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  Sally was tiny, even smaller than her and always reminded Ria of one of the beautiful fairy pixies they used to read about in school. She could imagine her sitting on top of some mushroom somewhere with her blonde hair and sea blue eyes, singing to enchant passing humans!

  'Was that John I saw you with this morning, looking cosy?' Sally sighed.

  'Yes, I had to go and ask his father to pop in on Johnny, so he walked me to work.'

  'So romantic! I wish I had someone would walk me to work in the morning, I have to endure my brother!'

  Ria smiled as she carried on placing her coat into the works locker, ‘I’ve told you, there is nothing romantic going on between John and myself, I enjoy his company but there is nothing else, he is like a brother to me.'

  'Mmmmm, a handsome, dreamy brother,' Sally teased and sighed again.

  Even though she was a good friend of Ria, Sally had omitted to tell her friend that she was secretly in love with John and had been for a good number of years. During the final years of school, she had plucked up the courage to tell her friends, only to witness the look in John’s eyes when he looked at Ria as he had come up to talk to them. There was no competing with that look of longing, so Sally had taken a step back. It sometimes hurt her that Ria showed no interest in John, yet he was always after her. She could not blame him really, Ria was stunning, inside and out and as no one knew of her feelings it was something she had learned to deal with. Teasing her friend about him took some of the hurt away.

  'Pass him over to me when you have finished, mind you he never looks at me when you are around, even though I do my best doe eyes at him!'

  Ria smothered a laugh and nudged Sally with her elbow as their boss, Mr Jones, passed them into his office deep in conversation with another man.

  Ria looked at the man next to her small, rotund boss and felt a strange pull in her stomach. He was the most striking man she had ever seen, with jet black hair, taut tanned skin stretched over prominent cheekbones and a square jaw. His broad shoulders tapered down to long legs, with, Ria noted with a grin, a very decent bottom. He was dressed well, grey slacks, white shirt and dark grey jacket, obviously a man with money. She looked down on her overall and was suddenly glad it covered her bland clothing that had seen better days.

  Ria was enjoying looking at the unknown man. It was a long time since someone new had come into the factory, especially someone that looked like him. He seemed so engrossed in the conversation with her boss, that he totally surprised her by looking straight into her eyes when closing the door to the office. She found herself staring straight into his eyes, she realised that she found it hard to swallow and just hoped that she did not blush like a silly teenager. Even though he looked at her for merely seconds, she felt he had seen straight into her soul and she felt slightly vulnerable. A shiver made its way down her body, but it strangely warmed her blood. She struggled to pull her eyes down to watch her hands as she felt the colour rise to her cheeks.

  ‘Sally, who’s that with Mr Jones?’ Sally shrugged her shoulders.

  Marge walked over to the two of them. ‘He must have something to do with the Templetons’ that own this factory. You can tell by the dark brooding looks, like Heathcliff isn’t he?’

  Marge was a loud lady who had worked at the factory since the age of 16 and always had all the gossip, although this time she did temper her voice a little. ‘He is a Templeton. Mind you, he won’t get too close to us mere workers, well perhaps only for slap and tickle.

  A couple of years ago the youngest Templeton boy came in to work, think his name was Darren –learn the ropes they said. Did some learning alright – with the ladies! Poor Sarah Davies thought he was going to propose to her after he had, well you know what! Well, her family found out and weren’t too pleased. They moved away from the area as the gossip was too much for them in the end. Do you know what he supposedly said after she had left? That his family would never allow him to marry a worker from the factory! She was just a bit of fun! Broke poor Sarah’s heart and her family too. Yes, mark my words, if any of those Templeton boys show interest – it definitely isn’t long term!’

  Chapter 6

  Morgan Templeton had not had a good start to the week. His father had phoned him late Friday night to say that there was trouble in the Swansea factory. His father had been going through the accounts and noticed discrepancies. David, his father, had requested, no demanded, that Morgan should leave London immediately to come straight down to the factory and find out what was happening and who was not to be trusted to work for the Templetons. It did not matter to his father that he had a date planned on Saturday, or that he had spent years learning to be an accountant so that he could move away from his loving, but sometimes constrictive family.

  He loved his apartment in London and his bachelor status. A never ending supply of available women for dates, although to be totally honest, some of them bored him senseless and the others just wanted to marry him, or was it his wealthy status they wanted to marry? He was never quite sure. However, he enjoyed playing the field, loving, enjoying and leaving. Being brought up correctly, he made sure that all his dates knew the ground rules from the beginning. That did not stop some of them though; he smiled when he remembered the ways of some of his lovers tried to get him to propose! He was only twenty seven, plenty of time to continue enjoying the wonderful company of women before he had to settle down to the responsibilities.

  Morgan walked across the factory floor and up the creaky metal stairs to the room that was going to be his office for the next couple of weeks, or at least until he could discover what was happening to the money. Mr Andrew Jones was obviously unaware that all personnel were being observed, so as Morgan was the son of the owner, it was a simple ruse to pretend he was here to learn all about the family business. Morgan sighed, too loyal to tell his father that he did not really want to be there.

