Yvonne Lindsay – Propositioned By The Tycoon: Mr Strictly Business / Bought: His Temporary Fiancée / A Win-Win Proposition (страница 3)
“Do you really want to go there?” she asked at last. She pinned him with a single look. “Do we need to deal with the past now? Is that the only way you’re willing to help me?”
“It’s not the only way.”
“Just the way you prefer.” She didn’t wait for the confirmation. “Fine. I’ll make this as straightforward as I know how. You, with your unrelenting need to keep business and personal in separate compartments, gave me a choice. I could work for you or love you, but not both. I, foolishly, chose love. What I didn’t realize is that you were already in love. And that love would always come first with you.”
“You were the only woman in my life,” he bit back.
She lifted a shoulder and smiled in a way that threatened to tear his heart right out of his chest. “Perhaps the only woman, but not the only thing. Piretti’s was always your first love. And because of that, it will always be the love you put first.”
“You left me because I worked late on occasion?” he demanded in disbelief. “Because sometimes I was forced to put work ahead of you or our social life?”
She didn’t bother arguing, though he could see part of her yearned to. The anger and disillusionment could be read in her expression, the bitter words trembling on the tip of her tongue. She waited until both faded away before speaking.
“Yes,” she said with painful simplicity. “Yes, I left you for all those reasons.”
“And a host of others?” he guessed shrewdly.
She inclined her head. “And a host of others.” Before he could demand more information, she held out a hand in supplication. “Please, Gabe. It’s been nearly two years. There’s no point in beating this issue to death after all this time. Can’t we move on?” She paused a beat, a hint of wry humor catching him by surprise. “Or am I wasting my time coming here today?”
He had no intention of moving on, but he could be patient. Maybe. If he tried really hard. “You aren’t wasting your time. If it’s in my power to help, I will. Why don’t you start by explaining the problem to me?”
She took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay, let’s see if I can’t keep this short and straightforward, the way you like it. In a nutshell, Elegant Events is an event-staging business geared toward upper-echelon corporations and large-budget clientele.”
“Of which there are plenty in the Seattle area.”
She nodded. “Exactly. My goal was—and is—to plan and stage every aspect of the event in order to spare clients any and all worry and headaches. They tell me what they want, and I provide it. If they’re willing to pay for it, I’ll find a way of fulfilling their every desire, and if possible, to exceed their expectations.”
“And you do it with grace and elegance and panache.”
Pleasure gave her cheeks a hint of much-needed color. “You should write my PR releases. That’s precisely our goal. We strive to bring something unique to every event, to set the perfect stage, whether it’s to high-light the release of a new product or to create the perfect memory for a special, once-in-a-lifetime occasion.”
“Like the Marconi affair tonight.”
She shook her head in amused disbelief. “Is there anything you don’t know? Yes, like the Marconi affair tonight. You’re only ninety once, and Natalie is under tremendous pressure to make her father-in-law’s birthday celebration an unforgettable occasion.”
Gabe couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Catherine so happy, and that fact filled him with regret. She’d suffered at his hands. It hadn’t been deliberate on his part, but that didn’t alter the facts. “I don’t doubt you’ll pull the party off in grand style,” he stated with absolute conviction.
“During my years at Piretti’s, as well as during the time we were together, I learned a lot about what works, and more importantly, what doesn’t. And though I didn’t expect the business to take off right away, to my surprise and delight, it did.” Energy and enthusiasm rippled through her voice. “We’ve scored some impressive clients and they seemed pleased with the various events. At least, I thought they were.”
Her excitement dimmed and he frowned in concern. “Obviously, something’s gone wrong. What’s happened to change all that?”
The last of her vivaciousness drained away, leaving behind the tension. “Two things. First, we’re losing clients. It’s nothing overt. Just contracts I thought were a sure thing have suddenly gone away without any explanation. Everyone’s polite and makes encouraging noises, but when it’s all said and done, they choose another company.”
