Laura remembered something her father had told her months after Gabriel had walked out of her life. She had been staring out of the kitchen window, lost in the familiar cloud of depression, when Peter Jackson had surprised her from behind. Her infernal moping around had to end, he had informed her angrily, it was not doing anyone any good at all, least of all her mother. Had she ever stopped to think, he had snapped, that she was busily mourning the loss of a man who had had his eye on the main chance? That this so-called love of her life had wanted the status and position she offered and that if she had been anyone else he would not have looked at her twice?
No, it certainly had not occurred to her then, but it was occurring to her now.
There was no shred of nostalgia in him for the past they had once shared, no hint that he remembered her wide-eyed adoration with any affection, because, she had thought in the solitude of the kitchen, he had never really cared about her.
By the time Gabriel and Anna finished their extended tour of the house, Laura was stiff-lipped with the battery of thoughts that had been whirling around in her head.
She stood up when she heard their footsteps, arms folded. And he still had his infernal arm around the woman’s waist!
‘Something smells good in here,’ Gabriel said, disengaging himself. ‘Anna, you’ll stay for some coffee, won’t you?’ Her body language was speaking volumes, he thought with satisfaction. Arms folded, face rigid with disapproval. Yes, he was utterly and pleasurably in control. The thought did wonders for his sense of well-being.
‘I can’t, Gabriel.’ The brunette smiled apologetically. ‘It’s late and I face a long drive back to London.’ She gave him a look of intimate and indulgent affection that had Laura’s teeth snapping together.
‘What is the state of the house?’ she asked with freezing politeness. ‘Mr Greppi seems to think that it’s on the verge of collapsing.’ Gabriel? Did he really expect her to believe that all his employees addressed him by his first name in tones of warm intimacy? He might see himself as Mr Ultra Modern Man with his staff, but did that stance include running his hands all over their bodies in full view of whoever might be watching? If so, then she was surprised he didn’t spend half his time in a court somewhere fighting off harassment suits. Not that this particular woman looked in the least upset by his intentions!
‘Far from it,’ Anna said warmly, collecting her bag and briefcase from the counter. ‘There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with your house.’
‘My house,’ Gabriel corrected, shooting Laura a rueful smile that the correction had to be made, one that she countered with icy blankness.
Anna shook her head and said something in Spanish, then she turned to Laura. ‘My report should be ready within a week, but there really will be no need for any extensive repair work. The window sills need looking after. Some of them have rotted through, and I noticed that some small parts of the roof will need replacing, but aside from that any damage is superficial. Years of neglect take their toll.’
‘Yes, I realise that.’
‘Now, now, there is no need to sound so offended,’ Gabriel mocked. ‘Anna is just doing her job. Now, perhaps you could get that coffee ready whilst I see Anna out?’
‘If I’m going to be working for you, then we need to get a few things straight,’ was the first thing Laura told him when he reappeared in the kitchen a few minutes later.
She had taken up residence by the kitchen table, but even with the distance between them she was still agonisingly aware of his suffocating masculinity. Especially now that there was no third party around to dilute it.
‘Ah, coffee. Just what I need.’ He picked up the mug, took a sip and then moved in her direction, making sure that he passed fractionally too close to her before pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down.
He wasn’t wearing a tie, but he undid the top two buttons of his shirt, tugging open the neck and running his long brown fingers along the underside of the fabric whilst Laura watched in helpless fascination, before dragging her mind back to the grievances she had rehearsed.
‘Point one,’ she informed him, ‘is that I’m not your servant. Don’t think that when you happen to be around you can snap your fingers and I’ll run and make you, and whoever else happens to be with you, a cup of coffee.’
Gabriel looked at her lazily whilst he continued to slowly sip his coffee. He wondered whether he should just inform her that really she did not have much option when it came to her list of duties, and then decided that constant confrontation was not going to achieve what was becoming increasingly important. Namely, her. In bed with him. Wet, willing and naked.
