CHAPTER 2

“Come on now, Declan,” the other man replied, this voice sounding younger.

          He had called the first speaker Declan, confirming her belief that it was her boss the man behind that insulting remark about the female sex.

“You like women as much as I do,” the man continued.

“I enjoy them,” Declan Starr had corrected. “I don't know that I've ever actually really liked them. I've desired them, yes. But I find them preferable as bed-companions than as anything else.”

“If one of them could hear the way you're talking...”

          Oh, but one can, Gemma wanted to shout. She had never felt so disgusted and degraded. How a man as successful and good-looking as Declan Starr could judge all women by the type he had obviously been associating with for years was beyond her.

          To her, he was absolutely the most handsome man she had ever seen, and to think he had that low opinion of women just didn't seem fair. His looks and charm had obviously done him no good whatsoever, making him cynical about women.

“Why should they care?” he replied carelessly. “They're usually well compensated for their… charms, for the lack of a better word,” he added with a sneer. “I gave them jewelry, designer clothes, designer shoes, exotic getaways. No woman will ever trap me into marriage while there are women like that about, but they can never accuse me of being mean.”

“I'm sure, my friend,” laughed the other man.

          Gemma had decided she had just about heard enough of this distasteful conversation, knocking firmly on the door and entering when she just wanted to get the hell out of there and away from him.

“Yes?”

          Declan Starr raised one dark eyebrow, his eyes broodingly grey in his deeply tanned face. Gemma stopped in her tracks, the anger that had been the momentum behind her being able to walk into the room slowly fading.

          Her breath caught in her throat at the lazy smile he directed at her, leaving her speechless. When she finally got to her almost calm self, she spoke but her voice was sounding strange even to her own ears.

“S-sorry to b-bother you, Mr. Starr… I… Erm… I-I've brought up the model the agency sent for the… Uh… advertising campaign. She's waiting for you.”

          He smiled at her again, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

“Would you like to show her in? My EA's at lunch, I'm afraid.”

“Certainly, sir,” she answered breathlessly.

          Declan looked every inch the arrogant businessman lining behind his imposing desk, and Gemma turned in confusion to leave the room. She hesitated outside the door as she heard him give a throaty chuckle.

“You see what I mean…” he replied with amusement.

“What?”

          The other man was obviously puzzled. Gemma had recognized the other man as being Jude Brennan, a business associate of Declan’s.

“A smile and a few softly spoken words and any woman will do exactly what you ask them to, even that little mouse you just saw. She knows very well it isn't her job to bring people up to the offices, and yet she did it.”

“So?” Jude asked.

“Well, that's a perfect example of what we were just discussing. No, Jude! While there are still girls like her, no woman will ever catch me in the matrimonial trap. I don't see that it's necessary when what you want can be obtained without feeling as if you are in a cage.”

          Mouse? Did he call her a mouse? How dared he? Gemma still felt angered remembering his arrogance. His looks might be fantastic, but his manners not so impressive, at least, not the part she had seen.

          But even if his words had angered her, Gemma should not have played this stupid trick on him. It was the confident way he had escorted the model back that had fired her anger anew, and given her the idea of announcing her own engagement to him.

          And now she had to face him… his wrath… Gemma hoped she looked more self-confident than she felt. He was likely to rip her to shreds with his tongue when he had her in his office, and it was no more than she deserved.

          Unfortunately, today the outer office wasn't deserted. Sharon Keys, Declan's executive assistant, and her young secretary were both busily working as Gemma entered the room. Sharon gave her a cool look.

“Yes?”

“Hello… Mr. Starr is expecting me. My name is Gemma Wakefield.”

          Sharon gave her a disbelieving look but buzzed through to the inner office anyway.

“A Miss Wakefield to see you, Mr. Starr.”

“Send her straight in,” he snapped, letting Gemma know that his temper hadn't cooled at all since his phone call he made earlier to her, at the reception desk.

          The cool beautiful woman stood up with a slight raising of her delicately shaped eyebrows as if she were mentally trying to work out the reason for her amazing boss to be seeing a simple receptionist.

“Oh, please, don’t bother… I know the way,” Gemma told her hurriedly, unwilling to let the woman witness her humiliation if Declan Starr should be unable to contain his anger and lash out at her with his icy tongue as soon as she entered his office.

“Very well.”

          Sharon subsided back into her chair, resuming her work with a coolly detached air. Gemma moved through into the small reception room, hesitant about actually confronting Declan.

          But if she didn't go in there soon, he would come out here looking for her, and she had no intention of letting Declan find her cowering nervously outside his office. He asked her curtly to enter as Gemma knocked on the door, which she reluctantly did. This time there was no charming smile for her, only a furious look on his face and an angry glitter to his eyes.

          Declan stood up, coming from behind his desk to walk slowly around her as Gemma stood in front of his desk. He came back to lean against the huge table, his arms folded in front of his powerful chest.

          Even in her embarrassment, Gemma could appreciate how attractive the man looked, the navy-blue pin-striped suit he wore fitting him as if it were tailored on him, his linen immaculate.

“So… you're Gemma Wakefield,” Declan said softly.

“Yes.”

          Did he have to be so taunting? She was perfectly well aware that her navy pinafore dress and light blue fitted blouse in no way matched up to the expensive clothing some of the women he escorted out of the building wore. But did he have to look at her quite like that?

“Miss Gemma Wakefield… The woman I'm… engaged to,” Declan continued even more softly.

          She moved with a start.

“Well… I-I can explain that… Mr. Starr.”

          He gave a smile, but his eyes were colder than an iceberg.

“Can you now? I can hardly wait to hear it,” he mused. “So, you, Miss Gemma Wakefield, can explain how I come to be engaged to be married to a complete stranger, can you?”

          His light eyes snapped angrily.

“It had better be a damned good explanation!”

           Gemma moved uncomfortably.

“I wouldn't say that, but it is an explanation. The only trouble is I don't think you're going to like it, Mr. Starr.”

          Declan made an impatient movement to sit behind his desk.

“Really? Well, I don’t like a lot of things, but right now, what I don’t like is being engaged to a… woman I've never met before!”

          She gasped.

“Oh, that isn't true, Mr. Starr. I work here. I've seen you hundreds of times.”

“Seeing isn't the same as meeting, Gemma Wakefield. I've seen hundreds of people many times over, but that doesn't mean I know them.”

“But we’ve actually met,” she corrected Declan. “I brought a model up to your office a couple of weeks ago.”

          He studied her for a moment.

“So, you did.”

“And that's why I told the newspapers about the… Uh… engagement.”

“Because you brought a model up to my office?” Declan asked in an astounded tone.

“Oh, don't be ridiculous!”

          Gemma had had enough of his taunts. She realized he was in his right to be angry about what she had done but he didn't have to take this attitude with her.

“I did it because I overheard your conversation that day… I overheard what you had to say about… women.”

“Did you?”

          His grey eyes narrowed.

“And that prompted you to announce your own engagement to me? After hearing what I had to say about your own fair sex?”

“Yes, sir, it did! Absolutely!”

          Her blue eyes deepened almost to violet.

“I wanted to make you eat your words, to show you that you could be caught in the trap of matrimony as easily as any other man. But I… Well, it didn't work out the way I intended it to. As soon as I saw it in print, I knew it was wrong. But at the time I wanted only to hit out at you, to get back at you for what you think of women.”