New Boss at Birchfields Read online

  NEW BOSS AT BIRCHFIELD’S

  Henrietta Reid

  Briony had loved Jeremy, but she didn’t fit into his ambitious future plans. His humiliating rejection left a scar she thought would never heal.

  She hoped a new job and hard work would leave no time for regret. But Blane Lennox, her new boss, proved a hard taskmaster.

  “As long as you do your job properly, it doesn’t concern me whether you approve of me or not,” he told her. And she didn’t—at first.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Briony pulled her coat collar closer against her cheeks. It was cold waiting for Jeremy. Perhaps it would be better to go a little way down the street and not shelter within the office doorway. It would look to the staff as they streamed out as if she was waiting anxiously and expectantly for his appearance.

  For undoubtedly Jeremy was popular. Too popular perhaps for his own good, she realised, with a little wry twist to her mouth. And yet—oh well, she might as well admit it to herself, she was madly, crazily in love with him. Whenever any of those niggling little doubts intruded she forced them firmly into the background of her mind.

  She took a few steps along the street, stamping her feet to keep the circulation going. Then as she swung around to face the facade of Stanton, Hodges & Company, the accountancy firm that they both worked for, she saw him come out on to the stone steps accompanied by a couple of girls from the typing pool. They were hanging on to his arms and gazing up into his face, evidently enraptured by the attention he was impartially giving them. He was smiling with that special teasing look which Briony knew was one of his main attractions.

  She touched the tiny circle of sapphires on the slender gold band of her engagement ring, as though to reassure herself. After all, why should it worry her that he was always the centre of interest as far as the other girls in the office were concerned, when Jeremy and herself were already making plans for their marriage! She shrugged off the nagging doubts which so often nowadays assailed her. Probably pre-wedding nerves, she told herself. She watched as Jeremy waved to the girls before they set off giggling at some parting quip he had made.

  He approached her with his rapid impatient stride. It was quite easy to see by the very way he carried himself that Jeremy was a man who was going places, and that he saw nothing but success when he looked to the future.

  As soon as he joined her he tucked her arm into his and together they walked off in the direction of the tube station. But his silence was in marked contrast to the good-humour he had shown her colleagues before he parted from them. She gazed up at him, troubled and uncertain, then tried a few remarks, only to be answered by abstracted monosyllables.

  Briony felt her heart sink. This was not the first time she had seen Jeremy in this strange uncommunicative mood. And lately she had become timid of pestering him for an explanation. She dreaded his off-putting frown and sharp rejoinder. It was his way of letting her know that she was treading on dangerous ground. And it puzzled and distressed her when she realised that he regarded her questions as an intrusion.

  He hesitated as they came to the short flight of steps leading down to the tube station, and she felt a little sickening sense of disappointment as she saw that he had no intention of going farther with her.

  ‘But aren’t you coming back to tea, Jeremy? Mum is making something particularly special. You know how she loves experimenting with recipes! And they do usually turn out wonderfully, don’t they?’ she added desperately. Jeremy was a great favourite with Mrs. Walton, who usually excelled herself when she thought he would be dropping in for tea on his way back from the office with Briony.

  ‘No, I’m afraid I’ll have to skip it tonight,’ he replied a little impatiently. He patted his bulging briefcase. ‘I’ll have to tackle this little lot as soon as I get home. It seems to me I’m getting more and more responsibility these days!’

  But she could see from his self-satisfied expression that he wasn’t at all displeased at the extra work.

  ‘You mean you’d rather be at home with your papers than be with me?’ she demanded desperately.

  ‘But don’t you see, Briony, this means there’s a future for me in the Company! Promotion would mean the whole difference to our plans, so for heaven’s sake stop standing there like a picture of woe and hurry home!’

  ‘But surely it won’t take you night?’ she persisted. ‘And we’ve so many arrangements to discuss about the wedding!’

