That wouldn’t stop him trying, he accepted with a wry grin as he stopped to stretch in an attempt to ease his cramped muscles. The inactivity of city life was killing him. He longed for the freedom of the pampas. He was keen to get Karina to the ranch to see if she would relax in the setting where they’d both grown up. Luc said she hadn’t visited the pampas for years, preferring life in the city. He wondered if that was true, or if she was hiding in a crowd. If that was the case, what was she running away from?
And why was he taking time out to ponder questions like that when he should be concentrating on the job she had been hired to do?
He turned as his laptop chirped and smiled thoughtfully when he saw the name at the top of the email. So she was up too. He hesitated before opening it. Karina’s initial suggestions had been lacklustre. They’d been adequate, but no more than that. He hoped the trip he’d taken her on had infected her with the magic of carnival. People changed as they grew up, but he needed the old Karina’s fairy dust for his event. Her flawless reputation in the events industry wasn’t enough.
He had agreed to her handling the project because the Karina he’d known and grown up with could bring more than meticulous planning and attention to detail, she could bring flair and originality, but so far he’d seen little sign of that. He could only hope that fairy dust hadn’t vanished in a gale of righteous living and rigid structure.
Making the decision to leave her email until a pint of coffee had fired up his brain cells, he headed for the shower. As he stepped beneath the icy water it seemed to him that in trying to protect her he had he hurt her more than he had intended. He had certainly ruined their friendship.
* * *
Karina had had the worst night’s sleep ever. If she was honest, she hadn’t slept at all. But she’d made good use of the hours up to dawn, spending most of them at her desk, working on an outline plan for the event. Hitting ‘send’, she’d sent her preliminary thoughts through to Dante. There was no point going into too much detail, because everything would need tweaking and adapting, depending on what she found at his ranch.
Her stomach plummeted at the thought. There was no getting out of it. She had to go to his ranch. Evaluating the existing facilities at the site of any new project was her first rule.
Taking herself off to shower and dress, she put on her business face along with her suit. She would meet Dante at Luc’s office. Neutral territory was best. Checking her appearance one last time, she straightened her jacket and smoothed her hair. Dante was paying for her business expertise, nothing more.
How would she explain the black circles beneath her eyes?
She didn’t need to explain them. Foraging in her tote, she found the concealer pen in her make-up pouch and carefully painted on some wide-awake crescents. It had shaken her, seeing him again, no question.
Shaken her? It had rocked her foundations to the core, but today would be different because today she knew what to expect and today would be all about business.
‘Who put those worry lines on your face?’ her brother demanded helpfully the moment she entered his office.
‘I’m working. I’m preoccupied. That’s all,’ she insisted when Luc shot her a sceptical look. Flashing him an impatient glance, she began to pace his office.
‘Let me guess,’ he said. ‘The frown has something to do with Dante?’
She turned her head and gave him her dead stare. ‘Really.’
‘Just don’t tell me yesterday didn’t go well. I heard rumours you went to carnival. Big mistake, Karina. This is business. Carnival is the wrong place to do business.’
‘Says you, who spends a fortune on carnival and takes clients there. You even have a special stand erected for hotel guests, not to mention the samba band in the hotel lobby—’
‘That’s different,’ Luc insisted.
‘How is it different?’
‘I’m different,’ her brother informed her with a shrug.
‘How are you different? Oh, I remember. You pee standing up.’
‘Karina—’
‘We had a good day, as it happens,’ she said, deflecting his mocking look.
‘I’m pleased to hear it. I always knew you could handle Dante.’
‘I can handle him,’ she confirmed. ‘Shall we get started?’ She glanced at her watch. ‘He’s late.’
‘Don’t you think you should wait for your client?’
‘We don’t know how long he’s going to be.’ She shrugged. ‘For all we know, Dante’s got something more important to do.’