A Taste of Honey Read online

  The only true downer he could think of was that his mother would want him to meet every single girl she could find. Okay, he could live with that. He liked women’s company. Just because he’d been hurt and humiliated didn’t mean his urges had died. But he was careful about his choice of woman. If they started cooking him lamb roast and apple pies or wanted to take his dirty laundry home wrapped in brown paper, he’d back off.

  He knew his mother wanted him married and she wanted grandkids. He felt a tug of compassion that this was something he could never give her, and somehow he had to make her understand that he’d never marry again. Once hurt, a million times shy.

  He finished off the whiskey, rose from the chair and walked to the large French doors and out onto a beautiful stone veranda overlooking a magnificent garden.

  He’d take over the reins tomorrow. All a man needed was a challenge to get the blood surging through his veins.

  Maybe Charles could arrange a cocktail party where he could meet the authors. Maybe he should take the staff out for lunch to get to know them in a more relaxed atmosphere and vice versa.

  There was so much to learn, and so many people to meet that Will gave a silent prayer of thanks for Charles Honey. A man he could rely on. A man he could trust not to stab him in the back.

  The first thing he’d do was to make Charles’ job permanent. He didn’t want to lose him, and, as an added incentive, give him a raise.

  Yeah, man, life was great.

  Chapter Three

  Bring her candy and flowers. Shower her with gifts and write her a love-letter.

  Charli had made sure she arrived early for work, but she still hadn’t arrived before the young Mr. Knight as she could hear him moving about in his office. She hesitated outside his office door, her hand raised as if to knock. She lowered her hand, moved away, and sat at her desk pondering on the correct course of action. She wanted to appear professional and in control of any situation. Show him that she handled any new circumstance that came her way with a clear head and strong shoulders. A chief editor he could rely on in any emergency.

  She imagined he’d be uneasy, on edge about taking over the reins. After all, he knew no one here at the house. She’d be the calmness he was seeking, the friend in need, and the comrade-in-arms he could rely on.

  Still, the question remained, should she barge in and introduce herself or wait until she was summoned? Her answer came to her with the sound of a buzz from the intercom. “Please, come into my office.”

  His voice had sounded firm but nice. Heart resolute and spine ramrod straight, she was nervous and excited at the same time. She straightened her skirt and fluffed her hair, taking a quick peep in the mirror to reassure herself that everything was in place for the big meeting. Drawing in a deep breath, she entered his office. A large hulk of a figure sat behind the desk.

  “What in the hell — ?” he said rising to his feet.

  Charli was looking into the face of the most overpoweringly handsome man she’d ever seen in her life. His eyes had a hypnotic effect. A gaze that was as fascinating as drifting leaves in an autumn’s breeze. When William Knight walked into a room, women the world over liquefied. Her eyes lowered and, oh my God, his mouth. A vision of it pressed against hers filled Charli with the strangest and most wonderful sensation.

  He stood and moved around the desk to stand in front of her. Charli, at five-foot-seven was dwarfed by the sheer height of the man facing her.

  “Mr. Knight? I’m Charli Honey, Mr. Knight’s chief editor — I mean the deceased Mr. Knight’s chief editor — no, your chief editor.”

  She was going to blow his socks off with her professionalism, instead she’d lost every bit of decorum, her usual polish now dim and tarnished. She felt as inept and defenseless as a rabbit cowering before a dingo.

  The green eyes weighed her up. “Sorry, I don’t mean to appear rude, it’s your name that threw me.” He glanced down at some papers on his desk, tapping a sheet of paper with the end of his pen.

  “My name?”

  “I thought you were male. And that you’re definitely not.”

  “What has me being male or female got to do with anything?”

  What was with this man? He was talking in circles. There definitely was a communication barrier between them. Damn. That’s so not what she wanted. She wanted them to be working mates from the word go. Okay, okay, take it easy. Try to calm down. I’m nervous and that’s only natural. She took a deep yoga breath through her nostrils and thought of green forests and sweet baby does.

  “Everything, Honey. I’ve just been reading your file. Very impressive.”

