‘You’re a very strange man,’ she said slowly.
‘In a bad way or a good way?’ he prompted as he stood up.
‘I haven’t decided yet.’
The grin he gave softened the harshness of his features. ‘When you do, let me know, hmm?’
‘You’re different than I imagined.’
‘In what way?’
‘That night at the restaurant when you—when you kissed me, I thought you were just another arrogant jerk who doesn’t like to hear the word no.’
‘One out of the two, certainly,’ he mused.
Lia didn’t need him to tell her it was the word no he didn’t like to hear. There was no doubting he was arrogant too, but there was something else. Something she couldn’t quite equate with the ruthless bastard she’d labelled him. Perhaps it was the fact that, whatever his reasons, he was actually attempting to take care of her.
‘You said you weren’t always rich?’
‘No.’ He settled more comfortably on the bar stool. ‘When I graduated from university with a business degree and returned to Spain it was to find that my father had allowed the family vineyard to decline. Several years of bad harvest...diseased vines.’ He shrugged. ‘There were still my two brothers to go to university. I put my own life on hold and set about ensuring that happened.’
‘By founding the de la Cruz business empire?’
‘Yes.’
‘And is your life still on hold?’
He looked at her admiringly. ‘Obviously not.’
Lia gave a shake of her head. ‘I don’t think it would be a good idea for the two of us to meet again.’
He looked displeased. ‘Why not?’
Lia avoided meeting his gaze. ‘Besides the obvious, I don’t belong in that world any more.’
‘The obvious...?’
‘I hold you partly responsible for my father’s death.’ There—she’d stated it clearly, so there could be no lingering doubts as to her reason for staying away from this man.
Was she protesting too much?
Because of her earlier reaction to him?
Maybe. But that didn’t change the fact that she really didn’t want to see or be alone with Gregorio again. He...unsettled her. Disturbed her. In a deep and visceral way Lia could never remember being aware of with any other man. Including the man she had once been engaged to and had intended to marry.
‘I am sorry you feel that way,’ he answered evenly. ‘And you can belong in whatever world you choose to be in,’ he announced arrogantly.
‘You really can’t be that naïve! My father is dead. My engagement is over. Most of my friends have deserted me. I’ve lost my home. My father’s business is under investigation. None of the charities I worked for want the name Fairbanks associated with them. I now live in this tiny apartment, and I start a new job on Monday.’
‘None of those things changes who you are fundamentally.’
‘I no longer know who I am!’ If there had been enough room to pace then Lia would have done so, as she was suddenly filled with restless energy. ‘I try to tell myself none of those other things matter. That this is my life now...’
‘But...?’
‘But I’m mainly lying to myself.’ She inwardly cursed herself as her voice broke emotionally. Gregorio was the last man she wanted to reveal any weakness to. ‘And you’re lying to yourself if you think that being nice to me, buying me dinner, will ever make me forget your part in what happened,’ she added accusingly.
‘No barrier is insurmountable if the two people involved do not wish it to be there.’
‘But I do wish it to be there.’
‘Are you sure about that?’
When had Gregorio moved to stand so close to her? She felt overwhelmed by both his size and the force of his personality—a lethal combination that caused her heart to start pounding loudly again.
‘You have to go,’ she told him.
‘Do I?’
‘Yes!’
Despite the food she’d eaten, Lia had no reserves of energy left to resist the pull of those dark and compelling eyes. No defences to fight the lure of that hard and muscular body. Even the reminder that he was Gregorio de la Cruz wasn’t working. She was caught like a deer in the headlights of a car as his head slowly began to lower towards hers.
Gregorio was going to kiss her...
No matter how exhausted and defenceless Lia felt, she couldn’t allow that to happen.
‘No!’ She raised enough energy to put a restraining hand against his chest, and that brief contact was enough to make her aware of the tensed heat of Gregorio’s body and the rapid beat of his heart. ‘You really do have to leave. Please.’
