All That Glitters Read online

  Sallie cast about for a different subject, for although Jessica was trying to act casual about the whole matter, her face had gone pale and she looked stricken. Sallie jabbed the photo in the newspaper and said, "What about this dish, Jess? He's a gorgeous man! When did you meet him?"

  "What?" Jessica looked down and two spots of color came back to her cheeks as she gazed at the photo of Nikolas kissing her. "Oh…actually, I only met him yesterday."

  "Wow! He certainly is a fast worker! He looks the strong, masterful type, and his reputation is mind-boggling. What's he like?"

  "Strong, masterful, and mind-boggling," Jessica sighed. "Just like you said. I hope I don't have to meet with him again."

  "You've mush in your head!" exclaimed Sallie indignantly. "Honestly, Jess, you are unbelievable. Most women would give their right arm to go out with a man like that, rich and handsome, and you aren't interested."

  "But then, I'm wary of rich men," Jessica replied softly. "You've seen an example of what would be said, and I don't think I could go through that again."

  "Oh! I'm sorry, love," said Sallie. "I didn't think. But—just think! Nikolas Constantinos!"

  Jessica didn't want to think of Nikolas; she wanted to forget the entire night. Looking at her friend's pale, closed face, Sallie patted her shoulder and slipped away. Jessica sat for a time at the table, her mind blank, but when she stood up to place her cup and saucer in the sink, it suddenly became more than she could handle and the tears fell freely.

  When the bout of weeping ended, she was exhausted from the force of it and she wandered into the living room to lie down on the sofa, but that reminded her of Nikolas lying there with her, and instead she collapsed into a chair, pulling her feet up into the seat and wrapping her robe about her legs. She felt dead, empty inside, and when the phone rang, she stared at it dumbly for a long moment before she lifted the receiver. "Hello," she said dully.

  "Jessica. Have you—"

  She took the receiver away from her ear when she heard the deep voice, and listlessly let it drop back onto the cradle. No, she couldn't talk to him now; she hurt too deeply.

  When the doorbell pealed some time later, she continued to sit quietly, determined not to answer it, but after a moment she heard Charles's voice call out her name and she got to her feet.

  "Good morning," she greeted him while he eyed her sharply. She looked beaten.

  "I read the paper," he said gently. "Go upstairs and wash your face and put on some clothes, then you can tell me about it. I intended to call you yesterday, but I had to go out of town, not that I could have done anything. Go on, my dear, upstairs with you."

  Jessica did as she was told, applying cold water to her face and smoothing the tangles from her hair, then changing out of her nightgown and robe into a pretty white sundress with tiny blue flowers on it. Despite her numbness, she was glad that Charles was there. With his cool lawyer's brain he could pick at her responses until they were all neatly arranged where she could understand them, and he would analyze her feelings. Charles could analyze a rock.

  "Yes, much better," he approved when she entered the living room. "Well, it is rather obvious that my fears for you were misplaced; Constantinos was obviously quite taken with you. Did he mention the Dryden issue?"

  "He did," said Jessica, and even managed a smile for him. "I'm selling the stock to him, but don't imagine everything was sweetness and light. We get along like the proverbial cats and dogs. His comments on my marriage make that gossip column seem mild in comparison, and I have walked out on him and hung up on him once each—no, I've done it twice; he called this morning and I didn't want to talk to him. It would be best if I don't see him again, if you could handle all of the details of the stock transaction."

  "Of course I will," replied Charles promptly. "But I feel certain you're underestimating your man. From that photo in the newspaper, he's attracted to more than your ConTech stock."

  "Yes," admitted Jessica, "but there's no use. I couldn't live with that type of publicity again, and he attracts reporters and photographers by the dozens."

  "That's true, but if he doesn't want something to be published, it isn't published. His power is enormous."

  "Are you trying to argue his side, Charles?" Jessica asked in amazement. "Surely you understand that his attraction is only temporary, that he's only interested in an affair?"

  Charles shrugged. "So are most men," he said dryly. "In the beginning."

  "Yes, well, I'm not interested. By the way, the shares are going for market value. He offered much more than that, but I refused it."

  "I see Robert's standards there," he said.

  "I'll sell the stock to him, but I won't be bought."

  "I never thought you would. I wished myself a fly on the wall during your meeting; it must've been diverting," he said, and smiled at her, his cool, aristocratic face revealing the dry humor behind his elegant, controlled manner.

  "Very, but it stopped short of murder." Suddenly she remembered and she smiled naturally for the first time since reading that horrid gossip column. "Charles, Samantha had her puppies last night, five of them!"

  "She took time enough," he observed. "What will you do with five yelping puppies about the house?"

  "Give them away when they're old enough. There are plenty of children in the neighborhood; it shouldn't be that difficult."

  "You think so? When have you last tried to give away a litter of unknown origin? How many females are there?"

  "How should I know?" she demanded, and laughed. "They don't come with pink and blue bows around their necks, you know."

  Charles grinned in return and followed her into the kitchen, where she proudly displayed the pups, all piled together in a little heap. Samantha watched Charles closely, ready to nip if he came too near her babies, but he was well aware of Samantha's tendencies and kept a safe distance from her. Charles was too fastidious to be an animal lover and the dog sensed this.

  "I see you've no tea made," he commented, looking at the coffeepot. "Put the water on, my dear, and tell me more about your meeting with Constantinos. Did it actually become hot, or were you teasing?"

  Sighing, Jessica ran water from the tap into a kettle and put it on the stove. "The meeting was definitely unfriendly, even hostile. Don't let the photo of that kiss fool you, Charles; he only did that as a punishment and to make me shut up. I can't—" She started to say that she couldn't decide if she trusted him or not, but the ring of the doorbell interrupted her and she stopped in her tracks, a chill running up her spine. "Oh, glory," she gulped.

  "That's him now; I know it is! I hung up on him, and he'll be in a raging temper."

  "I'll be brave and answer the door for you while you make the tea," offered Charles, searching for an excuse to get to Constantinos before he could upset her even more. That shattered look was fading from her eyes, but she was still hurt and vulnerable and she wasn't up to fending off someone like Constantinos. Jessica realized why Charles offered to get the door; he was the most tactful man in the world, she thought as she set out the cups and saucers for tea. And one of the kindest, always trying to shield her from any unpleasantness.

  She stopped in her tracks, considering that. Why hadn't Charles offered to meet with Constantinos and work out the deal on the shares rather than letting her go herself? The more she thought about it, the more out of character it seemed. A wild suspicion flared and she dismissed it instantly, but it crept back. Had Charles deliberately thrown her into Nikolas's path? Was he actually matchmaking? Horrors! What had he been thinking of? Didn't he know that Nikolas Constantinos, while very likely to ask her to be his mistress, would never even consider marriage? And Charles certainly knew her well enough to know that she would never consider anything but!

  Marriage? With Nikolas? She began to shake so violently that she had to put the tray down. What was wrong with her? She had only met the man yesterday, yet here she was thinking that she would never settle for less than being his wife! It was only th