Meeting up with Tino when they were both half naked was a bad idea—but hadn’t the taxi driver mentioned steps leading to the beach, and even a funicular running down the face of the cliff? There had to be a way she could get to the sea without walking past the pool…
Unzipping her overnight case, Lisa plucked out the bikini she had packed in the hope of snatching a few moments in the Greek sunshine. Fortunately, she had remembered to bring her flip-flops too, as well as a wrap.
The stone steps were steep and worn away in some places, and Lisa was glad of the wooden handrail fixed to the rock. When she reached the halfway point she paused to look around and catch her breath. She gazed longingly at the tracks marking the path the funicular would take. If she could have taken that route she would have been down on the shore by now, but the cabin had been too close to the swimming pool for her to risk it, and the mechanism would have alerted Tino immediately had she been foolish enough to try.
The beach formed a tempting silvery crescent, and the sea had turned to turquoise, and seemed completely flat. Fingers of cloud stretched across the brightening horizon, and the air was sweetly scented. Best of all, there was no sign of Tino, so she could relax and the new day was hers for the taking…
Jumping down onto the beach, Lisa kicked off her flip-flops and dug her toes into the damp sand. It felt wonderful against her warm skin. Tugging off her wrap, she tossed it away and ran eagerly towards the sea.
A much older woman followed Lisa’s plunge into the sea with interest. The moment Lisa turned for shore she dipped down to collect the discarded wrap, and then walked down the sand to meet her.
Shaking her long chestnut hair out behind her like a banner, Lisa turned her face to the sun as she ploughed happily through the shallows. She never had time for a holiday, or even for a good swim. Feeling the sunshine on her face, and the tingle of the cool Aegean on her skin, was almost worth braving Tino’s lair for—
‘Yia Sou.’
Having thought she was alone, Lisa nearly jumped out of her skin at the friendly greeting. She recovered quickly, smiling her thanks as the elderly Greek woman handed over her wrap. ‘Kalimera.’
‘It is going to be a beautiful day,’ the older woman observed, gazing up into the sky.
For you, perhaps, Lisa thought, remembering her meeting later that morning with Tino. ‘Yes, it is,’ she agreed politely.
‘My name is Stella. I live over there in that small cottage…’ The woman pointed to a quaint whitewashed building with bright blue shutters and front door, set back a little from the beach. ‘I watched you swimming. You are good.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Won’t you join me for breakfast?’ Stella gazed down at the basket of freshly baked bread swinging from her arm.
Lisa’s stomach rumbled on cue, and they both laughed.
‘That’s very kind of you.’ Lisa was thankful to have found someone so friendly. Anything was preferable to eating breakfast alone on her balcony, where she knew she would only brood on the outcome of her meeting with Tino.
‘We will both join you, Ya-ya.’
‘Tino!’ Lisa stood back as the two embraced.
Stella was clearly overjoyed to see him, but Lisa resented the fact that her own face was burning. Why was it Tino always made her feel as if she had done something wrong? It was his behaviour that was outrageous. He was wearing a sun-bleached blue vest and frayed cut-off shorts, and might as well have been naked for all the toned, bronzed flesh on show. His feet were bare, and there was a dusting of sand on his limbs as if he had found time for a swim in the sea as well as his morning workout in the pool…while she was wearing a scanty bikini beneath a filmy wrap—not her battle clothes of choice.
‘Good morning, Lisa. I trust you slept well?’
‘I did, thank you.’ Lisa glanced at Stella, hoping she hadn’t picked up the undercurrents between them.
‘I have plenty of food for all of us. Come,’ Stella insisted, beckoning them towards her cottage.
There was a tug of amusement at one corner of Tino’s mouth, Lisa noticed as she hurried after Stella, and however she tried to mistime her stride he managed to keep in step with her. ‘I suppose you just happened by?’ Her tone was frosty.
‘Actually, I came to see Stella.’
Lisa’s curiosity flared. ‘Do you know her well?’
‘We’ve known each other for a number of years.’
‘I see.’
‘I doubt it.’
The murmured comment stirred her interest even more. Who was Stella? And what was her connection with the most obnoxious man on the planet?
Having reached her front door, Stella opened it and beckoned them inside.
The interior was cool and shady with slivers of sunlight slanting in through the shutters. The air smelled faintly of herbs, and, gazing around, Lisa noticed that every window ledge was lined with terracotta pots sprouting densely packed greenery. ‘What a lovely home you have.’
Stella smiled, pointing to the easy chairs. ‘Please, both of you sit down.’
‘Are you sure I can’t help you with anything?’ Lisa said, ignoring this suggestion as she edged towards the kitchen door.
‘No, no.’ Stella was quite certain on this point. ‘You two relax, and let me prepare the food. I won’t take long.’