He was the cat, yes, and admittedly she was the mouse, but she would be oh, such a very eager mouse when she came to him.
He smiled at the thought of that, which was disconcerting enough to make Laura stop in her tracks. She had expected him to jump in with another little reminder of her indebtedness to him, which included making however many cups of coffee he wanted. In fact, she had prepared quite a good argument to counteract any objections. What she hadn’t expected was for him to smile, a slow, gleaming smile that sent a shiver of treacherous awareness rippling through her.
‘You are absolutely right,’ he said, maintaining his killer smile.
‘I am?’
He nodded.
‘Yes, of course I’m right. I don’t intend to be used, Gabriel, or to do any running and fetching for you.’ She could hear herself blustering but then, dammit, did he have to sit there and look so damned agreeable?
‘I would not expect you to. Indeed, if I gave you the impression that I was…throwing my weight around, then I apologise. Profusely.’ He could fully understand why she was staring at him with such suspicious incomprehension. He had done nothing but throw his weight around since he had set eyes on her again, and it wasn’t going to do. He didn’t want her cowed and spitting hate at him. He wanted her sweet and compliant and deliciously abandoned.
Besides, what was the good of rejecting someone who viewed him with intense dislike? It would amount to no rejection. For the second time, she would simply be relieved to see the back of him. She might be aware of him, in fact was aware of him…he could feel it in those hot little surreptitious glances she occasionally slid across to him when she wasn’t aware that he was looking…but as long as he continued to wield the rod of power, she would resolutely fight the attraction with every ounce of strength.
Sure, he wanted to remind her at every turn that she was now dependent on him, but every little reminder only drove her that bit further away. Only a fool sabotaged his own game plan with pointless hollow victories.
‘Oh,’ Laura said, taken aback.
‘What were those other points of yours you wanted to mention?’
‘Nothing,’ she mumbled, gulping down the remainder of her coffee. ‘Well…’ She looked outside at the darkness that had fallen and wrapped itself around the house. ‘It’s getting late. Perhaps you should be setting off…’
Gabriel could see her tense in anticipation of another confrontation and so he obligingly got to his feet.
‘You’re right.’
Laura felt that she should be breathing a heartfelt sigh of relief. Why then did she feel just a little bit disappointed at the speed with which he had taken her up on her suggestion? Surely she didn’t want him to hang around any longer? That would be downright masochistic!
‘It will take me at least an hour and a half to get back,’ he chatted casually as he headed out of the kitchen and towards the front door. He would have liked to have given her something to think about after he had gone, a light kiss somewhere innocent yet deeply arousing, perhaps on the side of her neck. Nothing that would indicate the desire for anything else. But there was no point in barging through the sudden window he had created for himself.
Having been so thoroughly wrong-footed, Laura was now overcome by an attack of guilt. It was already after eight and she had offered him nothing to eat. She should at l
east have suggested that he share the economical dinner she had made for herself. In fact, she had opened her mouth to offer the invitation when caution made her stifle back the words.
‘So tomorrow,’ he said, turning around to face her, ‘perhaps you could meet me at your accountant’s office?’ Her slightly flushed face and half-parted lips were appealing enough to almost make him forget his resolve not to frighten her away. That mouth was begging to be plundered. His hands ached from wanting to plunge into that prim top of hers and expose the soft, heavy breasts with their tempting, pert nipples. He stuck his hands severely into his pockets.
‘What time?’
‘Nine-thirty. He will be expecting us. My fax confirming the purchase as well as all the contracts with stipulations should have reached him some time this afternoon. In case I failed to mention it, you and I will have to agree on a price for the furniture contained in the house. At least, those items of furniture you wish to sell, of course. Naturally, you can keep the rest here until such time as you wish to remove them.’
‘You mean when you’re ready for me to move out?’ She saw that he had flushed darkly at her words and wondered whether he was perhaps not immune to the slightest twinge of guilt that he was going to be throwing her out of the only house she had ever lived in.