His lips remained only centimetres away from her own, his breath a warm caress against her cheek.
His nostrils flared as he breathed long and deeply before slowly straightening and then finally stepping away. ‘Because you asked so nicely...’
Lia gave a choked laugh, able to breathe again now that he was no longer standing quite so close to her. ‘As opposed to threatening to call the police and having them kick you out?’
‘Exactly.’ He rolled down the sleeves of his shirt and fastened them before shrugging back into his jacket. ‘Think of me tomorrow when you eat all that chocolate cake,’ he added huskily, and then the door closed softly behind him as he let himself out of the apartment.
Lia breathed easily at last once he had gone. What the hell had happened just now? She had almost let Gregorio kiss her, for goodness’ sake. She—
Lia froze as she saw the business card sitting on top of the breakfast bar.
The same business card she had refused to take from him earlier, with his personal mobile number embossed on it in gold.
CHAPTER THREE
‘GOOD MORNING, LIA.’
Lia felt all the colour drain from her cheeks as she stared up at the man standing on the other side of the reception desk at the London Exemplar Hotel.
She had always thought that a person feeling the colour leeching from their face was a ridiculous concept: people couldn’t actually feel the colour leaving their cheeks.
Except Lia just had. In fact the blood seemed to have drained from her head completely, settling somewhere in the region of her toes and leaving her feeling slightly light-headed as she continued to gape across the reception desk at Gregorio de la Cruz.
He tilted his head, a mocking smile playing about those sculpted lips as he saw her reaction to his being here. ‘I did warn you that in future you should anticipate seeing me where and when you least expected to do so.’
Yes, he had—but it hadn’t occurred to Lia that Gregorio might turn up at her new place of employment.
Deliberately so?
Or was it purely coincidence that Gregorio had come to the Exemplar Hotel on the morning she began working there?
Lia very much doubted that. With a man as powerful and well-connected as Gregorio there was no such thing as coincidence.
Which meant he had known she would be here. How he knew was probably by the same means he had acquired the address of her new apartment.
She narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you having me followed, Mr de la Cruz?’
‘Followed? No,’ he dismissed. ‘Am I ensuring your safety? Yes,’ he admitted without apology.
Lia’s brows rose. ‘Why on earth does my safety need ensuring?’
‘You are now alone in the world.’
‘We both know why that is!’
‘Lia—’
‘Is there a problem here—? Mr de la Cruz!’ Michael, the hotel manager, quickly hid his surprise as he greeted the other man warmly.
‘Good morning, Michael,’ Gregorio returned smoothly as the two men shook hands. ‘And, no, there is no problem. I just came down to say hello to Miss... Faulkner,’ he finished, with a knowing glance at the badge Lia had pinned on the left lapel of her jacket.
It was a surname Gregorio knew didn’t belong to her.
And he also a
pparently knew the manager of this hotel by his first name’
An uneasy feeling began to churn in Lia’s stomach, growing stronger by the second and making her feel slightly nauseous.
There was no such thing as coincidence where Gregorio de la Cruz was concerned.
Which meant he had known exactly where she would be starting her new job this morning.
He really was having her followed—might he even have had some influence in her attaining this job too?
For what reason?
The churning in Lia’s stomach became a full-blown tsunami as she searched for the reason Gregorio was doing these things.
That guilty conscience she had accused him of having?
No, he had denied feeling any guilt in regard to her father’s death.
The only other reason Lia could think of was to make her feel beholden to him. Not just beholden but trapped, when she badly needed to keep this job in order to pay her rent and bills as well as to buy food.
Trapped enough to give him what he wanted?
Namely herself.
‘Of course.’ Michael accepted Gregorio’s explanation. ‘If you would care to take your lunchbreak early, Lia, I’m sure we can accommodate—’
‘No! No,’ she repeated in a calmer voice as she realised how rude her previous vehemence must have sounded. ‘I’m sure a busy man like Mr de la Cruz has somewhere else he needs to be right now.’ Her eyes glittered in challenge.
