Читать книгу Taken By Storm - Cat Schield - Страница 11

Two

“I can’t believe you lied to me.”

Teresa St. Claire shied away from the accusations blazing in Liam Christopher’s eyes and shifted her attention toward the document clutched in his left hand. His father’s will. The venom in his eyes lanced through her, cutting deep into her heart. It was as if every bit of rapport they’d developed these last few weeks had been erased in the time it took for her to use the bathroom.

Five minutes.

What could possibly have gone this wrong in such a short period of time?

When she’d slipped away from the yacht’s lounge, he’d been relaxed and in a good mood, his obvious affection turning her bones to mush.

The last thing she expected on her return was to bear the brunt of his cold fury.

“I didn’t. I haven’t,” she insisted, confused and off balance. “What’s going on?”

The stack of papers fluttered as he gestured with them. “My father left you twenty-five percent of his personal stock in Christopher Corporation.”

He’d done what?

“That’s crazy,” Teresa murmured, barely able to breathe as she struggled to absorb that his father, her mentor, had left her a small fortune. “I don’t understand.”

Shock and dismay made her thoughts thick and gummy. Beneath her feet, the sixty-eight-meter yacht churned placidly through the calm waters of Puget Sound, but Teresa’s equilibrium pitched and heaved. She tottered over to the closest chair and sat down.

Why would Linus leave me anything?

“...a year?” Liam had continued speaking, but she’d stopped listening. His voice had sounded muffled and indistinct as if she was hearing him while being submerged in water. “I need those shares back now.”

The rage in Liam Christopher’s voice sliced through the fog surrounding Teresa. Wincing at his fury, she blinked several times to clear her vision. When she glanced his way, she wished his features had remained indistinct.

She held out her hands in a conciliatory manner. “I missed what you said just now about the will’s terms. Could you repeat the last part?” She forced a shaky laugh. “This is all overwhelming.”

“My father put a clause in the will that states you can’t divest yourself of the shares unless and until you spend a year on the board.”

“What?” This additional complication on top of an already tricky situation threatened to overwhelm Teresa’s ability to maintain some semblance of calm.

“Seems my father believed you’d be good for our company.”

Obviously Liam disagreed.

Anger painted fiery blotches over his cheekbones. With his eyes shooting steel and his jaw locked in stubborn lines, he vibrated with fury. The emotion highlighted his raw masculinity and set Teresa’s heart to pounding for all the wrong reasons.

Stop it.

The man was poised to murder her and here she was, swooning over how gorgeous he looked.

“This whole thing is unacceptable,” Liam snarled, bringing Teresa’s attention back to the real problem. “You don’t deserve those shares.”

“Maybe not,” she declared. But why did your father want me to have them?

Liam grabbed the arm of her chair and leaned toward her. “It seems pretty clear to me now that you’ve been underplaying your relationship with my father all along.”

“That’s not true,” she insisted, sick of defending herself. “Look, I have no idea what Linus was thinking, giving me the shares.”

“Don’t you?” Liam declared, his voice low and savage.

Teresa ground her teeth together and fought to remain calm. “We did not have an affair.” How many times would she have to make this same speech before he believed her?

He’s never going to believe me. Just like he’s never going to trust me.

The pair of declarations flashed through Teresa’s mind like a lightning bolt, revealing the bleak landscape of her doomed relationship with Liam and leaving an afterimage of hopelessness imprinted on her brain.

“You’re lying.”

Teresa wanted to shriek in frustration and despair. How had they found their way back here again?

“What purpose does it serve me to lie to you at this point?” she asked, even as she recognized the futility of trying to reason with Liam. “Your father made a decision. I don’t understand it any more than you do. Before your parents divorced, Linus and I were close, but he was my mentor. Nothing more.”

She never would’ve slept with Liam if she thought he hadn’t already accepted this. The disillusionment and melancholy unleashed by Liam’s dagger thrust of accusations demonstrated just how right she’d been all those years to put her focus on her career and avoid romantic entanglements. Making her love life a low priority had been the right move all along.

“I’m going to make you give those shares back.”

And for a moment she wished giving Liam back the shares would mean he might once again look at her the way he had when they’d made love. When that carefully constructed wall she’d raised around her heart to keep it safe and undamaged had shattered.

“You have a year to try,” Teresa responded.

“It’s not going to take a year.”

Teresa met his eyes. “You can’t intimidate me into selling you the stock.”

“Selling?” Liam released a harsh laugh. “By the time I’m done with you, you’re going to be begging me to take it off your hands.”

