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‘This was my father’s study—his personal space. He never allowed my mother to redesign it, no matter how much she tried. He hasn’t been in here since she died, and I … I feel no need to change things.’
A well of sympathy rose inside Sasha for his pain. Casting a look around, she stopped, barely suppressing a gasp. ‘Is that a stag’s head on the wall?’ she asked, eyeing the large animal head, complete with gnarled, menacing antlers.
‘A bull stag, yes.’
She turned from the gruesome spectacle. ‘There’s a difference?’
The semblance of a smile whispered over his lips. Sasha found she couldn’t tear her gaze away. In that split second she felt a wild, unfettered yearning to see that smile widen, to see his face light up in genuine amusement.
‘The bull stag is the alpha of its herd. He calls the shots. And he gets his pick of the females.’
‘Ah, I see. If you’re going to display such a monstrosity on your wall, only the best will do?’
He slanted her a wry glance. ‘That’s the general thinking, yes.’
‘Ugh.’
He caught her shudder and his smile widened.
Warmth exploded in her chest, encompassed her whole body and made her breathless. Sasha found she didn’t care. The need to bask in the stunning warmth of his smile trumped the need for oxygen. Even when another voice intruded she couldn’t look away.
When Tom’s voice came again she roused herself with difficulty from the drugging race of her pulse, carefully skirted a coffee table festooned with piles of books, and approached the desk as the screen came to life.
‘Hello? Can you hear me, Sasha?’ Tom’s voice held its usual touch of impatience, and his features were pinched.
Marco’s smile disappeared.
Sasha mourned the loss of it and moved closer to the screen. ‘I’m here, Tom.’
He huffed in response, then his eyes swung over her shoulder and widened.
‘Sit down,’ Marco said from behind her, pushing the massive chair towards her.
She sat. He reached over her shoulder and adjusted the screen. Then he remained behind her—a heavy, dominating presence.
Tom cleared his throat. ‘Uh, I didn’t know you’d be joining us, Mr d
e Cervantes.’
‘A last-minute decision. Carry on,’ Marco instructed.
‘Um … okay …’
She’d never seen Tom flounder, and she bit the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling.
‘Sasha, you have a Q&A on the team’s website next Friday. I’ve e-mailed the questions to you. I’ll need it back by Wednesday, to proofread and get it approved by the lawyers. On Friday night you have the Children of Bravery awards in London. Tuesday is the Strut footwear shoot, followed by the Linear Watches shoot in Barcelona. On Sun— Is there a problem?’ he asked testily when she shook her head.
‘That’s not going to work. I can’t take all that time off just for sponsorship events.’
‘This is the schedule I’ve planned. You’ll have to deal with it.’
‘Seriously, I think it makes more sense to group everything together and get it done in the shortest possible time—’
‘I’m in charge of your schedule. Let me work out what makes sense.’
‘Miss Fleming is right.’ Marco’s deep voice sounded from behind her shoulder. ‘You have several events spaced out over the period of a week. That’s a lot of time wasted travelling. Do you not agree?’
‘But the sponsors—’
