Bound To Love (12 page)

‘He told me that you had agreed to sell the company, with the proviso that you and he form part of a revised board.’ Gianni Argenti ran a restless hand through his greying hair. ‘He said he just had a couple of issues to finalize.’

Jake’s mouth twisted. ‘Unfortunately gentlemen, the issues that he had to finalize involved kidnapping me.’

Paul knew Jake would never have agreed to sell the company. Jake had rejected it out of hand when Paul had suggested it. A black cloud of foreboding hung over Jake’s head as the true depth of Paul’s plan emerged. The only way he’d be able to do such a deal was over Jake’s dead body. Apparently the idea wasn’t as abhorrent to Paul as it was to Jake.

Jake rose from the table, peeled off his jacket and draped it over the back of the chair.

‘I’ll get some coffee sent in and we’ll start from the beginning. This could take some time gentlemen, so if you have any calls to make I suggest that you make them now.’

After three hours of heated discussion, Gianni Argenti stood and shook Jake’s hand.

‘It’s a very different package to the one that Paul suggested, but one that I feel will offer us both opportunities.’ Fatigue was evident in the older man’s face. ‘I look forward to our new arrangement.’

‘I’ll have the terms of our contract typed up and sent to you as soon as possible. Thanks for your time, Gianni.’

Gianni retrieved his jacket from the back of the chair where he had discarded it mid-meeting. ‘
Ciao
, Jake.’

The executives filed out, shaking Jake’s hand one by one as they left. Alone at last, Jake jerked off his tie and walked out on to the balcony to look out over the leafiest view in London. Those tortuous few hours had been well worth it. The tension that had plagued him for days melted away as he breathed in the warm air.

Sounds of muted music wafted up from the grass below, where a couple lay entwined on the grass in the summer’s warmth. The woman’s coppery hair lay over her companion’s arm, and something about them made him long suddenly to be lying there, with Tempest in his arms, enjoying the summer sunshine. Since they had met it was all drama and intrigue. What would it be like between them without the pressure cooker of emotions that had kept them on edge for the past few days? The woman’s laugh drifted up as he stepped back into the room.

Only one way to find out.

A discreet knock, and Angela entered the room.

‘Shall I get you a sandwich?’

He glanced at his watch. Mid-afternoon. At this rate he would be working late into the evening to put together the proposal he and Gianni had decided upon.

‘Would you mind?’

He gave Angela his most charming smile, and she responded to it as she always did, with a slightly stunned expression.

‘No problem. The usual?’

The local deli made his favourite roast beef and horseradish sandwich to perfection. His stomach growled. ‘Yes thanks, Angela, and better pick up a couple of Grande cappuccinos too, we’re in for a hell of an afternoon.’

His head was pounding by the time they had drafted the agreement which outlined the proposed new company. Argenti Forrester Ltd would develop a modified version of his alarm technology targeted to private homes, and The Argenti Group, the leading company in that market, would be equal partners with Forrester Systems in the new venture. The high-end hardware that he had developed for use in museums would retain its cachet, and the cash injection would allow Jake to branch out into some of the new areas that intrigued him.

He added his signature with a flourish to the end of the letter, then slipped it, together with the freshly typed agreement, into an envelope.

‘Good work, Angela. That’s it for the day.’

Jake’s eyelids seemed to weigh ten pounds. The rush of getting Vivienne back safe had propelled him through the meeting. Now that was finished, exhaustion hit like a truck.

‘There’s just one more thing, Mr. Forrester.’ Angela shifted her weight from foot to foot, like a bird standing on a hotplate. ‘I haven’t organized the flights to the Paris Museum. I know you’d originally planned to go next Wednesday, but when I didn’t hear from you…’

‘Book it please, Angela. We’ll keep to the original arrangement. It gives me a day or so to get things organized here.’

Being in Paris would mean being away from Tempest. But it didn’t have to, did it? She was such a romantic, she’d call Paris the city of love. She could come with him, transform the idle hours into something more. He could lie with her in the sunshine like the redhead lying on the grass in the park outside his window.

Tempest was impulsive. She’d never expect him to do something like this. Excitement fizzed in his veins. Maybe it was time to give her approach a try.

