by Annie West
‘I’m very flattered by the offer—’
‘But?’ That purr of enquiry barely concealed a razor-sharp edge.
Lily drew in a slow breath. ‘Unfortunately I’m not in a position to accept.’
Silence. Long enough for her to wonder if she’d burned her bridges. Fear skated through her. She needed the work his company sent.
‘What would have to change so you’d be in a position to accept?’
Damn the man. Why couldn’t he just accept no?
‘May I ask instead why you want me?’ For a nanosecond heat surged at the unintentional double meaning of her words. But the idea of Raffaele Petri wanting her for anything other than work was so utterly unbelievable it rapidly faded. ‘I was told you were happy with my research and our current arrangement.’
‘If I were unhappy with your work I wouldn’t offer you a job, Ms Nolan.’ His clipped tones twisted her tension higher. ‘I want you here on my team because you’re the best at what you do. Simple as that.’
The heat suffusing her this time came from gratification.
‘Thank you, Signor Petri. I appreciate your good opinion.’ She’d love to ask about a testimonial but the throbbing silence told her this wasn’t the time. ‘Please know I’ll continue to offer the best possible service.’ She wriggled back against the pillow.
‘That’s not enough.’
‘Sorry?’ What more could he want than her best?
‘I’m starting a significant project.’ He paused. ‘I need my team on hand and bound by the utmost confidentiality.’
Lily stiffened. ‘I hope you’re not implying I’m a security risk. Every contract I accept is completed in strictest confidence. I safeguard my research and my clients.’ She never shared details of clients without permission. Which was why it would have been a coup to have a testimonial from him on her website.
She’d begun as a researcher for a private enquiry firm but the cases got her down. She’d found her niche when she widened her horizons—from staff checks to analyses of businesses and commercial trends. Lately it had been the viability of new ventures or businesses ripe for takeover.
That was where Raffaele Petri came in. The man was like a shark scenting blood before his competitors. Every time she investigated a business for him she’d discovered vulnerabilities and problems. It was the magic of the man that, once he acquired them, he turned those businesses into some of the most successful in the leisure industry, from a glamorous resort in Tahiti to a marina and yacht-building company in Turkey.
‘If I doubted your ability to keep a secret I wouldn’t hire you.’
Lily released a breath, relief rising.
‘But,’ he added, ‘I can’t afford risks. This team will be the best of the best. And it will be in New York. I need you here.’
Pride swelled. Lily had never been needed. Never stood out. Looks, school grades, sport, she’d always been average, never in the limelight until—
Lily shook her head in self-disgust at that old neediness. It was a spill over from her teenage years when she’d felt no one really wanted her, that to her family she was only a burden and a worry. And to her friends an embarrassing, constant reminder of a disaster they’d rather forget. She’d hated that awareness of being included out of duty rather than because her peers wanted her around.
His words made her long to say, Yes, of course, I’ll be in New York tomorrow.
Imagine exploring the Big Apple. Imagine...
She swallowed hard. It wasn’t possible. Facing the curious eyes of all those strangers, seeing them stare in fascination or hurriedly turn away. She wouldn’t put herself through that anymore.
‘I’m used to working with your staff from a distance. I’m sure—’
‘That’s not the way this project will proceed, Ms Nolan.’ His words were staccato, tiny darts pricking her skin. ‘I won’t tolerate failure on this one.’
Lily opened her mouth to say that if his project failed it wouldn’t be down to her.
‘Yes, Ms Nolan? You were saying?’
‘I’m sorry I can’t accommodate you, Signor Petri.’
‘I’ll double the salary. And the bonus on completion.’
Lily’s eyes widened. She’d been curious enough to check the contract and the salary had staggered her. It was more than she’d earn in two years. The thought of four years’ income in one hit was so tempting. It would solve her financial worries...
‘Changing your tune, Ms Nolan? I thought you might.’ That voice was smug now, making her want to hiss her displeasure. At him for thinking she could be bought? Or at herself for being tempted despite knowing it couldn’t happen?
