Cipriani's Innocent Captive

by Cathy Williams

  She had to keep dragging her brain back to what he was telling her. She had to keep frowning so that she could give the appearance of not looking like a complete nitwit. She didn’t like the man, but did he have this effect on all the women he met?

  She wondered what sort of women he met anyway, and then chastised herself for losing the thread when her future was at stake.

  ‘The deal is near completion and a fortnight at most should see a satisfactory conclusion. Now, let’s just say that I believe you when you tell me that you haven’t been gossiping with your boyfriend...’

  ‘I told you that Duncan and I haven’t spoken for years! And, for your information, we broke up because I found out that he was married. I’m not the sort of person who would ever dream of going out with a married guy—!’

  Lucas stopped her in mid-speech. ‘Not interested. All I’m interested in is how this situation is dealt with satisfactorily for me. As far as I am concerned, you could spend all your free time hopping in and out of beds with married men.’

  Katy opened her mouth and then thought better of defending herself, because it wasn’t going to get her anywhere. He seemed ready to hand down her sentence.

  ‘It is imperative that any sensitive information you may have acquired is not shared, and the only way that that can be achieved is if you are incommunicado to the outside world. Ergo that is how it is going to be for the next fortnight, until my deal is concluded.’

  ‘Sorry, Mr Cipriani, but I’m not following you.’

  ‘Which bit, exactly, Miss Brennan, are you not following?’

  ‘The fortnight bit. What are you talking about?’

  ‘It’s crystal clear, Miss Brennan. You’re not going to be talking to anyone, and I mean anyone, for the next two weeks until I have all the signatures right where I want them, at which point you may or may not return to your desk in Shoreditch and we can both forget that this unfortunate business ever happened. Can I get any clearer than that? And by “incommunicado”, I mean no mobile phone and no computer. To be blunt, you will be under watch until you can no longer be a danger to me.’

  ‘But you can’t be serious!’

  ‘Do I look as though I’m doing a stand-up routine?’

  No, he didn’t. In fact, without her even realising it, he had been pacing the office in ever decreasing circles and he was now towering right in front of her; the last thing he resembled was a man doing a stand-up routine.

  Indeed, he looked about as humorous as an executioner; she quailed inside.

  Mentally, she added ‘bully’ to the growing list of things she loathed about him.

  ‘Under watch? What does that even mean? You can’t just...just kidnap me for weeks on end because you have a deal to complete! That’s a crime!’

  ‘Incendiary words, Miss Brennan.’ He leaned over and placed both hands on either side of her chair, caging her in so that she automatically cringed back. The power of his personality was so suffocating that she had to make an effort to remember how to breathe. ‘I won’t be kidnapping you. Far from it. You can walk out of here, but you know the consequences of that if you do. The simple process of consulting a lawyer would start racking up bills you could ill afford, I’m sure. Not to mention the whiff of unemployability that would be attached to you at the end of the long-winded and costly business. I am an extremely powerful man, for my sins. Please do us both a favour by not crossing me.’

  ‘Arrogant.’ Katy’s green eyes narrowed in a display of bravado she was inwardly far from feeling. ‘That’s what you are, Mr Cipriani! You’re an arrogant, domineering bully!’ She collided with eyes that burned with the heat of molten lava, and for a terrifying moment her anger was eclipsed by a dragging sensation that made her breathing sluggish and laborious.

  Lucas’s eyes drifted to her full lips and for a second he was overwhelmed by a powerful, crazy urge to crush them under his mouth. He drew back, straightened and resumed his seat behind his desk.

  ‘I’m guessing that you’re beginning to see sense,’ he commented drily.

  ‘It’s not ethical,’ Katy muttered under her breath. She eyed him with mutinous hostility.

  ‘It’s perfectly ethical, if a little unusual, but then again I’ve never been in the position of harbouring suspicions about the loyalties of any of my employees before. I pay them way above market price and that usually works. This is a first for me, Miss Brennan.’

