Doubt washed over her to the point where she wondered if her fighting juices were all used up—and then the door swung open and he walked in. ‘Does Arianna know who you were with on Thursday night?’
‘I doubt she’d be interested.’
As Tino stared at her Lisa wondered what was she doing making any of this personal—the one thing she had vowed not to do. But, however cold-bloodedly she approached the situation, a very female part of her wanted answers. Watching him open a bottle of Chablis, she wished things could have been simpler between them. If they had been she would have asked him who the hell Arianna was, and get it over with.
There was a jug of iced water on the tray as well as a bowl of fresh fruit, and there was also a plate of what looked suspiciously like home-made cookies. Lisa hadn’t eaten a thing since breakfast, and now she realised how hungry she was. But how could she eat cookies when foremost in her mind was an image of Arianna playing earth mother for Tino in the kitchen?
Tino made the torture worse, biting into one of them and then uttering a deep-throated sound of pleasure. The last time she had heard him make a sound like that was when he’d almost kissed her—
‘Won’t you have one?’ He held out the plate.
Apart from wanting to crack it over his head, no way was she going to touch it. Tino was so cool, so together, she wanted the cookies to glue his teeth together, or pull them out, or, better still, stick in his throat and choke him.
‘Do try one.’ He kept on watching her. ‘I can assure you, they’re delicious.’
‘Thank you, no.’ She waved them away with an impatient gesture. ‘Care to tell me why you’re cosying up to Clifton?’
‘Ever the businesswoman, Lisa?’ He shook his head as he put the plate down on the table. ‘You’re such fun to be with.’
‘I can be.’
‘Really? And when would that be?’
The verbal slap came out of nowhere. It took a moment to recover. It seemed Tino shared none of her scruples about avoiding personal issues.
‘You have a proposition for me,’ he prompted.
‘If you’re interested?’
‘I’m always prepared to listen to a business proposal.’
‘I hear you’ve gone cold on our deal and transferred your interest to Clifton Steel?’
‘I’m always looking for possibilities.’
‘Have you ruled out my small engineering works?’
He kept her waiting so long Lisa wondered if he’d heard the question.
‘I haven’t ruled anything out yet,’ he said at last.
‘I do have other people waiting.’
‘Really? Your company’s in big trouble Lisa—your share price is falling through the floor.’
‘And I’ll recover the situation.’
‘In time?’
‘Yes, if we can reach an agreement.’
‘And if you go to one of these other companies—can they come up with the cash in time to save Bond Steel?’
‘Probably not—’ She didn’t have the luxury of time to play cat and mouse with him. Reaching into her own briefcase, Lisa welcomed the chance to break eye contact. Tino’s stare was so penetrating he made her feel naked—and she needed a clear head to do business with him. ‘If you will just take a look at the figures I’ve been working on…’
‘You’ve been busy—’ He lifted the heavy sheaf of documents out of her hands.
Lisa watched tensely as he flicked through them, pausing occasionally to read one or other of the passages more intently. Finally laying them down on the table between them, he sat back again and folded his arms behind his head.
‘You need me, Lisa.’
Her business head urged caution. There had been no other serious offers. Zagorakis Inc was cash rich. Tino could write a cheque right now if it came to it. He was the best, her only chance to save Bond Steel. ‘What do you think now you’ve seen the numbers?’
‘I’d need to study these a little longer before I give you my final answer, but—’
‘OK, I’m listening.’
‘Not so fast.’ He straightened up, his expression hardening. ‘It’s me who’s listening, Lisa. It’s up to you to convince me that your proposal has merit.’
All the people relying on her to secure the deal flashed in front of Lisa’s eyes. ‘I’ll give you a brief run-down of the facts—’
‘No. You’re not getting the point. You’ve come here—disturbing me on my island…at my home. This is going to be on my terms, not yours. I’ll be generous. I’ll give you a working week to convince me that your scheme has merit. If you’re successful I’ll buy your small engineering works, and bail you out. If you fail the deal is off and everything’s in play: Clifton, as well as Bond Steel—’
‘No. Bond Steel’s not for sale.’
‘If you don’t deal with me—we both know it will go under.’
‘So, that’s it,’ Lisa accused tensely. ‘You’re just playing with me. I don’t believe you’re even going to look at those figures. You’ll keep me here where I’m safely out of the picture, and sit it out until Bond Steel goes down.’
‘And I can pick it up for practically nothing?’ He shrugged in agreement. ‘You know that’s good business, Lisa—and don’t forget I’ve given you an opportunity to change my mind.’
