The Millionaire's Redemption (7 page)

“There’s a temporary vacancy in the Radiology Department for three days a week.”

“Sounds perfect. I do have some radiology terminology and I’ve got good typing speeds. I’d be happy to do a test for you.”

“It’s not necessary. Your references seem in order. Anyway, if Justin wants you to work here, the job is yours on a trial basis.”

Her heart leapt. Because of Justin’s intervention she had a job. “Thank you Mr. Hamilton, you can’t know what this means to me.”

“Owen, please. We don’t stand on formality here. You mentioned having a child.”

“Yes, I’ll have to arrange suitable child-care for Lilly.”

“We have a free staff crèche here. You’re welcome to use it, if you want to.”

She couldn’t believe her good luck. Thinking positive had certainly done the trick. “Thank you. When can I start?”

“Day after tomorrow if you like. Do you have a special man in your life
,
Holly?”

“That’s not really relevant to my job,” she answered, feeling increasingly uneasy. She didn’t have a good feeling about Owen, but once she got to Radiology, their paths need never cross again.

He gave a conspiratorial wink. “I hope you’re not harboring any thoughts about Justin. He’s fickle. His interest span in women is notoriously short.”

Would Justin have intimated that they were more than ‘friends?’ She needed to get Owen’s mind back on the interview - fast.

“What about wages?”

He fumbled around in his desk drawer and picked up a plastic covered book. “We pay above the award.” He mentioned a quite generous figure.

“Sounds fair, especially with the free child care.”

“Yes, the crèche is one of the many perks for staff working at Glen Fern.” She didn’t like the way he emphasized the word
many
. Apprehension crawled along her spine.

Don’t let your imagination run wild you’ll be working in radiology, not here with this sleaze bag.
She tried to retain her composure. She needed a job with child minding facilities. Needed a job where she could start straight away, and this was it. An almost destitute mother with a baby couldn’t be choosy.

“I’m sure you’ll find us
easy
to work for. A pretty young woman can go a long way in this hospital if she plays her cards right. Do the right thing by me Holly, and you can be sure I won’t forget it.”

She swallowed down on a lump of disquiet. “Thanks Mr., um,… Owen.”

“Good, good. Report to reception day after tomorrow at nine o’clock. They’ll tell you where radiology is.”

“Could I check out the crèche facilities now? I mean, if they weren’t suitable, I’d have to make other arrangements.”

“It’s next door.” He fingered his silk tie. “It looks like a shop front, but it’s not. Refer them to me if you have any problems.”

“Thanks. You can’t know how grateful I am. You won’t be sorry.”

“I’m sure I won’t be.” He gave a conspiratorial smirk. “I think we understand each other perfectly.”

After leaving his office, she tried to squash down on her doubts. Her heightened state of nerves probably made her suspect a hidden meaning in every word he uttered. Alighting from the elevator, she passed through the lovely leadlight doors leading on to the street.

“Teddy Bears’ Picnic,” she read out loud. She couldn’t see inside as yellow blinds sprinkled with pink and blue teddy bears covered the window.

“Hi, I’m Holly Kirwan,” she spoke into the intercom. “I’m starting work at Glen Fern and would like to discuss child minding with you please.”

The door opened, and a middle-aged woman wearing a pale pink uniform greeted her cheerfully. “Hello, Holly. I’ve just received a call from Mr. Hamilton about you. I’m Cheryl.”

“How nice of him. I can start working day after tomorrow if I can arrange child care for my daughter, Lilly.”

“How old is she?”

“Eleven months. I’m still breast feeding and…”

“You could come down in your lunch hour and feed her.”

“Yes, I hoped that I could. Can you show me around please?  I’m anxious to get home. I left an elderly neighbor minding Lilly, and I don’t want to impose too much on her kindness.”

The crèche appeared spotlessly clean, well laid out, and she instantly felt comfortable about leaving Lilly here.

“It’s perfect for Lilly. You would have a place for her?”

“Yes, we cater for twenty children at a time. Bring her along tomorrow and we’ll work out all the finer details then.”

Chapter Five

At home, Lilly had fallen asleep on the couch and Mrs. Harris sat watching television.
At home.
It sounded good to be able to say that.

“How did it go?”

“Good, I got the job and the employer funded child minding center is really nice. I’m sure Lilly will like it there.”

“See, dear, I told you everything would work out. Make sure you send that letter off to the pension people though. If the job doesn’t work out, or Lilly isn’t happy you still have some income.”

“I’ll do it today. I hope she wasn’t any trouble?”

“No, the cat kept her entertained for most of the time. Wore her out I think.” Mrs. Harris chuckled. “She dropped off to sleep about half an hour ago.”

“Thank you for everything. As soon as I get paid, I’ll start giving you rent.”

“Don’t worry about the rent. If you help me pack that would be more than enough payment.”

“I’ll be happy to help, but I’ll still pay you some rent.”

“Don’t think I’m an old busy-body, but I took the liberty of speaking to the real estate agent and explained about you.”  Mrs. Harris twisted her wedding ring around. “The new owners are happy for you to stay on for a while. They’d be prepared to negotiate a nominal rent in return for you keeping an eye on the place.”

Holly couldn’t hide her delight. “That would be perfect. I could make sure the letter box is cleared, even keep the garden tidy.” She gave Mrs. Harris a spontaneous hug. “What a terrific day it’s been.”  Her luck appeared to be changing at long last. A new job, a crèche for Lilly and somewhere to stay
-
-
all achieved within one glorious day. She felt so excited she wanted to share the good news around. Justin.

“Would you mind if I use your phone, Mrs. Harris? I’d like to ring a....a friend. He put in a good word for me at Glen Fern.”