  ‘Even if it doesn’t take me all night, what about it? We can’t be jawing all the time about the colour of the bridesmaids’ dresses and stuff like that! There are other things to see to.’

  ‘But what other things have you to see to? I mean, apart from the extra work from the office. It seems to me you’ve been different recently—as if—well, as if you were losing interest in planning our future life together.’

  ‘Oh, don’t be such an ass, Briony!’ he retorted irritably. ‘Surely a man has a right to some life of his own, even if—’

  ‘Even if he’s going to tie himself to someone else for life! Isn’t that what you mean?’ she ended fiercely. ‘It’s not as if I expect you to be with me every moment of the day. Anyway, how could it be? You and I are in completely different worlds in the office.’

  ‘And that’s a world I don’t intend to remain in much longer,’ he put in.

  ‘What on earth do you mean?’ she asked, bewildered. He clapped his briefcase. ‘This may be nothing but boring work to you, but to me it’s the future. It means we’ll be going places, you and I, right to the top.’

  ‘Oh, I know you’re ambitious,’ she said contritely.

  ‘But isn’t it a pity to throw away the present for something that may never happen at all?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ he asked sharply. ‘But of course it will happen! If I want it to, it will. And if I work hard enough and am allowed to keep my mind clear of all those stupid, niggling little details that you seem to find so important, like what size the wedding cake is to be and what relations are to be invited, and all the hundred and one things that are just holding me back. Anyway, it’s your business to take care of all those details, isn’t it? Why drag me into it?’

  ‘I suppose I have been a bit selfish,’ Briony sighed. ‘It’s just—well, I suppose I wanted to share things with you.’

  ‘Well, don’t,’ he told her, ‘for I haven’t the slightest interest in it. I just wish we could run off together somewhere and get married without all this fuss and bother, and get back to work immediately after the honeymoon.’

  Briony was silent for a moment. She felt a coldness come over her. Was Jeremy not rather overdoing his man of business act? Surely, if he loved her, he would be looking forward to his wedding day as much as she was!

  ‘You’re regretting it, isn’t that it, Jeremy?’ she said flatly. ‘There’s someone else. Why don’t you admit it?’

  Suddenly she found herself wildly possessive and a raging jealousy seemed to tear at her heart-strings. It would be one of the girls in the office, she thought. But which one? Was it possible she was an object of pity or ridicule to the other girls? The thought burned like acid.

  ‘Now you’re being ridiculous!’ he replied contemptuously. ‘You’re being a typical female—always assuming that a girl must be involved in a man’s life somehow or other! What’s wrong with you, Briony, is that you’re much too romantic. You seem to think life ought to be a perpetual love affair!’

  ‘No, I don’t!’ she told him furiously. ‘But I notice how different you are now. You used to be fun to be with, and I know you’re still the same to the other girls. But when it comes to me it’s a different matter. It’s as though—as though you were trying to put me off—as if you regret you ever
got involved with me.’

  She felt as if she was going to burst into bitter tears, and was appalled by the thought. To let Jeremy see she cared so much would only increase his exasperation with her.

  She took out her hanky and blew her nose furiously. ‘I’d better go,’ she said flatly. ‘Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow evening.’ She tried to sound indifferent, but her eyes, watching him, brimmed with unshed tears.

  He hesitated uneasily. ‘Well, no, not tomorrow, Briony. In fact not for the next few days. I’m really going to be terribly busy. And take my word for that and don’t let your imagination run wild.’

  ‘I see.’ The tears she had vainly tried to hold back misted her eyes.

  ‘And don’t begin crying, for heaven’s sake! Look, if you insist on knowing what it’s all about, here goes. But remember I wanted to break this to you gently later on. But since you’re so darned set on having the truth—well, here it is, and you’ve only got yourself to blame if it comes as a shock. I’ve just been told that I’ve been posted to Aberdeen.’

