Two's Company
Well, she had said it, and she meant it; she had much more important things to do here than become the plaything of a man like Liam. ‘I really don’t care what “most men prefer",’ she told him with sweet venom. ‘Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to eat my lunch in peace.’ She looked at him pointedly.
‘Don’t mind me.’ He relaxed back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest to watch her with narrowed blue eyes.
That was hardly what she had meant and he knew it! What was she supposed to do now? Because she had no intention of eating her lunch with this man sitting there watching her every move.
‘You——’ She broke off, looking past him to the table where he had been sitting minutes earlier.
A woman was now sitting at the table, looking across at the two of them enquiringly—a beautiful woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, her blonde hair short but perfectly styled, make-up expertly applied. And she was obviously waiting for Liam…He hadn’t wasted much time since his arrival here; breakfast with Juliet, lunch with this other woman! And the other woman, with her slightly voluptuous figure, looked exactly the sort of woman a man could hold on to!
Juliet turned back to Liam. ‘I believe your luncheon guest has just arrived,’ she informed him directly.
He turned to glance casually over at his table, lifting his hand to the woman in an acknowledging salute, before turning back to Juliet. ‘Perhaps I’ll see you later,’ he said huskily as he stood up to leave.
Not if she saw him first! Avoiding this persistent man was going to make these last two days of her stay even more of a trial than the previous six had been. But maybe not, she thought with a grimace as she saw the way the beautiful blonde woman looked up and smiled at him as he joined her at the table; he looked as if he might have his time filled quite adequately by her. Thank God!
Men, especially of the type she guessed Liam to be, were not something she wanted in her life. She didn’t want any man in her life!
Except Edward Carlyle. She desperately needed to have him in her life, in the life of Carlyle Properties—otherwise there wasn’t going to be a company at all.
That thought put her totally off eating any more of her lunch, and she put the fork down, the food untouched—except for that piece of melon she had so defiantly eaten when Liam had been sitting with her.
She wanted to leave, having totally lost her appetite, but she was very conscious of the fact that if she did so Liam would no doubt watch her going.
What difference did it make if Liam watched her leave? she irritably admonished herself, standing up determinedly; it was none of his business whether or not she ate her lunch!
She walked past the table where he sat with the attractive blonde woman, her head held high. Deep in conversation with his luncheon companion, he didn’t even glance her way.
And Juliet was even more annoyed with herself for even thinking that he would have noticed her departure!
There was something so very beautiful about Majorca in the evening. The sunset brought into focus all the beauty of the orange-pink stonework of the buildings that were prevalent on this lovely island, of the hotel itself as Juliet walked along the sea-shore towards it on her way to dinner, bathed in the pink glow of sunset.
If only she could be like the other carefree holiday-makers here just wanting to enjoy themselves. But it seemed like years since she had been carefree. If she ever had been!
There had been years of being in foster care and then several more years of being out in the world on her own. Before meeting Simon…
At the thought of him she brought her thoughts to an abrupt halt. She hadn’t thought of him for years; refused to think of him. It was all too painful…
Then why was she thinking of him now? She frowned. She knew why. That man, Liam, in some way reminded her of Simon. Oh, not in his manner; Liam was much more self-assured and powerful than Simon had ever been. Simon had been so weak. But their colouring was the same; Simon had been blond as Liam, with the same deep blue eyes. He had been almost as tall as the other man too.
Maybe that was one of the reasons why Liam had evoked such a strong response within her; she could usually handle any advances made to her without feeling as if she was running away! But Liam had made her feel defensive from the first. And now she knew the reason why. He reminded her of Simon, the man she had once loved so deeply…
And, having realised that, Juliet found it was not conducive to her peace of mind that Liam was the first person she saw when she entered the hotel dining-room half an hour later. He was seated alone at a table near a window that overlooked the tranquil bay of this beautiful resort in the north of the island, his luncheon companion noticeably absent. And he looked devastatingly attractive in a white dinner-jacket and snowy white shirt with a white bow-tie, his blond hair brushed back from his face, his eyes deeply blue against his tan.
