Billionaires: The Playboy. Carol Marinelli

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СКАЧАТЬ it was all about mind games.

      Today Hunter and the other teams would find out that Matteo Di Sione was considering coming on board.

      And that would rattle them.

      The Di Sione empire was amazing—from shipping, to apps, to computers, they had their hand in everything and had money everywhere.

      Matteo was right again: she needed to ooze confidence, not dread.

      Maybe now was not the time to be spending money on clothes when she was worried about the hotel bill but there were slim pickings in her wardrobe.

      There was a dress that might have been handy for dinner yesterday but wasn’t suitable for a gala event.

      And then there was the dress that Abby had sworn she would wear if they ever made it to the podium.

      It was sexy; it was the colour of tarnished silver with a slight green hue and just way too much for today.

      Truth be known, Abby could never see herself having the confidence to wear it—wherever they placed.

      She knew that she would have to buy something for today.

      Abby signed into her bank account and blinked when she saw the balance.

      Oh, my God!

      Matteo had meant what he said about ensuring they had every chance of winning.

      Nervous, excited and more than a little bit relieved, instead of quickly dressing and hitting the shops Abby dealt with serious business first and rang down to Reception. Having made the necessary arrangements, she called Pedro.

      ‘Hi,’ Abby said when he picked up.

      ‘Abby, I don’t have time to talk.’ Pedro’s tone was clipped. ‘I am just going down to the pool and then I’m hitting the gym.’

      ‘About that,’ Abby said. ‘Pedro, I’ve just spoken with Reception and you’re being moved to a suite with its own lap pool and gym.’

      ‘You’re serious?’

      ‘I am. Someone’s already on their way to move your things.’

      ‘Abby, thanks,’ Pedro said. ‘This will really help with my training.’

      ‘Good.’

      It seemed like an unnecessary luxury, but Abby knew that it wasn’t. The facilities in Dubai were stunning and she knew only too well that the other top teams would be utilizing them. Pedro would be out running in the midday heat. He would do everything he could to get his body prepared for the race and so it was very nice to be able to give him this.

      Now she could concentrate on getting ready for today.

      The shopping in Dubai was supposed to be amazing too but Abby really didn’t have the time or the inclination to explore. There were, though, some boutiques on the ground floor of the hotel and one had caught her eye when they checked in.

      It wasn’t one of the famous international designers; instead it was a niche boutique from a local designer and tentatively Abby stepped inside.

      The dresses were exquisite and, when the assistant found out where she was going today, she took Abby under her wing.

      Abby had studied fashion for a year; she could mentally dress anyone so long as it wasn’t herself. Even though she had been pushed into it by her father, Abby had vaguely enjoyed it and knew what she liked—and understated was it!

      ‘This one,’ the assistant said, holding up a dress in pale coral. It was a very sheer fabric with a slip dress beneath and it was very feminine and floaty and really not the sort of thing Abby would choose.

      ‘What about this,’ Abby suggested and held up a similar dress in grey, but the assistant shook her head.

      ‘Try the coral one on.’

      Oh, Abby hated this.

      It felt as if she was dressing up for a family photo, she thought as she stepped into a large changing room. But reminding herself it was business, she put the dress on.

      ‘You look very elegant,’ the assistant said after she had asked Abby if she could see it on.

      ‘It’s a bit much.’ Abby shook her head, thinking of it with high heels, but the assistant was far more used to this type of thing and disappeared.

      ‘Try these,’ she said when she returned and handed Abby a pair of flat strappy sandals. They were thin jewelled straps and yet somehow very neutral, and when she tried them on the assistant was right—the dress looked more sophisticated than it would with high heels.

      ‘I like it,’ Abby admitted.

      ‘You need to get your hair smoothed out and then tied back,’ the assistant said and, remembering Matteo’s comments last night, Abby wondered if people in Dubai just spoke their mind.

      ‘I really don’t have time to get my hair done,’ Abby said, given that it was well after nine.

      ‘I can ring over to the salon,’ the assistant pushed, ‘if you are pressed for time.’

      ‘Sure.’ Abby gave a tight smile as she paid.

      She then went into the hairdresser’s and had her hair smoothed and there she bought a lipstick that would go better with the dress.

      Abby didn’t have time to be nervous; she was far too late for Matteo for that. But even so, she managed to be as she stepped into his hotel and saw him waiting in the foyer.

      ‘Wow!’ he said. ‘You’re worth the wait.’

      Somehow he both welcomed her and told her off for keeping him waiting.

      ‘We need to get going,’ Matteo said.

      He really had no idea of the effort she had gone to in order to get her looking like this and Abby kind of liked that about him.

      Still, she wasn’t so much nervous as they walked to the car; rather she was incredibly aware, not of her unfamiliar attire, more of the man she was with.

      Very, very aware.

      That was the best way she could describe it.

      She was aware of the dry warmth of his hand on her arm as he led her to the waiting car.

      And aware of him as he stretched out beside her and then popped a couple of painkillers and took them without water.

      ‘Do you have a headache?’ Abby asked, guessing he must have hit the clubs after he had dropped her off last night.

      ‘My shoulder,’ Matteo said.

      ‘You should have worn the sling.’

      ‘I know.’ He just shrugged and obviously it hurt to do so because he winced, but then he turned the conversation to work as the car moved through the magnificent СКАЧАТЬ