The Price of Seduction (8 page)

“I don’t look too terrible, do I?” She looked pleadingly at Conrad, hoping he’d lie to make her feel better.

“You look shocking,” he teased. “You look like you’ve been swimming in sea weed and your hair looks like a Medusa.”

“I don’t look that bad, do I?” She nodded towards The Residence. “I don’t want to walk in there looking a sight.”

“You look lovely. There’s nothing to worry about. Anyway it’s not like we know any of the other guests.”

He took her hand and she was pleased she’d made sure to chat with Conrad so amiably in the car. She’d said her piece at Zebra Springs and didn’t want any hard feelings between them.

His
hand in the small of her back, he ushered her up the steps ahead of him. It was just a little gesture on his part but it made her feel petite and feminine as though he was taking care of her.

Glancing back, she shot him a quick smile. She could get used to this.

“Let’s barge ahead,” Conrad said, pulling the main door open. “Or you can jump behind the nearest pot plant if you’re spotted.”

Bree was giggling as she stumbled through
the door ahead of Conrad. For those brief moments, she didn’t care if her clothes were crumpled and her hair was a mess.

She heard Conrad’s voice but as she looked ahead, the deep masculine voice behind her became nothing more than a drone and the words didn’t make sense any more.

Bree stopped in her tracks.

Relaxing back on the comfortable floral sofas in the lounge area was Bre
e’s ex-boyfriend Trevor Daniels. He had a gin and tonic in one hand, his other arm around his fiancée.

He was the last person she wanted to see.

Here or anywhere else.

“Are they friends of yours?”
Conrad asked over her shoulder.

“Not exactly,” she said under her breath.

“Bree, darling.” Trevor Daniels’s voice was crisp and confident from across the room. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Her stomach twisted into a knot, her throat constricting.

This was a long way from Sydney. She didn’t know what he was doing here, only that this wasn’t going to be good.

“Did you know he’d be here?” Conrad whispered quietly.

“No,” Bree replied, realising from his question that he must know Trevor.

She was aware
Trevor was the legal adviser for the rival firm tendering for Il Bosco but Conrad had given her the impression the purchase was his, even though there were a few formalities still to be taken care of. It made sense to her that a man like Conrad would have detailed information on the competition. It was all part of business.

She also knew from the tone of Conrad’s voice that he was no more pleased to see Trevor than she was.

Presumably Conrad also knew she’d been in a relationship with Trevor, especially since he seemed to think she had insider knowledge of the man’s movements.

Seeing Trevor
here with his vibrant young fiancée only reminded Bree how small and inadequate he’d made her feel when he’d broken it off with her.

She was good enough for Trevor to have sex with, to accommodate his needs for two years, to bide his time with – yes, she was adequate for all of those things – but not good enough for marriage.

Trevor pulled his fiancée closer to him, a smug smile smeared across his face as he sipped his gin and tonic.

“Bree, you look li
ke you need a good stiff drink,” he said.

She needed more than that.
“No, thank you.”

“D
arling, come and meet my fiancée, Shannon Graham.” He turned and nuzzled closer to her. “Or perhaps I should just introduce you as Shannon Daniels so she doesn’t get confused. It’d save time in the long run.”

His girlfriend giggled. Bree didn’t.

Clearly, Trevor was enjoying this. Meanwhile, Bree’s aim was to get out of there without causing a scene.

She stepped forward to shake Shannon’s hand.
Slim and tanned with bleached hair, this woman was all make-up and clothes. Her hair had been immaculately blow dried and coiffed into a long feathery cut.

“Pleased to meet you.
” Shannon didn’t bother getting up off the sofa as she shook Bree’s hand. She’d staked her position next to her man and wasn’t going to move.

Bree knew she should be civil and repeat the same polite greeting but she wasn’t pleased to meet the woman and couldn’t bring herself to say so. Instead she introduced Conrad to Trevor and
the young woman.

“We’ve met before,” Trevor replied confidently.

“Not exactly,” Conrad said. “But you could say we’ve seen each other around.”

Bree couldn’t bear it any longer. Desperate to make a get-away, she took a step back.

“You must excuse us,” she said. “As you can see, we only just got in.”

Trevor ran his eyes along Bree’s dishevelled form. “Yes, I don’t know what you two have been up to but you look like you’ve been having fun. I can see you need to get cleaned up.”

His fiancée giggled again. She must think him quite a wit.

Conrad said,
“You might look this way too if you ever get off your butt and out into the countryside. Or did you come here for the cocktails?”

Trevor knocked back the rest of his drink.
“Cocktails suit me just fine.”

Bree spun around. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Conrad followed closely behind her.

He closed the door – her bedroom door – behind him.

“Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”
he asked.

“I didn’t e
njoy that any more than you did.”

She didn’t
mean to snap back at him but seeing Trevor had disturbed her. She’d been in such a good mood before he’d walked back into her life and suddenly the world was closing in around her.

Here she was out in the middle of nowhere. She was a city
girl, thousands of kilometres from the city she loved, and she’d never felt so isolated from all the things she knew.

She was
locked in this strange but beautiful place with one man who thought he could buy her and another who’d tossed her away as unwanted goods. To rub salt into the wound, the only person she had less desire to see less than Trevor was his fiancée and she was here too.

