Deserving of His Diamonds (3 page)

assured, the master of all he controlled. Was he really feeling guilty or just

annoyed at being wrong for once in his life? He was a fiercely proud man.

She had met no one prouder or more stubborn. ‗You can sleep easy, Emilio,‘

she said. ‗After the way you treated me I put you out of my mind as soon as

I stepped off the plane. I haven‘t thought of you in months.‘ He held her

look for a heartbeat longer than she would have liked. ‗I‘ll be in town for the

rest of the week,‘ he said, handing her a business card. ‗If you change your

mind about meeting with me, please feel free to call me at any time.‘ Gisele

took the silver-embossed card with a hand that trembled slightly as it came

in contact with his. She curled her fingers around the card until its edges bit

into her palm. ‗I won‘t change my mind,‘ she said with steely determination

wrapped around each and every word. She waited until he had left before

she let out her breath in a long ragged stream. She looked at the card she had

crushed in her hand. A sharp corner had broken the skin of her palm; a very

timely reminder that if she allowed Emilio Andreoni too close again she

would be the only one to get hurt.

A COUPLE of days later Gisele received a visit from her landlord, Keith

Patterson. For a heart-stopping moment she wondered if she had somehow

overlooked paying her rent, but then she remembered she had seen the

electronic transfer of the funds on her accounts profile page only the week

before. ‗I know this is short notice, Miss Carter,‘ Keith said after the usual

polite exchange of greetings, ‗but I‘ve decided to sell the building to a

developer. I got an offer too good to refuse. The wife and I lost a fair bit in

the global financial crisis and we need to refinance ourselves for our

retirement. This offer couldn‘t have come at a better time.‘ Gisele blinked at

him in alarm. While her profit turnover was good and her bank overdraft

manageable, finding other premises would no doubt involve a rise in rent.

She didn‘t want to overstretch herself, especially as she had only recently

employed an assistant. So many small businesses folded due to having too

many overheads and not enough income. She didn‘t want to become another

statistic of economic disaster. ‗Does that mean I have to move out?‘ she

asked. ‗That will depend on the new owner,‘ Keith said. ‗He‘ll have to get

council approval before he does any alterations. That could take weeks or a

couple of months. He gave me his card for you to contact him to discuss the

lease.‘ He handed her a silver-embossed card across the counter. Gisele‘s

heart dropped like a stone inside her chest even before she saw the name on

the card. ‗Emilio Andreoni bought the building?‘ she asked in a shocked

gasp.

‗You‘ve heard of him?‘ Keith asked. She felt her face grow warm. ‗Yes …

I‘ve heard of him,‘ she said. ‗But he‘s an architect, not a property

developer.‘ ‗Maybe he‘s diversifying his interests,‘ Keith said. ‗I‘ve heard

he‘s won numerous awards for his designs. He seemed mighty keen to buy

the place.‘ ‗Did he give you a reason for his enthusiasm?‘ Gisele asked,

boiling with anger inside. ‗Yes, he said it held sentimental value,‘ Keith

said. ‗Maybe a relative of his owned it in the past. Some Italians used to

have a fruit shop here in the fifties. I can‘t remember their name.‘ Gisele

ground her teeth. Sentimental value indeed! She knew for a fact Emilio had

no living relatives, or at least none he wanted to associate with. He had told

her very little about his background, but she sensed it hadn‘t been much like

hers. She had often wondered if that was another reason he had wanted to

marry her. Her blueblooded pedigree had appealed to him. How ironic that it

turned out she and her twin were the products of an illicit affair their father

had had with a housekeeper while he and his wife were living in London.

Once Keith Patterson had gone Gisele looked at the business card lying on

the counter. She drummed her fingers on the glass surface, her teeth almost

going to powder as she considered her options. She could tear up the card

into tiny little pieces as she had a couple of days ago, or she could call the

mobile number on it and arrange a showdown. If she tore up the card he

would surely come in to see her and she would be caught off guard just as

she had been before.

