Mediterranean Tycoons. JACQUELINE BAIRD
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I believed all your lies. They will all keep their jobs.’
‘I might have guessed.’ Alex’s sensuous mouth quirked in a smile of reluctant appreciation. ‘Very noble. But then you always were far too noble for your own good.’
‘Not something you have ever suffered from,’ she snorted, suddenly fed up with the whole mess. Pushing back her chair, she stood up. ‘If you have no objections, I’ll expect your lawyer to be in touch about the financial details as soon as possible.’ And, picking up her briefcase, she walked round the table and headed for the door.
But she didn’t get far. Suddenly she was stopped from behind and held against Alex’s muscled length. The air whooshed out of her and she dropped her briefcase. ‘Let go of me!’ She was sick of playing the sophisticated businesswoman; she just wanted to get away.
To her surprise, Alex released her immediately. She bent down to pick up her briefcase, and before she had time to straighten up he had crossed the room and locked the door.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she cried. Locked in a hotel suite with Alex was the last place she wanted to be.
‘You will soon see,’ was his enigmatic reply as pocketing the key card he walked towards her.
Lisa swallowed nervously. Suddenly what had appeared to be a large, elegant room at first sight now took on the proportions of a bird-cage as far as she was concerned. Her blue eyes skated warily over Alex. He was wearing a black pin-striped three piece suit, the jacket fitting perfectly over his wide shoulders; with a grey silk shirt and matching tie, he looked devastatingly attractive and infinitely dangerous.
He stopped a foot away from her, but he made no effort to touch her. There was a curious stillness in his stance. But his dark eyes strayed restlessly over her, from the top of her head to her toes, and back to her face. ‘You’re looking very beautiful, Lisa.’
‘Thanks. But your opinion means nothing to me,’ she said curtly. ‘Open the door and let me out of here.’
‘You really don’t like me, do you?’
Like him? Her heart lurched. Not so long ago she had loved him more than life itself. ‘No,’ she snapped, banishing the unwanted memory from her mind. But just looking at him was having a disastrous effect on her senses.
‘Are you afraid of me, Lisa?’
‘No. I am simply surprised you asked me here at all. I distinctly remember you saying you never wanted to set eyes on me again.’
‘I lied.’ He smiled tightly, and his hand reached out, but she quickly took a step back, not wanting him touching her. She remembered the last time all too vividly. His hand fell to his side. ‘How is Jed, by the way?’ he queried softly.
‘The last I heard, he was in Rome.’ Alex had a nerve asking, but she refused to be riled, and answered him conversationally. ‘He managed to E-mail me from an Internet café. He’s due back in Montana this weekend.’ But she could not resist adding, ‘I might go and stay with him for a week or so while our lawyers work out the finer points of our deal.’ Let Alex think she was going to her lover…
‘I think not, Lisa.’ He moved a step closer, and Lisa took another step back, and another until she bumped into the table. ‘Because there is not going to be any deal. I am not buying you out, and I am keeping the trade name.’
Her face went ashen. For sheer malevolence Alex had no equal. ‘You bastard!’ she swore. ‘Why did I ever marry you?’ She shook her head. ‘Our divorce can’t come quickly enough for me.’ Lisa had been functioning on adrenaline for the past half-hour, but suddenly the enormity of what had happened finally hit her. This man had taken her company, and now he was holding her captive. What more did he want? Her life’s blood? She felt her knees weaken, and with Alex towering over her she was glad of the table to support her.
‘No, we are not.’ A black brow lifted and a ruthless smile slanted his sensuous mouth. ‘Because I have decided to take you back. So stop playing games.’
Lisa’s mouth fell open in shock. She was powerless to utter a word. He wanted her back! It didn’t make sense.
‘No more pretending Jed is your lover.’ He lifted a hand and tilted her chin with his finger, his dark eyes intent on her face. ‘I had Jed investigated. He is in his final year at the seminary and will very shortly become a priest. According to all accounts, he is only one step away from an angel, and according to his brothers he has never had sex in his life.’
Fierce colour flooded her cheeks, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of the warmth of his hand on her face, or her sheer anger at his daring to investigate Jed. ‘You didn’t tell his brothers your disgraceful assumption?’ she demanded, finding her voice. ‘Jed had enough trouble convincing his family to allow him to study for the priesthood. The last thing he needs is you accusing him of adultery.’
‘No, I didn’t, but no thanks to you. You could have told me he was a priest.’
‘I seem to remember you never gave me a chance,’ she bit out.
‘I’m sorry, Lisa. Forgive me.’ Alex’s hand dropped from her chin and he stood with his arms hanging loosely by his sides, an air of vulnerability about him that Lisa had never seen before. ‘You can’t begin to imagine how deeply I regret the way I behaved, but if you would just let me explain.’
‘Why should I? You never afforded me that courtesy.’
‘Because I love you, damn it! He forced the words out between gritted teeth, and for a second her heart stopped. Then she remembered.
‘Now who is playing games?’ Lisa prompted, willing her voice to remain steady. At one time she would have given anything to hear him say he loved her. But not now; it was too late. ‘You married me for a bit of real estate, remember?’ She declared, but it was more to remind herself. She was not falling into Alex’s clutches again. Her marriage had been a rollercoaster ride to hell, and she wasn’t paying twice. ‘In fact, I seem to recall you telling me you did not believe in love. So what are you after, Alex?’
She was on the defensive. She couldn’t help it. Her awareness of Alex was such that it was agony for her to be in the same room with him, and to compensate she lashed out, ‘You already have my property.’ She waved her hand in the direction of the model.
Alex visibly flinched. ‘I deserved that,’ he said with unnatural humility. ‘But if you would only look at it!’ He forced her to turn and face the model complex. His humility hadn’t lasted long, she thought dryly.
The building was long and low, only four floors, with gardens leading down to the river and to one side more buildings forming a courtyard. ‘Lawson’s.’ She read the tiny blue lettering on the front of the model and fury enveloped her. ‘You’ve called your hotel Lawson’s?’ she cried, spinning around and glaring up defiantly at his face, only inches from her own. ‘Why did you do it, Alex? A sop to your conscience? But then we both know you haven’t got one.’
‘Even now, you really don’t see, do you?’ Alex asked flatly, slipping his arm around her shoulder and turning her back to face the table. ‘If you look closely—’ he stretched his other hand across in front of her, one finger pointing to the courtyard and the low buildings ‘—you are not going to lose Lawson’s Designer Glass. The architect has incorporated the glass house, with a viewing area for the general public, into the overall design. So you see, you have nothing to worry about. It is quite common to have a few selected attractions in the grounds of a hotel.’
Stunned, Lisa stared down again at the model, her blue eyes widening in wonder, and then she lifted her puzzled gaze to Alex. ‘But…but… Why…? I mean…’ She stammered to a halt, completely gobsmacked.
Tentatively, he slid his hand to her waist and turned her fully to face him, locking his hands loosely behind her back. Lisa was too shocked to offer any resistance. ‘I never thought I would see the day when I would bare my soul over a conference table.’ His