  ‘I can’t just be kept under watch for two weeks. I’m not a specimen in a jam jar! Plus, I have responsibilities at the school!’

  ‘And a simple phone call should sort that out. If you want, I can handle the call myself. You just need to inform them that personal circumstances will prevent you from attending for the next fortnight. Same goes for any relatives, boyfriends and random pets that might need sorting out.’

  ‘I can’t believe this is happening. How is it going to work?’

  ‘It’s simple.’ He leaned forward, the very essence of practicality. ‘You will be accommodated without benefit of your phone or personal computer for a fortnight. You can consider it a pleasant holiday without the nuisance of having your time interrupted by gadgets.’

  ‘A pleasant holiday?’ Her breathing was ragged and her imagination, released to run wild, was coming up with all sorts of giddying scenarios.

  Lucas had the grace to flush before shrugging. ‘I assure you that your accommodation will be of the highest quality. All you need bring with you are your clothes. You will be permitted to return to your house or flat, or wherever it is you live, so that you can pack what you need.’

  ‘Where on earth will I be going? This is mad.’

  ‘I’ve put the alternative on the table.’ Lucas shrugged elegantly.

  ‘But where will I be put?’

  ‘To be decided. There are a number of options. Suffice to say that you won’t need to bring winter gear.’ In truth, he hadn’t given this a great deal of thought. His plan had been to delegate to someone else the responsibility of babysitting the headache that had arisen.

  Now, however, babysitting her himself was looking good.

  Why send a boy to do a man’s job? She was lippy, argumentative, stubborn, in short as unpredictable as a keg of dynamite, and he couldn’t trust any of his guys to know how to handle her.

  She was also dangerously pretty and had no qualms when it came to having fun with a married guy. She said otherwise, but the jury was out on that one.

  Dangerously pretty, rebellious and lacking in a moral compass was a recipe for disaster. Lucas looked at her with veiled, brooding speculation. He frankly couldn’t think of anyone who would be able to handle this. He had planned to disappear for a week or so to consolidate the finer details of the deal, without fear of constant interruption, and this had become even more pressing since the breach in security. He could easily kill two birds with one stone, rather than delegating the job and then wasting his time wondering whether the task would go belly up.

  ‘So, to cut to the chase, Miss Brennan...’ He buzzed and was connected through to his PA. In a fog of sick confusion, and with the distinct feeling of being chucked into a tumble drier with the cycle turned to maximum spin, Katy was aware of him instructing the woman who had escorted her to his office to join them in fifteen minutes.

  ‘Yes?’ she said weakly.

  ‘Vicky, my secretary, is going to accompany you back to...wherever you live...and she will supervise your immediate packing of clothes to take with you. Likewise, she will oversee whatever phone calls you feel you have to make to your friends. Needless to say, these will have to be cleared with her.’

  ‘This is ridiculous. I feel as though I’m starring in a low-grade spy movie.’

  ‘Don’t be dramatic, Miss Brennan. I’m taking some simple precautions to safeguard my business interests. Carrying on; once you have your bags packed and you’ve made a couple of calls, you will be chauffeured back here.’

  ‘Can I ask you something?’

  ‘Feel free.’<
br />
  ‘Are you always this...cold?’

  ‘Are you always this outspoken?’ Eyes as black as night clashed with emerald-green. Katy felt something shiver inside her and suddenly, inexplicably, she was aware of her body in a way she had never been in her life before. It felt heavy yet acutely sensitive, tingly and hot, aching as though her limbs had turned to lead.

  Her mouth went dry and for a few seconds her mind actually went completely blank. ‘I think that, if I have something to say, then why shouldn’t I? As long as I’m not being offensive to anyone, we’re all entitled to our opinions.’ She paused and tilted her chin at a challenging angle. ‘To answer your question.’

  Lucas grunted. Not even the high-powered women who entered and exited his life made a habit of disagreeing with him, and they certainly never criticised. No one did.

