The solution to his problem presented itself in the form of Jackie Porter, a woman who had been working with Rebecca since she had first started and whom Rebecca had managed to persuade back from her role as mother to a young family to take on public relations for the company. Intelligent, strong-willed, and beautiful, as well as being a good and trusted friend to Rebecca, Jackie had the ideal credentials to run the company and intermediate between Stephen and Rebecca. In a carefully worded address at one of the weekly management meetings, Stephen had proposed that the company should broaden its management base to allow Rebecca more time to expand the design division of the company. He felt that this could best be achieved by the appointment of a managing director.

Stephen did not put forward Jackie’s name until the last moment. His timing was perfect. Rebecca agreed without a qualm, and it confirmed in Stephen’s mind that she had already been harboring concerns about how best to curb his own powers within the company.

As it turned out, the working relationship between Jackie and himself could not have been more successful. Rebecca allowed them full sanction to get on with the running of her company and, from the day of Jackie’s appointment, never bothered to attend another management meeting. Jackie and he travelled to the States and across Europe together, setting up the retail outlets, and because they had to spend many days in each other’s company, sometimes under quite tedious and frustrating circumstances, their friendship developed into one of mutual support and respect. At least, that is how Stephen felt that Jackie would read the situation. For him, it was different. He had found himself becoming increasingly attracted to her, even though he knew that she was unattainable. Not only ten years his senior, she was also the mother of three children and the wife of an extremely successful City man. However, there had been considerable changes in Jackie’s home life over the past year. Her husband had lost his job and there had been furtive whispers in the office that relationships within her family were becoming increasingly strained. Although it did not seem to affect the way in which she ran the business, Stephen now detected the slightest chink of vulnerability in Jackie’s demeanour, one that had never before been apparent.

Stephen broke off his train of thought and glanced over the top of his computer screen. In the office opposite his own, Jackie sat at her desk, raking her fingers repeatedly through her long blonde hair as she wrote quickly on a jotting pad. She looked up to catch her thoughts and their eyes came into contact. He smiled at her and she smiled back, but there was little joy or frivolity in its delivery. She dipped her head and continued to write.