The Billionaire's Virgin Temptation (HQR Presents)

by Michelle Conder

  ‘I think we just won,’ Grant ventured softly into the heavy silence.

  They had, but Ruby was still so fired up on humiliation at Carter Jones’s slur that she couldn’t even bring herself to enjoy it. There was no way she could bring a defamation case against him because what he had said was true.

  ‘Ruby—’

  ‘I’m fine, Sam,’ she said, wanting to shut him down so that she could deal with her emotions alone.

  Unaware of the tension radiating between the two of them, Grant shook his head as if he was coming out of a long daze.

  ‘I can’t believe Jones caved in like that. Well, I can, but...’ He cut Ruby a curious look. ‘What was with the fifty extra potential clients? I thought we’d only picked up one more.’

  ‘I might have embellished a bit with that,’ Ruby admitted with a half smile.

  ‘Genius,’ Grant murmured as they stepped out into the solid wall of the oppressive Sydney humidity. ‘You are officially my new hero, Ms Clarkson. So?’ He gave them both a broad grin. ‘Drinks at Mickey Dee’s? I’d say we’ve earned it after that.’

  Going to their local haunt was the last thing Ruby felt like doing. So much harder to hide and lick her wounds in a public space. ‘Not for me,’ she said. ‘I’m going back to the office to call our clients and let them know the outcome.’

  ‘Sorry. I also need to return to the office,’ Sam said, opening the back door to the limousine and waiting for Grant to move inside before subtly blocking Ruby’s way with his body.

  ‘I can tell you’re going to be irrational about this,’ he murmured so that only she could hear. ‘But I would have defended any one of my colleagues in exactly the same way.’

  Ruby kept her gaze level with the top of the car. It wasn’t so much Sam’s defence of her that had upset her; it was her own reaction in giving herself away that bothered her. ‘I said I was fine.’

  When he didn’t immediately move out of her way she glanced up to find him frowning. ‘Forget Carter Jones and concentrate on the fact that you did a brilliant job in there. You do a brilliant job full stop.’

  ‘Thanks.’ She felt emotion well up in her throat, clogging it.

  Oh, God, she couldn’t do this. She couldn’t be with Sam and not because of work, or her reputation, and not because Veronica had guessed there was something going on between them or because Carter Jones had been crude, but because she had fallen in love with him.

  Completely and irrevocably.

  An incontrovertible mistake, given that they were only having an affair. An affair she knew would end at some point. Leaving her crushed.

  The knowledge slid into place inside her with the ease of a softball player sliding into home plate—followed swiftly by a tide of rising panic.

  Finally Sam inclined his head and moved out of her way. ‘You’re not okay, but we’ll discuss it tonight.’

  Would they? Ruby was already wondering how she would be able to get out of seeing him. She was so far out of her comfort zone right now she’d need the Hubble space telescope to find it.

  And what she needed more than seeing Sam was distance. Distance to work out how she had gone from great, casual sex to love when she’d been so careful to avoid it.

  * * *

  Back in his office Sam ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

  He knew Ruby was upset with the not so subtle threat he’d made to Jones in their meeting but, dammit, she was being unreasonable about that. Sam was used to defending people; it was what he did. No hesitation. No sign of weakness. His father had hated weakness. ‘If you hesitate, you lose—it’s that simple,’ he’d used to say.

  Sam had taken the mantra to heart—at first to try and please his father, but after that he’d seen that it worked. But Ruby saw his methods as—what had she said?—being like a Sherman tank. Was that the problem? Was that what she’d reacted to so strongly? Well, he couldn’t say he wouldn’t do it again. That would be a lie. No one insulted his woman and got away with it. Ever.

  His woman...

  He knew that was what she was even if she didn’t yet. The realisation had hit him hard the night before when he’d been at a work dinner in LA. As usual he’d been thinking about her, wondering what she was up to, and whether or not he should call her, when the woman beside him had placed her hand on his knee beneath the table. Sam had been so surprised he hadn’t reacted immediately. When he had it was to lean in close and tell her that he was taken. She’d pouted up at him, looking at him from beneath her lashes, and asked if he’d been sure, and he’d said, ‘Unequivocally.’ And he was.

