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'It's part of the package,' he said expressionlessly. 'I thought you realised that.'
Keep calm; match him for coolness. Her brain was giving orders she obeyed automatically. 'This is not a normal apartment,' she said evenly, 'and you know it.'
'Normality is relative.' He waited across the room to file fireplace where a living-flame fire was flickering red and gold. 'I had this put in to mate it more homely,' he said coolly.
'Hawk, this is ridiculous-'
'Come and see the view,' he interrupted authoritatively.
She joined him at the huge patio windows which opened on to a large balcony, beyond which it seemed as though all Paris was stretched out before her, taking great steadying breaths as she did so.
'Do you want to go outside?' he asked quietly.
'No, I do not' It was clipped and terse.
'Come and see the rest of it, then,' he said calmly.
He wasn't giving her time to think, let alone talk; that much registered. He was bulldozing her along as though this were all/air accompli, and it wasn't. She couldn't let it be. What would people say? What obvious conclusion would they come to if she allowed him to install her in a place like this?
The rest of the apartment was equally superb-the separate dining room in pale gold, the massive fitted kitchen and breakfast area, the en suite bathroom, a splendid marbled construction in cream and honey-brown, and the bedroom with its huge four-poster bed and silk hangings. It was all incredible, larger than life- very much like Hawk Mallen, Joanne thought as the anger began to take over, flushing her cheeks scarlet.
'You must see I can't live here, Hawk.' She faced him after the tour in the same spot they had started in, just inside the front door. 'It would make my position at Bergique & Son impossible from the start.'
'Why?' The huge, high-ceilinged room suited him perfectly; he had perfect domination over his surroundings as he stood watching her silently, his hands thrust in his pockets and his blue eyes narrowed like lasers on her hot face.
'You don't need to ask that, surely, not a man of the world like you?' she said cuttingly. 'Everyone would assume I was your mistress; you know they would.'
'I would have thought that could only strengthen your position,' he said with outrageous arrogance. 'Give you the sort of edge you need.'
'I don't need an edge from you.' She drew herself up straight, her face fiery. 'I'll sink or swim by my own efforts, thank you-'
'Don't be so childish.' The complete lack of emotion m his voice and face made her even madder.
'Childish?' Her voice was far too shrill but she didn't case. 'I'm not so childish that I don't know why you've rented this place, Hawk Mallen. And that little man downstairs knew too, didn't fee? In feet the whole world and his wife probably know.'
'Perhaps you'd like to be more specific?' he said softly.
'Do I have to spell it out?' she hissed furiously, his composure all the more irritating when she was so uptight she could barely speak.
'Humour me.' There was a thread of steel in the gravelly voice now but for once it didn't intimidate her. Whatever he said, however he explained it away, she just knew he had originally set this place up thinking she would become his mistress. How dared he? How dare be assume so much?!
'You thought I would allow myself to be bought, didn't you?' she accused grimly, watching him with angry eyes as he crossed the room to stand just in front of her, his big body formidable. 'You arranged all this, the apartment, everything, thinking I would agree to deep with you. I know it's the truth, Hawk, whether you admit it or not.'
'I wouldn't insult your intelligence by pretending anything else.'
It was said coolly, and without the slightest shred of embarrassment, and for a moment she was so taken aback she just stared at him before her hand lashed out and connected with the tanned skin of his face in a ringing slap.
'You…you-'
'Now just hold on there.' He caught one hand, and then the other, as she attempted to hit him again, and she saw, with a measure of satisfaction despite the circumstances, that his cool had quite gone. 'Hold cm a damn minute, will you, woman? I admit I'd hoped we might get together when I looked at this place, but that wasn't the sole reason for buying it I wanted to know you were safe, in a good environment and with some protection-'
'You liar-'
'I never lie, Joanne,' he said grimly. 'If you had agreed to start a relationship with me th
at would have been the icing on the cake, of course it would, I admit it, damn it, but there was never any question of buying you. I know enough about you to realise you can't be bought.'
'Do you? Do you indeed?' she shot back furiously. 'Then tell me, if the new manager were old and ugly, or married, would you have got this particular apartment? Is this the normal sort of package you give to new employees you aren't worried about impressing?'
