Taming the Last AcostaItalian Boss, Proud Miss Prim

by Susan Stephens

  Turn her back on him for ever? Face life with no possibility of seeing Rigo again? ‘Is there any way we can work together now?’

  ‘You tell me.’

  Could he sound any more hostile? ‘If we kept it on a strictly business footing?’

  ‘Let me assure you right away there’s no chance of anything else.’

  Less than an hour ago there had been fire in those eyes. And now...

  Digging her nails into her palms, she agreed to stay on. ‘If you tell me what the job entails.’

  ‘That’s very good of you.’

  ‘Rigo, please...I’ve said I’m sorry—’

  ‘You’re always sorry—maybe once too often.’

  ‘I understand why you’re angry with me—’

  As she said this he made a sharp sound of disbelief. ‘You understand nothing,’ Rigo assured her. ‘You’re a child.’

  And he, with all his Roman passion in full flood, was a formidable sight. She had never wanted him more or felt so distanced from him. Feet braced against the floor, fists planted on his tightly muscled hips, Rigo Ruggiero was a force she should run from as fast as she could before her heart was lost for good. ‘If you won’t accept my resignation—’

  ‘Which I won’t. We have an agreement,’ he reminded her.

  ‘Then will you tell me what you plan for the palazzo?’

  ‘Do you really think I should trust you after what happened between us—not once, but twice?’

  If they couldn’t move past the sex there was no hope of a working relationship and if she was going to stay she had to do so with her head held high. The only way to do this was not to blush and shrink, but to challenge Rigo as he had challenged her. ‘You threw down the gauntlet when you dared me to take a risk. I’m throwing that same gauntlet at your feet. Take a chance on me.’

  Where had she come from, this female virago? Had he created her or were they equally guilty? Did they rouse such powerful feelings in each other that neither of them were capable of behaving as they should? He pointed to a chair. She sat while he paced. He was weighing up the potential of the palazzo for the scheme he had in mind—a scheme that would benefit his foundation—against his obligation to secrecy. Should he trust this woman? Could he trust her? What did his instinct tell him? ‘I’m going to outline your contract,’ he said, ‘so if you would like to take a note...’

  She hid a smile. He let it go. He dictated a letter to his legal team asking them to draw up a contract for Katie Bannister that gave her cast-iron guarantees.

  She turned to look at him halfway through. ‘I can’t sign anything until I—’

  He swore viciously in Italian. ‘Must you argue every point? I want you to send the letter exactly as I have dictated it—’

  ‘Don’t I have any say in my own contract of employment?’

  ‘Yes.’ He was tired of playing softball. ‘You can sign it or not. You can go back to Yorkshire and look for another job, if that’s what you want, but I don’t think it is. Am I right?’

  She ground her jaw and came right back at him. ‘I want a clause that allows for a time limit and fair notice to be given on either side—’

  ‘A quick fix?’ he suggested coldly. ‘Is that the type of thing you deal in, Signorina Bannister?’

  ‘Please don’t turn me down out of hand. Try to see this from my point of view—’

  His hackles stood on end. ‘From your point of view? Isn’t all this from your point of view? And what do you mean, don’t turn you down out of hand? Caro Dio, what is this? I’m the one making the offer—’

  ‘And making no allowance for my feelings—’

  ‘You have too many feelings,’ he roared, only to realise she was in tears. ‘Don’t play that card with me,’ he warned, shaken to his core. ‘I know your type—’

  ‘My type?’ she exploded, rallying faster than he could ever have expected. ‘And what type would that be, Rigo?’

  They were facing each other like combatants in a ring, but indignation gave way to amusement when it occurred to him that to any outsider Katie would appear by far the more dangerous of the two. With her hands balled into fists, her jaw jutting and mouth firm, her eyes blazing with the light of battle she was a magnificent sight, this woman of his—

  His woman?

  His woman.

  The only woman he could ever want.

  But his woman hadn’t finished with him yet. Not by a long way.

