Read Online Under the Boss's Mistletoe by Jessica Hart - Free Book Online Page B

Ian’s will, and the general feeling was that Jake had somehow pulled a fast one for his own nefarious purposes, in keeping with the Trevelyan tradition.
    ‘That’s because they don’t know the truth,’ she said. ‘Inviting everyone to the ball for Sir Ian and explaining what you’re planning for the Hall would make them see that you’re not just out to make a quick buck. You need the locals on your side if the wedding venue is to be a success,’ she went on persuasively. ‘I think this would be a great way to kick things off.’

CHAPTER FOUR

    ‘I’ M DAMNED if I’m going to waste my time sucking up to Portrevick,’ said Jake, a mulish look about his mouth..
    ‘You won’t have to. I’ll do it for you,’ said Cassie soothingly. ‘You won’t need to do anything but turn up on 31st October, put on a tux and be civil for two or three hours. You can manage that, can’t you?’
    ‘I suppose so,’ he said grudgingly.
    ‘It’ll be worth it when you can walk away and know the Hall is established as part of the community and has local support,’ she encouraged him. ‘If you want to fulfil Sir Ian’s wishes, then this is the best way you can go about it.’
    Jake looked at her; she was sitting on the old table and swinging her legs. She was a vibrant figure in the gloomy hall with her bright cardigan, bright face and bright, unruly hair. She didn’t look sensible, but he had a feeling that what she had said just might be.
    ‘It’s not long to Allantide,’ he pointed out. ‘You’ll never get contractors in that quickly.’
    ‘We will if you’re prepared to pay for it,’ said Cassie, gaining confidence with every word. ‘We’ve got six weeks. If we aimed to have the great hall redecorated by then, it would give us a real incentive to get things moving.’
    Narrowing her eyes, she pictured the hall decorated and fullof people. ‘It’s not as if any major structural work is required. It just needs cleaning up a bit.’
    She flicked open her Netbook and began typing notes to herself. This was good. There had been a nasty little wobble there when she’d remembered the time they had kissed, but she was feeling under control again now. Cool, calm, competent; wasn’t that how she was supposed to be?
    OK, maybe she wasn’t calm, exactly—not with the unsettling feeling that seemed to fizz under her skin whenever she looked at Jake—but at least she was giving a good impression of competence for once.
    ‘The more I think about it, the more I like the idea,’ she said. ‘We can use the ball to start spreading the word that the Hall can be hired for special occasions. We’ll invite the local paper here to take some pictures…oh! And we can have some photos done for a website too, so people can see how fabulous the great hall can look. We can hardly put a picture up of it looking the way it does now, can we?’
    ‘Website?’ said Jake, a little taken aback at how quickly her plans seemed to be developing.
    ‘You’ve got to have a website,’ Cassie said as if stating the obvious. ‘In fact, we should think about that right away. We can’t afford to leave it until all the work’s been done, or we’ll miss out on another year.’
    Fired with enthusiasm, she snapped the Netbook closed and jumped off the table. ‘Come on, let’s look at the other rooms.’
    She dragged Jake round the entire house, looking into every room and getting more and more excited as she went.
    ‘You know, I really think this could be fantastic,’ she said when they ended up on the terraces outside. She gestured expansively. ‘You’ve got everything: a wonderfully old and romantic place for ceremonies, enough space for big parties, plenty of bedrooms…
    ‘We don’t need to do them all at once,’ she reassured Jake, who had been mentally calculating how much all these grandplans were going to cost. ‘At first, we just need somewhere the bride can get ready, but eventually we could offer rooms for the whole