  ‘What!’ It was as though he had dealt her a stunning blow. As though in a dream she could feel the surge of the rush-hour crowd swarm past them, dividing as they passed them and then meeting again in a stream as they hurried off to their homes in the suburbs.

  ‘But that’s miles and miles away,’ she said in a whisper. ‘Why, it’s away in the north of Scotland.’

  ‘That’s true,’ Jeremy agreed. ‘But there are plenty of opportunities there. You know we’re opening a new office, and why shouldn’t I be one of the first to go now that the Company has such confidence in me? Aberdeen’s a great international centre now, full of wealthy oil-men. The kind of place a man could go as high as he wanted.’

  ‘But I simply don’t understand,’ Briony told him with growing bewilderment. ‘Do you mean you were simply asked if you would go, without their knowing what your plans were?’

  For a moment he looked slightly uncomfortable. ‘Well, no, as a matter of fact, I put in to be posted.’

  ‘You put in for it without even telling me?’ Anger overcame her bitter disappointment. ‘Do you really mean you arranged to start a new life there before you knew whether I would like to live there or not?’ Her voice rose shrilly.

  ‘But why not?’ he demanded. ‘I’m ambitious. I want to be where the action is. Do you really want me to be stuck in the same old office with the same old gang around until we’re all ancient? Don’t you want me to mix around with lots of wealthy and influential people? I might even be invited to the States if I meet the right people and play my cards well!’

  ‘But what about me? Have you, even for one moment, considered my point of view?’ Briony insisted.

  ‘Yes, of course!’ he replied impatiently. ‘But I assumed this would be best—for both of us, I mean. AH it will mean is that you’ll have to be patient for a while—wait until I’ve found my feet there and become established. You don’t think I’m doing this just for myself, do you? I’m trying to make a new way of life for us both, and as soon as I’ve found a firm footing there I’ll send for you and you can join me. You must realise that having a wife to support wouldn’t be a good idea—at the beginning, anyway.’

  ‘I see!’ Briony felt stunned as the full realisation of his plans swept over her. ‘In other words, you were going to break it gently to me that we were not to get married until you’d established yourself. Well, at any rate, this explains your lack of interest in the wedding plans!’ she concluded tonelessly.

  Her bitterness silenced Jeremy, then he said awkwardly, ‘I might have to travel quite a lot and there would be plenty of extra paper-work, so my evenings would be full. Besides, a man like me, if he wanted to get on, would have to be available. I mean,’ he added with an attempt at a laugh, ‘I could hardly say, I’m sorry, sir, I can’t fly off to Saudi Arabia. My wife’s holding a tea-party tomorrow.’

  ‘No, I suppose not,’ Briony agreed flatly.

  ‘There, you see!’ he remarked, as though he had solved their problems in the best possible manner. ‘By far the wisest thing would be for me to go ahead and prepare a home for you.’

  ‘But how am I going to live without you?’ Briony wailed.

  ‘We’ll just have to make do with letters and phone calls—for a while at least,’ he said. ‘Do buck up, Briony. It won’t be as bad as you think. And maybe occasionally I could snatch a visit down South.’

  There was a sickening finality about his words that made her realise the hopelessness of any further argument, and without replying she turned away, desolate at heart, and ran swiftly down the steps.

  Jeremy hesitated for a moment and then followed her. ‘Why must you take everything so seriously?’ he demanded as he caught up with her. ‘Remember, time will pass very quickly, and, as I said, if I get the chance, I’ll pop down often to see you.’

  She didn’t answer.

  But before she got into the carriage he caught her by the shoulders and kissed her warmly, and she felt all the irresistible charm of his personality sweep over her. If only by some stroke of magic he would change his mind, become satisfied with his position in the office and be content to look forward later to a modest promotion!

  She found a seat by the window and watched his receding figure through a blur of tears, hoping against hope that he would give a reassuring wave of the hand and that smile of his! But already, with swift impatient strides, he was being lost in the eddying crowd.