Part of her still hankered after adventure, travel, excitement. But she’d had to push those dreams aside when her life had derailed at fourteen. She’d been robbed of her best friend, her carefree youth, her ‘normal’ life. She’d even missed out on things everyone else took for granted like flirting with boys and dating.
She shook her head, long tresses slipping over her cheeks. Curse the man for stirring longings she’d put behind her years before.
She loved her home, was proud she’d saved enough to be buying it. But it was more than that. Lily needed the security and peace it provided. The sense of refuge.
‘No, Signor Petri. That was the sound of surprise but not agreement.’
‘Interesting, Ms Nolan. Most people would jump at this opportunity. Why aren’t you? A family, is that it? You have a husband and children perhaps?’
‘No! I don’t—’ Lily clamped her lips shut before she blurted out anything else. Instinctively she felt safer keeping her private life private from this man.
‘No family? I thought you sounded a little young for one.’
Lily’s eyebrows arched. At twenty-eight she wasn’t so young. Or was he implying she didn’t sound professional?
Or maybe he’s just winding you up. This man enjoyed playing with her, like a cat with a trapped mouse.
Like a bully wielding his superior power.
Lily’s chin shot up. ‘I suppose age becomes important when one reaches...mature years.’
A little huff of sound reached her over the long distance. A gasp of irritation or, could it be, stifled laughter?
She shouldn’t have said it. The veiled reference to his age, five years her senior, was indiscreet and possibly ruinous. But she refused to sit like a pincushion to be needled.
‘Fortunately I’m not quite in my dotage, Ms Nolan.’
No, he wasn’t. She kept seeing photos of him at glamorous functions. Always with a sophisticated woman on his arm, but never the same one.
‘So if you don’t have a family to tie you there it must be a lover.’ His voice dipped low, like dark treacle rolling through her veins to eddy in her belly. Lily drew her knees up, pressing them to her chest, trying to kill the unsettling sensation.
‘My private life is no concern of yours, Signor Petri.’ Did he hear the wobble of fury in her voice?
‘But it is, Ms Nolan, when it comes between me and what I want.’
‘Then it’s time you discovered you can’t always get what you want.’ The words poured out. ‘I decide when and where I sell my services.’
Lily scrubbed a shaky hand over her face, her chest heaving. This was going from bad to worse. Anger and anxiety curdled her insides. And self-disgust. She needed to stay calm, no matter what the provocation.
‘I assume you don’t normally speak to your clients in that suggestively sexy voice.’ His own voice was far too sultry. ‘It would give them the wrong idea about what services you sell.’
Lily almost dropped the phone.
Suggestively sexy?
He had to be kidding! No man had ever called her sexy.
Of course he’s kidding. He’s playing with you, searching for your weak spots.
And finding them!
Curiously, the realisation calmed her, despite the burn of annoyance.
‘There are reasons I can’t wo
rk for you in New York, Signor Petri, but—’
‘Name three.’
‘Sorry?’
‘I want to know why you reject my offer. Come on, three sound reasons.’ The words shot out, quick and demanding, and before she knew it, Lily was answering.
‘I don’t have a passport for a start.’ She winced. That made her sound like some country hick to a man who travelled the world as easily as she travelled it vicariously via the internet.
‘That’s one. What else?’
‘I can’t afford to rent a place in New York.’
‘Not even with the bonus I’m offering?’
‘I have commitments here. Any money I earn goes to those.’
‘And the third? What’s your third reason?’
Because she couldn’t stand the thought of working in an office with other people? Because she wouldn’t put herself through all that again?
Because she preferred solitude? She had a good life and an exciting business plan and no bullying magnate was going to disrupt those on a whim.
‘You don’t answer, Ms Nolan, which makes me think it’s the most important reason of all. Or you don’t have one.’
Sheer strength of will stopped Lily from blurting a response. He wasn’t going to goad her again.