  The forest dissolved into hot desert and sandstorms as her feminist instincts stood up and yelled inequity. How dare he call her honey? She wasn’t his honey! She was no one’s honey. Still, she refrained from chastising him, for the moment at least. “Thanks. I hope you’ll be satisfied with my work, Mr. Knight.”

  “I’m sure we can work things out.”

  Slightly taken aback at his words, she said, “Work things out? What do you mean?” The first warning that something was wrong snapped her brain as the long cruel hand of fear took her by the neck and shook her. Something wasn’t quite kosher.

  He sighed and raked his hand through his thick thatch of black hair. His gaze met hers. His eyes were so green. Deep penetrating green. She’d never seen a man with green eyes before. Hazel yes. Blue, brown, and gray but never green. They were incredible. This man might be insensitive about another’s feelings, but he was dazzling.

  She suddenly wished they could have met under different circumstances. She wished that he liked her and that this conversation wasn’t taking place. She wished they’d met at a party.

  His office dissolved …

  I’m casually sipping a gin and tonic. William Knight walks in. Stunning in his tight jeans, white T-shirt and black Bomber jacket. Our eyes lock. Fascinated, he ambles to my side and wraps his arm around my waist. “Dance with me, you captivating wench,” he breathes.

  With a toss of my head, I throw the glass to the floor; laughing at my power over this man.

  We dance like we’re made for each other. He lowers his head and his sexy mouth finds mine in a kiss that explodes —

  • • •

  “Honey,” Will said. He’d been having a one-way conversation for the last few minutes. Charli Honey, although one of the loveliest women he’d seen in a long time, was a little bit odd, to say the least. She was staring off into space as if she’d seen the landing of aliens.

  She blinked. She swallowed. “Yes,” she said.

  “Do you have a hearing problem?”

  “My hearing is perfect.”

  “It’s like talking to a brick wall.”

  “My mind wandered, that’s all.”

  “Is it back with us now?” He grinned.

  “What were you saying, Mr. Knight?”

  He tapped papers. “You’re position as chief editor is temporary. The position has never been filled.”

  She eyeballed him. “Filled?”

  Will had to admit he felt bad. He didn’t like what he was doing, it didn’t sit well with him. But the alternative? She might put Bathsheba to shame, but my God, no way. Anyway, hadn’t David ended up murdering Bathsheba’s husband? “You must understand that I can’t allow this discrepancy to continue.”

  “ — Discrepancy?”

  “The position will be advertised in-house and in several major newspapers.”

  “Advertised?”

  “You seem to be repeating me, Honey.”

  “That’s because I’m trying to understand what’s going on here.”

  “What don’t you understand?”

  “None of it.”

  Hell. He studied her lovely face, her glorious red hair that swung low over her shoulders, the warmth of her coffee-colored eyes, and wished they had met under different circumstances. He liked what he saw very much and that made it extremely dangerous for them to be working to
gether. What if he fell for her? What if behind those fantastic eyes and that innocent expression was a schemer? My God, she could have the same plans as Mavis. His safe world trembled. Maybe she’d imagined now that his uncle had died that she’d be taking over the reins of Knight Books? She was too beautiful to be trusted.

  “Your position as chief editor is temporary. My uncle never made it permanent. My hands are tied. This was never meant to be a temporary position. You must understand this.”

  “So where does this leave me?”

  “You’ll revert back to your former position as editor.” I’ll make it worth her while. Same wages. A bonus for work well done. He felt more at ease now. As if he was doing her a favor.

  He saw fire in her eyes. “I’ve been doing the job for nearly a year.”

  “And admirably. Thanks for doing a great job.” He wanted the interview over. “You can apply for the position the same as everyone.”

  “Gee, thanks. Who’ll be doing the interviewing?”

  “Me.”

  “So it’d be a waste of time, wouldn’t it, Mr. Knight. I mean if you were interested in me as your CE then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “It’s not fair to the other employees who might like the CE’s job. They, like you,” he hastened to add, “want the chance to get it.”

