Which was the job of the editor. ‘Dianna—’ Keira began, only to falter as he lifted one strong tanned hand in a gesture of negation.
‘But I don’t want to discuss Chloe magazine, its editor or its staff at this point,’ he stated abruptly. ‘I want to take advantage of Daniel’s absence to talk about something quite different.’
Some small part of Keira’s stomach lurched apprehensively. What could he possibly… ? She drew herself together, tried to quell her anxiety, raising her fine eyebrows in what she hoped was an expression of composed moderate interest.
‘Yes. Something quite different,’ he repeated, and folded his arms across his broad chest.
Keira’s eye caught the flash of a gold wristwatch as the cuff of his immaculate white shirt slipped back. His long fingers rested on the biceps of his arm and she knew instinctively that the material of his expensive suit covered hard muscle. The tingle of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach changed focus imperceptibly as a sudden spear of a quite diverse tension began to grow. Suddenly her nerve-endings went on an even more critical and complex alert, her blood beginning to quicken in her veins.
‘I want to talk about Daniel,’ Eden Cassidy said levelly.
‘Daniel?’ Keira’s grey eyes met his in a surge of surprised relief.
What had she been thinking? That he had some personal interest in her work? She was just a little self-absorbed, she chastised herself.
He’d said himself they’d never met. And neither could he be expected to recall a business transaction that had been handled by his lawyers over five years ago. He wouldn’t even have known she existed had Daniel not commenced work with Chloe magazine. He was simply curious about his nephew’s progress at what was his first job within the family company.
Relaxing a little, Keira smiled softly, unaware of the slight shift of Eden Cassidy’s gaze. It dropped for splitseconds to her full mouth before his own lips tightened and his cold state returned to meet her eyes.
‘Oh. Of course.’ Keira let out the small breath she’d been holding. ‘You’ll be pleased to hear Daniel’s working well. He fits in marvellously with the other staff members and his work is really excellent. You should be so proud of him. He’s quite a remarkable young man for his age.’
‘I see.’ His dark brows rose somewhat imperiously. ‘You sound impressed.’
‘I am. Daniel has great talent,’ Keira assured him.
Eden Cassidy’s compelling blue eyes narrowed. ‘I’m sure he has,’ he agreed drily. ‘Which leads me to the
obvious question. Tell me, Mrs Strong—’ he paused, his emphasis on the Mrs ‘—just what are your intentions towards my nephew?’
KEIRA felt her jaw slacken as she gazed at the man standing a couple of feet from her. Her intentions? Did he mean… ? Surely not.
Her grey eyes took in the studied arrogance of his stance, the coldly cynical expression evident in his eyes, eyes as incredibly blue as the deepest reaches of the Pacific Ocean.
If she was unsure of his meaning then those chilling eyes confirmed her suspicions. He meant exactly what she’d suspected his words implied.
Keira’s back straightened instinctively and her chin rose. ‘My intentions? I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean by that,’ she said succinctly, and they both knew she was stretching the truth.
‘Oh, I think you do, Mrs Strong. What are your intentions towards my nephew? I would have thought that was fairly self-explanatory.’ He made a slightly irritated movement of one well-shaped hand. ‘However, I’ll try to be a little more explicit.’
‘Please do,’ Keira put in levelly and his eyes narrowed.
‘What would a married woman, one not in her first bloom of youth, want with a teenage boy scarcely out of the classroom, hmm?’ He folded his arms across his chest again and held her gaze.
Keira seethed inside. How dared he? How dared he stand there all holier than thou and make such vulgar insinuations? And what precisely did he expect her to say, allowing for the fact that he was, in all essence, her boss? What she’d like to say to him…
‘Apart from the obvious, that is?’ he added disparagingly, and hot colour flooded Keira’s cheeks.
‘Daniel and I,’ she got out between clenched teeth, and then made herself pause, swallow to regain her control. She had to keep her cool, not allow him the satisfaction of nettling her. ‘Daniel and I are working acquaintances. No more, no less. Daniel kindly—’
Eden Cassidy bit off a derogatory expletive and Keira vehemently wished Daniel were here at this particular moment so that she could give him the sharp edge of her tongue.
‘Daniel asked me to accompany him to his grandfather’s party as a favour, in a purely friendly capacity.’
‘So you’re just good friends?’ Eden mocked sceptically and Keira’s lips thinned.
‘We are. Daniel is a very nice, intelligent young man. This is the first time I’ve seen him outside working hours but I must admit I enjoy his company.’
‘And you expect me to believe that?’ Eden Cassidy’s hands went to his hips as he glared his so obvious doubt.
‘I’m not a liar, Mr Cassidy,’ Keira informed him directly. ‘However, you don’t need to take my word for it. Check with your nephew if you want to.’
‘Oh, I do intend to speak to Daniel, make no mistake about that.’
Keira felt a momentary pang for Daniel, having to face his uncle’s icy wrath, but then she quelled her sympathy. Daniel Cassidy was, after all, to blame for this embarrassing scene.
‘But I also felt the need to discuss the situation with you,’ Eden Cassidy continued smoothly. ‘You being older than my nephew, and supposedly more mature.’
‘For heaven’s sake,’ Keira got out. ‘I’m not that much older than Daniel.’
‘Oh, come on now, Mrs Strong. You are a number of
years older—’ Eden Cassidy put in, but Keira held up her hand negatingly.
‘You make it sound as though I’m old enough to be his mother, which is a physical impossibility, apart from the ludicrousness of the idea.’ Her eyes flashed contemptuously over him. ‘And I resent your implications.’
‘Implications?’ Eden Cassidy’s dark brows rose. ‘I thought I was being reasonably specific, Mrs Strong. Let’s call it a table card, shall we? So what is it exactly that you resent?’ A cold smile touched his lips and Keira knew an uncharacteristic and almost overwhelming desire to slap his handsome face.
‘I have no designs on your nephew’s inheritance or his family associations,’ she bit out through clenched teeth. ‘And whether or not you choose to believe that is irrelevant to me. As for your other ridiculous insinuation, well, it would be laughable if I didn’t find it so insulting.’
‘I’ve offended you. My humble apologies.’ He gave a slight bow, his mocking tone contradicting his placating words. ‘But surely even you, Mrs Strong, must see how your liaison looks.’
Keira marvelled silently that she remained in the same room as this insufferable man. If this was typical of Eden Cassidy she was beginning to understand Daniel’s less than favourable view of his uncle. ‘Daniel and I do not have a liaison, Mr Cassidy. As I told you before, we are simply friends.’
‘Friends?’ he repeated with that same heavy disbelief.
‘Yes,