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The Boss: A Cozy Romance 25
‘But he went into business with you.’‘Yes. At school I spent my whole time dreaming. I was full of ideas and I just knew I could do something good and useful with my life, even if I didn’t take a conventional route. My father said he’d help me.’ She turned away from him and walked to the window, staring into the rainforest without seeing anything. ‘I suppose he saw a way of finally turning me from a disappointment to an advantage. I was never going to be able to check, was I?’‘So now what do you want to do?’Scream? Cry? Thump someone? Slink into a deep hole and never emerge? ‘I don’t know. Let them know that I know.’ She straightened her shoulders. ‘I’ve basically been very stupid.’‘No.’ His voice was fierce. ‘You haven’t been stupid. I see now that you have amazing vision and a huge capacity for hard work. The salary that you pay yourself is nothing.’She frowned, not understanding the relevance of that statement. ‘I wasn’t ever interested in money, I’ve told you that.’He i
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Her heart was hammering against her chest. ‘Yes.’ What other answer could she give? She wasn’t going to admit it was about love, was she? Even she didn’t understand these feelings that had rushed up and engulfed her. How could she expect him to—this man who didn’t even think that such things as love existed? This man who was so damaged that he expected the worst from every woman he met.He stepped closer to her and this time his arms gripped hers as if he wanted to be completely sure that she was paying attention. ‘I thought you were guilty, Grace. I thought you were guilty as hell, but I didn’t even care because all I was interested in was your body under mine and your unquestioning surrender.’And that was what she’d given him, of course. Her unquestioning surrender. She’d given him everything he’d demanded from her.She didn’t flinch under his gaze. ‘Are you trying to shock me?’‘No.’ His fingers bit into the soft flesh of her arms. ‘I’m trying to remind you who I am so that the
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SHATTERED and stunned, Rafael steadied his breathing and gradually became aware of his surroundings. His face was still buried in her neck and the sweet, tempting scent of her hair and skin teased his senses and created a dull haze over his usually acute brain.Forced to acknowledge that he couldn’t concentrate on anything at all when she was this close, he reluctantly moved his hands from her hips.Without his hands supporting her she flopped forward, her head against his chest, her blonde hair soft and tangled. Her breathing was unsteady and she rubbed her fingers over his chest and gently pressed her lips to his skin.The affectionate gesture took him by surprise and for endless seconds Rafael stood still, his hands suspended in the air while he decided what to do with them. What he wanted to do was to drag her back into his arms and just hug her, and the impulse shocked and spooked him because he’d never before felt a desire to express affection following sex.Reminding himsel
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She couldn’t resist teasing him. ‘Would I have made you rich?’He glanced up, a strange expression on his handsome face. ‘If I had more people like you working for me then my life would be a great deal simpler, meu amorzinho. How do you manage to keep the cafés so busy?’She shrugged. ‘I’m good at ideas. I’m hopeless at financial detail and probably always will be, but I see the bigger picture. I know what people want and what is likely to work. I was good at pulling in the customers.’‘Don’t put it in the past tense.’ He dropped the accounts onto the table and looked at her thoughtfully. ‘How would you feel about extending Café Brazil?’Her eyes widened. ‘You mean across the country?’‘Actually I meant across the world,’ he said drily, the faint smile that touched his mouth telling her how amused he was by her provincial ambitions. ‘I think it’s an idea that could become a global phenomenon.’‘There are already lots of very successful chains of coffee shops.’‘True, but none o
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‘There was never a baby to lose.’ His tone was harsher than he intended and his knuckles whitened on his wine glass. Forcing himself to slacken his grip, he studied her shocked face with a faint smile. ‘So you see, Grace Thacker, even the most cynical of us can be duped.’‘She lied to you in order to persuade you to marry her?’ Her eyes were bright with sympathy and something much, much softer that flowed over his ragged nerve-endings and soothed like a balm. ‘She loved you that much?’Rapidly coming to the conclusion that Grace Thacker’s mind worked in a completely different way from the rest of the population’s, Rafael felt his muscles clench. ‘She didn’t love me at all.’‘But if she—’‘Being married to a billionaire comes with certain compensations,’ Rafael drawled lightly, resigning himself to the reality of pointing out what, to him, was totally obvious, ‘not least of all a guaranteed income for life.’‘You think she married you for your money?’‘I know that she married me f
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TRYING not to be overawed by the luXury that surrounded her, Grace settled into her seat on Rafael’s private jet for the long flight from Rio de Janeiro.Once the staff had settled her onto the comfortable leather sofa, they presented her with a glass of champagne and a small package, elaborately wrapped, together with a note.Her hands shaking, she opened the note first. ‘You won’t take gifts or money from me, but I hope you’ll accept this. R.’“This” turned out to be a tiny tape recorder, small enough to fit into her pocket and with an earpiece. Intrigued and more than a little baffled by his choice of present, she switched it on and heard Rafael’s voice summarising every nuance of the accounts. He covered everything they’d discussed, everything she needed to know and she felt the hot sting of tears behind her eyes as she realised just how long it must have taken him to record it and what such a gesture meant.Maybe he didn’t love her, but he certainly cared. He had to care, oth
