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She used a precious thirty seconds of her time in calming herself and then she spoke. ‘I wore the heels because they seemed right with the suit,’ she said calmly, fighting against the sudden tension in the atmosphere. ‘And you owe me another minute of time.’
He leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed. ‘I do?’
‘Yes, because that’s how much time you just wasted talking about women’s clothing.’
There was a long, pulsing silence and then he inclined his head. ‘You still have eight minutes remaining.’
Grace started to breathe again. ‘Good. The only thing I want from you is an opportunity to present the facts. I came here because I want to change your mind.’
She wished, desperately, that he wouldn’t look at her but his gaze was unrelenting and she found it almost impossible to concentrate. The connection between them was electrically charged.
Did he feel it too? Did he feel the heat and the rising tension?
‘I’ve already told you that I don’t change my mind.’
‘You also told me that you wanted facts and you haven’t had them yet.’ Her heart was thudding so hard she was certain that he must be able to hear it. ‘You promised me ten minutes, Mr Cordeiro. My ten minutes isn’t up.’ And she was blowing the whole thing, she knew she was. It was all very well pretending to be confident but her knees were shaking, her hands were shaking, she was saying all the wrong things, letting one superior glance from those dark eyes turn her into a stuttering wreck. And he obviously recognised the effect he was having on her because he gave a silky smile.
‘Nervous, Miss Thacker?’
‘Of course I’m nervous …’ She spread her hands in a gesture that pleaded for understanding—some concessio
n on his part. ‘In the circumstances, that’s understandable, don’t you think?’
At that precise moment, he was in the driving seat and she was standing in the road waiting to be run over.
‘Absolutely.’ His voice was as hard as his gaze was unsympathetic. ‘In your position I’d be quaking in my boots and I’d be using every trick in the book to try and save myself, even down to the high heels, the innocent smile and the shiny hair. Go for it, I say.’
‘I don’t understand what you’re implying.’ Did he realise how uncomfortable she was in the shoes and the heels? Did he know that she’d been trying to impress him?
‘I’m saying that your business is in serious trouble, Miss Thacker, and I’m the only one who can save it so I don’t blame you for using every trick at your disposal to try and turn the tide. But I ought to warn you that it won’t make any difference. I won’t extend my investment and as far as I’m concerned you deserve everything that’s coming to you.’
His callous lack of sentiment was like a vicious punch in the stomach.
‘How can you say that? How can you be so uncaring?’ She forgot her resolution not to get emotional. ‘This isn’t just about me. If Café Brazil goes under then lots of people are going to lose their jobs.’
‘And you’re terribly concerned about other people’s welfare, are you not?’
There was something in his tone that increased her feeling of unease. Why did she have the sense that there were two conversations going on here? One above the surface and one below. ‘Yes, actually. I think being an employer is a big responsibility. You can’t just hire and fire people. I’ve been very careful about not recruiting more staff until we were sure that the business could support them.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Very laudable, I’m sure. So what went wrong, Miss Thacker? If you’re so careful, then why are you here? Why isn’t your little business raking in the cash as we speak?’
‘Our operating costs were higher than we’d estimated,’ she said honestly, frowning slightly as she caught the cynical gleam in his eyes. ‘Among other things, refurbishing ten of the coffee shops cost more than we planned. But we’ve addressed that and I have lots of ideas for the future.’
He watched her for a moment and the atmosphere thickened between them. ‘You’re very determined,’ he said softly. ‘Just how desperate are you?’
Grace stared at him, her mouth dry. What did he mean by that? ‘I care, Mr Cordeiro, if that’s what you mean.’ Refusing to be daunted, she took a deep breath and gave a shaky smile. ‘I still have five minutes left to persuade you.’
She reached for her briefcase and removed the papers that she’d stowed carefully inside. Rafael Cordeiro was a man incapable of emotion so she had to appeal to a different part of him. He was a figures man so she’d give him figures. ‘You won’t continue your investment because, so far, you haven’t seen a profit. But the cafés are doing well. Speculate to accumulate, isn’t that what they say?’
‘Do they?’
She flushed and forced herself to carry on and not be put off by his bored tone or the dangerous glint in his eyes. ‘We’re breaking even now and we’ll soon be making money.’
‘Is that right?’
Something in the way he was looking at her caused her feeling of unease to rocket. ‘Once we start making money you’ll also start making money …’ Her voice tailed off as she saw the grim set of his mouth. What did it take to make the man smile? ‘I’m going to be completely honest here. It’s taken longer than I thought it would and the figures aren’t what they should be. The cafés are all so busy that I can’t understand why we’re not already in profit.’
‘Can you not?’