Did she realise, Gabriel wondered, what a vision of temptation she presented when she dropped her guard? He couldn’t help it but he could see the swell of her breasts and his torrid imagination made him flush. ‘There is no rush for you to contemplate any such move,’ he said briefly, turning to open the door just in case he did something he regretted. ‘This is not an ordinary house purchase. You will be in charge of running this show and the best place for you to be will be right here, for obvious reasons. But we can discuss all of this tomorrow.’
‘Right. Yes. Of course.’ Perfectly businesslike. Obviously he no longer felt the need to remind her at every turn that he was the one in the position of doing her a favour. In fact, he obviously no longer felt the need to dwell at all on the fact that they weren’t strangers. He was a businessman first and foremost and this had all now become business.
Laura waited by the open doorway, watching as he strode towards his car, got in and began driving carefully out of the courtyard and down towards the road at the bottom of the long drive.
Now that he had gone, the house seemed suddenly very empty. She ate her meal to the deafening sound of silence and went to bed thinking unwelcome thoughts of Gabriel and the Porsche-driving chartered surveyor with the easy smile and the darkly sexy body. They made a stunning match. Both olive-skinned, both raven-haired, both obviously at ease in each other’s company.
Not that Gabriel and his love life were any concern of hers, she told herself firmly the following morning as she made her way to Phillip Carr’s office in the centre of town.
She had half expected him to arrive late, but in fact he was already there by the time she was shown into Phillip’s office, sitting with his back to her, relaxed and confident.
‘I’ve been looking through the papers,’ Phillip greeted her warmly, delighted with the solution to a problem over which he had been regularly losing sleep. ‘Everything seems to be in order. In fact, Mr Greppi has been most meticulous in his attention to detail.’
Gabriel was smiling at the older man, receiving the compliment with nonchalant modesty, but out of the corner of his eye he was vibrantly aware of Laura slipping into the chair alongside his. Her pale hair gleamed like silk and he approved of what she was wearing. A short-sleeved rose-coloured dress that was simple but fitted, emphasising the narrowness of her waist and the length of her legs, which seemed to go on for ever. Despite what he had said about her losing weight, there was no chance she would ever be mistaken for one of those stick-thin models, two of whom he had dated in the past and neither of whom had done much for him. Her body was a bit more streamlined than it had been seven years ago but she was too full-breasted to ever look skinny. And she still had the athletic firmness of someone accustomed to an outdoor life. He slid his eyes away and began to pay more attention to Phillip, who was now going over some of the details of the contract with his client.
When he got to the part about her salary, Laura gave a little squeak of astonishment, rapidly followed by an objection.
‘No way,’ she said firmly, turning to face Gabriel for the first time since she had entered the room. He was dressed for work and looked no less impressive for it. Dark charcoal-grey suit, crisp white shirt, dark blue tie with a small, clever pattern running through it. He swung his chair to look directly at her, one eyebrow raised in apparent enquiry.
‘No way…what?’ he asked, sitting back and lightly linking his fingers on his lap.
‘Phillip, would you mind giving Gabriel and myself a few minutes of privacy?’
‘Is that really necessary, Laura?’ Phillip asked. ‘I honestly cannot see what the problem is here and the sooner we go through this contract, the sooner we can have the deal signed, sealed and delivered, so to speak.’ Before, he added to himself, our knight in shining armour decides to have a change of heart. Everything, so far, looked too good to be true and in Phillip’s experience canny businessmen rarely indulged in deals that were too good to be true. Not unless they were the eventual winners, which certainly was not the case here. He tried to signal as much to Laura with his eyes but she was steadfastly ignoring him and, with a click of his tongue, he reluctantly stood up.