  ‘And to answer yours,’ he said coolly, ‘I’m cold when the occasion demands. You’re not here on a social visit. You’re here because a situation has arisen that requires to be dealt with and you’re the root cause of the situation. Trust me, Miss Brennan, I’m the opposite of cold, given the right circumstances.’

  And then he smiled, a long, slow, lazy smile and her senses shot into frantic overdrive. She licked her lips and her body stiffened as she leant forward in the chair, clutching the sides like a drowning person clutches a lifebelt.

  That smile.

  It seemed to insinuate into parts of her that she hadn’t known existed, and it took a lot of effort actually to remember that the man was frankly insulting her and that sexy smile was not directed at her. Whoever he was thinking of—his current girlfriend, no doubt—had instigated that smile.

  Were he to direct a smile at her, it would probably turn her to stone.

  ‘So you stuff me away somewhere...’ She finally found her voice and thankfully sounded as composed as he did. ‘On a two week holiday, probably with those bodyguards of yours who brought me from the office, where I won’t be allowed to do anything at all because I’ll be minus my mobile phone and minus my computer. And, when you’re done with your deal, you might just pop back and collect me, provided I’ve survived the experience.’

  Lucas clicked his tongue impatiently. ‘There’s no need to be so dramatic.’ He raked his fingers through his hair and debated whether he should have taken a slightly different approach.

  Nope. He had taken the only possible approach. It just so happened that he was dealing with someone whose feet were not planted on the ground the way his were.

  ‘The bodyguards won’t be there.’

  ‘No, I suppose it would be a little chancy to stuff me away with men I don’t know. Not that it’ll make a scrap of difference whether your henchmen are male or female. I’ll still be locked away like a prisoner in a cell with the key thrown away.’

  Lucas inhaled deeply and slowly, and hung on to a temper that was never, ever lost. ‘No henchmen,’ he intoned through gritted teeth. ‘You’re going to be with me. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to keep an eye on you.’

  Not without being mauled to death in the process.

  ‘With you?’ Shot through with an electrifying awareness of him, her heart sped up, sending the blood pulsing hotly through her veins and making it difficult to catch her breath. Trapped somewhere with him? And yet the thought, which should have filled her with unremitting horror, kick-started a dark, insurgent curiosity that frankly terrified her.

  ‘I have no intention of having any interaction with you at all. You will simply be my responsibility for a fortnight and I will make sure that no contact is made with any outside parties until the deal is signed, sealed and delivered. And please don’t tell me the prospect of being without a mobile phone or computer for a handful of days amounts to nothing short of torture, an experience which you may or may not survive! It is possible to live without gadgets for a fortnight.’

  ‘Could you?’ But her rebellious mind was somewhere else, somewhere she felt it shouldn’t be.

  ‘This isn’t about me. Bring whatever books you want, or embroidery, or whatever you might enjoy doing, and think about it positively as an unexpected time out for which you will continue to be paid. If you’re finding it difficult to kick back and enjoy the experience, then you can always consider the alternative: litigation, legal bills and no job.’

  Katy clenched her fists and wanted to say something back in retaliation, even though she was dimly aware of the fact that this was the last person on the planet she wanted to have a scrap with, and not just because he was a man who would have no trouble in making good on his threats. However, the door was opening and through the haze of her anger she heard herself being discussed in a low voice, as if she wasn’t in the room at all.

  ‘Right.’

  She blinked and Lucas was staring down at her, hands shoved in his trouser pockets. Awkwardly she stood up and instinctively smiled politely at his secretary, who smiled back.

  He’d rattled off a chain of events, but she’d only been half listening, and now she didn’t honestly know what would happen next.

  ‘I’ll have to phone my mum and dad,’ she said a little numbly and Lucas inclined his head to one side with a frown.

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I talk with them every evening.’