‘Is it a lover holding you back?’
‘You have no right to quiz me like this.’
‘I have every right when it stymies my most important deal.’
Despite his monumental arrogance, Lily’s ears pricked up. She was fascinated by this man’s business acumen, his ability to see opportunities before anyone else. She’d love to know what this secret project was.
‘You want my advice?’ She was in the process of saying ‘No’ when he spoke over top of her. ‘Ditch him, Ms Nolan. Find yourself a man who won’t obstruct such a brilliant opportunity. You’ve got real talent. You shouldn’t let him stand in the way of it.’
For a second Lily gawped. Raffaele Petri was beyond belief. If she had a partner she’d never leave him on the say-so of some self-important stranger.
‘I wasn’t aware you were an expert on relationships, Signor Petri. Aren’t your girlfriends famous for being short-term?’
Lily gasped as she heard her thoughts slip out. She’d just scuttled her future with his company. But his behaviour, his whole attitude, was offensive.
A crack of laughter sounded on the line, resolving into a warm chuckle that did strange things to her insides.
Lily stiffened as fire tongued her sensitive flesh. A hot shiver ripped through her as if a warm masculine hand, rather than a disembodied voice, caressed her. She swallowed hard, horrified at her instantaneous response.
Wasn’t it enough that the man looked like a Greek god come to life? Did he have to sound irresistible too? Lily pressed the heel of her palm to her sternum, trying to ease her heart’s wild pounding.
She detested bullies. Her response was inexplicable.
Except it wasn’t. She was a young, healthy woman, with the physical urges that went with that. Her hormones didn’t care if he was a saint or the devil incarnate. All they cared about was that they’d been deprived of anything like excitement or satisfaction for far too long.
‘Don’t laugh at me!’ Her words rapped out, too short, too sharp.
In the sudden silence she realised what she’d revealed. He knew he’d got to her.
Raffaele Petri might be a bully but he was clever. All the world knew he came from the backstreets of some large Italian city. His business success was a commercial miracle.
‘What if I’m laughing at myself? Finally being called on my defects.’ His voice held an edge but she couldn’t tell if it was amusement or banked fury. ‘My decrepit age. My lack of emotional staying power. What else, I wonder?’ He paused. ‘Have you been investigating me, Ms Nolan?’
Despite the rich cadence of his voice, Lily heard the threat in that low purr of sound.
‘I haven’t, Signor Petri. Your business, yes, before I agreed to work for it. But as for a personal profile...’ She shook her head, her hair swirling. ‘That wasn’t necessary.’
‘Because the paparazzi do such a thorough job of portraying someone’s life, don’t they?’
Lily frowned. Was that emotion? Had she hit a nerve?
‘The passport can be fast-tracked. I’ll get my people onto it. Accommodation will be arranged. Plus I’ll have the contract altered to include the increased salary and bonus.’ He paused, which was as well, because her head was spinning. His abrupt change of subject left her floundering. ‘Appealing enough for you?’
The silence that followed was thick with expectation. He was waiting for her to agree before he hung up and dealt with whatever issue was next on his list.
Except Lily wasn’t some problem to be fixed.
‘I appreciate the offer, the very handsome offer,’ she choked out, her fingers clamping the phone. ‘But it won’t work for me. I’m happy to do whatever I can from here—’
‘But that won’t work for me.’ His voice sent a trickle of foreboding down her backbone.
For ten seconds there was silence. For twenty. But Lily refused to back down. What he asked was impossible for her and she had too much pride to explain why.
‘You leave me no choice, Ms Nolan. We’ll find someone else to be principal researcher.’
Lily eased back against her pillow, shaky as the tension gripping her body finally began to abate.
‘And my company won’t hire you again.’
Lily couldn’t stifle a hiss of shock. Air locked somewhere between her throat and her lungs as her body froze. Stars scattered her vision, dimming to pinpricks till, with a sagging release, her lungs began pumping again.
