Five dates with the bill.., p.19
Five Dates with the Billionaire, page 19
‘Yes. She’s feeling all sorts of miserable with a fever, a blocked nose and a cough.’
‘That came on quickly.’ There was a definite note of suspicion in Gran’s voice.
‘Well… er… she wouldn’t want me to tell you, but I believe you already know how clumsy she is?’
Violet raised the tips of her fingers to her temples. ‘Oh no! Don’t tell me! I’ll bet she—’
‘—fell into the Grand Canal,’ he supplied.
Violet groaned. ‘Oh dear. I guessed it! No wonder she got sick.’ She shook her head. ‘Anyway, she sends her love and will give you a call when she’s recovered, but the last thing she wanted to do was expose you to her bug before you had your procedure.’ He sent her a disgruntled look. ‘Of course, we didn’t know you’d had it. Still, you can’t afford to get sick while you’re recovering either.’
‘That’s true. I’ll ask Nell to make her some chicken soup and get Lucy to take it to her.’
Uh-oh. The last thing they needed was for Gran to find out Mia wasn’t sick at all.
‘I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.’ He’d have to get Carlisle to warn Mia she was going to have a visitor.
She was spending the day at home while the security on her apartment was upgraded and the MI5 bodyguards were assigned. Tomorrow, she’d be back at work.
‘Probably should get Nell to make a big batch so Lucy can drop it around and then leave Mia in peace. Nothing worse than being sick and having to keep getting out of bed to answer the door.’
‘That’s true.’
Connor felt a small degree of satisfaction at having out-manipulated the expert manipulator.
‘Did you at least manage to get through most of my plan for Venice before Mia became sick?’
‘Yes, and Mia will show you the photos to prove it as soon as she’s well.’ All the photos except the ones Peppi took.
Connor closed his eyes and remembered the heaven of his first taste of Mia’s lips.
Had it only been a couple of days ago?
‘I don’t think I ever told you the tale, but your grandfather realised he loved me when we were sitting at the cafe on St Mark’s Square. I was hoping history would repeat itself and you’d both fall in love with each other in Venice.’ She sighed. ‘I’m so disappointed I was wrong, but at least you each found you enjoyed the other’s company. Will you see her again?’
He fought to keep from revealing his disappointment. ‘Only at the office.’
If Gran was still holding out hope their friendship would deepen, she’d be disappointed when she read tomorrow’s paper.
Carlisle had insisted Connor take someone out tonight and ensure the photos were splashed across the social pages tomorrow. To protect Mia, Connor would play the role he’d been assigned and make certain he looked appropriately interested in his date.
He already knew which gorgeous woman he’d be photographed with. Skye was a model and would-be actress who’d be more than willing to go out with him. No doubt the media would speculate that because they were dating again after a few months break, there might be something more serious between them.
A nurse came into Gran’s private room. ‘Time to take your blood pressure again, Mrs Stewart.’
Perfect timing!
Connor stood and gave Gran a kiss on the cheek. ‘Don’t give the nurses any trouble, Gran.’
‘As if!’
He rolled his eyes at her indignation. ‘I’ll call in to see you tonight before I go out.’
‘You’re going out?’
‘A man has to eat.’
Before she could invite him to have dinner with her, Connor made his escape. With one quick phone call to Skye he arranged his date for the evening. Knowing he was going to spend the evening with one of the hottest models in London did nothing to stir his pulse—or any other part of his body.
Skye simply wasn’t Mia.
Chapter Twenty-two
The following day, Connor’s executive assistant popped her head around the door of his office. ‘You’re due at the marketing presentation in five minutes.’
‘Thanks, Grace.’ Time had dragged—especially since lunch when he’d started looking at his watch every few minutes, impatient to see Mia.
‘Will Mia Simms be there?’ Grace asked.
For a second he thought he must’ve spoken his thoughts aloud.
‘I expect so.’ Hoping he’d injected the right degree of casual indifference into his voice he looked back at his assistant. ‘Why?’