* * *

Shane arrived ten minutes early for his dinner meeting with Isabel, expecting he’d be the first one to the table, only to find she’d beaten him. As the hostess led him to the table, the first thing he noticed was that Isabel had worn her hair down. The shimmering russet curtain spilled over her shoulders in a luxurious wave. Next, he realized she’d exchanged her hotel uniform for something white and lacy.

Bridal.

The impression popped into his head and he ruthlessly banished it before it took root.

“Good evening,” he said, settling into the seat opposite her, relieved to see a presentation document placed to the left of his table setting. So, despite her attire, this was a business meeting after all.

“Good evening,” she echoed. “Thank you again for meeting with me.”

“Of course.”

The waiter approached, and Shane glanced at Isabel’s glass to see what she was having. The goblet held something clear and fizzy. Curious, but unwilling to ask, he ordered the same. When the drink arrived, he discovered it was plain club soda with a slice of lime.

After ordering dinner, he flipped through the bound document. Her presentation was well organized and brilliantly illustrated with catchy phrases and evocative photographs of beautiful couples enjoying each other at various settings in and around the resort.

“This looks quite thorough,” he declared. “But I don’t understand why you’ve come to me with this. Shouldn’t you’ve taken it to Tom?”

“I did, but he wasn’t...” Isabel trailed off. For the first time since he’d sat down, she displayed uncertainty. Her brows came together as she collected her thoughts. “That is, he’s really good when it comes to the hotel’s operations...”

Shane already knew that wasn’t completely accurate, but stayed silent while she struggled to make her point without throwing her boss under the bus. As unusual as it was, Shane intended to hear the staff’s opinions about the executive director and guessed Isabel would be more forthright than most.

“Anything you say here will remain between us,” he assured her, before sitting back and letting her marshal her opinion without coaxing or interference.

“He just doesn’t understand the heartbeat of the hotel. I thought maybe that would change as he grew more familiar with the staff and our clientele, but the direction he’s gone with the promotions hasn’t encouraged people to return.” She exhaled in a rush and then chuckled. “That didn’t explain things very well, did it?”

She appeared unabashed by her stumble, and Shane found this intriguing. He’d never struggled to communicate his opinions. He simply stated his recommendations, confident that he’d thought the matter through and weighed all options.

Shane decided to table all talk of Tom for the moment. “How do you think we should promote the hotel?”

“As a romantic destination.” She flashed a grin that struck him like a fist to the gut.

“What if I told you that Tom is focusing on corporate clients per my direction?”

“Then I’d say I’m here to change your mind.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

The flickering candlelight revealed a sudden rush of color in her cheeks. “By showing you firsthand some of the most romantic places The Opulence has to offer.”

Her suggestion filled him with mixed emotions. He was an executive of the company that employed her, and while he could justify tonight’s dinner as a business meeting, she intrigued him both as a woman he was attracted to and as an individual who challenged his perspective on the hotel.

Retreating to the reason for tonight’s dinner meeting, he picked up her presentation and began flipping through it again. “What’s your vision for The Opulence?”

“The theme is...” Like a Broadway producer of old, she swept her hand in an arc above her head. “Romance is the elixir of life.” She beamed at him, utterly convinced of her brilliance. “I think The Opulence is ideally suited as a romance destination, and the staff is ready to provide the perfect getaway experience. In fact, I’m gaining a reputation as a romance concierge.”

“What does that mean?”

“You might say I have a knack for giving couples the sort of memorable experiences that they rave about to their friends and family.”

“What sort of experiences?”

“Mostly over-the-top romance. I want the hotel to be known as the best destination for a special evening or a first kiss. The covered bridge has been the site of several engagements and wedding ceremonies. And I’ve lost count of how many people have done photo shoots on the lower trail with the waterfall behind them. We have a first-class spa offering all sorts of luxury treatments geared toward couples. We score big points with honeymooners and people who are celebrating anniversaries.”

Isabel’s enthusiasm and pride washed over Shane, and he felt a stab of envy. When was the last time he’d felt that sort of passion for his work? He recoiled from the answer. Success was rewarding, but all too often he found himself in an ever-spinning circle of dissatisfaction. What did he have to show for all his hard work except more work and more responsibility? He certainly hadn’t made his father proud of him. Nothing would do that. So why did he drive himself so hard?

“Romantic dinners in the Overlook.” She gestured around them. “Or private, personalized feasts at Quintessential Chef. Who wouldn’t want to come here for a small wedding or a lavish blowout affair?”

Her youthful enthusiasm made him feel ancient and too serious by contrast. It came as a surprise that her liveliness appealed to him. Like a bracing breath of fresh air in the morning. Or a caffeine jolt from a double espresso coffee. Her idealistic smiles and fun-loving ideas invited him to play and dream along with her. The part of him that he’d shut down in order to focus on his career awakened, and he found himself enjoying their exchange. A little too much.

