Amused by that idea, Kathy donned the citrus-yellow dress. A car collected her on the dot of eight and took her across the city to a very exclusive residential block. Shown into the lift by the driver, she was tense and uncomfortable. Where was she being taken? Not unnaturally she had assumed they were going out. Maybe he didn’t want to take her anywhere. Maybe he was afraid that her table manners or appearance would let him down.
Bright coppery head held high, Kathy walked across the marble hall and through the open door facing her into a stunning reception room so large that it seemed to stretch into infinity. Her heartbeat was moving up tempo, colour warming her cheeks.
‘Kathy…’ Sergio strolled forward to greet her.
And the definitive word to describe him, she thought dizzily, was gorgeous. His fashionable suit was the colour of dark chocolate and, worn with a fawn T-shirt, it struck a wonderfully classic and casual note. Just one glimpse of the hard, masculine planes of his lean bronzed face unleashed the butterflies in her stomach. It took tremendous self-control for her to rise above those promptings and say out loud what was on her mind.
‘Is this your apartment?’ Kathy asked stiffly.
Sergio ran veiled dark eyes as cold as ice over her and, even though he was disgusted by what he now knew about her character, he still could not deny her stunning physical appeal. The bright yellow dress set off her glorious hair and her green eyes shone like polished jade against her pale porcelain complexion. He knew at a glance that the outfit was designer faux-vintage and had no doubt at all in deciding where she had got the money to buy it: from the sale of his watch.
‘Yes. Why?’ he tossed back smooth as glass.
‘Are we going out?’ Kathy asked tautly.
Sergio gazed steadily back at her. ‘I thought we’d be more comfortable staying here.’
‘Either we go out somewhere, or I go home.’ Kathy tilted her chin and sent him a look of disdain, angry hurt and strong pride powering her. ‘I’m not an easy option you call up when you feel like sex. If that’s all you’re interested in, I’m leaving. No offence intended.’
His dark scrutiny kindled to gold as though she had tossed a burning torch on a bale of hay and provoked a blaze. ‘You can’t leave until you’ve answered certain questions to my satisfaction.’
Kathy froze. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Let’s keep it simple. You stole my watch. I want to know what you did with it.’
‘I…stole your watch? Are you crazy?’ Kathy exclaimed, barely able to credit that accusation coming at her out of the blue. ‘I remember you asking about it before you left London but—’
‘You were the last person to see it in my office. It can scarcely be a coincidence that you should also have a criminal record for theft.’
Her delicate natural colour ebbed to leave her an ashen shade. Without warning he was plunging her back into the nightmare that she had believed she had left behind. He knew about her past. She felt sick and cornered, and under attack. He believed she was a thief and that only she could be responsible for the disappearance of his watch. For a few taut seconds her mind was in turmoil and her throat was so tight she could barely get oxygen into her lungs.
For an instant Sergio wondered if she might faint. She’d turned as white as snow, her pallor in stark contrast to her vivid hair and dress. She was terrified, of course she was. He did not regret choosing the short, sharp shock approach. He liked results and he liked them fast.
‘I didn’t steal your watch,’ Kathy framed shakily.
‘Are lies a wise move at this point?’ Sergio traded, unimpressed. ‘I could call the police right now and let them handle it. But I would prefer to deal with this in a private capacity. Keep two facts in mind: I have no pity for those who try to take advantage of me and I have never regarded women as the weaker sex.’
‘I didn’t touch your watch!’ Her protest was vehement. A pulse was beating so fast at the base of her throat that still she found it difficult to catch her breath. That reference to the police terrified her, bringing back memories she would have done anything to forget and which she had no wish to relive. With her history as a former offender, how could she possibly hope to combat an accusation from a very rich and powerful man?
Sergio regarded her with cold, steady determination. ‘I won’t let you leave this apartment until you have told me the truth.’
‘You can’t do that!’ Kathy told him in disbelief. ‘You don’t have the right.’
‘Oh, I think you’ll give me the right to do whatever I like, cara mia,’ Sergio countered silkily. ‘I believe that you will do virtually anything to keep the police out of this. Am I correct?’
As she received that very shrewd assumption Kathy’s teeth almost chattered together. Yet, while fear was making her skin clammy, rage was sitting like a lump of red hot coal inside her. ‘How did you find out that I had served a prison sentence?’
‘My security chief started checking you out when he saw you making chess moves on the surveillance camera. He’s very thorough.’
‘Is he?’ Kathy raised a fine brow in disagreement. ‘I would say that I make a very convenient fall guy—’
‘Renzo Catallone doesn’t operate like that,’ Sergio asserted. ‘He used to be in the police force.’
‘Even better!’ A bitter laugh was wrenched from Kathy’s dry throat before she could bite it back. ‘He saw that I had a criminal record and that was that, wasn’t it? Investigation over!’
‘Are you denying that you stole the watch?’
‘Yes, but clearly you don’t believe me and I don’t have any way of proving that I didn’t take it. Obviously, you have a thief in your office. It might just be someone in a smart business suit, someone who was tempted, even someone who wanted a thrill. Thieves come in all shapes and sizes and in all walks of life.’