braced his hands on top of the desk, his chest expanding and contracting for a full minute, before he dropped into his chair.
He’d expected it to go better. And of all the reminders of Gael he’d wanted to avoid, the reference to those hellish weeks was at the top of his list. Because that was the time when he’d finally accepted his father was beyond redemption. That his mother cared more about steeping herself in the frenzied, dysfunctional state of her marriage than she did about her son.
Bitterness, awakened and rancid, dredged through him. His fist curled on top of the file on his desk as he fought it back down. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed that way, his gaze turned inward in memory.
The sound of the door opening and shutting, followed by the click of heels, finally dragged him from his unwanted musings.
She’d changed into a dress. Some sort of grey wool blend, high-necked thing that ended just above her knee and left her slender arms exposed. On her wrist a delicate bracelet drew his attention to her soft skin. He’d touched that skin last night. Tasted it.
Still hungered for it.
Reining in his unwanted craving, he watched her cross to her office. Alejandro found himself upright and following her before he’d fully computed the move. She was leaning over her desk, stretching for a file when he reached the doorway. Leaning against the frame, he questioned for the umpteenth time what it was about her that drove this unchecked compulsion within him.
She turned, and jumped. ‘Uh... I didn’t see you there.’ She thrust the file she held at him. ‘This is what I was working on this morning. I wouldn’t like you to think I was idling away the time while you were out of the office.’
He took the file. ‘I owe you an apology. Last night... I shouldn’t have reacted quite so—’
‘Ogre-tastically?’
Despite himself, a smile attempted to lift his mood. ‘I was going to say “unprofessionally”. My apologies.’
Her strikingly long lashes swept down for a moment. ‘And I would’ve been better advised to keep things from getting too...personal.’
The reminder that there was something he needed to do had him striding forward to her desk to press the intercom.
‘Sir?’
‘Draft a memo to the marketing department. I want all contracts with Brian Grey’s company terminated immediately.’
Elise gasped.
‘Umm...yes, sir.’
He hung up. She stared at him, her parted lips trembling for a second before her gaze dropped. ‘I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, Alejandro.’
‘And yet, it is done,’ he stated, the rage that burned in his gut threatening to erupt all over again. His emotions when he’d left Elise last night had skittered close to the edge. Returning to the restaurant to confront the bastard had been high on his list but he accepted that satisfaction from violence would be fleeting. But this...this was a good start. And he intended to pay the piece of scum back in many varied ways. As for what she’d said about her parents... His gut clenched harder. Parents were a subject he wasn’t yet willing to touch.
Her stunning eyes rose to his once more. ‘I...don’t know what to say.’
‘Then let’s move on.’
She nodded after a moment. ‘How did things go with your brother?’
His laugh was a touch self-deprecating. ‘As badly as I suspected they would.’
She smoothed back her fringe, a nervous tic of hers he’d noticed. ‘I’m guessing from that tight-jawed look you’re wearing that you couldn’t find any middle ground?’
‘You sound disappointed, guapa. Perhaps you expect too much for a first meeting in ten years.’
Her eyes widened. ‘That’s how long it’s been since you saw each other?’
Alejandro felt that twinge again. ‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘He reminded me of a past I wanted to leave behind.’
‘Reminded? As in the past tense?’
He frowned, caught off guard by the slip. Shaking his head, he changed the subject. ‘Did you find me anything I can use?’
A look, almost of disappointment, crossed her face. ‘Nothing that would aid your war, but there’s something else. Before you use it though, can I just suggest that SNV and Toredo could be different arms of the same company? Is a three-way merger out of the question?’
‘It’s low on my list of ideal outcomes.’
Her gaze dropped, her smile as tight as her nod.
He traced her face for a minute, noting that, apart from lip gloss, she hadn’t applied any more make-up when she’d changed. He curbed the urge to trace his fingers over her skin as he had last night.
She’d made her feelings more than clear. She wasn’t interested in blurring the professional lines of their relationship. And he needed to relocate his little black book.
Opening the file, he speed-read through the half-dozen pages and paused when he reached the most interesting morsel of information. ‘Grandma to the rescue again?’
A light blush washed her cheeks. ‘I didn’t see the harm in tapping a useful source.’
He closed the file. ‘I’ll take it under advisement. The conference call with the Ishikawas is in fifteen minutes. I want you there.’ Not that he held out much hope that it’d be any more progressive than the last one.
Gael had drawn battle lines and he would be going all out to sink his claws deeper into the deal.
* * *
As expected, Alejandro was met with platitudes and empty promises. He played along for half an hour, then changed tactics.
‘How is your grandfather?’
Jason and Nathan Ishikawa exchanged quick glances. ‘He’s very well. Thank you for asking.’
Alejandro nodded, ignoring the fact that Jason’s gaze slid once again to Elise. ‘Send him my congratulations on his upcoming seventy-fifth birthday celebrations.’
Nathan cleared his throat. ‘We will.’ Alejandro waited. The brothers exchanged another glance. ‘Until next time, then, Mr Aguilar. Sayōnara.’ They bowed their heads.
‘I look forward to meeting him when I’m in Kyoto soon.’
‘You’re coming to Japan?’ Jason asked.
Alejandro smiled. ‘Yours isn’t the only deal I’m interested in. I’ll have my PA liaise with yours about dates. Buenos días.’
He disconnected the call to apprehensive faces.
‘I didn’t know you had other business interests in Kyoto,’ Elise said.
‘I don’t, but I will by the end of the day. Specifically with Kenzo Ishikawa. Is your passport up to date?’
She frowned. ‘Yes, it is. Why?’
‘It’s time to put your theory to the test. We leave for Kyoto tomorrow morning.’
* * *
Elise recognised the luxury town car the moment she stepped out of the similar car Alejandro had sent her home in. They’d worked late into the evening, then he’d spent an hour grilling her on Japanese custom. She was exhausted, but in a good way.
But she’d yet to pack for the trip to Japan and Alejandro was picking her up at 7:00 a.m.
Seeing her mother’s lithe, seven-days-a-week-at-the-gym honed body unfold from the back of the car caused her stomach to dip.
And