Mistress On Demand

Even her confident, outgoing friend had admitted to Sophie that the man just plain intimidated her, and the only reason she stayed working for him was that her salary far exceeded most personal assistants’, thereby allowing her a very comfortable lifestyle indeed.

Her legs feeling drained of strength, Sophie climbed out of the car behind him to finish speaking. ‘Well, I’m Diana’s friend…Sophie.’

Dominic didn’t smile. Neither did he introduce himself. The light grooves bracketing his forbidding mouth stayed obstinately still, without the merest suggestion of a surprised or conciliatory gesture such as a rueful smile. Well, what did she expect? The man was about as warm as a frozen joint of beef straight out of the freezer.

Pushing her fingers through the short damp strands of her hair, Sophie glanced down at her watch, barely registering that they were five minutes late for the ceremony already because she was suddenly feeling drained of every bit of pleasure or hope of an enjoyable afternoon. She visibly shivered, and Dominic Van Straten’s glacial glance flicked across her face with a flash of impatience before he turned and negotiated the wide concrete steps which led to the entrance of the building with an imposing long-legged stride.

In the vestibule they were greeted by a radiant-looking but anxious Diana, and her relieved and handsome fiancé, Freddie Carmichael.

‘Sophie! Thank God! What on earth happened to you?’ Diana’s eyes widened in disbelief as she took in the dark greying stains on Sophie’s fawn coat and the mud splashed up her cream hosiery and shoes.

Glancing briefly at her brooding and so far silent companion, Sophie shrugged. ‘Car broke down and I had to walk. I’ll tell you all about it later. Is it time to go in?’

‘It is. Oh, God, I’m feeling nervous! How nice to see you, Dominic. I’m so glad you could come at such short notice. Trust Freddie’s best pal to come down with flu! So good of you to act as stand-in. Shall we go in? I believe the registrar is waiting for us.’

All through the touching ceremony, it seemed to Sophie that Dominic expressed very little emotion of any kind. Not even a smile. His presence unnerved Sophie tremendously, she had to admit. When they both had to sign the marriage certificate as witnesses afterwards, he bent his blond head to the task as gravely as though he were signing someone’s death certificate.

Diana had told Sophie that they were all going to lunch at the Park Lane Hilton where other friends were joining them, and Sophie found herself praying hard that Dominic wouldn’t be accompanying them. Having to maintain a pretended civility towards a man she instinctively disliked would be like being forced to wear a tight Victorian corset that constricted her breathing for the afternoon.

She hadn’t prayed hard enough. Half an hour later, holding a glass of crystal champagne in the foyer of the plush hotel to toast the bride and groom, her stained coat at last relegated to an obliging assistant in the cloakroom, and Dominic standing beside her, she gulped down her champagne too quickly and had an immediate coughing fit. The hand that clapped down on her back to try and ease her discomfort was surprisingly Dominic’s.

‘Here,’ he said, ‘let me take your glass until you compose yourself.’

‘Oh, Soph! Are you all right, darling?’ Diana appeared at her other side, her hazel eyes full of concern. Smiling through the tears that had embarrassingly sprung to her eyes, Sophie nodded. Retrieving her glass from Dominic’s large square hand, she wished the ground would open up and swallow her. She was having a pig of a day and no mistake! If anything else went wrong for her she vowed to herself she would simply go home, lock the door and devour a large box of chocolates, as recompense.

‘I’m fine, thanks. Just went down the wrong way.’

‘Oh, look who’s just arrived! It’s Katie and David. Will you excuse us for a moment, you two? We’ll be right back.’

Before she could say anything, Sophie watched Diana glide away with her attentive new husband to greet the newcomers she had spotted in the foyer’s entrance. Disconcertingly, she was left alone with Dominic. It was a little like being left alone in a sealed cage with a boa constrictor and a man-eating tiger, and probably twice as intimidating.

‘The ceremony went well, don’t you think?’ Inwardly Sophie groaned as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Now I sound like a character in an old English farce! She thought with annoyance. It would probably be better if she stopped the pretence of civility right there and then, and simply ignored the hateful man. And she’d never forgive him if his taciturn and condescending manner ruined Diana’s wedding day.

‘Do you like weddings?’ he asked her, surprisingly.

Seeing that there was still no hint of a smile or anything remotely friendly on his severe but handsome face, Sophie stared back at him defiantly. ‘No. I hate them, as a matter of fact.’

‘Why?’

Never having had to express her feelings about the subject before to a stranger, Sophie honestly wasn’t sure how to explain her aversion. ‘I find them…awkward. In my opinion Diana and Freddie did the right thing, keeping things simple. There’s always some kind of horrible tension when families get together at these sorts of occasions, don’t you think? Plus, you have to talk to people you’d rather not at the reception, and it’s all very difficult.’

She reached the end of her sentence and clamped her mouth shut in horror at what she’d just said. Talk about putting her foot in it! But, to her consternation, Dominic didn’t appear at all offended. Instead, a smile started to lurk around his lips, completely transforming that gravely serious face of his into something much more humane.

‘I take it you are not married yourself, Sophie?’

