Сара Морган – Snowbound Seduction: A Night of No Return / To Claim His Heir by Christmas / I'll Be Yours for Christmas (страница 15)

‘I am not going to be able to face you on a Monday morning knowing that we...that you...you’re my boss!’

‘It was just one night, Emma. Just one night.’

‘You don’t have to repeat yourself. Nor do you have to panic. I don’t want a relationship any more than you do.’

The fact that she read him so well should have reassured him, but it didn’t. ‘If you don’t want a relationship then I don’t understand the problem. We carry on as before. Nothing has changed.’

‘Except that I’ve seen you naked and you’ve seen me naked. I just think that working with you is going to be so embarrassing.’ Pink-faced, she wrapped her arms around herself and he found himself watching every movement she made, aware of her in a way he’d never been before. He’d worked with her for two years but he’d never really seen her.

Or maybe he hadn’t allowed himself to see her.

‘Then get over it. And get over it fast because I’m afraid I’m going to ask something more of you. I want you to delay the start of your holiday until at least Tuesday.’

‘What?’ Appalled, she stared at him. ‘No way! You can’t do that. I promised Jamie I’d be home. This is my holiday.’

‘You can still have your holiday, it will just start a few days later.’

‘But why? It’s not as if you need me. You’re not even in the office for the next week or so. You’re in Zubran.’

‘I need you with me.’ He’d made the decision when he’d woken and realised what lay ahead of him. And that had been another decision that hadn’t been easy to make. For personal reasons, it would have been best to send her away. For professional reasons, he needed her there.

Her mouth fell open in shock. ‘You want me to go with you to Zubran? The desert?’

‘Desert and coast. Palm trees. Sand. Sun. All those rare things you are unlikely to find here in a typical British winter. Or a typical British summer if it comes to that. No more shivering. Just for a couple of days.’ He hadn’t expected her to argue because Emma never argued with him. Usually she anticipated what he needed and provided it with smooth efficiency. ‘And although you’ll be working for most of the time, there should also be some downtime when you can chill by the pool.’ But not with me. ‘And do some reading or something. While I work.’

‘Would you mind not emphasising the whole “one-off” thing all the time. I get it, OK? You don’t have to attach a caveat to everything you say. It’s very demeaning. As if you think I’ve suddenly turned into a creepy stalker.’

‘I was just trying to tell you that as well as work, you should be able to have some time for relaxation.’ Even as he said it, he wondered if she even knew the meaning of the word. It sounded as if her life had been one long slog since her early teens. ‘The meeting is tomorrow and the launch party is on Sunday night. In between I have to fit in media interviews. I want you to coordinate those.’

‘I know about the meeting. That’s why I drove here with those papers that need your signature. And I know about the party—I’ve been talking to Avery Scott about nothing but that party for the past six months. I can recite the guest list. I can itemize the menu.’

‘Which is precisely why I need you there.’

‘You want me at the party?’ She looked puzzled and then surprised. ‘I assumed you meant that you wanted me to deal with the media and attend the meeting.’

‘That too. I had an email from the Ferrara Group this morning. They want to talk about another possible development on Sicily. They’ve found a piece of land that interests them in a different part of the island and want to talk through ideas.’

‘Yes, I get all that—’ her head throbbed at the thought of yet more work ‘—but why would you want me at the party? It’s a social event.’

‘It isn’t a social event for me; it’s an opportunity to showcase our work, talk to prospective clients and answer questions about the hotel structure and design. Attending alone isn’t an option.’

‘You were taking Tara.’

‘Tara and I are finished.’

‘Oh—I’m sorry.’

And that, he thought, encapsulated the difference between them because he wasn’t sorry. He wasn’t sorry at all. He ended relationships frequently and not once had he cared enough to be sorry.

But judging from her expression she was sorry enough for both of them, concern evident in her gaze. ‘Were you in love with her?’

‘No.’ He didn’t soften his answer. ‘And she wasn’t in love with me. I pick women who aren’t interested in love because that is something I can’t offer.’

‘Presumably you must have liked something about her, but I must admit you don’t look broken-hearted.’

