‘When did you decide this?’ Maria asked through the thickening of her throat. She’d hate it if it had been last night, because of her father. She hated that he was the one to give her the position in the first place, but she’d meant what she said. She and Micha needed to start working together, so it really didn’t matter what his answer was.
‘Before I found you in Trasimeno.’
The day she’d tried to kick him out before hearing what he had to say because she was so worried about him finding out about the baby.
She pressed a hand to her mouth. Oh god, how had they made a mess of so much?
He came to stand in front of her, something like acceptance in his eyes.
‘Together.’
It was the echo of a promise they’d once made too many years ago now to count. It was both hurt and heartfelt, and she welcomed it as much as she could.
‘Together.’
CHAPTER NINE
‘And that’s whenI told him he had a deal!’ exclaimed Daniel Peterson.
He might not look it, dressed in an off-the-rack grey suit, a white-and-grey-striped shirt and a pink tie that aged him horribly, but Daniel Peterson was one of the richest men in Europe. It was, Maria realised, his own type of armour. He delighted in being underestimated and unfortunately Micha had committed less of a sin, and more the fulfilment of Daniel’s often persecutory expectations, ones that told him he would constantly be undervalued and insignificant to younger and brighter men than him. Peterson’s ego was often his downfall, but surprisingly enough, his intelligence was high enough to drag him back up again. It was just that most people didn’t stick around long enough to find out that this was the case, until they had been dismissed by Daniel.
‘Not bad, Daniel,’ Maria offered, her smile wry, just the way the Englishman liked it. It hid the tiredness that was beginning to press against the backs of her eyes and she was fighting the urge to place a hand around her stomach. There was nothing there other than a bundle of cells, but she had walked into the restaurant at the top of the Shard feeling protective of those cells. As if she was being reminded that having both a career and motherhood was going to be difficult.
Micha had been content to let her take the lead. Something that surprised her. Oh yes, he’d said as much, but in Maria’s experience, the men of Gallo Group often said one thing and did another. And this was, actually, the first time they’d worked together in the years since they’d both worked for her grandfather.
Unbidden, her gaze flicked between the two men. There was no contest. It had nothing to do with the fact that Peterson was nearly nine years her senior, or greying at the temples. Some would find that eminently attractive. But Micha?
She took a sip of her sparkling water.
It did nothing to wash away the taste of desire on her tongue. His jaw in dark shadow seemed arrogant rather than lazy, the high cheekbones sculpting the planes of his face in harsh lines, the furrowed brow only serving to draw attention rather than deter it.
Husband. Lover. Father of her child. Enemy.
Micha had been many things over the years, but she was finding it hard to pin down just what he was to hernow.
She sighed.
‘Ahh, is it that time already?’ Daniel asked, misunderstanding her feelings. But she could work with this so she smiled and agreed that ‘yes. The wining and dining is done, and now we talk business.’
‘Okay,’ he said, smoothing his fingers along the edge of the white-cloth-covered table.
The darkness of the night beyond the extremely thick windows, the subtle lighting and gentle hum of conversation, as well as the discreet positioning of the table, added to a feeling of seclusion; as if it were just the three of them.
‘I heard there was a mistake during the contract negotiations,’ Maria started, ignoring the slightest flinch from Micha, without taking her eyes off Daniel. ‘And I’d like to hear how you felt it came about.’
‘We agreed verbally, to continue in the manner as before. And yet when we received the contract, key components had been changed.’
‘What were you told?’
Daniel flicked his gaze to Micha before it returned to Maria.
‘That it was a mistake with a new member of staff.’
‘You didn’t believe this?’
‘What I didn’t believe was that such an important contract for Gallo Group had been put under the charge of a member of staff so inexperienced as to make such mistakes. It shows a distinct lack of respect.’
‘Mmm.’
