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She was aware of the trickle of the waterfall, the distant hum of the air-conditioning units that cooled the house, and those peaceful noises made his quiet words seem all the more ominous. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Maybe I want the prettiest girl in the sophomore class.”
Dread crept through her, and the night that wrapped-around them was suddenly full of peril. “What are you talking about?”
He propped his elbow on the back of the bench and crossed his ankles. Despite his relaxed posture, she sensed a tightly coiled watchfulness about him, and it frightened her. “I’ve decided I need a companion, but I’m too busy running Rosatech to spend the time looking for someone. I want that person to be you.”
Her mouth was so dry that her tongue felt swollen. “A companion?”
“I need someone to attend social functions with, someone to accompany me on trips and serve as my hostess when I entertain.”
“I thought you had a companion. I’ve heard you’re seeing someone in Dallas.”
“I’ve seen a lot of women over the years. I’m looking for something a little different. A little closer to home.” He spoke as calmly as if he were discussing a business agreement, but there was something about him, a heightened sense of alertness, that made her certain he wasn’t as calm as he pretended to be. “The two of us would still be able to live our own lives, but you’d be . . .” He paused and she felt as if his eyes were burning straight through hers into her skull. “You would be available to me, Suzy.”
The way he lingered over the word chilled her. “Available? Way, you’re not— It almost sounds as if—” She couldn’t hide her horror. “I’m not sleeping with you!”
For a moment he said nothing. “You’d hate that, wouldn’t you?”
She sprang to her feet. “You’re crazy! I can’t believe you’re suggesting this. You’re not talking about a companion; you’re talking about a mistress!”
He lifted one eyebrow, and she thought she had never seen a man so cold, so completely lacking in feeling. “Am I? I don’t remember using that word.”
“Stop toying with me!”
“I know you have an active life, and I don’t expect you to give it up, but sometimes when I need you with me, I’d like you to make concessions.”
Her blood pounded in her ears, and her voice seemed to be coming from very far away. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Doing what?”
“Blackmailing me! That’s what this is about, isn’t it? If I sleep with you, you’ll keep Rosatech in Telarosa? If I don’t, you’ll move the company.” He said nothing, and she couldn’t quite suppress the bubble of hysteria rising inside her. “I’m fifty-two years old! If you’re looking for a mistress, why don’t you do what other me
n your age do and find someone young.”
“Young women don’t interest me.”
She turned her back to him, her nails digging into her palms. “Do you hate me so much?”
“I don’t hate you at all.”
“I know what you’re doing. You’re living out some kind of vendetta from thirty years ago.”
“My vendetta is with the town, not with you.”
“But I’m the one who’s being punished.”
“If that’s the way you see it, I won’t try to change your mind.”
“I’m not going to do this.”
“I understand.”
She spun back. “You can’t force me.”
“I would never force you. It’s entirely your decision.”
The lack of emotion in his words frightened her more than an expression of anger would. He was insane, she thought. But his dark eyes regarded her with intelligence and a terrifying lucidity.