  ‘So I’m the type who can see you naked in a pool and make the mistake of thinking we could share something special—’ She broke off. ‘Oh, no, I forgot.’ She held up her hand as if to silence him, though he had no intention of saying a word. He was content to let her continue this one-way argument with herself and by herself.

  ‘I’m the woman who had sex up against a wall, and felt nothing, presumably? I’m a robot—an automaton.’ Her voice was rising. ‘I’m a frigid, sexless, boring spinster—’

  ‘Hardly frigid,’ he cut in mildly.

  She made a sound like an angry bear, which made it all the harder for him to hide his smile.

  Forget all things sexual? That had been her plan. She should have known Rigo would make this hard for her. His confidence was obvious in the way his lips tugged in anticipation of victory, as if nothing she could say would have the slightest effect on his arrogant assumption that she would sign his wretched contract without alteration or complaint. How dared he look at her and smile? How dared he use that look to stir erotic thoughts?

  But—and it was a big but—he was offering her the chance to do something exciting and different. Living in Italy was that, even if she didn’t know the precise details yet. Had she come all this way in attitude and distance only to wimp out now? She’d pin him down and then she’d decide. Drawing herself up, which brought her—well, almost to his shoulder, she suggested, ‘Can we sit down and talk?’

  Could they? He kept his expression carefully neutral.

  A negotiation beckoned. Now that he’d woken the tiger inside Katie Bannister, there was no way he wanted to see her vulnerable again. This was his type of woman. The type of woman he would like working alongside him, he amended. Katie Bannister had passed the interview process with flying colours and was definitely the type of feisty, focused individual his foundation needed on the board.

  She was sitting at the desk, waiting for him. He leaned his hip against it and looked down. She looked too, but not into his eyes. Not that he was any measure of propriety and chaste thought. ‘I’m going to tell you everything,’ he said, reclaiming her attention. ‘The club I run—’

  ‘The club?’ she interrupted, snapping into attack mode. ‘I would never leave England for Italy to work in a club, Rigo. I’m sorry,’ she said, standing up, ‘but I really don’t think there’s any point in continuing this conversation—’

  He cut her off at the door, one fist pressed against it. ‘Now you listen to me.’ His gaze dropped to her lips.

  ‘And if I won’t?’

  He might kiss her?

  Mild eyes flashed fire. ‘Let me go, Rigo...’ She rattled the door handle.

  ‘Not until you tell me what you’re hiding.’

  ‘What I’m hiding?’

  But her eyes told him clearly that she was. ‘I know you’re hiding something; you’re not leaving here until I know what it is.’

  ‘I’m your prisoner?’

  He allowed himself a smile. ‘If you like.’

  Her jaw worked and then she said, ‘All right—but not here, not now. Please, Rigo, let’s sort out one thing at a time.’

  He ground his jaw as she stared unflinchingly into his eyes. Questions competed in his mind. Why the pretence? Why had she pulled back, not once, but twice when they were so heavily into pleasure? Katie had no difficulty enjoying sex. It was
anything deeper she shied away from. So what was Katie Bannister hiding from? Him? Men in general? Everyone? He had to remind himself how much she would benefit his foundation if he kept this rigidly confined to business. ‘Please sit down again,’ he said.

  She still looked unsure. He could hear her thinking, work in a club? ‘Before you jump ship you should make sure you’re not jumping to conclusions. I’m going to tell you about my club and I’m asking you to hear me out. I think you’ll be glad if you do—’

  ‘So you trust me now?’

  ‘As much as you trust me. Shall we?’ He angled his chin towards the chair at the opposite side of the desk. He didn’t turn to see if she was following; something told him she would be. Katie couldn’t resist a challenge any more than he could and her curiosity was fully roused.

  She walked towards him with her head held high until there was just the desk between them. Resting her fingertips on the edge, she remained standing. Leaning forward to make her point, she said, ‘When I was a girl saving up to go to music college I checked coats and served drinks and I considered myself lucky to have a job in a club, but that was then and, at the risk of sounding ungrateful, I don’t want to—’

  ‘Pole dance?’ he suggested dryly. ‘Why don’t you sit down, listen to what I have to say first and then give me the lecture?’

