In Bed with the Boss

Chapter Seven

Maria glanced upwards, wondering how far up the staircase went. She had windows to her right that offered enticing vistas of the forest from various vantage points, and a handrail made of carved wood to her left. They appeared to be ascending toward the sky.

She reasoned as she ascended that at least having extra time would help her argue her case. She would get the chance to discuss all of her business-related plans in detail. She was confident that, given enough time, she could demonstrate to him that, whatever experience she lacked, she made up for with pure willpower and tenacity.

She had anticipated having ten minutes to make her case, but it now appeared that she would have much more time.

She should be happy, shouldn’t she? Not nervous.

She questioned why he had abruptly altered his mind before realising that they had arrived at the top of the stairway. Straight ahead, a sizable room with windows on two sides opened up to the woods.

Maria stepped across to the carved wooden balcony, which stopped any inhabitants of the room from falling to the forest floor, after realising they were level with the treetops. She smiled as she turned to the housekeeper, completely delighted.‘It’s really beautiful. similar to being in a tree house.

A seven-star tree-house.

No luxury had been overlooked, even though it had been created to blend in with the environment and offer an enviable glimpse into the mysteries of the jungle. The huge bed, with its elaborately carved headboard, was the focal point of the room. A velvet blanket was placed on top of the white silk sheets, which were softened by heaps of cushions in various colours of green that complemented the surrounding trees. The room's wooden floor was almost completely covered by a big woven rug, and the filmy gauze curtains that were put in the room's corners more for aesthetic than practical reasons played in the moderate breeze.

Maria assumed the woman was speaking in Portuguese when she flashed an ashamed smile and apologised for what she had said.‘I’m so sorry, I don’t speak a word of Portuguese.’

‘I said that your clothes have already been unpacked. All you need to do is ask if you need anything else. Maria nodded, her English heavily accented and her voice quiet.

‘Thank you.’ She cast a rueful glance down at herself. I'm going to alter it. She was incredibly uncomfortable, sticky, and itched to take off her clothes. Not that she’d brought much with her. For her two nights in Rio de Janeiro, she had packed. Just long enough for her to take a flight to Forest Lodge and back before getting a flight back to London.

She had no idea that he would want her to stay with him in the rainforest.

She felt a burst of optimism. Wasn’t this what she’d hoped for? More time to convince him to extend the loan? She now had that opportunity.

‘Dinner is served in two hours, on the terrace. If you want to swim, you can utilise the forest pool. Follow the route to your right for about five minutes. When it forks, go right again.’ Maria gave her a hesitant smile.‘If you need anything else, please call me.’

Maria grinned, thinking that all she truly needed was a little more gut to try again with Lockwood Corduroy.‘I’m sure I’ll be fine. Thank you.’

Maria declined the invitation to swim, deciding that the solitude of her bedroom was preferable to a pool that might be used by other people.

She took off the costume with relief, took a shower, and washed her hair. Fortunately, the possible issue of what to dress for dinner was immediately resolved by the realisation that aside from a red swimming costume packed in case there was a chance to swim in the hotel pool, she only had three options. The scratchy formal suit, which she had relieved herself of with a sigh, the combat pants she had donned for the lengthy flight from London to Rio, and a straightforward linen dress that she had packed so she would have something to wear about the hotel in Rio.Three sets of shoes and three outfits. She quickly ruled out wearing her heels after recalling his remarks about s*x. She had worn lightweight hiking boots on the journey, but it was obvious that they were inappropriate, leaving just the flat ballet pumps.

She put her feet into the shoes and reached for the dress while reminding herself that she wasn't dressing to impress the rich Brazilian.

After the bulky suit, it was incredibly comfortable, and by the time she passed through Forest Lodge's main glass atrium and onto the terrace's covered area, her confidence had somewhat returned. After calming down, she had some time to consider the circumstances.

Everything would be fine. She only needed to allow him to see her enthusiasm for the company. He would extend the loan if he knew how much she was willing to give.

