Mr. Strictly Business Read online

  The breath stuttered in her lungs as an image of them flashed through her mind. Naked limbs entwined. Mouths fused. Male and female melding into the most intimate of bonds. How the hell did he expect her to work with that stuck in her brain?

  He must have known what she was thinking because he laughed. “Don’t feel bad. You’re not the only one.”

  “Not the only one…what?”

  “Who’s going to find it difficult to concentrate on business today.”

  “That’s a first,” she muttered.

  His amusement faded. “Not really. It just hasn’t happened for a while. Not in about twenty-three months.” He took a deep breath and shoved his fingers through his hair. “If your situation weren’t so serious, I’d say to hell with it and have us both blow off work.”

  Interesting. “What would that accomplish?”

  “It would give us an opportunity to get our priorities straight,” he explained. “Because this time I intend to fix what went wrong.”

  A deep yearning filled her at the thought, one that shocked her with its intensity. Pain followed fast on its heels. He’d waited too long to compromise. Now, when it didn’t matter any longer, when regaining what they’d lost had become an impossibility, he was willing to change. “We can’t afford to blow off work and you know it.”

  “Unfortunately, we can’t, no. At least, not today. And since we can’t…” And just like that he switched from lover to businessman. “Let’s see what we can do to salvage Elegant Events.”

  It took her a moment longer to switch gears. “After last night’s fiasco, I expect cancelations,” she warned. “A lot of them.”

  “You have contracts with your clients?”

  “Of course. I’m not an idiot, Gabe.” She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Blame it on exhaustion.”

  He let it slide without comment. “Set up appointments with those who want to cancel. Tell them that if they’ll meet with you and give you a full thirty minutes of their time, and you still can’t reach an amicable agreement, then you’ll happily refund their deposit.”

  Catherine paled. “You realize what that’ll mean? We’ll go under if I can’t salvage more than seventy-five percent of our current bookings.” She rubbed a hand across her forehead. “And even that number might be wishful thinking. It could be closer to ninety.”

  “I can give you a more accurate figure once I examine the accounts. Who’s in charge of them?”

  “My partner.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Ah, the mysterious co-owner. You realize you can’t keep her identity hidden after last night. Schedule a meeting with her. If we’re going to turn your business around, I’ll need to know everything about it from the ground up. And that includes whatever you can tell me about your partner.”

  Catherine reluctantly nodded. “I’ll arrange it. What’s next?”

  “Next, I called Natalie Marconi, and she agreed to see us in…” He checked his watch. “An hour and a quarter. You’ll be expected to tender an abject apology.” He held up a hand before she could interrupt. “I know you took care of that last night, but it needs to be done again in the cold light of day. I doubt anything we do or say will help, but—”

  “But we need to try.”

  He picked up his tie from where he’d draped it over his desk chair. “Exactly.”

  She shot Gabe a keen-eyed look. “Somehow I suspect she would have refused to see me if you hadn’t placed the call.” She didn’t wait for him to confirm what she already knew. “Just so you’re aware, I plan to give her a full refund.”

  Snagging his suit jacket, he shrugged it on. “How bad a bite is that going to take out of your reserves?”

  She didn’t want to think about it. “A big one,” she admitted. “Not that it matters. It has to be done.”

  “Agreed.” A hint of sympathy colored the word. He guided her from his office out into the foyer and paused beside Roxanne’s vacant desk. “Let’s see if meeting with her won’t help you retain a small portion of goodwill.”

  “Where’s your assistant?” Catherine asked casually while he scribbled Roxanne a quick note. At least, she hoped the question came across as casual. Considering what she’d like to do to his precious assistant, she was lucky it didn’t sound as though she was chewing nails.

  “In the field. I’ve spent the past six months negotiating a takeover of a plant that manufactures boat engines. It’ll dovetail nicely with another company I own that custom-designs yachts. Right now we outsource quite a number of components. I’d like to change that.”

  “So you’re busily acquiring businesses that manufacture those outsourced components.”

  “Exactly.” He propped the note on Roxanne’s computer keyboard before walking with Catherine to the bank of elevators. “Roxanne is working to set up a meeting to hammer out the final details. For some reason the owner, Jack LaRue, has been dragging his feet, and I need to find out why and resolve whatever issues remain. Roxanne has a way of…” He shrugged. “Let’s just say, she can motivate people to stop dragging their feet.”

  “Got it.”

  The elevator doors parted and they stepped inside. “You’ve never cared for her, have you?” he asked.

  What was the point in lying after all this time? “No.”

  “Is it because she took over your job? Or is it a woman thing?”

  Catherine stared straight ahead and counted to ten before responding. “Call it a clash of personalities.”

  “Sorry. I don’t buy that. What’s the real reason?”

  She faced him. “The truth?”

  “No, I want you to lie to me.”

  Catherine released her breath in a frustrated sigh. “I resented having to go through her to speak to you. I resented that she had the power to decide which of those messages she’d deliver and when she’d deliver them. I also resented the fact that she didn’t just want to take over my job, she wanted to take over my place in your life. Is that reason enough?”

