The Russian's Ultimatum(3)

And so would Pascha's last chance at redemption.

Could he trust her? That was the question.

He had no doubt her actions in stealing his files had been driven by   exactly what she claimed-to prove her father's innocence. He almost   admired her for it.

But beneath the collected exterior lurked a wildness. It echoed in the   flickers of light emitting from her dark eyes. He could feel it.

This was a woman on the edge.

That, in itself, answered his question.

No, he could not trust her.

In exactly one week, the Plushenko deal would be finalised, the   contracts signed. Seven whole days in which he would be wondering and   worrying if she really was capable of keeping her mouth shut, if   something innocuous could set her off to make a phone call to Marat's   lawyer.

Beneath Emily's bohemian exterior, which even the plain suit she wore   couldn't hide, lurked a sharp, inquisitive mind. A sharp mind on the   edge could be a lethal combination.

An old English phrase came to mind: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

This deal was everything. It had to happen.

It had been eight years since he'd walked out on his family. It was too   late to make amends with the man who'd raised him as his own, but he   could restore his legacy and, maybe then, finally, his mother would   forgive him.

And for that reason he needed to make Emily disappear...





 CHAPTER TWO

EMILY DID NOT LIKE the thoughtful way Pascha appraised her, leaning back   in his chair with his arms folded, his long legs stretched out beneath   his desk, ankles crossed, handmade brogues gleaming.                       
       
           



       

She'd never seen such stillness. It was unnerving. Almost as unnerving   as her attempt to blackmail him. But then, she'd never thought she would   break into an office with the sole intention of stealing data from a   billionaire's laptop.

After what felt like an age, where Emily's skin became tense enough to   snap, Pascha leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk and draw his   fingers together.

'So, Miss Richardson, you think you can blackmail me to get what you   want? I will not be threatened and I will not have the deal I've spent   two years working on be destroyed.' The grey in his eyes glittered with   loathing. 'I will not capitulate to your demands. No. You, Miss   Richardson, are going to disappear.'

That made her sit up straight. She shook her head, as if unsure she'd   heard him correctly. 'What? You're going to make me disappear?'

'Not in the sense you're thinking,' he said shortly, aggrieved to see   her face had turned white. What kind of a man did she think he was? 'I   can't take the risk of you disclosing the specifics of this deal, so I   need you to disappear for a week.' And he knew the perfect place to take   her.

Emily stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes that held a hint of   relief, probably at the confirmation he wasn't going to make her   disappear via a wooden box. 'You can't be serious.'

'I am never anything but serious.'

'I don't doubt it. But I'm not going anywhere.'

'Yes, you are. I will agree to clear your father's name but in return you must agree to go into hiding for a week.'

He had to give her something in exchange, that much he knew. And, seeing   as it was her father's name she wanted to clear, then that was what  she  would have. It was hardly a trivial sum either.   One-hundred-and-fifty-thousand pounds had gone missing on her father's   watch. He was the only person who could have taken it.

Her stomach roiling, Emily forced her mind to think clearly. As deftly   as a professional tennis player, Pascha had regained control of the   court. But this wasn't a game. Not to her. And, she knew, not to him   either. What he was demanding of her was unbelievable, yet the set   expression of those cool, grey eyes and the line of those wide, firm   lips showed he wasn't bluffing. 'I can't just leave... I have   commitments...'

'You didn't think of those commitments when you entered my office for illegal purposes.'

'Yes, I did, but I only planned on losing a couple of days if I got   caught. Not that I expected you to catch me. I was told you were in   Milan.'

'You really are remarkably well-informed.' Those gorgeous lips curved   into the semblance of a smile. Gorgeous lips? Had her anger addled her   brain...? 'But have no fear-I will learn who your mole is.'

She threw him a tight 'that's what you think' smile. Emily would never   sell out a friend, especially to a man as dangerous as Pascha Virshilas,   who ruined people's health and reputations for fun. She would bet that   was the extent of any fun he had. He was so buttoned up, he probably   even treated sex with the utmost precision.

And now she was imagining his sex life-where on earth had that come from? He'd unnerved her more than she'd credited.

Pascha rose to his feet and looked at his watch. 'I will give you five   minutes to make your decision: your father's freedom in exchange for   yours.'

'But where will I go? I have nowhere to go to.'

'I have somewhere to take you. It's safe and out of the way.'

Leaving her standing there to glower at his retreating figure, Pascha   opened the inter-connecting door and stepped into his private space.

Emily would agree. Complying would give her exactly what she'd come here for.

He pulled out his phone and fired off an email to his PA, telling her to   rearrange all his appointments for the next two days. As he wrote, he   ruminated over the arrangements needed to get Emily out of the country   and then immediately fired half a dozen more emails to the people and   organisations he paid to make things like this happen.

Not that he'd ever done something quite like this before. And, if he   felt any discomfort over what he was doing, he was quick to remind   himself that she'd thrown the first ball. Emily had broken into his   office to steal his company's data and then had tried to blackmail him.   She didn't deserve him to feel any guilt.

Everything was in hand with regards to the Plushenko buyout. All the   negotiations had been finalised; now it was just a case of dotting every   'i' and crossing every 't'. His lawyers were in the process of doing   just that. There was nothing more for him to do other than sign the   final contracts in exactly one week.                       
       
           



       

Escorting Emily to Aliana Island wouldn't affect anything. He could   accompany her there and be back in Europe within thirty-six hours. And   yet...

Pascha didn't like leaving anything to chance. He wanted to be there on   the scene should any unexpected crises be thrown up, not halfway round   the world with a blackmailing thief.

The inter-connecting door opened and Emily burst into his private space,   a space not even his executive secretary or PA were permitted to  enter.  More curls had sprung free from the bun she'd wedged her hair  in, ebony  tendrils falling over her face and down her back.

Without any preliminaries, she launched straight in. 'If I agree to   effectively be kidnapped by you, I want it in writing that you'll   exonerate my father from any and all charges.'

'I've already agreed to that.'

'I want your written guarantee. I doubt he'll ever be in a position to   return to work, so I also want you to back-date the money he's been   denied since being under suspension. And I want you to give him a decent   pay-off of, say, a quarter of a million pounds.'

Pascha shock his head, almost laughing at her nerve. 'Your demands are ridiculous.'

She shrugged mutinously. 'That's what I want. If you agree to my demands, then I will agree to your demands.'

'I think you forget who is in the driving seat. I'm not the one whose father's future hangs in the balance.'

'True. But your wish for secrecy over your involvement in the Plushenko   deal is in the balance.' Here, her face transformed, lighting up with   faux sweetness. 'Either you agree to my demands or I whistle it to the   world. We can call it a deal of mutual benefit or, if you prefer,   mutually beneficial blackmail.'

Emily had never been on the receiving end of such pure loathing before. It radiated off him like a rippling wave.

She refused to cower.

She didn't care what the motivation was for his buy-out, knew only that   it had to be something more than a simple business deal. Either that or   the man was completely insane because no one went to such great  lengths  to secure a business deal.

No. For Pascha Virshilas, this buy-out was, for whatever reason,   personal. And if he could use her emotions for leverage then she could   certainly use his emotions for her own benefit-or, in this case, her   father's.