The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress Page 0,29
sat across the table from each other while she tried to maintain as much distance as possible.
“There is a large acquisition that is scheduled to be announced next week. We’re just making sure all the legal documents are signed and accurate now. This is the final stage of the acquisition.”
“What troubled, ineptly managed company are you pulling into your empire now?” she asked, trying to appear casual, but she was actually fascinated, always had been by the way he worked. He used to tell her about his plans, the way he would maneuver people into his net before closing the trap. And afterwards, he would generally make sure that everyone felt as if they wanted to be in the trap. He used to explain that happy employees made for higher productivity so there wasn’t any point in acquiring a hostile company if it could be avoided.
“I can’t discuss it,” he replied, sipping his wine and looking over at her lovely, if startled features. Did she really think he would discuss a multi-billion dollar deal with someone like her who thought morals could come and go at her whim? He wasn’t that much of a fool any longer.
Elana shrugged, but lowered her eyes so he couldn’t see how hurt she was by his distrust. “I understand. There’s a lot of money at stake. You can’t be too careful.” She pushed her plate back, no longer hungry but she picked up her wine glass and took a long sip. “When will it be announced?”
“We’ll go public with the information next Monday. Until then, there’s too much that the other company could lose if it became public.” Why was he trying to soothe her? He shouldn’t care if she was hurt by his lack of trust, he told himself. She’d put herself into this position by lying to him and cheating on him with another man. After her betrayal, he vowed never to put himself into a vulnerable position with her, or anyone else again.
“I hope it goes well,” she said, genuinely proud of all he had accomplished. He was one of the ‘good’ employers who genuinely cared about his staff and it showed in the profits he was able to produce for his investors. If he happened to be one of the main investors in his corporation, all the better for him. His philosophy carried a great deal of weight with all of his managers, but other businesses tried to imitate his business model although none were able to achieve the same level of success. “So tell me about tomorrow night. What’s so important about the evening?”
He shrugged and finished off his spaghetti. “This is really good,” he said as he savored the last bite. “You were always a great cook. Why did you stop cooking?”
She lifted her plate and brought it into the kitchen to wash. “What’s the point of cooking for only one person?” she asked as she pulled out the scrub brush from underneath the sink.
He was right behind her, watching her carefully. “Then why don’t you have someone come in and put meals into your fridge or your freezer? It would make life a little easier and give you meals that are healthy and easy to heat up.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him as if he’d grown a second head. “I can’t afford a service like that.” She shook her head as she went back to washing the dishes.
“Why doesn’t your father do that for you?”
She laughed and looked back at him, easier now since he was leaning against the counter right next to her. It wasn’t good though because his shoulders were too close. All of him was too close, actually. “We’ve already discussed this when you showed contempt for my happy abode, Gaston. My father has his own life. He doesn’t support me, nor should he.”
His eyes darkened with her response and he shook his head. “A man has the right to ensure that his daughter is safe and healthy,” he grumbled, obviously disagreeing with her. “Has he seen where you live? And has he seen how much weight you’ve lost?”
She shrugged her shoulders, implying that her father’s opinion wasn’t relevant. “I visited my father just last week. I had dinner with him and we spoke about the funding.”
“Which brings up another issue. Why didn’t he provide for your funding? Why did he force you to go around to other agencies and find the resources on your own?”
She dropped the scrub brush and turned to