  Four

  B efore Gabe could respond, the elevator doors parted and Catherine exploded from the car. Her heels beat a furious tattoo across the garage surface, a beat that echoed the anger chasing through her. She hadn’t realized until then how long those words had choked her and how badly she’d wanted to speak them. But now that she had, she realized they wouldn’t make the least difference. He wouldn’t believe her now any more than he had two years ago. When it came to Roxanne, he was as blind to her true nature as every other man.

  Catherine paused beside Gabe’s Jag and struggled to regain her self-control. How the hell did Roxanne do it? It wasn’t just her looks. Plenty of women had incredible bodies, as well as faces that could have graced a goddess. Maybe it was the body combined with a Machiavellian brain that would have done Lucretia Borgia proud that gave Roxanne such an edge.

  Gabe opened the car door and waited while Catherine slid in before circling the car and climbing behind the wheel. Instead of igniting the powerful engine, he swiveled to face her. “I’m sorry. I had no idea she was such a problem for you.”

  “She isn’t a problem. Not any longer.”

  “And I’ll make certain of that. When you call, I’ll give her strict instructions to put you straight through, even if I’m in a meeting.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  It took Catherine a moment to steady her breathing. “Why, Gabe?” she whispered. “Why couldn’t you have done this before when it first came up? Why now when it’s far too late?”

  His jaw firmed, taking on an all-too familiar stubborn slant. “It’s not too late.” He started the engine with a roar. “You walked out on me for good cause. I admit there were problems. Serious problems. This time around, I intend to fix them.”

  The drive to the Marconi estate took just under an hour. A maid, all starched and formal, escorted them to an equally starched and formal parlor that overlooked the scene of last night’s disaster. Cath
erine didn’t doubt for a moment that the uncomfortable choice of venue was deliberate.

  “I’m not quite sure why you’re here,” Natalie said, once they were seated. She made a point of not offering them refreshments by pouring herself a cup of coffee from the gleaming silver service on the table at her side and taking a slow, deliberate sip. Her coldly furious eyes moved from Catherine to Gabe and back again. “I’m particularly in the dark about your presence, Gabe. It’s Ms. Haile who owes me both an explanation and an apology.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Marconi.” Catherine spoke up before Gabe could. “I do owe you an apology, and I can’t begin to express how sorry I am that your party was ruined.” She opened her purse, removed a check and placed it on the delicate coffee table that served as a buffer between her chair and Natalie’s. “This is a full refund.”

  Twin spots of color chased across Natalie’s cheekbones. “You think throwing money at me is going to fix this?”

  “Not at all. I think refunding your money is the least I can do to compensate for my part in what happened. I’m sorry the security detail I hired was unable to intercept the intruders. I contacted the authorities this morning, and they informed me that the young men on the boats received an invitation from an unidentified woman. They’re continuing to look into it in the hopes of pinning down precisely who extended the invite, in case you wish to pursue the matter. The boaters involved have volunteered to recompense your guests, as well as the gondola company, for any damages incurred.”

  “That will certainly help,” she reluctantly admitted. “And the sprinklers? That mistake is one hundred percent your fault.”

  Catherine inclined her head. “I accept full responsibility for that. I promise you, I double-checked to make sure they’d been disengaged for the evening. I can’t explain how they were switched back on.”

  “I can. You’re incompetent.”

  “Natalie,” Gabe said softly.

  “Well, what other explanation is there?” she retorted defensively.

  “I can think of three. One, there was a power interruption and the device returned to its default setting. Two, someone accidentally changed the time. Or three, someone did it deliberately as a prank.” He paused to allow that to sink in. “There were a lot of youngsters there last night who might have considered it quite a lark to have the sprinklers go on in the middle of the party and watch the mayhem from a safe distance.”

  Natalie sat up straighter, her eyes flashing. “Are you accusing someone in my family?”

  “I’m not the one making accusations.” He let that hang. “I’m simply pointing out that there are alternative explanations.”

  “Catherine’s initials were on the checklist as the one responsible for resetting the sprinklers. I saw them there myself.”

  “Which means she did reset them. Why else would she have initialed it? Twice, I might add.” Natalie fell silent at the sheer logic of his question. He pressed home his advantage. “You’d have more cause to point fingers if it hadn’t been checked off because then you’d know she’d overlooked it.”

  Natalie dismissed that with a wave of her hand. “And the tent going up in flames? We could have lost our house. People could have been seriously injured, or worse.”

  “Your daughter tripped over the line anchoring that corner of the tent. I saw it happen. I’m sure if you ask her, she’ll admit as much, especially since she twisted her ankle as a result and your son-in-law had to carry her to safety. There is no negligence here, Natalie. It was a simple, unforeseeable accident.”

  “On the other hand,” Catherine inserted, “the point of hiring an event planner is to foresee the unforeseeable and take precautions.”

  Gabe turned on her. “In hindsight, what could you have done differently to prevent those accidents from happening? You’d already checked the sprinkler system. Twice. That section of the lake was posted and patrolled. And the tent was securely anchored.”