Her confidence lasted as long as it took her to join him at the table.

He’d changed into a John shirt and a pair of lightweight trousers. In the dwindling dusk light, he appeared strong, seductive, and utterly menacing.

‘Sit down. Drink? Mary?'

She looked at the fresh, exotic-looking cocktail he was drinking. I had better not. She smiled at Maria, who was hovering. ‘Something nonalcoholic? Juice would be lovely.’

Lockwood made a small smiley face.‘Keeping your wits about you?’

Before responding, Maria waited until the drink was placed in front of her and they were alone.‘You’re very angry with me, aren’t you?’ She opted to use a direct approach because she despises heated situations."I'm aware that I've made mistakes, but everyone does when they first start a business,"

‘Do they?’ She starred in increasing helplessness as he appeared calm and in control, his gorgeous face showing no sign of emotion.

How did you communicate with someone like him? Someone who based their decisions on data and facts? Did he feel nothing? She then recalled his contentious divorce and realised the man had to be scared. When life attacked you, it left wounds. She knew that. Is that what had happened to him? Had he developed the ability to walk while bearing his wounds? Had his wife's sudden departure stopped him from feeling, or had that already happened before their marriage had ended?

‘You’ve never made a mistake, Mr Corduroy?’

His forceful jaw, the glitter in his eyes, the set of his shoulders—everything about his face was suddenly brutally hard as his mouth twisted into a sardonic smirk.‘Yes.’

Maria looked at him closely, wondering.

Even though he had only said one word, why did she get the impression that his succinct reply masked a great deal of suffering? Why did she have that impression when there was nothing about this man that suggested he would be weak or vulnerable? She could tell he was struggling with John and a significant issue. Something he refused to surrender to. She knew that he would never give up, after all. He was a bare-knuckle fighter.

Well, I made mistakes, I confess that—she hesitated, finding it hard to speak the truth.‘—I was foolish. Naïve.

Inexperienced. Call it what you like.’

He studied her for a long moment. ‘Naïve, foolish, and inexperienced. Are those words you’re using supposed to describe yourself?’

She murmured, "If I did that, there'd be no chance that you'd keep lending me the money," her gaze fixed on the power in his forearms. But they accurately reflect how I was five years ago when you first gave me the loan.

‘How old were you?’

‘Eighteen. Fresh out of school.’ She spoke the phrase carefully, being cautious not to reveal any of the sufferings she had experienced in school. Why didn't you enrol in college?

All sorts of reasons.

Maria dropped her eyes to her plate, seeing the food for the first time. When had that arrived? She then realised that while she was with him, she hadn't been paying attention to anything other than the man.‘University wasn’t for me.’ They brushed over a subject she detested, and her heart rate accelerated.‘I wanted to set up the business.’ She had to establish her worth.

His fingers played with the stem of his wine glass. You wanted to start making money, right?

Money? Maria frowned. She wished to inform him that it was not about the money. Even now, she barely received any income, preferring to invest her part back into the company. Although she had never cared about money, a man whose motivation was monetary gain was unlikely to respond well to her honest admission. He finally heard her admit, "I wanted something that was mine," which was a small amount of the truth.

He paused as Maria added more bowls of food to the table. However, the company belonged to your father.

She shook her head. ‘Not the cafés. The cafés were my idea, but he was importing the coffee and selling it elsewhere. I enjoyed my time working in a café when I graduated from college, but there are so many things I wish I had done differently. At my university in London, I had friends who didn't have a nice place to hang out during the day, so I came up with the idea to go it alone. After doing some investigation, I discovered a dilapidated café that was bankrupt which I then purchased with a bank loan. I worked day and night putting everything together by myself because I didn't have enough money to hire someone to do it. She extended her hand to help herself to some food."Paint wouldn't cover the cracks in the walls, so I decided to cover them with enormous photographs of the rainforest."The effect was amazing. Everybody used to enter and inquire, "Where's that?"I possibly could have opened a second travel agency firm. Things had seemed so uncomplicated then. She had only one goal when she started: to make her father proud.

