His Shy Cinderella. Kate Hardy

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ wooden floor, so it’s going to be noisy wherever we sit. Carpet dampens speech as well as footsteps.’

      And there was a group of businessmen nearby; they were laughing heartily enough to drown out a conversation on the other side of the room. ‘Or we could change the venue to my room, which really will be quieter,’ Brandon said, ‘but I don’t want you to think I’m hitting on you.’ Though in other circumstances, he thought, I probably would, because she has the most amazing eyes.

      He was shocked to realise how much he was attracted to Angel McKenzie. She was meant to be his business rival, from a family that was his own family’s sworn enemy. He wasn’t supposed to be attracted to her. Particularly as she was about six inches shorter and way less glamorous than the women he usually dated. She really wasn’t his type.

      ‘The restaurant’s fine,’ she said, and changed places with him. ‘So what did you want to talk about? If it’s your offer to buy McKenzie’s, then it’s going to be rather a short and pointless conversation, because the company isn’t for sale.’

      Before he could answer, the waitress came over. ‘May I take your order?’

      ‘Thank you.’ Angel smiled at the waitress and ordered coffee, granola, fruit and yoghurt.

      Brandon hadn’t been expecting that smile, either.

      It lit up her face, turning her from average to pretty; in all the photographs he’d seen, Angel had been serious and unsmiling.

      And how weird was it that he wanted to be the one to make her smile like that?

      Worse than that, focusing on her mouth had made him wonder what it would be like to kiss her. How crazy was that? He was supposed to be talking to her about business, not fantasising about her. She wasn’t even his type.

      He shook himself and glanced quickly through the menu.

      ‘Sir?’ the waitress asked.

      ‘Coffee, please, and eggs Florentine on wholemeal toast—but without the hollandaise sauce, please.’

      ‘Of course, sir.’

      ‘I would’ve had you pegged as a full English man,’ Angel said when the waitress had gone.

      ‘Load up on fatty food and junk, and you’re going to feel like a dog’s breakfast by the end of a race,’ he said with a grimace. ‘Food’s fuel. If you want to work effectively, you eat effectively. Lean protein, complex carbs, plenty of fruit and veg, and no added sugar.’

      She inclined her head. ‘Fair point.’

      He needed to get this back on the rails. ‘So. As I was saying, this discussion isn’t about buying the company.’

      She waited to let him explain more.

      So that was her tactic in business. Say little and let the other party talk themselves into a hole. OK. He’d draw her out. ‘I wanted to talk about research and development.’

      She frowned. ‘What about it?’

      ‘I’m looking for someone to head up my R and D department.’ He paused. ‘I was considering headhunting you.’

      She blinked. ‘Yesterday you wanted to buy my company.’

      He still did.

      ‘And today you’re offering me a job?’

      ‘Yes.’

      She looked wary. ‘Why?’

      ‘I heard you’re a good designer. A first-class degree in engineering, followed by an MA in automotive design.’

      ‘So you have been stalking me.’

      ‘Doing research prior to headhunting you,’ he corrected. ‘You’re a difficult woman to pin down, Ms McKenzie.’ And he noticed that she still hadn’t suggested that he used her first name. She was clearly keeping as many barriers between them as possible.

      ‘Thank you for the job offer, Mr Stone,’ she said. ‘I’m flattered. But I rather like my current job.’ She waited a beat to ram the point home. ‘Running the company my grandfather started.’

      ‘Together with my grandfather,’ he pointed out.

      ‘Who then dissolved the partnership and took all the equipment with him. McKenzie’s has absolutely nothing to do with Barnaby Stone.’

      ‘Not right now.’ He held her gaze. ‘But it could do.’

      ‘I’m not selling to you, Mr Stone,’ she said wearily. ‘And I’m not working for you, either. So can you please just give up and stop wasting your time and mine?’

      He applauded her loyalty to her family, but this was business and it was time for a reality check. ‘I’ve seen your accounts for the last four years.’

      She shrugged, seeming unbothered. ‘They’re on public record. As are yours.’

      ‘And every year you’re struggling more. You need an investor,’ Brandon said.

      * * *

      Angel had been here before. The last man who’d wanted to invest in McKenzie’s had assumed that it would give him rights over her as well. She’d put him very straight about that, and in response he’d withdrawn the offer.

      No way would she let herself get in that situation again. She wasn’t for sale, and neither was her business. ‘I don’t think so.’

      ‘Hand-built cars are a luxury item. Yours are under-priced.’

      ‘The idea was, and still is, to make hand-built customisable cars that anyone can afford,’ she said. ‘We have a waiting list.’

      ‘Not a very long one.’

      That was true; and it was worrying that he knew that. Did that mean she had a mole in the company—someone who might even scupper the deal with Triffid by talking about the McKenzie Frost too soon? No. Of course not. That was sheer paranoia. She’d known most of the staff since she was a small child, and had interviewed the newer members of staff herself. People didn’t tend to leave McKenzie’s unless they retired. And she trusted everyone on her team. ‘Have you been spying on me?’

      The waitress, who’d just arrived with their food and coffee, clearly overheard Angel’s comment, because she looked a bit nervous and disappeared quickly.

      ‘I think we just made our waitress feel a bit awkward,’ Brandon said.

      ‘You mean you did,’ she said. ‘Because you’re the one who’s been spying.’

      ‘Making a very common-sense deduction, actually,’ he countered. ‘If you had a long waiting list, your balance sheet would look a lot healthier than it does.’

      She knew that was true. ‘So if we don’t have a great balance sheet, why do you want to buy...?’ She broke off. ‘Hold on. You said you want a designer to head up your research and development team. Which means the СКАЧАТЬ