‘Five days? Five days to secure the future of my employees? You can’t toy with people like that. And don’t try telling me that jobs will be secure under your ownership. If you get your hands on Bond Steel, you’ll strip the assets and tip people out of work without a second thought—’ She shook her head. ‘I was wrong about you—I thought you had some small spark of humanity, but you don’t have any feelings at all, do you?’
‘None.’ It was true. There was very little he could get fired up about. Lisa Bond came close—but she was a page in his life he would turn very soon. He cared about his assets because they funded the project closest to his heart, and he cared about two very special and unique women. Apart from that, feelings were a luxury reserved for other people.
‘I’m not staying here to listen any more to this.’
He glanced at her as she got to her feet. ‘Then lose your business, Lisa.’
What alternative did she have? However much it hurt, she had to swallow her pride. She made some rapid calculations. ‘I’ll need internet access, and a phone that works.’
‘You’re in no position to dictate terms to me.’
‘I have to keep in contact with my people. We work as a team.’
‘Then it will be interesting for your team to see how well their leader operates without them. It’s up to you, Lisa. Go home now, and the deal is off. Send the jet back without you, and there might still be a chance. We’ll never know unless you stay.’
‘But if you agree to purchase the company our lawyers will need to know—contracts will have to be drawn up.’
‘True. So you will phone your PA now and tell him to wait to hear from Andreas, my PA.’ Lifting a phone from its square black nest, Tino pushed it across the desk to her. ‘Satellite,’ he explained in answer to Lisa’s questioning look. ‘You won’t get a signal for your mobile here.’
‘So you’re going to be the only one who can contact the outside world?’
‘That’s how it works. If I judge matters are coming to a head, it will be up to me to call the meeting. Now, are you going to make that call, or not?’
Right now it seemed unlikely that such a meeting would ever be called, and, if it was called, she had won. ‘All right, I agree.’
He already knew the small works was profitable, but it pleased him to see how far he could push. She had set herself against him. She had made it a battle of wills. She had no idea what she had unleashed. It was his way, or no way. Always.
It was constantly at the back of his mind that if he gave the smallest concession he risked pulling a stitch that might cause his whole life to unravel. He had climbed out of the gutter; he had no intention of slipping back
there.
She had to go through with it. It was that or lose the deal.
He watched her as she made the call, reassured her PA and gave him the necessary information. She handled it well. In a tight spot she was cool.
‘Thank you for the call,’ she said, pushing the phone back across the desk towards him.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
‘I’m staying at your guest house in the village.’
‘There’s no need to do that.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’ll be staying here.’
‘Here? With you at the villa?’
‘There’s no need to sound quite so unimpressed.’
‘But Arianna—’
‘Will do as I say.’
Lisa tensed with anger, and it was mostly on Arianna’s behalf. She felt no envy for the young woman now, only pity.
‘That’s my final offer, Lisa. Take it, or get back on your jet and get out of here.’
That wasn’t an option for her, Lisa realized; too many people were depending on her to get this right. She couldn’t just walk away. ‘All right, I’ll stay. But on the understanding that we only meet for business—’
‘I told you before you’re in no position to make terms, Lisa. This is my island, and I decide when and where we hold our meetings—’
‘So, I don’t have any say at all?’
She didn’t like that. Tough. Being nice to him for five whole days was the most refined torture he could have devised for her. ‘Don’t let me keep you, Lisa—’ He gestured towards the door. ‘You can use the internal phones in your suite to order any food you would like—and have it delivered to your room.’
Lisa knew her cheeks were glowing bright red with humiliation. She might have said she didn’t want to socialise with him, but she had never thought he would confine her to her room. For a moment she wondered why he hadn’t agreed to her staying at the guest house. That way he would have kept her out of Arianna’s way… But, of course, at Villa Aphrodite she was out of everyone’s reach…completely isolated, completely alone. ‘I have to go back to the village to collect my things. So why don’t I just stay at the guest house, as I planned?’
‘That is not part of our agreement—’
‘But you said five days—a working week, Tino. Today is Sunday, so surely our negotiations won’t begin until tomorrow morning?’
‘It is dangerous to make presumptions in business, Lisa. You should know that—’
Lisa’s mouth hardened into an angry line as she stared at him. So that was the way it was to be. ‘I imagined you would extend the usual business courtesies.’
‘And so I will from tomorrow. In the meantime, you will stay here.’
‘As your prisoner?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous! I’m not holding you against your will. You know as well as I do that until a deal is struck we must abide by all the terms of the agreement, and not just the ones that suit us most. You have five days as my guest to convince me that I should do this deal. Hardly an ordeal, I would have thought.’
There was a gentle tap on the door, and Lisa welcomed the distraction as the study door opened, and an elderly servant walked in.
‘Goodnight, Lisa.’
Her mouth fell open as Tino walked out of the room.