Yet here he was, leaning in, ignoring common sense so he could focus on the woman across from him. Not the employee across from him, he noted as candlelight painted gold highlights in her lustrous red hair and added a mysterious bronze glint in her hazel eyes.

The freckles dusted across her nose gave her a girl-next-door look. Her earnest manner and playful smile buffed smooth the rough edges of his impatience and mellowed him. She moved her hands as she talked, prompting him to wonder: if he grasped them, could she speak?

The thought of touching her made his chest tighten. The sudden pain caused his cautious nature to flare. He shouldn’t be thinking about her like someone he wanted to get to know personally. Just like he shouldn’t have encouraged her to order the dessert she’d raved about. Even now her tongue flicked out to swipe a smear of chocolate off her lower lip, tempting him to pay the bill and hustle her up to his suite.

Of course he couldn’t do that. This was a business dinner, a chance for her to pitch him her ideas. And they were all good ones. Her vision to promote the resort as Instagramable was exactly the sort of fresh idea he liked to see from his employees. He refused to jeopardize his professionalism or his career because she stirred his libido.

But it was more than just lust that she’d aroused. Isabel intrigued him. He admired her business sense even as her fanciful imaginings confounded him. Despite their opposite views, he wanted to hear her opinions even if he disagreed with them.

“I feel as if I’ve lost you,” she said, noticing that his attention had wandered. “You don’t believe that The Opulence is the perfect romantic destination.”

“The hotel is successful because of its exceptional spa, first-class restaurants and outstanding reputation for events.”

“But there’s magic here, as well.” She studied him for several seconds, her eyes narrowing in keen appraisal. “There’s a spot I highly recommend to our couples. I’ll just have to prove to you that it’s the perfect spot for a romantic first kiss.”

Wait. Prove it to him? How?

“You’re wasting your time.”

Women had been trying to find his softer side—without success—since he was old enough to date. Most of the time he wasn’t interested enough in them to want to explore past the surface. Sex was one thing. He believed in satisfying a woman in bed, leaving her breathless and sated before he slid back into his clothes and headed for the door. Lingering to snuggle and exchange confidences only led to attachments and took his focus away from work.

Romance meant tapping into his emotions and he had no intention of going there. He’d been raised by a father who valued hard work above all else and cynically avoided showing any emotion beyond annoyance and contempt for his troublesome son. Shane’s mother had died when he was eight. He remembered crying at her funeral and how his father had shut him down, telling him to get over it. His mother wasn’t coming back and she wouldn’t be proud of him for being such a weakling.

“In terms of romance,” he said, “you’ll find me a hard sell.”

From the expression on her face, he saw his mistake. By declaring he was immune, he’d just thrown down a gauntlet.

“What?” he demanded, anxiety and excitement blinking awake inside him.

Her delightful smile took up the challenge. “This is going to be interesting.”

* * *

Following the bombshell of his father leaving Teresa shares of Christopher Corporation stock, Liam had traded several texts with Matt Richmond, but hadn’t yet gotten his best friend on the phone to spill all that had happened regarding his father’s will. Because of their similar fortunes and lifestyles, Matt had become someone Liam felt comfortable talking to about business as well as personal issues he might be having.

Which was why Liam wished he had his friend around to talk to about his chaotic emotions where Teresa was concerned. Instead, Matt was unreachable after deciding to extend his quick trip to the Big Apple into a romantic getaway to a destination unknown. Liam didn’t want to envy Matt. The Richmond Enterprises CEO deserved to be happy. But Liam couldn’t stop comparing his own failed love life to Matt’s happy one and wishing he had better luck with women.

Why had Linus given Teresa shares when he could’ve bequeathed an equally generous amount in cash or property? Hell, if his father had given her the winery and villa in Tuscany, the yacht moored in the Cayman Islands and the vacation house in Bali, Liam might’ve been furious, but he could’ve let those things go and wiped Teresa St. Claire from his mind.

Instead, Linus had made it so that Teresa couldn’t divest herself of the shares without giving a year of her time to the company’s board. The ridiculous codicil put Liam in an untenable position of having to work side by side with a woman he didn’t trust.

A woman he desired.

Someone who made him second-guess his perceptions about what he’d believed all his life. Someone who made him question his mother’s stories about her failed marriage.

He’d opened himself up to the idea that the connection he felt toward Teresa might have potential. So he’d arranged to spend a perfect evening with her on the yacht. Expensive champagne, a gourmet dinner. A heartfelt apology over how he’d been so suspicious of her. All so he could set the stage for a romantic invitation to stay with him during the Richmond retreat. At the same time, he wanted Teresa there while he read the will, knowing it would be emotional.

