4

This was her baby, she reminded herself. She had all the answers she was going to need. ‘People who come into our cafés are given far more than a shot of caffeine. For as long as it takes them to drink their coffee or eat their lunch, they’re transported to Brazil. With your initial investment we opened twenty coffee shops across London. We’re ready to open more, but not if you withdraw your support …’ She broke off and rose to her feet, needing to pace. She couldn’t sit across the table looking at that handsome face. She couldn’t concentrate. ‘Do you mind if I walk around? I’m not great at sitting at tables and if I only have a short time I have to be comfortable or I won’t be able to make the most of it.’

His sardonic gaze slid to her feet. ‘Frankly I’m amazed you can stand, let alone walk around. I see you gave careful thought to the footwear that would be most appropriate for a visit to the rainforest.’

Trying to keep her thoughts together, she refused to allow his sarcasm to unsettle her. ‘This is a business meeting, Mr Cordeiro,’ she said defensively, ‘so I chose my clothing accordingly. I didn’t think you’d take me seriously if I was wearing a pair of combat trousers.’ Pride prevented her from confessing that both the shoes and the suit had been purchased specifically for this meeting.

Suddenly she felt like an idiot for thinking that what she wore would make a difference to a man like him.

Clearly she should have saved her money.

He was watching her closely. ‘You mean you thought that a pair of sexy heels might make me change my mind about pulling out of the investment.’ His voice was soft and deadly. ‘You may have misunderstood my reputation, Miss Thacker. I keep my women and my business separate.’ His gaze shifted to hers and she stared at him, unable to speak or move, caught in the dangerous heat of his gaze. Her body felt as though it had turned to liquid and a strange and unfamiliar warmth spread across her pelvis.

His women.

A clear vision filled her head and she saw Rafael Cordeiro lying naked and bronzed on white silk sheets, his body damp after an excess of physical activity, an exhausted and deliriously grateful girl lying limp and sated by his side.

The vision shocked and unsettled her and she looked away for a moment, concentrating on the lush green of the jungle instead of the diamond-hard glint of his eyes.

‘Miss Thacker?’ His sharp prompt made her start and she turned her head and gave him a desperate look, hating herself for wondering how those long, bronzed fingers would feel on her flesh. What was the matter with her? She wasn’t the sort of woman who mentally undressed men the moment she met them.

Especially not men like him.

He wasn’t going to yield or compromise, she could see that. There was no softening, no gentleness and not a trace of warmth or humanity. For a terrifying moment she felt her confidence begin to crumble. The horribly

familiar waves of panic began to engulf her and she dug her nails hard into her palms and looked away from him, staring at the trees for a moment while she struggled for composure.

You can do this, Grace, she told herself desperately. You don’t need him to make it easy for you.

Since when had anyone ever made it easy for her?

Her entire life had been a struggle to prove herself and she wasn’t expecting this encounter to be any different.

She used a precious thirty seconds of her time in calming herself and then she spoke. ‘I wore the heels because they seemed right with the suit,’ she said calmly, fighting against the sudden tension in the atmosphere. ‘And you owe me another minute of time.’

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed. ‘I do?’

‘Yes, because that’s how much time you just wasted talking about women’s clothing.’

There was a long, pulsing silence and then he inclined his head. ‘You still have eight minutes remaining.’

Grace started to breathe again. ‘Good. The only thing I want from you is an opportunity to present the facts. I came here because I want to change your mind.’

She wished, desperately, that he wouldn’t look at her but his gaze was unrelenting and she found it almost impossible to concentrate. The connection between them was electrically charged.

Did he feel it too? Did he feel the heat and the rising tension?

‘I’ve already told you that I don’t change my mind.’

‘You also told me that you wanted facts and you haven’t had them yet.’ Her heart was thudding so hard she was certain that he must be able to hear it. ‘You promised me ten minutes, Mr Cordeiro. My ten minutes isn’t up.’ And she was blowing the whole thing, she knew she was. It was all very well pretending to be confident but her knees were shaking, her hands were shaking, she was saying all the wrong things, letting one superior glance from those dark eyes turn her into a stuttering wreck. And he obviously recognised the effect he was having on her because he gave a silky smile.

