Undone by the Star (22 page)

Sam felt her jaw drop. "That's all you have to say!"

Chas shook his head. "Hardly." He reached into his jacket and pulled out his mobile. "Wait here. I have a couple of calls to make."

 The little glimmer of fear grew and began to gnaw its way into Sam's thoughts as she watched him retreat further into the gloom. Technically speaking, she had used company funds to pay for the candlestick but surely he wouldn't...

 ...call the police. Or the firm's solicitors. Sam shuddered. If only she could lip read. She heard Chas say "send me a text," and then he was on to another call.

 Worst case scenario, she decided, he'd fire her.

 The candlestick was beginning to feel like a dead weight. The only reason she'd even known about this sale was because of a tip from a friend at a rival firm. Small sale in the Midlands, he’d said, squaring the books with Sam for a favour done in the past.

 Sam had visited the auction website, which was feeble at best, read the brief description and realized that not many people would have recognized the candlestick or its history based on the information given.

 So how did Chas Porter end up here?

 Her head ached. With her free hand, Sam reached up and pulled the clip from her hair. As she shook it loose she felt some of the tension ease.

 If Chas been able to get rearrange his busy schedule to attend the sale, he must have been on the lookout for the same silver candlestick. Which meant....what?

 A number of theories flitted through her brain. She needed to talk to Mia. Mia was logical. She was Sam’s best friend at Burton-Porter, and she knew every piece of scuttlebutt worth knowing.

 In the meantime, as far as Sam was concerned, the candlestick was hers.

 She'd bought it fair and square.

 And she was keeping it.

 Part of him, Chas had to admit, felt a tad guilty as he covertly kept his eye on Sam. He had half-expected her to bolt but she was no coward, not by a long shot. With the sun behind her, her hair shone with copper and gold framing her face like a modern-day Madonna.

 Which, he reminded himself sharply, she definitely was not.

 He heard a voice in his ear and the image disappeared.

 "Hello?" he said into the phone. "It’s Chas....slight change in plans."

 Without revealing anything untoward about the day's events, he explained to his secretary why the assistant appraiser in the firm's art department would be going to New York instead of Samantha Redfern.

 "It'll be fine. Tell her to concentrate on her own area of expertise...maybe check out the abstract expressionists while she’s there. And book her into the Park Plaza. Nothing like a five-star hotel to smooth the waters.”

 Chas ended the call.

 His focus shifted back to Sam. One problem down, another to go.

 You had to admire her, thought Chas as he sauntered towards her. He knew how hard it was to stand one’s ground. When he had taken control of the business, family issues had weighed heavily on his young shoulders. The company's good name was everything. He couldn’t risk it then, and he wasn't going to now.

 No matter how awkward the next few days might be.

 Or pleasurable, he thought, as he took in the light dusting of freckles across Sam's nose and the flecks of gold in the green eyes warily tracking his approach.

 "Well?" she asked. "What's the verdict?"

 "The jury is still out....however, as I'm on my way to Derbyshire to catalogue an estate sale," he continued blithely. "And since you evidently know more about Georgian silver than even I realized, you will be my assistant."

 "But I'm expected in New York!" Sam blustered.

 He waggled his mobile in her direction. "Not anymore. Helen Chalmers will go in your stead. In fact, as I understand it, she only bowed to your persistent campaign to be the one to represent the firm because you offered to give up a day at Christmas. And yet here you are..."

 "But..."

 "A last minute decision, was it?"

 "That is so not..." Sam sputtered.

 "Fair?" Chas prompted. "As in taking it upon yourself to delay your departure to attend a sale and using your expense money to pay for a personal purchase....that kind of fair? We call it fraud here by the way..."

 Sam shook her head. "I can't go...you'll have to get someone else."

 "And why is that?"

 A myriad of emotions crossed her face. "I have a rental car to return and, as you well know, a little banking to attend to..."

 "Both of which are easily solved," countered Chas. "We can drop your car off at their office in Coventry, and grab a bite of lunch…I'm assuming you used the company account," he waited for her nod, shook his head and said, "then it's a good thing you're coming with me. You'll be able to work off your debt in no time."

 "But...."

 "What?" He hardened his gaze, silently daring her to take him on.

 A brief flash of mutiny and then the realization dawned. She was trapped and they both knew it.

 There were times, Chas reasoned as he steered her towards the high street, when one needed to spill a little ink.

 In the best interest of the company, of course.

About the Author

Anne Stephenson and Susan Brown met at Carleton University in Ottawa, where they discovered that not only were they both in journalism, they were sharing the same teeny, tiny dorm room. It could have been a disaster, but once the sleeping arrangements had been sorted out, they quickly became fast friends, sharing many excellent adventures. They did not realize when they graduated and went their separate ways, it would be years before they saw each other again. When they finally did meet up, with husbands and children in tow, they decided, over a glass of chilled chardonnay, to continue their adventures and write together.

Enter Stephanie Browning.

One part Anne, one part Susan, their perfect persona is having a blast writing romances for women who care deeply about love, honour, friendship and courage without ever losing sight of the finer things in life…like a well-toned physique, a powerful set of shoulders and a pair of eyes that can rake a woman at fifty yards.

With
Outbid by the Boss
and
Undone by the Star
already capturing readers’ hearts,
Susan and Anne are breaking new ground on this side of the Atlantic with a steamy story of lovers reunited. The first in a series set in the lakeside community of Bedford County,
Balancing the Books
will leave you wanting more….

Because love isn’t just for city folk, it’s for small-town girls, too!

Stephanie Browning’s website:
www.stephaniebrowningromance.com

COPYRIGHT AND PUBLISHING INFORMATION

A Stephanie Browning Romance

ISBN eBook: 978-0-9938299-3-2

Undone by the Star

Copyright © 2016 by Anne Stephenson and Susan Brown

Publication Date: April 5, 2016

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system is forbidden without the written permission of the authors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Photo: Anne Stephenson


Cover Design: Lesley Lavender, [email protected]


Stephanie Browning’s website:
www.stephaniebrowningromance.com