episode 3
1572 Words
And a good afternoon to you, too, she thought, trying to hide her mounting dismay.
Suddenly she wanted to do precisely as he suggested. Staring into
those deadly, dark eyes, she wanted to leave. But the
helicopter was already far above them and the reason for her visit was
still safely stowed away in her beg. She couldn’t leave. She had a
job to do.
People depending on her.
‘I can do facts and figures,’ she said quickly, hoping that he couldn’t
see that her legs were shaking. ‘I have all the documents in my beg.
Everything you’ll need to help you make a decision.’
‘I’ve already made a decision. My answer is no.’ His jaw was
roughened by dark stubble and she watched as a muscle flickered in his
lean cheek.
‘But you made that decision before you had a chance to talk to me.’
She wiped a damp hand over her skirt, refusing to allow him to squash
her natural optimism. ‘I’m hoping that once I’ve explained what’s
happening, you might rethink.’ ‘Why would I do that?’
Unease blossomed to life inside her. ‘Once you see the figures and our
plans for the future, I thought you might change your mind about
withdrawing the finance.’ She watched his face hopefully, searching for
something—anything—that might indicate that he was receptive to
further negotiation on the topic. Anything that might indicate that she
hadn’t wasted her time coming here.
But he didn’t answer. He gave her no reassurance or encouragement.
No hope at all. He just watched her and from behind her in the trees
came a sharp wail, followed by what sounded like maniacal laughter. Sara turned her head and squinted into the dense forest that
surrounded them. With the helicopter gone she was suddenly aware of
the constant background noise that enveloped them. Jungle sounds.
Yelps, calls, shrieks, chirping, and warbling. It was as if the whole forest
was alive. ‘It sounds as though someone is being murdered out there.’
Laughter in her eyes, she looked back at him, seeking to build an
emotional connection and falling at the first hurdle.
There was no connection. No answering smile. And it was impossible
to know what he was thinking because his face revealed none of his
thoughts.
‘You’re afraid of the jungle, Miss Sara?’ His tone was less than
encouraging. ‘Or is it something else that is making you nervous?’
Something else? Like the fact that her whole life was on the verge of
being ground into the dust, perhaps, or the fact that she was alone in the
rainforest with a man who disliked the entire human race?
There were so many things to make her nervous she wouldn’t have
known where to begin her list, but he wasn’t exactly a man who invited
confidence so Sara pushed away from the mental image of the jaguars,
snakes, and two thousand species of insect. ‘I’m not nervous—’
‘Is that right?’ He watched her for a few moments and then narrowed
his eyes. ‘Then let me give you a few more hints on how to do business
with me. Don’t waste my time, don’t lie to me, and most of all, don’t
cheat. They’re the three things guaranteed to irritate me and I never say
yes to anything when I’m irritated.’
What did women see in him? He was wrapped in a cloak of cynicism so
thick that it didn’t allow even the faintest c***k of light to pass through and his eyes shimmered with an impatience that he didn’t bother to
mask with the usual social pleasantries.
‘I won’t lie to you. I don’t lie to anyone.’
But she hadn’t been absolutely honest with him either, had she? She hadn’t
revealed everything about herself when she’d taken up his loan.
Discomfort and guilt slithered down her spine and she quickly reminded
herself that there was nothing in the contract that stipulated that she tell
everything about herself. And none of her personal histories had any
relevance to her ability to run her company—she’d made sure of it.
Nevertheless, she felt betraying color touch her cheeks and saw him
smile.
Just a flicker and not a particularly nice smile, but a definite
indication that he’d seen her blush and filed it away as a point against
her. ‘You’re a woman, Miss Sara. Lying and cheating are welded into
your DNA and you can’t change that. The best we can hope for is that
you endeavoendeavorht against thousands of years of evolution when
you’re in my company.’ He pulled open the door and stood to one side so
that she could pass through.
For a moment she just stood there, looking at him. ‘Don’t bully me, Mr
Willson.’ Her voice was husky and shook slightly but she forced herself
to carry on speaking. ‘My business isn’t doing well and I know we have
things to discuss, but don’t try and intimidate me.’
Never again was she allowing that to happen. ‘Do I intimidate you?’
She was willing to bet he scared everyone he met. ‘I think you could at
least try to be a little more friendly.’
‘Friendly?’ His voice was faintly mocking. ‘You want me to be friendly?’
She forced herself to hold his gaze. ‘I just don’t see why a business
meeting always has to be cold and impersonal.’
He moved towards her and she took an instinctive step backward want to get personal with me, Miss Sarar?’ His lashes lowered,
his eyes grazed hers and the heat and the humidity in the air rose to
stifle proportions. ‘How personal?’ He moved closer still and she found
it suddenly hard to breathe.
He wasn’t touching her and yet her body was overwhelmingly
conscious of every inch of his, as if it had been sleeping for the past
twenty-three years and had suddenly been brought to life. ‘I’m just
trying to say that I’ve always felt that business can be fun as well as hard
work.’
‘Is that right?’ He studied her for a long moment. ‘Well, your attitude
explains a great deal about the current state of your company accounts.’
He moved away but it took a few moments for her breathing to
normalinormalizer heart rate to slow to something approximating its
normal rhythm.
She wanted to respond to his less than flattering comment about her
company, but he didn’t give her the opportunity. Instead, he str rolled
through the open door, leaving her to follow.
, she thought miserably as she followed him,
carefully closing the door between her and the jungle.
As she pondered that question, it took her a moment to be aware of her surroundings but when she finally glanced around her she realiserealizeda a jolt of surprise that they hadn’t left the rainforest outside at all. It
was part of the lodge.
Following him through a huge glass dome, she glanced left and right,
her attention caught by the profusion of huge, exotic plants that turned
his home from amazing to spectacular. And through the glass, the
rainforest, so close that inside and outside appeared to merge in perfect
harmony.
At any other time she wo, she uld have been fascinated, but it was obvious
from his less than encouraging body language that William had
absolutely no interest in her opinion on his choice of home.
Not attempt 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, Sara thought, eyeing the phones. He 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 Sara’ William 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 t when you said I could only have
ten minutes?’
‘I’m a busy man. And I never say anything I don’t mean.’
He 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.
- Writer
