Page 10 of Forbidden Hawaiian Nights
‘You shouldn’t underestimate how awful heartbreak can be.’
Staring up at him with the sort of ridiculous fascination that annoyed her intensely but was somehow impossible to control, she realised that he didn’t understand what she was talking about.
Yes, he had accepted that getting a private investigator involved to track Izzy down might not be the best option, and to all intents and purposes he had trusted Mia when she’d told him that Izzy hadn’t rushed off because she had become involved in anything shady. But, judging from the cynical expression on his face, the notion of anyone tailoring their behaviour because of a broken heart made no sense to him at all.
Against her will, Mia felt a surge of curiosity.
He was so cold, so aloof…
So controlled.
Was he like that in every aspect of his life? Had he never had a broken heart? She vaguely remembered Izzy once telling her that her brother was a workaholic. Did that mean that he had no time for relationships? Surely not…?
She imagined that there would be no end of women banging on his door begging to be allowed in, with him looking the way he did.
Her nostrils flared and a sudden heat coursed through her body. She was shocked to the core by the damp pooling of moisture between her legs.
‘We’ll have to agree to differ on that score,’ Max was saying coolly.
Mia, eye level with his chest, was busy trying to ward off intrusive, inappropriate images of what he might look like under that polo shirt.
She heard herself grunt something non-committal by way of response.
‘Are you listening to what I’m saying?’ Max demanded, and she reluctantly looked up at him and nodded.
‘Yes, but I’m beginning to flag. I don’t know what else you want me to say about this. I feel terrible about breaking Izzy’s confidence, but it was the only way I could think of to stop you from employing someone to find her. But now you know why she vanished, and now you know that she’s going to be heading back, and I’m sure she’ll be in touch within the next week. So what else is there for us to talk about?’
Max sighed and shot her a kindly and only mildly questioning look.
‘Your status as my employee, of course…’
Mia stilled. How could she have let that slip her mind even for a moment? In her head, she had pictured herself heading back to her house never to lay eyes on him again. How naïve of her.
‘Well, yes…’
‘I hate to get between you and your beauty sleep, but this is going to be slightly more than a five-minute conversation, Mia. Of course, we can conduct it out here, with the passing traffic and beeping of horns interrupting us every two minutes, or we could actually go inside the hotel. To the bar. Where we would be able to sit and converse in relative comfort.’ He paused, then added in a tone intended to make her hackles rise, ‘Naturally, if you still feel wary about that situation, then we can remain standing out here. I will, of course, choose not to insist that we go inside.’
And there, in a nutshell, was the fist of steel inside the not-so-velvet glove, she thought. She worked for him and, like any boss, he was entitled to give orders. He’d managed to make that clear without actually saying so in so many words.
He’d also managed to remind her of the inaccurate picture of herself she had managed to paint. The implication was that there would be people around them so she could go ahead and feel safe that he wasn’t going to do anything inappropriate because she was simply just too irresistible.
Mia ground her teeth together and clenched her fists and thought that she had never wanted to smack someone more.
‘Sure.’ She did her best to paint a casual smile on her face.
Max tilted his head to one side and was silent for a few seconds, then he nodded and began moving off towards the brightly lit, guarded entrance.
Infuriating man, she thought, following him into the hotel and feeling really under-dressed amongst the designer-clad tourists milling in groups.
The lobby was huge and dissected by four impressive marble columns. The white columns and the white walls were a stark contrast to the highly polished dark wood of the floors and the huge rugs, with their pale green leaf motifs that looked too expensive to walk on.
It reeked of opulence and she felt a kick of nerves as she walked alongside him, feeling self-conscious in her beach wear.
It was blessed relief to get to the relative dark sanctuary of the bar, with its bank of arched windows and its long, granite-topped bar behind which several beautiful young people were serving drinks. It was a huge space and very much conducive to conversations not being overheard.
Mia slid into a chair and, once orders had been taken, she leaned forward and linked her fingers on the table.
‘You said you wanted to talk to me about my…my status as your employee. I know I didn’t give you the answer you wanted to hear, but please tell me whether I still have a job.’ Her voice was low and urgent. She was already trying to work out how she might supplement her income should she get the sack.