Angela turned for the door and Jake cleared his throat. She stopped mid-stride, eyebrows lifting.

‘Book two tickets. The other in the name of Tempest MacKenzie.’ Adrenalin flooded through him, revitalizing his tired body. She would love it. ‘But leave it till tomorrow, I’m bushed, and you must be too.’

****

Paul Grey credited his sixth sense for his last minute change of heart as he slipped out of the museum.

‘I’ll call you later,’ he’d muttered as the others jumped into the white van with the gold, while he slipped down into the underground station, heading for his brother’s holiday home on the coast. He didn’t see Special Forces in their black gear, or the telltale absence of traffic on the busy roads, but somehow his intuition had paid off, saving him.

He got off the bus and broke in through the loose back window of the house, and immediately put on the television. His face stared back at him from the television news. Even though he knew it in his bones, it was still a shock to see the evidence of his intuition made real in the words that scrolled along the ticker at the bottom of the screen.

Most wanted, this man is dangerous.

He threw a nearby vase at the wall in frustration. His perfect plan lay in pieces like the shards of china at his feet.

It had taken a couple of days, and a good few hours hacking into his brother’s old laptop before he worked out what to do. Without money or transport, it took him hours to get close to London again, and long, tedious hours sitting in a truck, listening to country music played at full volume, took their toll. Even as Paul sat in the diner waiting for the overweight waitress to bring him cheeseburger and fries he could still hear some girl wailing about how her man did her wrong no matter how much he tried to shake it out of his brain. He’d slipped a couple of notes out of the trucker’s wallet and made himself scarce until the giant rig drove off the forecourt without him.

He fingered the notes in his pocket. Not much, but enough to get him where he needed to go. The waitress wove through the crowded tables towards him, her tray laden with his meal and an extra large cup of coffee. She placed his food down and his mouth filled with saliva, as he picked up his knife and fork with agonizing slowness. He cut a small slice from his cheeseburger, sniffing as the aroma filled his nostrils, prolonging the exquisite agony as his stomach rumbled in protest. He carefully placed the forkful on his tongue, chewing slowly. It was so much more delicious to prolong the sensations.

As he would when he got to London. The tenuous plan crystallized as he chewed. Jake deserved what was coming to him. Every painful minute of it. He slurped his coffee, flavour flooding his taste buds in a rush.

Jake had the brains, he’d give him that. He had created a damn good product. But without Paul’s marketing skills and street smarts he would have taken it nowhere. It had taken hours of work, putting all the pieces in place to build the perfect deal with The Argenti Group. A deal that would make him and Jake millionaires and confirm their position as market leaders. He covered every angle, except the most important one. Jake didn’t want to attend a meeting, didn’t want to even discuss it. He breathed in deeply, slowing his heart rate, focusing on keeping calm.

That didn’t matter anymore, that was all water under the bridge. He chewed his food slowly, savouring it.

All I need is money for a new start
,
and if I get some satisfaction along the way, so be it.

****

Tempest pushed back a damp lock of hair that had escaped from the scrunchie. She ran damp hands down her jeans and climbed off the swivel chair. After working like a demon all day she deserved a rest. The door to the studio swung shut behind her as she walked out into the cool of the evening.

Time for a drink.

She flicked the kitchen light on and poured herself a glass of chilled Chardonnay. All day the image and memory of Jake had tormented her. The darned man had taken up permanent residence in her head.

A deck surrounded the cottage, forming an outdoor room, enclosed by a wooden railing. She sighed, and flopped down into an old chair in the sun’s fading light. The old rocking chair was a discarded relic from her mother. If only trust was as easy to give as material possessions. She stretched out her legs. It was getting dark; Jake would be finished with his meeting by now. Would she hear the phone, out here? She lifted the glass of wine to her lips and drank deeply.

A fierce, alien longing tied her in its grip. There was nothing to keep Jake in London, now the crisis was over. He’d probably be flying back to his apartment overlooking Central Park once his meetings were finished. Her fingers gripped the cold glass.

