'The drilling is completed?' Roman confirmed. 'And the land around the drilling site has been made good? Yes. I'm leaving now and bringing Eva with me. The timing couldn't be better-'
She hunkered down on the marble step, wishing she had stayed a few seconds longer in her room. Her mother used to warn her that you never heard anything good of yourself if you listened in to other people's conversations, but now she had to hear the rest.
'Yes, I'm sure she'll take the job,' Roman continued. 'So, yes, that's another problem solved.' He laughed. 'My line of persuasion is none of your business-though I imagine it's rather similar to your own.'
Who was Roman talking to? His tone was too familiar for him to be speaking to a member of staff.
'Okay, Sharif. Leave it with me...'
He was talking to Britt's husband, Sheikh Sharif, and from the tone of his voice she felt she had been under discussion long before she sat on the stairs. She shivered involuntarily, hugging herself as if a cold, arctic blast had just intruded on her happy and all too blissful ignorance. Roman was ready to leave with his bag at his feet, and a heavy jacket, suitable for polar conditions, slung over his shoulders. While she suddenly didn't want to go anywhere, let alone face the truth.
'Eva,' he said with apparent delight when he spotted her. 'What are you doing like a little girl lost, sitting on the stairs? Come down here and join me...'
As Roman held out his hands, she hesitated. She still had a really bad feeling. By his own admission Roman was incapable of love, and, with all that talk of timing and persuasion, she suspected that his keeping her at his side was just a ruse until it suited him to let her go.
'Come on,' he coaxed. 'What's wrong with you?'
Her world had just caved in. She had grown soft and trusting in his company, and maybe she should have known better. Until she knew the real reason for Roman prolonging her visit, she couldn't bring herself to meekly smile and fold.
'Don't,' she warned as he crossed the hall towards her.
'What do you mean, don't?' Mounting the stairs two at a time, he took hold of her hands and lifted her up in front of him. 'Why won't you look at me? What's happened? What's wrong?'
She shrugged, finding it hard to express a feeling...a suspicion. 'I heard you on the phone,' she admitted finally, avoiding his gaze.
'And what exactly do you think you overheard?'
'That all this delay has all been part of your plan.'
'What delay? And what plan?' he said, frowning.
'Your plan to keep me with you until the drilling is finished and the land is made good.'
'So?' He gave a shrug and shook his head. 'What's so wrong with that? Was I supposed to suspend all the work we're doing at the mine until you returned?'
'You were supposed to be honest with me.'
'I have been honest with you.'
Roman's voice had gained an edge. She should have taken it as a warning that the one thing that fired him beyond all others was to have his honesty questioned. 'You were talking about how you persuaded me to stay.'
'And you heard half a conversation, and on that basis alone you decide not to trust me?' Roman shook his head as if suddenly something was very clear to him. 'I don't think you'll ever trust me, Eva. I don't think that whatever I do, it will ever be enough for you.'
'You seduced me and kept me with you-'
'And I didn't hear you complaining.'
'You kept me out of the way so I couldn't cause any trouble at the mine.'
'Is that what you believe? Surely you're not still so lacking in confidence? I'm coming back with you. Isn't that enough? Doesn't my commitment to you and to the mine mean anything to you?'
'Now the work is done you've got nothing to lose.'
Roman stiffened. 'I can't believe you just said that, Eva.'
'You can't tell me that your motives are completely innocent.'
'I can. And I do,' he insisted. 'And I'm insulted if you think anything different.'
But now she'd started it all had to come out. 'You used me-'
'And you used me,' he fired back. 'Didn't we both have our own agendas at the start of this relationship? Didn't we change those agendas as we got to know each other? I know I did. And, guess what, Eva? We both have flaws. We're not perfect, either of us. And if you can't live with that-' He turned away and made an impatient gesture. 'I wanted you and I thought you wanted me, but now I wonder if I'm wasting my time.'
She heard everything he said and knew every word was true. She also knew her confidence was built on sand and it made her say things before she thought them through. 'Is it time to go?' she asked, wishing she could erase the past few minutes.
Roman was silent for a moment. She worried when he didn't move. And with good cause, she realised, when he said, 'Any time you like, Eva.'
'What do you mean?' Her voice was small. Her shocked words echoed eerily in the lofty hall. 'Aren't you coming with me?'
'You leave Rome now,' he said. 'I'll follow you to Skavanga-' he shrugged as if it might never happen '-at some later date. It's for the best, Eva. If I come with you now, you'll always have that suspicion lurking. You'll always wonder if I kept you with me just to suit my business purpose. Better you go now and get on with this job. I was serious when I said we need your input. And we need it now. This is a job you say you long for, and I want to know how things go-daily reports. Concentrate on that for a while.'
'And then?' She felt chilled to the bone as she waited for his answer. Had nothing changed for either of them? Was Roman still as cold deep down? Was she as defensive as ever? Had she ruined everything again?
'I think you need time to decide what it is you really want, Eva. You can take the jet. It's fuelled and ready. My driver will take you to the steps of the plane and you can fly to Skavanga and start working on the mining projects as soon as you like. And if you want we can pretend this visit never happened.'
That was the last thing she wanted-the very last thing. 'Is that all it means to you?' She spread her arms, lost for words to describe the enormity of the loss she was suffering.
'We're not talking about me, Eva. We're talking about you. I want you to find out what it is you want out of life. I want you to take all the passion out of your thinking and coolly decide.'
'You mean, leave without you?' Her brain was barely functioning. She couldn't throw herself at him and say this had all been some terrible mistake, and could they please get in the car now, because Roman was right, she did need to decide what she wanted. But he did too. She had believed she was on the cusp of something big with him, something special, but if he didn't feel the same way-
'You'll be safe,' he said, mistaking her hesitation for concern. 'You'll be accompanied by my people all the way, and I'll let your sisters know you're coming home so they'll be waiting for you.'
He'd thought of everything. 'Thank you. I'll be fine.' She lifted her chin and even raised a smile. 'You'll have my first report the day after tomorrow, if that suits you?'
'I'd expect nothing less of you.' Roman smiled too, but it was a difficult smile that seemed to hold regret at their parting rather than anything else.
Was that it?
Yes, that was it, Eva realised as Roman punched in some number on his phone and made the arrangements necessary for her solo departure.
* * *
Why was she moping around when there was so much to do? She had landed the job of her dreams, Eva reminded herself firmly as she unpacked her case back home in her bedroom in Skavanga. It would keep her so busy she wouldn't have a moment to miss Roman.
Was she kidding?
She had ruined everything again. Flopping down on the bed, she stared at the ceiling. Planning would distract her from what she'd lost, she reasoned. What she'd never had, Eva conceded ruefully. Roman was not on offer. Never had been, except in her head. And even accepting that didn't help one bit with the ache in her heart.
So leap up. Think about work. Make plans to get stuck into the job-and take things steady this time.
Before she did that there was another very important thing she had to do. She had tried to ring Britt from the airport the moment Roman's jet had landed, but had been told that her sister was in a meeting at the mine. She placed another call now, only to be told the same thing. Recognising Eva's voice, Britt's secretary immediately offered to put her through.
'No, please don't disturb my sister. I'll just dump my bag, then I'll come over there and wait for her.'
'You'll wait for her? Are you sure, Ms Skavanga?'
'Absolutely certain.' God, she must have been such a bitch. She could hardly bear to think about how she must have run people ragged.