‘That would depend on what he wants my assistance with.’
‘The history and accounts of some of the companies I am interested in buying.’
Her eyes widened. ‘And why would you think I have any knowledge on either of those subjects?’
Gregorio gave a confident smile. ‘Because your father told me you very often assisted him when he worked at home in the evenings.’
Her hand reached out blindly to allow her fingers to grasp hold of the doorframe for support. ‘My father told you...?’
‘Jacob and I met several times.’ He nodded. ‘Once we had finished our business discussions you invariably came into the conversation.’ He stood up to move around to the front of his desk. ‘He was very proud of you.’
Lia could find no answer to that statement. Instead she blinked back the tears stinging her eyes and prompted briskly, ‘Just tell me what I can do to help you.’
Gregorio had to bite back his immediate response. Which was, you can get down on your knees and relieve me of the throbbing ache of arousal that kept me awake all night. He was pretty sure that wasn’t the sort of help Lia was offering.
He had been coldly angry when he’d left Lia’s apartment the evening before. Something that seemed to have become a common occurrence around Lia. A couple of glasses of brandy had eased some of that anger, but nothing had succeeded in taking away the sexual tension that had kept his body hard and throbbing for release.
Not even a freezing cold shower.
The moment he thought of Lia again—and that was becoming an occupational hazard too—his desire sprang back to life as if it had never gone away.
Receiving a phone call earlier this morning from Tim, his PA, explaining that he was sick with the flu, had seemed to set the tone for today too.
Until Gregorio had realised exactly which member of the hotel staff he could ask to assist him in Tim’s place...
Was it a punishment for Lia for the fact that he couldn’t seem to stop wanting her?
Maybe. Whatever his motive, Gregorio already knew that the next few hours were going to be as painful for him as they would for Lia. If for different reasons.
He had been aware of Lia’s perfume the moment she entered the penthouse: that light floral scent with an underlying note of womanly musk. And he couldn’t stop his gaze from returning again and again to the swell of her breasts, visible where the top two buttons of her blouse had been left unfastened.
They had been interrupted yesterday evening before he’d had a chance to remove any of Lia’s clothing. He had not been allowed to see those breasts bared. His jaw clenched and his teeth ached with how much he wanted to remove her blouse and bra before gorging himself on her naked breasts. Starting with her plump and soon-to-be-aroused nipples...
‘The files are on Tim’s desk,’ he said stiffly instead.
If he had set out to punish Lia, as she’d suggested, then during the course of the morning, working so closely with her,
Gregorio knew that his intention had come back to bite him on the butt. Or on another part of his anatomy that was even more sensitive.
Despite the fact that she was sitting across the room from him, at Tim’s desk, her perfume continued to fill the air and invade his senses. And Gregorio was aware of every move she made—especially when she stretched her back and arched her neck to ease the tension of sitting at a desk for several hours.
Physical awareness danced along his skin every time she spoke to him, even on such a mundane subject as company accounts.
Flu or not, Tim had better be back tomorrow, or he could start looking for another job!
‘I’m scheduled to have an early lunch today.’
‘What?’ Gregorio scowled across the room at her.
‘Michael has given me an early lunch today,’ Lia repeated as she glanced at her wristwatch. ‘I’m meeting someone just after twelve.’
‘Who?’ The demand was out before Gregorio’s brain had connected with his mouth. ‘We still have work to do,’ he added with a scowl.
‘I’m entitled to a lunchbreak,’ she reasoned. ‘I’ll make sure I finish here when I get back.’ She stood up to push her chair neatly beneath the desktop, making no attempt to answer his query as to who she was meeting for lunch.
Gregorio scowled his frustration. He wanted to tell Lia that she couldn’t go. That it was more important that they finish this work and he would order lunch for them both to be brought up by room service.
Most of all I want to know who she’s having lunch with!