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‘You must have other staff who can take over in case of emergencies.’
‘I do. But this isn’t an emergency and I also have a business proposal I need to write.’ A proposal she had planned to work on this weekend and hadn’t touched!
‘A proposal for what?’
Lexi was so tense at being this close to him and not letting on how much he affected her she nearly stormed out. Only he would likely follow and answering him was undoubtedly quicker.
‘A new childcare centre Aimee and I want to open.’
‘You’re expanding?’
His surprise was obvious and she didn’t know whether to feel pleased or insulted!
‘Not if I don’t get the current building problems ironed out.’
He regarded her thoughtfully and the room grew hotter. ‘I will help you.’
‘What? How?’ She shook her head. That was the last thing she had expected him to say.
He looked at her with benign patience. ‘Lexi, I run a global company. I think I might be qualified to help you with a business proposal.’
She hadn’t thought of that.
‘It’s what I believe you English call a no-brainer,’ he continued. ‘You help me, I help you. And it will make up for your refusal to let me pay you for
the past three days.’
Lexi mulled this over. She wanted her new childcare centre more than anything else and Leo was supposed to be an incredibly savvy businessman, but … could she really stay on with last night still lying heavily between them? She squirmed a little and told herself if it meant getting her new business up and running, of course she could.
Maybe …
‘What time frame are we talking about?’ she asked, standing behind the chair facing his desk.
Leo smiled as if she had already agreed and her lips pinched together. ‘I don’t expect what I need to do to take more than a couple of days.’
‘I’ll need my proposal completed by Friday,’ she told him smartly.
‘We’ll do it tonight.’
Lexi sucked in a breath. ‘And it’s just business, right?’ The question was out of her mouth before she’d fully thought it through and it landed between them like a dead weight.
His smile hardened. ‘Are you asking me or telling me?’
Lexi could feel her heart galloping behind her breastbone and she just hoped he couldn’t see it. Because what had happened between them last night—the way he had treated her this morning—made her feel too raw, too vulnerable for her to risk sleeping with him again.
‘Telling you.’
He nodded stiffly. ‘Then I will, of course, respect your wishes.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Sudovolstviyem, moya milaya.’
Lexi didn’t know what he’d just said and didn’t ask for a translation, just watched as he walked out of the room with the lithe grace of a world class athlete and took all the oxygen in the room with him. Then she flopped onto the chair she’d been gripping like a life buoy.
Well, that was easy. But what had she expected? That he would put up an argument? Insist on sleeping with her?
She felt flat and heavy and strangely deflated and yet she should be happy. Leo was taking his responsibilities as a father seriously and he was going to lend her his vast experience in business to help make one of her dreams come true. What more did she want?
