Blackmailed Merger (14 page)

“Dante Durant is here”
.

Taking a sip of his expensive
drink
Daniel had
again flicked his look to
his mistress, his voice just as low
trying to hide the way his interest had
been
piqued
.

“Is he
alone?
”

The other man had shaken his head
.

“What is she like” Daniel had continued seeing as
David
had given a small smile
.

“I would give her a 9.5.......
she is pretty damn hot
” he had finished with a dirty laugh.

Daniel
had smiled.  If this girl was as nice as David said, and David had a good eye when it came to women, then perhaps she would be worth ke
eping tabs on.  Dante Durant had
a very short attention span where women were concerned, but he hated knowing that
Daniel
could take what had
once
been
so intimately
his.

“Maybe we should go and say hello” he had chuckled, seeing as his mistress had given both men a derisory look
as the two had stood, Danie
l moving ahead of his assistant
.

Having
carefully
put the papers she had just signed back into his pocket, Dante
had congratulated himself on how easy things were moving along
.  By that time next week t
he two of the
m would be married.  His plan was
to
allow Samantha to choose from a variety of hideaway locations, careful to keep their
forthcoming
nuptials
a secret
ensuring that there would be nothing to stop the wedding from taking place
. 

Once more he had captured her hand and smiling had admired
the
ring, seeing as she had glowed with happiness. 
Raising his head Dante had frozen
shocked to see the man moving
towards him, the smile dropping from his lips in disbelief.  Frowning, Samantha had looked at him in concern
.

“Dante? What is it, what’s wrong” seeing as he had seemed to almost pale.  However, hearing the voice behind her, she too had frozen, the disbelief filling her
also
.

“Dante.... imagine meeting you here” Daniel Trey had cried loudly, his eyes moving down to admire the back of the young woman in the chair, her face hidden from him
.

“
David just spotted you, or I would have been over earlier,
thought I would come and say hello”
.

His
eyes
falling to openly look with interest at Samantha

“And of course to your ...”

His voice had slipped, as she had turned in her chair, and b
oth Daniel and
Samantha Trey
had stood in total shock seeing each other
.

“Father” she had mouthed, her expression one of complete horror
.

Daniel Treys face had reddened with the anger which filled him
, as his eyes had travelle
d up and down her
.

“
Samantha!
What the hell are you
doing here
?
” he had cried loudly,
as
many of the
dinners
had
turned
to watch the commotion taking place.

Pausing for a second his eyes growing wider as he had looked at her then at Dante, the disgust
filling them
as he racked them contemptuously over his daughter

“You are his MISTRESS
?
”

His voice
had risen
even higher as
Samantha had
leapt to her feet, anger on her face
.

“I am not his mistress”
.

She had cried back, her eyes flashing
, her chin raised defiantly
.

“For your information father, we are getting married”
.

“Married” he had spluttered, his eyes moving to Dante who had also risen, moving over to stand beside Samantha
.

“Like hell you are” he had cried, his look once more returning to her
.

“
Are you doing this deliberately Sam
...?
 
Did you choose him just to get at me!!!”
his voice reaching a
crescendo
of anger, his eyes blazing down at her “You are crazy Samantha
if you think I am going to stand by and watch you marry HIM
.
”

Looking over at the man she loved, Samantha had felt the sickening feeling deep within her
, her defiant look faltering
.

“Y...you know each other” she had finally managed to mutter, seeing the way his eyes had flicked to her uneasily
.

“I can explain Sam” he had said so softly,
seeing as her lovely eyes had closed
to hide the pain as her
heart
had broken
into a thousand pieces.

Daniel Trey had
turned to look
at Dante, his face livid with the anger he felt
.

“
I will see you in hell before you marry my daughter
” he had cried angrily, as Dante had
ignored him, his eyes pleading with Sam, who
seemed unable to
look back at him.

Turning back to his daughter,
he
had grabbed her by the arm, ready to pull her from the room
, Dante
moving
forward, his hands pulling her from her father,
back
by his side
.

“Do not touch her” he had cried, feeling the
strangest
need
to protect her
, to protect his Samantha, this revelation confusing him even more
.

He had seen as Daniel
’
s mistress had rushed forward, placing herself against him, reaching up to whisper into his ear, seeing as the older man had pulled himself together.  With extreme effort, he had managed to laugh, looking around at the many
other diners
who were silently watching the spectacle taking place around them
, before moving closer his eyes angry daggers
.

“
I will not stand for this
” his voice had
hissed
,
glaring at
Dante and Samantha, his eyes full of anger and contempt, his mistress pulling him away from where the two stood.

Looking down
Dante
had seen as Samantha had stood so silently beside him, her features showing the shock
of
what had just happened.  Frowning softly, he
had felt
the uneasy
stabbing sensation of guilt
.

“Are you OK
?
” he had asked softly, seeing as she had
continued to look
at the floor, struggling to hold back the tears which seemed to be perched on the edge of her eyelid
s
.

“Ignore him, he...”

However, she had interrupted him, her voice almost inaudible
.

“I want to go home now Dante”
.

He had nodded, making to take her arm as she had moved away from him towards the exit. 

Outside they had stood together as the valet had brought
his
car around, Sam stepping into the
sports car
as he had opened the door to her.

He had
then
expertly
manoeuvred
it
around the city streets, his concentration on the traffic before flicking a look to where she sat so silently beside him
, suddenly feeling wary
.

“Samantha......about what just happened” he began
.

Before her soft voice had once more broken in

“Please Dante........I really do not want to talk about it right now”
.

Silence once more falling between the two, an uncomfortable tense silence that seemed to drag out forever.

Samantha had sat still her mind replaying everything. 
The perfect holiday she had won.  T
he way he had
pursued
her, made her his, brought her back to live with him, slowly putting together the whole
story
.  F
eeling almost numb at the
cold bloodedness of his plans, t
his man
whom
she loved so dearly, who she never
would have
thought capable of such
actions, f
eeling sick to the pit of her stomach at how badly she had been used.

The sound of her soft voice as they had neared his home had made him quickly look over at her, seeing how calm and
almost serene she had looked,
feeling the disquiet
rising
within him
.