Juliet looked quickly away from him because he seemed to sense her gaze on him and turned in the direction of the doorway she had just walked through. Probably he had been expecting the beautiful blonde from lunch; he was obviously waiting for someone, as his table was set for two people. And the other woman would probably want to make a grand entrance when she did arrive— unlike Juliet, who just wanted to reach her table as quickly as possible, away from that piercing blue gaze which she could feel was watching her every move now.
The black dress she wore was plain but stylish, fitting neatly to the smooth contours of her body, showing the extent of her shapely legs beneath its knee-length hem. Her hair, the long red curls wilder than usual from the slight breeze that had blown up this afternoon, was loosely confined at her nape with a black slide this time, her make-up light, her lip-gloss a light peach colour.
She had checked her appearance before she’d left her suite, and knew she looked elegantly attractive rather than showily sexy—the way she had always liked to look when she had acted as William’s hostess during business dinners. It was a style of dress that made her feel comfortable. But not so with Liam watching her so intently!
She kept her gaze on the back of the maitre d’ as he took her to her table, looking to neither left nor right of the elegant candlelit dining-room as she did so, not wanting even inadvertently to meet the gaze of the man Liam.
‘Good evening, Juliet.’
She looked up at the sound of his voice, her eyes widening as she realised that the maitre d’ had left after showing her to the table Liam occupied. Liam was standing now as he looked down at her with amused blue eyes.
She shook her head, colour darkening her cheeks. ‘There seems to have been some sort of mistake…’ She looked about her self-consciously.
‘No mistake, Juliet,’ he assured her smoothly, coming around the table to pull back the chair that was placed opposite his.
She frowned up at him, making no move to sit in the chair. ‘But I don’t want to have dinner with you,’ she blurted out bluntly.
‘Oh, I think you do, Juliet,’ he murmured derisively, that amusement still in his dark blue eyes.
She looked up at him indignantly. ‘I most certainly do not!’ she snapped. ‘What happened to your companion from lunch? Didn’t it work out?’ she scorned with obvious sarcasm. Really, this man was extremely arrogant to have assumed that she would be willing to have dinner with him, even going so far as to tell the maitre d’—obviously, because the other man had shown her to this table without hesitation!—that she would be joining him. Well, she had no intention of doing so!
The amusement gone from his eyes now, his gaze narrowed. ‘Sit down, Juliet,’ he told her softly, but nevertheless in a voice that brooked no further argument.
No doubt he was uncomfortable with the attention—albeit discreetly—that was being directed their way from the other diners in the room because of her obvious reluctance to join him at his table. Probably this had never happened to him before, Juliet realised disgustedly.
Her gaze was steady as she looked up at him, grey eyes cool and calm. ‘I told you, I don’t want to have dinner with you,’ she said evenly, her voice lowered.
Liam straightened, his expression grim now. ‘And if you remember I said that you do,’ he returned challengingly.
Her eyes widened now. He really was the most…! ‘Maybe this arrogant approach works with some women,’ she snapped indignantly, ‘but it certainly isn’t going to work with me! Now, if you’ll excuse me…?’ She looked at him pointedly as he stood firmly in the way of her walking away from the table.
‘Certainly.’ He stepped back. ‘But I was under the impression,’ he added softly as she turned away, ‘that you wanted to talk to me.’
Juliet turned back dazedly. ‘I can’t imagine how you ever gained that impression,’ she said incredulously. ‘Other than bluntly telling you I don’t care whether I ever set eyes on you again, I’ve done everything I could to show you that I’m not interested in whatever you have in mind. You really do have the most monumental arrogance, Mr…Liam!’ Her eyes flashed her anger as she glared up at him.
‘The name is Carlyle, Juliet,’ he told her softly. ‘Edward William Carlyle,’ he added pointedly. ‘Are you still of the opinion that you don’t care whether you ever set eyes on me again?’ He coolly returned her gaze, his brows raised mockingly.
CHAPTER TWO
JULIET didn’t have to be asked to sit down again; she almost fell into the waiting chair, all the time looking up at the man she now knew to be Edward Carlyle, the man she had come here to see.