‘I was going to phone her, but I got caught up with a few things and she’s probably already on her way to the meeting. Would you pass on a message for me?’
‘Of course.’ His curiosity was piqued.
‘Tell her not to worry about her watch. I got a call from a man who’s found it and he’s going to forward it here to the office for her.’ Grace smiled. ‘Nice to know there are still some honest people in the world.’
‘Her watch?’ Apprehension pricked along his shoulders. Mia hadn’t been wearing a watch when they were away. Was it because she’d already lost it? Hang on… ‘Grace, why did the man call you?’
‘Oh, he said the woman who’d had dinner with you in Venice had dropped her watch on the floor and that he’d only noticed it after you’d both left the restaurant. He said the name “Mia” was engraved on the back of it and he was hoping I’d know of the lady and have her address so he could get the watch to her.’
Shit. ‘What did you tell him?’
She frowned and Connor realised he hadn’t been able to keep the urgency from his voice. ‘I said it would be Mia Simms from our marketing department, and he could send the watch here.’
Connor bit down on the curse that threatened to burst from his lips. ‘Did he give his name?’
‘No. He wasn’t ringing regarding anything to do with our office, so I didn’t think to ask.’ She shrugged. ‘He sounded American.’
His heart booted his ribcage. ‘When did the call come through?’
‘About half an hour ago. He asked me for her home address, but I said I couldn’t give out that information.’
‘Anything else?’
When she spoke, every word was thoughtful. ‘I asked if he wanted me to put him through to Mia but he said no, that he didn’t want to disturb her—he’d just pop it in the mail.’
The caller had to have been Lucetti or one of his men.
‘Did I do the wrong thing, Connor?’ Worry laced every syllable.
‘Not at all.’ He schooled his expression to show none of his inner alarm, but he could see Grace was turning it all over in her mind. ‘I’ll let Mia know. I’m sure she’ll be pleased it’s been found.’ He gestured to the paperwork spread out in front of him on his desk. ‘I’ve got a few more documents to review, then I’ll be along to the meeting. Please call Mike, apologise for my delay, and tell him I’ll be there shortly.’
‘Sure.’
‘Close the door behind you on your way out.’
She sent him a puzzled look as the door between their offices was almost always left open.
The second the door closed, Connor swore under his breath.
The caller had struck the jackpot. Now he not only knew Mia’s surname but that she worked for Stewart Corporation.
The first call he made was to Mia’s mobile, just to be certain he wasn’t jumping to conclusions.
‘You’re not supposed to be ringing me! Is Violet okay?’ she asked in hushed tones.
‘She’s fine. Have you lost a watch?’
‘No.’ He heard the surprise in her voice. ‘I don’t own one.’
‘Right. I’ll see you soon.’
‘Connor, why—?’
He didn’t bother to explain. Adrenalin shot through him as he disconnected and dialled Carlisle.
The FBI agent answered after the first ring. Connor gave a quick explanation and Carlisle reached the same conclusion.
‘It makes sense,’ Carlisle said. ‘Correlli must’ve realised Mia’s true identity this morning because there were two internet searches from the same IP address for your name and Mia’s name just after we left Paris. We traced the searches to Venice.’
Shit. ‘Did you tell Mia?’
‘No point in worrying her, but I have worse news than that.’
Connor’s hand tightened around the phone. ‘Go on.’
‘You told me your bodyguard was sure you were being followed to the restaurant last night.’
‘Yes.’ Connor had called Carlisle as soon as Tony’s man had revealed they’d been tailed to the restaurant where Connor had met Skye. The bodyguard hadn’t seen a tail on the way home—suggesting the tail was looking for Mia and had left when another woman had turned up.
‘Your guard would’ve been spot on the money. One of Lucetti’s hit men landed in London yesterday morning.’
Connor’s skin crawled. ‘Correlli?’
‘No. Correlli and Lucetti have left Venice and flown back to New York.’
‘Lucetti was in Venice then?’
‘He was, so it was damned lucky he didn’t see Mia.’
