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Cristiano could barely restrain himself from telling her what a bad deal she was making. But his goal was to be rid of her before she caused him any more damage—personally or professionally.
“Fine.” He turned to his enormous desk. Pulling out a standard nondisclosure agreement usually given to high-level executives, he pushed it across the desk toward her and scribbled something on a separate piece of paper.
“Might as well keep the lawyers out of it, and save us both time and trouble,” he said carelessly. “Sign these and I’ll write you a c
heck.”
Hallie looked at him sharply. “Give me the check first.”
“What?” He gave a low laugh. “You don’t trust me?”
“No.” She looked at him with quiet determination. “Because I know what kind of man you really are.”
His back snapped straight. “What kind is that?”
“You seduced me—” her dark eyes glittered in the shadows “—then had me fired. You took my job away, just to avoid the inconvenience of seeing me.”
She was right. And he hated her for it.
“And now we both know what kind of woman you are,” he said coldly. “The kind of woman who is willing to lie about herself for a hundred thousand dollars.”
Her deep brown eyes held his, then dropped.
“Yes,” she said in a low voice. “I suppose I am.” She squared her shoulders. “But I’ll still need the check before I sign.”
“Fine.” Turning away, he got his checkbook out of the safe. Scribbling the amount and signing it, he handed it to her.
Her hand trembled as she took the check. For a moment, she just looked down at it. Then she pressed it against her chest, looking almost near tears.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You don’t know what this will mean to us.”
“Us?”
“Me,” she said quickly.
Obviously, she’d already found another lover. The thought bothered him. He pushed it aside. He had no claim on her, and she would have none on him once the deal was finished.
Setting his jaw, he held out the pen. “Now your side of the bargain.”
“Of course.” Taking the pen, she leaned over his desk to read the two documents—the nondisclosure agreement and an admission of fault. As she read, Cristiano’s gaze traced unwillingly down her long throat to the dark hair tumbling down her back to the sweet fullness of her backside. Her breasts seemed fuller than he remembered.
He forced himself to look away.
Signing both papers with a flourish, she put the lid back on his pen, then handed it to him along with the signed papers. “Here.”
She seemed strangely joyful, as if the weight of the world had just been lifted off her shoulders.
Cristiano barely restrained a scowl. His hand brushed hers as he took the papers and pen. Her cheeks went bright red, and she dropped her hand. “Thanks. Goodbye.”
He watched incredulously as, without another word, she headed for the door.
“That’s it?”
Hallie glanced back with a smile. “You wanted to be rid of me.”
He couldn’t believe it could be so easy for her to leave him when it was so hard for him to let her go. When it took all his self-control not to ask her to—
“Stay for a drink,” he heard himself say. “Just one drink. To toast the future.”
