„But you don’t have any of those awful qualifications, Rand,“ she smiled wanly, thinking of his leisurely, undemanding lifestyle. If he’d had any of those qualities he would have been making his living in a far different manner than the one he’d chosen.

„Want to bet? Watch this.“

Something flickered in the hazel eyes, hardening, turning unbelievably cold. The smile he wore became far more dangerous than Kalinda would have believed possible. „What would Brady management think if the members discovered that their president had arranged to spend the weekend at a secluded motel with the head of the firm which is trying to force a merger? They might be forgiven for believing they’d been sold down the river, don’t you agree? I’d say there’s a good chance they might turn on their Utile lady chief executive officer, lose all confidence in her, and make it utterly impossible for her to rally the firm for the coming battle. The company would fall into Hutton’s lap with only a whimper.“

„Rand!“ Kalinda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. No! The problem was she could believe it There was something in him that proclaimed him capable of such an action and the knowledge shook her deeply. „You… you wouldn’t do anything like that…“

„I might,“ he countered lazily. „If you don’t agree to continue the affair we started last weekend!“

6

The chattering, happy crowd seemed to recede into the distance as Kalinda forgot about everyone else in the room and stared, appalled at her uninvited guest.

„Are you saying you’d blackmail me into an affair?“ she finally whispered.

He continued to regard her with that incredibly ruthless expression, everything about him hard, unyielding, and determined. Rand said nothing. He didn’t need to say anything. The message was plain.

Shakily Kalinda reached out to steady herself with a hand on the edge of the white table. „I… I would never have thought you capable of doing anything like this.“

„Perhaps In the short time we spent together you didn’t get a chance to know me as well as you might have,“ he suggested coolly.

„No,“ she got out, her words barely a thread of sound as she tried to think what to do, how to handle him. „No, perhaps I didn’t.“

„Now you’re seeing another side of me. Do you believe this side is capable of a certain ruthlessness?“ he persisted.

„Yes.“ It was the truth and he must have seen it in her eyes.

„Good,“ he nodded, the hardness in him fading away on the instant as he turned to reach for another interesting tidbit „I think I’ve still got the old shark instincts and talents.“

Kalinda heard the wry satisfaction in his words and blinked, confused more than ever. „What’s going on here, Rand? Are you telling me you were teasing me just then? That you were faking that… that threat?“

She put a hand on the sleeve of his jacket, urgently demanding his attention. His head swung back to her, the white teeth flashing in a reassuring grin that made her want to kick him.

„You believed me, didn’t you?“ he countered pointedly. „For a minute or two you thought me fully capable of blackmailing you into an affair.“

„You sound proud of it!“ she accused, cheeks staining with annoyance and growing embarrassment at her obvious gullibility.

The grin faded into a self-mocking grimace. „No, Fm not proud of it. But it is a useful business skill, Fm sorry to say.“

„What’s a useful business skill? Blackmail?“ she raged heatedly, having difficulty keeping her voice down.

„The skill of being able to make people think I'll stop at nothing when it comes to getting what I want,“ he explained kindly, soothingly. „I just wanted you to have a small demonstration so you can introduce me to your…“

„Introduce you as what?“ she gritted.

„The outside consultant you’ve hired to direct the defenses of Brady Data Processing,“ he retorted easily. He appeared about to add to that when his glance went suddenly to a point beyond her head. The hazel eyes gleamed warmly. „Hey, you really did like the pot, huh?“

„Your conversation is getting more and more difficult to follow,“ Kalinda muttered and turned to follow his gaze. The lovely, wide-mouthed bowl she had bought that first day in his gallery sat in a prominent position at the far end of the table. It held long loaves of sliced French bread which guests had used to build small sandwiches.

He glanced down at her, looking enormously pleased. „I’m glad you didn’t try to forget me completely. I’ve still got a token of your short visit, too.“

„What token?“ she asked warily.

„The earrings I took off you that first night.“

„Oh.“ She’d forgotten about those.

„You shouldn’t have run away that morning after we made love, sweetheart,“ he went on, dark voice turning slightly husky as he regarded her a little hungrily. „Although I understand why you did.“

Kalinda flicked an uneasy glance up through her lashes. „You do?“

„Of course. You thought there was no future for us, didn’t you? You thought I wasn’t the kind of man you should be giving yourself to so completely. And it was completely, honey. You came to my bed without any reservations, didn’t you? For a little while you stopped thinking about the fact that I was an unmotivated, unambitious, undynamic wastrel who had no further goal in life except to fish and seduce bored tourists!“

Kalinda felt her blush deepening and she could no longer meet his eyes, even through the partial veil of her lashes. She remembered her unwise surrender only too well. What really worried her now was the flash of pure happiness she’d experienced when she’d opened her door a few minutes ago and found him standing there.

„You have to admit we do come from two different worlds, Rand,“ she managed a little grimly.

„Which is a polite way of saying you don’t admire my lifestyle,“ he retorted dryly. „I’m here to change all that I’m going to prove myself to you, sweetheart And your ex-fiance has put the tool I need right into my hands. You admire successful, dynamic, aggressive businessmen? Okay, I’ll show you I can wheel and deal in your world with the best of them. Don’t worry, Kalinda, you won’t have to be ashamed of our affair. You’ll be giving yourself to a man who can out-shark anyone on the business street!“

„Rand! This is crazy. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I certainly have no intention of… of continuing what should never have been started up there in the mountains. I do not routinely indulge in affairs, for heaven’s sake! I haven’t been even remotely serious about any man since my engagement with David ended.“

„Except me,“ he pointed out, smiling. „Or are you going to stand there and tell me you weren’t perfectly serious that morning in the mountains?“

Kalinda glared at him, aware that he was deliberately goading her and still too confused and upset by the combination of the day’s events to think clearly enough to flatten him verbally.

She was desperately trying to concoct a suitable response when Harold Sebastian and his wife emerged from the crowd with pleasantly expectant expressions.

„Kalinda, my dear, you must introduce us to your new guest“ Tall, stately, and silver-haired, Harold beamed complacently down at her. While she was his superior at Brady Data Processing, his long association with her father had given him a decidedly paternalistic air toward the new president of the firm. It was an attitude Kalinda encountered from many of the longtime employees of the firm. They gave her their loyalty and even admired her ability, but they never quite let her forget they all considered themselves honorary uncles and aunts.

„I’m afraid my arrival was something of a surprise for Kalinda,“ Rand said smoothly, thrusting out a polite hand. „I’m Rand Alastair.“