All Bree
wanted was to collapse onto the bed, close her eyes and hope it all disappeared.

She was heading for the crisp white bedding when Conrad latched onto her arm and spun her around to face him.

His eyes were two whips. “You knew he was going to be here, didn’t you?”

“I beg your pardon. I knew no such thing.”

“It all makes sense now. Before we came in, you were so concerned about your appearance, your hair. You wanted to make sure you looked presentable.”

“Because I didn’t want to come into the lobby and have a bunch of strangers see me looking a sight.”

“Except they weren’t strangers in the lounge, were they?”

She wished they had been. Then she wouldn’t be in this position. Besides, she didn’t want to go into the sordid details of her relationship with Trevor
, not now and certainly not with Conrad.

She shook his hand off.
“I had no idea they were going to be there.”

“Did you invite him? Tell him when you’d be here?”

“I can assure you, Trevor Daniels is the last person I’d invite here.”

“You’ve obviously had more to do with him in the past than I have.”

“I know him well but that doesn’t mean I invited him here. You don’t seem pleased to see him either.” Bree narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps you can tell me why.”

“It’s quite simple. He’s the competition. He’s the solicitor for the rival firm tendering for Il Bosco but, then, you already know that don’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you accusing me of something? I wasn’t the one who dragged you up here.”

“Bree, do yo
u really think I dragged you here?”

“That’s not what I meant. You’re accusing me of
something and I’m not even sure of what.”

“People like Trevor Daniels have
all sorts of means to seal their deals and get what they want.”

Bree knew all too well how true that was. “He’s no angel. I know that
much.”

“And the deal for Il Bosco isn’t sealed yet, not until the final signatures are on paper. He’s up to something. He’s here for a reason.”

“Whatever he’s here for, it’s got nothing to do with me.”

Conrad appeared to be considering what she’d said, although she was shocked he could accuse her of orchestrating some kind of set-up. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

His manner changed as he brushed the back of his fingers up her arm. Goose bumps suddenly appeared on her bare skin despite the humidity. His hand dropped down to her waist as he slipped his fingers under the hem of her tee shirt onto the bare skin above her shorts.

She didn’t understand
him. One minute he seemed angry, yet now he was touching her suggestively. Did that mean he finally believed her?

He leaned his head closer to hers, his pale eyes a magnet she couldn’t resist. “You look like you need a rest.”

“Yes,” she said.

“Don’t forget about dinner tonight.”

“Dinner? Please don’t tell me they’re going to dine with us.”

Conrad’s smile was loaded with superior intent. “I’m not going to change my plans because
of two recalcitrant guests. I want you to look stunning tonight. Dress for sophistication. For seduction. I want you to look a million dollars. Tonight, you will outshine the other guests.”

Bree pursed her lips. He wasn’t asking her politely to dress formally tonight. The word ‘please’ didn’t cross his lips. He was telling her what to do.

With one hand, he pulled her close against the wall of his torso and pressed his lips against hers.

There was no passion, no desire, or none that she could tell. His kiss was a statement of ownership, an assertion of his position.

If he wanted her to look sophisticated tonight she would do exactly that. He’d given her the brief, told her what he wanted, and as an experienced public relations executive she could certainly work to a brief. It’d make her job all the easier.

She could tell he
didn’t trust Trevor and it was easy to guess they’d probably had some unpleasant business dealings in the past. Conrad wanted to show Trevor up, prove his superiority, arrive with the prettiest partner hanging off his arm.

Had he
forgotten she also had a sharp mind, determination, a will of her own?

She’
d show him what she was made of.

“You might be surprised how well I scrub up,” she said.

Conrad’s lips curled to a knowing smile as he turned to leave through the door leading directly to his room.

He was right about one thing. She needed to rest.

It was going to be a long evening.

*          *          *

Conrad stared at the black jacket on a hanger in his room, a Yamomoto jacket imported from Japan and made from the finest Australian wool. It was too hot even to think about wearing it.

So Trevor Daniels thought he could get one over him. It had been three
years since he’d laid eyes on Daniels although in the business world he heard his name mentioned from time to time.

As far as Conrad knew, the man always acted within th
e law but that didn’t mean he hadn’t bent the law and looked for loopholes. In fact, he was known for it.

And that was not
hing compared to the way he behaved in his personal life. He didn’t have morals or standards. He only cared about himself.

It was three years ago, Conrad thought, three years since Daniels had helped a young woman ruin her life.

It still pained him to think of it. Some things were unforgivable.

What had
Daniels had been doing in the interim? How many other lives he had affected and disregarded? He hadn’t heard much about the man’s private life and that suited him just fine.

He
was a top Sydney corporate lawyer and Bree was an up-and-coming public relations executive so it was hardly surprising their paths should have crossed. She’d certainly seemed put out at seeing him.

He’
d have to ask her about it later but first he had a more important matter to take care of. He stepped over to the chest of drawers in his room for the burgundy felt box, then walked across to knock on the door leading to Bree’s room.

She was so strong willed, he doubted
she’d accept the items as a gift but he was sure he could entice her to wear them just for one evening. Perhaps he could convince her to accept them as a gift another time.