Propositioned By The Tycoon: Mr Strictly Business / Bought: His Temporary Fiancée / A Win-Win Proposition

“Gabe—” she began.

His expression hardened. “Reneging already?”

“No. I made a promise, and I’ll keep it.” She met his gaze, silently willing him to change his mind, to see the impossibility of his plan ever succeeding. “But you need to understand something before we take this any further. Whatever you have planned, whatever you hope to accomplish by forcing us together again, isn’t going to work. You can’t force a relationship.”

He smiled his angel’s smile while the devil gleamed in his eyes. “And you need to understand something as well. It won’t take any force. All I have to do is touch you, just as all you have to do is touch me. That’s all it will take, Cate. One touch and neither of us will be able to help ourselves.”

She shuddered. “Then I’ll have to make certain that one touch doesn’t happen.”

“It’s already happened. It happened the minute you set foot in my office yesterday. It happened again last night during the party. You’re just not willing to admit it.” He reached out and tucked a loosened lock of hair behind her ear before trailing his thumb along the curve of cheek. He’d done that last night. And just as it had last night, a shaft of fire followed in the wake of his caress, forcing her to lock her knees in place in order to remain standing. “At least, you’re not willing to admit it…yet.”

His touch numbed her brain, making logical thought an impossibility. It had always been that way. Even so, she fought to remember what she’d planned to say to him. “We haven’t set up ground rules,” she managed to protest. “We need to negotiate terms.”

“The terms are already set. We live together, fully and completely, with all that suggests and implies,” he stated. “Now stop delaying the inevitable and let’s get to work.”

She lifted an eyebrow and stepped clear of his reach. It was like stepping from the deck of a ship riding turbulent seas to the calm and safety of dry land. It only took a moment to regain her balance. “Strictly business?”

He regarded her in open amusement. “Here and now, yes.” He leaned in. “But what happens tonight will have nothing to do with business.”

The breath stuttered in her lungs as an image of them flashed through her mind. Naked limbs entwined. Mouths fused. Male and female melding into the most intimate of bonds. How the hell did he expect her to work with that stuck in her brain?

He must have known what she was thinking because he laughed. “Don’t feel bad. You’re not the only one.”

“Not the only one…what?”

“Who’s going to find it difficult to concentrate on business today.”

“That’s a first,” she muttered.

His amusement faded. “Not really. It just hasn’t happened for a while. Not in about twenty-three months.” He took a deep breath and shoved his fingers through his hair. “If your situation weren’t so serious, I’d say to hell with it and have us both blow off work.”

Interesting. “What would that accomplish?”

“It would give us an opportunity to get our priorities straight,” he explained. “Because this time I intend to fix what went wrong.”

A deep yearning filled her at the thought, one that shocked her with its intensity. Pain followed fast on its heels. He’d waited too long to compromise. Now, when it didn’t matter any longer, when regaining what they’d lost had become an impossibility, he was willing to change. “We can’t afford to blow off work and you know it.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t, no. At least, not today. And since we can’t…” And just like that he switched from lover to businessman. “Let’s see what we can do to salvage Elegant Events.”

It took her a moment longer to switch gears. “After last night’s fiasco, I expect cancelations,” she warned. “A lot of them.”

“You have contracts with your clients?”

“Of course. I’m not an idiot, Gabe.” She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Blame it on exhaustion.”

He let it slide without comment. “Set up appointments with those who want to cancel. Tell them that if they’ll meet with you and give you a full thirty minutes of their time, and you still can’t reach an amicable agreement, then you’ll happily refund their deposit.”

Catherine paled. “You realize what that’ll mean? We’ll go under if I can’t salvage more than seventy-five percent of our current bookings.” She rubbed a hand across her forehead. “And even that number might be wishful thinking. It could be closer to ninety.”

“I can give you a more accurate figure once I examine the accounts. Who’s in charge of them?”

“My partner.”

His eyes narrowed. “Ah, the mysterious co-owner. You realize you can’t keep her identity hidden after last night. Schedule a meeting with her. If we’re going to turn your business around, I’ll need to know everything about it from the ground up. And that includes whatever you can tell me about your partner.”

Catherine reluctantly nodded. “I’ll arrange it. What’s next?”

“Next, I called Natalie Marconi, and she agreed to see us in…” He checked his watch. “An hour and a quarter. You’ll be expected to tender an abject apology.” He held up a hand before she could interrupt. “I know you took care of that last night, but it needs to be done again in the cold light of day. I doubt anything we do or say will help, but—”

“But we need to try.”

He picked up his tie from where he’d draped it over his desk chair. “Exactly.”

She shot Gabe a keen-eyed look. “Somehow I suspect she would have refused to see me if you hadn’t placed the call.” She didn’t wait for him to confirm what she already knew. “Just so you’re aware, I plan to give her a full refund.”

Snagging his suit jacket, he shrugged it on. “How bad a bite is that going to take out of your reserves?”

She didn’t want to think about it. “A big one,” she admitted. “Not that it matters. It has to be done.”

“Agreed.” A hint of sympathy colored the word. He guided her from his office out into the foyer and paused beside Roxanne’s vacant desk. “Let’s see if meeting with her won’t help you retain a small portion of goodwill.”

“Where’s your assistant?” Catherine asked casually while he scribbled Roxanne a quick note. At least, she hoped the question came across as casual. Considering what she’d like to do to his precious assistant, she was lucky it didn’t sound as though she was chewing nails.

“In the field. I’ve spent the past six months negotiating a takeover of a plant that manufactures boat engines. It’ll dovetail nicely with another company I own that custom-designs yachts. Right now we outsource quite a number of components. I’d like to change that.”

“So you’re busily acquiring businesses that manufacture those outsourced components.”

“Exactly.” He propped the note on Roxanne’s computer keyboard before walking with Catherine to the bank of elevators. “Roxanne is working to set up a meeting to hammer out the final details. For some reason the owner, Jack LaRue, has been dragging his feet, and I need to find out why and resolve whatever issues remain. Roxanne has a way of…” He shrugged. “Let’s just say, she can motivate people to stop dragging their feet.”

“Got it.”

The elevator doors parted and they stepped inside. “You’ve never cared for her, have you?” he asked.

What was the point in lying after all this time? “No.”

“Is it because she took over your job? Or is it a woman thing?”

Catherine stared straight ahead and counted to ten before responding. “Call it a clash of personalities.”

“Sorry. I don’t buy that. What’s the real reason?”

She faced him. “The truth?”

“No, I want you to lie to me.”

Catherine released her breath in a frustrated sigh. “I resented having to go through her to speak to you. I resented that she had the power to decide which of those messages she’d deliver and when she’d deliver them. I also resented the fact that she didn’t just want to take over my job, she wanted to take over my place in your life. Is that reason enough?”

Chapter Four (#ulink_48963ce8-39ec-5e9f-bb57-a5591a63fec8)