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At any other time she would have been fascinated, but it was obvious from his less than encouraging body language that Rafael Cordeiro had absolutely no interest in her opinion on his choice of home.
Making no attempt to put her at her ease, he led her into another large room and waved a hand towards a large round table that housed a state-of-the-art computer and several screens. Two phones were ringing but they both suddenly stopped, as if they’d been answered elsewhere. ‘Sit down.’
Technology, Grace thought, eyeing the phones. He clearly wasn’t as alone as he appeared to be.
She sank onto the nearest chair and glanced around her in awe. Through giant hexagonal panes of glass, the lush, dense greenery of the jungle pressed in on them.
‘It’s amazing,’ she breathed, genuinely taken aback by the unusual nature of their surroundings. ‘It’s like sitting in a greenhouse in the middle of the forest.’ Her eyes slid to a patch of fern that she saw moving. ‘Do the animals come close? Do they know you’re here?’
‘Predators always sense their prey, Miss Thacker.’ Rafael Cordeiro spoke in a low drawl, his accent so faint that it was barely detectable. He lounged back in his seat and lifted an eyebrow in expectation. ‘I agreed to give you ten minutes. The clock starts now.’
Unprepared for such an unsympathetic approach, she gaped at him. ‘You were serious? You really meant it when you said I could only have ten minutes?’
‘I’m a busy man. And I never say anything I don’t mean.’
He obviously wasn’t going to make this easy for her.
Flustered by his total indifference to her dire predicament, she took a moment to gather her thoughts. ‘All right. Well, you know why I’m here. Five years ago your company lent me the money to start up my business. Now you want to foreclose on the loan.’
‘Don’t waste time stating irrefutable facts,’ he advised in a silky tone, his eyes flickering to the clock in an explicit reminder of his terms. ‘You now have nine minutes remaining.’
She felt a flicker of panic. He was completely unreceptive. She was wasting her time. ‘The business is important to me. It’s everything.’ Immediately she regretted that impulsive confession. Why would he be interested in the emotional stake that she had in the business?
Clearly he was wondering the same thing because his bold brows drew together in a discouraging frown. ‘I’m interested in facts and figures. And you now have eight minutes remaining.’
She flushed and forced herself to plough on. Don’t get emotional, Grace. Don’t get emotional. ‘As you know, I started a chain of coffee shops with your investment, but they’re not just coffee shops.’ She dropped her hands into her lap so that he couldn’t see them shaking. ‘We don’t just sell a cup of coffee, we sell a whole Brazilian experience.’
‘And just what constitutes a “Brazilian experience”, Miss Thacker?’ He lingered over the words and she bit her lip, refusing to allow him to intimidate her.
This was her baby, she reminded herself. She had all the answers she was going to need. ‘People who come into our cafés are given far more than a shot of caffeine. For as long as it takes them to drink their coffee or eat their lunch, they’re transported to Brazil. With your initial investment we opened twenty coffee shops across London. We’re ready to open more, but not if you withdraw your support …’ She broke off and rose to her feet, needing to pace. She couldn’t sit across the table looking at that handsome face. She couldn’t concentrate. ‘Do you mind if I walk around? I’m not great at sitting at tables and if I only have a short time I have to be comfortable or I won’t be able to make the most of it.’
His sardonic gaze slid to her feet. ‘Frankly I’m amazed you can stand, let alone walk around. I see you gave careful thought to the footwear that would be most appropriate for a visit to the rainforest.’
Trying to keep her thoughts together, she refused to allow his sarcasm to unsettle her. ‘This is a business meeting, Mr Cordeiro,’ she said defensively, ‘so I chose my clothing accordingly. I didn’t think you’d take me seriously if I was wearing a pair of combat trousers.’ Pride prevented her from confessing that both the shoes and the suit had been purchased specifically for this meeting.
Suddenly she felt like an idiot for thinking that what she wore would make a difference to a man like him.
Clearly she should have saved her money.
He was watching her closely. ‘You mean you thought that a pair of sexy heels might make me change my mind about pulling out of the investment.’ His voice was soft and deadly. ‘You may have misunderstood my reputation, Miss Thacker. I keep my women and my business separate.’ His gaze shifted to hers and she stared at him, unable to speak or move, caught in the dangerous heat of his gaze. Her body felt as though it had turned to liquid and a strange and unfamiliar warmth spread across her pelvis.
His women.
A clear vision filled her head and she saw Rafael Cordeiro lying naked and bronzed on white silk sheets, his body damp after an excess of physical activity, an exhausted and deliriously grateful girl lying limp and sated by his side.
The vision shocked and unsettled her and she looked away for a moment, concentrating on the lush green of the jungle instead of the diamond-hard glint of his eyes.
‘Miss Thacker?’ His sharp prompt made her start and she turned her head and gave him a desperate look, hating herself for wondering how those long, bronzed fingers would feel on her flesh. What was the matter with her? She wasn’t the sort of woman who mentally undressed men the moment she met them.
Especially not men like him.
He wasn’t going to yield or compromise, she could see that. There was no softening, no gentleness and not a trace of warmth or humanity. For a terrifying moment she felt her confidence begin to crumble. The horribly familiar waves of panic began to engulf her and she dug her nails hard into her palms and looked away from him, staring at the trees for a moment while she struggled for composure.
You can do this, Grace, she told herself desperately. You don’t need him to make it easy for you.
Since when had anyone ever made it easy for her?
Her entire life had been a struggle to prove herself and she wasn’t expecting this encounter to be any different.
