Chapter Three #3
Tempt. The word hung in the air. She glanced again at his beautiful eyes in time to see his focus drop to her lips.
They actually tingled in response. She deliberately drew a breath but got a hint of sandalwood instead of the sanity she desperately needed.
His soap. It reminded her of his fresh-from-the-shower look, and now her fingers itched as much as her bones ached.
For touch. She had to have a fever. She hated this guy.
‘Their pay packet isn’t enough motivation?’ he drawled softly.
‘No. You know they’re all super talented. They’re capable of getting money elsewhere. They need something a little more special.’
‘This is your amazing action plan? What more special do you have in mind?’
‘Time with you.’
‘I’m the special temptation?’
‘Absolutely.’ She couldn’t bear to look at him anymore. She dropped her gaze and stepped back, clearing her throat. ‘And some food will get them over the line.’
‘You’re serving me up as the centrepiece of your feast?’
She stifled a chuckle because he was so very appalled as he asked. And the image it put in her mind was irresistible.
‘It’s a lunch session with you, so yes.’ She swallowed. ‘They want to work for you. They’re inspired by you. You are the draw.’
He followed her to the door. ‘Is that why you’re here—because of me?’
That stopped her. She turned to face him. ‘We both know I didn’t know you were you when I said yes to Adele. Adele is my special reason.’
He glanced past her out to the open-plan office, then back to meet her eyes. ‘I have to maintain distance between my employees. I’m not there to be their best friend or…anything.’
Mia suddenly flushed with heat. Did he think he was letting her down gently?
Making the boundaries very clear? Had he read her mind earlier?
She was mortified. And mad. Because he was the one looking at her with that edge of inappropriate interest. She hadn’t—wasn’t—wouldn’t.
And mortified, mad Mia invariably said things she shouldn’t.
‘You don’t think you can have friends in the workplace? ’
It was the way she said it that was off. Unintentionally intimate.
‘I don’t think any kinds of relationships in the workplace are wise.’
Oh, he was definitely warning her but he definitely didn’t need to.
She’d already made that mistake with the one relationship she’d actually had and while she’d made many mistakes in her life, she didn’t repeat the same ones.
The public humiliation of that affair had burned common sense into her.
Hadn’t it? But she simply refused to agree with Sante on this.
She squared her shoulders. ‘I disagree—’
‘Naturally,’ he muttered.
She glinted. ‘Surely, even you have to acknowledge that employee satisfaction matters.’
And he needed to work on his own boundaries because he’d been the one looking at her in a way that was…just like the way he was looking at her now. Like he was hungry.
‘Satisfaction?’ he echoed.
This time it was the way that he said it that was off. Unintentionally intimate. It had to be unintentional. She bit her lip.
‘What about my satisfaction?’ he murmured.
‘Your…?’
‘What’s in it for me?’ he clarified.
Mia’s irritation mushroomed. Of course there had to be something in it for him. He might not have taken her father’s money, but he was still only about himself.
‘Increased employee productivity,’ she snapped. ‘They’ll make you more money.’
‘I don’t need to make more money,’ he said coolly but his eyes glinted. ‘I can’t spend the money I earn from interest alone.’
‘Well, you’ve brought these people together for some reason,’ she argued, irritated. ‘Don’t you want them to reach their full potential?’
Otherwise, why did he have them here? If he was ludicrously wealthy, what goal did he have in mind for this group of baby geniuses?
‘They’re here for you so why not try it this once and see what happens? If it’s a failure, then you’ve your first reason to fire me. What have you got to lose?’
He gazed right into her eyes. ‘So when this proves pointless, it’s one strike against you.’ He nodded. ‘You know you only get three.’
‘One week, three strikes, you’re watching me, I get it.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘You can’t wait for me to fail. Your problem is I’m not going to.’
‘No?’
‘No. And while we’re negotiating, I suggest you have an open-door policy whenever you’re actually in the office.’
‘A what?’
‘So you’re more approachable.’
‘Why would I want to be more approachable?’ He looked as irritated as she felt. ‘I just said relationships in the workplace are—’
‘You come across as very intimidating,’ she interrupted.
‘And that’s a negative?’
‘When you want the best from your staff, yes. Don’t you want them to feel confident enough to toss their creative ideas about without feeling terrified of your reaction?’
‘What makes you think they’re terrified? You’ve barely seen me with them.’ His eyes narrowed when she abruptly laughed.
‘Because you’re barely here.’ She shook her head.
‘So you think they require more of my involvement.’
‘Inspiration,’ she corrected.
Terrified had been too strong a word; they were nervous. They all wanted to please him.
‘They idolise you,’ she acknowledged, her voice oddly husky. ‘They want to be you.’
Sante didn’t preen. Didn’t appear flattered in any way. If anything, he looked angrier.
‘They idolise and want my bank balance. That’s all.’
Two days ago she would’ve agreed it was his single-minded stratospheric success they wanted to emulate.
But the team he’d assembled out there seemed to be as excited about him as much as the opportunity to earn money.
They were turning up again right now because Valerio had just put out the word that Sante was back in the office again.
And they were all smiling about it. And if Sante had really achieved all this success without her father’s start-up funding, then she could understand why.
She was outrageously curious about him; of course they were, too.
They wanted to learn from him. But Sante’s unwillingness to believe that was weird.
‘Perhaps you underestimate what you have to offer,’ she said.
He didn’t move but that stark, almost lost, expression flared in his eyes.
It was the briefest moment, a flash of vulnerability she never would believe if she’d not just seen it.
A wave of temptation washed over her—that inappropriate ache to move nearer to him.
The man had a lot to offer—physically at least, and she was losing her mind because when she looked into his eyes like this, it was as if the world faded. As if there were only them and only—
‘Fine.’ He suddenly turned away from her. ‘I’ll be at your meeting.’