Shit.
‘The guy who flew into London is Hank Sullivan, known as Sully. Mia mentioned on the drive to London that she’d seen him in Venice right before you met Correlli.’
‘Jesus.’
‘Sully’s an expert sniper. Keep Mia away from any windows and don’t let her leave the building. We’ve already got people in place, but I’ll alert the whole team that he now knows Mia’s surname and place of work.’
Connor swore again and fear, stronger than any he’d ever known, coursed through his veins. He listened as Carlisle gave him a brief outline of the steps he intended to put into place to ensure Mia’s safety. When the call ended, Connor barely resisted the urge to call Mia again. He didn’t want to spook her.
His mind flew to the configuration of the boardroom with its large glass windows. Grabbing his paperwork, he jumped up and raced out of his office, barely stopping to look at
Grace as he ordered, ‘Call Mike back and tell him I want everyone in meeting room six pronto.’
‘Room six?’ Grace’s disbelief was in every syllable of her high-pitched question. ‘You do know staff refer to that meeting room as the closet?’
‘That’s the one.’
‘Oh-kay.’
Yes, it was a strange request—especially when the team was already assembled in the boardroom waiting for him—but the small meeting room had no external windows so there was no chance Sully could take a shot at Mia.
Mia walked into the room behind the rest of the marketing team, adopting the mousy wallflower persona Connor now detested.
To him, she’d never be Miss Mouse from marketing again. It didn’t matter how she dressed herself, she’d no longer fade into the background. As the presentation dragged, he could hardly take his eyes off her. Even though her figure was concealed by her clothes, Connor had to stop himself from playing out the scenes of their amazing lovemaking in his memory. When his body reminded him how much he craved her, he thought of the sniper threat to cool his desire.
After an hour of sitting feigning interest in the marketing slides, tension had worked its way from his shoulders right up his neck and now there was tightness at his temples.
‘Thanks, Mike. Thanks, everyone. I like your ideas and can see how appealing those advertisements will be to the retiree age group.’ He hoped he could rely on the team’s past performance because he’d barely caught any of the key concepts they’d presented.
‘They’re the ones with the disposable income who can afford to take a Stewart Luxe Cruise,’ one of the team members said.
Connor nodded. ‘Mike, I want to go over a couple of things from my trip with Miss Simms.’
‘Okay. I’m looking forward to hearing more about it when you’re ready to fill me in.’
‘All in due course.’
While the rest of the team filed out, Mia stood stiffly opposite Connor. ‘This isn’t a good idea.’
‘Mia, you need to listen.’ There was no point sugar-coating it. ‘A man made a phone call to Grace earlier, claiming to have found a watch you say you’ve never owned.’
‘Oh my God!’ She visibly paled. ‘Have you told Agent Roberts?’
‘I called him as soon as I found out.’
‘What did he say?’
‘One of Lucetti’s men has flown into London. This man, Sully, is—’
‘Oh my God! Sully.’ Her hands flew to her face. ‘It’s all happening then,’ she whispered. ‘Everything I’ve always feared.’ She dropped down quickly into a chair and he went and sat on his haunches in front of her.
Taking hold of her hands and stopping their wringing action, he said quietly, ‘Carlisle has organised agents to stake out the building and there’s a team devoted to monitoring every public security camera in the area for facial recognition. If Sully gets anywhere close to this building, someone at MI5 is going to pick up on it and there’s a very real chance he’ll be caught.’
‘Is that why we moved rooms?’
‘Yes.’
She took a deep breath. ‘I see.’
‘They’re throwing every resource they have into this.’
‘Now we sit and wait?’
He heard the helplessness in her voice.
‘Yes.’ His thumb rubbed over the back of her hand. ‘We’re in this together, sweetheart.’
The silence dragged between them, broken only when Mia disengaged her hands from his and blurted, ‘No. We’re not in this together. You’re not with me at all.’
‘Of course I am.’
‘It sure didn’t look like it this morning when I opened the newspaper. You made the social columns today in headline grabbing fashion.’
