‘I don’t know about that,’ Eliza said with a self-deprecating smile.
Laura lugged her backpack over one shoulder. ‘I’d better get going. I have a ride waiting for me downstairs.’ She offered her hand. ‘Good luck with it all. I don’t envy you having to answer to Leo Valente. He’s quite intimidating, isn’t he?’
‘He’s just being a protective father.’
Laura grunted. ‘Yeah, well, I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him. Did you know him before or something? I don’t mean to pry, it’s just that last night I kind of got the impression you two knew each other.’
‘I met him briefly a few years ago.’ Eliza knew she had to be careful what she said. The confidentiality agreement Leo had made her sign made her think twice before she revealed anything about her previous connection with him. She couldn’t risk being quoted out of context. She had no reason to believe he wouldn’t be true to his word over the consequences of speaking out of turn. There was a streak of ruthlessness in him now that hadn’t been there before. Didn’t last night prove it?
‘You dated him?’ Laura probed.
‘Not for long. It wasn’t serious.’
Laura gave her a streetwise smile. ‘Maybe you could have another crack at it. He’s got loads and loads of money. He’d be quite a catch if you could put up with the foul temper.’
‘I’m already engaged.’
Laura glanced at her left hand. ‘Oh, I didn’t realise. Sorry. When’s the big day?’
‘Yes, when is the big day?’ Leo’s deep voice spoke from behind them.
Eliza felt her face flood with colour as his gaze hit hers. She wondered how long he had been there. Long enough if that brooding look was anything to go by. ‘Laura is just leaving, aren’t you, Laura?’
‘Yes,’ Laura said and made a move for the door. ‘I’ll see myself out. Bye.’
A prickly silence filled the room once the young woman had left.
‘I’d prefer you to refrain from gossiping with the hired help,’ Leo said in a clipped tone. ‘It’s in your contract.’
‘I wasn’t gossiping. I was simply answering her questions. It would’ve been rude not to.’
‘You’re not here to answer questions. You’re here to look after my daughter.’
Eliza returned his hardened glare. ‘Is that really why I’m here? Or it is because you have an axe to grind? Revenge is a dirty word, Leo. It’s a dirty deed that could turn out hurting you much more than it hurts me.’
His cleanly shaven jaw locked with tension. ‘I’d have to care about you for you to be able to hurt me. I care nothing for you. I only want your body and you want mine. Last night proved it.’
Anger pulsed in her veins at his arrogant dismissal of her as a person. ‘Do you really think I would allow myself to be used like that? To be pawed over like some cheap two-bit hooker you hired off a dark alley?’
There was a condescending glitter in his eyes as they warred with hers. ‘I’d hardly call a million pounds cheap. But you can forget about bargaining for more. I’m not paying it. You’re not worth it.’
‘Oh, I’m worth it, all right.’ She put on her best sultry come-to-bed-with-me look. ‘I’m worth every penny and more.’
He grasped her so suddenly the breath was knocked right out of her lungs. She felt the imprint of his fingers on the bruises he had left the day before but her pride would not allow her to wince or flinch. ‘You want me just as much as I want you. I know the game you’re playing. You want to drive up the price. I’ve sorted out your school, but it’s your bank account you want sorted out now, isn’t it?’
Eliza couldn’t stop herself from looking at his mouth. It was flat-lined and bitter now, but she remembered all too well how soft and sensual it could be when it came into contact with hers. Desire flooded her being. She felt the on-off contraction of it deep in her core. He was the only man who could reduce her to this—to this primal need that would settle for nothing less than the explosive possession of his body. Could she withstand this temptation? Could she work for him without giving in to this desperate longing?
‘I don’t need your money.’
He gave one of his harsh laughs. ‘But you’d like it all the same. You’re starting to realise what you’ve thrown away, aren’t you?’
‘I always knew what I was throwing away.’
His top lip curled. ‘Are you saying you have regrets?’
She arched her brow pointedly. ‘Don’t we all?’