by Nina Blake
Clearly, Trevor was enjoying this. Meanwhile, Bree’s aim was to get out of there without causing a scene.
She stepped forward to shake Shannon’s hand. Slim and tanned with bleached hair, this woman was all make-up and clothes. Her hair had been immaculately blow dried and coiffed into a long feathery cut.
“Pleased to meet you.” Shannon didn’t bother getting up off the sofa as she shook Bree’s hand. She’d staked her position next to her man and wasn’t going to move.
Bree knew she should be civil and repeat the same polite greeting but she wasn’t pleased to meet the woman and couldn’t bring herself to say so. Instead she introduced Conrad to Trevor and the young woman.
“We’ve met before,” Trevor replied confidently.
“Not exactly,” Conrad said. “But you could say we’ve seen each other around.”
Bree couldn’t bear it any longer. Desperate to make a get-away, she took a step back.
“You must excuse us,” she said. “As you can see, we only just got in.”
Trevor ran his eyes along Bree’s dishevelled form. “Yes, I don’t know what you two have been up to but you look like you’ve been having fun. I can see you need to get cleaned up.”
His fiancée giggled again. She must think him quite a wit.
Conrad said, “You might look this way too if you ever get off your butt and out into the countryside. Or did you come here for the cocktails?”
Trevor knocked back the rest of his drink. “Cocktails suit me just fine.”
Bree spun around. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Conrad followed closely behind her.
He closed the door – her bedroom door – behind him.
“Do you want to tell me what that was all about?” he asked.
“I didn’t enjoy that any more than you did.”
She didn’t mean to snap back at him but seeing Trevor had disturbed her. She’d been in such a good mood before he’d walked back into her life and suddenly the world was closing in around her.
Here she was out in the middle of nowhere. She was a city girl, thousands of kilometres from the city she loved, and she’d never felt so isolated from all the things she knew.
She was locked in this strange but beautiful place with one man who thought he could buy her and another who’d tossed her away as unwanted goods. To rub salt into the wound, the only person she had less desire to see less than Trevor was his fiancée and she was here too.
All Bree wanted was to collapse onto the bed, close her eyes and hope it all disappeared.
She was heading for the crisp white bedding when Conrad latched onto her arm and spun her around to face him.
His eyes were two whips. “You knew he was going to be here, didn’t you?”
“I beg your pardon. I knew no such thing.”
“It all makes sense now. Before we came in, you were so concerned about your appearance, your hair. You wanted to make sure you looked presentable.”
“Because I didn’t want to come into the lobby and have a bunch of strangers see me looking a sight.”
“Except they weren’t strangers in the lounge, were they?”
She wished they had been. Then she wouldn’t be in this position. Besides, she didn’t want to go into the sordid details of her relationship with Trevor, not now and certainly not with Conrad.
She shook his hand off. “I had no idea they were going to be there.”
“Did you invite him? Tell him when you’d be here?”
“I can assure you, Trevor Daniels is the last person I’d invite here.”
“You’ve obviously had more to do with him in the past than I have.”
“I know him well but that doesn’t mean I invited him here. You don’t seem pleased to see him either.” Bree narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps you can tell me why.”
“It’s quite simple. He’s the competition. He’s the solicitor for the rival firm tendering for Il Bosco but, then, you already know that don’t you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you accusing me of something? I wasn’t the one who dragged you up here.”
“Bree, do you really think I dragged you here?”
“That’s not what I meant. You’re accusing me of something and I’m not even sure of what.”
“People like Trevor Daniels have all sorts of means to seal their deals and get what they want.”
Bree knew all too well how true that was. “He’s no angel. I know that much.”
“And the deal for Il Bosco isn’t sealed yet, not until the final signatures are on paper. He’s up to something. He’s here for a reason.”
“Whatever he’s here for, it’s got nothing to do with me.”
Conrad appeared to be considering what she’d said, although she was shocked he could accuse her of orchestrating some kind of set-up. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
His manner changed as he brushed the back of his fingers up her arm. Goose bumps suddenly appeared on her bare skin despite the humidity. His hand dropped down to her waist as he slipped his fingers under the hem of her tee shirt onto the bare skin above her shorts.
She didn’t understand him. One minute he seemed angry, yet now he was touching her suggestively. Did that mean he finally believed her?
He leaned his head closer to hers, his pale eyes a magnet she couldn’t resist. “You look like you need a rest.”
“Yes,” she said.
“Don’t forget about dinner tonight.”
“Dinner? Please don’t tell me they’re going to dine with us.”
Conrad’s smile was loaded with superior intent. “I’m not going to change my plans because of two recalcitrant guests. I want you to look stunning tonight. Dress for sophistication. For seduction. I want you to look a million dollars. Tonight, you will outshine the other guests.”
Bree pursed her lips. He wasn’t asking her politely to dress formally tonight. The word ‘please’ didn’t cross his lips. He was telling her what to do.
With one hand, he pulled her close against the wall of his torso and pressed his lips against hers.
There was no passion, no desire, or none that she could tell. His kiss was a statement of ownership, an assertion of his position.