Whatever was going on here, and whether or not Gregorio had had a hand in her acquiring this job, she did not want her co-workers seeing her on the receiving end of deferential treatment from the manager on her very first morning. There were already several curious glances being sent their way—goodness only knew what conclusions the people she had only just started working with were drawing about this conversation alone!
‘Thank you for the offer, Michael.’ Gregorio answered the other man smoothly. ‘But, as Lia says, I have another appointment in a few minutes.’
‘Oh. Okay. Fine.’ The other man looked slightly flustered. ‘I’ll leave the two of you to talk, then.’ He hurried off in the direction of his office behind the reception area.
‘I do not like your hair pulled back in that style.’
Lia raised an irritated gaze. ‘I really don’t give a—’
‘Language, Lia,’ Gregorio drawled.
‘Down?’ she repeated abruptly. ‘You told Michael you had come down to say hello to me...’ she said as Gregorio raised a questioning brow.
‘I occupy the whole of the penthouse floor of the hotel,’ he admitted without apology.
Lia’s heart sank down to wallow in all the blood that had already drained and congealed in her feet. ‘Is it possible that you own the Exemplar Hotel?’
‘It is part of the De la Cruz Hotel Group, yes.’ He gave a smile of satisfaction.
Trapped!
Lia had absolutely no doubt now that for reasons of his own Gregorio was involved up to his arrogant neck in her being given this receptionist job.
Gregorio’s satisfaction faded, his eyes narrowing as he recognised the flush gathering in Lia’s cheeks for exactly what it was. Anger. White-hot burning fury.
‘Do not do anything you will regret,’ he warned softly as she stood up.
‘The only thing I regret is actually thinking you were being nice to me on Saturday.’ She bent to retrieve her bag from under the desk, her eyes glittering accusingly as she glared across at him. ‘I’m going to take that early lunchbreak, after all. Perhaps you would like to clear that with your buddy Michael?’
‘He is not—’
‘Stay away from me, Gregorio!’ she hissed, leaning across the desk so that only he could hear. ‘Find some other mouse to ensnare in your trap, but leave me alone!’
Her cheeks were ablaze with colour as she marched the length of the reception desk, appearing on the other side of it before striding the length of the hotel lobby and out through the front door.
Gregorio very much doubted it was the right time to tell Lia that the staff of the Exemplar Hotel were not allowed to use the front entrance.
Well, that hadn’t gone as well as he might have hoped.
Hope.
That seemed to be all he had where Lia Fairbanks was concerned, when she continued to resist and deny him at every turn.
Maybe ensuring she was employed at one of the de la Cruz hotels hadn’t been his best idea, but at the time, knowing of her lack of funds and the problems she was having finding suitable employment, it had seemed the right thing to do. Besides which, he knew Lia could do the job standing on her head.
She was warm, gracious, well-spoken, beautiful... And, having been her father’s long-time hostess and companion, she knew exactly what was required of a receptionist in a prestigious hotel.
He should have waited until a more suitable time, of course, to inform her that he owned the hotel where she now worked. But, having spent a frustrating day yesterday, wondering what Lia was doing and who she was with, and knowing she was downstairs working in the lobby of the hotel, Gregorio hadn’t been able to resist coming down at least to look her again.
Once he had seen her—as cool, calm and collected as he had known she would be—he hadn’t been able to stop himself from actually speaking to her.
Considering Lia’s fury when she left, he wasn’t sure she would be coming back.
* * *
‘So, how was your first morning at work?’ Cathy prompted excitedly the moment she sat down at the table where the two women had arranged to meet for lunch. ‘Met any gorgeous unmarried billionaires yet?’ she teased as she made herself more comfortable by shrugging off her jacket.
Oh, yes, Lia had met an unmarried billionaire. But Gregorio de la Cruz’s looks were compelling rather than pretty-boy gorgeous.