  ‘On one condition—’

  ‘Name it.’

  ‘You take me seriously?’

  ‘Believe me, I do take you seriously.’ He would like to take her very seriously indeed and the only reason he hadn’t taken the relationship to the next level was that Katie was holding him off.

  Pulling out the chair, she sat down. ‘I promise to hear you out.’

  He ignored the rush of interest in his groin and concentrated on the scrapbook in front of him. He spun it round so it was facing her. ‘This is my club...’

  She went very still as she turned the pages and then she looked at him.

  He shrugged. What could he say? This was his life’s work, and had been the only thing he cared about and worked for...up to now. The fact that he had never forgotten his roots, or that by assisting these children he was not only helping them but also somehow healing the child he had once been, was his concern, and his alone. The fact that he was sharing this with Katie was a measure of his respect for her. She must stay, and not because revealing this had bared his soul. He knew his secret would be safe with her, but he wanted her to stay because he couldn’t imagine life without her. She was a remarkable woman, this self-effacing, quiet, kind girl, and he knew he would never meet anyone like her again.

  Katie studied the image on the first page. Rigo was standing in the middle of a small group of men dressed in motor-racing red. They all looked tanned and fit and wealthy, and they all had their arms casually draped across each other’s shoulders. At that point she was still thinking the worst of him, but then she moved on to the second page and everything inside her went still. As misjudgements went, hers had been enormous. ‘I don’t understand...’

  ‘What’s to understand?’ he said, frowning. ‘How can you look at those photographs and tell me you don’t want to become involved?’

  Rigo’s organisation fulfilled as many of the dreams of sick and disadvantaged children as it could. ‘So that’s why you were racing round the track when I arrived?’ Each of the photographs was dated, and as she traced the image for that day lightly with her fingertips her heart filled with admiration and love for him. ‘And your friend—the one who was in hospital having the life-saving operation...’

  Rigo didn’t answer and his expression didn’t flicker. He took no credit for any of this, she realised, and even now he wouldn’t reveal the identities of any of the families he helped. Now she understood that it wasn’t his privacy he guarded so assiduously, but that of the children and their families and his friends.

  ‘The children do occasionally make me late for appointments,’ he admitted, smiling faintly.

  One glance into Rigo’s eyes told a world of stories and, while some of them were happy, many were sad.

  ‘As far as I’m concerned,’ he said, ‘the children come first. Well, Katie? Now I’ve explained why I need someone to help me with the expansion of the scheme, how do you feel?’

  Rigo would stop at nothing to continue this work. Even his much vaunted pride counted for nothing in Rigo’s mind compared to these children. How did that make her feel? Her heart was aching with love for him. She wanted the job. It was a job she could devote her life to willingly and without question. She could feel passion for the job, a passion that would never falter, but—

  ‘I should warn you,’ Rigo said, interrupting Katie’s thoughts with a condemning glance at her dull brown suit, ‘that everyone involved in the scheme is under orders to inject fun and colour into the lives of those we help—’

  ‘And must embrace a more extensive palette than brown, I take it?’ she suggested in the same dry tone.

  A half-smile creased his face in the attractive way she loved. ‘As you can see from the scrapbook,’ he said, looking at it, ‘you must wear whatever is appropriate for the activity you’re taking part in.’

  ‘I draw the line at a yellow jumpsuit.’ She was remembering one of the most hair-raising photographs with one part of her brain, and longing for something that could never be with the other part.

  ‘If you do a tandem parachute jump with me, Katie, the yellow jumpsuit is required equipment.’

  Bizarrely, as he spoke a wedding dress flashed into her mind. She smiled it away, thinking of the children and the wonderful opportunity Rigo had put in front of her.

  ‘We have to do anything that’s asked of us.’

  ‘I understand,’ she said.