  Meeting Ruby had knocked him on his backside two years ago and he’d been slowly sliding into love ever since. That night at the Herzog party had sealed his fate, if he had only known it then, but now that he did he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.

  And he was pretty sure she felt the same way about him.

  He glanced up as Wilma, the secretary he’d inherited from Mr Kent Senior, knocked and entered his office. ‘I thought you’d left for the night,’ he said.

  ‘Nearly, Mr Ventura. I just have a few things to tidy up before I go.’

  He smiled at her, absently wondering how Tino had first told Miller how he felt. Had he come straight out and said that he loved her, or had he done it with flowers? Serenaded her over a candlelit dinner? Should he organise flowers to fill the grand old beach house he’d just purchased beside Miller and Tino’s? Get someone to deliver a meal there, set up a few candles and maybe attach a note to Kong’s collar? Hadn’t a woman he once dated told him she’d seen it on the internet and it was the cutest move ever?

  ‘Mr Ventura? Sir?’

  Realising he’d completely zoned out, Sam gave Wilma a quick smile. ‘Sorry, Wilma. What have you got for me?’

  ‘A couple of letters to go into tonight’s post.’

  No, he wouldn’t use his dog, but he would do it at the new beach house. He’d organise dinner and candles. Maybe some soft music... Or was that overkill?

  A frown formed on his face. Why was the idea of telling a woman he loved her and wanted to marry her so difficult? Because that was the other part of this: he wanted to marry Ruby and spend the rest of his life with her.

  ‘Is there something wrong with the letter, sir?’

  Letter?

  Sam stared at the pieces of paper he hadn’t even realised he was holding. He blew out a controlled breath. ‘No, Wilma, nothing.’

  Scanning the contents, he quickly scrawled his signature across the bottom of both letters and handed them back. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘The Cutter brief you wanted me to change, and some interoffice transfer documents. Congratulations, by the way, on winning the Star Burger case. The office is buzzing with the news. We’re going to miss Ruby when she’s gone.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Sam took the Cutter brief, planning to review it at a later—‘Gone?’ He glanced up at Wilma. ‘Gone where?’

  ‘The London office, sir.’

  ‘Ruby. As in my Ruby?’

  ‘Well, that’s a very nice way to put it, sir. Yes, your Ruby.’ She beamed him a smile. ‘I have her and Stephen Price’s transfer documents for you to sign off on. I know it’s all done on computer nowadays but Mr Kent Senior liked to keep a paper copy of staff changes so that he was always aware of who went where. It harks back to the days when the firm was the size of a corner shop.’ She gave him a small laugh. ‘I wasn’t sure of your preference, so I erred on the side of caution.’

  A terrible coldness settled over Sam. He took the remaining papers Wilma offered and stared down at Ruby’s transfer document without really seeing it. ‘Did Ruby apply for this or did London request the transfer?’

  ‘I’m sorry, sir, I couldn’t say, but if you like I can—Mr Ventura? Sir? Is something wrong?’

  Yes, there was something wrong, Sam thought grimly a
s he strode out of his office. There was something very wrong.

  Ruby’s secretary gave him a startled glance as he approached her desk.

  ‘She in?’

  ‘Yes, she is. She’s—’

  Sam didn’t wait to hear the rest, pushing the door to Ruby’s office wide open even as he told himself to calm down.

  Not that it did any good. He’d never felt more blindsided by anything in his life.

  * * *

  Ruby stopped pacing as soon as Sam burst into her office, her heart doing that little quickstep it always did when she saw him.

  ‘We need to talk.’

  Her eyes raked his face. He was looking at her as if she’d committed a crime, every well-honed muscle in his body drawn tight. Was he here to discuss her response to his threat to Carter Jones? She had already decided that she might have overreacted a little in the meeting, but she was nowhere near ready to discuss the reason behind it.