  Natalie released her breath in a sigh. “All right, all right. You’ve made your point, Gabe. I don’t see how Catherine could have possibly foreseen any of those eventualities. I wish she could have, but I like to consider myself an honest and fair woman. And honesty and fairness compel me to admit that no one could have anticipated such a bizarre string of events.” She looked at Catherine, this time without the anger coloring her expression. “Thank you for returning my fee and for your apology. Up until all hell broke loose, the event was brilliantly planned and executed.”

  Catherine stood. “I appreciate your understanding. I’d say I look forward to doing business with you at some point in the future…” She offered a self-deprecating smile. “But I have a feeling I might find a cup of that lovely coffee poured over my head.”

  Natalie managed a smile as well. “Good try, my dear, but there’s little to no chance of my being quite that forgiving.”

  Catherine shrugged. “It was worth a try.” She held out a hand. “Thank you for taking the time to see me.”

  “You can thank Gabe for that. I’m not sure I would have agreed if not for him.” Her gaze swept over him, filled with pure feminine appreciation. “For some strange reason, it’s impossible to say no to the man.”

  Catherine released a sigh of exasperation. “So, I’ve discovered,” she murmured.

  After leaving the Marconi residence, Gabe handed Catherine a business card for a transportation firm, along with the key to his apartment. “I’ve made arrangements with this company to move your belongings over to my place. Just call them when you’re ready.”

  “I won’t have that much,” she protested, as they headed back toward the city. “Just a couple of suitcases.”

  He pulled onto the floating bridge that spanned Lake Washington and negotiated smoothly around oncoming traffic. “I want you to feel like you live there, not like you’re a temporary guest.”

  “I am a temporary guest,” she retorted. “The only one who doesn’t realize that is you.”

  He didn’t bother to argue. But when he pulled up in front of her apartment complex, he parked the car and exited at the same time Catherine did. He followed her across the sidewalk and up the stairs leading to the vestibule.

  “You don’t need to come in,” she informed him over her shoulder. “I’ll call the moving company if that will satisfy you.”

  One look at his set face warned that she wouldn’t get rid of him that easily. “You’d rather have this discussion out here on a public street?” he asked with painful politeness.

  “In all honesty, I’d rather not have this discussion at all,” she replied.

  “I’m afraid that’s not one of the options available to you.”

  She hated when he donned his business persona. There was no opposing him. “I’ve agreed to your terms. What more do you want?” He simply stood and stared, and she released her breath in an irritated rush. “Fine. Let’s go inside.”

  She led the way, choosing to take the steps to her second-floor apartment, rather than the elevator. She paused at the appropriate door and unlocked it. “Would you like a cup of the coffee Natalie didn’t offer us before you leave?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?”

  Her mouth quivered in amusement. “Something like that.”

  “No, what I want is to clarify a few things.” He paced through the confines of her tiny living area, studying first the view, and then her furnishings. “Cozy.”

  “I don’t require a lot of space.” She dropped her keys in a green blown-glass bowl on a table near the front door. “Probably because I don’t take up anywhere near as much room as you.”

  He turned. “Sometimes I forget how small you are. It must have something to do with that strong, passionate personality of yours.”

  The compliment knocked her off-kilter, and she didn’t want to be off-kilter. She folded her arms across her chest. “Do you really think it’s going to make the least difference to our relationship whether I move two suitcases
’ worth of possessions into your place or two truckloads? Possessions won’t keep me there. Not when our relationship falls apart again.”

  He ignored that final barbed shot. “Having personal possessions around you will make you feel more comfortable. And maybe if you’re more comfortable, you’ll be more inclined to work through our difficulties rather than run from them.”

  “I didn’t run the first time, Gabe.”

  His jaw tightened. “Didn’t you? It looked like running to me. It felt like it. One minute you were there and the next you were gone. No warning. Not even a phone call.”

  “I left a note,” she retorted, stung.

  “I remember.” He stalked closer. “I got home after forty-eight straight hours of a brutal work crisis that could have meant the end of Piretti’s and found it waiting for me.”

  “What do you mean…that could have meant the end of Piretti’s?” she asked in alarm. “I thought it was one of your takeovers on the verge of imploding.”

  “No, it was an attempted coup staged by Piretti’s former board members, the ones I’d kicked out after staging my own coup. Not that it matters.” He returned to his point with dogged determination. “What you did was cold, Catherine.”

  “You’re right, it was,” she conceded. “And I’m sorry for that. Someday ask me about the brutal forty-eight hours I experienced leading up to that decision. It was cold because I was cold. Cold and empty and—” She stemmed the flow of words before she said too much. She wouldn’t go there with him. Didn’t have the emotional stamina, even now. Even after nearly two years, she couldn’t face the memories with anything approaching equanimity.

  “And what? You were cold and empty and…what?” he pressed.

  “Broken. Sick and broken.”

  She forced the words out, then busied herself opening her briefcase and removing the file on Elegant Events that she’d offered Gabe the day before. His hand dropped over hers, forcing her to set the papers aside.