Marcia and Kate stood side by side, their bodies rigid like sentries, their expressions entirely different. Marcia looked as though she barely held back tears whereas Kate wore a scowl akin to a Victorian school marm. The clutch bag she tapped against her palm may as well have been a cane across his
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