‘It doesn’t… I don’t…’ Shaking with anger, and another emotion she refused to define, Lauren jumped to her feet so abruptly that her chair toppled over and hit the floor with a clatter that drew curious glances from around the restaurant.
The noise brought her to her senses and she snatched a breath, willing herself to act with calm dignity even though her heart was pounding.
‘I don’t know what game you’re playing,’ she said coldly, ‘but perhaps I should remind you that I ended our affair a year and a half ago. You might have employed me to work for you, but I expect our relationship to be conducted on a purely professional level, with no references to my private life and no…’
‘Kissing?’ Ramon suggested dulcetly.
His teasing smile tugged on her heart. She had forgotten his wicked sense of humour, and how often he had made her laugh, and for some inexplicable reason tears stung her eyes.
‘You are insufferable,’ she hissed, suddenly aware that the waiter, who had hurried over to pick up her chair, was clearly intrigued by their conversation. ‘I’m going back to work.’
‘I’ll take you,’ Ramon handed the waiter his credit card to settle the bill. ‘After I’ve shown you where you’ll be based while you are working for me.’
Lauren knew enough about cars to recognise that Ramon’s sleek silver Porsche was a top-of-the-range model. As she slid into the passenger seat she felt a little pang of regret for her beloved red sports car, which she had traded in for a family saloon big enough to fit in Mateo’s baby seat and the mountain of other paraphernalia required for one small child.
Her life was so different now, she brooded. She was no longer a carefree young woman, swept up in the excitement of a passionate affair with a sexy Spanish playboy. Now she was a mother, with all the responsibilities that entailed. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. Matty was her life; and the highlight of her day was when she picked him up from the daycare nursery and he wrapped his chubby arms around her neck and smothered her face in wet kisses.
Lost in her thoughts, she did not pay any attention to the route Ramon was taking through the congested London streets until they neared Marble Arch and swung into Park Lane.
‘Why are we here?’ she asked him with a frown when he drove through a gateway and down a ramp which led to an underground car park. She recognised the place instantly. Eighteen months ago she had often stayed at Ramon’s luxurious penthouse apartment, but she could not understand why he was taking her there now.
‘I have my offices here.’ He parked, climbed out of the car and walked around to open her door.
Lauren followed him into the lift, her heart suddenly beating painfully fast as she remembered all the occasions when Ramon had pulled her into his arms and kissed her until they had reached the top floor, dispensing with her clothes, his, the moment they reached his apartment, sometimes making it to the bedroom, sometimes only getting as far as the sitting room sofa, before their hunger for each other overwhelmed them.
The image of his muscular naked body descending slowly onto hers, his powerful erection penetrating her inch by glorious inch, was so vivid that she closed her eyes, terrified he would guess her wayward thoughts. She could sense his intent scrutiny but refused to meet his gaze, and bit down hard on her lip when he stood aside for her to precede him out of the lift.
‘Are your offices up here?’ She glanced along the corridor, frowning as she searched for a door other than the one that she knew led into the penthouse.
‘Uh-huh.’ Ramon slotted a card into the door security system and ushered her inside. The apartment was achingly familiar—a wide hallway, with various spacious rooms leading off it, all decorated in neutral shades and furnished with contemporary pieces which provided splashes of bold colour. Through a half-open door Lauren could see the master bedroom. Memories crowded in on her and she halted abruptly, gripped by sudden panic.
‘Is this is another one of your games?’ she demanded sharply. ‘You said you were going to show me my office.’
Ramon gave her a musing look, taking in her flushed face and the slight tremor of her mouth. This wasn’t the first time she had seemed uneasy with him, and he was intrigued to know what was bothering her.
‘It’s in here.’ He pushed open a door at the far end of the hall and led the way into a room which Lauren remembered had once been a small sitting room. It now housed a desk, computer, and other office furniture. ‘I’m working from my study, adjoining this room, until I can rent a suitable office complex for the London subsidiary of Velaquez Conglomerates,’ he told her. ‘In fact, that will be your first task. I recently viewed a new commercial building at St Katherine’s Dock, and I want you to deal with the lease contract.’