“Of course not, dear. I
am
going to pop down the street. Need anything?”

“No, thanks.”

Butterflies fluttered around in the pit of her stomach as her trembling hand reached for the phone. What if Justin was busy? Worse still, he didn’t want to be bothered with them. Silly to think he would have anything but a passing interest in a widow with a small child.

“Good afternoon, Justin Devereux’s office,” said a brisk, no-nonsense female voice.

“Could you put me through to Justin, please?” She tried to sound articulate and professional.

“I’m sorry. Mr. Devereux isn’t taking any calls at present.”

“I’m sure he’d speak to me. It’s important,” she lied. “Holly Kirwan’s my name.”

“I’ll put you on hold and check with him.”

Holly waited, clutching the phone like a lifeline, as she listened to soft background music. What if he didn’t want to speak to her? She couldn’t understand why the thought upset her so much.

She heard a click followed almost immediately by Justin saying. “Hello, Holly. How are you?”

“Good, how are you?” They sounded like two polite acquaintances meeting in an elevator. “I rang to thank you about Glen Fern,” she babbled. “I got the job.”

“Congratulations. How’s Lilly?”

“Fine. Everything seems to be falling into place for us. I was able to move back where I used to live, too.” She gave a breathy little laugh. “You must be my good luck charm.”

“I don’t know about that.” He laughed, a deep throaty chuckle that did funny things to her insides.

“I... I just wanted to let you know.” Surely she could come up with something better than that. She racked her brains trying to think of some smart follow-up line and drew a complete blank.

“We’ll have to celebrate. How about coming out to dinner with me tonight? We could go to Maximums,” he suggested.

“Maximums?” She tried to hide her disappointment. He had chosen one of the most exclusive restaurants in
Melbourne
and she had nothing suitable to wear.

“They do fabulous seafood. You’d love it.”

“I’d like to go, but there’s Lilly…,” she trailed off forlornly.

“Oh, I forgot.” 

She could almost hear him drumming his fingers on the desk. “I’ll take you to lunch then, at some child friendly place.”

“Oh, yes, I’d like that,” she agreed eagerly, too eagerly because it made her sound desperate. She couldn’t help it, having never been good at playing hard to get. “When?”

“Tomorrow.” He sounded eager too, and her heart did an excited triple somersault. “There’s a new place opened up around the corner from work, I remember seeing a pamphlet about it.
Fabulous Freddie’s, your family friendly fish and chippery.

She laughed. “Sounds just the place for Lilly and me.”

“I’m sorry, I have to go. I’m up to my neck in work at the moment.”

“I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“You’re not a bother. You caught me at a bad time. I’ll meet you at Freddie’s tomorrow at one o’clock. It’s in
Russell Street
, between Collins and Bourke.”

“I’ll find it. Until tomorrow, Justin.”

“Goodbye. I’m glad you rang.” The line went dead.

Had she done the right thing by ringing him up out of the blue? He sounded keen to see her again, but what if he was
only
being kind. She wasn’t in his league and never would be. She had no confidence in herself any more. The loss of Robbie and the way the Kirwans wore her down had made sure of that.

***

She found ‘Fabulous Freddie’s easily. You’d have to be blind to miss the huge bright blue fish painted on the window, and the anchor covered in red and white glitter.

Justin hadn’t arrived, but she was ten minutes early. The restaurant seemed quite full. There were a couple of high chairs, so the place obviously catered for children.

As she debated about going inside Justin strode towards them, every inch the executive in a
dark
suit. It was molded to the contours of his body, but so perfectly tailored it didn’t look tight. He wore a pale blue shirt with a burgundy and gray geometric design tie. Silk by the look of it.

What a gorgeous specimen of manhood. His wide, white-toothed smile caused excitement to curl in the pit of her stomach, made her pulses race. She forced herself to stand still. Gratitude didn’t give her the right to rush towards him and throw herself into his arms.

Justin hated crassness in any shape or form
-
-
always had. Understated elegance was his preference every time, yet when he spied Holly in hipster jeans and a pink top that left her midriff bare, his heart leapt.

A tremulous smile hovered on her sweet, well shaped lips and at this very moment he didn’t care about Freddie’s garishness. God, she looked so beautiful in simple chain store clothes. What would designer label dresses do for her?

Lilly looked cute as a button too, in a pink dress. Her eyes were wide and blue like her mother, and she had the same creamy skin and dainty facial features. Holly’s hair was dead straight, Lilly’s inclined to curl. A legacy from her father perhaps?

He didn’t know why, but every time he thought of the young dead soldier, his gut clenched. The tragic loss of a young life, of course. But it was more – jealousy of what he and Holly had shared? The thought stopped him dead in his tracks. He was entering dangerous territory and if he had even half a brain, he would turn tail and run for his life. When she started towards him, he was lost.

“Justin.” The way she said his name, in a soft almost husky sigh, robbed him of coherent thought.

“Holly.” He kissed her on the cheek, brushing his hand down the length of her soft, flyaway hair. “How are two of my favorite girls going?” He patted Lilly on the cheek.

“Let’s sit over here, near the window,” he suggested. “Should I grab a high chair for the baby?”

“Yes thanks.” After settling Lilly in the high chair, Holly slid into the bench type seat opposite Justin.

She watched him pick up the menu and scan it with a brief sweep of his eyes. It didn’t take a mind reader to know he wasn’t impressed. When a waiter came up they ordered two serves of fish and chips, and a cup of coffee each.

“Tell me about the job,” he said as soon as the waiter who took their order moved away.

“I’ll be working three days a week in the Radiology Department to start with, and the crèche for Lilly seems nice.”