He hadn’t taken the step lightly. The move would reveal that she was important to him. That he trusted her. All that went up in smoke after the shocking discovery of his father’s bequest. While Liam had been falling for her, she’d been lying to him. She’d played him for a fool, and it was long past time for Liam to accept that her innocent act was exactly that.

He’d believed her when she’d claimed that her relationship with his father had been strictly professional, but Linus’s gift of twenty-five percent of his shares in Christopher Corporation told a different story.

And demanded further investigation.

His phone rang as he slid behind the wheel of his car. Liam sent his attention flickering toward the screen, where his mother’s face had appeared. Ever since his father’s death, Catherine Dupont—she’d returned to her maiden name after the divorce—had been avidly curious about her ex-husband’s will. She’d received a significant settlement at the time of their divorce, but as Christopher Corporation continued to flourish and grow, she’d resented that her financial situation remained stagnant while Linus grew wealthier by the day.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d heard from your father’s lawyer?” Catherine scolded him as soon as he’d greeted her.

Liam wondered how she’d found out. He’d been dodging her for nearly a week, still processing the document’s shocking revelation, and wasn’t prepared to deal with his mother’s reaction when she heard what happened or to explain what his father had done.

“I’ve been busy.” Liam wished he had a better excuse.

“And?” Catherine demanded, not waiting for her son to respond before launching into her interrogation. “Did Linus leave you everything? Of course he did. I suppose he gave something to that secretary of his. She was too territorial for my taste, calling him at all hours with some excuse or another. I’m pretty sure she was in love with him. He was obviously flattered by all her attention. How much did he leave her?”

His mother’s rapid-fire questions battered Liam, taking his irritation to new heights. He opened his mouth, determined to shut her down, only to realize that as weary as he’d grown of her suspicious and jaded view of the world, she’d been right to suspect something was going on between Linus and Teresa. This revelation took the edge off his temper toward his mother. Obviously she was right to assume the worst of people.

Yet even as he accepted this, a familiar darkness settled over his mood.

The time he’d spent with Teresa, making love to her, helping her when she freaked out about her brother. That had all been real. Hadn’t it? Liam blew out a breath. In the span of a few short minutes, his entire world had gone topsy-turvy. Or maybe it was more the case that his ship had righted itself. Maybe his growing feelings for Teresa had been the anomaly. There was no question he’d felt less like himself over the last few weeks than ever before.

“Liam,” his mother said impatiently. “Are you still there? Did you hear what I asked? Did your father leave money to his secretary?”

She never referred to Esther Smithers by her name.

“I’m not sure,” he replied, barely remembering anything after the bombshell news that Teresa had received shares that should’ve been his.

“What do you mean you’re not sure?” Her outrage came through loud and clear. “How can you not be sure? Didn’t you read the will?”

“I didn’t get a chance to read through the entire thing,” he lied. He’d examined every word.

“Why not?”

“He left twenty-five percent of his shares in Christopher Corporation to Teresa St. Claire,” Liam blurted out. He gave his mother a heartbeat to absorb the information before continuing, “Any idea why he might’ve done that?”

“To punish me, obviously.”

Her answer was so ridiculous that Liam almost laughed. The only person damaged by Linus’s last-minute decision to change his will was Liam. Not to mention his parents had been divorced for a decade. Yet he wasn’t surprised that his mother continued to blame Teresa for some nonexistent affair. Catherine Dupont was incapable of letting go of any slight she’d ever received, real or imaginary.

Yet in this instance, his mother could be right about Teresa. Not that she’d had an affair with Linus. Weeks earlier Liam had accepted that she’d spoken the truth about that. But with his passion for her no longer muting his doubts about her, the voice at the back of his mind questioned if he’d missed something equally sinister about their connection.

Obviously more had gone on between them than just a simple mentor/mentee relationship. Had Linus given her the shares because she’d been blackmailing him? Maybe they hadn’t slept together, but could he have stepped across the line in the early days of the relationship? Given the enormity of what she’d inherited from his father, it seemed realistic that she’d manipulated Linus somehow.

He made a note to call his private investigator and get the man to focus on his father and what skeletons might have been in his closet that Teresa could’ve exploited. But first, he needed to disengage himself from the woman railing in his ear.

“Mother,” he interrupted when she paused for a rare breath. Honestly, the woman had the lungs of an opera singer. “I need to make some calls. I will check in with you later.”

And then, before she could launch into more of her vitriolic spin, he disconnected the call. He had plans to make regarding Teresa St. Claire. Once his strategies were set in motion, it wouldn’t matter what she said or did in an effort to sway him. No amount of sexual chemistry or manipulation of his emotions to elicit his sympathy would stop him from recovering what was rightfully his.