Innocent In The Boardroom

CHAPTER FIVE

IT WASN’T THE MOST relaxed of trips, even though it should have been. The first-class service was faultless. There seemed to be no end to the smiling girls waiting at the ready to bring whatever they were told to bring. They were, literally, primed to jump to attention. People paid a fortune—and they didn’t just get hot breakfasts in the first-class lounges. The bowing and scraping followed them onto the plane.

Kate had been on a one-week holiday with her mother three years previously. They had flown to Ibiza for a few days of sun and the flight over had been cramped and unpleasant. The airline staff had been abrupt and indifferent and it had been a relief to land and get off.

On this flight she had endless leg room. The seat could be transformed into a bed. There was champagne and wine and the food was of fine-dining standard.

But she shouldn’t have worn a suit. The pumps she could dispense with, but the skirt was horribly uncomfortable. Grey jogging bottoms had been thoughtfully provided in a sanitised plastic bag, along with a matching jumper, but she couldn’t bring herself to wear either.

The only saving grace was that Alessandro worked and dozed, leaving her to get on with the business of dreading the week ahead.

There was a lot to dread. High on the list was the fact that she could give herself a million stern lectures on keeping her distance but none of those words of wisdom counted for anything—because he seemed to have the power to seduce her into whatever conversation he happened to want at the time.

She could wave the folder she had on George in front of his handsome face, but if he wasn’t in the mood to get down to business then he just...didn’t.

And something about him propelled her into speech. The hatefully arrogant man could just tilt his head to one side, direct that devastating half smile on her and off she would go, blabbering on about stuff that didn’t concern him and pouring out confidences that she never shared with anyone.

Then he would grow bored and she would be dismissed—just like that.

If in the space of a few days and some snatched conversations she had managed to tell him about her insecure upbringing and how that had made her feel, not to mention her thoughts on men like him, then what was the week ahead going to bring?

And then there was the uncomfortable question of the way she couldn’t seem to stop herself from looking at him—and not in the harmless way an employee was supposed to look at her boss. Nothing about what he aroused in her felt appropriate.

What was that all about? Was it because she had been so careful to put things into boxes—to put men into boxes—that the first time one had slipped through the net, she had not had the necessary weaponry to deal with the intruder?

That calmed her. It was easy to picture him as an intruder, muscling his way past ‘Do Not Trespass’ signs, making inroads into places he had no right to be.

She could deal with intruders. Even metaphorical ones. So she might have been caught off guard? That didn’t mean that she was doomed to being caught off guard whenever she happened to be in his company. She might be inexperienced but she wasn’t a complete idiot!

She was in a better frame of mind by the time the plane began taxiing down to land.

‘Good flight?’ he asked as everyone began to stand in preparation for disembarking. ‘You look a little...rumpled. Didn’t I question your choice of outfit? Why didn’t you wear the comfy clothes provided? Or didn’t you locate them...?’

‘I had a very good flight,’ Kate answered serenely. ‘It was relaxing. I read my book, watched a couple of movies, dozed...and as a matter of fact I’m very comfortable with my choice of clothing.’

The damn man looked as fresh as a daisy—all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready for what was waiting for them in Toronto.

She didn’t dare glance down at her skirt, which would be horribly creased—a suitable companion to her shirt, which was also horribly creased. She wondered whether it was physically possible for a face to look creased as well. If it was, then she would bet that hers did.

But her smile was wide and bright.

‘It beats travelling cattle class,’ she volunteered, making sure not to watch as he hoisted his bag down from the overhead locker, as well as her own pull-along. ‘I guess I should make the most of it. I don’t see it happening again any time soon.’

‘You aim too low.’

Alessandro looked down at her as they began the process of disembarking. Her neat bun was disobeying orders from above and staging a rebellion. Tendrils had escaped and she had tried to push them back into position without much success. She looked as though she had travelled prepared to step out of the plane straight into a board meeting, but had been dragged through a hedge somewhere along the way. Cute.

‘I like to aim for what I can reasonably achieve,’ she replied primly, stepping past him and out into the sweltering summer heat.

She felt his warm breath on her neck as he leant towards her from behind.

‘Repeat. You aim too low. Reasonable achievements are for the unadventurous.’

‘That’s me,’ she said sharply, half turning towards him. She spun back round and heard him chuckle behind her.

She had no idea what to expect of Toronto, having never travelled further afield than Ibiza, but whatever lay in store, it would flash past in style—because they’d cleared customs and outside there was a stretch limo waiting for them.

‘Is this another wow moment?’ Alessandro cupped her elbow with his hand and ushered her into the long, luxurious, totally over-the-top car.

There was lazy amusement in his voice.

When she had been feverishly writing him off as an intruder, who could be locked out with just a little bit of will power, she had been dealing with a cardboard cut-out in her head. Which was what she wanted him to be. An arrogant, obnoxious, ruthless cardboard cut-out.

Unfortunately the second he opened his mouth, her brain rebelled against categorizing him because he had far too many layers.

