Garden of Lies Read Free Page A

etched features had an ascetic, unforgiving quality. On occasion it was easy to envision him as an avenging angel. At other times she thought he made a very good Lucifer.
    â€œThe least you can do is explain yourself, Mrs. Kern,” he said. “You owe me that much, I think.”
    She did not owe him anything, she thought. She had taken pains to make her terms of employment clear right from the start. As the proprietor of the Kern Secretarial Agency she rarely took assignments, herself, these days. Her business was growing rapidly. The result was that for the past few months she had been busy in the office, training new secretaries and interviewing potential clients. She had accepted the position with Slater as a favor to his mother, Lilly Lafontaine, a celebrated actress who had retired to write melodramas.
    She had not expected to find the mysterious Mr. Roxton so riveting.
    â€œVery well, sir,” she said, “the short version is that I have decided to take another client.”
    Slater went very still.
    â€œI see,” he said. “You are not happy in your work here with me?”
    There was a grim note in his voice. She realized with a start that he was taking her departure personally. Even more shocking, she got the impression that he was not particularly surprised that she was leaving his employ, rather he seemed stoically resigned, as if it had foreseen some inevitable doom.
    â€œOn the contrary, sir,” she said quickly. “I find your cataloging project quite interesting.”
    â€œAm I not paying you enough?” Something that might have been relief flickered in his eyes. “If so, I am open to renegotiating your fee.”
    â€œI assure you, it is not a matter of money.”
    â€œIf you are not unhappy in your work and if the pay is satisfactory, why are you leaving me for another client?” he asked.
    This time he sounded genuinely perplexed.
    She caught her breath and suddenly felt oddly flushed. It was almost as if he were playing the part of a jilted lover, she thought. But of course that was not at all the case. Theirs was a client-employer relationship.
    This is why you rarely accept male clients,
she reminded herself. There was a certain danger involved. But finding herself attracted to one of her customers was not the sort of risk she had envisioned when she established the policy. Her chief concern had been the knowledge that men sometimes posed a risk to the sterling reputations of her secretaries. In the case of Slater Roxton, she had made an exception and now she would pay a price.
    All in all, it was probably best that the association was ended before she lost her head and, possibly, her heart.
    â€œAs to my reasons for leaving—” she began.
    â€œWho is this new client?” Slater said, cutting her off.
    â€œVery well, sir, I will explain the circumstances that require me to terminate my employment with you but you may have a few quibbles.”
    â€œTry me.”
    She tensed at the whisper of command in his tone.
    â€œI really do not want to get into an extended argument, sir—especially in light of the fact that I hope to return to this position in the near future.”
    â€œYou have already made it clear that you expect me to wait upon your convenience.”
    She waved one black-gloved hand to indicate the jumble of antiquities that cluttered the library. “These artifacts have been sitting here for years. Surely they can wait a bit longer to be cataloged.”
    â€œHow much longer?” he asked a little too evenly.
    She cleared her throat. “Well, as to that, I’m afraid I cannot be specific, at least not yet. Perhaps in a few days I will have some notion of how long my other assignment will last.”
    â€œI have no intention of arguing with you, Mrs. Kern, but I would like to know the identity of the client you feel is more important than me.” He broke off, looking uncharacteristically irritated.