‘Brazil is a beautiful country.’

‘Yes. Additionally, the pictures got me to consider the entire experience I wanted to provide. Although there are many coffee shops, the majority of them cater to young mothers with young children and businessmen rushing in for a quick caffeine shot. She lowered her fork and scowled."I wanted to build a location where students could hang out with their friends and enjoy great conversation and music in a fun atmosphere. The atmosphere was young and vibrant. Samba music was played, and Brazilian snacks were sold. We provided internet access so that the kids could work as they sipped their coffee. It was a success, too.

‘Yes. The place was packed and our profit was amazing. It was thrilling.‘Making money always is.’

She looked at him after being slightly startled out of her recollections by his slightly abrasive tone, wondering if there was more to his remark, but his attractive face said nothing about what was going through his mind. Was she being oversensitive? Yes, that's when I realised we could apply the same strategy elsewhere. I came to your organisation because the bank would not continue to lend me money. After all, I was so inexperienced and they did not want to provide too much money to an eighteen-year-old. I believed you might be able to assist us because you were providing business loans to programs that encouraged Brazilian enterprises. Additionally, the loan his company gave her changed her life.

He reached for his wine glass. ‘Your first café made you a profit, no?’ ‘Yes.’

‘But now you are not in profit.’ His tone was conversational. That must be very depressing.

‘We spent too much on the refurbishment.’ Maria watched him drink, her eyes following the movement of his throat automatically." I paid a building company to do what I did myself in the first café," the owner said. They cost more than I had anticipated. Although it was a mistake, I won't repeat it.

‘No.’ His gaze lingered on her face. ‘You won’t.’

She put her fork down after becoming too overwhelmed by the tension in the room.‘You’re going to say no, aren’t you? And the reason is simply because I haven't yet increased your investment. Emotion bubbled up inside her. I didn't misplace your money, either. You haven’t lost anything. Given your wealth, this investment means nothing to you. But to me and the people who work for me, it means everything. She threw her plate aside since she was suddenly too ill to even consider eating. Why would you offer me to stay and view the coffee estate if you were only going to decline?

He didn’t smile. ‘You still have time to change my mind, Miss Bella. Additionally, I am aware that the fazenda's owners would like to meet you and hear your viewpoints.

‘Hear what I have to say about what?’

She stared at him, her expression blank and uncomprehending. He gave the impression that she would step up and provide testimony.

‘Your business, Miss Bella. They are the only supplier you have, so your company is their company. Your fortunes are inextricably linked.’

‘That’s true.’

She had her future in this man's hands, and it was uncertain at the time. She should have been exerting every last bit of mental energy into trying to comprehend him to come up with strategies for persuading him otherwise.

And yet she was finding it almost impossible to concentrate. She was unable to maintain a professional demeanour; all she could do was focus on minute, inconsequential things. John's hands moved decisively and confidently, much like the tangle of chest hair that was barely visible at the open collar of his shirt. His mouth then entered the picture. She couldn't stop staring at the seductive lines of his mouth; there was something distinctly masculine about them that suggested a very physical nature. Maria instantly recalled the pilot informing her that she was surrounded by women.

She initially brushed off his evaluation as the inevitable result of his riches and influence, but she has since come to see that it had more to do with the man's basic character.

Brazilian male Lockwood Corduroy had full blood. He pulsated with intense, all-out s*x appeal and male dominance. Even if he had been indigent, women would have flocked to him. And being in the same room as him made her instantly aware of their differences. conscious of her femininity.

She was so enthralled by him that she didn't realise her plate had been subtly taken away until a cup of coffee was placed in front of her.

She forced herself to focus on something other than him as she put the cup to her lips, sniffed, and exhaled in satisfaction. Whatever the tension, coffee always made her feel better. That has to be the most delicious smell there is.

‘I’m glad you think so. That coffee is from the neighbourhood fazenda that supplies your place of business.