Bound by the Millionaire's Ring(8)

Ramon knew when to push an advantage and when to simply hold on to one,  but it still bothered him as he said, "That sounds appropriate."

"It will make sense that I leave the company when we part ways. You should talk with Henri about how you plan to replace me."

A reflexive protest rose, but she was right. He would facilitate her  finding a good position as part of her compensation. After a suitable  period, if they needed her, they could pull her back.

She cut him a glance and briefly bit her lip. The self-conscious color  in her face increased. "Etienne would seem the natural choice for my  position. If that's what you're thinking, I should disclose something."

He narrowed his eyes, not wanting to believe what had just leaped into his brain. "Continue."

She tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear, cleared her throat and smiled  flatly. "He expected the promotion into my father's position. He's been  upset about my receiving it."

"So? We make our decisions based on what's best for us."

"I know, but..." She clicked off her phone. "He worked under my father  for the four years I was at school. I've never advertised how close I am  with your sisters so he doesn't realize why you chose me. He feels  passed over-"

"I don't care about his dented ego, Isidora. Why would I?"

"I'm telling you why." She dropped her phone into the pocket of her  jacket and smoothed a fingertip along her eyebrow. "If you think he'll  be appropriate to take my job, we should bring him in on this. Tell him  the engagement is fake so he feels part of the team. He already thinks I  earned my way on my father's coattails, but he and I used to date and-"

"You slept with that idiot." For some reason, Ramon had believed she was  still a virgin. He knew it was outlandish, but she projected such  innocence at times.         

     



 

She lowered her lashes now, blushing like a new bride.

Of course a woman her age would have had lovers. He didn't know why it  was such a surprise. Maybe because his sisters had never breathed a word  about her dating exploits. Her father had spent Isidora's adolescence  closely monitoring her virtue-which was absolutely no surprise given her  mother's behavior. That vigilance of her father had been yet another  reason Ramon hadn't so much as glanced in her direction, but he had  honestly believed her attention had never strayed from him.

Despite the pains he'd taken to ensure it would.

So why did it bother him to discover she had followed her urges to other  men? Maybe because he couldn't help wondering if she'd kissed them the  way she had kissed him today. Had Etienne enjoyed fully the passion  Ramon had only tasted?

Dios. It was one thing to know she had men in her past, quite another to  pass the lothario in the hallway. To wonder if she carried a torch for  that man.

"Etienne is not an idiot," she said stiffly. "He's dedicated and smart,  otherwise my father wouldn't have apprenticed him and I wouldn't have  kept him on. The important piece here is that he could become a  liability if not handled carefully."

Ramon choked out a laugh, astonished by how much aggression filled  him-he made his voice as callous and dispassionate as he possibly could.

"You're adorable. How have I treated you, Isidora? And you have value to  me. You think I'm going to put on kid gloves for a spineless twit  nursing entitlement issues? What did I say to him before the press  conference? As far as the world is concerned, you just became part of my  family. If he treats you with anything less than the utmost respect, if  he makes one wrong step for any reason, he will lose his job." It was  the same lack of mercy he showed anyone, but the clench in his chest  pushed the words out with added vehemence. "More, if I judge him to be  any sort of threat beyond rumor-mongering."

Her lashes went down and her cheeks went hollow.

"Do not even think of telling him that. If he needs it spelled out, his  job is already lost." He couldn't countenance her wanting to protect the  man. Did she still have feelings for him? "Only my siblings will know  our engagement isn't real," he stated, halfway to firing Etienne for no  other reason than that he existed. "Otherwise we'll be dismissed in a  day and the press will go straight back to crucifying Trella."

"Fine," she said in a small voice. "But I have to tell my father it's fake."

"No."

"Yes, Ramon." Her lashes swept up, but rather than vehemence, he read a  surprising vulnerability. Her voice held a tiny fracture. "He'll assume  it's a stunt, same as your family did, but he'll expect me to confirm  it. The alternative is for you to ask for my hand like a proper suitor  and I won't let you lie to him. Not about that. It was bad enough you-"  Color bled across her cheekbones and she clammed up, jaw tightening.

Said he loved her?

Something seesawed in his chest, but he had to agree. There was too much  history with Bernardo. He'd been a true friend to their father and  later a very trusted advisor to him and Henri. He couldn't disrespect  Bernardo with any sort of lie.

"I'll speak to him," he promised.

"Thank you," she said stiffly.

"Good. Now let's get to work." His thoughts expanded as everything he  had come to Paris to implement was now filtered through a fake  engagement. He moved to his desk and opened the panel to release the  doors, then asked his PA to assemble key personnel in the boardroom.

Isidora lingered.

"I thought you were anxious to escape? Call Julie," he told her. "She  coordinates my calendar with my race schedule. Ask her to plan the  retirement party in Monaco. Then join us in the meeting."

"Yes, fine," she said, brushing a hand through the air. "But I just want  to be clear. No more passes like today." Her cheeks went bright pink.

"It wasn't a pass. It was a performance. More will be necessary."

Her jaw tightened. "Keep it to a minimum. I won't sleep with you."

It struck him that he had tied himself to the one woman he shouldn't  sleep with, even if she wanted to-which he had taken great pains to  ensure she didn't. Dios! Celibate? Him? He had to bite back a curse of  self-disgust, but as he thought again about how open he'd left himself  when he'd had her in his arms, he knew it was better to keep a lid on  things.

"You weren't invited to," he stated.         

     



 

Her stunned expression went stoplight-red, flashing blunt injury before  she spun and treated him to a view of her rigid spine and spectacular  ass. The door slammed loudly behind her.





CHAPTER FOUR

ISIDORA PASTED ON a smile as fake as her engagement and allowed Ramon the Rat to take possession of her life.

She knew how the Sauveterre men worked. There was no option to lead,  only to follow or get out of the way. She had agreed to follow. As she  sat through the meeting, she felt herself sucked along the slipstream of  his accelerated pace. He snapped his whip over the team, pacing behind  her and pausing only to consult with her in an offhand way as he threw  out dates and locations, names and promotions.

"You agree, mi amor?"

"Of course, cariño," she murmured, smiling and smiling her manufactured  joy until her face ached. Trying to hide that she was dying inside.

She didn't know how she would get through this.

The news that he hadn't slept with her mother altered her feelings  drastically. Of course she was relieved, but the resentment that had  been a form of protection had been burned to the ground, leaving her  suddenly susceptible to the powerful attraction that had always gripped  her.

Which had made his shot about not inviting her to sleep with him quite  the poison dart. Her insides were still seared raw. What was it about  this man that made her so ultrasensitive to him? Was she missing a vital  gene of self-preservation? She really was her father's daughter, if  that was the case.

Ramon had gone to incredible lengths to rebuff her and still didn't want  anything to do with her. That indifference of his had done a number on  her self-esteem in her teen years, but after a lot of travel and hard  work at school, not to mention dating men who actually seemed to like  her, she had built up her confidence. Maybe she hadn't fully escaped her  fascination with Ramon, since she had never been drawn enough to other  men to sleep with them, but she knew they found her attractive. Not that  she needed a man to validate her. Her work ethic was solid and the work  she did well-received. She had started today feeling like the  confident, professional woman she had fought to become.

But she was back to feeling like an adolescent with an inferiority complex.

No. She had a thick skin in every other area of her life. Control,  composure and staying on message, were her stock in trade. He had said  this was just an extension of her job. She had to be as unaffected as he  was.

As the meeting broke up, he chivalrously helped her with her chair.