‘Mr Wolfe, there’s a Miss Medford downstairs in reception. She doesn’t have an appointment, but she insists she knows you, and the front desk asked me to check with you first before they send her away.’
Jack’s head lifted at his PA Gorinda’s comment. The bump of exhilaration annoyed him. ‘Do you know which Miss Medford?’
‘No, Mr Wolfe, but apparently she’s been very persistent.’
‘Uh-huh,’ he murmured as the bump went nuts.
It had to be Katherine. He hadn’t spoken to Beatrice since she’d broken off their engagement, and she didn’t have the guts to come to his office without an appointment. Katherine, on the other hand...
‘I did tell them there was no way you would—’
‘It’s okay, Gorinda.’ He cut her off. ‘Have them send her up.’
Gorinda disguised her astonishment with a quick nod, like the first-class professional she was.
As Jack waited for Katherine to arrive, he got up and paced across the office. He should have told her to go to hell. She’d rejected his offer two months ago now. He’d intended to forget her as soon as he strolled out of her cottage. To find someone else. But it hadn’t quite worked out that way. Not only had he not been able to forget her, no other woman had come close to exciting him the way she did.
None of them had Katherine’s vibrant hair, her lush curves, her quick wit or her sharp, intelligent emerald eyes. And not one of them made him ache.
He’d come to the conclusion that, if he couldn’t have her, he didn’t want anyone else. Which was infuriating.
How had she captivated him so comprehensively? When her rejection still stung, reminding him of the feral kid he’d once been...? On the outside, not wanted and never to be invited in.
He returned to his desk, determined not to let her see his agitation—or his excitement at the thought of seeing her again.
Several eternities later, Gorinda stepped into the office with Katherine. After announcing his uninvited guest, his PA left and shut the door.
He took his time staring at the woman who still occupied far too much of his head space.
In a tailored pencil skirt, a silk blouse and low heels, her wild hair pinned on top of her head in a ruthless up-do, she looked more sophisticated than he’d ever seen her. But the power suit and heels couldn’t disguise her lush curves or dewy skin. Or the way the buttons of her blouse strained against her cleavage. Was he imagining it, or did her breasts look even more spectacular than he remembered?
‘Hello, Katherine,’ he said, his tone huskier than he would have liked. He remained seated, keeping his expression flat and direct, even as the bump in his heart rate accelerated. ‘To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?’ he added, doing nothing to hide the slice of sarcasm in his tone.
Her cheeks turned a delectable shade of pink. The inconvenient arousal flowed south.
Damn, I still want her—too much.
He shifted in his seat, the sudden recollection of wrapping his lips around those hard, swollen peaks aggravating his temper, not to mention the ache in his pants.
The sour taste in his mouth wasn’t far behind, though. She had to be here to renegotiate his offer. Why he should be surprised, he had no idea. But what surprised him more was his disappointment. She’d rejected him when he’d offered her a generous deal two months ago. He’d told her then she wouldn’t get a second chance and he still meant it. However much he might still want her.
‘Hello, Jack,’ she said. ‘Can I sit down?’
He swept his hand towards the leather armchair on the other side of the desk. ‘Go ahead. You’ve got five minutes to say whatever you came to say,’ he said, gratified by the flash of annoyance before she managed to mask it.
Damned if he didn’t still find her rebelliousness a major turn-on.
But as she crossed the room and sat down he frowned. Had she lost weight? Because he could still recall every luscious inch of her in far too much detail and, apart from her breasts, her curves didn’t look as much of a handful as he remembered. Not only that, but she moved stiffly, without the confident energy of two months ago.
As her face caught the sun streaming through the office windows, he noticed the tight line of her lips and the bruised shadows under her eyes that she’d tried to mask with make-up.
He stifled the concern pushing against his chest and forced it into a box marked ‘not your problem’.
She’d probably been working herself to the bone to make a go of her failing business. But why should he care? He’d offered her a way out. And she’d thrown it back in his face.
He glanced at his watch. ‘You’ve got four minutes now,’ he said.
‘I wanted to ask about the financing you mentioned two months ago.’ She leaned forward, offering him an even better view of her cleavage—which had to be deliberate. ‘It’s been...’ She sighed, the gushing breath weary. ‘More of a challenge than I thought to keep up payments on my loans. If you’re still interested in investing, I could offer you twenty-five percent instead of ten.’
His disappointment at the evidence that she could be bought after all was tempered by the surge of triumph. He had her where he wanted her now. But he’d be damned if he’d give her an easy ride. ‘And the deal I discussed?’
‘I’d be willing to do that too, of course,’ she said without a moment’s hesitation. ‘With the six-month time limit you mentioned, obviously.’
‘And what exactly would you be prepared to do for this investment?’ he asked, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the blush which was now spreading across her neck.
‘Whatever you want me to do,’ she said softly.
His chest tightened with anger. ‘Uh-huh,’ he ground out, holding on to his fury with an effort. ‘And what do you envisage that entailing?’
He’d intended to pay to relocate her to London for six months, because their affair would have to be at his convenience, not hers. But if they had decided to sleep together—to get this damn chemistry out of their system—he had never intended to buy her cooperation in that regard. But she’d never given him the chance to explain any of that two months ago. She’d simply jumped to the conclusion he would be paying her for sex—and had rejected him out of hand.
He steepled his fingers to stop them shaking as the fury started to consume him. ‘And if I said I didn’t just want to date you socially? That I wanted you in my bed for the duration? What then?’ he asked, finally pushing the point.
Her eyes widened, the flash of anxiety going some way to satisfy his sense of outrage.
That’s right, Red, let’s see how far you’re willing to go!
Her face fell, the blush blazing now as the last of the eager hope he had glimpsed died. He’d shocked her. And insulted her. Just as he’d intended.
But just as he was sure she would finally realise how insulting that proposition was, to both of them, she said, ‘Okay, if that’s what you want.’
The anger flared, but right behind it was astonishment. And that heady shot of arousal still throbbing in his groin.
How could he still want her when she was only offering herself in exchange for payment? Had her outrage at the cottage all been an act?
Of course it had, he thought viciously, surprised to realise he actually felt disillusioned when he’d figured he had lost all his illusions years ago.
He was a deeply cynical guy because he’d had to be. He’d come from the very bottom and made it to the top. And he’d had to fight like hell to scale every rung of that ladder. He couldn’t afford sentimentality or loyalty unless it benefitted his bottom line.
But although he’d been angry when he’d walked away from her—because she’d denied him something he wanted—in the weeks since he’d been captivated by the notion that Katherine Medford might actually be the real deal. Someone prepared to put their dignity and self-respect before money. And status. And benefitting their own bottom line.
The sour taste in his mouth made his lips twist in a cruel smile. ‘I see,’ he said, letting his gaze roam over her, the perusal deliberately insulting as he got up from his desk. He walked towards her, suddenly determined to punish her for destroying the image he’d had of her... And get some much-needed payback for the snub that had bruised his ego more than it should have.
What a fool he’d been, wasting months getting hung up on a woman who didn’t even exist.