he poured some of the hot aromatic beverage into the porcelain cup and took a sip. Definitely particular about the type of coffee he drank, he found he could not fault whoever had chosen this particular blend on his behalf.
Facing Briana again, he observed the slight pink flush across her cheekbones. ‘You are here the entire weekend?’ he asked, knowing this conversation they had started had only just begun.
‘Yes…my job dictates it.’
‘And how long have you been working for this company that provides “hospitality services”?’
‘About three years. It’s my own company.’
‘So you are a businesswoman now? You have managed to surprise me again!’
Unable to keep the cynicism from his voice, Pascual was actually genuinely taken aback by the revelation. The Briana he had known had never given any indication of being remotely interested in starting up her own business. Back then she had vowed she was only happy working with children and animals. On her arrival in Buenos Aires she had found work as a professional dog-walker, then as a children’s nanny. But he had learned to his cost that she had not been entirely frank with him about many things, and her dishonesty still cut him to the quick.
‘I’ll leave you to enjoy your coffee in peace and go and wait downstairs.’
Moving towards the door, Briana could not disguise her eagerness to get away, and it incensed Pascual that she should want to effect distance between them again.
‘Before you run away I want you to tell me something of these businessmen I am meeting with. No doubt you have some information that might be useful?’ Staring at her pointedly, he knew a sudden desire to test her out and see if she was at all competent at the business she had chosen for herself. If he himself had been in this line of work the first thing he would want to know was about the kind of people who were employing his services.
‘What do you want to know?’ she asked, clearly discomfited that she could not escape as easily as that.
‘I want to know the things they have not revealed in their bid to buy my horses. You know the kind of information I am getting at? It is important that my ponies go to the very best homes. As I am sure you are aware, I do not make these transactions just for money.’
‘All their credentials are first class, but if you want to ask me about specifics fire away. I can assure you that I’ve done my homework in that regard.’
‘Really? But you clearly did not know that it was me that was the VIP guest this weekend, did you? Is that not somewhat remiss of you?’
A scarlet brand seared even hotter colour into her cheeks. ‘It wasn’t a mistake I would ever make normally, I can assure you! It’s just that I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and I—’
‘Your personal concerns should never impinge on your ability to do your job well.’
‘In a perfect world that might be so, but in case you hadn’t noticed this world isn’t perfect, and from time to time people do have worries that cannot help but disturb them.’
‘What kind of worries do you have nowadays, Briana?’ Pascual shot back, no small amount of bitterness edging his tone. ‘I thought you must be perfectly happy and content. After all…you escaped from a man and a marriage you clearly did not want, did you not? I imagined that you must have got exactly what you wanted when you walked out on me.’
‘Can we not do this? It’s painful enough that we should meet up again like this without us sniping at each other. We’re both here for more important reasons than what’s between us personally. I know we need to talk, but this is hardly the right time.’
Wanting to, but hardly able to refute her argument right then, Pascual took another sip of his coffee, then placed the cup and saucer back on the tray. ‘Give me five minutes and then I will meet you downstairs,’ he responded tersely. ‘No doubt we will indeed have an opportunity to discuss our personal issues over the weekend. If it looks like we will not—then we will have to make sure we create an opportunity. I can assure you of one thing: you are not leaving this establishment until I hear the full account of why you ran away from our marriage. And even then I will not let you go until I am satisfied that you have told me the truth!’
After her encounter with Pascual, Briana was still inwardly shaking as she attempted to chat to Tina in the lobby, and she knew her colleague saw that she was unusually distracted. Priding herself on her ability to remain unflappable in most situations—especially when it came to her work—she feared she was going to have to dig deep for resources she wasn’t even sure she had to get her through the rest of this weekend.
When Pascual descended the thickly carpeted staircase, only moments later, her breath all but got locked inside her throat. If he’d meant to make a statement that there was no question it was he who was the VIP guest this weekend, then he had more than succeeded. He had teamed the most exquisite bespoke black jacket with beautifully tailored trousers and a deep blue shirt, and Briana’s knees almost gave way beneath her at the sight of him. He had always looked amazing in a suit—elegant in a way that most very masculine men couldn’t attempt to carry off, as well as effortlessly stylish, fit, and sexy enough to make a woman forget what she was thinking about the second she clapped eyes on him. No matter what her age or marital status!
It was no surprise when Tina leaned over to her and whispered, ‘My God! He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. How lucky are we that he’s the VIP client!’
Lucky? That wasn’t exactly how Briana would describe what she was feeling as Pascual turned his disdainful dark gaze her way and silently warned her that he was not finished with her yet…not by a long chalk.
‘Señor—Mr Dominguez…your meeting is this way. Please come with me.’
As she led him into the elegant drawing room where the three businessmen were waiting to meet him, they rose in unison from their pin-tucked armchairs round the fireplace. Her voice had a slight tremor in it as she made the formal introductions. There was no doubt in her mind that the men were relieved that Pascual had finally appeared, and straight away she sensed how deferential they were towards him. Her ex-fiancé had always seemed to elicit that kind of response from other people. There was something almost aristocratic about him that, along with his sensational looks, guaranteed he commanded instant attention wherever he went.
After five years of not seeing him the impact he made when he walked into a room had not lessened one iota, Briana discovered, and she wondered what Tina would say if she ever found out that this ‘gorgeous man’, a wealthy Argentinian, was the father of her little boy Adán. Surveying him now, she could hardly believe it herself. Their whirlwind romance seemed such a long time ago. A long, lonely time ago, she thought with a sudden profound ache in her heart.
‘Can we get some more coffee in here—and maybe some brandy, sweetheart?’ Steve Nichols, MD of an advertising agency in Soho and lately coowner with his two colleagues of highly desirable stables in Windsor, took Briana aside.
Glancing into his pale blue eyes and looking at his slightly shiny pallor, she couldn’t help shivering with distaste. Unfortunately she knew his type. He might be on a business trip, but he would consider any reasonably attractive female between the ages of sixteen and forty fair game. Briana knew she would have to keep her wits about her around him. His business credentials might be impeccable, but that didn’t mean his manners or his behaviour towards women followed suit.
To Pascual—a fellow entrepreneur, with a commodity to sell that he very much desired—he would be sycophantic and deferential to a tee. But to her and Tina he could potentially be a nuisance.
‘Of course…Was there anything else?’ Glancing deliberately over at the other men she waited until they all agreed that coffee and brandy was just perfect for now.
As she turned to leave Steve Nichols leaned over to her and whispered conspiratorially, ‘Hurry back, sweetheart,’ and winked.