‘Yes, well, the first casualty of battle is always the plan,’ he said. ‘You—or rather Cara’s aunt—looked at the layout and saw privacy. Cryssie took one look and saw herself isolated about as far from civilisation as it was possible to be and her response was a firm thanks, but no thanks.’
‘What?’ Josie came to a halt. In front of her, at the water’s edge, a line of zebras raised their heads, looking for all the world like a row of startled dowagers at a wedding who’d just heard the vicar swear…‘But she had already approved everything,’ she said, turning back to face Gideon.
‘Maybe it looked different on paper. Whatever, she flatly refused to be “stuck out here where anything could eat me”.’
He put on a high-pitched girly voice and, despite the fact that she was already furious with him on a number of counts, would have happily throttled him at that moment, she snorted with laughter.
‘She didn’t say that.’
‘No? Ask her.’ Then he smiled too. ‘I really do think you’d have been better off with the petting zoo.’
‘It would have been my choice too, but it’s too late for that,’ she replied. ‘So where have you put her?’
‘She’s in the tree house nearest to the central lodge, which was, fortunately, vacated this morning. David has put the photographer and make-up artist who flew in with her next door.’
‘In my room? I close my eyes for ten minutes—’
‘Three hours.’
‘—and you move someone else into my room.’
‘You’d already accepted that you would have to surrender your room, Josie—’
True, but she didn’t have to like it.
‘—and the rest of the guests won’t have gone until the morning. You might believe that we’re in need of a major PR hit, but Leopard Tree Lodge is always full at this time of year. Cryssie did turn up a day early with her entourage and she’s lucky to have any kind of room.’
‘I know and I’m sorry about that, but you should have woken me up.’
‘I’m too soft-hearted for my own good.’
‘You’re too chicken. You knew you’d get an argument and hoped that if I was faced with a fait accompli I’d just roll over.’
‘That too,’ he admitted, with just enough of a grin to suggest he believed he’d got away with it.
‘I’d better go and shift my things,’ she said. ‘But this isn’t over.’
‘No need. Alesia did it for you.’
‘Alesia…’
Not only her client, but half the staff had apparently walked through here this afternoon. Seen her “snoring her head off”. Discussed what was best without reference to her.
He’d been right about one thing. She’d needed the sleep. But that was all he was right about.
This was her job, her responsibility, but she didn’t bother to say what she was thinking. Instead, she turned on her heel and went inside.
Her toothbrush was sitting in a glass beside his on the bathroom shelf. Her clothes were hanging beside his cream suit. Her purple wheel-on suitcase was snuggled up cosily alongside his battered soft leather grip.
Even her briefcase had been brought in from the deck and placed tidily on the desk. And she knew exactly what he had done.
He hadn’t discussed this with David. Employee or not, as the manager of this hotel he would never have agreed to something like this without consulting her. It was Gideon. Determined not to leave either Leopard Tree Lodge or surrender his own precious tree house to the unwanted bride and groom, he’d told David that this was her idea.
No doubt he’d shrugged, brushed aside the inconvenience, done a good job of presenting himself as the nice guy who was putting himself out to do everyone a favour.
And why wouldn’t David have believed him? After all, there she was, fast asleep, totally at home in Gideon’s tree house. Jane to his Tarzan.
It was all as neat and nice as the vast bed that Gideon seemed to believe she would share with him.
‘Is everything there?’ he asked when she emerged, blinking, into the late sunshine. Looking up at her from the deck, where he was looking more comfortable that he had any right to be.
‘Oh, yes. They haven’t missed a thing,’ she said, sliding her dark glasses over her eyes.
‘Well, good.’ She noted that he sounded a little less certain now. ‘I know how busy you are and I thought it would save you some time.’
‘You thought that, did you?’
He shook his head. ‘Okay. Tell me what’s wrong.’
‘Wrong?’ she repeated, keeping it light, casual as if she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, all the while holding in the urge to laugh hysterically. ‘What could possibly be wrong?’
‘I don’t know. I’ve sorted out your accommodation problem. Your bride has got the room she wants. And that bed is big enough for both of us to sleep in without ever finding one another.’
There wasn’t a bed big enough in the entire world…
‘You were prepared to take the office floor, Josie. This has got to be better than that.’
‘Maybe so, but it should have been my decision.’
‘I made it easy for you.’
‘No, you made it easy for yourself. No argument. Decision made. Everyone happy. Job done.’
He didn’t bother to deny it but, with a shrug that could have meant anything, he said, ‘I get the feeling you’re about to prove to me how wrong I was about that.’
‘It’s just as well that sleeping on a hard surface is good for the back, or that since you’re not going to sue yourself, there can be no objection to you sleeping on the office floor. You are so out of here.’
Josie didn’t wait for his response, but went in search of Crystal, muttering a furious ‘damn’ with every step.
What was really galling was that she knew Gideon was right. She should be grateful to him for taking the time and trouble to summon David and sort everything out, relieving her of at least one worry.
He owned this place and he didn’t have to share one inch of his precious space with her. It wasn’t even the fact that he was a man that bothered her. She would have moved in with one of the Celebrity staff, male or female, without a second thought if they weren’t already doubled up.
It was the obvious answer, the grown-up answer, one she might even have got around to suggesting herself, given enough time and a lack of any other option—although she’d still have taken the office floor, given the choice.
But, while he’d no doubt acted from the best of motives, Gideon couldn’t possibly know how it made her feel to have control over what she did, where she slept, taken out of her hands.
How helpless, powerless that made her feel.
Or that it was something she’d vowed long ago would never happen to her again.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought, slowing as she approached the last set of steps.
There were two rules.
One—never make a threat you aren’t prepared to carry out or, worse, make one that you’re powerless to deliver on.
Two—if