He was Edward Carlyle. Edward William Carlyle, that middle name obviously where the Liam part came from. Good God, she still couldn’t believe it. He had been this close to her all day and she hadn’t even known it.
But he had known exactly who she was, she suddenly realised as she watched him resume his seat in the chair opposite her. And he had been playing some sort of cat-and-mouse game with her all day…
And he still was, she slowly acknowledged as he met her gaze coolly across the width of the table that stood between them. He looked perfectly relaxed as he rested the lean length of his body back in the chair.
Juliet drew in a slow, controlling breath. She had found Edward Carlyle at last or rather he had found her! She mustn’t let her feelings of resentment at his subterfuge override her need to speak with him. But she did feel resentful; there was no doubt about it. He had known all along exactly who she was, she was sure of that now, but he had chosen not to let her know who he was until he had been ready to do so. Which appeared to be now.
‘You’re right,’ she nodded, amazed at how calm she sounded considering that she still felt slightly dazed by the fact that she had already had at least two other opportunities today to speak to Edward Carlyle, and hadn’t even been aware of it. ‘I do want to speak to you. I—’
‘Shall we order dinner first?’ he suggested lightly as the waiter appeared at their table.
The last thing she felt like doing now was eating; in fact, she felt as if food might actually choke her. ‘I haven’t had a chance to look at the menu yet,’ she said awkwardly.
Liam—Edward Carlyle—gave her a considering look. ‘Would you like me to order for you?’ he offered distantly. ‘I can recommend the salmon and the pork.’
He should be able to—he owned the damned hotel! God! Ordinarily she would have told him what he could do—what any man could do!—with his arrogance in suggesting that he order her food for her, but there was nothing ordinary about this meeting, and quite frankly she didn’t feel up to choosing anything for herself. ‘Fine,’ she accepted abruptly, closing her unread menu before turning to stare sightlessly out of the window while he spoke to the waiter.
This wasn’t at all how she had envisaged meeting Edward Carlyle; she had thought it would be on a business footing, not the two of them sitting here in evening clothes about to eat a meal together. Especially when, until a few minutes ago, one of them had been at a complete disadvantage in not knowing exactly whom she was speaking to!
He didn’t look anything like William, his father having been dark-haired, with astute grey eyes and softer features than his son’s. She could be forgiven for not having made any connection between the two men. But that didn’t alter the fact that she was now sitting opposite Edward Carlyle at the meeting she had wanted for the last two months— and that she felt completely at a loss as to how to even begin the conversation they needed to have!
She drew in a ragged breath as she turned back to face him. ‘Mr Carlyle—’
‘The name is still Liam,’ he cut in firmly. ‘No one but my father ever called me Edward. And he was “Mr Carlyle",’ he added grimly.
The friction that had existed between the two men when William had been alive was still obvious in Liam’s voice. Juliet sat forward in her seat. ‘We need to talk, Mr…Liam,’ she amended at his frowning look. ‘But I don’t think these are exactly the right circumstances.’ She looked pointedly around them at the rapidly filling restaurant. A pianist and a violinist were now taking up their positions across the room.
‘No,’ he acknowledged abruptly as the music began to play softly in the background.
Juliet frowned across the table at him. She was looking at him with new eyes now that she knew he wasn’t just a man who had been trying to pick her up for a holiday fling. And she could see a toughness about his mouth and eyes, a power in the hard lines of his face; he didn’t look as if he was going to be an easy man to talk to in any circumstances!
‘We’ll have dinner, Juliet.’ he told her softly. ‘Then we can talk over coffee in one of the lounges.’
That still wasn’t ideal. This was a business affair, not something to be discussed in these luxurious surroundings over a cup of coffee!
‘Juliet,’ Liam continued firmly as he steadily met her gaze across the width of the table, ‘we do this on my terms or not at all.’
Her eyes flashed, deeply grey. He knew that he had the upper hand and was very much in control of the situation. And he was enjoying the power.