It was time to face facts. Their relationship was unreal, forged in traumatic circumstances. Thrown together, the attraction between them was so strong neither could resist it.
It was a waste of life to resist it.
Her lips tingled at his remembered kisses, her entire body obsessing over him along with her mind.

She stood and walked to the railing, gripped it with restless fingers. If only he was here with her. Without him, doubts swirled and fear of what was to come was overwhelming. She was in too deep; would get hurt.

The last of the dappled sunlight warmed her face as she tilted her chin towards the sun’s fading rays. She breathed deeply. She couldn’t think about losing him. Not while things were so tenuous. Work was some form of release; it had always consumed her in the past. She’d spent the day creating ankhs for one of her regular clients, a London jeweller, but even hard work had proved no distraction. Soundlessly she sent a question out into the stratosphere, and felt the answer resound deep inside.

We are meant to be together.

The phone rang, and she rushed inside to answer it.

‘Hi there, Red.’

‘I was just thinking of you.’
Fantasizing really.
‘How did the meeting go?’

‘It went well.’ Silence for a moment. ‘I made a big mistake, trusting Paul. He’d negotiated a deal that would only go ahead over my dead body. He must have planned to kill me next.’

The words shook Tempest to her core. She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing he had to get it out, but hating even to contemplate his death.

She swallowed, and forced a calm she didn’t feel into her voice. ‘Did you sort it out?’

‘Yes. We’re launching a new company. But it’s going to take a lot of work.’

He sounded tired. She wanted to be with him. An idea took form and a slow smile tilted her lips up at the corners.

‘Where are you?’

‘I’m in the penthouse apartment above my London office. It feels good to be wearing my own clothes at last. Daniel’s were great, but…’

‘Yes, it’s good to get back to your own life too, isn’t it?’

One hand covered her eyes. That hadn’t come out right. She sounded needy and desperate. Hopefully he wouldn’t pick up on it.

‘I’ve got a lot more work to do in Europe, and to be honest I don’t even know why I’m going back to New York. I can run the business from anywhere. Lately, I’ve thought that London would make a better base.’

Tempest’s legs wobbled. She sank down onto the sofa.

‘After all, my mother lives here, and I’m starting up a new company with an Italian partner…’

He was thinking of business. Rampant optimism had led her down an overly romantic trail again. Her fingers worried the frayed edge of the sofa cover.

His voice deepened. ‘Besides, if I’m based in London it makes it a lot easier to see you.’

Shivers ran up Tempest’s spine at the dark intent in his words.

‘I like being with you, Red. I wish you were here.’

She groaned. Her thoughts exactly.

‘Do you have any idea of what that noise does to me? You’ve got me tied up in knots here, all I can think about is being with you.’

‘Why don’t you drive down?’ There were logs in the basket, and chocolate strawberries in the fridge. ‘You could be here in an hour. I’ll make us a fire.’

‘I don’t need a fire.’ There was a hint of desperation in his laugh. ‘I need a cold shower. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than drive down there and carry you upstairs to bed. But I’ve got my research team coming in at eight tomorrow morning for a brainstorming session, and I’ve gotta be here.’

‘I could come to you…’

‘No. As I said, I’ve an early start.’

A pile of opened mail covered the table. A glittering image of Egyptian gold caught her eye, and she pulled it from the pile. ‘Did you get the invitation for the Museum opening tomorrow night?’

‘My mother reminded me about it this morning.’

‘I’m going with Skye and Daniel.’
And I hope you’re going to be there, I’m desperate for you to be there.

Jake’s deep voice sounded husky. ‘No. Skye and Daniel are going to be there, but you, Red, are going with me, I’ll drive down tomorrow and pick you up.’

‘You don’t need to do that, I’ll meet you there.’

A golden glow warmed her all over. Tomorrow. She’d see him tomorrow. Her heart lifted and flooded with happiness.

‘I want to do it.’ His voice dropped an octave. ‘I’ll be there mid-afternoon and I can help you put on your dress, after I’ve helped you out of your clothes first.’

‘Mmm, we could get ready together.’

Excitement took hold and it was all she could do to stay seated. She glanced at her watch, a sudden idea taking form.