‘May I show you to your suite, Thespinis Bond?’
Lisa softened her expression in case she scared the elderly man half to death. ‘Thank you, that’s very kind of you.’
‘It is my pleasure, Thespinis Bond.’
His voice was gentle, and he stood back politely at the door to let her pass. How could such a man bear to work for Tino Zagorakis? Lisa wondered as she followed his elderly retainer across the hall.
The suite of rooms where she was to stay was fabulous. Taking the colours of the Greek flag as inspiration, the furnishings were mostly snowy white with the occasional highlight of cerulean. But before she had chance to properly appreciate the opulence of her surroundings, Lisa’s gaze was captured by the sight of her overnight case standing at the end of the bed. Only the presence of Tino’s gentle servant prevented her from turning on her heel and going to rip the head off his employer. It was obvious that whether she had agreed to stay or not, Tino had already decided that she would, and had taken it upon himself to retrieve her luggage from the guest house.
‘Kirie Zagorakis thought you might prefer to eat out here alone.’
Lisa looked across the room to where the old man was smiling at her. Floor-to-ceiling white muslin curtains billowed gently in the early evening breeze, drawing her attention to the balcony beyond. It was bathed in soft light from some out-of-view lanterns, and she could see that a comfortable chair with a deeply padded cushion awaited her, as well as a dining table, ostentatiously laid out for one.
I bet he did, she thought grimly. Tino had decided she was to be cut off from the rest of the household. She smiled at her elderly companion. He was hardly to blame for his employer’s machiavellian scheme. ‘Thank you. That’s exactly what I’d like.’
Not only had Tino made the unilateral decision that she would stay at Villa Aphrodite, he had delivered instructions to the kitchen for her supper, Lisa discovered when the elderly man showed her the buffet trolley. He must have done that when he’d left the study briefly to get them both a drink, she realised tensely.
‘You have such a beautiful view from here, Thespinis Bond.’
The elderly man was pointing out across the cliff tops to where the ocean had turned coppery pink in the last rays of the sun.
‘I doubt I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful,’ Lisa said honestly. She was rewarded by the old man’s smile…but then she noticed another, larger table had been laid out immediately below and a little in front of her own balcony. The edges of a white lace tablecloth were fluttering gently in the early evening breeze, and crystal and silverware were glittering in the light of flickering candles. And now she heard the sounds of muted conversation, as well as laughter—high, tinkling laughter, as well as a lower, appreciative sound.
‘Would you like to sit down now, Thespinis Bond? Shall I light the candle for you?’
Lisa turned abruptly, realising her elderly companion was still waiting for her to say something. Having struck a match, he was waiting for her permission to light a slim ivory candle. ‘No, no,’ she said, hurrying over to him. ‘Thank you, but I think I’ll wait a little. You’ve been very kind,’ she added, seeing his crestfallen face.
Inside she was a morass of anger and humiliation, but there was no way she was going to vent her feelings on an innocent old man. It made no sense that she cared about Tino’s dining arrangements, but she did—it hurt a lot. Not only had Tino chosen to dine without her, he was dining with someone else…almost certainly Arianna.
‘Are you sure that is all you require from me this evening, Thespinis Bond?’
‘I’m quite sure. Thank you.’ Lisa smiled again, and waited until the elderly man had closed the door behind him. She would not sit obediently on her solitary perch and take the humiliation Tino had planned for her. She would feel it. Oh, yes, just as he had known, she would feel it, but she would do so in private…
Carefully loading all the supper dishes onto the trolley, Lisa rolled it towards her room. Wheeling it inside, she firmly closed the double doors behind her.
CHAPTER FOUR
LISA slept more soundly than she had expected. It had to be the sea air, she reasoned, waking slowly. Dawn was just peeping through the white muslin drapes as she stretched like a cat in the sun. At first she was reluctant to leave the warm linen sheets, but then she remembered everything that had happened the previous night.
Slipping out of bed, she padded barefoot across the cool tiled floor and opened the double doors onto the balcony. Today was Monday, the first day of her five-day trial, and she had no intention of wasting a single minute—but she could make time for this. She had guessed the view would be spectacular in daylight,
but she had never imagined it could be quite so lovely.
Shading her eyes against the low-slanting sunlight, she realised the villa sat on a promontory with the ocean to three sides. The water far below the cliffs was graded in colour from a white lace frill at the shoreline to palest blue at the midline, and then on to deepest Prussian blue where the ocean floor dropped away.
The gardens surrounding the villa were equally stunning. They combined formal and informal planting with great success, and were ablaze with colour. Beyond the stone patio she could see an infinity pool. She had hoped for a pool, and was longing for a swim, but there was already someone swimming there…
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