Zander poured himself a large whiskey and stared out of the huge glass windows that afforded him a perfect view of London. An ominous frown darkened his sharply drawn features as he pondered the facts.
Finding her with Farrer had induced a jealousy so ferocious in its intensity that he hadn’t stopped to question what he’d seen. He hadn’t thought it needed questioning. Until this evening.
He downed the whiskey in one mouthful, forcing himself to confront the unpalatable possibility that he’d overreacted and misjudged the situation.
For a man who prided himself on his ability to make rational, unemotional decisions, acknowledging the degree of emotion he’d employed in ending his relationship with Lauranne left him feeling distinctly uncomfortable.
Her remark about needing comfort still hovered in his mind, refusing to go away.
Why had she needed comfort? She’d been in a hotly passionate relationship with him. The fact that she might have turned to another man for comfort angered him as much as the concept that she might have had an affair.
Zander ground his teeth with frustration, feeling as though he were confronted by a giant, complex jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing and no clue as to the final picture.
‘Why do you think I married you?’
He stared thoughtfully into the empty glass, unable to ignore the fact that Lauranne had never shown any interest in money or possessions. On the few occasions he’d wanted to buy her something she’d refused to let him and he’d dismissed her reluctance to spend his money as another example of her stubborn nature. All the other women in his acquaintance had made spending an art form. Only Lauranne had shown absolutely no interest in his money.
But then Lauranne was cleverer than most women.
Had their marriage lasted longer then she doubtless would have shopped till she dropped. Didn’t they all?
But in the five years they’d been apart she’d never asked him for a penny. Instead she’d turned to Farrer.
He gritted his teeth.
And she expected him to believe that she hadn’t slept with the guy?
He was still dealing with the knowledge that another man had been financially responsible for his wife when there was a tap on the door.
A thrill of anticipation ran through his veins and he was across the room in seconds, opening the door with a surge of anticipation, the smile instantly wiped from his face when he saw his lawyer standing there.
‘You’re frowning. Who were you expecting?’ Alec stepped into the room, every inch the sharp lawyer, briefcase clasped in his right hand.
‘No one.’
Shocked by the depths of his disappointment, Zander frowned in irritation. Why had he thought it might be her? She was on the run and there was no way she was going to turn up at his hotel room. That wasn’t Lauranne’s style. Far be it from her to make it easy for him.
&nbs
p; He gritted his teeth and reflected that her stubborn resistance to the powerful attraction they shared was as infuriating as it was stimulating and that if it didn’t end soon he was going to have to start conducting business meetings from a cold shower.
Alec placed his briefcase down on the table and flicked open the catches. ‘Well, you were right. As usual. The old guy has agreed to a meeting.’ He shook his head, admiration clearly visible in his expression. ‘How do you do it? He’s said no for nine months. How did you know that tonight he’d say yes?’
‘Instinct.’ Zander put his empty glass down and Alec smiled.
‘Well, it’s an instinct that’s made you billions. And all that press coverage obviously worked.’ Alec didn’t try and hide his delight and satisfaction at the result. ‘He said that for the first time he had a sense of who you really are.’
Zander almost laughed at the irony. Theo Kouropoulos had absolutely no idea who he was.
‘There’s just one slight complication that we hadn’t anticipated—’ Alec rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and Zander frowned.
‘Which is?’
‘He wants you to stay for ten days, to get a feel for the island and the business.’ Alec swallowed. ‘And he wants you to bring your—er—your wife.’
There was a long silence while Zander looked at him thoughtfully and Alec carried on briskly. ‘Obviously that’s out of the question so—’
‘Why is it out of the question?’