Chapter 6

Marcus Phillips drove to his home with his concentration on the road, but his mind on Miranda.

He remembered how he had felt when he had kissed her. He remembered how she had felt in his arms ... his imagination kicked in, as in his mind he took the next steps with her...

This of course was a mistake.

It didn't take much to imagine Miranda and him, wrapped in each other's arms, kissing and touching and stroking...

By the time he drove onto his driveway, and climbed out of his car, his body was hard and aching with desire for her.

She had always been at the back of his mind, locked away in a corner ... an elusive ... feeling, impression or ... something!

When Peter had told him of Miranda's job situation, he'd felt a vague prickling, and then when he was scanning her CV; he'd found the words leaving his mouth before his brain had even processed the thought.

Seeing her again, when she had first walked into their kitchen...

He stopped with his key held in his hand, all ready to unlock his front door.

This feeling of ... desire ... need ... lust? Maybe he was making more of it than there actually was; maybe it could burn itself out? Maybe if he could find the opportunity ... get Miranda alone ... Spend some time together – just the two of them; He didn't doubt that given the right circumstance, he could seduce Miranda ... maybe he could indulge with her and get her out of his system?

He paused for a moment more; as his mind began to plot and plan, finally with a little smile of satisfaction, he pushed the key into the lock and entered his home.

Miranda went into work with Peter that Thursday morning feeling a little bit dejected.

She had harboured some vague plans to go out and do some shopping; they had had to pay out last month, on some new guttering for their home, which had left them both limping into payday, existing on homemade sandwiches for lunch; and plain filling meals when they got home, Miranda did a lot of things with potatoes, they were cheap and they were filling ... and by the end of the month they were both sick to death of them.

They had been paid at the end of October though, and Miranda had decided to treat herself, some new clothes were definitely a must for the new season and her new job and ... Well she didn't dwell too much on why else she might suddenly wish to splash out.

Late Sunday evening though, Peter had come home looking very annoyed.

"The car's just died on me!" he groaned. "Luckily I was just turning onto our driveway, when the engine cut out."

Miranda looked up at him in dismay. "Well we knew that it was on its last legs ... that mechanic told us we would be lucky to get another year out of it..." Miranda mentally said goodbye to her new clothes as she smiled reassuringly up at Peter. "Oh well, I suppose we had better start looking for a replacement."

The next few days Peter had scoured the papers and the local dealers – looking for something to suit their needs.

"It's not going to be cheap," Peter had told her on the Wednesday evening. "If we're going to get a reliable car, then it's going to cost."

"Yes I suppose so," Miranda sighed. "Have you seen ANYTHING yet though?"

"Well..." he began cautiously, "there were a couple of possibilities ... over at that second hand dealer on Bridge Street ... He said he would even take our old car, and give us a bit of a discount ... but the one that I was looking at, that I think would be perfect, needs a couple of bits sorting on it ... the guy reckons next week or the week after..."

"Well whatever you think best Peter ... I know next to nothing about cars so I'll trust your judgement on this."

"He said that if I pop in tomorrow with the money, then he'll put it to the top of his job list ... he'll get the M.O.T sorted on it, and then we can get our car insurance shifted.

"How much?" Miranda asked quietly.

Peter gave a little grimace. "Well ... with our old car thrown in ... he said four and a half thousand."

"That's yours and my wages ... and then some!" Miranda exclaimed.

"But we'll be sorted for the next few years I think!"

Miranda gave another little sigh. "What with the guttering last month ... and now this ... well we're going to have to dig into the savings some more; to help us get through the month ... and it's going to be more potatoes and sandwiches..."

She sat down at her desk with a little sigh, knowing that Peter would be sorting out the car as soon as he got the chance. Miranda had transferred some cash into the joint account that they used for food, and anything to do with the upkeep of the house.

She had given Peter the debit card, and she had notified the bank about the need to buy the car, and therefore a large sum of money would be leaving that account...

It meant living basically again for the next few weeks, but that couldn't be helped, still it was all rather depressing, and she felt just a little bit fed up as she settled down to work.