Her words were distressed and he saw the flash of hurt accusation in her eyes.
‘You know I was told to be photographed with a woman.’
‘It looked like it was a real chore for you, too.’
‘Hey!’ She was jealous. He’d be a liar if he didn’t admit that a small part of him was pleased, but a larger part of him wanted to reassure her—to make her understand she could trust him. ‘I played the part and achieved what Carlisle and Stanley asked me to achieve. That’s all I was doing, but I needn’t have bothered because this Sully’s found you anyway.’
She covered her mouth with the palm of one hand and her cheeks went from pale to bright red. ‘I’m sorry. I… I’m just shocked and scared and… I lashed out at you. I had no right to comment.’
‘You have a right, Mia. I gave you that right when I told you I wanted our relationship to continue.’
‘No.’ She shook her head and stood up. Every movement was stiff as she walked around the table, seeming to want to put a physical barrier between them. ‘Our affair is over. You’re entitled to do whatever you like with whomever you choose.’
‘Were you jealous when you looked at the newspaper photos, Mia?’
‘Jealous?’ Her laughter sounded forced. ‘More like amazed at the ease with which you can go from one lover to another, but then I guess you’ve done it so many times since your divorce. I’m truly envious, but I guess I’ll be able to do it too, with practice.’
No bloody way! ‘I haven’t moved on and nor will you. I’m the only lover you’re going to have.’
‘Damn you, Connor. Don’t say things like that to me!’
‘I don’t want another woman by my side or in my bed, Mia.’
‘You had me and the rest of London fooled!’ As he rounded the table, so did she, keeping the distance between them.
‘That was the idea, but all I shared with Skye was dinner.’ He had to make her believe him. ‘The only woman I want in my bed is you.’
A hiss of self-loathing escaped from her lips. ‘Yeah, right. You gave last night’s date such a scorching hot look of sexual desire, I’m surprised her clothes didn’t melt off!’
This was the same Mia who’d faced him down in her office. The one who barely paused for breath while she ranted at him, except now he knew she cared.
‘And the looks she sent you. My God, I’m surprised there’s anything left of you because it looked like she had every intention of taking you home and eating you up!’
He’d closed the distance as she’d railed at him, and now he stood directly in front of her. ‘I’m sorry you’ve been turning yourself inside out about those photos—’
‘I have not!’
‘—but if you didn’t care you wouldn’t be jealous.’
‘I don’t care. You can date all the models in the world.’
‘Don’t say what you don’t mean, Mia.’
Her jaw dropped open and he made the most of her speechless outrage. He slipped her glasses off her nose, placed them on the table and took her in his arms.
‘What do you think you’re—?’
Like a man driven to the brink, he kissed her with all the pent-up passion that had been building up within him since the last time he’d kissed her.
God, but it’d been too long.
Mia didn’t resist. After a few moments she took control, unleashed all her sensuality and kissed him hungrily. Ravenously. She nipped at his lower lip and her body plastered against his. Each kiss sent his pulse rocketing and every nerve ending sang in a sweet symphony of bliss.
Mia was everything to him and he longed to mean as much to her.
‘I could report you for sexual harassment, Connor,’ she panted when they finally paused for breath. But his forehead rested against hers and she made no move to pull away. Instead she used her fingers to knead the muscles of his shoulders. ‘We’re both at work. You’re my boss and you promised to leave our affair in Europe.’
‘That presentation was sheer bloody torture,’ he groaned. ‘All I want to do is to take you to bed and show you how much I love you, Mia.’
Her head jerked back and she looked at him wide-eyed. ‘What did you say?’
‘I love you, Mia.’ He hoped his love shone from his eyes. ‘I should’ve told you when we were in Paris—hell, I probably should’ve told you when we first made love in Venice, but I didn’t realise I loved you back then. I didn’t recognise my feelings for you until I was back in England without you. Worrying about you. Aching for you. Wanting the right to do everything in my power to protect you, and wanting the world to know how I feel about you.’