  His frown deepened, because that seemed a little excessive for someone in her twenties. It didn’t tally with the image of a raunchy young woman indulging in a steamy affair with a married man, not that the details of that were his business, unless the steamy affair was ongoing.

  ‘And I don’t have any pets.’ She gathered her backpack from the ground and headed towards the door in the same daze that had begun settling over her the second his secretary had walked into the room.

  ‘Miss Brennan...’

  ‘Huh?’ She blinked and looked up at him.

  She was only five-three and wearing flats, so she had to crane her neck up. Her hair tumbled down her back in a riot of colour. Lucas was a big man and he felt as though he could fit her into his pocket. She was delicate, her features fine, her body slender under the oversized white shirt. Was that why he suddenly felt himself soften after the gruelling experience he had put her through? He had never in his life done anything that disturbed his conscience, had always acted fairly and decently towards other people. Yes, undeniably he could be ruthless, but never unjustly so. He felt a little guilty now.

  ‘Don’t get worked up about this.’ His voice was clipped because this was as close as he was going to get to putting her mind at ease. By nature, he was distrustful, and certainly the situation in which he had encountered her showed all the hallmarks of being dangerous, as she only had to advertise what she knew to her ex. Yet something about her fuelled an unexpected response in him.

  Her eyes, he noted as he stared down into them, were a beguiling mix of green and turquoise. ‘This isn’t a trial by torture. It’s just the only way I can deal with a potential problem. You won’t spend the fortnight suffering, nor is there any need to fear that I’m going to be following you around every waking moment like a bad conscience. Indeed, you will hardly notice my presence. I will be working all day and you’ll be free to do as you like. Without the tools for communicating with the outside world, you can’t get up to any mischief.’

  ‘But I don’t even know where I’m going!’ Katy cried, latching on to that window of empathy before it vanished out of sight.

  Lucas raised his eyebrows, and there was that smile again, although the empathy was still there and it was tinged with a certain amount of cool amusement. ‘Consider it a surprise,’ he murmured. ‘A bit like winning the lottery which, incidentally, pretty much sums it up when you think about the alternative.’ He nodded to his secretary and glanced at his watch. ‘Two hours, Vicky. Think that will do it?’

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘In that case, I will see you both shortly. And, Miss Brennan...don’t even think about doing a runner.’

  * * *

  Over the next hour and a half Katy
experienced what it felt like to be kidnapped. Oh, he could call it what he liked, but she was going to be held prisoner. She was relieved of her mobile phone by Lucas’s secretary, who was brisk but warm, and seemed to see nothing amiss in following her boss’s high-handed instructions. It would be delivered to Lucas and held in safekeeping for her.

  She packed a bunch of clothes, not knowing where she was going. Outside, it was still, but spring was making way for summer, so the clothes she crammed into her duffel bag were light, with one cardigan in case she ended up somewhere cold.

  Although how would she know what the weather was up to when she would probably be locked in a room somewhere with views of the outside world through bars?

  And yet, for all her frustration and downright anger, she could sort of see why he had reacted the way he had. Obviously the only thing that mattered to Lucas Cipriani was making money and closing deals. If this was to be the biggest deal of his career—and dipping his corporate toes into the Far East would be—then he would be more than happy to do what it took to safeguard his interest.

  She was a dispensable little fish in the very big pond in which he was the marauding king of the water.

  And the fact that she knew someone at the company he was about to take over, someone who was so far ignorant of what was going on, meant she had the power to pass on highly sensitive and potentially explosive information.

  Lucas Cipriani, being the sort of man he was, would never believe that she had no ongoing situation with Duncan Powell because he was suspicious, distrustful, power hungry, arrogant, and would happily feed her to the sharks if it suited him, because he was also ice-cold and utterly emotionless.

  ‘Where am I being taken?’ she asked Vicky as they stepped back into the chauffeur-driven car that had delivered her to her flat. ‘Or am I going to find myself blindfolded before we get there?’