If he wanted her to look sophisticated tonight she would do exactly that. He’d given her the brief, told her what he wanted, and as an experienced public relations executive she could certainly work to a brief. It’d make her job all the easier.
She could tell he didn’t trust Trevor and it was easy to guess they’d probably had some unpleasant business dealings in the past. Conrad wanted to show Trevor up, prove his superiority, arrive with the prettiest partner hanging off his arm.
Had he forgotten she also had a sharp mind, determination, a will of her own?
She’d show him what she was made of.
“You might be surprised how well I scrub up,” she said.
Conrad’s lips curled to a knowing smile as he turned to leave through the door leading directly to his room.
He was right about one thing. She needed to rest.
It was going to be a long evening.
* * *
Conrad stared at the black jacket on a hanger in his room, a Yamomoto jacket imported from Japan and made from the finest Australian wool. It was too hot even to think about wearing it.
So Trevor Daniels thought he could get one over him. It had been three years since he’d laid eyes on Daniels although in the business world he heard his name mentioned from time to time.
As far as Conrad knew, the man always acted within the law but that didn’t mean he hadn’t bent the law and looked for loopholes. In fact, he was known for it.
And that was nothing compared to the way he behaved in his personal life. He didn’t have morals or standards. He only cared about himself.
It was three years ago, Conrad thought, three years since Daniels had helped a young woman ruin her life.
It still pained him to think of it. Some thing
s were unforgivable.
What had Daniels had been doing in the interim? How many other lives he had affected and disregarded? He hadn’t heard much about the man’s private life and that suited him just fine.
He was a top Sydney corporate lawyer and Bree was an up-and-coming public relations executive so it was hardly surprising their paths should have crossed. She’d certainly seemed put out at seeing him.
He’d have to ask her about it later but first he had a more important matter to take care of. He stepped over to the chest of drawers in his room for the burgundy felt box, then walked across to knock on the door leading to Bree’s room.
She was so strong willed, he doubted she’d accept the items as a gift but he was sure he could entice her to wear them just for one evening. Perhaps he could convince her to accept them as a gift another time.
He heard her call out so he pushed the door open and stood in the doorway.
Her hands on her waist, Bree’s mouth curled to a sultry smile destined only for his eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing and how good she looked. Her lips were soft and seductive, her smile overflowing with confidence.
Nothing was sexier than confidence.
She wore minimal make-up and had swept her hair up into a loose knot, her face and neck exposed except for a few stray tendrils of shiny mahogany hair.
It was alluring to see so much of her pale skin bared for the evening. This was a woman who wouldn’t hide behind her hair and neither was she wearing a mask of make-up. It was as though she was baring herself for him.
Maybe later she would.
His eyes dropped to the neckline of her sleeveless evening dress. The colour of ripe plums, it accentuated the paleness of her skin and the rich depths of her hair. The neckline hung low enough to reveal her delicate collar bones and although the fabric covered the swell of her breasts, it did nothing to hide their allure, their soft feminine shape.
The bodice clung to her waist, then flared out into soft layers down below her knees. Conrad watched open mouthed as she took a few steps towards him, revealing glimpses of the ivory skin of her thigh through a split hidden in the layers of fabric. It was an invitation for him to look more closely.
She turned around slowly and he realised why her hands were still on her waist. The dress hadn’t yet been properly fastened yet and she was ensuring it didn’t fall open.
He dropped the jewellery box on a small table by the wall and headed straight for Bree.
Her hands slid down over the back of her hips as she asked him to help with her dress. Though he would much have preferred to take it off, he slid the zip upwards to the small of her back where the neckline at the back plunged in a deep V.
One weekend. That’s what he’d said to her. He’d wasted one night. He wasn’t going to let the same thing happen again this evening.
Her back bared, he was unable to resist. He slid his fingers up along the fine bones of her spine, past the spot where her bra would have been if she were wearing one.
Then what was she wearing under the dress? Not much, he hoped.
Her back still to him, Bree turned her head and tilted her chin upwards. “I hope I’ve lived up to the brief.”
“Pardon?”
“You were very specific tonight. Sophisticated. Seductive. Have I lived up to your expectations?”
“Bree, you’ve exceeded them but you misunderstood. It wasn’t a brief. This isn’t a job.”
She turned to face him, looking up at him through lowered lashes. “Then perhaps we might enjoy ourselves after all.”
This woman was driving him crazy. Slowly he slid his hands across to rest on the curve of her waist. They only stayed there for a moment before she glided away from him towards the mirror above the bedside table to check her hair.
Tonight, she was overflowing with confidence. She knew exactly how alluring she looked.
His eyes dropped down to two chiffon evening scarves in shades of plum on the bedside table and he remembered how stunning she’d looked with a scarf draped across her neck at the Indi-Art Ball. She wouldn’t be wearing a scarf tonight however.
Bree looked at his reflection in the mirror. “So do I look a million dollars?”
He swiped the burgundy velvet box from the table where he’d left it and stepped closer. He held the item out to her.
