fury. The emotion highlighted his raw masculinity and set Teresa’s heart to pounding for all the wrong reasons.
Stop it.
The man was poised to murder her and here she was, swooning over how gorgeous he looked.
“This whole thing is unacceptable,” Liam snarled, bringing Teresa’s attention back to the real problem. “You don’t deserve those shares.”
“Maybe not,” she declared. But why did your father want me to have them?
Liam grabbed the arm of her chair and leaned toward her. “It seems pretty clear to me now that you’ve been underplaying your relationship with my father all along.”
“That’s not true,” she insisted, sick of defending herself. “Look, I have no idea what Linus was thinking, giving me the shares.”
“Don’t you?” Liam declared, his voice low and savage.
Teresa ground her teeth together and fought to remain calm. “We did not have an affair.” How many times would she have to make this same speech before he believed her?
He’s never going to believe me. Just like he’s never going to trust me.
The pair of declarations flashed through Teresa’s mind like a lightning bolt, revealing the bleak landscape of her doomed relationship with Liam and leaving an afterimage of hopelessness imprinted on her brain.
“You’re lying.”
Teresa wanted to shriek in frustration and despair. How had they found their way back here again?
“What purpose does it serve me to lie to you at this point?” she asked, even as she recognized the futility of trying to reason with Liam. “Your father made a decision. I don’t understand it any more than you do. Before your parents divorced, Linus and I were close, but he was my mentor. Nothing more.”
She never would’ve slept with Liam if she thought he hadn’t already accepted this. The disillusionment and melancholy unleashed by Liam’s dagger thrust of accusations demonstrated just how right she’d been all those years to put her focus on her career and avoid romantic entanglements. Making her love life a low priority had been the right move all along.
“I’m going to make you give those shares back.”
And for a moment she wished giving Liam back the shares would mean he might once again look at her the way he had when they’d made love. When that carefully constructed wall she’d raised around her heart to keep it safe and undamaged had shattered.
“You have a year to try,” Teresa responded.
“It’s not going to take a year.”
Teresa met his eyes. “You can’t intimidate me into selling you the stock.”
“Selling?” Liam released a harsh laugh. “By the time I’m done with you, you’re going to be begging me to take it off your hands.”
* * *
Shane arrived ten minutes early for his dinner meeting with Isabel, expecting he’d be the first one to the table, only to find she’d beaten him. As the hostess led him to the table, the first thing he noticed was that Isabel had worn her hair down. The shimmering russet curtain spilled over her shoulders in a luxurious wave. Next, he realized she’d exchanged her hotel uniform for something white and lacy.
Bridal.
The impression popped into his head and he ruthlessly banished it before it took root.
“Good evening,” he said, settling into the seat opposite her, relieved to see a presentation document placed to the left of his table setting. So, despite her attire, this was a business meeting after all.
“Good evening,” she echoed. “Thank you again for meeting with me.”
“Of course.”
The waiter approached, and Shane glanced at Isabel’s glass to see what she was having. The goblet held something clear and fizzy. Curious, but unwilling to ask, he ordered the same. When the drink arrived, he discovered it was plain club soda with a slice of lime.
After ordering dinner, he flipped through the bound document. Her presentation was well organized and brilliantly illustrated with catchy phrases and evocative photographs of beautiful couples enjoying each other at various settings in and around the resort.
“This looks quite thorough,” he declared. “But I don’t understand why you’ve come to me with this. Shouldn’t you’ve taken it to Tom?”
“I did, but he wasn’t...” Isabel trailed off. For the first time since he’d sat down, she displayed uncertainty. Her brows came together as she collected her thoughts. “That is, he’s really good when it comes to the hotel’s operations...”
Shane already knew that wasn’t completely accurate, but stayed silent while she struggled to make her point without throwing her boss under the bus. As unusual as it was, Shane intended to hear the staff’s opinions about the executive director and guessed Isabel would be more forthright than most.
“Anything you say here will remain between us,” he assured her, before sitting back and letting her marshal her opinion without coaxing or interference.
“He just doesn’t understand the heartbeat of the hotel. I thought maybe that would change as he grew more familiar with the staff and our clientele, but the direction he’s gone with the promotions hasn’t encouraged people to return.” She exhaled in a rush and then chuckled. “That didn’t explain things very well, did it?”
She appeared unabashed by her stumble, and Shane found this intriguing. He’d never struggled to communicate his opinions. He simply stated his recommendations, confident that he’d thought the matter through and weighed all options.
Shane decided to table all talk of Tom for the moment. “How do you think we should promote the hotel?”
“As a romantic destination.” She flashed a grin that struck him like a fist to the gut.
“What if I told you that Tom is focusing on corporate clients per my direction?”
“Then I’d say I’m here to change your mind.”
“How do you intend to do that?”
The flickering candlelight revealed a sudden rush of color in her cheeks. “By showing you firsthand some of the most romantic places The Opulence has to offer.”
Her suggestion filled him with mixed emotions. He was an executive of the company that employed her, and while he could justify tonight’s dinner as a business meeting, she intrigued him both as a woman he was attracted to and as an individual who challenged his perspective on the hotel.
Retreating to the reason for tonight’s dinner meeting, he picked up her presentation and began flipping through it again. “What’s your vision for The Opulence?”
“The theme is...” Like a Broadway producer of old, she swept her hand in an arc above her head. “Romance is the elixir of life.” She beamed at him, utterly convinced of her brilliance. “I think The Opulence is ideally suited as a romance destination, and the staff is ready to provide the perfect getaway experience. In fact, I’m gaining a reputation as a romance concierge.”
“What does that mean?”
“You might say I have a knack for giving couples the sort of memorable experiences that they rave about to their friends and family.”
“What sort of experiences?”
“Mostly over-the-top romance. I want the hotel to be known as the best destination for a special evening or a first kiss. The covered bridge has been the site of several engagements and wedding ceremonies. And I’ve lost count of how many people have done photo shoots on the lower trail with the waterfall behind them. We have a first-class spa offering all sorts