Again as yesterday, he was seated behind the huge imposing desk, but dressed less formally, the dark grey business suit of yesterday discarded in favour of a black silk shirt opened casually at the neck and black trousers that fitted closely to his long muscular legs.
His eyes narrowed appraisingly as he took in her own appearance and Farrah put up a nervous hand to ruffle her short cherubic hair. It was an endearing gesture, and made those icy blue eyes narrow even more.
‘Miss Halliday,’ he said deeply.
‘Mr Falcone,’ she replied huskily. ‘I—er— You asked me to come.’
‘Of course I did, Miss Halliday, I’m not so ancient that my memory fails me,’ his mouth twisted mockingly. ‘We have a conversation to finish.’
Farrah blinked nervously. ‘Yes, Mr Falcone. You—um—you said you had something to think over.’
Joel Falcone stood up, his tall lean frame even more intimidating as he came round the desk to stand in front of her. ‘Won’t you sit down. Miss Halliday?’
She looked round at the leather armchair just behind her, dropping down thankfully into its luxurious depth and then wishing she hadn’t as she realised how much smaller it made her feel as she looked up at him.
He began to pace up and down the office, emanating a completely masculine aura as he occasionally looked at her before turning frowningly away again. Suddenly he stopped in front of her. ‘Tell me, Miss Halliday—what do you think of me?’
Farrah looked at him open-mouthed. Whatever it was she had been expecting it certainly hadn’t been a question like this. ‘Wh-What do I think of—of you?’ she asked hesitantly.
Icy blue eyes pinpointed her to the chair and Farrah moved back involuntarily. ‘Yes, me Miss Halliday, not Joel Falcone your employer, but Joel Falcone the man.’
What on earth was he talking about? Farrah felt completely bemused. She didn’t quite see what this conversation had to do with her father and the taking of this man’s money. ‘I don’t quite see …’ She shook her head.
‘No one is asking you to. Answer the question, Miss Halliday.’
Farrah looked at him closely to see if he was mocking her, but his expression was unreadable. What could she say about such a man, especially to his face? Her cheeks blushed a fiery red and she sat forward uncomfortably. ‘Well, I—I don’t know what to say!’
‘The truth would perhaps be preferable,’ he drawled dryly. ‘Speak up, girl. I don’t bite—well, not babies like you anyway, and certainly not in these circumstances.’
She blushed again, looking away from his taunting face. ‘What am I supposed to say? You know what you look like, so why ask me?’
Joel Falcone sighed in exasperation. ‘I don’t mean my physical looks—well, perhaps I do, but I don’t mean the fact that I have dark hair, am tall, of Italian descent from my skin colouring, and look my age. I want to know how you feel about me, how my looks affect you?”
‘Well, for a start you don’t look your age, experienced and—cynical and—’
‘Yes? Well, don’t stop now. This conversation could be the deciding point of your father’s immediate future.’
‘Oh! Oh well, in that case,’ she looked at him critically. ‘You’re cynical most of all—and rather condescending. And arrogant. But you’re attractive too.’
‘Oh, I’m glad about that,’ he interrupted mockingly. ‘Let’s concentrate on that, shall we?’
‘All right. Well, you have a sort of magnetism, animal magnetism I think they call it. And your features are ruggedly attractive, not handsome, you understand, but very attractive.’
Joel Falcone walked back around his desk and sat down again, smiling slightly at her embarrassment. ‘So we have established that you don’t find me repulsive. That’s good—in the circumstances. And I—I don’t find you repulsive either. Too young for my taste, but then only I know that.’ He was talking quietly to himself again. He looked up at her. ‘Sorry, honey, I was far away.’
Farrah shrugged her shoulders. ‘What’s all this about, Mr Falcone? I don’t understand you.’
‘No, I don’t suppose you do. But you will—oh, believe me, you will. Do you know anything about my personal life?’
She hadn’t, but during the last twenty-four hours she had learnt that he had more than just a business relationship with the other owner of this firm, the actress Laura Bennett, but they both had other relationships. She paled. Surely he wasn’t interested in her that way? Hadn’t he said she was too young for him? But he had also said she wasn’t repulsive to him. When she said anything yesterday she hadn’t meant anything!