She decided it would be better to see him on her terms this time around. She

picked up the phone and started dialling. ‗Emilio Andreoni.‘

‗You bastard!‘ Gisele spat before she could stop herself.

She heard the sound of a leather chair squeaking as he shifted position. She

imagined him with his feet up on the desk, his ankles crossed casually, his

head laid back against the headrest and a self-satisfied smile on his mouth.

‗Nice to hear from you, Gisele,‘ he said smoothly. ‗Have you changed your

mind yet about meeting with me one last time before I leave?‘ Gisele almost

broke the phone with the pressure of her fingers as she gripped it in her

hand. ‗I can‘t believe how ruthless you‘re prepared to be in getting your own

way,‘ she hissed at him. ‗Do you really think by charging me an exorbitant

rent it will make me hate you less?‘ ‗You‘re assuming I‘m going to charge

you rent,‘ he said. ‗Maybe I‘ll lease the premises to you without charging a

cent.‘ Gisele‘s heart clanged against her rib cage. ‗Wh-what did you say?‘

‗I‘m offering you a business proposition,‘ he said. ‗Meet with me and we‘ll

discuss it.‘ She felt a shiver of apprehension trickle down her spine like a

single drop of icy water. ‗I‘d rather turn tricks on the nearest street corner

than have anything to do with you,‘ she threw back.

‗Before you reject an offer you really should discuss the terms and

conditions more thoroughly,‘ he said. ‗You might be surprised at some of

the benefits.‘ ‗I can just imagine some of the benefits,‘ Gisele said, her voice

liberally laced with scorn. ‗A rent-free premises in exchange for my body

and my self-respect. No thanks.‘ ‗You really should consider my proposal,

Gisele,‘ he said. ‗It wouldn‘t do to put at risk everything you‘ve worked so

hard for, now, would it?‘ ‗I‘ve lost everything before and survived,‘ she

said, throwing a verbal punch. She heard it land with a sharp intake of his

breath. ‗Don‘t make me play dirty, Gisele,‘ he gritted. ‗I can and I will if I

have to.‘ Gisele felt that icy shiver again. She knew just how ruthless he

could be. She knew he had ways and means to make things very difficult for

her, even more difficult than when he had thrown her out of his life so

callously just days before the wedding she had planned with such excitement

and anticipation. She still remembered the horror of that moment. She

couldn‘t even look at a wedding gown now without feeling that gut-

wrenching sense of despair. But she was not going to roll over for him. ‗I

don‘t want or need your help,‘ she said. ‗I don‘t care if I have to beg on the

streets. I will not accept anything from you.‘ ‗I recently designed a holiday

retreat for one of Europe‘s largest retail giants,‘ Emilio said. ‗With a click of a computer mouse I could make your business expand exponentially. Your

shop will not just be a local enterprise. It will instantly become a global

brand.‘ Gisele thought of the expansion she had planned over

the next few years. How she had imagined building her business to spread to

other suburban outlets and to the larger department stores and, more

importantly, increasing her online presence. The only things that had been

holding her back were secure finance and the right contacts. She fought with

her resolve. She wanted to say no. She wanted to slam the phone down in his

ear. But turning her back on him would mean turning her back on the sort of

success most people could only dream about. But then, doing any sort of

business deal with Emilio would mean contact with him. Contact she didn‘t

want, wouldn‘t allow herself to want. Her stomach slipped like a cat‘s claws

on a highly polished surface.

Maybe even intimate contact …

‗Think about it, Gisele,‘ he said. ‗You have a lot to gain by allowing me

back in your life, even if it‘s only temporarily.‘ ‗What do you mean,

temporarily?‘ she asked warily. ‗I would like you to spend the next month

with me in Italy,‘ Emilio said. ‗It will give us a chance to see if we can still

make things work between us. I will, of course, pay you an allowance for the

time we spend together.‘ ‗I‘m not spending the next minute with you,‘

Gisele said with a fresh upsurge of resolve. ‗I‘m hanging up right now so

don‘t bother call—‘ ‗It will also be the perfect opportunity for me to

introduce you to the right contacts,‘ he said. ‗How does a million dollars for

the month sound?‘

Gisele‘s mouth opened and closed. She couldn‘t seem to get her voice to

work. Her heart was pumping so hard and so fast she felt as if it were going

to explode out from between her breasts and land on the floor in front of her.

