Powerful Persuasion

‘As a matter of fact, yes I am,’ she answered, and was appalled to hear how husky her voice sounded. She cleared her throat ‘I’m not even working for you and yet you have a dossier on me. I find that totally unacceptable.’

‘I think you’ll agree that in this day and age most people are on computer lists somewhere. It is surprising how much information is held by all sorts of people—your bank manager, for instance; he probably knows a lot more about you than you think.’

‘Maybe,’ she conceded with a shrug, ‘but why you?’

He smiled—again the wolfish smile that sent shivers down her spine. ‘Think about it, Miss Coulsden; I would hardly offer a job, especially such an important job, to someone I knew nothing about’

‘Agreed,’ she said, wondering briefly what he meant by important ‘But how did you come by all this information? We have never met, have we? How did you know about me? Why do you want me in particular? I am sure there must be plenty of other copywriters who come up to the standard you require.’

He inclined his head thoughtfully to one side and pursed his lips. ‘You have forged an excellent reputation for yourself. The ads you have handled have been some of the most successful run by your company.’

Celena was always modest about her success. She shrugged. ‘I simply write the words.’

‘But what words.’ He looked at her approvingly.

She ignored the triggering of her senses.

‘What I do not understand is why you have concentrated on that side of advertising when you have the talent for design.’

‘I enjoy it more,’ she said simply.

‘And I want you on my team.’ It was a dark declaration. There is nothing I cannot do.’ His earlier words rang in Celena’s ears. He wanted her and meant to have her—whether she wished it or not!

To begin with, when she had received Luciano Segurini’s offer, she had felt flattered and surprised—yes, very surprised, shocked even, but intrigued also, and pleased that he thought her good enough to join Luse, one of England’s top advertising agencies. It would be to her advantage, he’d said, which she’d taken to mean that he would be offering her a higher salary than she was getting now—and how useful that would be.

She had lain awake at night recently, wondering how she could afford Davina’s next term’s boarding-school fees. What money her parents had left had already been eaten up, although Davina did not know that, and Celena would have worked night and day rather than disclose this fact. Her sister was intensely happy at her school—it was the same one Celena herself had attended—and it could affect her whole education if she had to leave now.

Celena had inevitably wondered why Luciano Segurini had chosen her for this job, how he knew about her even, coming up with the deduction that most agencies kept an eye on their competitors. People talked; it was not inconceivable that he had heard about her.

He’d been right when he’d said that she had had a fair amount of success. In fact Hillier and Jones were extremely proud of her and it was doubtful whether they would let her go. She had not even told them that she was coming for this interview. It was curiosity alone that had led her here. And now, because of her astonishing reaction to this man, and because he already knew so much about her, she was beginning to wish that she had not been so tempted. It was an eerie feeling knowing that she had been checked on so thoroughly.

‘I want you to work on the most important undertaking of my life.’

Celena looked at him with a questioning frown.

‘You are the very person I have been looking for. You have exactly the right qualifications.’

‘I would imagine,’ she said tightly, ‘that with the success your company has achieved over the years you already have a highly qualified team.’

‘There is always room for improvement,’ he told her.

‘New blood, you mean. Have you been let down? Are you a man short, is that it?’

He gave a twisted smile that seemed to sit unhappily on his lips. ‘Yes, I’ve been let down—badly, as it happens. Will you take the job, Celena?’

She hardly noticed the fact that he had used her first name. Her eyes were on his mouth, on that full, sensual bottom lip, and she wondered what it would be like to be kissed by this man.

When she realised that he appeared to be waiting for an answer she came to with a guilty start. ‘I’m sorry, what did you say?’

‘I’ll offer you double whatever it is you’re earning now.’

Her finely moulded brows rose. ‘Take a look at your screen, Mr Segurini; I’m sure it will tell you exactly what my present salary is.’

He smiled his appreciation. ‘As a matter of fact, yes, it does. It also tells me that you do not have a current boyfriend. Why is that? You’re a very beautiful lady, Celena; you’re—’

Her eyes flashed. ‘My private life has nothing to do with my business life. You have no right prying.’ She wondered whether he knew about her sister as well, and about the struggle she had to make ends meet—whether he knew that the temptation to accept his offer would be very strong.

He grinned. ‘Actually it was pure and simple conjecture. But—I assume from your outrage that I am right. And that is good, because I shall expect you to work long hours and I do not want an irate boyfriend breathing down my neck.’

‘I’ve not yet said I’ll take the job,’ Celena snapped, annoyed that he had tricked her.

‘You’d be foolish not to,’ he said. ‘You’ll be set up for life.’

‘Life, Mr Segurini?’ she exploded. ‘I’m not giving my life to you.’

‘But you are interested?’ A confident smile played about his lips.

‘I have a contract which—’

‘Which can easily be broken,’ he insisted. ‘In any case, I understand that Hillier and Jones have hit a bad patch; there are redundancies in the offing. You could soon find yourself out of a job altogether.’

Celena looked at him sharply and suspiciously. ‘It’s news to me.’ She half suspected that he was making it up.

‘But it’s true,’ he said, suddenly serious. ‘What is your answer?’

She shook her head. ‘I cannot possibly give you one now. I cannot make such an important decision without giving it considerable thought.’

His eyes were steady on hers. ‘What is there to think about?’

‘A lot of things. For instance, would I be working directly under you?’

‘We’re a team, Celena.’ The predatory smile was back in place. ‘We work together.’

It was no answer at all as far as she was concerned.

‘Sit down,’ he said. ‘I’ll ask my secretary to bring you in some coffee. I have someone to see; I’ll be back in ten minutes.’

And that was all the time he was giving her! What would he do, she wondered, if she said no? Would he offer her even more money? It was already a ridiculously high salary, far more than she was worth, although she wouldn’t argue about that, and it would be extremely useful. In fact his offer was a lifeline, especially if Hillier and Jones were going out of business. It both confused and stunned her that she had heard no rumours to this effect.

But her main problem was Luciano Segurini himself, or at least her reaction to him. It set alarm bells jangling in her head, so loud that they threatened to deafen her. There was a strong danger that he could infiltrate her defences almost without her being aware of it.

Unless she was worrying for nothing! She’d never had much to do with Howard Hillier, the head of her present company, so maybe she wouldn’t see very much of this man either. It would be stupid to turn down such an exceptional offer simply because she was afraid of this charismatic man, afraid of what he might do to her emotions. And yet she could not help thinking that there was something else behind it, something he wasn’t telling her, some other more devious reason than needing a good copywriter.

Ten minutes had never passed so quickly. The sparsely furnished and yet functional office had settled down when he’d left, but the instant he returned it was filled with crackling electricity—and Celena’s mind was not made up.

‘Well, Celena?’

For the first time she realised that he was addressing her by her first name and she was not sure that she liked the familiarity. Actually no one ever called her Celena—everyone used the shortened form, Lena.