Glass Ceilings Read online

  But her thoughts would not be silenced.

  Did it mean so little to him? That kiss, and his words, and the way he looked at me?

  She turned her face away and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Is he embarrassed by it now? Or did I misread the situation entirely? Am I allowing myself to be emotionally crippled by a momentary impulse, a passing fancy?

  She took another deep breath to steady herself.

  Claire noted her distress and said gently, ‘But Royce has been busy, getting the expansion project underway, and having teleconference after teleconference with Travis and the board, about the chairman position. With all that’s been going on, he wouldn’t have had much time for anything else.’

  Verity nodded mutely and stared at her hands, clasped tightly together in her lap. Claire’s sensible words, though kind, brought her no comfort. They were simply a repetition of what she’d been telling herself for days. She closed her eyes and listened to her heart. Its traitorous voice complained loudly of a painful wound.

  By keeping a professional distance, Royce was dutifully meeting the expectations of his CEO, but Verity realised, to her chagrin, that there was still a tender-hearted woman beneath the power suit. Although painfully aware she had treated him the same way, she now felt cast aside and wretched at being kept at arms length by him.

  Especially as those same arms had held her close, and reignited a flame she’d thought extinguished forever.

  ‘Royce is here, Verity.’

  ‘Thanks Claire. Could you give me a minute and then send him in please?’

  Verity slipped into her office’s en suite to check on her appearance. Making sure she looked alright would help her feel more confident in this first meeting with him. She ran a critical eye over her reflection in the full-length mirror, and was pleased with the natural glow the peach tints on her cheeks and lips gave her. But nothing could hide the shadows under her eyes. She knew the only cure for them was a good night’s sleep, the very thing eluding her at present.

  Her tailored pant suit with long-line jacket and embossed sliver blouse, accentuated her slim figure. When she reached up to smooth her shining brunette hair, which she’d left loose for a change, she was dismayed to find her hand a little unsteady. She took a deep breath and hesitated briefly at the doorway. Then she lifted her head, pushed the door open, and strode in with what she hoped was a confident air.

  Royce was standing at the other end of the room, studying the aerial photographs on the wall, but turned on hearing her approach. Verity acknowledged him with a nod, keeping her eyes low as she made her way towards the central table, pausing at her desk to pick up her diary and a note book and pen. She took her time, mentally preparing herself to look directly into his face, the one that was haunting her days and nights.

  ‘I’m glad you could see me on such short notice, Verity.’ Royce’s deep voice was controlled and even, and, as always, he didn’t seem inclined to waste time on small talk.

  Verity was relieved there were none of the usual ‘what’s the weather doing?’, or other ice-breaking inanities. A business-like opening to their discussion was solid ground for her, unlike the treacherous terrain of affairs of the heart.

  ‘I knew you wouldn’t have called a meeting unless it was to discuss something important.’ She straightened and finally dragged her eyes up to meet his. There was something very unsettling in his gaze, and she quickly looked down at her diary again. ‘And I’m glad you’ve brought me in on this project early in the piece. That makes it easier for both of us.’ She threw him a brief, significant glance, and took a seat at the side of the table furthest from him.

  He walked over to sit opposite her without speaking. His dark eyes were fixed on her face as though drinking her in.

  Verity had to stop herself from squirming under his scrutiny. After a bit she squeaked, ‘So,’ and then coughed, before continuing more normally, ‘tell me about this new project?’

  Her question seemed to catch him unawares. He answered a little jerkily, ‘It’s ... not a project ... per se ...,’ and he swallowed.

  Verity gave a puzzled frown. ‘Oh, it’s not?’

  ‘No. Look, I’ve started to hope....’

  Verity watched as Royce took a deep breath, sat straighter, and established firm eye contact with her, as though preparing to deliver an oration. Whatever this was about, he was certainly taking it seriously.

  ‘Verity, I....’ He cleared his throat and tried again. ‘This is a proposal, but not about a project.’ He gave an impatient shake of his head. ‘Look, I’ll cut to the chase.’

  ‘Good, I like a straight-up approach.’

