She hated the fact that it was the thought of that right now that made her feel more vulnerable than even the prospect of the battle to come. One other thing was sure: with every bone and last breath in her body she would resist the seduction of this man. Yet, she had to ask herself inwardly, for someone who prided herself on being frigid, why did it suddenly seem like such an uphill struggle?
A week later.
Lucy sat opposite Aristotle on his private jet as it winged its way to Athens from a stormy London. She could almost believe for a moment that she’d imagined what had happened in his office last week, when he’d declared so implacably that he was determined to have her in his bed.
Since that day when she’d been so firmly put back in her place, her letter of resignation torn up, Aristotle had been utterly consumed with business and preparations for the merger. They’d worked late into the night almost every night, and she’d been in the office most mornings as the cleaners were still finishing up. She’d never been so tired, yet so contentedly exhausted. Despite her trepidation at the undercurrents flowing under the surface, professionally speaking she’d never worked at such a heady pace, nor been entrusted with so much responsibility. The sense of pitting her wits against Aristotle and keeping up with him was exhilarating. She blocked out the snide voice that mocked her with the assertion that work was the only exhilarating thing.
Thankfully she hadn’t had time for much more than falling into bed, snatching some food, and getting up again. The weekend had been a blur of last-minute visits to the office, packing, and a bittersweet visit to her mum, before she’d been collected by Aristotle’s driver that Sunday afternoon. The visit to her mother had been bittersweet because she’d had one of her brief lucid moments, recognising Lucy as soon she’d walked into the private room at the home.
‘Lucy, darling!’
Lucy had had to swallow back a lump as she’d watched her still beautifully elegant mother rise out of her chair by the window to greet her with her usual warm and tactile affection. Lucy had missed it so much. On Maxine’s good days, and obviously this was one, she took care of her appearance. On her bad days Lucy would come in and, if not for the care of the attentive staff, her mother could look as unkempt as a bag lady. It made her heart ache with sadness as her mother had always been so fastidious about her looks.
Lucy had been careful not to let the emotion overwhelm her; these moments of lucidity were growing further and further apart, and she’d have her mother with her for only ten minutes before the inevitable decline came. The sentences would stop and falter, her eyes grow opaque, until finally she’d come to look at Lucy with a completely blank expression and say, ‘I’m sorry, dear, who are you?’
It broke Lucy’s heart to know that there was no point in even trying to explain where she was going, or that she was going to be out of the country for a few weeks. At least she could give thanks for the sterling round-the-clock care she could now afford. It made her attempt to resign from her job seem all the more childishly impetuous now. How could she jeopardise her mother’s security? And yet how could she keep working for Aristotle once this merger was completed?
‘Lucy.’
Lucy’s head jerked round from where she’d been looking out of the window at the sea far below. Aristotle must have called her a couple of times; she could hear impatience lacing his voice. He was looking at her sternly, and at that moment Lucy realised how little space was between them—just a small table. Even as she thought that she felt Aristotle flex a leg and it brushed hers. She froze, all that heat and awareness rushing back, mocking her for believing it might have disappeared under a pile of work.
‘I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something.’
He quirked a brow. ‘Something more interesting than me? Or this merger? Not possible, surely.’
Lucy froze even more, she couldn’t handle Aristotle when he was being like this…flirty. Yet with a steel edge. She couldn’t imagine him ever being truly light, free and easy. Smiling. He was too driven, intense.
She smiled brittlely, determined that he shouldn’t see his effect. ‘Of course not. How could I?’
At that moment the steward arrived to serve them lunch. Lucy automatically went to clear the table and her hands brushed against Aristotle’s. She flinched back but tried to mask her reaction, a flush rising up over her chest. It would appear their tenuous ‘work truce’ had ended. Tension was a tight cord between them.
Lucy studied her food, a delicious-looking Greek salad and fresh crusty bread.
‘Would you like some wine?’
She looked up to automatically shake her head. Wine on a plane with this man was a recipe for disaster.
‘Some water will be fine, thanks.’
She watched as Aristotle’s lean dark hand elegantly poured himself wine, and then water for her. She muttered thanks and took a deep gulp, hoping it might dampen the flames that were licking inside her.
They ate companionably in silence. It was one of the things that perplexed her about this man. They had moments like this when she could almost imagine that they might be friends. She’d noticed in general that he didn’t feel the need to fill silences with inane chatter, and neither did she. It surprised her to find that in common. In all honesty, if it wasn’t for the great hulking elephant in the room, Lucy had to admit that so far she’d enjoyed working for Aristotle and admired his work ethic.
She was finishing her final mouthful of salad when she sensed him leaning back in his chair. She could feel the brush of his leg against hers again and fought not to move it aside. She was aware of his regard and it made her self-conscious.
‘You really don’t approve of me, Lucy, do you?’
She looked up, surprised. It was the last thing she would have imagined hearing him say. She gulped and wiped her mouth with a napkin, a flare of guilt assailing her.
‘I…I don’t think one way or the other. I’m here as your assistant, not to form a personal opinion.’ She wondered wildly what had brought this on.
He folded his arms across his chest, supremely at ease.
‘I’ve seen those little looks you dart at me—those little looks that have me all summed up. And when I asked you to send a gift to Augustine Archer, you most certainly didn’t approve of that.’
Lucy was so tense now she thought she might crack. ‘Like I said before…it’s not my place to judge—’
‘And yet you do,’ he inserted silkily.