In Bed With the Boss

She couldn’t prevent the warm glow of happiness that suddenly filled her. ‘You’ve just spent hours going through numbers with me and yet you still make me sound like an asset, not a hindrance.’

He looked at her with ill-concealed impatience. ‘You are an asset. Forget the numbers. Adding up the numbers is the easy bit—anyone trained in accountancy can do that.’ The dismissive wave of his hand told her everything she needed to know on his opinion of accountants. ‘The hard bit is coming up with the business idea and making it work. Making it original. And you’ve done that.’

‘But I’m very hands-on. I mean,’ she bit her lip, trying not to be daunted by the fact that she was discussing her small business with a billionaire who made more money in an hour than she would in a lifetime, ‘I know everyone working in all the cafés and we all meet up regularly. I can’t imagine handling anything bigger.’

‘And if you turned your business into a global enterprise then you wouldn’t have time to linger in the rainforest with me.’ He gave her a wolfish smile and she felt her heart perform a frantic dance in her chest. ‘No, meu amorzinho, you’re right. That’s not a good plan. If we go global, then I’ll do it for you.’

‘I think I ought to concentrate on sorting out the mess I’ve made of the business I’ve got,’ she croaked, ‘without taking on any more responsibility.’

‘There is no mess and it is sorted out. The dealer is no longer in business.’

‘Seriously?’ Grace was visibly startled by that piece of information, her eyes widening. ‘How can you be sure?’

‘Because I’m the one who helped persuade him that seeking an alternative form of employment as an immediate priority would be advisable for his general health,’ Rafael drawled, his tone leaving her with the distinct impression that the dealer was probably now an extremely unhappy man. ‘Which just leaves my father.’

‘Indeed.’ Rafael sat back in his chair. ‘I still have to deal with him, but everything else is sorted out. The guy now in charge of your finances is clever and approachable. You can ask him anything. And if he shoots one impatient glance in your direction then tell me and I will fire him.’

Touched by the sentiment behind his characteristically arrogant statement, she smiled. ‘Thank you.’

‘He’ll sort out the purchase of your coffee.’

‘I had a couple of ideas about that.’

‘Go on.’

‘I want to stop going through a third party and deal directly with Carlos and Filomena at the fazenda, so that the money goes directly to them. I’m going to deal with them myself so that I build a relationship. That way, if there are any problems with production then I’m the first to know and if they have any concerns with the way I’m doing business, they can tell me.’

‘All right.’

Suddenly horribly self-conscious and not really understanding why, she stood up and paced across the room. ‘I’m going to donate a percentage of our profits to a charity protecting the rainforest. I know that means lowering our profit,’ she said quickly, ‘but the move isn’t entirely altruistic. These days many consumers have a conscience so I think they’ll like the idea that the coffee they drink supports the rainforest. And perhaps we can use our photo boards to show them exactly what their money is supporting.’

There was a long silence. ‘Why do you always walk around when you’re nervous? You did it on that first day when you were trying to persuade me to extend your loan.’

‘I just find sitting still too stressful. Maybe it reminds me of school. So what do you think?’

‘About your charity donation?’ He gave a tolerant smile. ‘I think you’ll never be a billionaire if you’re prepared to throw away money so flagrantly but that doesn’t matter because I have enough money for both of us.’

Her smile faded. ‘I don’t want your money.’

‘I’m starting to realise that.’ He leaned forward, a hint of wry humour in his eyes. ‘You’re the first woman who has never expected me to give her anything.’

‘You’ve given me loads,’ she muttered. ‘You’ve sat and helped me understand numbers, which is something that no one else has ever bothered to do. You were amazingly patient with me and you went over it again and again without once sounding irritated or annoyed. And you’ve sorted out the dealer for me and I would have hated doing that because it’s so easy for people to tie me in knots.’

‘I was talking about money.’

‘Yes.’ She gave a slight frown. ‘Well, money isn’t always what’s important, is it?’

‘Maybe not. You’re a very unusual woman.’ His lingering gaze unsettled her and she moved from one foot to the other.

‘You mean because I can’t add up?’

‘No, I don’t mean that.’ He rose to his feet and strode across to her, laughter in his eyes. ‘I really couldn’t care less whether you can add up and I’ve had enough of talking about your business, numbers and your father. We’ve just about got time for a swim before Maria serves dinner.’

They walked down the path and Grace stopped as she saw the bright red ribbon tied to the trees. ‘What are those for?’

‘You,’ Rafael said gruffly, urging her along. ‘I instructed my staff to mark the path to the pool so that there’s no chance you can get lost again. You follow the ribbons.’

The lump built in her throat. ‘You did that for me?’