‘Relax, Miss Halliday. And as you don’t seem to have an answer I will assume that you have heard a little about me but don’t feel able to reveal it,’ he laughed harshly. ‘Why you should feel so reticent I have no idea. You’ve already called my cynical, condescending, and arrogant, so why draw the line at my private life?’
Her green eyes sparkled at his intended mockery. ‘I said those things because I know them to be true. The things I’ve heard about your private life are exactly that, hearsay. I don’t feel able to judge you on that.’
Joel Falcone’s mouth tightened visibly and Farrah flinched from his icy gaze. ‘I’m not asking you to judge me on anything,’ he snapped coldly. ‘You are hardly in a position to judge anyone.’
Farrah sprang agilely to her feet, sparks of anger shooting from her eyes. ‘You’re cruel, Mr Falcone!’ she choked.
He smiled, a slow leisurely smile that taunted and mocked. ‘Yes, I’m that too. Sit down, Miss Halliday,’ he said harshly, all humour leaving his face to be replaced by a cold mask. ‘You asked for my help when I would be quite happy to let the law deal with your father. I thought I had found a way to help him and myself at the same time. It seems I was wrong.’ He stood up in conclusion of the interview. ‘You wouldn’t be co-operative, and a sulky angry companion I can do without.’
All anger left Farrah at his dismissive words and her shoulders slumped dejectedly. She dropped back into the chair. ‘Please, Mr Falcone, I—I didn’t mean to lose my temper. If you have some way of helping my father then I’ll gladly help—co-operate, whatever,’ she said anxiously.
‘You really are desperate, aren’t you? Very well, we’ll get back to my private life. You have no doubt heard of my long-standing friendship with Laura Bennett.’ His mouth curled back sneeringly as she blushed. ‘I thought so, it seems to be public knowledge, wouldn’t you say?’
‘Yes,’ she agreed softly.
‘Yes. Well, up until now it has been a very—intimate relationship, shall we say? Yes, very intimate.’ Joel Falcone obviously felt no embarrassment at his conversation, but Farrah blushed fiery red. ‘I see you understand my meaning,’ he taunted. ‘And while Laura may be satisfied with that sort of close business and personal arrangement, I find that it no longer suits me at all.’
Farrah felt tempted to ask what this had to do with her, but she resisted. She daren’t anger this man any further. ‘Yes?’ she prompted.
He sighed deeply. ‘So, I’m completely bored by the whole tedious affair.’
‘Then why carry—? Sorry,’ she bowed her head, ‘I didn’t mean to pry.’
‘Why carry on,’ he finished for her, feeling none of her embarrassment. ‘I’ve asked myself the same thing many times. I don’t have an answer—except perhaps that Laura seems to deliberately ignore any hints I may give about breaking up our relationship. At the begining I needed a hostess, I entertain a great deal, and I suppose you could say I used her. But whereas the affair seems to have cooled on my side, Laura seems determined to make something more permanent out of it. Needless to say, I don’t want that. I want her out of my life once and for all.’
‘Mr Falcone, I don’t see why I need to know all this. It isn’t any of my business, is it?’
‘I’m not in the habit of telling my private affairs to complete strangers, in fact I don’t discuss them with anyone,’ his voice was bitingly precise. ‘Unless o
f course I have a reason for it, and in your case I do.’
‘And what is that?’ Her curiosity was fully aroused now.
‘It’s quite simple really, Miss Halliday. As I’ve said, my affair with Laura is over as far as I’m concerned, at least in the physical sense, but she seems to want to carry on with it. It’s come to the point where I don’t even want to see her.’
Farrah was still puzzled. ‘If you feel that strongly about it why don’t you just tell her how you feel?’
