‘Is that a celebratory drink or a Damn, Ana isn’t getting fired drink?’
Bastien whirled. She stood behind him, her arms folded across her slender midriff, the picture of composure. Or was it quiet triumph?
For the first time he’d let his emotions get the better of him in the boardroom. He wanted to see her ruffled, shaken, off balance. The way he was feeling.
‘It’s a Where the hell has my sanity gone? drink. You want one?’
‘No, thanks. I know where mine is.’
‘Do you? Then bravo.’ He raised his glass to her.
She frowned and drew closer, those long, shapely legs capturing his attention as she moved, bringing a seductive scent that instantly surrounded him. A few feet away she stopped, doe eyes wide and alluring.
‘What’s really going on, Bastien?’
‘Why do you insist on using my name when I’ve made it clear it’s off-limits?’
She flinched and the band around his chest tightened.
Hell...
‘Because, despite those horrid vibes you give out, I still want to remain civil.’ An intimate smile curved her perfect, pouting lips.
Lust rose to mingle with anger. Bastien wanted to reach for her, demonstrate his ire in u
nmistakably graphic terms. Instead he reached behind him, grabbed the bottle, poured another measure of cognac and raised the glass to his lips.
‘I don’t need your civility, Miss Duval. But if you carry on like this I may well take you up on the invitation you keep issuing. Maybe that will get you from underneath my skin once and for all.’
CHAPTER FIVE
SEVERAL IMAGES FLASHED across her brain, each one more graphic than the last. Furiously, she tried to blink them away, praying that the fire spiralling upwards from her belly wouldn’t engulf her whole body.
He took his time swirling his drink, savouring a taste of the amber liquid, before he quirked one amused eyebrow at her. ‘Nothing to say?’
‘It’s not going to work.’
That stopped him. ‘Excuse me?’
‘No matter how much you try to rile me, it’s not going to work.’
‘Mon Dieu, you’re as stubborn as you were when you were eight years old.’
She nodded. ‘And you’ve become an expert at hiding your feelings—albeit under a veneer of brusqueness that grates, but I see right through you.’
He slammed the glass down, stalked to where she stood and glared down at her. ‘What exactly do you think you see?’
Ana fought the urge to caress that tight jaw. ‘After all this time you’re still hurting. And don’t bother denying it. You don’t speak to your father unless you absolutely have to. I heard one of your board members ask you how he was doing when I came into the room. You shut him down. You blame your father for what happened too, don’t you?’
‘Of course I blame him!’ he shouted. ‘Do you think I should just forgive him for what he did?’
‘I think you need to find a way to put it behind you so it doesn’t consume you like this.’
He laughed, the sound like chips of ice being crunched underfoot. ‘How very Zen of you. Have you done the same with your mother?’
Ana sucked in a painful breath. ‘I’ve tried. She refuses to admit she did anything wrong.’
‘And yet you still entertain her in your life—even employ her as your manager? Would I be wrong in thinking that on some level you’re okay with what she did?’