“And the second problem?”
“Is the most serious.” Worry darkened her eyes and turned her voice husky with nerves. “We’re on the verge of bankruptcy, Gabe. And I don’t know why. I thought we’d been careful with our profit margin, but maybe there’s been more waste than I realized. I can’t quite get a handle on it. It’s not my area of expertise. I can tell something’s off, but I can’t seem to pinpoint what. I’m hoping you can figure it out and suggest changes to correct the problem before we go under.”
He keyed in on one very pertinent word that he hadn’t noticed until then. “We?” he repeated.
She hesitated. “I have a partner, someone who prefers to remain anonymous,” she hastened to add.
He didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”
Catherine lifted a shoulder. “She just does. Since half the startup money was hers, I respect her desire for privacy.”
“I did discuss that possibility with her. She’s agreed that if it means the difference between salvaging the business and having Elegant Events go bankrupt, she’s willing to meet with you.”
“Good decision,” he said dryly.
“Agreed.” A quick smile flashed. He didn’t realize how much he missed it until it was there, reawakening an ache that had been tamped down, but never fully excised.“ Tell me what you require in order to get started,” she requested.
He forced himself to switch gears. “All bank and accounting records since you opened your doors.” He ran through a mental list. “Debts, creditors, cost of goods purchased, billables, write-offs. Your prospectus, past and current contracts, a list of services offered and what you charge for them.”
“In other words, you want a copy of everything.” She reached for her briefcase. Pulling out a thick folder, she handed it to him. “I have most of that information with me.”
He nodded. “Excellent. I’ll go over what you brought and have Roxanne prepare a list of anything more I might need.”
A shadow swept across Catherine’s face, evaporating so swiftly that he’d have missed it if he hadn’t been looking straight at her. “I’d hoped to keep my problem strictly between the two of us. Would you mind if we leave your assistant out of this? Is that possible?”
“Possible, but not probable. Roxanne is privy to most of what goes on around here.”
“And what she isn’t privy to, I’m certain she makes it her business to find out,” Catherine commented blandly. “How else can she provide you with everything you need?”
Okay, he knew a minefield when he saw one. “I’ll leave Roxanne out of the loop.”
“And if she asks?”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you questioning how I run my business? Considering why you’re here…”
“No, I—”
“I didn’t think so.” He relented. “But if it will make you feel better, should the subject come up in conversation, I’ll simply explain that you and I are an item again.”
Alarm flared to life in Catherine’s eyes. “Excuse me?”
“After all, it won’t be a complete fabrication.” He smiled in anticipation. “In fact, it won’t be a fabrication at all.”
She tensed, like a mouse finally noticing the trap. She’d been so busy nibbling at the tasty hunk of cheese that she’d been oblivious of it. Until now. “What are you talking about?”
“You never asked my price for helping you.”
She inhaled sharply before lifting her chin. “How foolish of me. I’d forgotten what a pirate you are, Gabe.”
“That’s me,” he agreed lazily. “A pirate to the bone.”
“So what’s your price? What do you want?”
He gave it to her hard and straight. “You. I want you, Catherine. Back in my life. Back in my apartment. And back in my bed.”
She shot to her feet. “You’ve lost your mind. You can’t possibly think I’d agree to such a thing.”
He regarded her in silence for a long moment before responding. “I guess that depends on how badly you want to save your business.”
“Not that badly.”
He stood and closed the distance between them. “Liar.”
“Whatever there was between us is over, Gabe. Dead.”
She was so small compared to him. So delicately put together. And yet she vibrated with sheer feminine outrage, with a strength and power he found irresistible. It was one of the qualities he’d always admired about her. Where most women looked for ways to make themselves as appealing to him as possible, Catherine had never played those types of games. He’d always known where he stood with her. Those gloriously unique eyes of hers could slay him with a single look, or melt him with the fire of her passion. Right now she was busy slicing and dicing him in every imaginable way.