‘I don’t have a heart, Emma. I’m sure you’ve heard that about me.’

‘You’re doing it again—delivering warnings, as if I need to be constantly reminded that last night was just one night. I’m going to have a T-shirt printed “I know it was just one night”. That would cause a stir in the office.’ She smiled and that smile made him catch his breath. Once again he was reminded that, although she looked delicate, she was never anything but robust.

‘I apologise,’ he murmured. ‘I won’t mention it again.’

‘Good, because I can assure you that I don’t want this to be more than one night any more than you do. I just want to get back to how things were before. I was just checking that you weren’t upset about the whole Tara thing.’

‘I’m not upset.’ Nor was he used to people caring whether he was upset. He didn’t tell her about the text he’d received from Tara, apologising, begging him to take her to the party. He didn’t tell her that after last night he wouldn’t have taken Tara if she were the last woman on earth. He didn’t tell her that in all the relationships he’d had, he’d never once been upset when they’d ended.

He didn’t tell her that there was something missing in him.

‘She’ll be disappointed not to have the opportunity to talk to all those famous people.’ In that one simple sentence she summed up Tara’s driving ambition. ‘But I still don’t see why you need me. We both know that in a room of glamorous women you’ll be alone for all of five seconds.’

‘I won’t be alone. You’ll be there.’

She shot him a look. ‘Please don’t ask me to do this. Not just because of the whole sex thing, but because my family is expecting me home. Angie has plans for tonight and Jamie needs me.’

‘I need you.’ It didn’t occur to him to compromise because when it came to work he never did. He did what was best for the business. ‘You drove here through a snowstorm last night to deliver me the papers I need so don’t tell me you don’t care about things being done well, because I know you do. It’s the reason you’re still working for me after two years.’

‘So you’re willing to take advantage of my work ethic? That isn’t fair. Jamie has his school nativity play on Wednesday. Nothing is going to stop me going.’

‘Fine. I’ll fly you home on Monday in the jet, but you’ll be exhausted because the party won’t finish until the early hours.’

‘Have you considered that this might backfire on you? The only party I’ve been to in the last few years is when our neighbours invite us in for drinks on Christmas Eve. To even call it a party is probably being over-generous. I’m not really a party person.’

‘That doesn’t matter.’

‘I will embarrass you! I can look nice, but not glamorous.’

He thought about the way she’d looked lying on the rug, her hair gleaming in the red glow from the fire, and knew she was wrong, but he didn’t want to say that to her because he knew he shouldn’t even be thinking it. ‘I’m not asking you to dance or win a fashion contest, I’m asking you to stand by my side as another representative of Jackson and Partners. It’s networking. For me the party is as much business as the meeting scheduled to take place before it. You talk to many of these people on a daily basis. People speak to you before they speak to me. It’s good for you to put faces to names and good for other people to know you. For many people you’re their first contact with my company.’

Torn by conflicting responsibilities, she gave him an exasperated look. ‘I can’t believe you’re asking me to do this. It’s unreasonable.’

Lucas didn’t relent. He told himself that if she was angry towards him that was good. Hopefully that anger would supplant other, far more dangerous, feelings and the truth was he did need her there. ‘I’ve never claimed to be reasonable.’

‘You’re supposed to be embarrassed. You’re ruthless, self-centred and uncaring.’

‘Yes.’ He didn’t waste time apologising for it, nor did he tell her anything about the events that had made him that way.

She sighed. ‘I don’t know anything about Zubran. I can barely put it on a map.’

‘What do you want to know? It’s a Sultanate. A peaceful, progressive country, mostly due to the influence of the Crown Prince. Mal is super-bright and very charismatic. Women love him and so will you, so you can relax.’

‘Mal?’

‘Short for Malik.’

‘You’re on intimate terms with a Crown Prince?’

‘We were at college together. He’ll be at the party, but you already know that because you’ve seen the guest list.’

‘All the more reason why I’m the wrong person to take! I don’t know any of these people and I will have no idea what to say to them. Please tell me he has a really friendly wife.’