‘So,’ Gabriel said, pushing his chair back so that he could cross his long legs, ankle resting on knee, fingers still linked on his lap as he lightly rubbed the pads of his thumbs together, ‘what is the problem here? I confess I’m baffled.’ He tilted his head to one side and devoted every nerve in his body to looking at her.
‘Baffled!’ Laura gave a snort of disbelief. ‘Oh, please. I know exactly what you’re doing here, Gabriel. Overpaying me so that I’m even more indebted to you than I already am! You’re offering to give me five times more than I was getting working for Hugo, and that’s when I was working full-time there!’
He shook his head. ‘This is a record. The first time anyone has attacked me for overpaying them!’
‘You mean you’ve been attacked for underpaying?’ Laura smirked, distracted.
‘No…actually, I usually manage to get it just right.’
‘Mr Perfect Employer. I wonder why I’m not surprised to hear you singing your own praises. Could it be that I’m getting accustomed to your ego, which is as big as a house?’
‘I am Argentinian! You insult my pride…’ But he grinned when he said this and Laura found herself grinning back, caught up in a moment of perfect wry and mutual understanding. Until she remembered the matter at hand.
‘Anyway, you’re distracting me…’
‘Oh, good,’ Gabriel murmured wickedly, ‘success at last.’
Which brought a bright flare of colour to her cheeks as the velvety ambiguity of his words struck home. ‘I mean you’re distracting me from what I was saying. Which is that there’s no need to be so ridiculously generous. It’s enough,’ she continued, taking a deep breath, ‘that you’re buying the riding stables, that you’re going to try and turn it around, that you’ve offered me this lifeline.’ Laura lowered her eyes. ‘And in case I haven’t said this before…thank you.’
‘What was that?’ He leaned forward, cupping one ear with his hand.
‘You heard me.’ A small smile tugged the corners of her mouth.
‘Accept my generosity,’ Gabriel said, holding onto her softening and feeling something tug deep inside him. ‘There is nothing self-serving about it. The job will be a big one. I am merely compensating you in a manner I judge fit.’ He gave her a crooked smile. ‘Please.’
‘You should at least give me a probationary period,’ Laura offered. ‘You may not approve of the way I handle things…’
‘Why not?’ He raised his eyebrows in lazy amusement. ‘Are you planning on going down a few illegal routes? A s
pot of bribery or blackmail? Sleeping with a few contacts to generate business?’
‘Of course not!’ Laura flushed. ‘I would never dream of doing anything of the sort!’
‘You mean the bribery and blackmail or the sleeping with contacts…?’
‘Both! All! You know what I mean.’
‘Then I see no reason why you should be on any probationary period, but…’ he shrugged ‘…if it makes you happy then we can agree on a three-month probation.’
‘During which you would expect me to achieve…what? Precisely?’
‘Why don’t we discuss that later? In the meanwhile, we might just as well get Phillip back in so that we can finish here. I take it your little argument over pay is sorted…’
‘I suppose so,’ Laura said limply.
The remainder of the meeting, which lasted a full two and a half hours with only the odd snatched break for some coffee and biscuits, moved at a dizzying speed. Sums of money were thrown around that made her gasp. Guided by Phillip, she signed on the various dotted lines he indicated, barely aware of the various contracts she was reading. By the time she and Gabriel were shown out of the office, Laura felt as though she were unsteadily coming off a roller-coaster ride.
The fish, Gabriel thought as he followed her out onto the pavement, was on the hook. All he had to do now was enjoy the unparalleled experience of reeling it in. And reel it in he would. With every signature, he had been grimly aware of the fortuitous sequence of events that had brought him to this point. He now owned the house that had once been barred from the likes of him, and in a manner of speaking, whether it was politically correct or not to even think it, he owned the woman who had once casually and cruelly turned him away. Or perhaps he didn’t own her, he thought with brutal honesty. But he would.
‘Are you heading back down to London now?’ Laura asked, breaking into his thoughts. ‘I suppose it’s been difficult for you to find the time to keep coming up here.’
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