  ‘You and I both.’ He gave a grim smile and leaned back in his chair, studying her from under hooded eyes. ‘Verity, I want to marry you.’

  Verity’s mouth fell open, and she could feel her eyes bulging in their sockets. Stunned speechless, she stared at him wide-eyed, like a marsupial dazzled by an oncoming car’s headlights.

  ‘I’m not asking for an immediate answer, I’m simply declaring my intentions.’ Now that those first six, crucial words were out, Royce was regaining his usual composure. ‘Take your time to think about it.’ He rose and walked over to sit beside her.

  Her eyes followed his movements, but she remained glued where she sat. He took one of her hands in his, and felt her fingers tremble at his touch. He immediately folded her hand in both of his, as though to reassure her. His eyes, no longer hooded, stared openly into hers, with an intensity of warmth that radiated across the space between them.

  Verity looked down at her slender hand in his large warm grasp, and up at him again. She opened and closed her mouth, but still no words came.

  He smiled kindly. ‘This has probably come at you from left field.’

  Verity nodded vaguely, still dazed.

  His expression became serious again. ‘But I’ve endured enough regrets for one lifetime, so I want to lay my cards on the table, and be absolutely clear from the start about what I’m proposing.’

  Verity remained silent, so he forged ahead. Releasing her hand, he opened his coat jacket and extracted a small box.

  ‘If you accept this,’ and he took her hand again and pressed the box into it, opening the lid as he did so, ‘we can have as long an engagement as you need. I won’t rush you.’

  In her heart, Verity knew what she would see inside the small velvet box, but was still taken aback by the beautiful ring glinting up at her. Set in rose gold, the diamond cluster was in the shape of a small flower, with a larger stone surrounded by delicate, sparkling petals. Even in her numbed state, Verity recognised it as a jasmine blossom.

  Jasmine, the aromatic plant that grew so freely and joyously on Loquacious Island, whose delicate white blooms released their scent on the air with unbridled generosity. The thought made her warm all over. She could feel her willpower, all those controls she’d placed on her feelings, slipping away.

  Her mind reeled.

  Am I dreaming? Or did Royce James just ask me to MARRY him?

  Verity dropped the ring box onto the table and leapt to her feet.

  Royce remained seated, observing her every move, and said casually, ‘You don’t like it?’

  ‘Oh, no ... I mean ... yes ... er ... it’s a beautiful ring, Royce.’ She ran a hand roughly through her hair and strode over to stand behind her desk. It felt safer having a barrier between herself and Royce. She rested both hands on the desktop and stared unseeingly down at it.

  ‘I had it specially made, and had to wait until it was ready.’ Royce sat calmly watching her.

  She raised her head and looked at him. The expression in his eyes was almost her undoing, so she swiftly turned away again.

  This shouldn’t be happening, we should be in the middle of discussions about project feasibility, not about.... Hang on, that’s it! I’ll view this as a business discussion, it’ll help me stay in control.

  She took a deep breath and fixed him with a level gaze. ‘I want
to make sure I understand, Royce. You’re here to talk about a marriage proposal, not a project proposal.’

  Royce nodded gravely, but a smile lurked at the corners of his mouth.

  ‘And you just asked me, Verity Parker, your CEO, to m-marry you, is that correct?’ Despite her self-control, her voice grew a little shaky as she spoke the words.

  ‘That’s correct.’ His voice held a note of fond amusement, and Verity felt a flash of irritation.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Like I told you, I don’t—’

  ‘I know, you don’t want any more regrets, and I understand the reasoning behind your, um ... unusual ... approach. But that doesn’t explain why you want to marry me in the first place.’

  Her mind suddenly freed itself from its dumbfounded state, and went into overdrive. She only paused long enough to take another ragged breath before carrying on, her voice rising, ‘And why has this come up now? That ... business ... on the island, was it some kind of payment because I saved you on the dive, or because I supported your project? And are you suddenly interested in me because, as CEO, I’m now worthy of your attentions? And how the hell do you see this ... relationship ... working, when you’re going to be moving to the US to take up the chairman position?’ She finally ran out of air and slumped into her chair.

