‘I will most certainly do that,’ he murmured.
Ellie ignored the lazy amusement in his drawl. ‘And should I try and get anything together before I get there?’
‘Anything like what—food? Drink? Dancing girls and circus performers?’
‘Very funny.’ She clicked her tongue with exasperation and his grin broadened. ‘Honestly,’ she muttered, ‘You’re impossible sometimes.’
‘You’re the only one who can do that.’ He was looking at her with a veiled expression that was just the right side of serious, and when their eyes met she had to control a shiver of treacherous awareness.
‘Do what?’
‘Put me in my place.’
A wave of confusion crashed over Ellie and she fidgeted, skewered by the barely readable expression in his eyes. ‘And don’t tell me that’s something you like!’ she joked shakily.
‘You’d be surprised.’ He raised his eyebrows but that lazy intensity was still in his eyes, still sending shivers down her spine. ‘Maybe we all need someone who’s not scared to put us in our place. Especially powerful men like me.’
He grinned, breaking the spell, and Ellie felt her body sag with relief.
He hadn’t meant that. Her imagination was at it again, amplifying his words. So much of what he said was part and parcel of his enormous, unconscious charm, a heady mix of intense focus wedded to light-hearted teasing that got under your skin and gave you goose bumps.
She thought about what he had told her about the aftermath of his parents’ death. About Max taking hold of the reins and Izzy finding the warmth of support which had lefthim...Had he dealt with loss by becoming the guy who seemed just fine under the dazzling personal charm?
‘I’ll make sure what we’ve discussed this morning is collated and ready to be emailed.’ She changed the subject, keen to get away. ‘And I’ll make sure I’m at the designated spot on time. No need to rush if you’re busy. I’m more than capable of handling the situation until you get there.’
She smiled politely and thought that it might be quite relaxing to get used to the businessmen without James lurking in the background, unsettling her.
If the deal came to fruition—and it almost certainly would, because everything he touched turned to gold—thenshewould inevitably be the one most in contact with the new partners, because that was usually the way it worked out. James clinched his massive deals, started the wheels churning, oversaw everything until it was safe to retreat, then left her and his various CEOs to fine-tune the details and handle the after-care. Then all those computer geniuses would move into action, taking the bare bones of the programmes handed to them and expanding them into apps that always captured parts of the market no others had captured before.
It would be worthwhile finding out a little about the guys she would end up dealing with because it always made for an easier relationship.
She thought of the prim and proper clothes she had dragged along with her and breathed a sigh of relief that she had had the chance to blow some of her money on a couple of things that would make a better impression in the casual tropical setting. She had not given sufficient thought to it when she had flung open the doors of her wardrobe in London.
For three years, surrounded by her brainy, wild and whacky colleagues, she had stuck rigidly in the background, had stuck to the persona she had moulded for herself. Years of anxiety, years of looking after her mother, years of sublimating her own grief in the face of bigger concerns, had conferred a serious maturity on young shoulders.
Here, though, under these hot, turquoise skies and velvet, starry nights, she would stop being that careful young woman, risk-averse and taking no chances.
So her boss thought she wasLittle Miss Efficient and Ever So Slightly Dull?
Well, it would give her a kick to prove to him that there was a bit more to her than knee-length skirts and sensible shoes...
The short taxi ride from the hotel to the marina, where the Catamaran was waiting for him, was an uncomfortable one because the air-conditioning in the car wasn’t working. By the time James had weaved his way through the crowds towards the yacht, he was dripping in perspiration and running thirty minutes behind schedule.
Thank God he could rely on Ellie to hold the fort until he arrived.
Thank Godthat, whatever stirrings of curiosity he had felt about the solid, dependable woman who had worked for him for the past three years, she was, underneath it all, the mainstay of his working day.
Nothing, he thought as he scanned the marina for the luxury Catamaran he had rented for the day, could ever put a dent in that unflappable personality. She was so adept at keeping a cool grip on whatever situations might occur, such as the one in which he currently found himself.
Annoyingly late.
En passant, he noted the bustle around him, the glitter of the sea, the soporific bobbing of all the yachts moored in the marina, and overhead the dazzling blue of the sky.
For a few seconds, he stopped dead in his tracks, living for the moment. It was not something he often did. Life was busy. Running an empire left little time to look around. He was a man accustomed to life being lived in the fast lane but now... ‘Fast’ was not what this spectacular island was about, and for a few minutes he savoured the pleasure of the dramatic scenery.
Around him and behind him lay the capital, Bridgetown, awash in sun as dense as treacle. Everyone chatted happily, bustling between buildings that ranged from imposing, older buildings to sleek, modern towers, interspersed with brightly coloured shops and offices. The air smelled of the salty ocean, the burning sun and the aromas of food wafting out from doorways of cafés and little restaurants sprinkled along the promenade that ribboned along the sea front. Along the promenade, with its intricate iron railings, handy to lean against and contemplate the endless ocean, several shops spilled out their stash of brightly coloured clothes, hats and bags for sale, appealing to locals and tourists alike.
He tried to picture Naomi in this setting and was intensely relieved that things had crashed and burned. There was no way he would have been able to devote any quality time to this incredibly satisfying deal, making sure the businessmen he was on the way to meet were kept sweet. He imagined she would have wanted his full, undivided time to escort her to beaches and restaurants where she could be on show.
