Revenge In The Boardroom. Nina Harrington

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       CHAPTER SIX

      A FEW HOURS later Serena was back in her own clothes, now clean, and sitting cross-legged beside Luca in the hut of the tribal elders. She was still smarting from the intensity of his regard that morning at breakfast. As if he’d been accusing her of something. Her suspicions had been reinforced when he’d said, with a definitely accusatory tone, on their journey to the mines, ‘You were good with that little girl earlier.’

      Serena had swallowed back the tart urge to apologise and explained, ‘I have a nephew just a little bit older. We’re very close.’

      She hadn’t liked being reminded of that vulnerability—that from the moment she’d held Siena’s son, Spiro, he and Serena had forged an indelible bond and her biological clock had started ticking loudly.

      For someone who had never seen the remotest possibility of such a domestic idyll in her life, she was still surprised at how much she craved it.

      And she hated it that she’d barely slept a wink in the hut because she’d missed knowing Luca’s solid bulk was just inches away. She dragged her attention back to what she was meant to be focusing on: writing notes as fast as Luca translated what he wanted taken down.

      They’d spent the morning at the mines and she’d seen how diplomatic he had to be, trying to assuage the fears of the miners about losing their jobs, while attempting to drag the mine and its administration into the twenty-first century and minimise further damage to the land. It was a very fine balancing act.

      When he was being diplomatic and charming he was truly devastating. It gave Serena a very strong sense of just how seductive he could be if...if he actually liked her. The thought of that made her belly swoop alarmingly.

      He turned to her now. ‘Did you get that?’

      She looked at the notes quickly. ‘About coming up with ideas to actively promote and nurture growth in the local economy?’

      He nodded. But before he turned back to the tribal leader Serena followed an impulse and touched his arm. He frowned at her, and she smiled hesitantly at the man Luca was talking to before saying, ‘Could I make a suggestion?’

      He drew back a few inches and looked at her. His entire stance was saying, You?

      Serena fought off the urge to hit him and gritted her teeth. ‘Those smock dresses that the women make—I haven’t seen them anywhere else. Also, the little carvings that the children have been doing... I know that this village is twinned with another one, and they have monthly fair days when they barter goods and crops and utilise their skills and learn from each other...but what about opening it up a bit—say, having a space in Rio, or Manaus, a charity shop that sells the things they make here. And in the other village. A niche market, with the money coming back directly to the people.’

      ‘That’s hardly a novel idea,’ Luca said coolly.

      Serena refused to be intimidated or feel silly. ‘Well, if it’s not a new concept why hasn’t one of these shops been mentioned anywhere in your literature about the charity? I’m not talking about some rustic charity shop. I’m talking about a high-end finish that’ll draw in discerning tourists and buyers. Something that’ll inspire them to help conserve the rainforest.’

      Luca said nothing for a long moment, and then he turned back to the chief and spoke to him rapidly. The man’s old, lined face lit up and he smiled broadly, nodding effusively.

      Luca looked back to Serena, a conciliatory gleam in his eyes. ‘I’ll look into it back in Rio.’

      The breath she hadn’t even been aware of holding left her chest and she had to concentrate when the conversation started again. Finally, when Luca and the chief had spoken for an hour or so, they got up to leave. The old man darted forward with surprising agility to take Serena’s hand in his and pump it up and down vigorously. She smiled at his effervescence.

      Following Luca out into the slightly less intense late-afternoon heat, she could see a Jeep approach in the distance.

      Luca looked at his watch. ‘That’ll be our lift to the airfield. We need to pack our stuff up.’

      He looked at her and must have seen something that Serena had failed to disguise in time.

      His eyes glinted with something indefinable. ‘I thought you’d welcome the prospect of civilisation again?’

      ‘I do,’ Serena said quickly, avoiding his look. But the truth was that she didn’t...exactly. Their couple СКАЧАТЬ