Chapter Five #2
‘I’ll get someone to stash it in the room we’ll be using for our meeting.’ He nodded to a member of staff who came along and obligingly whipped it away, leaving Erin feeling vaguely deprived of an essential prop.
‘But getting back to what we were talking about a minute ago,’ he murmured, slowing his pace so that she could fall in alongside him. ‘Can I ask you something?’
‘I’d rather you didn’t.’
‘Really? Why?’
‘Because I’d rather we stick to work. Feels like there’s a lot to discuss without us getting bogged down in chit-chat about other stuff.’
‘Oh, we can spare a few minutes, Erin. Relax and go with the flow for a change.’
‘I relax all the time, Raffaele.’
‘Really? You don’t seem very relaxed now.
I’m just making conversation. There’s honestly no need to get hot under the collar.
This isn’t an interview and your job isn’t going to be on the line depending on what answers you give me.
In fact, you don’t have to give me any answers at all.
I know we agreed that it would a good idea if we moved our relationship along a notch or two, got it into a more normal place, but if you feel a little panicked at the thought of that, then of course I’ll back off and we can return to where we were. ’
‘Where we were?’ This was to buy time, because the ground underneath Erin seemed to have suddenly turned to quicksand. Why? ‘And I’m not panicked at the thought of making conversation with you, Raffaele!’
‘I can’t tell you how pleased I am to hear that. I feel that we’re more than just boss and secretary. I feel that we’re friends.’
‘Friends…’ Erin thought of the way her body responded when she was around him, the way her mind soared off into fantasy land with him playing the lead role… Friend didn’t come close to describing his interaction with her in all her forbidden imaginings.
‘So why is it that you had to be the one to arrange help for your father?’
Erin sighed. He was like a dog with a bone.
It was one of the many reasons why he was so successful.
He was primed to tenaciously pursue what he wanted until he got it.
She’d known that; it was just that that tenacity had never been directed at her.
But now it was and there seemed to be little she could do about it without giving the impression of being scared, which inevitably would lead him to question why that might be.
Besides, the heat and the sounds of birds and insects, the smell of the sea in the air, the exuberance of the trees and bushes and flowers all around them…it was all having a lulling effect on her.
Could she bother to be on her guard?
Why should she?
The lesson she should take from all this wasn’t that she had to keep her defences up around him just in case he caught a glimpse of her inappropriate crush.
Nor was it that she might shatter into a thousand pieces if she wasn’t scrupulous about who she decided to let into her life.
No, what she should take from this was that she needed to get a move on, needed to start living.
What Raffaele did or didn’t know about her was irrelevant because she wasn’t involved with him.
Outside the work arena, he had no impact on her life. She would never tell him how she felt about things, what her thoughts were on love or marriage, and he would never know anything of her dreams or fears or desires.
But questions about her dad?
Not a problem!
Still, that was easier thought than believed…
She idly noted the bees buzzing lazily around giant deep pink trumpet-shaped flowers that seemed to grow wild all around them.
A clutch of cabins was just ahead of them, each private and separated by trees. All had hammocks identical to the ones she and Raffaele had, although these hammocks were knotted, unused because the cabins were empty.
She swatted away some tiny insects from in front of her, realising that she was baking hot in her skirt and blouse.
Bypassing the cabins, they chatted idly about the state of the overlong grass and the signs of decay in the wood, but Erin knew that the topic of her father would reappear.
Sure enough, once they’d explored some of the forested area beyond the main hotel and begun to trudge back to the cool of the hotel, Raffaele shoved his hands into the pockets of his lightweight trousers, turned to her and picked up where they had left off.
‘I’m too hot to answer any questions,’ Erin said irritably, breathing a huge sigh of relief when they were back in the hotel foyer where the overhead fan was generating at least a smattering of cool air.
Raffaele grinned. ‘I did think that your outfit might have been a little much for this heat,’ he said. ‘Did you bring anything lighter?’
‘Sort of,’ she sighed, sweeping her hair back and feeling it damp with perspiration.
‘Sort of? You mean sort of cotton shorts? Or sort of loose clothing? We’ll wrap this meeting up quickly, head into town and get you clothes that will be a little more comfortable while we’re here or else you’ll find yourself completely overwhelmed by the humidity.
