Revenge of the Second Son. Sara Orwig

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СКАЧАТЬ long legs. Revenge would be sweet. Seduction would be just the beginning.

      As his appointment with Julia Holcomb approached, Nick glanced around, hoping that his office was bigger, finer and more intimidating than her own. Immediately, he had to laugh at himself. Never in his life had he felt that way with anyone, much less someone he was going to destroy.

      He looked at the walnut paneling, the thick oriental carpet in muted colors, the oversized, polished mahogany table that served as his desk and brown leather furniture. The walls of his office held original oils by famous painters, art acquired on his trips to Europe. He was located on the eighteenth floor of the Ransome Building in downtown Dallas. He knew Holcomb Drilling was in a ten-story, suburban brick building that had been built about twenty years earlier to replace the old offices in downtown Dallas.

      The intercom buzzed, and his secretary announced Julia’s arrival.

      As the door closed behind Julia, he rose to his feet. She was as beautiful as he remembered. He hoped his features were as impassive as hers, but he couldn’t resist an appreciative head-to-toe glance. Taking in her tailored black suit and blouse, her blond hair coiled and pinned on her head, he wanted to tangle his fingers in that neat hairdo and watch those silky locks fall.

      “Good morning,” he said, smiling at her. “Welcome to the wolf’s den.”

      Two

      “Good morning. I’m surprised you admit it,” Julia said, smiling as she crossed the room and extended her hand to shake Nick’s.

      “Why wouldn’t I think this is a good morning?” he asked, something flashing in the depths of his dark eyes.

      “Since I’m paying a call,” she answered.

      In a long-legged easy stride, Nick came around from behind his desk. His charcoal suit added to his dark, handsome looks which she tried to avoid thinking about as much as she tried to ignore her excitement at the sight of him. She loathed dealing with Nick and beneath what she hoped was a cool, collected facade, she fought a rising panic over what Nick was about to do to her grandfather and what she could not stop.

      When she shook hands with him, his fingers closed around hers, warm and firm, in a contact that sizzled to her toes. How could she be so physically drawn to him when emotionally she viewed him as a ruthless competitor? She withdrew her hand swiftly.

      “Won’t you be seated,” he said, motioning her to a leather chair. He pulled another chair around to face her and sat only a few feet away. His brown eyes bore into her and she tried to remain cool.

      She crossed her legs and noticed his gaze drifting down to her ankles. Just a look from him made her tingle. She was accustomed to having control of most aspects of her life and she was chagrined to discover her reaction to Nick Ransome today was as volatile as her response during the first few minutes in the restaurant parking lot.

      “I know you won’t make this easy for me,” she said.

      “I’m damned astounded you’re here,” he admitted with a frankness that took her by surprise.

      Unable to avoid noticing how thickly lashed his dark eyes were, she stared back at him. “I thought we ought to get on better footing than we were last night.”

      “I find that also amazing,” he added. He looked relaxed, sitting in the chair, one ankle on his knee, but she had a feeling that he was holding back fury. His dark brown eyes sparked with fire. His curly, dark brown hair softened his features slightly.

      “I know we parted on a bad note last night—”

      “That’s rather an understatement.”

      “I thought perhaps I should try again to persuade you to let go your intentions to acquire Holcomb Drilling.”

      “My objectives have been reinforced since dinner.”

      “Your hostility has grown,” she said, wondering about his barely banked fury. “Maybe there’s no point in this visit.”

      “Are you aware that one of our rigs burned in the night?”

      “No, I didn’t know that.” She didn’t try to hide her surprise and then guessed the reason for his smoldering anger. “That’s what you’ve been referring to—”

      “An explosion of an unknown origin caused the fire.” His words were clipped and his eyes blazed with anger.

      “You’re blaming us?”

      “Did Rufus hire someone to do it?” Nick cut in with a voice as cold as ice.

      “No!” she exclaimed, furious that he would jump to conclusions without proof. “Granddad would never stoop to something like that. Or risk the lives of people who have nothing to do with the fight between the two of you. Never!”

      “I’m afraid it’ll take more than your denial to convince me,” Nick said in what she thought was an annoying stubbornness to lay blame on her family.

      “If there was an explosion or fire since we were together last night, aren’t you being premature in jumping to conclusions about the cause?” she asked. “I think it often takes time to discover what starts a fire.”

      Something flickered in the depths of his dark eyes. “You’re right, of course,” he said pleasantly, his anger vanishing as if she had waved a magic wand. “Until I hear from the arson experts, I’ll hold my judgment about the cause.”

      “That’s the only sensible thing to do,” she replied.

      “In the meantime, what brings you to my office?” he asked in a pleasant tone, ignoring her sarcasm.

      He smiled and waited. She gazed back steadfastly, her anger with him rising and becoming a tight, knot inside. She didn’t trust his friendliness for a second. He had turned it on like switching on a light, and the warmth in his voice couldn’t conceal the fiery anger in his eyes. Determined to not let him know how disturbed she felt, she concentrated on being civil and hiding her fury.

      “I want to meet with you again, informally as we did last night, and see what we can work out,” she replied, hoping she sounded as relaxed and friendly as he had. “We both have old companies that were family-owned for many years. There aren’t many of those around any longer. I want to keep our company intact as long as Granddad is living. This company has been his whole life.”

      “Perhaps your granddad shouldn’t have spread himself so thin,” Nick remarked dryly.

      Banking her annoyance, she nodded. “Maybe, if you’re willing to try, we can work something out that will be to your satisfaction and ours. You surely will be reasonable enough to discuss the matter informally before the lawyers take charge tomorrow.”

      She hoped she looked and sounded amiable, far from how she felt. She loved her granddad and if the company were taken from him, she was afraid it would be the end of him. He had devoted his life to it and now to see it in precarious straits kept her sleepless at night. The problem was compounded by the fact that it was Nick who was after Holcomb Drilling. The Ransomes and Holcombs were old enemies, forever business competitors. She stared into Nick’s brown eyes; his bland gaze belied the chemistry between them. Her breath caught. She couldn’t move or speak СКАЧАТЬ