Bella's Impossible Boss

‘Of course.’

Dominic wasn’t fooled for a moment. Behind that lush mouth and those caramel melt-a-man-to-his-seat eyes, Bella was fickle, capricious and unreliable. Marco had given her countless opportunities to establish herself in a profession, but she had squandered all of them. Her seeming compliance was merely a pleasing façade for Daddy’s benefit. She might fool Marco, but Dominic had no intention of falling under the spell of that butter-wouldn’t-melt smile. He was not his father’s son.

‘She knows nothing about management styles or systems,’ Marco warned him. ‘All she knows is cooking and kitchens, so you’ll need to show her the ropes.’

Marco had to be joking, right? Bella wouldn’t stick to this job any longer than she’d stuck to anything else. Marco might be prepared to waste his time and expertise on someone who wouldn’t appreciate it, but Dominic had no intention of doing so.

He stared at Bella. She met his gaze unflinchingly. He glanced across at Marco, who gazed at Bella with all the love in his generous heart on display and something inside him started to ache. There weren’t too many people Dominic could claim to love, but Marco was one of them. His jaw tightened. He forced it to relax. For Marco’s sake, he owed Bella the benefit of the doubt, at least for the duration of this meeting. ‘Okay.’ He nodded. ‘You think Bella has something of value to offer the hotel?’

Marco straightened. ‘Bella,’ he clipped out. ‘Show us those menus you told me you’ve been slaving over. You said you’d have samples ready for today.’

She hesitated. ‘There’s a slight hitch with that, I’m afraid.’ She crossed her legs and smoothed out her skirt with an aplomb that almost stole Dominic’s breath. ‘I’ve left the menus in the canteen kitchen. I was discussing them with Charlie earlier.’

There was an awkward pause. Dominic schooled his lip not to curl. He doubted the existence of any such menus. The way Marco studiously avoided meeting his eyes told him Marco thought them products of Bella’s imagination, too.

‘I can run down to the canteen now and retrieve them, if you like. Or I can outline them to you verbally.’

While he was tempted to call her bluff, Dominic didn’t want her compounding lie with lie. He didn’t approve of her, but he didn’t want to embarrass Marco either. Marco deserved better than that.

He cleared his throat. Both Bella and Marco turned to him. ‘Why don’t we leave the menus for another day? There’s plenty of time.’ He nodded to the folders Bella held in her lap. ‘Why don’t you tell us what you’ve brought along instead?’ He hoped she had something there that would make Marco proud.

Her tongue snaked out to moisten her lips. Her fingers curled around the folders until her knuckles whitened. Dominic leaned back. The pampered princess didn’t have quite as much aplomb as he’d thought. She was nervous. Maybe he’d done her an injustice. Maybe this meant a lot to her.

‘The folders, Bella,’ he said gently. In his experience, folders meant show and tell. She wouldn’t have brought them along if they didn’t contain something that would show her off to good effect. He’d give her every chance to show off if it’d make Marco happy.

‘These aren’t anything particularly interesting.’

He didn’t trust that shrug. It was too studied.

‘These are simply the files my father sent me about the hotel, along with some information I’ve started to gather about Newcastle.’

She really had nothing? Did she seriously mean to take such blatant advantage of Marco?

‘I take it you’ve read the information your father sent you?’

‘Of course.’ But she didn’t meet his eye as she said it.

He crossed his leg and hoped it hid the sudden fury that coursed through him. ‘Off the top of your head can you tell me the number of staff you will have working under you in the restaurant?’

She moistened her lips. Again. He wanted to feel a savage triumph that he could succeed so easily in unsettling her. Only he was the one who was unsettled—by the beguiling fullness of her bottom lip, the shine there that beckoned to him.

‘I’m afraid I can’t remember that off the top of my head. I’ve only had a chance to scan the documents.’

He allowed his lip to curl a fraction. ‘I see.’ If Marco had made the decision about the hotel a week ago, Bella would’ve had the documents a week ago. He knew Marco.

She swallowed. A faint pink tinged her cheek. Dominic bit back something rude and succinct. ‘Then can you tell me what interesting pieces of information you’ve gleaned about Newcastle in the course of your research?’

Panic raced across her face. ‘I, uh … It’s the second largest city in New South Wales. It’s a coal port and … and its former prosperity came from its large steel works. And, um …’ She blinked rapidly. ‘And it’s known for the beauty of its beaches.’

‘So, in fact, you have nothing more than a general knowledge of the place?’

Her chin shot up at that. ‘I’m working on it.’

Her eyes did strange things to his insides. He hardened his heart. It’d be better for her to disappoint Marco now rather than later on. ‘Can I see your folders?’

‘Why?’

‘Indulge me.’

She glanced at Marco as if hoping he’d step in, but to Marco’s credit he remained silent. With obvious reluctance, she handed them over.

He flicked through the contents of the top folder. As she’d said, it held the information about the hotel. The printed sheets were so tidy it was obvious that they had yet to be disturbed by human hands. He shook his head. No wonder she couldn’t recall staffing numbers; she hadn’t read them to begin with.

The second folder held print-outs, clippings and brochures about Newcastle. At least she hadn’t been lying about that.

The last one …

‘That’s personal. I—’

He pulled out a lingerie catalogue. A lingerie catalogue! He smothered an oath. Marco had to see that Bella just wouldn’t make the grade on this one.

She snatched the catalogue from his hand. ‘A friend has a party-plan company. She asked me to take a look. I had nowhere else to put it.’

He didn’t doubt which reading material she preferred. He handed the folders back.

He found himself combatting a sudden weariness; a feeling of lethargy and emptiness. He tried to shake it off. ‘What qualifications do you have, Bella?’

Her eyes flashed fire. ‘If my father has no qualms in that area, then I don’t see what concern it is of yours.’

‘It’s my concern because I’m going to be ultimately responsible for the hotel’s success. Marco?’

Marco raised a hand and then let it drop. From beside him, he felt Bella flinch. It took all his self-control not to turn back to her.

‘For the last eighteen months my daughter has been working in her uncle’s restaurant.’

‘Were you in charge of its day-to-day management?’

‘On occasion.’

He shook his head and turned back to Marco. ‘This is never going to work. Bella simply doesn’t have the experience necessary for such a senior position.’

‘She’ll be able to pull it off with your help.’

He wanted to turn away from the pleading in Marco’s eyes. He owed the older man a lot, but to be party to Bella’s latest whim? A whim that no doubt would end in Marco’s disappointment and regret. He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

‘Maybe you’re right,’ Marco said. A sigh heaved out of him. ‘Maybe this is nothing more than an old man’s dream.’

Dominic glanced up. Before his eyes, Marco seemed to age.