Chapter one
Joy sat, legs crossed primly, body stiff and tense, her stomach churning as nausea clutched at her. Across the desk, the powerful 32-year-old CEO of the Calle Corporation stared in disbelief. For what seemed an eternity, the silence stretched out before the man blinked, his mouth setting in an angry line. “Are you out of your mind Miss Reid?”, the words bitten out contemptuously, his dark eyes raking her with disdain. She swallowed, only managing to cling to her calm exterior by her very fingertips, her knees hidden under the table shaking violently. If he could see the way she quaked inside she thought, he would not look so stunned, praying for Ricco’s sake she could hold strong. The thought of him was the shot of courage she needed, Joy raising her small chin, eyes meeting the man across from her and nodding. “That is my offer Mr Calle... Take it or leave it”
The man leant forward, his fingers steepled together on the large, ornate and obviously expensive walnut desk, the thought that it no doubt cost more than she could earn in a year flitting through her mind, not sure why such a thing should register at a time like that.
His deep voice, the slightest hint of an accent making it strangely sexy, interrupted her musings, “So... Let me get this right. For the past six months you have been holding out selling your land... While I have been upping my offer…” Joy nodded in affirmation as he continued, “But now... You are prepared to sell at the ORIGINAL price... If I agree to be your boyfriend for some unknown period of time?”
When the offer was laid out like that even Joy could see how crazy it sounded, her insides knotting together even tighter, her voice almost a squeak, “Yes” Before her, Carig Calle shook his head, his eyes hard as slate and just as dark. “You are out of your mind Miss Reid. I will get your land by legal means if necessary. You are blocking a major development... One badly needed around here and I will win in the end... Even if the sale has to be court-ordered”
Joy gripped her bag tighter, staring back at the arrogant Spaniard, her tone harder now, her own eyes flashing back, the usually warm brown of them darkening. “Don’t threaten me Mr Calle. You might manage that eventually but we both know that you need to start this project in the next three months”, her head rising as she locked stares with the CEO, not aware how glorious she looked, Carig Calle frowning at the change in the little mouse who had walked in with her ridiculous demand only moments before. “I might not win... But I will cost you so much money in delayed building that even YOU will feel it Mr Calle”
Stopping, she glowered at the man. She hated bullies, and even more so this man and his ilk. Why did rich people think that because they had money they could destroy the lives of others? A flash of pain once more ripped through her as an image of Ricco in a hospital bed pushed into her mind. The fight left her as she lifted a hand, pushing a wayward strand of hair from her face, her voice softening, “If you do as I ask... then you will maintain your schedule and even save some money”
Carig Calle sat back in his chair, one finger absently stroking his lower lip, brows furrowed in confusion. “I do not understand Miss Reid. Why would you want to be my girlfriend? We are strangers”, a light of sympathy suddenly appearing in the inky darkness of his eyes as his voice softened. “Miss Reid... I have heard of this... Of women fixating on people they see in the papers... On TV... This idolisation... ”, the rest was lost as Joy, her emotions still taut, burst out laughing, not sure why she would at a moment like that react this way. Carig’s frown turned to a scowl as she shook her head, “No... Oh God no. Please don’t think that. When I said girlfriend... I meant in name only. I have NO desire for anything else... ”, another giggle left her, tears starting to slide down her face, as she raised a hand in apology, “No... I have absolutely no desire for anything other than being beside you at events you attend... None at all”
Carig sat in stunned shock. While the small woman across from him was most certainly not his type, he did not enjoy hearing as she made it very clear that even the thought of anything else between them reduced her to hysterics, his hand gripping the leather chair so hard his knuckles turned white.
“Then what the hell are you talking about?”, his icy tone sloshed over her like a bucket of freezing water, the laughter dying instantly as she once more became solemn, “I want to attend events with you... Meet the right people and generally gain access to your social group Mr Calle” Anger broiled deep within Carig, fired by her blatant disinterest in him as a man, not sure why when the idea was abhorrent to him he would have such a reaction. “No. I find your offer unacceptable Miss Reid”, his eyes flitting down her with no attempt to conceal the disgust in them, “I have my reputation to consider and certainly have no desire to drag around an ugly duckling like you as my ‘girlfriend’”