  ‘Are you ready to give me your answer?’ he said. ‘Will you join us?’

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  SHE WOULD DO ANYTHING for him right now.

  Don’t give up, Katie’s inner voice begged, while common sense told her she could have the job of her dreams, but not the man. Maybe Rigo was playing with her in the sexual sense, Katie reasoned, but she knew he was wholly sincere about his scheme. Perhaps she should choose the security of home over the freedom and romance she had always longed for—at least if she did that her heart wouldn’t ache constantly.

  She smiled. She knew. There’d never been any doubt what she would do. ‘I’ll go and put on my new suit, shall I?’

  Rigo relaxed. He understood the code. He had offered her the chance to make the difference she had longed to make and she was saying yes.

  And now they were both on their feet.

  ‘I can’t tell you how pleased I am!’ Rigo exclaimed as he came around the desk. ‘Thank you so much for agreeing to join us, Katie. I’m going to turn Carlo’s legacy into something wonderful. I’ve already decided I’ll keep a small apartment here, but the Palazzo Farnese is going to become Carlo’s Kids’ Club—’

  ‘So your stepbrother will be remembered for all the right reasons...’

  ‘He will.’

  ‘It’s a great name—fun and friendly.’ Could hearts explode? Katie wondered as hers pounded violently in her chest.

  ‘I’m already talking to my team of doctors to make sure the centre is everything it needs to be and I’ll build their suggestions into my plans—’

  ‘I’ll do anything you ask,’ she interrupted. ‘I mean it, Rigo. I want to be part of this.’

  ‘Welcome to the team, Katie.’

  He grasped her hand and let it go. ‘This is a big ask.’ He stared directly into her eyes. ‘I need more than a personal assistant.’

  She didn’t breathe.

  ‘I need someone like you to speak independently on the steering committee.’

  She pulled herself together. ‘Of course.’

  This was so
much more than she had hoped for, Katie told herself firmly. ‘I only wish I’d understood all this from the start.’

  ‘Would it have made a difference?’

  Rigo’s eyes searched hers relentlessly and they both knew he wasn’t talking about business now. She knew she looked uncomfortable, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d lost the art of masking her feelings the day Rigo had kissed her.

  She was thankful when he let it go.

  ‘People’s lives are precious,’ he said, referring to his scheme, ‘and they are entitled to discretion from us.’

  ‘You have my word,’ she said, knowing Rigo’s foundation was infinitely more important than her own small world of doubt and negative self-image issues.

  ‘The last thing the families need is the media spotlight focused on them—and my friends aren’t too happy about it either,’ he confessed with a wry smile. ‘It’s better for everyone if we keep it low-profile.’

  ‘Everything you have told me will remain between you and me,’ she promised him. ‘The details of your foundation are safe with me.’

  ‘I never doubted it.’

  But there was a question in his eyes. And that question was: why couldn’t she be as open with him?

  And then with an effortless switch of tempo, he became her boss again. ‘I can’t wait to get started. I’m so glad you’re joining us, Katie.’

  In his enthusiasm he caught hold of her arms and spun her round. They were both on a high. And Rigo was an impulsive man. Still, the last thing she had expected was that he would kiss her on the mouth...

  The kiss was like no other they’d shared. The impulse and joy that caused it changed instantly to something more. Once reignited that fire raged unabated. She couldn’t press herself close enough or hard enough. She had to taste him and feel him in every part of her. She could barely drag in enough air to sustain life...

  Rigo swung her into his arms and strode out of the room.

  He didn’t walk up the stairs, he ran.

  Closing her eyes, she nuzzled her face into his chest. She was hiding from reality and intended doing so until the last bubble burst. Having mounted the stairs, he shouldered his way into his apartment. It was as shabby as her own, but to Katie’s eyes it was equally charming and comfortable. Thanks to the attentions of a reinvigorated staff, it was also spotlessly clean, and as Rigo launched them both onto the super-sized bed she inhaled the faint scent of sunshine and lavender contained in crisp white bedlinen.