‘I’m not allergic to you, Mr Walker.’ She bit her lip, her eyes meeting his. ‘For a start, allergies tend to be involuntary.’
‘Oh, I see. So you’re choosing to ignore this thing between us?’
She swallowed, unable to look away from his dark, mocking gaze.
‘If by “ignore” you mean not behave in an unprofessional and inappropriate manner, then, yes, I am,’ she said crisply.
He studied her face in silence, and as she gazed into his flawless features a tingling heat seeped through her limbs, cocooning her body so she felt drowsy and blurred around the edges.
‘So you do admit that there is something between us?’
His words sent a pulse up her spine, bringing her to her senses instantly, and she felt a rush of adrenaline. Damn him! She was in security. It was her job to keep out unwanted intruders, to keep important data secret. So why was it that she fell into each and every one of his traps with such humiliating ease?
She wasn’t even sure how he did it. No one else had ever managed to get under her skin so easily. But he seemed not only able to read her mind, but to turn her inside out so that she had nowhere to hide. It made her feel raw, flayed, vulnerable.
Remembering the last time she had felt so vulnerable, she shivered. Connor’s betrayal still had the power to hurt. But, even though she knew now that it was her ego not her heart that he’d damaged, no good was going to come of confessing any of that to Ram—a man who had zero interest in emotions, his own and other people’s.
And that was why this conversation was going to stop.
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze with what she hoped was an expression of cool composure.
‘I don’t think a business meeting is really the right time to have this particular conversation,’ she said coolly. ‘But, as you have a girlfriend, I’m not sure when or where would be right.’
‘Girlfriend?’ He seemed genuinely surprised. ‘If you mean Clio, then, yes, she’s female. But “girlfriend”? That would be stretching it. And don’t look so outraged. She knows exactly what’s on offer, and she’s grateful to take it.’
She stared at him in disbelief. ‘Grateful! For what? For being fortunate enough to have sex with the great Ramsay Walker?’
‘In a nutshell.’
He seemed amused rather than annoyed.
‘You surprise me, Ms Mason. Given the nature of your job, I thought you of all people would know that it pays to look beneath the surface.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘You really shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet.’
A quivering irritation flickered through her brain, like static on the radio.
‘Is that right? So, for example, all those times you’re meant to have said you don’t want to get married or have children—that was all lies? You were misquoted?’
Ram stared past her, felt the breath whipping out of him. Used to women who sought to soothe and seduce, he felt her directness like a rogue wave, punching him off his feet. Who did she think she was, to question him like this? To put him, his life, under a spotlight?
But beneath his exasperation he could feel his body responding to the heat sparking in her eyes.
Ignoring his uneven heartbeat, he met her furious blue gaze. ‘I’m not in the business of explaining myself, Ms Mason. But this one time I’ll answer your question. I wasn’t misquoted. Everything I said was and is true. I have no desire whatsoever to marry or have children.’
That was an
understatement. Marriage had never been a priority for him. Parenthood even less so. And for good reason. Both might appear to offer security and satisfaction, but it had been a long time since he’d believed in the myths they promised.
Out in the bay, the Opera House was lit up, its sails gleaming ghost-white. But it was the darkness that drew his gaze. For a moment he let it blot out the twisting mass of feelings that were rising up inside him, unbidden and unwelcome.
Commitment came at a cost, and he knew that the debt would never be paid. A wife and a child were a burden—a responsibility he simply didn’t want. Had never once wanted.
And he didn’t intend to start now.
Leaning back in his chair, he shrugged. ‘Marriage and parenthood are just a Mobius strip of emotional scenes that quite frankly I can do without. I’m sorry if that offends your romantic sensibilities, Ms Mason, but that’s how I choose to live my life.’
There was a moment of absolute silence.
Nola drew a breath. By ‘romantic’, he clearly meant deluded, soppy and hopelessly outdated. It was also obvious that he thought her resistance to him was driven not by logic but by a desire for something more meaningful than passion.