‘Nervous, Miss Thacker?’

‘Of course I’m nervous …’ She spread her hands in a gesture that pleaded for understanding—some concession on his part. ‘In the circumstances, that’s understandable, don’t you think?’

At that precise moment, he was in the driving seat and she was standing in the road waiting to be run over.

‘Absolutely.’ His voice was as hard as his gaze was unsympathetic. ‘In your position I’d be quaking in my boots and I’d be using every trick in the book to try and save myself, even down to the high heels, the innocent smile and the shiny hair. Go for it, I say.’

‘I don’t understand what you’re implying.’ Did he realise how uncomfortable she was in the shoes and the heels? Did he know that she’d been trying to impress him?

‘I’m saying that your business is in serious trouble, Miss Thacker, and I’m the only one who can save it so I don’t blame you for using every trick at your disposal to try and turn the tide. But I ought to warn you that it won’t make any difference. I won’t extend my investment and as

far as I’m concerned you deserve everything that’s coming to you.’

His callous lack of sentiment was like a vicious punch in the stomach. ‘How can you say that? How can you be so uncaring?’ She forgot her

resolution not to get emotional. ‘This isn’t just about me. If Café Brazil goes under then lots of people are going to lose their jobs.’

‘And you’re terribly concerned about other people’s welfare, are you not?’

There was something in his tone that increased her feeling of unease. Why did she have the sense that there were two conversations going on here? One above the surface and one below. ‘Yes, actually. I think being an employer is a big responsibility. You can’t just hire and fire people. I’ve been very careful about not recruiting more staff until we were sure that the business could support them.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Very laudable, I’m sure. So what went wrong, Miss Thacker? If you’re so careful, then why are you here? Why isn’t your little business raking in the cash as we speak?’

‘Our operating costs were higher than we’d estimated,’ she said honestly, frowning slightly as she caught the cynical gleam in his eyes. ‘Among other things, refurbishing ten of the coffee shops cost more than we planned. But we’ve addressed that and I have lots of ideas for the future.’

He watched her for a moment and the atmosphere thickened between them. ‘You’re very determined,’ he said softly. ‘Just how desperate are you?’

Grace stared at him, her mouth dry. What did he mean by that? ‘I

care, Mr Cordeiro, if that’s what you mean.’ Refusing to be daunted, she took a deep breath and gave a shaky smile. ‘I still have five minutes left to persuade you.’

She reached for her briefcase and removed the papers that she’d stowed carefully inside. Rafael Cordeiro was a man incapable of emotion so she had to appeal to a different part of him. He was a figures man so she’d give him figures. ‘You won’t continue your investment because, so far, you haven’t seen a profit. But the cafés are doing well. Speculate to accumulate, isn’t that what they say?’

‘Do they?’

She flushed and forced herself to carry on and not be put off by his bored tone or the dangerous glint in his eyes. ‘We’re breaking even now and we’ll soon be making money.’

‘Is that right?’

Something in the way he was looking at her caused her feeling of unease to rocket. ‘Once we start making money you’ll also start making money …’ Her voice tailed off as she saw the grim set of his mouth. What did it take to make the man smile? ‘I’m going to be completely honest here. It’s taken longer than I thought it would and the figures aren’t what they should be. The cafés are all so busy that I can’t understand why we’re not already in profit.’

‘Can you not?’

Faintly encouraged by his smooth tone, she decided to be completely open. ‘I probably made a few mistakes at the beginning. Our operating costs were too high. Much higher than I planned. I paid more for things than I should have done. Now that we’re expanding, it’s easier to

negotiate good deals. Give me a bit longer. You won’t regret it.’

‘I already regret it. I don’t like the way you do business, Miss Thacker.’

Shocked, she stared at him. ‘You mean, because the business has been slow to take off? All right, I accept that, but give me a little longer. I have loads of ideas that I want to talk to you about. I know that I can make Café Brazil profitable.’

‘But at whose expense, Miss Thacker?’ His softly spoken question made her frown.