Taken By The Maverick Millionaire. Anna Cleary

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СКАЧАТЬ Cate. But I can give you something you want, and you can give me something I need.’

      ‘Really? What’s that?’ The cognac, or maybe his deep laugh, had melted into her bloodstream and infused her voice with a husky quality she could have done without.

      He made a gesture with one bronzed hand. ‘You want your story. I’m prepared to give it to you. First break, even ahead of my own newspapers. Full disclosure of the merger. Interview—photographs—everything.’

      Excitement surged to her head. Full disclosure would give her a far more meaningful scoop than a few lines that were light on details, but heavy on hints and guesses. And an actual interview with him! It would take her right up there with Steve and Barbara. She could get Gran into a private hospital and…

      She roused herself from her fantasies, and caught him studying her face. His eyes were veiled, but his sexy mouth had edged into a very slight smile, like a wolf with a tasty little goose in its sights. It stirred her misgivings. ‘What’s the catch?’

      ‘Ah, the catch.’ He straightened up a little, as if to gain more leverage in the contest. ‘The catch is that you must wait for three weeks to publish. If you can’t promise that, I’ll spill the story this afternoon and the merger will collapse.’ He gave her a moment to digest, his eyes intent on her face, then added softly, ‘And then you’ll have nothing to report.’

      She frowned. Three weeks was an eternity in publishing. Could she trust him to keep his word? A man with his cool, uncompromising mouth was unlikely to be a slimy liar like Steve. And if she took into account his stunning eyes and that appealing little cleft in his chin—

      She fought down a warm tidal surge in her blood. Really she must not focus on his physical attributes. She had to remember he was a shark in the ocean of world affairs, and she needed to keep her head. An unnerving thought struck her. The one thing he did have going for him was the genuine affectio with which he’d talked about his father.

      What if he was setting her up to take some sort of revenge for her cutting obituary?

      She gave the cognac a wary sip. ‘You must realise that I have to report on the memorial today. You’re not asking me to falsify the truth, are you?’

      A muscle tightened in his jaw. ‘I’m asking you to do the ethical thing and limit your report to strictly what was on the record. When my merger goes through you can write what you like.’

      He was lounging back on the seat, his long limbs lazily disposed, but despite his casual posture she sensed a waiting stillness in him, as though a lot hung on her acceptance. Again she wondered just how important this merger was to Russell Inc. Was the corporate giant in trouble?

      Sad creature that she was, she considered drawing out his suspense, taking her time to agree so as to postpone the moment when he dropped her from the enchanted limo and she plummeted back into ordinary life. A man with such a low opinion of her integrity deserved to be tortured a little.

      She sighed. Lucky for him she was cursed with a conscience.

      ‘Oh, all right,’ she said, leaning back against the cushions.

      She could feel his smouldering gaze scorch her from her hair all the way down to her toes. It was flattering to command such a furnace-blast of attention.

      ‘As well,’ he added in an offhand tone, ‘today you act as my girlfriend. ‘

      ‘What?’ She sat bolt upright. Shocked at first into a laugh, she stared at him then for incredulous seconds. ‘Are you serious? Do you think anyone would believe that? I know my friends would be amazed, not to mention the newsroom. I mean—don’t get me wrong, but anyone who knows me knows that you’re absolutely the last person on earth I’d ever dream of—’

      She broke off in time to realise his lean, harsh face had stiffened. ‘I’m relieved to hear it,’ he said drily, ‘since the feeling is mutual. In fact, your total unsuitability is one of your greatest assets. People will expect me to dump you in five minutes, and I will.’

      ‘Oh.’ She cast him a glance through her lashes. It was a revelation to discover that a tall, dark sexy super-supremo could be so sensitive. But with his temper, it seemed prudent to humour him a little. ‘Well, if I agreed, what exactly would you expect me to do?’

      He shrugged, and gave his cognac a bored swirl. ‘Just walk into the luncheon with me. Hang around. Act—like a girlfriend.’ He sounded so offhand, it hardly seemed like much of a request. ‘You aren’t committed to anyone, are you?’ His eyes fell on her ringless hands.

      Committed. Deep down inside her something lurched. Even after more than a year words like that could still throw her.

      It was hard to fall from prospective bride straight back into bright, chirpy single. Perhaps because she still saw Steve at work. She knew, though, it probably wasn’t fair to blame him altogether. A young man like him—of course he’d been daunted. He came from a big family and had no concept of how close she and Gran were. Then when Gran had changed overnight from her clever, funny and invincible self and turned into a frail elderly lady, he’d been jealous of the time Cate had had to spend with her.

      As always she tried to thrust away thoughts of the scene with Steve the night Gran had been admitted to hospital for tests. His casual words across the hospital bed, devastating for her, near fatal for Gran.

      Her own whispered responses, so defensive and emotional.

      Gran had been out of it, so they’d thought, but not far enough out.

      Her mind shied away from the choking guilt and fear she’d felt when Gran had clutched at her hand and gone into seizure. Why, oh, why hadn’t she put an end to the scene at once? She should never have allowed Steve anywhere near Gran.

      He’d apologised later. Grovelled, in fact. Promised the earth if she’d take him back. Even Gran had urged her to relent. But she never would. A strong, instinctive part of her had known that if a man truly loved a woman, he cared for the people she loved.

      She clenched her cognac glass. She’d learned from the love experience. A man expected a woman to devote herself exclusively to him. Give up her own interests. Spend all her weekends at the football, or her evenings watching sport on television, or playing pool with his beer-swilling friends. Until Gran had had her heart bypass and was safe and well, there could be no new love for Cate Summerfield, even if she did ever want to chance that stony road again.

      ‘Well?’

      Tom Russell’s voice roused her, his black brows bristling with impatience.

      ‘No, no,’ she assured him. ‘Not—currently.’

      What was she hiding? Tom wondered, scanning her face with a cynical gaze. ‘You don’t sound very sure.’

      ‘Of course I’m sure,’ she snapped.

      ‘Ah. Then you’ll do it.’ He raised his glass to his lips and his lashes flickered down.

      Cate eyed the determined line of his handsome jaw, and wondered how many people in his life had ever given him opposition.

      She wrinkled her brow. ‘I suppose I could do it, so long as it doesn’t get out. I’m not sure how my grandmother or the people at work would take it.’

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