  Equally he could be looking all dark and foreboding because something had gone wrong with the deal. It wouldn’t surprise her at all if Carter had tried to renege on the agreement he had made after the fact, and she inwardly cringed again at how easily she assumed Sam would be in her office for personal reasons rather than professional ones.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, deciding that he must be here because of Carter Jones. ‘Has something changed in the Star Burger decision?’

  ‘Not to my knowledge.’ His tone was clipped, cold. It made her shiver. ‘Wilma just gave me this to sign.’

  He handed her a document and it took Ruby a moment to realise it was her interoffice transfer request. She hadn’t realised that HR had approved it.

  ‘When were you going to tell me about it?’

  Startled by his harsh tone, Ruby frowned. ‘I don’t know. I hadn’t given it much thought.’ In fact, she hadn’t given it any thought. She’d been so busy and so preoccupied lately she’d completely forgotten she’d even applied for it. God, she really was a mess.

  ‘You hadn’t given it much thought?’ He shook his head, his frown deepening. ‘You applied for it, didn’t you?’

  ‘Well, yes, but...’ She had only applied because she didn’t think they’d be able to work together and since then she’d had other things on her mind. Things like what they would do together on the weekends, and whom he was with when he wasn’t with her. Things that were all embarrassing indications that yet again she had regressed to the emotional maturity of an insecure schoolgirl where Sam was concerned. ‘Is that a problem?’

  If possible his expression turned even darker. ‘What kind of a question is that? Of course it’s a damn problem.’

  Ruby moistened her lips. ‘I’m usually pretty good at remembering things. I’m sorry—I guess I’ve been busy.’

  ‘Too busy to let me know that you’re moving to London?’

  ‘Well, I wasn’t sure if it would even be approved and—’

  ‘And you thought you’d wait, is that it? Spring it on me at the last minute?’

  ‘No.’ She frowned as she tried to make sense of his mocking tone. ‘That’s not how it was at all.’

  ‘Then how was it, Ruby, because I’m a little confused about what’s going on here?’

  He wasn’t the only one. Her mind was such a jumble of emotions and feelings she felt dizzy. And worst of all she knew that she couldn’t share any of that with him. ‘Perhaps we could talk about it later,’ she volunteered, wanting time to sort out some sort of strategy where Sam was concerned. ‘After work.’

  ‘Oh, yes, of course. Work. Your favourite crutch.’ His lips twisted into a hard slant. ‘Well, not this time, Ruby. We’ve played by your rules long enough. Now we play by mine.’

  ‘My rules?’ Ruby said incredulously. ‘How can you say that? I’ve done everything you asked of me.’ She’d set every weekend aside for him, not making any plans that didn’t include him, or that couldn’t be changed at the last minute. She’d kept her phone close and waited for him to call—longed for him to call. She’d dreamed of him, missed him, given her heart to him... ‘I’ve given you everything you wanted.’

  ‘Hardly, angel,’ he dismissed scathingly. ‘But none of that matters now. All that does is this.’ He stabbed a finger at the transfer notice that lay on her desk between them. ‘And whether you want me to sign off on it or not.’

  Tell me you don’t want to sign it, she pleaded silently. Tell me you want me to stay here. With you.

  The unexpected thought caught her unawares, tightening her throat. Should she tell him what she was thinking? Should she open up and admit how she felt about him?

  An ancient argument between her parents came rushing back to her. She’d been about to ask her father to help with her maths homework while her parents were sitting at the kitchen table. Then her father had stood up, shaking his head, accusing her mother of being too needy, too clingy. Ruby had witnessed her mother’s devastation, her utter helplessness, as she’d begged her father not to leave her. He’d done so anyway and Ruby had made a silent vow that no man would ever be able to accuse her of the same thing. That she would never want a man more than he wanted her. And yet that was exactly how she felt right now. History repeating itself one generation on.

  Swallowing hard, she shoved back the tears that threatened to clog her throat and lifted her chin. ‘Why wouldn’t I want you to sign off on it?’ she asked crisply.