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She heard Rafael’s sharp intake of breath but she pulled away from him and stepped towards her father. ‘We haven’t forgotten, Dad. Hardly. And as for giving you respect—’ her voice shook as she looked at him,seeing for the first time the mean lines that pulled at his mouth, the coldness of his eyes ‘—respect is something that has to be earned. And you’ve never done that. You’ve never done a single thing in your life to warrant my respect.’Her father gave a grunt of anger and his shoulders hunched. ‘You watch your mouth, girl! No one talks back to me, especially not my own daughter. You’re not too old for me to put my hand across your backside!’Rafael stepped forward with a low growl of warning. ‘Lay one finger on her and I’ll send you somewhere you’ll never need money again,’ he promised in thickened tones and Grace put a hand on his arm in an instinctive gesture of restraint.‘You’re not going to stop me from saying what needs to be said, Dad. I won’t let you threaten me. I’ve
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He hesitated and then took her hands. ‘I suppose at a very young, impressionable age I was given the message that a woman will do just about anything if the price is right. Even give away her child. Amber’s behaviour was simply more of the same; she used pregnancy as a lever to get me to marry her. I never had any reason to change my view of women.’ His eyes found hers. ‘Until I met you. I owe you an apology.’Her eyes widened. ‘For what?’‘For not believing that you were innocent.’ His fingers tightened on her hands. ‘The thing is, Grace, I’d never actually come across truth and innocence before, so when I finally did I didn’t recognise it.’‘You have nothing to apologise for.’‘I hurt you by not believing in you. And I hurt you by not using romantic words when I took you to bed.’ He cursed softly and hauled her against him. ‘I’m useless with emotions, Grace. It’s like another language. I just don’t know any of the right words. You’re going to have to teach me.’Her heart thudded
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‘AREN’T you going to the gym any more?’ Rhiannon asked two days later. ‘This is the third day in a row you’ve missed.’ Georgie scrubbed at her red eyes. ‘I don’t want to run into Ben-Break- Your-Heart Blackwood,’ she said. ‘I’m going to switch my membership to another gym.’ ‘Poor you,’ Rhiannon said, as she stroked Georgie’s head. ‘He really did a good job on you, didn’t he?’ Georgie blew her nose and tucked the sodden tissue into her bra, joining the others for a lumpy potato effect. ‘I’m so dumb when it comes to dating,’ she said. ‘I’m not going on another date for siX months, I swear it.’ ‘That’s a long time, Georgie.’ ‘I don’t care,’ she said as she got to her feet. ‘If I so much as look at a man with a view to dating him, I’m going to donate a thousand dollars to the hospital research foundation … no, make that five thousand dollars. That should make me think twice before I fall into the same trap again.’ ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’ Rhiannon said. Georgie set her shoulder
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‘ONE hundred, two hundred, three hundred—’‘Stop,’ Rhiannon said as Georgie counted out the hundred-dollar bills the following morning. ‘I have something to confess.’Georgie let the next note flutter to the table. ‘What?’ Rhiannon bit her lip. ‘I’ve been seeing someone.’ Georgie’s eyes went out on stalks. ‘You have?’Rhiannon nodded. ‘I was going to tell you a couple of days ago but I wasn’t sure if the guy felt the same way about me. We weren’t really dating …. sort of catching up.’ She gave a little grimace and added, ‘Sorry.’‘Who is it?’ Georgie asked. ‘Anyone I know?’ ‘Jules Littlemore.’Georgie gaped at her. ‘Jules?’‘Why are you so surprised? He’s a really decent man. I know he’s a couple of years younger than me but I’ve always liked him and when he kissed me I sort of … fell in love with him.’‘I’m really glad for you, Rhiannon,’ Georgie said. ‘Jules is a great guy and perfect for you when I think about it.’‘So you’re not angry at me?’‘No,’ she said, smiling at he
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BEN answered the door with a towel hitched around his hips, his hair still dripping from his shower.‘Oh … sorry …’ Georgie bit her lip and tried to keep her eyes north of the border. ‘Um … I picked a bad time to drop in on you.’‘Not at all,’ he said, stepping aside to let her in. ‘I just got back from the gym.’ He closed the door and added, ‘I thought I might have seen you there. You didn’t hang around at the hospital so I thought you’d gone straight there.’‘I’m so sorry I didn’t keep our appointment,’ she said. ‘I got a bit distracted by … by something that happened just after I left you with Mr Tander.’He frowned as he looked down at her. ‘Jonathan Tander didn’t have another go at you, did he? I left him with the hospital chaplain in the relatives’ lounge. Did he somehow track you down again?’She shook her head and cupped her elbows with her crossed-over hands. ‘I had a bit of a run-in with Richard DeBurgh … well, not exactly a run-in, more of a misunderstanding … of sorts