“I have something which will finish off the outfit for you,” he said.
“I can’t accept a gift like this from you,” she said, even before she’d opened the jewellery box.
“I didn’t think you’d accept a gift. I’d like you to wear them just for tonight.”
And after that we’ll see. In his younger days he’d often lavished gifts on women and they’d never been refused, never been thought too great.
He watched has she opened the velvet box and smiled.
Shifting his eyes towards the mirror he saw her gaze was riveted to his reflection, her lips seductively parted. He wanted to take her there and then but knew he couldn’t simply grab what he wanted.
They were playing by her rules.
She slipped on the earrings and while she was still admiring them in the mirror, he reached for the fine pearl and neoprene necklace. Securing it around her neck, he admired the way it sat just below her delicate collar bones, highlighting both the curve of her neck and the swell of her breasts.
“Where did they come from?” she asked.
“I had them flown in especially.”
Her eyes dropped. “So I could outshine the other guests including Trevor and his fiancée?”
“Why would you think that?”
“I noticed a certain rivalry between you and him and I thought…”
“You thought wrong. I ordered the items this morning before I knew who the other guests were. Besides, do you really think you need expensive jewellery to outshine them?”
“No, I thought that’s what you would think.”
“You weren’t happy to see Daniels either. Is there something you want to tell me?”
He thought he saw her flinch but she responded quickly. “No, there’s nothing I want to talk about.”
“Then let’s go out onto the terrace for dinner.”
Conrad took Bree’s arm as they made their way towards the deck at the far end of the building. Cantilevered over the Chelsea River, the terrace provided relaxing views across the lush gardens of The Residence in one direction and a spectacular vista across the river to the cliffs on the other side. The gum trees, ferns and other greenery on the far side were lit from below, illuminated for the benefit of the guests.
Aside from Trevor and Shannon, there were two other couples, both of them wealthy retirees staying at The Residence that evening. They’d all taken their seats, leaving Bree and Conrad to sit opposite the two people whom they least wanted to see.
Still, he could be civil. It wouldn’t be hard to show Daniels up under these circumstances or any other.
“Bree,” Daniels said, “I see you’ve managed to clean yourself up for tonight.” She shot him a disdainful look but it didn’t stop him from continuing. “The two of you were such a sight when you came in this afternoon that I was wondering what you’d got up to.”
“Are you trying to imply something?” Bree said. “Because we were out hiking and swimming. In case you hadn’t noticed Il Bosco has some amazing countryside.”
“Yes, I can see it from where I’m comfortably seated at the moment. You know I don’t like to get my hands too dirty.”
Bree smiled wanly. “Of course not.”
“Very kind of you to treat us all to dinner tonight,” Daniels said to Conrad.
“I wanted to sample the best of what the area has to offer,” he replied. “It’s really not that complicated.”
Through the corner of his eye, he could see Bree and Daniels continuing their terse conversation. Meanwhile Daniels’ fiancée kept making inane comments to him.
Shannon Graham was a replica of hundreds of women he’d met befor
e. Slim and reasonably attractive, there was little behind the flashy exterior. In a tight black dress which looked cheap against her tanned skin and pale hair, she was revealing as much cleavage and leg as possible. Tonight, her appearance and styling was the polar opposite of Bree who looked effortlessly elegant.
“Conrad, I know you’re a Sydney-sider,” Shannon said. “I’ve seen your picture in the paper. So why have you come up to this place?”
He wondered if she could be as clueless as she sounded.
“Hasn’t Daniels mentioned it to you?” he asked.
“No. I know why we’ve come to this remote, barren place. For Trevor’s work. But I don’t know why you’re here.”
It was true that Il Bosco was remote. That was part of its appeal but if this young woman thought it barren she clearly hadn’t been paying much attention.
“You could say I’ve come here for work too,” he said.
“And what kind of work dragged you up here?”
“I’m tendering for this remote, barren place.”
Shannon’s mouth turned into a perfectly shaped O. “But so is Trevor’s client. You’re business rivals. Enemies.”
Clueless just took on new dimensions.
“You could say that,” Conrad replied.
“Isn’t this place a million acres?’”
“Yes.”
“And aren’t you talking about millions of dollars?”
“Yes.”
Shannon reached across the table, placed her hand on his and looked up at him through mascara-clogged lashes. “You must tell me all about it.”
He could read her like a book. It wasn’t difficult.
She may have heard of him but clearly she hadn’t cottoned on to how much he was worth until just then. He knew well the feigned interest and inelegant flirting of gold diggers much more experienced than her and was hardly going to be taken in by it. Shannon might be engaged to Trevor Daniels but she’d seen a richer fish she might hook. Pity she had no chance.
The evening passed slowly but at least the food lived up to Conrad’s expectations. Among other things they had fresh Barramundi, a delicacy from the rivers of the north of Australia, and local corn-fed beef seared to perfection.
Unsure of the guests’ tastes, Conrad had ordered a range of desserts and was surprised to see Bree request two of them. He teased her about it and she insisted dessert was her favourite part of the meal.