But if she got up and walked out now would he ever give her the opportunity to talk to him again? Somehow she knew that he wouldn’t. He didn’t need to; he had already shown his lack of interest in Carlyle Properties. If she wanted to talk to him at all, she was going to have to sit here and suffer through dinner with him. But for what reason? If they didn’t discuss business, what else were they going to talk about for the couple of hours it would take to eat the meal?
‘Tell me about yourself, Juliet,’ he invited once their salmon had been delivered to the table.
She gave him a startled look. What did he mean, tell him about herself? What was there to tell? He must already know that she was his partner in Carlyle Properties, and he had stated quite firmly that he didn’t want to talk about business just yet, so…
‘Your personal life, Juliet,’ he drawled mockingly, seeing her puzzled expression.
She blinked across at him, making no effort to use the fish-knife and fork she had picked up preparatory to eating her salmon. Personal life? She didn’t have one. Carlyle Properties had been her life for the last seven years.
‘You must have one,’ he taunted, having no hesitation in starting his own meal.
She shook her head. ‘No, I—’
‘Where do you live? Do you have a family? A boyfriend? Lover? Or are you married? With children?’
The questions were shot at her in such quick-fire succession that Juliet barely had time to draw her breath before Liam delivered the next one. And what he was asking was too personal when they were only business partners!
‘I could ask you the same questions,’ she returned challengingly.
His mouth twisted mockingly. ‘Well, I certainly don’t have a boyfriend!’
Her cheeks warmed at his mocking tone. ‘I saw your girlfriend earlier,’ she snapped irritably.
He frowned slightly, and then his brow cleared. ‘You mean Diana,’ he nodded. ‘Diana isn’t my girlfriend, Juliet; she’s my personal assistant.’
Juliet gave him a slightly sceptical look from beneath raised brows. If that was what he chose to call the other woman that was up to him, but there had seemed to be a familiarity between the two of them that implied a slightly deeper relationship than the one he had described.
‘As you were my father’s personal assistant,’ he added softly.
Juliet gave him a sharp look, but the blue eyes that returned her gaze were completely enigmatic. Just how much did this man already know about her? And if he already knew the answers to the questions he had asked her why had he asked them at all?
She gave a cool nod of acknowledgement. ‘As I was your father’s assistant.’
‘And now you’re his joint heir,’ Liam bit out hardly.
She swallowed hard. It must seem strange to William’s son that his father had worded his will in the way he had, she freely acknowledged that, and if Liam had shown the slightest interest in Carlyle Properties during the last two months she would gladly have told him that she knew he had prior claim to the company. But she knew from his behaviour that he would be quite happy to see Carlyle Properties go under, and she owed William more than to allow that.
‘You didn’t answer my question, Juliet,’ Liam continued in that hard voice.
‘Do I need to?’ She met his gaze with a calmness she was far from feeling. ‘You seem to know enough about me already. And what you don’t know I’m sure you could make up!’
He gave a shrug of indifference at her show of temper, sitting back in his chair, giving up all idea of eating his own food now. ‘You live at Carlyle House—have probably done so for some time, even before my father’s death?’ He raised mockingly questioning brows.
‘For several years before that,’ she acknowledged tautly.
He pursed his lips. ‘And what did your boyfriend make of that?’
God, how he persisted! ‘I don’t have a boyfriend,’ she bit out coldly, so angry that she was starting to shake with the emotion, her eyes flashing, darkly grey.
Blond brows rose. ‘At the moment?’
‘Ever!’ she answered forcefully.
He eyed her disbelievingly. ‘You’ve never had a boyfriend?’
Just the one. Simon. But he had died. And she hadn’t allowed herself to love anyone since him.
Liam’s mouth twisted. ‘You seem to be taking a long time finding an answer to that question,’ he taunted.
She drew in a deep, steadying breath, determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing just how much he was disconcerting her. She had no intention of owning up to a boyfriend, because she had no intention of talking about Simon. Certainly not to this man.
‘Why is my personal life of interest to you, Liam?’ She used his first name deliberately now, the familiarity putting them back on an equal footing. ‘Our discussion is merely on a business level,’ she reminded him firmly.
He calmly met the challenge in her gaze. ‘I like to know all there is to know about the people I do business with,’ he returned softly.