‘It’s just a car,’ she returned politely.

It wasn’t. Just a car was something small that took you from A to B, and fingers crossed it didn’t decide to break down en route. At least, that would be the kind of car she would probably buy in a year or two.

‘I’m not impressed because I don’t see the point of something this big. I mean, you can’t nip down to the supermarket in it, can you?’

‘Good point. However you can help yourself to a glass of whisky from the handy little bar... Care for a drink?’

Kate shook her head. The last thing she needed was to start relaxing into yet another dangerous conversation with him.

She looked through the window, her whole body aware of him next to her, lazily lounging against the door, his long legs spread slightly apart.

‘Have you been here before?’ she asked eventually, turning to him, her body pressed against the door.

‘If you’d paid attention to those reports on the company we’re going to try and fit in while we’re here, you’d have seen that I was here less than six months ago. Don’t tell me you haven’t scoured the file? I’ll be bitterly disappointed.’

Kate cleared her throat. ‘You enjoy doing that, don’t you?’

‘Enjoy doing what?’

‘Winding me up.’

‘Is that what I was doing? I thought I was paying you a backhanded compliment, as a matter of fact. You’re such a professional that I expected you to have scoured that file from front to back and memorized everything in it.’

‘I glanced through it. I wasn’t aware that I was going to be actively involved in the acquisition.’

‘Why wouldn’t you be?’

‘Because it’s quite a sizeable...er...I just thought that perhaps someone a bit higher up the pecking order would be put in charge...’

‘I don’t see how that’s going to be possible,’ Alessandro mused speculatively, ‘when George will be busy packing up his belongings for the big goodbye. You waxed lyrical about your ambitions...’

‘Of course I’m ambitious.’ She automatically fell into familiar terrain. As long as they were talking about work then she was comfortable, and repeating her hopes for her career was a damn sight safer than getting lost in a personal conversation with him.

‘Yes—you need to build financial security to protect you because you lacked it when you were growing up...’

‘I want to get on,’ she amended through gritted teeth.

‘The work you did for me last week on those files I dropped off for you...good job...’

Kate flushed with pleasure. ‘You mean it?’

‘I can see why Cape decided that you had what it took to fast-track you. Mind you, I’m thinking he was busy directing his attention elsewhere, so it helped that you were so quick. You could pick up any slack.’ He grinned. ‘And before you launch into a defence of the hapless George, I have a proposition for you...’

‘What?’

‘Instead of recruiting from outside for a replacement for Cape, I am considering promoting you. Of course you won’t qualify for Cape’s vacated post, but you’ll effectively be hoisted a couple of steps up the career ladder. You will be responsible for bigger accounts, and to alleviate any bad feeling with the people you work with I will reorganize the team. There will be a greater distribution of more responsible tasks and I’ll bring in a few lower down the scale to be trained up. Effectively, you and your team will all benefit...’

‘I...I couldn’t...’ Guilt swept over her. ‘Poor George finds himself without a job, thrown on the scrap heap, and to top it all off I step into his shoes. I would feel like I was dancing on someone’s grave.’

Alessandro frowned. ‘You’re being melodramatic. No one’s dancing on anyone’s grave. A vacancy will arise with his departure...it makes complete sense...’

‘It might make sense, but it doesn’t make it right...’

‘He leaves and I either recruit from outside, with all the attendant hassle of training someone up, or I promote from within the company—and you’re the obvious choice. You want financial security? This will lever you a couple of rungs up the security ladder.’

‘It’s not black and white like that!’

‘Fine. You can get lost in the grey blurry bits, but it’s pretty black and white from where I’m standing. Furthermore, would you deny your colleagues a golden opportunity to advance their careers because you’re so concerned about a guy who didn’t seem to care very much when it came to defrauding the company that’s treated him very well for countless years?’

‘You could still do something for them...I don’t have to be part of the equation...’

‘No deal. You accept the whole package or you don’t. Simple as that. Think about it...’

‘I...’ Could she deny the people who worked alongside her their chance of getting pay rises? Of going further with their careers?

‘Of course this would not be with immediate effect,’ Alessandro said, watching her carefully. ‘There would be a slow transfer of duties and when I’m reassured that you’re up to the increased workload, you will be given a new title...and a suitable pay rise to reflect that. See this as my having faith in your abilities and not as twisting the knife in someone else’s back. If any knife-twisting has gone on, it’s been done by Cape to himself. He dug his grave the minute he decided to start embezzling.’

‘I—I’m pleased that you have faith in my abilities,’ Kate stammered. ‘But...’ She sighed. ‘We don’t know what will happen about George. We haven’t...you know...heard what he has to say yet...’

‘Don’t really have to,’ Alessandro told her gently. ‘I could humour you by pretending that I give a damn about his explanation, but in my book theft is theft. My only concern is how he will be rewarded for his misdoings...’

‘So this trip is...pointless...?’

