Free Her Fortescue Diamond by Alicia Hope Page A

enough. And I don’t get to see you all that often any more, so I want to make the most of every minute. I’ll order for us both, so get ready to tell a ll, girlfriend.’ Polly raised a hand to get the waitress’s attention.
    Alicia leaned back in her chair and gave a resigned sigh. She glanced up at the sky through the gently swaying branches of the tree shading their table. This was her favourite café. The coffee was the best , and there were pleasing seating options—in overstuffed armchairs by the fireplace in winter, or outside in spring and summer, under wide blue umbrellas or the speckled shade of a street tree.
    Gideon. Although she hadn’t seen him for a while, she begrudgingly conceded that she hadn’t been able to put him out of her mind.
    ‘OK, hit me.’ Polly was looking at her again, an expression of determined expectancy on her face.
    Alicia regarded her momentarily with a twinkle in her eyes. ‘But you’re my friend , Poll, I don’t want to hit you. I might hurt you.’
    ‘You know what I mean. Lay the Gideon story on me, and stop procrastinating.’
    Alicia gave another sigh. ‘OK. Well, I won’t bore you with details you already know ... I’ll start with our second date shall I?’
    Polly settled herself mor e comfortably in her chair, just as the waitress returned with their coffees and a fresh carafe of chilled water. Polly quickly topped up their tumblers , and then managed to almost simultaneously unwrap her bite-sized chocolate , pop it in her mouth, take their steaming coffees fro m the tray, and hand Alicia hers.
    Alicia chuckled at her friend’s juggling ability, and then launched into a description of her dinner date with Gideon. ‘Everything was going well, but just as we wer e starting on our mains a “suit” came over to the table. You know the type. A so-called up-and-coming professional , wearing a power suit and clown shoes, and with his hair greased up into a “ hey, look at me, I’m just a big-old-baby- boy” point. You know the shoes I mean, don’t you , Poll? The ugly variety that are so long they curl up at the toes and make men look ridiculous?’
    At Polly’s chuckle and nod Alicia continued. ‘Anyway, the corporate crapster interrupted us without apologising. He turned his back full-on towards me, and spoke to Gideon as though I wasn’t even there.’
    ‘What a—!’
    ‘Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Anyway, it turned out clown boy’s looking to move up in the world and wanted to collar Gideon about giving him a job.’
    ‘And how did Gorgeous Gideon handle Barge-in Bozo?’
    ‘Like a seasoned pro. With just a few choice words he put Jack back in his box, and suggested he find some manners before he bounced back out aga in! I couldn’t help smiling when the twerp turned to look at me, but—and I do feel a bit bad about this—it wasn’t a nice smile. More an “ouch, that must have hurt” snigger.’
    ‘Nothing more than he deserved.’
    ‘Well, it felt good, despite being something of a cheap shot. Thankfully Gideon seemed to think my reaction was justified.’
    Both women paused to take generous sips from their cups.
    Polly contemplated her friend for a few seconds through narrowed eyes. ‘So, Gideon’ s a businessman?’
    The overly innocent tone was not lost on Alicia, who replied carefully, ‘Ye ss s, he owns a successful HR consultancy.’
    ‘Doesn’t one of your books have a businessman hero in it?’
    ‘Well, Royce in Glass Ceilings is a businessman, albeit a deliciously ruthless one.’
    ‘But he turns out to be a good guy in the end?’
    ‘Of course, otherwise he wouldn’t be the story’s hero.’
    ‘OK then , tell me this . How would Royce have handled Clown Boy if he’d been there?’
    Alicia gave a small frown and pursed her lips before murmuring thoughtfully, ‘In much the same way I think.’
    ‘So, that’s one out of one to Gideon so far.’
    ‘What is this, the “Compare Gideon to Fictional Heroes” show?’
    Polly