He clenched his jaw at her slight of his company, her rejection of him as a businessman. He may not be the market leader—yet—but the businessman he now was certainly wasn’t accustomed to being spoken down to. He wouldn’t even have tolerated it when he began rebuilding his father’s business from the scraps that ICE’s cruel takeover had left behind and he certainly wouldn’t stand for it now.
‘Would it help if I met you at your office with samples of the products? The following Wednesday, perhaps?’
‘No. I’m sorry, Mr Dragunov. It wouldn’t make any difference, and besides, I have an auction to attend the following Wednesday.’ She stood up, picked up her purse, bringing their business dinner to a close before it had even begun.
Liev recalled the brochure he’d seen on her desk when he’d first visited her office and the mark against the bracelet. The ice queen had a passion for jewellery, confirming his first impression of her—a spoilt little rich girl, cut from the same cloth as the woman he’d once thought he wanted to marry.
‘Very well, Ms Di Sione. You have made your feelings clear.’ His terse tone had little effect on this cold woman. He looked at Bianca, pushing aside the flicker of interest he had in her as a woman, remembering his reason for seeking her out. His plan to find out all he needed to know of ICE may have been thwarted by her refusal to represent his company, but he was far from finished with her.
She was the key to the door of revenge on a company who had destroyed his parents and robbed him of his childhood, taking everything from him, including his freedom. There was more than one way to get what he wanted and she had just offered him an alternative. He would take something she treasured and desired, and now he knew exactly what that was.
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
ISBN: 978-1-474-04422-6
THE MISTRESS THAT TAMED DE SANTIS
© 2016 Natalie Anderson
Published in Great Britain 2016
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
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The Mistress That Tamed De Santis Page 17