Thorne's Way by Joan Hohl

Author:Joan Hohl [Hohl, Joan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781460345535
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1981-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Two weeks later, en route between the East and West coasts, Valerie was no longer merely afraid: she was scared to death.

A narrow gold band gleamed on one of the hands gripping the arm of her seat. The entrapping circle of gold had been slipped onto her finger less than four hours earlier, along with a diamond solitaire so large she felt a jolt of shock every time she looked at it.

Valerie shivered and forced her fingernails out of the plush upholstery. Jonas was not in the compartment. Just before takeoff he had stood over her until she’d fastened her seat belt. Then he’d left her with a terse: “I’m going forward for a little while. Try to get some sleep, you look exhausted.”

The way I look doesn’t tell the half of it, Valerie thought now. Sleep—how she longed for it! It had evaded her since that night in Janet’s apartment. Remembering that night, Valerie shivered again. She had felt the trap closing then, yet she hadn’t had the strength to break free of it. Maybe, if she’d had another month or so before Jonas commenced his onslaught she would have been strong enough to refuse him—but she hadn’t had that month.

God, he scared her! That was one fact she’d faced without any prodding from anyone. She had wanted—no, ached—to tell him to go to hell, but, she simply did not have the nerve. She was filled with self-loathing. What a sniveling little coward she was! A pitiful creature without a backbone, bending in whatever direction Jonas Thorne dictated. She had been defenseless and he’d known it. He’d taken advantage of her weakness ruthlessly.

What did a man like Jonas Thorne want with her, anyway? She had asked herself that question over and over during the last two weeks. And she knew she was not the only one asking it.

Valerie was not disliked at J.T. Electronics. She knew that. But speculation had run rampant through the staff, just as Jonas had predicted it would. Valerie would have had to be deaf, blind, and unconscious not to hear the whispered remarks, see the calculating glances, or be aware of the hum of avid interest that permeated the entire office complex.

How it had affected Jonas, if at all, was just another question Valerie did not have an answer for. Jonas could, and did, don a mask at will. A mask in which his cool eyes observed everything, while revealing nothing.

Luckily, for Valerie’s peace of mind, the pace of business in the office the last two weeks had increased considerably. There had been a number of transatlantic telephone calls between Jonas and Edouard Barres in Paris. The results of those calls seemed to electrify Jonas, who, in turn, galvanized the entire staff into action.

Except for Charlie McAndrew, no one, including Valerie, knew as yet exactly what it was all about. All that was known was that an office was being readied on the executive floor for someone, presumably from France, who was to work closely with Jonas on something.

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