‘I’ve tried, but unfortunately Laura feels that her shares in this company give her some sort of special privilege where I’m concerned. They don’t. I want to buy her out, but she seems to feel that if I did that she wouldn’t see me again. She’s right. I don’t appreciate her using our business tie to force our personal relationship. I intend showing her that I don’t need her—in any way. We have an agreement in our contracts that if either of us decides to sell, shares must be offered to the other partner before being put on the open market. I want to make Laura so mad she has to sell. Now this is where you come in. If Laura genuinely believes me to be in love with, and possibly contemplating marriage with, another woman, then she’ll realise I mean what I say about severing our friendship. Her pride won’t stand for too much of that sort of treatment. I wanted things to end differently, but she’s made that impossible. So,’ he sighed, ‘in return for dropping the charges against your father you are going to become my much-loved girl-friend.’
CHAPTER TWO
‘I’M what!’ At his words Farrah had jumped to her feet and she stood staring at him with disbelief on her face.
‘Calm down, Miss Halliday,’ he said with infuriating calm. ‘I realise my idea isn’t quite what you expected, but—’
‘You’re right, it isn’t!’ Farrah burst out indignantly, glaring at him defiantly as she saw anger spark in those icy blue eyes at her interruption. ‘How dare you!’ she continued angrily. ‘How dare you suggest such a thing? I couldn’t do it!’ she said determinedly, her tiny nose wrinkling with distaste.
‘I said calm down, Miss Halliday,’ Joel Falcone said without emotion. ‘My suggestion that you do this for me was not meant in the physical sense. I’ve already said you’re too young for my tastes.’
‘Yes. Yes!’ Farrah replied impatiently. ‘But if you didn’t mean for me to—to—’
‘Go to bed with me,’ he supplied tauntingly.
‘Yes, go to bed with you! If you don’t want that how will she ever think you’re serious about me? That seems to be the normal way you progress.’
Blue eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. ‘Do you want to share my bed?’
‘Certainly not!’ But the question gave her a warm unfamiliar feeling inside. What would it be like to be held in this man’s arms? To be held intimately against his taut naked body? She brought her chaotic thoughts to a halt, her eyes opening wide with shock as she realised how wanton her thoughts had become. ‘Then I don’t understand,’ her eyes were wide with bewilderment.
‘This is all to be pretence, Miss Halliday. Just a way of getting Laura out of my life.’
‘I still don’t see why you can’t just tell her how you feel.’
‘I’ve tried, damn you! She still maintains the mistaken idea that those shares give her some sort of hold over me, another woman should convince her otherwise. Although I doubt if she’ll be very happy about it, especially as her rival is so much her junior.’
He said all this with a certain amount of satisfaction and she realised he was so angered by Laura Bennett’s behaviour that he would enjoy doing this to her. ‘I’m not her rival,’ she said quietly.
‘Only you and I will know that. As far as everyone else is concerned we’ll be ecstatically in love with each other.’ His mouth turned back in a sneer.
‘Not if you act like that they won’t.’
‘Don’t worry, Farrah Halliday, my acting will be superb.’
Farrah started shaking. This man really meant what he was saying! ‘You can’t really mean to do this, Mr Falcone—’
‘Joel, please. If I’m to be your lover—’
‘You aren’t!’ she said sharply.
‘Your pretend lover,’ he amended mockingly. ‘Then you should call me by my first name.’
Farrah laughed brokenly. This couldn’t be happening to her! ‘No one’s going to believe this, Mr Falcone—Joel then,’ she said at his dark look. ‘No one who actually knows us, especially Miss Bennett.’
‘They’ll believe it,’ he said firmly. ‘If you don’t know that then you must be as innocent as you look, which no one could ever be. All those baby waves and trusting green eyes!’ he said in disgust. ‘What do you imagine all the girls down in your office are thinking at this moment? Well, I’ll tell you. They probably think I’m making love to you right now. According to rumour, no woman is safe left alone with me.’
‘They—they wouldn’t think that,’ she denied uncertainly.
‘Sure they would. Why not? You’re beautiful, in a childish sort of way. And like I said, no woman is considered safe alone with me.’
‘But they wouldn’t—’ she shook her head.
‘Of course they damn well would! And to convince them even more you’re going to leave the building with me right now.’
‘I am not!’ Farrah said indignantly. ‘It’s only three o’clock. I can’t just leave without telling anyone where I’m going.’
