Yvonne Lindsay – Propositioned By The Tycoon: Mr Strictly Business / Bought: His Temporary Fiancée / A Win-Win Proposition (страница 15)
“Call your partner,” he instructed. “Have her meet us at Piretti’s in an hour.”
“Excuse me? We were in the middle of a—”
“An argument?” he shot at her.
“A discussion.”
Right. “Well, it’s one we’re going to set aside until you come clean. Until then, it’s off the table.”
Indignation shot across her face and reverberated in her voice. “Just like that?”
He inclined his head. “Just like that.” He deliberately changed the subject. “I saw some of your financial records last night. And I did a quick scan of the documents you provided when I returned to the office yesterday. You told me your partner handles the books?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then I want to meet her. Now.” She opened her mouth to argue again, and he cut her off without compunction. “You came to me for help,” he reminded her. “This is how I help.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll call her.”
“I’m going to shower. You’re welcome to join me.”
“Another time, perhaps.”
He managed a smile. “I’ll hold you to that.” He started toward the bathroom, then paused. “The breakup in our relationship? It wasn’t about children or careers, Catherine. There’s something else going on. I just haven’t figured out what, yet. But I will. And when I do, we’ll do more than put it back on the table. We’re going to have this out, once and for all.”
They accomplished the brief ride from the apartment to Piretti’s in silence. Catherine appeared a little paler than Gabe liked, but whether it was the result of the upcoming meeting with her partner, or because of their argument, he wasn’t certain. Perhaps a bit of both.
Roxanne was already at her desk when they arrived, and he watched with interest as the two womene xchanged a long look. Another brewing problem, one he needed to think about before determining how best to resolve it.
They entered his office just as Catherine’s cell phone rang. “Excuse me a minute,” she murmured. After answering the call, she listened at length, her expression growing more and more concerned. “Thanks. I’ll take it from here.”
“Problem?” he asked once she’d disconnected the call.
“I have the Collington wedding scheduled for a week from tomorrow. The bride just called in to cancel our services.”
“At this late date?”
Catherine shook her head. “Obviously, she heard about what happened at the Marconis’ and it’s panicked her. Di—my partner managed to get her to agree to meet with me for lunch.”
“I’ll go with you.”
To his surprise, she didn’t argue. “Normally, I’d be able to handle it. Brides are often in crazy mode by now. I’m used to it.”
“But trying to calm her down after hearing about everything that went wrong with Natalie’s party…”
“Will prove challenging. Fortunately, I have an ace in the hole.” She smiled, the first natural one she’d offered since their argument. “You. You’ve always had a way about you, an ability to smooth ruffled feathers.”
“I’ll do my best.” He checked his watch. “Your partner is late.”
“Maybe she hit traffic.”
“You’re sure she’s coming?”
“She was in the city when she called me just now.”
Right on cue, voices reverberated through the thick wooden door panels, one irritated, clearly Roxanne. Gabe winced. His assistant wasn’t at her best this morning. The other, a voice he’d known for every one of this thirty-three years, snapped back with impatient authority. His office door banged open, and his mother paused with her hand on the knob.
“I know the way into my own son’s office, Roxy,” she informed Gabe’s assistant.
“It’s Roxanne.”
“Well, maybe when you’ve worked here awhile I’ll remember your name.”
Gabe could see his assistant visibly struggling to hang on to her composure. She managed it. Barely. “He has a meeting scheduled, Mrs. Piretti. And just to set the record straight, I’ve worked here for three years, as I’m certain you’re well aware.”
“Huh. Could have sworn you were one of those annoying temps.” With that Dina slammed the door in Roxanne’s face. Turning, she offered a broad, delighted smile. “Gabriel, Catherine. It’s so good to see the two of you together again. Give me a minute to just stand here and enjoy the view.”
Gabe’s lips twitched. “I’m sorry, Mom, but Roxanne was right. We’re waiting for Catherine’s business partner to join us in order to—” He broke off as the connection clicked into place, a connection he would have made long ago if he hadn’t been so distracted by the apprehensive woman standing at his side. “No. Oh,
Dina stuck out her hand. “Dina Piretti, co-owner of Elegant Events. So good of you to help us with our small financial crisis.”
The meeting didn’t last long. The minute Dina exited the room, Gabe turned on Catherine. “My
Catherine struggled not to flinch. “Really, Gabe. I don’t see what one thing has to do with the other.”
“You don’t see—” He forked his fingers through his hair, turning order into all-too-attractive, not to mention distracting, disorder. “You must have suspected I wouldn’t like the idea considering that the two of you have been careful to keep me in the dark for nearly two years now. Why is that, Cate?”
She planted her hands on her hips. “You want logic? Fine. Here’s some logic for you. I didn’t want to see you. If you knew I was in business with your mother, you wouldn’t have been able to stay away. Worse, you might have tried to interfere, or…I don’t know—” She waved a hand through the air. “Tried to protect her from me and stopped us from doing business together.”
“You’re damn right I would have stopped you from doing business together,” he retorted. “But not for the reason you think. It isn’t my mother I would have wanted to protect. It’s you.”
That stopped her cold. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you that I had to step in and take over Pir-etti’s,” he began.
“Right.” He’d never gone into details, other than to inform her that it had been one of the toughest periods in his life. But she’d been able to read between the lines. “After your father died.”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. After he died, my mother took over.”
That caught her by surprise, not that it caused her any real concern. “So? She’s brilliant.”
“Yes, she is. What I never told you before was that she brilliantly ran Piretti’s to the verge of bankruptcy. That’s when I seized control.”
Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good. “Seized. You mean—” She struggled to come up with a more palatable word. “Took charge.”
His mouth tightened. “No, I mean I swooped in and instigated a hostile takeover. You’ve teased me often enough about my nickname, but you never came right out and asked where I got it.” He lowered his head and rubbed a hand along the nape of his neck. “Well, that’s where.”
She approached and rested a hand on his arm. She could feel the muscles bunching beneath her fingers, his tension palpable. “I can’t believe you’d have done such a thing unless it was absolutely necessary. What happened, Gabe? Why were you forced to such extremes?”
He stilled. “Catherine.” Just her name, spoken so softly, with such a wealth of emotion behind it. He lifted his head and looked at her. The intensity of his gaze mesmerized her, the shade of blue so brilliant it put the sky to shame. “You show such faith. Not a single doubt. Not a single hesitation. How can you think what’s between us is temporary?”
“I know you.” The admission slipped out on a whisper. “I know what sort of man you are.”
“I’m hard and ruthless.”
“True.”
“I take apart companies.”
“And put them back together again.”
The smallest hint of a smile played about his mouth, easing some of the tension. “Or make them a part of Piretti’s.”
“Well, you are a businessman, first and foremost.” Sorrow filled her. “And that’s why I say our relationship is temporary. Because Piretti’s isn’t just a place where you work. It’s who and what you are.”
The tension stormed back. “There hasn’t been any other choice. I had to take the business away from her.”
She drew him over to the couch and sat down with him. “Explain it to me,” she encouraged.
“You are right about one thing. My mother is a brilliant business woman. When it comes to numbers and accounting and contracts, there’s no one better.”
“But…?”
“But she’s too damn nice.”
“Yeah, I hate that about her, too,” Catherine teased.