Laszlo forced himself to meet her eyes. He was just going to have to hope that she accepted his volte-face as evidence of his impulsive nature. But the truth was that he was struggling to make sense of his decision too. ‘You know me, Prudence. I can’t resist a fork in the road. It’s in my blood.’
Prudence stared at him suspiciously. She could hardly refute his claim; his mercurial moods and erratic behaviour had overshadowed their entire relationship. However, if this was going to be a business relationship, they needed to deal in fact. It didn’t mean that he could try to fob her off with some flowery, meaningless nonsense.
‘You’re going to have to do better than that, Laszlo.’ She shook her head. ‘Why have you changed your mind?’
There was a loaded silence and then he shrugged. ‘Seymour’s are the best, and I want the best for my grandfather.’ He surveyed her calmly. ‘So, do we have a deal, then?’
She nodded slowly.
His smile tightened. ‘But don’t think that just because I’ve changed my mind anything has changed between us. I may be willing to forget the past for my grandfather’s sake, but I haven’t forgiven you.’
Nor was he entirely sure that he’d done the right thing, letting Prudence stay. But it would be for only a matter of weeks, and he would be calling the shots. Breathing out slowly, he felt a twinge of satisfaction—for now that he’d rationalised his behaviour, he saw that it would be immensely gratifying to have his beautiful English wife at his beck and call.
Staring defiantly at his face, Prudence clenched her fists, resentment curdling in her throat. She should be feeling relieved—ecstatic, even—for she’d fought to keep her job. But now the full consequences of having achieved that goal were starting to dawn on her and she felt more cornered than anything. He was in control here and she knew that. Worse—he did. And even worse than that was the knowledge that she still responded to the maleness of him with an eagerness that shocked her.
Her pulse leapt. Could she really do this? Work and live with Laszlo? Remembering the heat of his lips on hers, she felt her body still and her breath snag in her throat. How could she still want him? After everything he’d done and said? It was incomprehensible. But while her heart might have hardened against him, her body still melted at his touch. Not liking that fact didn’t make it any less true.
She turned to face him and found him watching her impassively. Looking away again, she swallowed. If ever she was weak and stupid enough even to imagine kissing him again, she’d need to remember that look—right there—to remind herself that Laszlo had coldly and without any compunction discarded her. No kiss and no caress, however sublime, could change that.
‘I understand,’ she said crisply.
It was on the tip of her tongue to say that receiving his forgiveness was not exactly top of her agenda, but she had no desire for yet another confrontation—and then she sucked in a breath as she realised that her inadequate instinct for self-preservation was the least of her worries.
‘What about your grandfather?’ she said abruptly. ‘What are you going to tell him? About us?’
For a moment he said nothing, and she held her breath, and then he turned to look at her, his eyes so golden and fierce it was like looking into the sun.
‘What would you have me tell him? That I’ve deceived him for the last seven years?’
His voice seared her skin and she shook her head. He looked away, his mouth thinning to a grim line. She swallowed and took a stinging breath, hating herself but knowing that there was no avoiding it.
‘And my contract?’
Laszlo studied her for a moment. ‘Will be signed this morning. But until then shall we shake on it?’
Prudence stared at him in silence, her skin prickling. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and offered him her hand. His fingers brushed against hers, and then she gave a sharp cry of surprise as his hand slid over her wrist and he jerked her towards him, hard and fast, pulling her body close to his lean, muscular torso.
‘Let me go,’ she said, trying desperately to yank herself free.
She struggled against him but he simply drew her closer, clamping her body against his until he felt her resistance subside.
‘No. Not until you and I have got a couple of things straight.’
Prudence gritted her teeth. ‘Isn’t that something to do when we sign the contract? You know—with a lawyer present.’
Her stomach flipped as she felt him weave his fingers through her hair, his hand holding her captive.
‘You’ll get your contract, Prudence. But we need to lay down a few ground rules just between the two of us.’
He tilted her face up towards him and her skin grew warm beneath his glimmering hypnotic gaze.
‘Firstly, you’re here to work. And whatever you might like to think, I’m your boss and I’ll be working closely with you on this project. This is something my grandfather has asked me to oversee. So if you don’t think you can stomach taking orders from me then I suggest you climb back over that wall right now.’
Clenching her hands into fists, she counted to fifty un
der her breath. Finally, after a long pause, she said stiffly, ‘I understand.’
Their eyes met and he nodded.