Without his business, hers was dead in the water. Four months ago she’d have weathered the setback but not now. Not since the loan and the expansion.
If she couldn’t meet the repayments she’d lose everything—her work and her home. The life she’d so painstakingly built.
‘Did you say something, Ms Nolan?’
Lily gulped to clear her throat but couldn’t think of a thing to say.
‘It won’t take long for my dissatisfaction with your service to get out, either. You’d be surprised how fast news spreads. Continental boundaries don’t mean anything and I have contacts around the world. From Melbourne to Mumbai, London to Los Angeles.’
Again that lethal pause, allowing her time to process the bleak scenario he’d painted. Her name would be mud with the really big enterprises, the internationals she’d set her sights on to make her expanded business a success.
‘You’ll go out of your way to blacken my name?’ Her voice was a thin scratch of sound but at least it was steady. Unlike the rest of her. She shook as if with fever.
‘I’ll be sure to mention it whenever appropriate.’ In other words he’d take delight in savaging her reputation.
Hatred coiled, tightening in her belly. Hatred as she’d only ever felt once before, for the guy who’d changed her life in an instant—from carefree to a grim round of medical treatments. Her hand lifted to her face.
Swallowing hard, Lily turned the nervous gesture into a defiant flick of the wrist, sending her long hair flying back from her face. Deliberately she set her chin, staring at her face reflected in the window.
One thing Raffaele Petri didn’t know—she was a fighter. She’d survived far worse than he could dish out and emerged stronger as a result.
She lowered her hand, smoothing the quilt as she dragged in aching breaths. She opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it.
‘Of course if you were to change your mind...’
Fury swamped her. He knew she had no choice.
Even so, part of her brain noted that the snake in the Garden of Eden must have sounded like this. No hissing, no sharpness. Just a lush, seductive roll of sound that invited her to go against everything she knew and trusted. To take the plunge, even though it must end in disaster.
‘You’re nothing if not predictable, Signor Petri.’ She pressed the phone to her ear but heard no response. ‘Textbook bullying, in fact.’
Still nothing. His silence infuriated her but she refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing her rant. She looked at her hand, fisted so tight in her lap it was hard to prise open. When she did she saw scarlet crescents where her nails had scored.
‘Very well, Signor Petri. I’ll work for you.’ Her lungs ached as she released the breath crammed in her chest. ‘But you can change the contract to three times the original salary. Ditto with the bonus. Have it in my inbox tomorrow and if it’s satisfactory I’ll sign.’ She paused, trying to control her sharp, shallow breaths.
To her astonishment he didn’t disagree.
‘I’ll see you in New York, Ms Nolan.’
Not if I see you first.
She might be stuck working for him but she had no illusions he’d be part of the project team. He’d be sunning himself in the Bahamas or skiing in Switzerland or whatever the wealthy did when they weren’t harassing ordinary people. Somehow she’d deal with the travel and all those people. She’d do the job, take his money and come back to build her future here as she’d planned.
She’d get through this.
‘Goodbye, Signor Petri.’
‘Not goodbye. Arrivederci, Ms Nolan.’
CHAPTER TWO
RAFFA GOT TO the office after a breakfast meeting.
Across the large room he saw an unfamiliar figure—long hair, loose shirt, loose trousers and flat shoes. The clothes were resolutely unfeminine but the body beneath all that unflattering drabness wasn’t. Femininity was there in the way she moved, despite her rigid back and high shoulders.
It had to be Lily Nolan. The area was off-limits to all but his hand-picked team.
She’d been tense on the phone that night too. Uptight and angry, yet that husky, just-awake voice had done things to him no woman had in years.
He frowned at the unwanted memory.
Raffa’s eyes narrowed on the rhythmic swish of hair down her narrow back as she walked away. It all but reached her waist. Not blonde or black or even dark but simply brown. A brown so ordinary and unremarkable it looked uncompromising, as if she spurned most women’s desire to improve on nature with eye-catching colour.