You two? Again she was bracketed with the last man on earth she would have chosen to be paired with. Lisa would have thought the distance that existed between them would have been glaringly obvious to everyone, especially to a woman who seemed as bright and observant as Stella. Wandering across the room, she casually picked out a window seat as far away from Tino as possible. Sitting down, she stared out through the barely open shutter.
‘Is that better for you?’
Lisa breathed in convulsively as Tino leaned across to open the shutters a little more for her. She could feel his warmth in every fibre of her being. And then he remained at her side so that the acute, and very troubling, awareness of him refused to fade.
‘You’re an early riser, Lisa.’
‘I always wake at dawn on a working day.’ Her voice was clipped, inviting no further conversation between them. And then, to Lisa’s relief, Stella bustled back into the room carrying a loaded breakfast tray.
‘Why didn’t you call me to bring this in for you?’ Tino demanded, crossing the room in a couple of strides to take the tray from her.
‘Because you were keeping our visitor company.’ Stella stared hard at him before releasing the tray, and then she turned to Lisa. ‘Forgive me, Lisa, I am sure you do not want to hear us bickering.’
‘You know my name?’ Lisa frowned, realising she had forgotten to introduce herself. She glanced at Tino, but he was suddenly too busy unloading the breakfast tray to notice. ‘I’m sorry, Stella, I should have said.’ Lisa made up for her earlier lapse with a smile, ‘I’m Lisa Bond. I’m here to do business with Tino.’
‘Business with Tino?’ Pulling a face, Stella made a fanning motion with her hand that required no translation.
‘I’m sure I can handle him.’ Lisa stared at him so that he could be in no doubt that she would.
‘So, what are your plans today?’ Stella looked between them as she piled their plates high with fresh bread and honey.
‘We have a meeting.’
‘I plan to take Lisa out on the boat.’
They both spoke at once, and Lisa bridled instantly. She had no intention of wasting the first of her five precious negotiating days on Tino’s floating gin palace.
‘And I will bring back some fresh fish for your supper,’ he added to Stella.
‘I shall look forward to it.’ Stella clapped her hands with pleasure.
Lisa looked from one to the other. Tino was not going to ignore her. And he was not going to draw this lovely, innocent woman into some devious plan he had concocted. They had more important things to do than catch fish today. She watched angrily as he tucked into his breakfast with relish. Breakin
g off a crispy crust from one of the chunks of bread, he dipped it in some honey.
‘No,’ she said flatly.
‘No?’ Tino paused, bread in hand, to stare at her.
‘I’m not coming with you—I have better things to do than idle my time away. I thought we both did.’
‘Lisa?’ Putting a hand to his chest, Tino affected an innocent expression.
‘Don’t you like boats?’ Stella looked concerned.
‘It isn’t that.’ Lisa hesitated. What could she say without causing an atmosphere? ‘I’m just not used to doing business—’
‘The Greek way?’ Stella suggested helpfully.
A glance at Tino was enough to convince Lisa that he couldn’t have been more pleased with the way things were turning out if he had scripted the exchange himself.
‘All Greek men are fishermen at heart, Lisa,’ Stella explained kindly, unaware of the tension stretching between her visitors. ‘It’s better if you just go along with their way of doing business.’
‘I’m sure you’re right, Stella,’ Lisa said politely, not wanting to cause offence.
‘What was that? What did you say?’ Tino could hardly keep the smile off his face.
‘If you’d been listening, you’d know,’ Lisa said tartly, and then froze. Stella’s face was a picture, and no wonder. She could hardly have expected her breakfast guests to start yelling at each other.
For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence, which Tino did nothing to break. Then, slowly turning back to his breakfast, he dipped another piece of bread into the honey.
Lisa felt she had to say something by way of explanation for her behaviour. ‘I’m so sorry, Stella. I don’t know what came over me.’
‘Think nothing of it.’ Stella dismissed the moment with a smile. ‘Tempers flare high when passions are roused.’
Passions! Passions? Lisa glared at Tino. Whatever Stella imagined, she was wrong—absolutely wrong.
‘Tino has always aroused strong passions in people,’ Stella added.
She couldn’t let this go on, Lisa realised, holding up her hands in front of her. ‘There’s absolutely no chance of Tino upsetting my equilibrium, Stella. It’s just that—’
‘It’s just what, Lisa?’ Tino demanded softly, unfolding from his chair.
As Lisa’s mouth opened to shoot back a reply he fed a piece of honey-soaked crust between her lips. ‘Suck on this,’ he suggested in an undertone. ‘You could do with sweetening up.’
Having no option but to chew, and then swallow, Lisa channelled her fury into her eyes, which locked with his fiercely.