  When he reached the office he turned to close the door. He felt drawn to look towards something. When he did he seemed locked into the stare of one of the workers. For a moment he did not hear or see anything else until the girl lowered her eyes as a faint colour rose through her cheeks. His concentration deserted him and he struggled briefly to continue the conversation with Mr Jones. With a little smile and a shake of his head, he closed the door on the factory.

  Chapter 7

  Morgan scanned the room that was to be his office. One length of the room was dominated by a large one way mirror. From this an overall view of the factory was possible. A large walnut desk, behind which was a comfortable looking green leather seat, sat just in front of the glass. In the corner was a matching settee with a coffee stand next to it – something Morgan was glad to see.

  ‘Right to business then, Mr Jones, would you like to explain these to me?’

  After a couple of hours, Morgan finished up the paperwork on the borrowed desk and rubbed his hand over his stiff neck. The green leather of the chair creaked as he pushed it away from the desk. He heard the bell ringing for the workers tea break and briefly wondered if the woman he had spotted this morning would be enjoying her break with the others. He walked over to the corner of the room to the pot that had been brought in not three minutes earlier and poured himself and Mr Jones a cup. He walked up to the window that overlooked the factory, his eyes immediately being pulled in a direction he was willing for them to take.

  He spotted her easily within a group of workers having their break. Morgan noticed a quickening of desire, something that he felt comfortable with and generally enjoyed when appreciating women.

  'Who is that woman with the red hair?'

  'Mmm, what? Oh! Sorry, just finishing off here. The girl with the red hair? Well that must be Victoria Dillwyn, her family and friends call her Ria. Nice family, father and brother work down the mines if my memory serves me correctly. Younger brother isn't well at the moment that is why she has had to come out to work, pay the bills and all that. Think she has one sister and three brothers, or has she got four…..?’

  Morgan vaguely listened to the ramblings, he must remember in future that once you got Andrew Jones talking, he was hard to stop.

  He noticed that something had made her throw her head back and laugh, dimples on her cheeks appeared and a nice sensation moved through his system.

  He turned his back to the scene. He reminded himself that he was meeting Mary tonight. His father had arranged that quickly enough! He had taken her out regularly before he went to London. Sweet Mary, Morgan felt that knot of tension again as he knew that both families had assumed he would marry when the time was right. He enjoyed her company, but never wanted anything more, try as he might, he knew he never wanted her in his life as a permanent fixture, apart from friendship. His family had been annoyed when he had told them he was going off to London as they had secretly thought he was about the age to settle down with Mary. When he had told Mary, he had seen the disappointment running through her eyes but she had hidden it well. In the end, Mary was happy to go along with anything he suggested and in truth he was not sure if he was running to London because of his father or her.

  The bell rang. 'Come on back to work. Break has finished,’ shouted the supervisor above the noise of the machines.

  Groans filtered through the workers as they started shifting back to work. Under lowered lashes, Ria took a quick look at the window which overlooked the work floor. She had had the feeling that the man she had seen entering that morning had been watching her. The feeling had been in her spine, but she had refused to look as she knew the one way window would not show her whether he was there or not. She felt that tingle again. It made her feel good to think that he might be looking at her, regardless of what Marge had said earlier, a little dreaming to help the day never did anyone any harm.

  At last the bell rang to signal the end of the day.

  A day with her hair tucked under her hat lead to a headache if she did not release it, so the first thing Ria routinely did was to untie her hair. Her curly red hair tumbled down past her shoulders as she flicked it with her hands, ‘Oh that feels so good!’ She gently rubbed the temples where the hair had been pulled tight then she neatly hung up her overall in her locker.

  'Glad today is over with Ria. What are you up to tonight?' Sally enquired while hanging up her own overalls in the narrow locker.

  'Nothing exciting, I'm going home to help Mam with the cooking. John is coming to walk me home though'.

  Sally smiled and turned away, trying not to let Ria see the envy in her eyes.

  Chapter 8

  Having enough for one day, Morgan rubbed his hand over the back of his neck to try and get rid of some tension. He pushed away from the desk piled high with all the paper work he was systematically working his way through. Too restless for coffee he decided that a stretch of his legs was the best option before returning to the paperwork. He casually cursed his father for bringing him into the problem as he walked down the office steps. He had not found any discrepancies yet and he feared it was going to be a long stay in Swansea.

  Midway down the steps he stopped, he felt as though his breath had stopped too. Never did he expect to see all that glorious hair coming out of a work hat. He watched as the light caused blonde streaks in the wonderful copper colour, he had a desperate urge to run his fingers through it, to touch, to feel. Before he released a breath, Ria and the workers had already walked across the factory, chatting and pushed open the outside door. There standing outside leaning against the wall, was John with a smile on his face.

  'Hi darling!' smiled John as he slid his arms around Ria’s waist and winked at Sally over her shoulder, ‘Did you think of me as many times as I thought of you?’

  Ria just smiled, she had learned that teasing banter was the easiest way to keep John happy. ‘Of course! Although I bet it is the same amount of times I thought about my aching neck!’

