CHAPTER SEVEN
BUTITWASN’Ta date, it was business, she reminded herself and the butterflies that had taken up residence in her stomach for the millionth time that night, as she walked through the revolving glass door of the swish hotel foyer. She was underdressed. Then again, how could she not be? Lucinda didn’t own anything even remotely fancy enough for a place like this, so she’d relied on one of her favourite outfits—flattering black trousers and an oyster-colour silk blouse with a bow at the neck, teamed with black ballet slippers and her trusty briefcase: a leather document wallet that had belonged to her father. It was a good luck charm for Lucinda, and how she felt that she needed luck tonight!
Not to land the job. She was sure she had that in the bag. But to survive the next hour or so, discussing logistics with Thirio. She looked around the foyer, but couldn’t see him. Frowning, she took a seat, knees trembling a little. She opened her briefcase, pulling out her proposal, skimming it, re-familiarising herself with the details. She’d also brought her secondary proposal, just in case he wanted to see that too. Now that he’d agreed to go with her plan A, she felt more than a hint of compunction at having talked him into this. He valued his privacy and she wasn’t sure she was comfortable invading it any more.
‘Miss Villeneuve?’
At the mention of her name, she looked up sharply, the smile on her face instinctive. Lucinda, though naturally beautiful, had been told for a great many years by her stepmother and stepsisters that she was plain and awkward, with unremarkable colouring and features, and their assessment of her had become a part of what she accepted as gospel. She therefore didn’t notice the appraising glint in the man’s eyes as he drew nearer, nor the appreciative smile that shaped his lips.
‘Yes?’
‘Mr Skartos will see you now.’
She blinked, wide caramel eyes flicking around the foyer. ‘Will he? Because I can’t see him.’
The man, aged somewhere in his forties with dark hair that greyed a little at the temples, smiled once more at her joke. ‘He’s in his suite. This way, please.’
‘Oh.’ She stood, darting the tip of her tongue out and moistening her lips nervously. The man led her to an elevator, and pressed the button to summon it.
‘Do you work for Thirio?’
‘Yes.’
That interested Lucinda, and for reasons that went well beyond the professional. ‘What do you do?’
The man’s expression showed bemusement. ‘I’m his personal assistant. Or rather, I am where it concerns his UK business.’
‘Does he have much business here?’
‘Enough to keep me very, very busy,’ the man promised with a wink as the lift arrived and they stepped into it. He swiped a card and the doors swooshed closed, the lift immediately beginning its ascent.
The answer gave little away. In fact, it only raised more questions in curious Lucinda, but they weren’t questions she needed answers to. At least, not to be able to do her job. She needed to focus on the wedding, not all the little things she wanted to know about Thirio.
‘I’m Lucinda,’ she said as the lights indicated they were travelling higher and higher.
‘Travis.’ Did he know how nervous she was? The butterflies in her stomach wouldn’t settle. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm down. Was she nervous about the pitch and contracts? Was it adrenalin because of what this job would mean for her, personally and professionally? Or was it anticipation at seeing Thirio again, and this time in the privacy of his hotel suite? Definitely a combination, but mostly the latter.
The doors pinged open to a small carpeted foyer, with two doors coming off it. Travis led her to one, then knocked twice before pushing open the door, holding it wide to allow Lucinda to enter.
She knew the hotel to be exclusive, and everything about it had seemed quite grand, but, regardless of that, nothing had prepared her for what she’d find in this, the suite on the very top floor of the hotel. And she knew it was the top floor because of the skylights above the lounge area that would, in the morning, provide a delicious golden glow as the sun bathed Knightsbridge in gold.Notthat she had any intention of still being here in the morning, of course!
‘Enjoy your evening, Lucinda.’
Travis was already leaving, leaving her alone in this beautiful hotel living room.
She moved towards the lounge chairs on autopilot, running her fingers over the thickly stuffed arm of one, before taking several steps towards the floor-to-ceiling glass doors that opened out onto a small terrace. Just as she shifted her hand to the door to slide it open, Thirio did the same, from outside, so they stood, face to face, separated only by a piece of glass. Startled, Lucinda took several quicks step back, clutching her briefcase like a security blanket. It felt as though a frog had taken up residence inside her throat, her pulse was ticcing so fast and hard.
He opened the door and the sultry night air breathed in, wrapping around her, so she inhaled deeply.
‘I’ve always loved this time of year,’ she said, out of nowhere, then felt like an absolute idiot for saying the first thing that popped into her head.
Thirio, though, didn’t look at her as though she’d said anything stupid. ‘Why?’
‘It reminds me of summer vacation.’ She smiled, despite the tension radiating through her.
‘Care to join me?’ He gestured towards the balcony. She looked over his shoulder, nerves bursting through her.
‘I won’t bite,’ he promised, after several beats of hesitation.