‘That’s correct.’ Her own manner now a little stiff, because she thought he must be thinking, I’m not surprised, she couldn’t help flushing a little in embarrassment. She knew she wasn’t exactly plain but she was hardly extraordinary, and the fact that he had already called her a ‘fish wife’ when she’d lost her temper with him didn’t exactly help her case.

When he appeared not to be going to make any comment whatsoever, but simply studied her as though she were an interesting alien specimen that had flown in from Mars, Sophie honestly just wanted to go to the cloakroom, collect her ruined coat and flag down a taxi to take her home. She could pay for it when she got there. But, even though that was her strongest urge, she knew she would grit it out, for Diana. She wouldn’t be the one fly in the ointment that spoiled her friend’s wedding day. She would leave that particular little trick to Diana’s very superior and aloof boss.

‘You must let me reimburse you for your spoiled coat and shoes,’ he said eventually, and Sophie squirmed with discomfort.

She didn’t want to accept his money, or his sudden inclination to give it to her. She just wanted to get away from this horribly embarrassing situation that she found herself in as quickly as possible. Would Diana buy her story that she was up to her eyes in marking essays for her five-year-old pupils? No. She didn’t think so…

‘Look, Mr Van Straten. You don’t like me, and I don’t like you, so you don’t have to reimburse me for anything, and we don’t need to stand here making polite conversation when we’d both clearly prefer to be somewhere else! Why did you agree to be Diana’s witness, by the way?’

If he was taken aback, either by her outburst or her question, again Dominic gave no sign. ‘She asked me as a favour and I was happy to comply. That obviously surprises you, Sophie.’

It surprised the hell out of her that he even deigned to call her by her name, let alone pursue any further conversation with her after what had happened between them.

‘Frankly, it does. You don’t strike me as the kind of man who easily dispenses favours.’

‘Oh? And so what kind of man do I strike you as, Sophie?’

Now she’d done it. The words cold, remote, insensitive and superior hovering on her tongue, she forged recklessly ahead instead with, ‘Too self-contained and self-interested to notice others’ needs if you want to know the truth.’ Those words were probably worse. Much worse, going by the glower that had suddenly replaced his previously more benign expression.

‘You don’t believe in mincing your words, do you? It does not surprise me that you are not married. A man likes a little verbal jousting, from time to time, Sophie, but he does not like a shrew.’

‘I’m not a shrew!’ It was true she had a temper, but it was only really roused by injustice of any kind. Like earlier, when Dominic’s expensive regal car had splashed muddy water all over her nice clothes. Clothes that she was hard-pushed to afford on the ridiculously inadequate pay of a primary-school teacher.

Pursing her lips, Sophie held onto that temper by a thread, wishing that Diana would quickly come back and join them, to help alleviate the now increasingly uncomfortable tension between herself and this man.

‘I’m not a shrew, but neither am I a woman who is scared to speak her mind. If it weren’t for the kindness of your chauffeur, Mr Van Straten, you would have left me stranded and bedraggled by the roadside while you made your way to my best friend’s wedding. Nothing you have said or done since makes me think that you have any redeeming qualities that I may have missed!’

‘Even when I stopped you from choking?’

Sophie’s blue eyes flew indignantly wide. ‘You did not stop me from choking! My champagne went down the wrong way, that’s all.’

‘So I am too ‘‘self-contained’’ and ‘‘self-interested’’ to help someone in obvious distress? That is what you think?’

‘Actions speak louder than words, so they say.’

‘Then you need not worry that I will be joining you for lunch. I will not inflict my company upon you any longer.’

And, with that, Dominic abruptly turned his back on Sophie and left. With her heart throbbing beneath her ribs, she watched him cross the plushly carpeted foyer and go over to speak to Diana. Clearly seeing the surprise and dismay reflected on her friend’s attractive face as he spoke to her, Sophie could have kicked herself for being the reason that Dominic was leaving. Obviously Diana wanted him there, or she wouldn’t have asked him to stand in as a witness in the first place.

If only Sophie had been able to contain her temper! This day wasn’t about her own comfort or discomfort. It was about Diana having one of the best days of her life. Now her best friend had thoughtlessly gone and ruined it!

Even though she disliked Dominic Van Straten with a passion, she still felt terribly guilty at driving him away. As soon she managed to get Diana on her own she confessed her feelings to her friend.

‘I scared him off.’

She took another sip of champagne and screwed up her nose at a taste she wasn’t sure she would ever become accustomed to. She needn’t have worried. On a teacher’s salary buying champagne was not exactly a dilemma.

‘What do you mean, you scared him off?’ Looking puzzled and beautiful, with her carefully styled blonde hair and her fitted ivory suit, Diana frowned. ‘Nobody scares Dominic Van Straten away from anything! More like the other way round! He told me something important came up that he had to attend to. I thought that might happen. The man barely ever takes a break from his work. What a shame…especially as he’s paying for all of this!’

‘Your boss is paying for your wedding feast?’ Now Sophie was aghast. You don’t strike me as a man who dispenses favours easily…she had said to him.

‘He insisted. Including all the champagne we can drink. He’s not the easiest man in the world to work for, but you can’t fault his generosity.’