  He left her to return to his chair. He picked up his pen and wrote furiously on a pad. He could feel her eyes burning into the top of his head. “Thanks, Honey. That’ll be all for now.” What could he do to alleviate the tension between them? His eyes fell on the crystal vase of flowers. He imagined Honey would have been responsible for placing them on his desk. Nice gesture.

  • • •

  Interview over.

  Charli made her way to his office door. The realization of what was happening descending like a wet blanket. Her anger turned to despair and a lump as big as a concrete block filled her throat. He was getting rid of her. A real don’t-call-me-I’ll-call-you type of bloke. All her wild fanciful suppositions suddenly held no comparison to the truth. This couldn’t be Malcolm Knight’s nephew. Surely none of Malcolm Knight’s genes were in this man’s body. William Knight’s Y gene was definitely Y for yobbo, yokel and, and — she couldn’t think of another Y word.

  “Before you leave, Honey.”

  Hope flared as she turned to face him. He stared at her. Her legs weak under the spellbinding gaze of crushed emeralds. Get a grip here, Charli, this guy is public enemy number one and he sees you as Dick Tracy. “Yes, Mr. Knight?” she said eagerly.

  “Thank whoever put the flowers in my office. It’s a warm welcome.”

  “It was Judy. Your receptionist.” Charli wanted no thanks from him.

  “Oh, my receptionist. Great. Great, and very thoughtful.” He smiled. It did nothing to alleviate her intense disliked for him, and giving him a glare she hoped would shrivel his gorgeous hair from the top of his equally gorgeous head, Charli marched out of his office.

  She slumped into her chair and leaning her elbow on top of her desk, cupped her chin in her hand.

  This was the worst thing that could happen. Tears flooded. She blinked them back. She didn’t want to leave Knight Books. She loved her job and had thought she’d be here until retirement.

  She’d been so prepared to work like a dog for the young Mr. Knight. Stand loyally by his side through thick and thin. He hadn’t even given her a chance.

  He’d said her name had confused him. So he’d thought her a man, and, obviously working alongside a woman, for the illustrious William Knight, was akin to working with a psychopath with hedonistic tendencies. And she knew why. Judy had told her about William Knight’s ex and how she’d cut the matrimonial rug out from under him. So he was bitter? So he’d had a raw deal? Did that mean he had to punish every woman that came his way?

  She had truly forgotten about the temporary part of her job. She’d been working so long in the capacity of CE it’d slipped her mind. Mr. Knight’s original CE had found another job and practically walked out on him.

  He’d always liked her, Charli knew this, and he’d placed her in the job of CE saying she was right for the job, and he knew they’d get on well together. He’d been so right.

  How she wished she’d reminded Malcolm Knight that the job was only temporary. He’d have immediately made her position permanent. No use lamenting.

  She ripped a tissue from the box and blew her nose. Feeling sorry for herself, she conjured up all the bad things that had happened to her in the last few years. Her mother’s untimely death — at only forty-eight, her mother had succumbed to breast cancer. It had been difficult enough coming to terms with her death, but her father had dropped his bundle and withdrawn into the shadows, unable to cope with the grief.

  Then, two years ago, there’d been that ghastly fling with Robert Bentley, a book distributor she’d met at a book fair. She had to be honest and say that she went into the affair with Robert because she wanted to lose her virginity. She wanted to know what sex was about and at twenty-one knew it was about time. He was handsome enough and she’d been attracted to him from the beginning, but her heart hadn’t danced the tango at the mere sight of him and she definitely didn’t hear bells when he’d kissed her.

  He was okay in the courting department, but unromantic and, well, boring. He’d taken her out a few times. On the fourth date, she’d asked him over for dinner. Set the seduction scene. Candles, soft music, dimmed lights. Worn her sexiest dress. Fluttered her eyelashes at him throughout dinner until she was quite light-headed. Put her brain into storage and hung onto every word he spoke. Laughed at his not-so-funny jokes and when the final act came and she was in his arms, he’d made the confession.