  A muscle flicked in Sam’s jaw. ‘Well, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it, angel? And frankly I can’t think of a single good reason why you wouldn’t.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  ‘LET ME SEE if I’ve got this straight,’ Dante drawled, sitting on the barstool beside him. ‘You asked her if she wanted you to sign the transfer papers and then you signed them without waiting for her answer? How does that work exactly?’

  ‘I didn’t need to wait for her answer. Her silence was telling.’ Sam looked between Dante and Tino and wondered which one of them was more stupid. ‘She wouldn’t have applied for it if she didn’t want to go.’

  ‘But you signed it and you don’t want her to go.’

  ‘I didn’t say that.’ Sam took another sip of his beer. He’d known it would be a mistake to come out with his brothers straight after his altercation with Ruby, but they hadn’t exactly given him a choice. After he’d stormed out of Ruby’s office he’d found both brothers at the bank of lifts, waiting for him. Having just flown down from Brisbane, Dante had met with Tino and they’d descended on Sam with the express purpose of taking him for a drink. He’d told them that he wasn’t fit company for anyone right now and that had sealed his fate. Of course they had wanted to know why.

  Now he was in the same pub that he’d met Ruby in two years ago, propping up the bar and forced to fill his brothers in on what had happened, and so far they weren’t happy with the abridged version.

  ‘Didn’t have to say it,’ Dante said, lobbing a peanut into his mouth. ‘You wouldn’t be upset at signing it if you’d wanted to.’

  ‘Thanks for the analysis, Dr Freud. Can we move on now?’ Sam could feel himself getting more and more riled by his thickheaded older brothers, and if they weren’t careful he’d bite.

  ‘Dante’s right,’ Tino put in. ‘If you wanted to sign it, you’d be fine with it.’

  ‘Do either of you idiots realise how close I am to taking this conversation outside? With the both of you?’

  ‘Could be fun,’ Dante said. ‘Like old times.’

  ‘We could mess up his pretty face,’ Tino agreed.

  ‘Look who’s talking, Boy Racer,’ Sam muttered, calling Tino by Miller’s pet name for him.

  ‘Trying to get personal, junior?’ Tino laughed.

  ‘Trying to get you to shut up,’ Sam griped.

  ‘Oh, man,’ Tino said softly. ‘You’re in trouble, aren’t you?’

  ‘I ha
ve no idea what you’re talking about,’ Sam said testily.

  ‘Neither do I,’ Dante drawled.

  ‘He’s in love.’

  ‘In love?’ Dante looked aghast. ‘Not possible.’

  ‘He’s also still here,’ Sam grumbled. ‘And I’m not in love.’ Why give his brothers more ammunition than they already had? ‘I’m annoyed that I’m losing a good lawyer. One of the best in the firm to a place...to a place that’s about as exciting as having your nails done.’

  ‘Most women enjoy having their nails done,’ Dante pointed out.

  ‘Shut up, D.’ Sam growled darkly. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about. The fact is why would she want to go anywhere else when everything she needs is right here?’

  ‘Hell.’ Dante gave Tino a look. ‘I think you’re right.’

  ‘Dammit, you two. I already feel enough of a fool without either of you rubbing my face in it.’

  Tino and Dante stared at him without speaking and he knew that both of them had the patience to wait him out. Well, Dante did; Tino’s patience depended on his mood.

  Finally Sam sighed. ‘Okay, I’m in love with her. There. Happy? Can we move on now?’

  ‘Sure,’ Dante said, offering him a sympathetic grimace. ‘I’d want to move on too if it were me.’

  Only Sam realised that he wasn’t ready to move on after all. ‘You know, the stupid thing is that before this happened I was going to call you,’ he told Tino. ‘Ask you for advice.’

  ‘You were going to call Tino for advice?’ Dante’s expression was almost comical. ‘I know more about women than he ever will.’

  ‘Knowing more women than I do doesn’t mean that you know more about them,’ Tino corrected. ‘What did you want to know?’

  ‘Doesn’t matter now.’ Sam raised his glass to his lips, only to find it empty. ‘The moment’s passed. For good.’

  Dante signalled the bartender. ‘Another round. Or two. I have a feeling we’re going to need a lot more alcohol to get through this.’