IN LOVE WITH STARK-THE THE BILLIONAIRE

CHAPTER 4: FIRST SIGHT

She felt really bad and disdained.

He returned her look with an open once-over that felt less offensive than something more discreet.

He lifted a sooty eyebrow. "Lost your way?"

"On the contrary, she just found it. She approached him. "Do you know who I am?"

"Of course, Isabella Johnson," he answered promptly. "Age, twenty-six. Born May 25. One hundred twenty pounds. The sole heir of Johnson.

A hard smile flitted across his mouth. "I believed that was why you stepped into this building without any notice concerning your visitation. But it's my pleasure to have the sole heir of Johnson Ranch right here."

"You own the ranch that I'm ready to do anything to acquire," he added.

His swift summation of the facts threw her off stride, which was no doubt the purpose of his recital. She recovered with all due speed, getting straight to the point.

"Your four henchmen just visited me. I'm returning the favor." She said as she spared a glance at the suits and ties grouped around the conference table, who were listening with avid curiosity.

She jerked her head in their direction. "You want to do this in public? Or would you rather we settle out the difference in private?"

Without taking his gaze from her, he issued a single word: "Out."

There was a dignified scramble after that, one that would have left her laughing if the circumstances had been different.

The instant the door closed behind the final underlying, she squared off against him.

She had spent the entire trip to Denver planning what she would say, and she concluded to give him chapter and verse in a single, direct volley.

"You have approached me about selling my ranch to you. Let me put it this way: Your henchmen did many things that I had lost count of."

"I have been civil with them each time they have turned up at my doorstep." She paused. Exchange gases for a while and then continued.

"I have told them "no" as clearly and politely as I know how. But it has gotten to the point where I can't turn around without tripping over them.

"It is going to stop, and you are going to make that stop." She spoke bluntly, pretending not to have any sense of intimacy.

To her dismay, the only change in his expression was a deepening intensity in the way he watched her and a slight smile that added immense appeal to an all-too-attractive face.

The distraction cost her. It took her a split second to remember where she'd left off in her script and get back on point.

"Anyway," she continued doggedly.

"I have come to tell you in person that I am not selling, in the hope that you will finally get the message and leave me alone." She said that and then continued.

"I don't care what you do; I don't care how many thugs you send; I am not leaving my ranch. I hope you will get that straight."

At the end of her recital, Stark returned his coffee cup to the sideboard and faced her. She could tell from his expression that she wouldn't like his response.

Before he could speak, a discreet buzz emanated from a nearby phone.

With a brief apology, he took the call. "No interruptions," he said without preamble. He listened for an instant before grimacing, then glanced at her and said, "This will only take a minute."

"Do you want me to wait outside?" She hated making the offer, but common courtesy had been bred into her bones.

He shook his head before addressing the caller.

"Hello, Kate. What can I do for my least favorite sister?"

Isabella could hear the furious blast from across the room and wince. Someone wasn't happy.

"Sorry. Half-sister. Is that better?" It was not because the angry diatribe continued until he cut it off. "Unless I'm mistaken, you have called to ask me a favor. Instead of bringing up old history, I suggest you get to it." He said it huskily.

She listened at length, and she shivered at the cold bitterness of his expression. "Is that how he really felt toward his sister? I didn't understand it."

"So what if she is his half-sibling?