In fact—’ he glanced at his watch ‘—you skip the meeting and I’ll meet you outside your cabin at twelve fifteen.
You can change into something more comfortable.
We’re not going to discuss anything important anyway so it’s not essential you attend. I’ll arrange transport into town…’
‘Raffaele…’
‘No protesting, Erin. The last thing I want or need is a secretary who can’t function because she’s overcome by the heat.’
‘No, I’m sure you don’t,’ Erin said testily, ‘especially considering you’ve already rescued me once already. How much more rescuing can you be expected to do before your trusty steed collapses?’
He grinned broadly at that and she glared back, too steaming hot to do much else.
As soon as he headed off into the hotel, she flew to her cabin. She’d packed two pairs of shorts but they weren’t decent enough to wear to a meeting. Too old and way too short.
Her skirts, which would have been perfect for an English summer, were ridiculously out of place when it came to coping in a furnace. Buttons on blouses were maddening.
She had a quick shower then changed into another of her stupid skirts and this time one of the old T-shirts and her flip-flops instead of the canvas shoes she had been wearing.
Raffaele knocked promptly on her door at twelve fifteen.
Annoyingly, he looked cool as a cucumber.
‘That looks a lot more suitable’ was the first thing he said in an approving voice. ‘Why didn’t you wear that this morning? Don’t feel that you have to dress formally while you’re here, even if it is something of a working holiday. I’ve got a driver to take us into town. Ready?’
‘Guess so.’
‘Don’t sound so thrilled.’ His voice lightened with amusement as he led the way to the jeep that was on standby. ‘Don’t women love shopping?’
‘Not all.’
Once in the back seat of the sturdy little jeep, Erin relaxed back and half closed her eyes.
‘All the women I’ve ever dated have loved shopping. In fact, I’d say that they were all passionate about it, the sort of passion top scientists might feel in pursuit of the cure for cancer.’
‘That says more about the women you choose to date than the female species as a whole.’ She slanted a sideways glance at him to find him staring at her with a lazy half smile on his face.
So, so unfairly sexy. Her thoughts were sluggish and she didn’t look away, not even when he slowly raised his eyebrows in a question.
The car bumped along the very uneven road that had brought them to the compound the day before.
The breeze was lovely and she felt as floppy as a rag doll.
When she finally glanced away from his face, she realised that her hand was on the seat between them as though begging to be held. Honestly, she still felt too lethargic to whip it away. It was as though the intense heat had formed gaping cracks in her usual defence systems.
‘Do you financially support your parents, Erin?’
His voice was low and serious and Erin met his eyes without flinching and nodded.
‘I was surprised at where you live,’ he mused. ‘Now it makes sense. You never said.’
‘Why do you think I should have said anything?’ Erin asked with genuine curiosity.
‘Because, like I said, I thought we were friends. Maybe not the confiding-intimate-secrets kind of friends but surely friends who share financial troubles…’
‘You would never have any financial troubles to share, Raffaele, and honestly, we’re not friends.
You’re my boss and lines have to be drawn.
’ She thought of her inappropriate crush which couldn’t have been further from the friends category he mistakenly thought they might be in.
‘You’re used to women who love shopping and who probably can’t wait to tell you all about themselves but I’m not any of those women.
What’s more, I work for you. Don’t forget all the girls you had to sack because they started blurring the boundaries. ’
‘If you’d told me that your father was out of work, then I would have gladly given you whatever money you needed to tide him over until he found something else. Was he made redundant? What did he do for a living?’
Erin looked at Raffaele coolly.
He truly lived in an ivory tower. Born into a life of privilege, handed a healthy trust fund when he was barely out of nappies.
Whatever disagreements he might have had with his dad over time, he would never have known inconsistency.
He had always been cocooned. From the top of Mount Olympus, it would be impossible not to look down on the ones who lived below without a certain amount of incomprehension and pity.
He would never have had self-doubt and would never have suffered. A squabble over when to repay a trust fund that would set you up for life didn’t count.
She thought of how her parents had agonised when they had finally decided to put down roots only to discover how unprepared they were for the reality of what that process entailed.