Sally was struck dumb as his dark eyes stared down into hers, and a vivid image of herself lying naked beneath him flashed in her head. She glanced to his companion and fought back the blush that threatened. The beautiful raven-haired woman clinging to his arm was almost as impressive as Zac. Tall and slender, she wore her lime-green designer gown like a model.
She probably was a model, Sally thought, and her brief moment of embarrassment was gone.
She had been right to say no last night to Zac Delucca. His women were as interchangeable as his shirts, and she told herself she had had a lucky escape. But she was slightly surprised that he had bothered to stop and say hello…When he’d left her apartment his contemptuous farewell had been very final.
‘Enjoying your meal, Sally?’
There it was again, the seductive voice, but it was wasted on her.
She glanced up, saw the smile on his attractive face and noted that it did not reach his hard dark eyes. ‘I was,’ she said, with biting sarcasm.
Zac Delucca stared at her, stunned by the implied insult. Rage such as he had never felt before swept through him, and his hard black eyes raked furiously over her. He noted her exquisite face, carefully made up, and the silken red hair piled on top of her head in a mass of curls, enhancing the long line of her neck and the low neckline of her dress, which revealed a generous glimpse of her firm white breasts No one insulted him publicly and got away with it. Very few would dare. Yet this redheaded Jezebel took delight in taking potshots at him. Well, not any more. Last night she had been naked in his arms, and she would be again, he vowed.
He had confronted Nigel Paxton this morning with his fraudulent actions, and listened to the man’s paltry defence. Zac had told him he was considering police action, but he wasn’t…Being tied up in a court case was not Zac’s idea of fun, and admitting someone had managed to cheat him was not good for business, but he had not given Paxton his final decision nor fired him yet. He had thought to let him stew for a day or two—it was the least he deserved—and now Zac was glad he had as a much more personal solution to the problem formed in his mind.
Sally saw the fury in Zac’s face for a split second and she held her breath as the silence lengthened, her heart beating faster in her breast. Maybe she had gone too far. It was not like her to be deliberately impolite.
Finally, he smiled, a humourless twist of his chiselled lips, his dark eyes clashing with hers. ‘Ever the tease, Sally,’ he drawled sardonically. ‘Enjoy the rest of your meal.’ And he was gone.
Zac’s subtle reminder of last night had brought a pink tinge to her cheeks, and she heaved a sigh of relief and began to relax again as the couple left the restaurant.
‘What was all that about?’ Al asked. ‘Delucca was furious, and I certainly wouldn’t ever want to be on the receiving end of the look you just got.’
‘Nothing. Now, can I enjoy my dessert in peace, please?’
‘Yes, but I have warned you once about Delucca. He is really not a man to fool around with, and certainly not the type to insult.’
‘Al, don’t worry—I am never going to see the man again, and he certainly will not want to see me.’ She grinned. ‘Trust me, his ego is as big as his bank balance.’
‘My point exactly,’ Al cut in. ‘Nobody insults a man like that and gets away with it. Take it from me as a man. I recognise the signs. He was angry, but on a primitive level he wants you badly, and I would hate to see you get hurt. So beware.’
The telephone was ringing as she entered her apartment a couple of hours later. They had finished their meal, and then, as it was such a lovely summer night, Al had walked her home.
‘Yes?’ she answered.
‘Is he with you?’
It was Zac, and she could not believe the nerve of the man. ‘No—not that it is any of your business. And do not ring this—’
‘This is business,’ he cut in. ‘Have you talked to your father today?’ he demanded.
‘My father? No.’ The question surprised her, and instead of hanging up on him she listened.
‘Then I suggest you do—soon. I will be round at eight tomorrow night…’
‘Now, wait a damn minute—’ But this time it was Zac who hung up on her…
Sally slowly replaced the receiver, a puzzled frown creasing her brow. Why would Zac Delucca tell her to call her dad? It didn’t make sense. Well, she wasn’t calling her dad tonight. It was too late, and he was probably in bed with his mistress. Given Zac’s brief call, he was probably doing the same with Margot…
On Wednesday morning, after a restless night, Sally was running late. She had stripped the bed and changed the linen after Zac had left on Monday, yet for some reason she imagined she could still smell the scent of him whenever she tried to sleep. Maybe it was the pillows, she reasoned as she dashed out to go to work. She would buy two new ones, she decided, and any thought of calling her father was forgotten.
Usually Sally stayed in the museum for lunch, but today, after ringing her mum to check she was all right as she did every day, she went out shopping. She bought two pillows, and then stocked up in a grocery store with some essentials: fresh bread, milk and a few ready meals. Her weekends with her mother did not leave her with much time for shopping, and she rarely bothered to cook in the evenings any more.
She dashed into her apartment building that evening as the storm clouds that had been gathering for the past few hours finally broke in a deluge of rain.
‘You just made it in time, Miss Paxton.’ The doorman grinned. ‘So much for the heat wave—it lasted all of two weeks.’
‘This is England, remember?’ Sally quipped, and headed for the elevator.