‘There’s a first time for everything,’ he replied, refusing to rise to the bait, although Dennis’s comments had touched a nerve. Was he earning himself a reputation as being a bit of a Lothario, perhaps?
He hoped not. Just because he was careful about avoiding commitment, it didn’t mean that he played fast and loose. He was always completely open about his intentions whenever he invited a woman out, made sure that she understood there wasn’t any future for the relationship. He had made the decision to remain single after his brother Matt had died, and there was no way that he would risk hurting anyone’s feelings by not making his position clear. He had thought that he’d been handling things extremely well, but maybe he had given his colleagues a completely different impression.
He was still pondering on it when he realised that Dennis was speaking. He frowned. ‘What did you say?’
‘I said I’ll bet you a tenner that you can’t get Leanne Russell to go out with you,’ Dennis repeated obligingly. He grinned when Nick shook his head. ‘What are you afraid of? Scared the old Slater charm might not work this time?’
‘Of course not,’ Nick began, intending to tell Dennis that he had no intention of accepting such a ridiculous challenge—only he never got the chance to finish what he was saying. He felt a frisson run through him when a cool female voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
‘I’d save your money if I were you, Dr Slater.’
Nick looked towards the door and it felt as though he had been punched hard in the solar plexus when he got his first glimpse of the woman who was standing there. In a fascinated sweep his eyes drank in every detail from the glorious, wet-fox red of her hair to the black leather pumps on her narrow feet.
His mind seemed to be awash with impressions all of a sudden, like how smooth her tanned skin looked, how soft her grey eyes seemed to be, how slender her body was under the tailored black suit so that it was a second or two before he realised that she was waiting for him to answer.
It took every scrap of self-possession he could summon to swing his feet from the desk, walk to the door and offer her his hand when he was acutely aware of the predicament he was in. Frankly, it was unforgivable to have been caught discussing her like that.
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Russell,’ he said as evenly as he could in the circumstances. ‘Welcome to HealthFirst.’
‘Thank you.’ She placed her hand in his and he barely managed to suppress a shiver when she treated him to a chilly smile.
‘However, I think it might be best if I clarify the situation before we go any further. I am neither suffering from a broken heart nor am I looking for a relationship. So if you were thinking of accepting that bet, Dr Slater, I would advise you to change your mind. I would hate you to lose any of your hard-earned cash on my acount.’
Nick knew there must be something he could say to defuse the situation. Usually he was adept at finding the perfect phrase to smooth over the most difficult moment, but the ability seemed to have deserted him all of a sudden.
He took a deep breath as Leanne Russell removed her hand from his because it had just occurred to him why he was having such problems that day. He was disappointed because she had stated that she wasn’t interested in having a relationship with anyone.
For a man who had spent his whole adult life avoiding any risk of commitment it came as a shock to have to admit it. At that moment he wished that he were anywhere in the world rather than right there in London, facing the biggest test he had ever had to face. Leanne Russell had the power to turn his life upside down if he let her. It was the fact that he couldn’t be sure of stopping her that really scared him.
Leanne took a deep breath as she walked into the room, but her heart was hammering. Maybe she could have attributed it to anger because she had been furious when she’d overheard the conversation, but it would be wrong to lie to herself.
The reason her heart was hammering was because she had been holding Nick Slater’s hand. Even now she could feel the imprint of his fingers on her skin and had to make a conscious effort not to check her hand for any visible sign. What on earth was the matter with her? Why should she feel like this after what she had overheard him saying?
‘It’s nice to meet you, Leanne. I’m Dennis McNally, head of the admin staff here at the clinic.’
She jumped when the fair-haired man standing by the desk spoke to her. It was an effort to respond when her mind was whirling, but not for the life of her would she let Nick Slater guess how unsettled she felt.
‘Mr McNally,’ she replied coolly. He had been the other participant in that conversation and she had no intention of letting him think that he could get away with it. Far better to put an end to any more speculation straight away.
‘I hope that you have taken note of what I told Dr Slater, especially the last part of it. I am not in the market for a relationship.’
She heard Nick Slater suck in a deep breath when she emphasised that last word and glanced at him. Just for a second their eyes met and held while she felt the oddest sensation run through her. It was as though all the strength had suddenly ebbed from her body. She could feel her arms and legs growing weak, feel her vision starting to blur…
She blinked and the room shot back into focus. Nick Slater had already turned away and she watched as he went to his desk and sat down. He picked up a pen and lined it up with infinite precision along the top edge of his leather-backed blotter.
Leanne bit her lip because she knew with a sudden flash of insight that he was trying to buy himself some time before he had to look at her again. Why? Because he had experienced that same sensation of weakness which had seized her when their eyes had met? It seemed crazy even to think such a thing, yet she knew it was true. And her racing heart raced all the faster.
‘I owe you an apology, Miss Russell. Obviously, you weren’t meant to overhear what Dennis and I were saying just now, but that is no excuse. It was extremely remiss of us to have been speculating about you that way.’
Nick Slater’s deep voice cut through the silence and made her start nervously. Leanne raised startled eyes to his face then quickly looked away because she didn’t want to risk making eye contact with him again.
‘So long as you both understand that I would take an extremely dim view of you repeating what you said to anyone else, I think we can let the matter drop,’ she said, striving for calmness.
‘You have my word on it, Miss Russell. Thank you for being so understanding.’
He turned to Dennis McNally and she breathed a sigh of relief at no longer being the object of his interest. ‘If you could let me have those figures, Dennis, I can work them into my report. I need to get it faxed to the office this afternoon, so I would appreciate it if you could get straight onto it.’
It was a dismissal and Dennis wasn’t slow to see it as such. ‘No problem. I’ll let you have them before lunch. Nice to meet you, Miss Russell, and, as Nick said, sorry and all that.’
Leanne inclined her head, although she didn’t say anything as he hurriedly left the room. She was far too busy worrying about being alone with Nick Slater to think about anything else. It stunned her that she should be so aware of him because it had never happened before, not even when she had met Michael.
That thought was less than comforting so it was a relief when Nick briskly stood up and walked to the door. ‘I’ll give you a quick tour of the place first. I’m afraid that you’re getting thrown in at the deep end because we are short-staffed at the moment.’
‘Show me any medical facility that isn’t short of staff,’ she said lightly, following him into the corridor.
She took a steadying breath as he locked his office door. If she focused solely