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People depending on her.
‘I can do facts and figures,’ she said quickly, hoping that he couldn’t see that her legs were shaking. ‘I have all the documents in my briefcase. Everything you’ll need to help you make a decision.’
‘I’ve already made a decision. My answer is no.’ His jaw was roughened by dark stubble and she watched as a muscle flickered in his lean cheek.
‘But you made that decision before you had a chance to talk to me.’ She wiped a damp hand over her skirt, refusing to allow him to squash her natural optimism. ‘I’m hoping that once I’ve explained what’s happening, you might rethink.’ ‘Why would I do that?’
Unease blossomed to life inside her. ‘Once you see the figures and our plans for the future, I thought you might change your mind about withdrawing the finance.’ She watched his face hopefully, searching for something—anything—that might indicate that he was receptive to further negotiation on the topic. Anything that might indicate that she hadn’t wasted her time coming here.
But he didn’t answer. He gave her no reassurance or encouragement. No hope at all. He just watched her and from behind her in the trees came a sharp wail, followed by what sounded like maniacal laughter.
Grace turned her head and squinted into the dense forest that surrounded them. With the helicopter gone she was suddenly aware of the constant background noise that enveloped them. Jungle sounds. Yelps, calls, shrieks, chirping and warbling. It was as if the whole forest was alive. ‘It sounds as though someone is being murdered out there.’ Laughter in her eyes, she looked back at him, seeking to build an emotional connection and falling at the first hurdle.
There was no connection. No answering smile. And it was impossible to know what he was thinking because his face revealed none of his thoughts.
‘You’re afraid of the jungle, Miss Thacker?’ His tone was less than encouraging. ‘Or is it something else that is making you nervous?’
Something else? Like the fact that her whole life was on the verge of being ground into the dust, perhaps, or the fact that she was alone in the rainforest with a man who obviously disliked the entire human race?
There were so many things to make her nervous she wouldn’t have known where to begin her list, but he wasn’t exactly a man who invited confidences so Grace pushed away the mental image of the jaguars, snakes and two thousand species of insect. ‘I’m not nervous—’
‘Is that right?’ He watched her for a few moments and then narrowed his eyes. ‘Then let me give you a few more hints on how to do business with me. Don’t waste my time, don’t lie to me and most of all, don’t cheat. They’re the three things guaranteed to irritate me and I never say yes to anything when I’m irritated.’
What did women see in him? He was wrapped in a cloak of cynicism so thick that it didn’t allow even the faintest chink of light to pass through and his eyes shimmered with an impatience that he didn’t bother to mask with the usual social pleasantries.
‘I won’t lie to you. I don’t lie to anyone.’
But she hadn’t been absolutely honest with him either, had she? She hadn’t revealed everything about herself when she’d taken up his loan. Discomfort and guilt slithered down her spine and she quickly reminded herself that there was nothing in the contract that stipulated that she tell everything about herself. And none of her personal history had any relevance to her ability to run her company—she’d made sure of it. Nevertheless she felt betraying colour touch her cheeks and saw him smile.
Just a flicker and not a particularly nice smile, but a definite indication that he’d seen her blush and filed it away as a point against her. ‘You’re a woman, Miss Thacker. Lying and cheating is welded into your DNA and you can’t change that. The best we can hope for is that you endeavour to fight against thousands of years of evolution when you’re in my company.’ He pulled open the door and stood to one side so that she could pass through.
For a moment she just stood there, looking at him. ‘Don’t bully me, Mr Cordeiro.’ Her voice was husky and shook slightly but she forced herself to carry on speaking. ‘My business isn’t doing well and I know we have things to discuss, but don’t try and intimidate me.’
Never again was she allowing that to happen. ‘Do I intimidate you?’
She was willing to bet he scared everyone he met. ‘I think you could at least try to be a little more friendly.’
‘Friendly?’ His voice was faintly mocking. ‘You want me to be friendly?’
She forced herself to hold his gaze. ‘I just don’t see why a business meeting always has to be cold and impersonal.’
He moved towards her and she took an instinctive step backwards. ‘You want to get personal with me, Miss Thacker?’ His lashes lowered, his eyes grazed hers and the heat and the humidity in the air rose to stifling proportions. ‘How personal?’ He moved closer still and she found it suddenly hard to breathe.
He wasn’t touching her and yet her body was overwhelmingly conscious of every inch of his, as if it had been sleeping for the past twenty-three years and had suddenly been brought to life. ‘I’m just trying to say that I’ve always felt that business can be fun as well as hard work.’
‘Is that right?’ He studied her for a long moment. ‘Well, your attitude explains a great deal about the current state of your company accounts.’
He moved away but it took a few moments for her breathing to normalise and her heart rate to slow to something approximating its normal rhythm.
She wanted to respond to his less than flattering comment about her company, but he didn’t give her the opportunity. Instead he strolled through the open door, leaving her to follow.
No wonder his wife left him, she thought miserably as she followed him, carefully closing the door between her and the jungle. Or was he arrogant and cynical because his wife had left?
As she pondered that question, it took her a moment to be aware of her surroundings but when she finally glanced around her she realised with a jolt of surprise that they hadn’t left the rainforest outside at all. It was part of the lodge.
Following him through a huge glass dome, she glanced left and right, her attention caught by the profusion of huge, exotic plants that turned his home from amazing to spectacular. And through the glass, the rainforest, so close that inside and outside appeared to merge in perfect
harmony.