‘I don’t intend that you should. That wouldn’t benefit us in any way.’ He pressed down the intercom. ‘Cathy, get me Angie Preston.’ He turned to Farrah again. ‘This should set the tongues wagging.’
‘What do you mean to do—?’
The telephone buzzed to interrupt her and Joel Falcone picked up the receiver. ‘Angie? Joel Falcone,’ he said shortly. ‘No, no, it isn’t that. We’ll get together about that some other time. I just wanted to tell you that Farrah Halliday won’t be back in the department today. No, she isn’t ill,’ his eyes silently mocked her. ‘She happens to be leaving with me.’
Farrah almost got up and ran then. It had started already, this deception that would become more and more involved. And she hadn’t even agreed to it! But she had no choice in the matter. Joel Falcone had her trapped, and he knew it.
‘That’s right,’ he continued, seemingly unaware of Farrah’s inner turmoil. ‘And she may be a little late in the morning too. Right. We’ll talk about that other matter at a later date.’ He rang off.
Farrah’s eyes filled with unshed tears. ‘This is terrible,’ she said huskily. ‘I can’t go through with it.’
‘Wouldn’t you rather it happened this way than to have everyone know your father is nothing but a common thief?’
‘He isn’t a common thief! He needed that money, desperately.’
‘So you’ve told me. I’d be interested to hear the reason.’
Anger sparked swiftly at his taunting voice. ‘Well, you aren’t going to. My father is twice the man you’ll ever be. And do you know why? I’ll tell you why. Because he loves. You couldn’t love anyone or anything—you wouldn’t know how to. But my father would and does, and for someone he loves he’s willing to do anything. You’re just a machine, Mr Falcone, a cold unfeeling machine!’
‘But a rich one,’ he said dryly, completely unmoved by her outburst. ‘And in this case it means I hold all the right cards. Wouldn’t you agree?’
‘I hate you, Mr Falcone. I hate you!’
‘No, you don’t, Farrah. From this moment on you’re going to love me, or at least pretend to. It’s something I’ve found women are good at.’
‘I couldn’t even pretend to love you,’ Farrah said hotly. ‘You’re hateful!’
‘So you would prefer that I prosecute your father?’
‘No! You know I wouldn’t,’ she said miserably.
Joel Falcone sighed impatiently. ‘You can’t have it both ways, you know. Go through with this pretence and I drop the charges against your father, plus forget the twenty-five
thousand pounds he owes me. You know the alternative.’
‘You consider this charade worth twenty-five thousand pounds!’
He nodded. ‘I simply don’t want Laura involved in my business affairs any longer. No doubt she’ll want more than the market value for those shares.’
‘And won’t you mind paying it?’
He shrugged. ‘Why should I? She’ll be out of my life, finally.’
‘That’s some friendship you have there,’ she said dryly.
‘That’s right, but I’ve just explained that to you.’ He stood up in one fluid movement. ‘Are you ready to leave now?’
Farrah also stood up, moving jerkily to the door. ‘My—my bag and jacket. I left them in the office. I can’t just leave them there.’
‘That’s all right. Angie wanted to talk to me about something anyway. You can collect your things while I talk to her.’
‘Oh, but I—’
‘Do it, Farrah!’ he ordered impatiently. ‘Make your mind up to this, because once we step outside this room there’ll be no turning back. Once you’re committed you will follow this through to the end. And no one is to know it’s pretence. You understand, no one! Not even your father.’
‘But I have to tell him,’ she said, horrified. ‘I can’t let him think that I—’
‘Not even your father, Farrah!’ he repeated firmly. ‘You can tell him when it’s all over and not before. It shouldn’t take long, a couple of months, no more.’
‘A couple of months!’
He looked at her with steady blue eyes, collecting a burgundy-coloured leather jacket from what appeared to be a cloakroom and shrugging his powerful shoulders unhurriedly inside. ‘A couple of weeks would hardly be convincing. The first few weeks we’ll just make sure we’re seen together in all the right places, later we’ll progress to the occasional night spent together at my apartment.’
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