"I'm all ears," she said without turning around. She shoved the file into the cabinet, feeling a burning sensation streak down her back. He was not looking at her butt and she was not wishing he would. Seriously. She consciously tried not to tense, but she needed to resist him. She was so done with this man!
"Arrange a press conference," he said. "I'm announcing my retirement from racing."
Isidora had the nicest ass he'd ever seen-and he was a connoisseur.
When she turned with surprise, one arm remaining atop the filing cabinet so her buttons strained across her breasts, he stole an appreciative glance at that, too, before lifting his gaze to her astonished expression.
Auburn brows framed warm brown eyes. Her gold-tipped lashes were thick and lush. Her glossy hair, which had toned down from a bright copper as a child to a rich burgundy wine, was pulled back in a clip. He couldn't help imagining it falling freely around those high, honey-toned cheekbones. She wore little makeup, needing nothing to give her skin that glow of health, or shape her plump lips.
He typically stuck with overt beauties, ones made with a generous hand that exuded sexuality. When it came to physical companionship, he preferred obvious women and uncomplicated encounters. Indifference was his goal. He didn't objectify women, but they objectified him. He was fine with being trophy-hunted. He gave as much pleasure as he took and they both walked away unharmed and completely satisfied.
Isidora had never offered anything so simplistic. Her years of doe-eyed hero worship had reflected yearnings and expectations he could never fulfill. So he had done her an enormous favor five years ago. He had let her believe he had slept with her mother. That adolescent crush of hers had needed to be crushed.
She still hated his guts for it. Overnight, she had stopped accompanying her father to the office or Ramon's races. She continued to visit his sisters, but sent regrets to any parties the Sauveterres invited her to attend. While completing her degree in public relations, she had maximized work-abroad opportunities. On the few occasions Ramon had crossed paths with her, she had left the room as quickly as she politely could.
That's how he'd made such a study of her ass.
Her contempt had finally gotten to him last year, when he'd seen her at her father's sixty-fifth birthday party. He had rivalries in business and on the track, but no one outright hated him. Isidora had been all grown up, incandescent in a sapphire-blue dress. Surely she was far enough past her childish infatuation to hear the truth and get over her anger.
"I want to bury the hatchet," he had said when he'd cornered her into a waltz. "Let's go somewhere private, talk this out."
"Is that what you're calling it these days? Burying the hatchet?" Her tone had been glacial. "No, thanks." She had walked away before the song finished.
Still acting like a child, he had deduced, but he had her attention now.
"You're retiring," she repeated now, with disbelief. "From racing."
"Si." It was the least he could do for his family.
"But you're still winning. Your fans will be devastated."
"I have sufficient fame and money."
"But... You love it. Don't you?" She closed the file cabinet and faced him, weight hitched to one hip so her knee peeked out the slit in her skirt.
Definitely no longer a child, his libido took great care to note.
"It's just a pastime." Psychologists would say his need for speed was compensation for failing to catch up to Trella when she'd been kidnapped. That might have been true in the beginning, but he was genuinely fascinated by the mechanics of high-performance engines and loved competing. Nevertheless... "This is something I've been considering for some time. I'll continue to sponsor my team and stay involved that way." These were the pat answers he would give the press this afternoon.
"It seems extreme. Trella's pregnancy can't be denied. Not forever."
He folded his arms, not used to defending his decisions to anyone. He didn't bother to soften the condescension in his tone as he explained, "I'm choosing to announce it now to distract from the rumors about her, but quitting racing was inevitable once Cinnia turned up pregnant. Henri can't travel as much as he used to."
He and Henri jointly ran Sauveterre International, but work had been Henri's sport of choice for mental distraction. Ramon had never shirked his responsibilities, but he had never felt guilty handing something to his brother if he had to race.
Henri had greater concerns now. Ramon was more than willing to pick up the slack so his brother could look after his young family.
"So you've been planning this all along?"
"I knew once the babies came, my role would change."
"We all knew you were taking over this office so Henri could move to Madrid, but I don't think anyone expected you to quit racing."
"We planned to make all the announcements next month. With the babies coming early, we've moved up the timetable. I will begin restructuring today. Starting with you."
Her eyes widened. "Me? I arranged a transfer to Madrid. It takes effect with Cinnia's due date, but-Are you saying that with the babies coming early, I need to move that up?"
"You're staying here." He probably shouldn't take so much pleasure in making that statement, but he found enormous satisfaction in it. "My sisters came to Paris with me. They're sorting things at Maison des Jumeaux in preparation for Angelique leaving. Her engagement will be announced soon and there are details with Kasim's family that need your delicate touch."
Isidora's jaw dropped behind her sealed lips, making her cheeks go hollow. Her thick lashes quickly swept down to disguise what might have been a flash of...fear? No. Fury? Why? He wasn't being sarcastic about her delicate touch. She was very good at her job or she wouldn't have the position she held.
He wasn't in the habit of giving anyone ego strokes, however, so he simply continued. "With Trella in the hot seat again, I'll do my best to draw fire with the retirement announcement, but you'll have to manage all of that, as well as the press releases on the restructuring."
"I can do that remotely." She folded her arms, posture stiff and defensive, face turned to the window, where vertical blinds held out most of the July sun along with the building's excellent view of the Seine. "I'll speak to Henri-"
"He just brought home twins, Isidora. He's working as little as possible and mostly from home so he can enjoy his children and support his wife. Henri is not your employer, we are. We speak for each other and this is something we decided together."
"You decided between you to deny my transfer? Without discussing it with me?"
"Yes." It hadn't even been a discussion. As often happened, Henri had voiced what Ramon had already been thinking. "It's a matter of response time. Some of your work can be done remotely, but when a crisis arises, like today's, we need you on the spot to defuse it."
Her mouth tightened. He could see her wheels turning, searching for an alternative. He knew why she was acting like this and he was losing patience with it.
"Perhaps we could coax your father out of retirement?" he said facetiously.
"Don't think I'm not tempted."
"Stow your grudge, Isidora. You're a professional. Act like one."
She lifted haughty brows. "It's not my ability to keep things professional that I'm worried about."
"If I was the least bit interested in frostbite below the belt, you'd have something to worry about. I'm not."
He always hit back. Always. It came from never wanting to be a victim again.
But when her nostrils pinched and she sniffed like she'd taken a hard jab to her slender middle, he felt a pang of conscience. A shadow of hurt might have flickered in her eyes, but she moved behind her desk, ducking her head and sliding a nonexistent tendril of hair behind her ear, the screen of her hand hiding her expression from him.
When she lifted her face again, it was flushed, but her expression was one of resolve. "I'll hand in my resignation by the end of the day."
The floor seemed to lurch beneath his feet. Her antipathy ran that deep?
As he searched her gaze, unable to believe she was serious, her pupils expanded until her eyes were like black pansies, velvety. Yet disillusioned and empty.
For one heartbeat, the world around him faded. A quiet agony that lived inside him, one he ignored so completely he barely knew it existed, seared to life, flashing such acute pain through him that his breath stalled. Fire, hot and pointed, lit behind his breastbone.
He slammed the door on that dark, tangled, livid place, refusing to wonder how she had managed to touch it by doing nothing but trying to retreat from him.
Why would she even suggest it? The job she held, as someone still fresh from school and not yet twenty-four, was unprecedented. Nepotism had played a part, sure, but she brought a rare and valuable quality to the position: trustworthiness.