Lisa had been marching along in silence since they had left the cottage, but now they were out of earshot she could speak her mind. ‘I’m not going another step.’
Tino glanced back at her without slowing. ‘It’s not too far away now. The harbour is just over there, around the base of the cliff.’
‘It’s not the distance that worries me.’
‘What, then?’ He ground to a halt, and turned to stare at her.
‘Stop this, Tino. I’m not going out on your boat. We both know you’ve got me over a barrel, but, if you have any decency left in you at all, you’d come back with me to the villa and hold our meeting like you promised—’
‘Not now, Lisa.’
‘What do you mean, not now?’
‘I mean I don’t want to discuss business right now?’ He put his face very close so she was forced to take a step back.
‘But once the deal is wrapped up we can go our separate ways,’ she pointed out, ‘which I know you want as much as I do.’
‘Once the deal is wrapped up?’ He stared at her mockingly. ‘You’re very sure of yourself.’
‘I’m confident that I’ve come up with the right deal for you?’
He laughed, throwing his head back. ‘So now you’ve got my best interests at heart? I don’t think so, Lisa.’
‘All right.’ She was forced to hurry after him when he started down the path again. ‘So we both need this deal.’
‘I don’t need anything from you.’
‘Really? So why are your people scurrying around trying to buy up everything in sight?’
That stopped him.
‘Maybe it pleases me to know that I can.’
‘I’m very happy for you, but my life is rather more complicated. I have loyalties.’
‘You have an overabundance of pride…and a highly inflated opinion of yourself.’
‘That’s rich coming from you!’
‘And if the tables were turned, you’d treat me differently? No. So don’t expect any leeway from me, when you’d give me none yourself.’ He turned back to the path, forcing her to run after him again.
‘But you gave me your word that this week would be devoted to our negotiations.’
‘On my terms.’ He didn’t pause, or look back.
‘All right.’ Lisa stopped running. Resting her hands on her knees, she tried to catch her breath.
‘All right, what?’
At least he had stopped. He was standing a few yards away, waiting for her to say something. She fought for control. But as she straightened up her feelings erupted. ‘I suppose Arianna is happy about our little pleasure cruise?’
‘Arianna isn’t your concern.’
‘How convenient for you.’
‘Why are you worrying about Arianna?’
‘Someone needs to. I feel sorry for her.’
‘Why, exactly?’
‘I think you know why, Tino.’
‘No, I don’t. I’m waiting to hear what you have to say about it.’
‘All right, then… What the hell are we doing here?’ She gestured around. ‘We should go back to the villa and have our meeting under proper conditions. All this is far too distracting.’
‘I thought that part of our agreement was that I decide when and where our meetings are held.’
‘But we can’t have them here.’
‘Exactly.’ His voice was maddeningly controlled. ‘You’re becoming forgetful, Lisa. I already told you that we are not holding any meetings today.’
‘So, you’re breaking your word?’
‘I don’t remember saying we wouldn’t be holding any meetings this week. You shouldn’t have agreed to something before you were certain of the terms.’
‘Don’t you dare lecture me on business etiquette. I agreed to your terms before I realised how irresponsible you were going to be.’
‘Irresponsible?’
‘Yes,’ Lisa insisted fiercely. ‘Irresponsible. Now, can we stop wasting time, and get back to the villa? I want a shower—I’m all salty. We can still get in a couple of hours of discussions before lunch… What do you think you’re doing?’ She glared down at the hand on her arm. ‘Don’t you dare touch me!’
But he was already propelling her along the path.
‘I’m warning you—’
‘And I’m telling you,’ he fired back, dragging her in front of him to stare into her eyes. ‘I make the decisions here, and today business is off the agenda. You heard me tell Stella I’d get her some fish for her supper? Well, that takes precedence over anything else.’
‘You’re going fishing?’ Lisa demanded incredulously.
‘No, Lisa—we’re going fishing.’
Before Lisa could stop him he swung her off the ground, and held her so tightly she couldn’t fight him off.
‘If I say we’re going out on the boat, we’re going out on the boat,’ he informed her as he strode along. ‘And if I choose to take hold of your arm, I take hold of your arm. Do you understand me any better yet, Lisa?’
‘I understand you’re a brute—and you’d better put me down right now, or face the consequences.’
‘Consequences? What consequences are those, Lisa?’ His pace didn’t falter. ‘Are you going to set your lawyers onto my legal team? Because I strongly advise you to think twice before you do that.. unless, of course, you want to be begging me to give you a job
in a couple of months’ time.’
‘I wouldn’t expect you to give me the dirt from under your fingernails.’
‘As I don’t have any, you’ll have to excuse me if I’m not too worried about that.’
‘Are you going to put me down—or shall I scream?’
Uncut Bundle Page 6