A million dollars.

Could she do it? Could she survive a month living with Emilio? She had

shared his bed with love in the past. How could she do it this time with

hatred? Would he want her to share his bed? A shiver ran over her skin. Of

course he would want her to. Hadn‘t she seen his desire for her burning in

his dark eyes when he came into the shop? Couldn‘t she hear the spine-

tingling rumble of it in his voice now? ‗I … I need some time to think about

this,‘ she said. ‗What‘s to think about?‘ he asked. ‗You win either way,

Gisele. If after a month we both feel there‘s no point in carrying on any

further, you will be free to go. No strings. You can take the money and

leave.‘ She chewed at her bottom lip for a moment. ‗And you‘re happy to

have me back in your life, hating you the way I do?‘ she asked. ‗I understand

your feelings,‘ he said. ‗But I feel we both need to be sure we‘re not making

the biggest mistake of our lives by not exploring the possibility of a future

together.‘ Gisele frowned. ‗Why are you doing this?‘ she asked. ‗Why not

leave things as they are?‘ ‗Because as soon as I saw you the other day I

knew we had unfinished business,‘ he said. ‗I felt it and I know you did too.

You can deny it but it won‘t make it any less real.

You might hate me but I felt your body react to mine. You still want me just

as much as I still want you.‘ Gisele hated that he knew her body so well that

he could read its most subtle of signals. What hope did she have of coming

out of this with her pride intact? ‗I want another day or two to think it over,‘

she said. ‗And if I agree, I won‘t accept less than two million.‘ ‗I can see

why you have done so well for yourself in the time we‘ve been apart,‘

Emilio said musingly. ‗You drive a hard bargain. Two million is a lot of

money.‘ ‗I have a lot of hate,‘ she shot back. ‗I will look forward to

dismantling it,‘ he said. Gisele felt her insides clench with unruly desire.

‗You haven‘t got a hope, Emilio,‘ she said. ‗You can pay all you like for my

body but you will never have my heart.‘ ‗Your body will do for now,‘ he

said with smouldering intensity. ‗I will send a car for you on Friday evening.

Pack your passport and some clothes if it is a yes.‘ And with that the phone

line went dead. As Emilio‘s driver pulled up in front of her block of flats

Gisele told herself she was saying yes for one reason and one reason only.

She wanted to make Emilio‘s life as miserable as she could for the next

month. She would enjoy every minute of making him regret the way he had

treated her. He would not find her such an easy conquest this time around.

She was not the sweet, shy, rather naive virgin he had met and swept off her

feet two years ago. She was older and wiser, harder and more cynical. More

battle scarred and dangerously, scarily angry. Also, being in Europe for a

month might give her the opportunity to get to know the sister she had never

met

until a couple of weeks ago. Sienna was currently living in London, which

was a whole lot closer to Rome than Sydney. Gisele felt her chest tighten as

she thought of all the lost years, all the lost confidences and closeness she

and Sienna should have had together. Selfish adults who had not stopped to

think of the long-term consequences of such a reckless and self-serving

deception had stolen it from them. She was still coming to terms with the

heartbreak of finding out the truth. It wasn‘t just about the sex tape scandal

mix-up, although that was heartbreaking enough. She felt her whole life had

been a lie. She didn‘t know who she was any more. It was as if Gisele

Carter, the Sydney born and bred only child of Richard and Hilary Carter,

had suddenly vanished, vaporised into thin air.

Who was she now?

She was not her mother‘s daughter. And yet she was not her biological

mother‘s daughter either as she had never felt her mother‘s arms or ever felt

the brush of her lips on her skin, or if she had in those first early days after

birth she had no memory of it now. She had been handed over like a

package, a one-way delivery, never to be returned to sender. How had her