  ‘Let me rub them for you then.’ John replied with a smile and turned her around to start rubbing her shoulders through her coat. Ria sighed, it felt good. Sally looked at them both, secretly wishing John would rub her shoulders instead.

  Morgan realised that the workers were leaving, just how long had he been standing there? He shook his head, a simple attraction was easy enough to understand and appreciate. He had, after all, enjoyed many healthy relationships with the opposite sex. Nevertheless, he realised he had a strong urge to speak to her. If he got close enough to see her properly or have a little chat it might answer why he had struggled to get her out of his mind all day.

  Quickly he made it across the factory floor, avoiding all the debris that the cleaners had yet to clear away. With a slight panic, Morgan tried to remember her name. He rolled his shoulders, slightly agitated that he felt like an inexperienced teenager.

  'Um, excuse me Miss Dillwyn….'

  He cursed when he realised that he was too late, the door had shut and with all the noise from the machines shutting down and the chattering she had not heard him. He went up to the door to look through the small window. What he saw didn’t please him, he felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. A good looking blonde man was giving her a hug and then turned her around to massage her shoulders. He curled his hands into fists as he stuck them in his pockets. He felt agitated that he had an overwhelming urge to hit something. Never in his life before had he felt this surge of jealousy and it was not something was he comfortable with. He cursed under his breath. For goodness sake, he had only seen her this morning; it must be all the paperwork.

  Quickly he turned away from the scene and with grim features he went back to the office and closed the door.

  Chapter 9

  The factory was abuzz with gossip and rumours started flying around about why the boss’s son was in the factory. It had reached the attention of the supervisors and some of the ideas had been so farfetched that Morgan had decided to call a meeting.

  A meeting of all the employees was arranged when he introduced himself as Morgan Templeton, David Templeton’s son. He had explained to the staff that the reason he was there was to learn about the family business and that he would not directly be involved with the day to day running of the factory.

  Ria took the opportunity to watch Morgan while he was addressing the staff. She felt a little uncomfortable with the strange tingling in her stomach and quickening pulse. It wasn’t something she had ever experienced before. What she did like was the fact that she could stare at him without anyone being aware.

  He was fully in command, approachable perhaps, but totally the boss. She thought he was in his late twenties, early thirties. A man of many experiences she thought. She noticed that he had vivid blue eyes which were framed by black eyebrows, which Ria noted, moved up when he said something amusing. His cheekbones were pronounced and his jaw squared, but it didn’t make him look stern, a little dangerous perhaps. He looked around the employees while he spoke with an unwavering direct eye contact.

  Ria stood on tip toes trying to listen to what he was saying. He never looked at her and she did not particularly like the deflated feeling she was experiencing. She was hoping that he would search her out perhaps. Did she want him to look at her to see if she still had the same reaction as the first time? Did her ego take a little boost when she realised that her handsome boss was showing her some interest? However, he did not even look at her. Ria felt a little silly, some new person comes in and she starts thinking he likes her, that is what inexperience with males did to you!

  Morgan finished his speech to the workers and watched as they returned to work satisfied that there would be no more gossip. It had been unbelievably hard not to look for Ria in the crowd of workers. While he was addressing them, there was no way that he wanted to be distracted and he was slightly uncomfortable to realise that, over the last couple of days, he was distracted by her, he looked forward to his downtimes when he could watch her from the window.

  He sneaked a peek at her when she turned back to work. Was that an unhappy look on her face? Had she noticed that he hadn’t looked at her and did she care? Secretly Morgan was hoping that she was being affected by him as much as he was affected by her.

  Chapter 10

  ‘You look beautiful my darling!’ Megan had tears in her eyes when Ria walked into the living room twirling to showing off the dress she had bought for the Christmas works party.

  She gave her mum a huge smile, she felt so good, so ladylike draped in the silver excuse for a dress. Ria had piled her hair up, clipped it with the silver coloured pins that her mother had given to her. She had put more make up on than usual, accentuating her eyes with a hint of green. Her lips glossed with a dusky rose colour.

  She had gone shopping with Sally and Karen and had bought a dress ready for the Christmas party. Previously, she always had to make do with borrowing a friend’s cast off, but her mother had insisted that she should buy herself one with her wages. Even though she knew she had her mother’s blessing to treat herself for a change, poor Sally still had to spend ages trying to persuade her to buy it. She had kept thinking how far the money would go if it went into the ‘family pot’. Nevertheless, it was the first dress she had bought for the pure luxury of it, and it was a real treat to dress up after dressing in overalls during the week time. She was going to treasure this feeling.

  Ria thought back to the shopping trip which she had enjoyed. She had laughed when Sally had mentioned that John might need his father’s help to stabilise his blood pressure when he saw her dressed up. Ria knew it was not John she wanted to affect, but she didn’t feel ready to mention her any feelings she had about Morgan Templeton to her friend yet. The workers were still gossiping about ‘Templeton men’, although Ria had noticed a subtle change in the gossip as the workers had noticed that Morgan worked hard and did not seem to show an interest in any of the single girls, so perhaps he was not like his cad of a brother.