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GEORGIE didn’t leave anything to chance the next morning and left extra early so she could turn up on time in Theatre for Emma Stanley’s case. She had found it hard to sleep the previous night, thinking about the young girl who had so much at stake, not to mention Ben, who as Emma’s neurosurgeon had so much pressure on him to perform a miracle when the chance of one was not very likely.Linda greeted her as she came into the change room. ‘Tough morning this one,’ she said. ‘Ben’s really feeling it. He hides it pretty well but I’ve worked with him long enough to know the signs.’‘He told me about the case yesterday,’ Georgie said as she put her bag into one of the lockers. ‘It’s hard, what life tosses up, isn’t it?’‘Sure is,’ Linda agreed. ‘The parents are such lovely people who would move heaven and earth to get their daughter back to full health. I only hope Ben can pull this one off. Mind you, if anyone can, he can. He’s got that steely determination to succeed where others woul
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BEN had to force his eyes to stay fiXed on Georgie’s face as she opened the door at his summons. She was dressed in a knock-out pink dress that skimmed her slight curves and highlighted the healthy glow of her skin. Her hair was loose about her shoulders, its sun-kissed light waves full of body and bounce, making his fingers twitch yet again to reach out and thread through its silkiness. Her perfume drifted towards him, a different one this time. It was a subtle but totally intoXicating scent that reminded him of sun-warmed honeysuckle.‘Hannah is waiting in the car,’ he said by way of greeting, not able to think of anything else on the spot. ‘She had a good day today. Thank you.’Georgie followed him towards the lifts. ‘I had fun, too,’ she said. ‘She’s a lovely girl and great company.’He stabbed at the lift button without looking at her. ‘I can’t help worrying about her,’ he confessed with a small frown. ‘She’s lived in the country all her life. She’s not as street smart as city
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BEN called Hannah on her mobile to arrange a meeting place and half an hour later caught sight of her and Georgie sitting on the grass near the Hyde Park fountain, a pair of ibis coming closer and closer for the crumbs Georgie was tempting them with.‘Even the animal kingdom isn’t safe from her natural beauty and charm,’he muttered under his breath as he made his way towards them.‘Hi, Ben, look what I bought,’ Hannah said, leaping to her feet and showing him her jeans and top inside the boutique bags she had in her possession.‘Mmm, very nice,’ he said. Swinging his gaze to Georgie, who was still sitting cross-legged on the grass, he asked, ‘What did you get?’‘Sore feet,’ Georgie said wryly, as she made to get up.He smiled and offered her a hand, pulling her up so strongly she tumbled forward into his arms.‘Ooh!’ she said breathlessly, her hands flat against the hard wall of his chest.‘That’ll teach you to wear those ridiculously high heels all the time,’ he admonished h
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BEN had seen Emma Stanley’s MRI scans two weeks ago but there had been considerable change in her condition since then. The young siXteen-year-old track and field star had a tumour on her lumbar spine, which thankfully was benign, but that didn’t mean she was out of the woods by any means. The tumour was pressing against the cauda equina, causing numbness in her buttocks and weakness in her legs.Surgery was the only option but there were huge risks involved, especially as imaging had shown the tumour was extensive and its removal had the potential to cause damage to multiple nerve roots. She had fallen several times over the last few days and her parents had panicked and contacted him directly rather than wait until Monday to see him in his public clinic, as he had advised them to do.Ben sat Emma and her parents down in his office. Taking his own chair, he began to run through the risks. ‘I know we’ve talked through all this before but as Emma’s symptoms have worsened it won’t hur
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BELINDA BRONSON was coming out of the gym on Friday evening as Georgie was going in. ‘Just the person I wanted to see,’ she said, pulling Georgie to one side away from the cluster of members near the front door.‘I was going to say the very same thing to you,’ Georgie said with a little frown. ‘I got into heaps of trouble over talking to you about the Tanders’ accident.’Belinda’s expression turned cynical. ‘That kind of figures,’ she said. ‘I spoke to a mate of mine in Traffic—he must have pressed a few too many sensitive buttons. He told me Mr Tander is a legal eagle. Lawyers always think they’re above suspicion and that the legal system they represent and defend so volubly in court doesn’t apply to them outside it.’‘Yeah, well, he’s not just any old legal eagle,’ Georgie said. ‘He’s a high court judge. If he’s serious about going ahead with this, my career is over.’Belinda tapped her top lip for a moment. ‘You know, it might be worth having a deeper look into this,’ she said.
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GEORGIE was totally exhausted by the time her list with Richard DeBurgh ended and she still had three more hours of on call before she could finally relax. Richard had been encouraging towards her but he was nothing like Ben in Theatre. Richard had a tendency to snap at the nursing staff if instruments weren’t handed to him quickly enough, and when a patient with a meningioma had a major venous bleed from the sagittal sinus he swore as his tension level rose, which made everyone feel on edge. At one point he bellowed at Georgie for bumping the microscope while he was suturing the sagittal sinus bleed, and although he had moved it himself, she knew there was no point in trying to defend herself.Linda Reynolds, the scrub nurse Georgie had met in Ben’s theatre on her first day, caught up with her in the female change rooms once the list was over.‘See what I mean about there being a waiting list to work on Ben’s lists?’ she said as she stripped off her theatre scrubs. ‘Richard is fine
