Those Angstrom Men!. Read Free Page B

could go sailing...I have a place in Devon, I may have mentioned that on the plane?
    “You can have the guest room if you want to, or you can share with me, you can think about it all week and decide.”
    “I’d like that, Ian,” she said shyly between his kisses.
    “Great. I’ll pick you up here at six on Friday, shall I? Jeans, anorak, pullovers, we’ll be totally casual all weekend. If the forecast is good, bring your bikini...”
    At tea the next morning, Gloria sat with them. “I don’t often take a tea break,” she told Maggie. “Mr. Angstrom keeps me pretty busy, but he flew to Dubai last evening, won’t be back until Friday or Saturday, so I can relax a little. He was on holiday for two weeks, out of the office all day yesterday, and now he’s gone again for four days.”
    “It must be very quiet all this week, Gloria,” said Amanda.
    “Oh, he’ll be calling, emailing and faxing. I’ll be busy, but I won’t be as busy as usual. And he told me this morning when he telephoned that he’s going away for the weekend, so my desk won’t be piled high Monday morning.”
    “Probably going to Paris or something with that model I saw in the tabloids,” said Elizabeth. “He’s been going out with her for a month or two, hasn’t he?”
    “That one‘s long gone,” said Gloria. “I think that actress, Anjelica Jones was his last piece of arm candy. He took her out a couple of times before he went on holiday, but he told me yesterday not to put her through if she called, so she’s had the boot as well.”
    “So he’s footloose and fancy-free again, is he?” said Amanda. “Too bad he never notices me. He could park his shoes under my bed any night.”
    Linda, Elizabeth and Gloria all laughed at Amanda. “No, Amanda, he’ll never notice you. He has that rule, remember? He never dates anyone who works for him,” Gloria reminded her.
    The week both sped by and dragged on.
    Maggie was very busy. John Taylor was pleased with the job she’d done for him and produced three other reports for her to edit and polish. Miles Green provided her with a proposal for a prospective client in Australia. Maggie’s eyes popped when she saw how much Angstrom and Associates charged for their services. Obviously the consulting business as run by Mr. Angstrom was far more lucrative that the woman’s magazine she’d worked for. Not much danger of this ship sinking!
    Maggie worked late every night; she didn’t want to sit at home, daydreaming of Ian. Because that’s what she was doing every evening, sitting, daydreaming of Ian and his kisses.
    Wednesday evening, Dubai time, Ian was still worrying about Maggie finding out his true identity.
    He wished he hadn’t lied to her when they met. But it was so nice, going out with her as if he was just another bloke.
    She had no expectations.
    Why, she’d been worried he was overspending, taking her to the Savoy Grill so soon after buying her dinner on Friday evening! What a girl!
    He hoped they’d be sharing his bed come Friday, but it was her decision, and he was damned if he was going to scare her away by being too aggressive, no matter how he ached for her.
    The game would be up next Monday, anyway, unless he could think of a way around it.
    He put his mind to it, tackling it as if it were a problem he was solving for a client.
    Half an hour later, he had a plan.
    Ian emailed John Taylor to forward him the report he knew Maggie had edited. It was on his laptop within minutes.
    He read it, not for the content but for the presentation. He smiled. “Maggie mine, you’re good, really good. I think I know just what to do with you...”
    Friday, Linda appeared at her desk at five. “Come on, Maggie, we’re going to the pub.”
    “I’d love to come, but that new man I told you about is picking me up at six, we’re going to Devon.”
    “Lucky you! This is the same one you had that super dinner with Monday?”
    “Yes, he’s been away all week. I’ve quite missed