frown.
âYouâll have to wear something else,â she told Saskia sharply. âYou look far too businesslike and unapproachable in that suit. Markâs got to think youâre approachableâremember. And I really think you ought to wear a different lipstickâ¦red, perhaps, and more eye make-up. Look, if you donât believe me then read this.â Lorraine thrust an open magazine beneath Saskiaâs nose.
Reluctantly Saskia skimmed through the article, a small frown pleating her forehead as she read of the lengths the agency was prepared to have its girls go to in order to test the faithfulness of its clientsâ men.
âI canât do any of this,â she told Lorraine firmly. âAnd as for my suitâ¦â
Stepping into the hall and closing the front door behind her, Lorraine stood squarely in front of Saskia and told her vehemently, âYou have toâfor Meganâs sake. Canât you see whatâs happening to her, the danger sheâs in? Sheâs totally besotted with this man; sheâs barely known him four months and already sheâs talking about handing over the whole of her inheritance to himâ¦marrying himâ¦having children with him. Do you know how much her great-aunt left her?â she added grimly.
Silently Saskia shook her head. She knew how surprised and shocked Megan had been when she had learned that she was the sole beneficiary under her great-auntâs will, but tactfully she had not asked her friend just how much money was involved.
Lorraine, it seemed, had not had similar qualms.
âMegan inherited nearly three million pounds,â she told Saskia, nodding her head in grim pleasure as she saw Saskiaâs expression.
âNow do you see how important it is that we do everything we can to protect her? Iâve tried to warn her umpteen times that her precious Mark might not be all he tries to make out he is, but she just wonât listen. Now, thank goodness, sheâs caught him out and heâs showing his true colours. For her sake, Saskia, you just do everything you can to prove how unworthy he is. Just imagine what it would do to her if he not only broke her heart but stole all her money as well. Sheâd be left with nothing.â
Saskia could imagine it all too well. Her grandmother had only a small pension to live on and Saskia, mindful of the sacrifices her grandmother had made when she was growing up, to make sure she did not go without the treats enjoyed by her peers, contributed as much as she could financially to their small household.
The thought of losing her financial independence and the sense of security that earning money of her own gave her was one that was both abhorrent and frightening to her, and Lorraineâs revelations suddenly gave her not just the impetus but a real desire to do everything she could to protect her friend.
Megan, dear sweet trusting Megan, who still worked as a nurse despite her inheritance, deserved to find a man, a partner, who was truly worthy of her. And if this Mark wasnâtâ¦Well, perhaps then it would be for the best if her friend found out sooner rather than later.
âPerhaps if you took off the jacket of your suit,â Lorraine was saying now. âYou must have some kind of sexy summer top you could wearâ¦or even justâ¦â
She stopped as she saw Saskiaâs expression.
âSummer top, yes,â Saskia agreed. âSexyâ¦no!â
As she saw the look on Lorraineâs face Saskia suppressed a small sigh. It was pointless trying to explain to a woman like Lorraine that when nature had given one the kind of assets it had given Saskia, one learned very young that they could be something of a double-edged sword. To put it more bluntly, menâin Saskiaâs experienceâdid not need the double overload of seeing her body clad in âsexyâ clothes to encourage them to look twice at her. And in most cases to want to