Juliet felt the warmth in her cheeks. She didn’t like the idea of this man knowing all there was to know about her; she had lived her life very privately for the last seven years. The fact that she now had a larger-than-life business partner, whose name was synonymous with the exclusivity to be found at his hotels world-wide, couldn’t be allowed to change that.
‘I’m sorry to disappoint you, Liam,’ she bit out tautly, ‘but I don’t actually have a private life to speak of.’
‘A career woman, hmm?’
The way Liam said it, it sounded like an insult! But that was exactly what she was. Oh, not in the way of hard-headed businesswomen who lived for nothing but succeeding and getting ahead, no matter who they had to step on or over to get there. But Carlyle Properties had become the main focus of her life, and in that sense she was a career woman.
‘Only as far as Carlyle Properties is concerned,’ she told him stiffly, made more and more uncomfortable by this conversation. She had wanted to meet William’s son only as a means of keeping the business going, wanted nothing more than a business partnership with him, had no interest in his personal life, and resented the fact that he should take any in hers.
The blue eyes glittered coldly. ‘It’s interesting that a young woman of twenty-seven, with no surface connection to the Carlyle family, should live in Carlyle House and inherit half the family business…’
It wasn’t ‘interesting’ at all. In fact, now that she had met this man, this whole thing was turning out to be more trouble than it was worth! But she owed William so much…
‘Perhaps,’ she conceded distantly. ‘But as your father’s personal assistant—’
‘And just how “personal” was that?’ Liam watched her across the table with narrowed eyes.
Juliet looked up at him sharply. ‘Just what are you implying, Mr Carlyle?’ she bit out tautly.
He shrugged broad shoulders. ‘My father was old enough to be your grandfather—’
‘Hardly, Liam,’ she cut in derisively.
‘He was sixty-five when he died, Juliet,’ he reminded her coldly. ‘More than old enough to be your grandfather.’
She had never thought of William in those terms, but, put like that, she supposed that in actual years William could have been her grandfather. But even so…
‘Why did you live with him, Juliet?’ Liam didn’t give her a chance to answer before attacking again. ‘Surely that isn’t normal in a business association?’
Under attack was exactly how she felt now. This man, for all his apparent lack of emotion about this situation, was obviously not so calm beneath the surface. ‘Your father and I were friends as much as anything else,’ she returned defensively.
‘Close friends?’
She didn’t just feel under attack now, she was under attack! No doubt about it. Liam’s eyes glittered dangerously, his mouth a thin, angry line.
She gave up any pretence of trying to eat a meal with him; they were both wasting their time even attempting it under these circumstances. ‘I suggest we meet at ten o’clock tomorrow morning in one of the conference-rooms here, Liam,’ she told him evenly, bending down to pick up her evening bag. ‘We can discuss anything you care to talk about then.’
His eyes were narrowed to ominous blue slits. ‘Anything?’
‘Within reason,’ she nodded.
He shook his head. ‘I don’t think you’re in a position to dictate conditions, Juliet,’ he scorned.
Neither did she! But she had a feeling that if she showed this man an ounce of weakness he would use it to his advantage. And to have become as successful as he had over the last ten years he must have had to play by his own set of rules, otherwise he would never have survived in business, let alone have owned his world-wide string of hotel and leisure complexes! She was a mere beginner compared to this man.
‘Possibly not,’ she conceded, standing up smoothly, her lack of composure not showing by so much as a tremble of her hands as she held on to her evening bag—possibly because she was holding on to that bag so tightly, was gripping the black leather so hard, her hands couldn’t tremble! ‘But nevertheless I do not conduct business discussions over dinner. And this is a business discussion, Liam,’ she added firmly. ‘And tomorrow when we meet I will bring the necessary paperwork with me so that we can talk knowledgeably about Carlyle Properties.’
He gave her a look that said she could bring the paperwork but whether or not he chose to discuss its contents would be completely up to him!
Juliet was inwardly shaken by that look, but she managed to give him a cool nod before turning and walking from the dining-room, all the time conscious of that narrowed blue gaze following her progress across the room. She’d known it would.