She had seen next to nothing of Marcus since the Halloween party, since they had kissed, and ... well they had acknowledged their attraction to one another.

Her eyes grew distant as she slipped into a little daydream of them not working together, and allowing their feelings to run their course...

Marcus strolled casually into their office. "I'm going to Hong Kong for several meetings and I'll need one of you with me." He looked at Mrs Rogers. "Sort it out between you and let me know by the end of the day, will you?"

He left the room without once looking in Miranda's direction and she never bothered looking up from the folder in front of her.

"Well..." declared Mrs Rogers thoughtfully, she narrowed her eyes at Miranda before continuing. "I suppose you would like to go?"

Miranda forced a smile. "Actually I hate flying and would rather not – if you don't mind."

Mrs Rogers' smile relaxed into a more normal one. "Well then I'll go ... just this once." Her voice rose as she went into lecture mode. "But I won't always be able to step in for you, so you are going to have to get over your flying problem. Travelling with one of the management is part of the job description – you know?"

"Yes I know Mrs Rogers; and I really do appreciate you doing this for me. I promise that the next time, I will go and not create a fuss."

Mrs Rogers smiled at her again. "You're a good girl Miranda, just a little bit overwhelmed I think, by your position in this company." Miranda was certain that Mrs Rogers didn't mean to sound so condescending.

Marcus sat in his office waiting for the confirmation that Miranda would be travelling with him. Mrs Rogers was getting along in years; and he was confident the she would pass this over to her junior.

Peter walked into the office with a little smile. "I've just come from Mrs Rogers ... she said to tell you that they've discussed it between them and feel that it should be Mrs Rogers travelling with you."

"Thank you Peter, sort it out will you ... but go and have your lunch first ... didn't you have something you needed to deal with?" Marcus didn't even blink, his mind already working out counter plans and strategies.

"Yes ... Actually there is something I need to do – thanks Marcus." Peter regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, but didn't comment further.

An hour or so later Peter came back into the office and began to make arrangements for the business trip on the following Sunday.

Marcus was busy on the telephone when Peter first got back, and so little was said.

He was just about to arrange the flight tickets, when Marcus suddenly looked across at him thoughtfully.

Peter paused in the act of picking up the telephone as he became aware of the way Marcus was watching him. He squirmed uncomfortably, certain he'd done something wrong and was about to get a reprimand.

"You know how important this trip to Hong Kong is?" Marcus spoke quietly.

"Yes Marcus, we've been working on this project for weeks now, and I know exactly what's involved with it." Peter nodded once in acknowledgement.

"And do you think that you could handle it, if you were to go instead of me?" again he spoke quietly and Peter felt his confidence blossom.

"Yes Marcus ... I'm certain that I can deal with this assignment, more than competently."

"Then you need to arrange the tickets for yourself and Mrs Rogers ... and make any other arrangements that you might need to make as well."

Peter stood up. "Thank you Marcus, for trusting this to me. I won't let you down."

Marcus smiled wryly. "I do trust you Peter ... remember that."

Miranda arrived home after working a little later that evening, due to her covering for Mrs Rogers again; to find Peter already home; and the washing machine already on a cycle. She dropped her bag and keys on the kitchen table and looked at her brother questioningly.

"You'll never guess what..." he said with a wide grin.

"No, so just tell me." She returned his grin tiredly as she picked up on his excitement.

"Marcus has passed the Hong Kong assignment over to me. I'm flying out on Sunday!"

"Oh Peter! That's wonderful news!" She leaned forward to hug him. "Do you need anything? Can I help you with something?"

She was all calm practicality and Peter gave her a grateful look. "I've put some clothes to wash, but they'll need ironing; and I've dug out the suitcase, but it's a little bit grimy..."

"Peter! This is a business trip; you'll need something a lot smarter than that battered old thing! If you travel with that; then no one will ever take you seriously." She was tapping her foot as she thought about their budget. They were both drained financially what with the guttering and the car ... She had already had to dig into their rainy-day money, and she had been hoping to make do until payday – which was still quite a way away!