‘You insinuated you had work for my firm.’ If he thought he could sweet talk her he had another think coming. Beautiful woman indeed! Kay refused to acknowledge her accelerating pulse.
‘But you’d already told me you had more work than you knew what to do with so I didn’t think you’d mind too much.’ He smiled. Kay did not. ‘Added to which I had tried the honest approach first only to be shot down in flames. You left me with no other option,’ he cajoled silkily.
This was a ridiculous conversation. She stared coldly at him, willing her fluttering heart to behave. His smoky warm voice and the sexy curve to his mouth were part of a blatant seduction programme, that was as clear as the nose on his face. Probably he’d tried this approach before and it had worked like a dream; she didn’t think he got turned down too often. In fact it was very probable he had never got turned down before. It just showed you were never too old for a new experience, she told herself with secret relish.
The waiter arrived with their cocktails before she had a chance to say anything, the head waiter popping up like a genie out of a bottle a moment later with two elaborate and heavily embossed menus. ‘The lobster and scallops with caviare garnish is highly recommended today, Mr Grey,’ he murmured smoothly. ‘Or perhaps the black leg chicken with wild mushrooms and asparagus? I’ll leave you to contemplate for a few moments.’
‘Thank you, Angelo. And could we have a bottle of that rather pleasant Moët et Chandon I had last time, the rosé? You do like rosé champagne?’ he added, turning to Kay as he spoke the last words.
‘I drink little else,’ she replied with a brittle smile. If he thought he could buy her with a bottle of good champagne he was even more arrogant than she’d supposed.
The head waiter bustled off, after a somewhat nervous glance in Kay’s direction, and she hastily took a sip of her creamy yellow cocktail. It was okay until it hit the back of her throat, and then the delicious taste was superseded by eye-watering heat. He hadn’t exaggerated the kick of the mule bit, Kay was forced to acknowledge, and then—aware of a quietly amused gaze trained on her face—she forced herself to take another sip. It wasn’t so bad now she was prepared for it, and she didn’t glance directly across the table until the moisture in her eyes had subsided and she was fully in control of herself.
‘Delicious,’ she said serenely.
‘I’m glad you like it,’ he returned gravely.
Sarcastic swine. Kay made a great play of studying the menu. She felt hot and flustered and she was determined not to let it show. She was going to be dignified and icy to the end or die in the attempt.
The head waiter did his rabbit-out-of-a-hat trick in the next instant, seemingly materialising out of thin air and taking their order with profuse delight. As he glided away Kay glanced round the softly lighted, elegant surroundings, the low hum of gentle conversation and the general air of affluence suiting the bon viveur diners perfectly.
It would be better if she ate her first course before putting her plan into action; it would lull him into a false sense of security and have more effect in the long run. So… Conversation. She had to at least appear to have accepted the status quo.
‘Mr Grey—’
‘Mitchell, please,’ he reproved her gently.
Kay nodded stiffly. ‘Mitchell,’ she continued evenly, ‘I really don’t see why it was so important I accepted a dinner invitation with you. I should imagine there are any number of women who would be only too pleased to accompany you.’
He settled himself further into his chair, finishing his cocktail and placing the empty glass on the table before he said, ‘Possibly.’ And if he were truthful he would have added that he didn’t understand fully why he had pursued what was obviously a non-starter either. He prided himself on being a very rational and judicious man; irrationalism was not an option. So what was it about this slender woman with her mop of hair and freckles that had got under his skin? Much as he hated to admit it, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind for more than a few minutes at a time since he’d set eyes on her.
Kay stared at him. Possibly—was that all he was going to say on the matter? He met her gaze, his eyes crystal-sharp and unblinking, his sensual mouth curved cynically.
‘But you didn’t feel inclined to take advantage of their services?’ she asked with deliberate innuendo.
He smiled lazily. ‘Are you casting aspersions on my ability to acquire a woman, Kay? I can assure you I have never needed to pay for one.’
‘I didn’t think for a minute you had.’ And she hadn’t—it had just been rather a cheap jibe to annoy him, she admitted silently, not liking herself. She wouldn’t have dreamt of behaving like this normally; it was all his fault!
‘Good.’ He looked at her quietly for a moment. ‘Tell me a little about yourself.’
‘I thought I already had.’ She forced a quick smile. ‘It’s your turn, surely? How would your CV read?’
‘Well, let’s see.’ The wine waiter appeared with the champagne in an ice bucket. Mitchell waited until all the formalities of tasting and such were out of the way and they were alone again before he continued, ‘Name, Mitchell Charles Grey. Age, thirty-five. Marital status, single, Mother, Irish, Father, English, both died in a car crash when I was fifteen. I started my own company at the age of twenty by investing all my inheritance in it along with a whopping great bank loan, and by the age of thirty had branched out to include premises in Southampton, Portsmouth and Plymouth. Anything else you’d like to know?’
Masses, and she didn’t like that, Kay acknowledged, a sudden tightness in her chest. She didn’t want to be interested in this man, not in any way. ‘You’re very successfu
l,’ she prevaricated carefully.
He nodded. False modesty was obviously not one of his failings.
‘And happy?’ she added evenly.
‘Happy?’ He didn’t answer immediately, his eyes narrowing. ‘Happiness is such a fragile emotion, don’t you think? And not one I believe in, to be honest.’
‘No?’ She couldn’t help it, she had to know more. ‘So what do you believe in?’
‘Hard work, determination, wealth, success. The first two giving rise to the latter when combined with that magical element called luck.’