  Afterwards, she was never to forget the misery of the short train journey to the small semi-detached house which she shared with her widowed mother. She found herself feverishly turning and twisting the ring on her third finger. Did it really mean anything now? she wondered. And yet how happy she had been the day they had bought it together!

  ‘It’s really not very much, darling,’ he had whispered when the shop assistant had placed it in its velvet case. ‘But later on, wait and see, I’ll cover you with diamonds and pearls.’

  She had laughed delightedly. ‘No, that’s not for me! I’m simply not the type. I’m small and a bit on the skinny side. This suits me perfectly and I’ll never want anything else in its place.’

  ‘That’s what you say now,’ he told her. ‘But what woman wouldn’t be delighted to have that knuckleduster over there?’ He had pointed to an enormous solitaire diamond laid on its velvet bed under a thick glass case. ‘Don’t tell me you wouldn’t get a kick out of showing your girl friends something like that?’

  ‘Really, Jeremy,’ she had laughed, ‘hasn’t it dawned on you that I’m not at all the regal type? No, these little sapphires are just perfect, and the girls will be green with envy when I show the ring to them.’

  It had been his turn to laugh then and he had sounded a little self-satisfied as he said deprecatingly, ‘Well, I hope I haven’t broken too many hearts by choosing you!’

  ‘You know perfectly well you have,’ she had told him severely. ‘And by the way, you’ll have to give up playing the field when we’re married. I know it’s only fun to you, and you don’t mean any of them to take you seriously, but I’ll be madly jealous and probably create the most awful scenes.’

  He had given her shoulders a little squeeze. ‘You’re not the scene-making type. That’s what I like about you! Anyway, once we’re married you can chuck up your job.’

  ‘I think I’d like that,’ she had replied with a happy little sigh. ‘It’s definitely not my idea of heaven anyway.’

  ‘Then that’s settled! And now what about celebrating?’

  In spite of her protests he had tucked her arm under his and had marched her to the best restaurant in the town. ‘You may as well get used to this kind of living,’ he had told her, ‘because one of these days this is the only sort of place you and I are going to be seen at.’

  She had really taken him seriously. To her it had been an unusual and exciting adventure, in keeping with the feeling of a new beginning and the comforting feeling of that gold band and the cluster of t
iny sapphires on the third finger of her left hand.

  It was after Jeremy’s departure that the feeling of his ring on her finger gave her less and less comfort. To begin with, his letters were few and far between and when she did devour them eagerly she was always left with a sense of let-down, for they gave an impression of frantic activity. Even the endearments were written in a hasty scrawl, as though inserted at the last moment to humour her. His letters, she soon found, were full of the stories of his triumphs and the complimentary remarks he had overheard or had been conveyed to him by other members of the staff.

  It was her mother who seemed to take pleasure in these passages when she passed them across the breakfast table. ‘Jeremy seems to be doing very well,’ she would say with satisfaction. ‘I always knew that young man was going places. You’re a lucky girl, Briony. He’ll make you a fine husband.’

  But as Briony took his letters back, she felt only desolation. She felt that he was growing further and further away from her, his interests widening, and that soon she would be nothing more to him than the memory of a pretty girl whom he had known for a while. To her mother, of course, it seemed that Jeremy was busily preparing a nest for her only child, but it was clear to Briony herself that as far as Jeremy was concerned it was a case of out of sight, out of mind.

  She found too that when the girls in the office questioned her she had to try to sound airy and confident. She even found herself indulging in gentle fantasies. Oh yes, she would tell them, Jeremy was coming back the following weekend and they were going on a short walking tour. She even began to devise more romantic outings—a cruise around the Hebrides, perhaps, as soon as he had time. But gradually she became more and more frantic. The months were passing and still he had made no reference to marriage, or discussed their plans in any way. What did he really feel about her? Had he met someone else, perhaps? She simply had to know.