The rest of the banquet had been a blur, just as the last three months had been. Kat spent every day and most of every night preparing her presentation, while running Roma Tech and trying not to lose her sanity from the nightly visits of her dream lover.
Just as she'd expected, it was Viktor's voice she heard in every dream, more compelling with each appearance. So real that every time she awoke, her hand automatically searched the other side of the bed for him.
Kat knew from all her research into Katsaros Industries that only blurry, out of focus photos existed of its withdrawn owner. But that simple fact did not keep her from searching at least once a day with the hopes that something she'd missed before would magically appear. Of course, nothing had, so she'd depended on her incredible imagination while constantly reminding herself it was unprofessional to mix business with pleasure.
But oh, what pleasure I imagine it could be.
Grinning at her own joke, she planted her best black stiletto on British soil for the first time and headed to retrieve her luggage. Apparently, the heavens were shining down on her, because her bags were the first onto the carousel. Her luck continued to hold as she walked out into the dreary London morning and straight into a waiting cab to be immediately whisked away to her hotel.
Viktor had offered to have his car pick her up at the airport when she'd sent her itinerary to him and Roman a week after their phone conversation. Once the initial shock of a personal response from the CEO himself had worn off, Kat had politely declined. She needed him to see her as a capable, worthy partner despite her age and gender. It was a daily battle and one she would not let stop her from taking Roma Tech to the top.
As her taxi stopped in front of the Corinthia, Kat had a moment of wide-eyed awe. Never in a million years would she have guessed the building before her had at one time housed the Ministry of Defense. The restoration the building had undergone left it in absolutely gorgeous condition. It was like nothing she'd ever seen.
For just a second, she felt like a princess finally arriving at her castle. Sadness threatened her mood as Kat thought of all the fairy tales her mom had read to her over the years and the times her dad had played the part of the horrible beast keeping the princess captive in the bell tower. She missed them so very much but knew they were looking down on her with pride. Life had dished Kat up a bushel of lemons and she was making lemonade as fast as she could.
The fact that she was a country girl at heart would always be her best kept secret from the professional world. Sure, as an only child taking over the family business had been in her thirty-year plan. Right along with marrying the man of her dreams and having two beautiful children. She'd always imagined she and her spouse running the company together after her parents had retired but destiny had other plans, and now it was time to take her father's dreams worldwide.
Smiling to herself, she jumped as the hotel attendant opened her door and extended his hand. Quickly paying the cabbie, Kat gently accepted the bellman's help and exited the vehicle. There were several other stewards unloading her luggage while she was escorted through the pristine glass double doors into the hotel lobby.
If this is any indication of what my suite looks like, I may never go home.
It was all she could do to keep from gaping at the opulence before her. There were chandeliers as far as her eyes could see, glittering like diamonds against the silver and white ceiling. Marble columns strategically placed around the perimeter of what she counted to be at least ten separate alcoves stood at attention like palace guards protecting the groups of patrons who sat either at delicately adorned tables sipping morning tea, or in the more informal settees. A splash of pink decorated every tabletop as a light, fresh fragrance from the bright fuchsia flowers kissed the air around her.
Kat's heels lightly tapped the geometrically patterned marble floor as she made her way to the front desk. A cute young woman with short brown hair whose nametag read Cecily looked up and smiled as Kat approached.
"Checking in?" the younger woman asked with a thick British accent.
"Yes. The name's Romalesky."
"Katarina?"
"Yes, that's correct."
It took only a few moments for Cecily to confirm Kat's reservation, secure her credit card, and hand over the key to her suite, but as she was waiting-Kat couldn't help but feel as though someone was watching her. Looking over her shoulder, first one way and then the other, she saw only hotel patrons enjoying their stay. No one looked out of place or seemed to be paying an inordinate amount of attention to her. Shrugging, she returned her attention to the clerk.
"Enjoy your stay, Miss Romalesky. The bellman will be waiting in your suite with your belongings."
"Thank you, Cecily."
Kat entered the first mahogany paneled elevator, ‘lift' as Cecily had called it, she came to. As the doors closed, she shoved her key into the slot as she'd been instructed and let out a deep sigh of relief. The slow upward motion helped to soothe her increasing anxiety. She took another deep breath and leaned back, letting her eyes slide shut for just a moment. It was the first time she'd been alone in nearly fourteen hours.
Not that Kat was a hermit or a recluse like the man who was quickly dominating her every thought, it was nothing like that. She enjoyed being around people. Had always loved the comradery of friends and had a blast chatting with the people at Roma Tech. Goodness knew she could talk to anyone and had on many occasions struck up a conversation with another shopper at the grocery store over whatever product they were both looking at.
But this was not the Piggly Wiggly and she wasn't in Texas anymore. This was real life and she was about to enter the race with the big dogs. Correction, the biggest dog of them all, the one that not only won every race, but also owned the racetrack. The future of her company, the one her father had built from a workshop in the back of their garage to one with its shares traded on the NYSE, was at stake. The one she saved from bankruptcy after both her father and mother were killed in an unexplained single car accident on a clear fall night would be sold to the highest bidder if she failed. The one that had the only interactive graphic chip with artificial intelligence capabilities in the world would fall to the wayside if KI declined. It all depended on her ability to convince an elusive billionaire, who to the best of her knowledge never did partnerships-only believed in takeovers- to take a chance on her. It was all more than a little daunting.
It was only one more evening's preparation, one more night's sleep, and one short car ride before she came face to face with the Viktor Katsaros. Kat was not afraid to admit she was nervous, maybe even a little scared. Saying a silent prayer for guidance, she exited the elevator and found herself standing right in the middle of the most imposing entrance hall she'd ever seen...and she'd been in the Texas Governor's mansion. As if that wasn't enough, she looked out into a gorgeous expanse of living space she knew damn good and well was bigger than her house and was sure she was in the wrong place. Her perusal was cut short when the sound of someone clearing their throat had her spinning on her heels.
"Pardon me, ma'am. (Which sounded more like mum than ma'am.) Didn't mean to startle you. I'm Jordan, your steward. Let me take your coat and then you can tell me where you'd like your belongings."
Taking a step back as Jordan took his first step towards her, Kat asked, "Are you sure this is my room? I think there must be some mistake. This looks more like a...well...I guess I'm not sure what it looks like, but I know it's a lot more than the suite I booked online."
Pulling a card from his uniform pocket, Jordan carefully followed his finger over every word Kat could see printed on the paper before he looked up, smiled, and announced, "No mistake at all, ma'am. The Royal Penthouse has been reserved for Katarina Romalesky, who judging from the picture I have here, is you." He turned the registration card so she could see that it did indeed have her picture from the Roma Tech brochure on it.
"But there has to have been some mix up. I reserved the Junior Suite. Let me call down to the front desk and I'm sure Cecily will get it all worked out."
Kat stepped to the glass-topped table where the phone sat and picked up the receiver as Jordan continued reading. "Your Junior Suite has been upgraded to the Royal Penthouse with the compliments of the hotel owner."