  Royce studied her gravely, and then rose to his feet. He walked around behind her desk and half sat, half leaned against its edge, arms crossed, staring down at her. She didn’t look at him, but every nerve in her body tingled at his proximity. When he put a hand under her chin to raise her face, her emotions welled inside her as though about to erupt. And when her eyes met his, she sucked in a sharp breath and felt the remnants of her self-control slipping away.

  ‘I should have said this first, sorry. Guess I’m new at this,’ Royce said gently. ‘Verity, I want to marry you because,’ and he stroked her cheek with his thumb, ‘I love you.’

  Verity’s heart did a cartwheel and she opened her mouth as though to speak, but he put a gentle finger to her lips.

  ‘And although it took me a while to realise it, I was in love with you well before the diving incident, and way before you endorsed my project.’ He gave a lop-sided grin. ‘Before you became CEO, we moved in different circles. You were at the bauxite mine most of the time, and I was here, at the refinery. Back then, you were only a neat signature on the bottom of inter-office memos.’ He straightened and withdrew his hand. ‘But when I got to know you better, I couldn’t help but admire you. And then admiration turned into—’

  Verity stood up suddenly. Alternating waves of wonder and trepidation were crossing her countenance. She needed to face him squarely, but when Royce moved closer, she immediately backed away.

  He grew still and they stood, staring at each other, until Royce said, ‘And as far as my moving to the states goes, I’ve got it all sorted.’

  ‘Oh, have you.’ She forced a frosty note into her voice, which was in total contrast to her inner, fiery heat. It felt like she was full of boiling magma, rolling and bubbling inside her. ‘W-well, I’m pleased for you, but right now I need time to digest what you’ve told ...,’ she shook her head, ‘um, asked ... me.’

  ‘Of course.’ Royce had been only barely resisting the urge to reach for her, but he rallied and assumed a more casual manner, aware this would seem less threatening to her. ‘I’ll leave you with it, but I’d like to take you to dinner this evening, so we can talk some more?’

  Without thinking, she nodded.

  ‘I’ll pick you up at seven.’ Royce paused, and she nodded again. He turned and strode to the doorway where he cast one last, lingering look at her before going out.

  Verity glanced at her watch and saw that her hands were shaking. She breathed deeply to calm herself, and decided that no matter what the time, she was finished work for the day. She quickly tidied her desk, grabbed her bag, and went to the door to bark at Claire, ‘I’m off home.’

  ‘Oh? Taking an early one for a change?’

  ‘Yes. Hey Claire, could you do me a favour? As a friend.’

  ‘Name it.’

  ‘Could you come over as soon as you finish work? I need someone to talk to.’

  ‘Of course, I’ll see you there shortly.’

  ‘Great, thanks,’ and Verity gave her a tight smile before heading out.

  If ever she needed someone to talk to, and time to think, it was now.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  ‘I can tell when you’re dodging a subject, y’know.’ Claire raised an interrogative eyebrow at her friend. They were sitting on the sofa in Verity’s lounge room, with drinks and a platter of olives, cheese and crackers in front of them.

  Verity flopped back against the cushions and sighed, ‘Yeah, you’re onto me. I got you here to talk, but now I don’t know where to start....’

  ‘Just start somewhere. You need to talk and I’m here to listen.’

  Verity pulled a face.

  Claire’s expression remained dogged. ‘It’s about Royce, isn’t it?’ When that went unchallenged, she added, ‘The way you shot out of the office after your meeting this ‘arvo ... I wondered what was going on.’

  Verity remained tight-lipped, but Claire persevered.

  ‘You never did give me a straight answer when I asked how you feel about him. So let’s begin there, shall we?’

  Verity took a long swig of wine. ‘Well, in a nutshell ... I-I think I ... but then ... I could’ve ... what if....’

  ‘Oh, for crying out loud! Spit it out girl, it’s not that hard a question!’

  Verity gave a rueful grin. ‘Yeah, I sound like a loony, don’t I?’

