The Flaw In Raffaele's Revenge

Surprise flickered. It was rare to find someone genuinely unresponsive to his charm.

Lily Nolan grew more interesting by the moment.

‘It’s definitely a pleasure to meet you, Lily.’ He widened his smile just a fraction, lingering on her name. ‘I’ve been looking forward to having you here as part of the team.’

Silence for just a moment too long. ‘So I gather, since you went to such lengths to get me here.’

Another muffled sound came from nearby but Raffa didn’t turn. He didn’t care what anyone thought.

‘You were certainly elusive.’

He waited, expecting her to pull her hand from his. Instead she stood, unmoving but for the fine vibration coursing from her hand to his. She was wound up tight, bottling in strong emotion.

Yet her eyes met his directly, nothing but challenge to be read there.

This woman would make a hell of a poker player. She betrayed no hint of weakness or discomfort.

His gaze zeroed in on a minuscule movement at the corner of her mouth. For a moment he wondered if it could be the scar pulling at her mouth, till he remembered there’d been no distortion of her lips when she spoke. The tiny flicker of movement was what then? Her biting her cheek?

‘Did you want me for something now?’ She looked pointedly at their joined hands and Raffa felt amusement bubble. She was so patently determined to be unimpressed. So ostentatiously unaffected by his looks or position. Perversely he liked it.

How long since he’d done anything, gone anywhere, and been treated like an average Joe?

It was a novelty he hadn’t known he craved till a slip of a woman with muddy brown eyes looked at him as if he wasn’t anything special.

‘As a matter of fact, now is the perfect time to brief you in more detail about my expectations.’ He turned and nodded to Pete. Moments later his stalwart PA had emptied the room and closed the door on them.

If Lily Nolan was intimidated she didn’t show it. Her hand lay unresisting in his, as if making the point his touch was immaterial to her.

Who was this woman? She’d intrigued him from their first contact.

Raffa’s world and the people in it were predictable. Mostly they wanted something from him—reflected fame, an ‘in’ to the best circles, business opportunities, sex. Everyone wanted something.

Except this woman who didn’t want him at all.

Was that why she fascinated him? Because he’d grown bored?

Raffa released his hold. He had more significant things to concentrate on than the novelty of an employee who resented his authority.

Yet he admired the way she slowly slid her hand away, not snatching it, though he’d touched her far too long. Nor did she move back, but stood, taking stock as he did.

His eyes dipped to her loose, unattractive clothing. She’d gone too far with the dressing down, the not being just another cog in his corporate wheel.

Unless she dressed that way because the scar on her face wasn’t the only one. Did she have other injuries that made it uncomfortable to wear fitted clothes? The thought stirred discomfort.

Because he’d brought her here against her wishes? The idea was ludicrous. Whatever her problems, he wasn’t responsible for them. He employed her at an outrageously high salary and hitherto unheard of bonuses.

‘Take a seat.’ He gestured to the chair she’d vacated and sank into one beside it. He was determined to understand this woman. Then he could push her from his thoughts and get on with business.

She sat watching him, feet flat on the floor, hands clasped loosely. For all the world as if he, not she, was the one whose work had to impress.

Raffa felt his lips twitch. If ever he needed another negotiator on his acquisitions team he could do far worse than Lily Nolan.

* * *

Lily read that quirk of his sculpted lips and knew she amused him.

An icicle of frozen rage jabbed her side. She wanted to cry out but kept her mouth closed and her face calm. She’d weathered enough pity, horror, revulsion and sympathy to last a lifetime. A self-important tycoon who laughed at her because she wasn’t a perfectly tailored, respectful employee hardly mattered.

Or was he amused by how unfeminine she looked? His inspection had raked her from head to toe.

Remarkably, though he’d surveyed her damaged face his gaze hadn’t lingered longer there than anywhere else. Almost as if her scar were no more significant than the shape of her nose or the comfy shoes she’d grabbed rather than teeter in the unaccustomed heels she’d bought in a moment of weakness. As if a pair of shoes would transform her into just another office worker!

Not with her face.

Was that what amused him? The difference between his bronzed beauty and her marred features?

She swallowed hard, tasting sharp bitterness. She was jumping to conclusions. Raffaele Petri was selfish and ruthless. She had no proof he was shallow and cruel.

But the day was young.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone had used her as a foil for their own beauty. In her final year at school a couple of new girls had befriended her, both beautiful, blonde and bubbly. For the first time in years Lily had felt accepted and valued. Till she overheard them discussing how letting her hang out with them made people see them as sympathetic and even prettier than they were.

Lily shoved the memories away, drawing back her shoulders, imagining strength streaming through her spine and lifted chin. Whatever his game, she was his match. She might not be much to look at but she’d developed a strength of purpose few could equal.

Silence stretched but she refused to fill it. If this was a test of willpower he’d be disappointed.

Eyes the colour of the Pacific Ocean met hers, piercing as if reading her thoughts.

‘You’re settled into your office?’

She nodded. ‘Yes, thank you. Pete showed me around.’

To her horror she’d discovered the floor full, not of little rabbit-hutch cubicles where workers could hide from public view, but of spacious glassed-in offices that reduced noise levels but left everyone on show.

Worse was the fact her office was beside Pete and Raffaele Petri. The idea of working with this man watching her made something shrivel inside.

‘And your accommodation? It’s comfortable?’

Lily nodded. The size and luxury had overwhelmed her, reminding her she was a country girl, out of her depth in sophisticated New York. Fortunately jet lag had got the better of her last night before she’d had a chance to explore properly and feel like too much of a misfit. This morning she’d overslept and had to rush to get ready. All she’d really seen was the sybaritic black marble bathroom and the inside of her suitcase as she hunted for clothes.

‘Yes, thank you. It’s quite sufficient.’

‘Sufficient?’ His mouth kicked up in a smile that did strange things to her pulse, turning it from steady to riotous. It was bad enough when he’d smiled before. He’d looked so compellingly handsome he’d stolen her breath. But this was different—genuine, and more powerful for it.

‘What’s so amusing?’ She sat straighter.

His eyes zeroed in on hers and a fizzle of heat zapped her bones. ‘I’ve never heard my penthouse described as merely sufficient.’