But he was a manipulator. He was having her followed. He had arranged for her to be employed at his hotel. He had literally taken away all her options. Until he owned her body and soul.
Body and soul?
Lia would be lying to herself if she didn’t acknowledge her physical reaction to Gregorio. She only had to glance at him to be totally aware of him. Only had to look into those dark and compelling eyes to feel her body heating from the inside out.
Much as she might wish it wasn’t true, she was physically attracted to Gregorio de la Cruz.
‘Never mind,’ Cathy sympathised, obviously misunderstanding the reason for Lia’s silence. ‘It was only your first morning, after all.’
For some reason, when the two women had spoken on the phone yesterday Lia hadn’t told Cathy about Gregorio’s visit to her apartment the evening before. Usually she told Cathy everything—had done since the two of them were at school together—but when it came to the subject of Gregorio, Lia didn’t know quite what to say.
Maybe because yesterday she had still been a little uncertain in her conjecture as to the reason for Gregorio’s visit the evening before—had still been wondering if perhaps she wasn’t imagining things...desires...that simply hadn’t been there.
On Saturday he had said he wanted to talk to her—which he hadn’t. He had told her he would feed her dinner—which he had. And he had almost kissed her. He would have kissed her if Lia had allowed it.
His appearance at the hotel this morning—the hotel he owned—left her in no doubt that for reasons of his own Gregorio was weaving a spider’s web about her. One made out of expensive dinners and the job she desperately needed, but still a spider’s web.
Was he only doing these things because he wanted her?
Because he knew he couldn’t have her any other way?
Lia found it hard to believe it was because Gregorio desired her. She had been complimented on the way she looked since men had first begun to take notice of her in her mid-teens. But she didn’t fool herself into believing Gregorio was so bedazzled by her he would go to any lengths to have her. He only had to snap his fingers to have any woman he wanted, when he wanted her, s
o why bother even trying with a woman he knew had every reason to continue resisting him?
Maybe, despite his denials, he did feel some guilt in regard to her father’s death?
‘You okay, Lia?’
‘Fine.’ She determinedly shook herself out of her mood of despondency as she picked up the menu. ‘Let’s order, shall we?’
Until she knew what Gregorio was up to she had no intention of telling Cathy she had even seen him again, let alone that he was now pursuing her.
Relentlessly.
* * *
‘Can I offer you a lift home?’
‘No, thank you.’
Lia didn’t need to look at the driver of the dark sports car driving slowly beside the pavement she was walking along to know it was Gregorio. Illegally kerb-crawling, of course—but then he seemed to be as cavalier towards the law as he was to everything else.
‘You would prefer to take public transport rather than be driven home in the comfort of my car?’
‘I would prefer to crawl home on my hands and knees than accept a lift from you!’
‘You are being childish.’
‘I am being the independent woman I now am—despite your efforts to make me otherwise!’ Lia’s hands clenched as she turned to glare through the open passenger window at Gregorio.
She had half expected to see him at the hotel again when she’d returned from lunch, and had breathed a sigh of relief when the afternoon had passed by without any more unwelcome interruptions from him.
She should have known he wouldn’t give up that easily.
The car came to a stop and she stepped forward to bend down and talk to him directly through the open window. ‘I realise you’re a man accustomed to taking what he wants, and to hell with anyone else’s feelings, but let me assure you I can’t be bought or seduced into your bed with a few expensive dinners and a job—What are you doing?’ she gasped as Gregorio turned off the car’s engine before opening his door and climbing out of the low-slung vehicle.
His expression was dark and thunderous as he strode round the back of the car towards her. Lia instinctively took a step back.
He was dressed less formally than Lia had ever seen him before, in a black polo shirt open at the throat and worn beneath a soft black leather jacket, with jeans resting low down on his hips. The former emphasised the broadness of his shoulders and toned chest and abs, and the latter added to that rugged attraction. Gregorio looked breathtaking in a formal suit, but in casual clothes he was even more dark and dangerous.
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