  ‘Well, not like yourself, that’s for sure. The Verity I know would just lay it on the line.’

  ‘The Verity you know now ...,’ and she paused and sucked in her bottom lip, ‘is very different from the one who laid her heart on the line once before, only to have it crushed underfoot.’ Bitterness crept into her voice. ‘That Verity, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, had to work hard to put all the bits of her trampled life back together again. And along the way she came to realise that love is too risky. There’s too much to lose when you’re gambling with your heart.’

  ‘But hearts do recover, and lots of risks are worth taking. As CEO, you’re not afraid to take short term chances when you can see long term benefits. Take Royce’s project for example. That didn’t come with a “risk-free guarantee” did it? But you foresaw the advantages it could bring to the company, and went for it.’

  ‘But that’s business, Claire.’

  ‘Yeah, and the same principles can apply to personal stuff too.’ She put an arm around Verity’s shoulders. ‘You simply backed the wrong player first time round. Love isn’t meant to hurt, it’s meant to shield your heart from harm.’

  ‘Well, it didn’t shield me and David. But how could it when all we had was a thin veneer, masquerading as the real thing, just a fragile defence that shattered like brittle glass at the first blow? And not even a serious blow, more like someone just chucked a handful of loose change at it.’ Verity straightened to sit rigidly on the sofa’s edge. ‘Money, the old “root of all evil”. Just ’cos I was earning more of it than David was, and making him feel inadequate, that’s all it took for him to turn on me and ruin my life. He even managed to make the friendliest cat in the universe permanently wary of men.’

  She took another mouthful of wine and went on, ‘And what’s to say the same won’t happen again if I let Royce into my life? He’s even more career-oriented than David was. Come to think of it, David wasn’t ambitious, he just didn’t like being upstaged by his own wife. Not that it matters now.’ She lifted her glass again and drained it in one gulp. ‘But what if it turns sour again? I may not be able to find all the pieces next time.’

  ‘And if you don’t give this thing with Royce a chance, you could be passing up a wonderful future. Don’t let your bad experience with the wrong man stop you from finding the right man,
the one who’ll make you happy, and stop you from being lonely for the rest of your life.’

  Verity considered Claire’s words before saying thoughtfully, ‘Look, I know some people think I’m weird for choosing to be on my own, but we come into this world alone, and when we leave it we’re alone. So why should it be unnatural to spend the time in between on our own?’ She looked into her empty glass, mumbling, ‘Maybe I’m just not cut out for love,’ and raised her eyes to frown at Claire. ‘It felt like love with David, at first anyway, but it couldn’t have been, to end like that, surely?’

  Both women found their thoughts straying to the David days. All had been shiny until he’d realised he was no match for his wife’s intellect and abilities. His envy and resentment at the unflattering contrast between her success and his own unremarkable accomplishments, had him moaning, to anyone who’d listen, about his wife’s ‘ruthless ambition’ and ‘selfish disregard’ of his feelings. And once the rot set in there’d been no going back. He started having tawdry, short-lived affairs, but portrayed himself as the injured party when their marriage finally broke down.

  ‘People talk about love as though it’s the be-all and end-all,’ Verity mused, ‘but my marriage to David only confirmed love’s skin-deep superficiality.’

  ‘That may have been the case with you and David, and I have to say, he certainly didn’t love you, otherwise he wouldn’t have done what he did, but that doesn’t mean real love isn’t still out there, waiting for you. But you have to have the guts to take it when it’s offered.’

  ‘But how do you know Royce is offering this “real love” you reckon is out there?’

  ‘I don’t, but then how do you know he isn’t?’

  Verity chewed on her lip while Claire poured them both another drink, and handed Verity hers. She took it, saying quietly with a small frown, ‘He asked me to marry him, Claire.’

  ‘WHAT?’ Claire nearly dropped her glass, and had to quickly mop up the spilt wine with her napkin.

  Verity exhaled in a rush, ‘Yeah that was pretty much my reaction too. Look at this,’ and she handed over the box Royce had given her, containing the engagement ring.