‘This trip is about you being on an essential learning curve when it comes to handling awkward situations. There’s no room for grey areas or indecision. And whether you accept the promotion I’m offering you or allow your guilt to get the better of your good sense, you should know one thing: the higher up the ladder you climb, the more important it is for you to know how to do that.’

‘In other words I have to become as ruthless as...as...?’

‘As me?’

‘I guess I believe there are other ways of...of...’

‘There aren’t.’

‘You’re so cut-throat...’

‘Life has a curious way of shaping our responses.’

Kate looked at him and wondered what he meant by that. Was it just a general remark, or were there factors in his life that had made him the way he was? He was beyond rich, beyond powerful and beyond good-looking—and yet he moved from woman to woman with no intention of settling down. Why was that?

What it was, she told herself sternly, was none of her business.

‘Of course...’ Alessandro moved on smoothly. ‘Before you accept your brand-new shiny job promotion—and I know you will because it would be stupid not to, and you’re not stupid—there’s something I should ask you...’

‘What’s that?’

‘How reliable do you think you will be in this new role? You don’t seem to object to putting in overtime in the steady climb upwards, but will that become difficult for you when and if you’re given extra responsibilities and overtime ceases to be a choice and becomes a necessity? No, don’t answer that. But think about it and we will discuss it over dinner. The back of a cab—even a very long cab—is no place to have this conversation.’

‘Dinner?’

What dinner? What was wrong with room service in their separate rooms and a career discussion over a cup of coffee in the morning?

‘It’s all we’ll be able to do with what remains of the day.’ Alessandro was irked at the look of horror that had flashed across her face. ‘We both do have to eat,’ he said coolly.

‘Yes, but I thought that I might just grab something in my room and hit the sack early. It’s been a long day.’

‘Well, you’ll have to rethink your plans.’

‘Of course.’

‘And I trust your entire wardrobe isn’t comprised of a selection of starchy suits...?’

‘What difference does it make?’ Kate asked tightly.

‘It’s not a working meal.’

Control. Yes, he understood. You didn’t have to be a genius to join the dots. Her background had made her the sort of woman who felt a driving need to impose control in every aspect of her life. She controlled her appearance, she controlled her hair, she controlled her reactions, controlled her emotions. She was so serious that it was sometimes hard to believe that she was actually in her twenties. All over the world there were grannies out and about having more fun than her. And he wasn’t used to women looking appalled at the thought of spending five minutes in his company.

‘You can relax in my company for five seconds, Kate.’

Frankly, she thought she already had—and it hadn’t been a good idea. ‘Right...’

‘You could sound more convinced.’ Irritation had crept into his voice. ‘We’re here.’

She hadn’t even noticed the stretch limo slowing. She had missed most of the trip because her attention had been exclusively focused on the man sitting next to her. So much for dispelling the intruder by getting a grip.

She looked around her and saw a city that was like any other—although there was something more peaceful and less frantic about it than London. The hotel they were approaching was, as she might have expected, the last word in expensive, from its imposing facade to the doormen waiting to relieve the wealthy visitors of their baggage, eager to make sure that they did absolutely nothing for themselves if it could be helped.

The foyer was bustling with visitors, coming and going. Next to them Kate felt the inadequacy of her carefully chosen but now creased outfit. She didn’t blend in. Even some of the younger people in jeans and tee shirts managed to look staggeringly designer-casual, as though they had randomly plucked something out of the wardrobe and yet succeeded in looking effortlessly cool.

For a few rebellious seconds she wished that she hadn’t tied her hair back—wished that she hadn’t worn a knee-length drab skirt and a sensible blouse. She wished, for the first time in her life, that she had taken a page out of her mother’s book and made the most of her assets.

She frowned. Alessandro had accused her of being a hypocrite and she had predictably reacted by hitting the roof—because who was he to pass judgement on her? Yet, wasn’t she?

If she’d seen life in exactly the same black-and-white way that he did wouldn’t she have worn more comfortable clothes for the flight over? Brought more to wear than stuff that could only be labelled as excruciatingly businesslike...? Had a wardrobe that actually contained clothes a girl her age would wear? She was so scared of emulating her mother that she had veered off in completely the opposite direction, ignoring the fact that there was always a middle ground.

No wonder he was so entertained by her! No wonder he got a kick out of winding her up! She played straight into his hands by trying to control everything she said and did—way more than the occasion demanded.

Yet he had seen her in relaxed mode, she thought with a twinge of discomfort. And whilst that would have been nothing for him, because he was used to seeing far more beautiful women wearing a lot less, it had been something for her. She had felt exposed and vulnerable. Stupid.

She surfaced to find that she was being led out of the foyer and towards a bank of lifts up to her hotel room—which would give her welcome relief from her thoughts.

She was a lot less relieved when they were shown to the same door, which was flung open to reveal an absolutely enormous suite. She stared at it in horror.

‘What’s this?’ She remained firmly planted in the doorway, only shifting to allow the porter inside, watching with her arms folded until he was dispatched and the only occupants of the vast room were Alessandro and herself.