Little Rainbows Read Free Page B

other?” Heather couldn’t keep the confusion out of her voice. “I know I’ve been talking to Karl until now, but how did you not know you were hiring me?”
    “I…” A frown crossed his face again. “I’ve left all the preliminary work up to Karl. What’s the point in having a manager if you don’t allow him to manage?” His smile seemed forced. Jason’s gaze dropped to the screen on his desk and his frown returned. “If I’d taken the time to study your website before now… But somehow I never got around to it.”
    When Jason gestured with his hand, Heather sat down in one of the luxurious leather chairs in the corner and watched as he instructed Karl, who’d been patiently observing their confusion, to send someone along with coffee.
    Jason seated himself in the chair opposite hers and Heather studied him. “There are no photos of you on your website, Jason. Why not?”
    The question appeared to surprise him and he took his time answering.
    “The website has been set up to advertise The Blowhole, not me. In fact, I’m not on the menu, so to speak.”
    The frown, a facial expression Heather didn’t remember from the past, returned again.
    “The website only has pictures of those members of staff who are available to the visitors. I try to avoid raising unrealistic expectations. If I show pictures of people whose job description doesn’t extend to playing with the guests, it may lead to disappointment. I try not to elicit feelings like that in my visitors.”
    Nodding her head, Heather looked around the office again. His answer made perfect sense and yet, she’d never come across a club owner who wasn’t available to his clients at least some of the time. There had to be something else going on to make him so publicity shy. Now wasn’t the moment to ask deeper questions though.
    “What about you? Why is all the information on your site at least two years old, Heather?”
    She couldn’t quite suppress her frustration. She didn’t want to get into all of this right now. “As I explained to your manager”—it might have been embarrassment flashing across his face— serves him right —“that’s when Darren got too ill to continue.”
    She saw the confusion in his eyes and sighed before explaining.
    “Darren was my husband and business partner.” As well as so much more . The thought hurt. She refused to indulge in those memories right now. “He died eighteen months ago.”
    “I’m sorry.” His voice was soft. “For your loss and for having to explain that to me now. I should have known.”
    Damn right . The thought flew through her head and nearly out of her mouth. Instead she forced herself to smile.
    “Tell me about your anniversary party.” She didn’t want to talk about the past right now—or ever. She had to keep Darren out of her mind as much as possible if she wanted to do this job.
    Rubbish . She would never be able to keep Darren out of her head. She could try to keep him out of her conversations though. If she managed that, she might just make it through the coming weeks without turning into a drama queen…maybe.
    It surprised Heather to see Jason look as relieved as she felt when the conversation turned to matters of business. He didn’t appear to be any more eager to talk about personal issues than she was.
    “It’s like Karl pointed out in his emails.”
    Jason smiled at the beautiful young woman, placing coffee cups, a cafetière and a plate with treats on the table.
    “It’s been nearly a year since I opened The Blowhole and for all those months I’ve been entertaining visitors from overseas. I lived in America for close to twenty years and have extensive contacts in the BDSM world there. Having old friends and acquaintances as my first visitors made the starting up process a lot easier than it might have been.”
    Heather nodded as she listened to Jason. Visitors from abroad, even if they weren’t friends, would be so much safer than guests who were part of