  He was gay. Not maybe gay but positively, over the fence gay. The reason he’d gone out with her was that he needed a woman to take to his sister’s wedding. He hadn’t told his parents about his sexual orientation. He needed a front.

  Charli withdrew another tissue and dabbed her eyes. After that debacle with Robert, she’d taken the vow that she’d have to love the next man before sleeping with him. Trouble was the next man hadn’t come along. She’d meet a man, he’d asked her for drinks at a pub, put the hard word on her, and when she refused she’d never hear from him again. Not that she’d wanted to.

  She wanted so much more from a man, romantic dinners, dancing in the dark, holding hands in the back seat of the movies. She wanted him to get to know her and her him. His likes and dislikes, his favorite food, his taste in movies and music.

  Was needing to be courted the crime of the century?

  Anyway, she hadn’t felt sparks. No ringing bells. No earth tremors.

  Result. She was still a virgin. Most probably die a virgin.

  She glanced over at William Knight’s office door. Now when she’d finally met a man who made her heart dance, he turned out to be her worst enemy.

  She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Enough tears already.

  “Can we make lunch earlier? I don’t think I can hold out till one.”

  Charli jumped. She hadn’t realized Judy had come into the room.

  Judy studied her face. “What’s wrong?”

  “The young Mr. Knight doesn’t like me,” she said.

  “Whad-’d-ya mean?”

  “Just what I’m saying.” She blew her nose. “I’d forgotten this job was temp. He reminded me. He’s going to advertise it.” She sighed.

  “No kidding? Oh yeah, I remember now you took over from June Haddock. Heck, what a damn mess. What happens now?”

  “I go back to my old position.”

  “Eating crow don’t taste so good.”

  Charli shrugged. “I’ve eaten it many times before. It’ll be a five-minute wonder in the office until something juicier comes along.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  “He’s going to advertise the job in-house and outside.”

  “Then go for it. You’re sure to get it.”

 
“I won’t have a chance in hell. He wants a man working for him. You wait and see, Judy. He’ll hire the first male CE that applies for the job.”

  “Because of what happened with his ex? She sure did a job on him.”

  “So that makes him a woman hater?”

  “Not so much that he hates women, I’ve heard different on that score.”

  “Oh, so he’s a love lord as well.”

  “Seems so. I can tell you stories that would melt the enamel from your teeth.”

  “So tell me.”

  “Not now, at lunch.” Judy shook her head slightly. “I can understand him not trusting women in business.”

  “He could have given me a trial period at the very least.”

  “Not much you can do about it.”

  Charli wriggled in her chair. “I never imagined for one moment that Mr. Knight wouldn’t want me. I thought we’d get on and things would stay the same. Instead I’ve got the bottom ripped out of my pants.”

  She raked a hand back through her hair and exhaled. “What sticks in my gut is that he wouldn’t even give me the chance to prove myself to him. He’s so inflexible.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What every girl who’s just been demoted does.”

  “Bite the bullet?”

  “Find a witch and have a hex placed on the young Mr. Knight.” She closed her eyes, held up crossed fingers and intoned, “I wish that William Knight gets one swift kick in his backside.” She opened one eye. “So hard he can’t sit down for a week.”

  Chapter Four

  Call each day to inquire about her health and well-being.

  Charli woke early. Surprisingly, she’d slept well when she’d thought she’d toss and turn the whole night. Only once she’d woken, her mind full of William Knight. And she knew what she would do. She couldn’t stay at Knight Books and watch another person do her job. It was too much for any woman to bear.

  The autumn weather had turned unexpectedly warm. Through the open window, she could hear the twittering of birds. The soft morning light filtered through the open lace curtains. She stretched down the bed and wiggled her toes. How could she ever feel unhappy in this lovely room? She loved this room with its combination of wicker baskets and timber boxes and floor length curtains in an all-white color scheme creating a quiet, airy harbor away from all distractions. Double doors led onto a small balcony that boasted a lilac cane and wrought iron table and chairs where she spent most of her mornings drinking coffee and reading.