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Di CESARE PREGNANT MISTRESS - Chapter 21
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You are a gifted designer and I genuinely admire your work. My private jet will take us to Italy on Friday,’ he informed her, his hard stare daring her to argue.
It was obvious to Stephanie he had chosen the day deliberately, aware that she usually met James on Fridays. Of course he did not know that James had received his last course of chemotherapy for a few weeks.
‘A car will come for you at ten.’
He opened the door, indicating that their meeting was over, but Stephanie wasn’t finished, she hadn’t even started.
‘Forget it,’ she snapped, eyes flashing fire. ‘You can’t make me go to Italy with you.’
‘I agree that I can’t physically bundle you abroad my plane,’ Alexander conceded with a mocking smile. ‘But I’m confident I can persuade you. The simple truth is that you need me, bella. Think about it,’ he continued silkily, when she appeared to be struck dumb at his arrogance. ‘This commission is a fantastic opportunity for your career, and for Spectrum. I am the billionaire head of a globally successful fashion empire. I could call on the world’s top designers to decorate my house, but I’ve chosen you.’
He paused for a moment to allow his word to sink in, and then added, ‘I have already told Daniel that I’m willing to allow Spectrum to use my name on future advertising. This commission could raise Spectrum from being a small company to a major player in the world of interior design, and your brother knows it.’
Alexander’s eyes narrowed as he watched Stephanie’s tongue dart out to moisten her lips. He fought the urge to taste her again, to kiss her until she was soft and pliant in his arms and he could do what he had wanted to do from the moment he had first seen her at Luciana’s wedding reception—take her to his bed.
‘I can’t force you to work for me, Stephanie,’ he drawled, ‘but who would believe that you refused the chance of a lifetime? I would only have to make the odd comment at a party to start the rumours flying. Word would get around that I was disappointed with your ideas and decided not to employ you—hardly the endorsement your brother is hoping for. I fear that would be the end of Spectrum,’ he taunted in his soft, mocking voice. ‘So, unless you want that to happen, I suggest you are ready and waiting at ten o’ clock on Friday.’
Alexander’s plane touched down in Florence early on Friday afternoon. Apart from enquiring if Stephanie was comfortable, he had ignored her for the entire flight, his laptop open in front of him and his mobile phone clamped to his ear. But once they were whisked through Customs and had climbed into his waiting limousine, he seemed to visibly relax.
‘Home,’ he murmured in a satisfied tone, as he sat back and stretched his arm along the seat. ‘I have travelled all around the globe, but for me Florence is the most beautiful city in the world. Have you visited here before, Stephanie?’
‘I’ve been to Italy, but not Florence—I spent my honey-moon in Rome. It was beautiful,’ Stephanie said quietly, a faint, wistful note in her voice.
She’d been so happy, she remembered sadly, and so in love. She had believed that those two wonderful weeks with Fabian were a prelude to the rest of their lives. But her marriage had ended in a heartbreak less than a year later, and the memories were forever tainted with the knowledge that her husband had never had any intention of remaining faithful to her.
What a trusting fool she had been, she brooded, as she glanced at Alexander’s stern profile. He turned his head, and his eyes were hard and dismissive as he flicked them briefly over her. The perfect symmetry of his features could have been chiselled by one of the Old Masters, and although she told herself that she hated him, her heart lurched as she absorbed his masculine beauty. She obviously had a fatal attraction to heartless bastards, but she would not be foolish again. Alexander stirred her in a way no man had ever done, but she was determined to fight her awareness of him.
She had known from the minute she had walked into Daniel’s office and seen his eager, hopeful expression that she had no choice but to agree to accept Alexander’s commission. Her brother had put his heart and soul into creating his company, and she couldn’t offer a valid reason why she should turn down a deal that—in his words—would put Spectrum on the map.
But although Alexander had forced her to come to Italy with him, she was determined that their relationship would be on a professional level only—and fortunately he must have decided the same thing. The desire that had burned in his eyes a few days ago had disappeared, and when he looked at her now his expression was one of cool contempt.
The roads through Florence were busy, but eventually the car drew up outside a gracious apartment building beside the River Arno and Alexander ushered her inside.
‘I have to attend a meeting this afternoon, so we’ll drive on to the Villa this evening,’ he explained, while Stephanie glanced curiously around his home.
The elegant lounge was huge, with a high ceiling and pale walls. Full-length curtains framed windows that looked down on the river and commanded a wonderful view of the ponte vecchio. Alexander’s taste were eclectic and expensive—the artwork on the walls were original pieces by modern artists and Old Masters, and the furnishings comprised beautiful silk covered sofas in neutral shades, dotted with brightly coloured cushions.
‘This is stunning,’ she murmured.
He gave her a cool smile. ‘Grazie. I would like to recreate the feeling of light and space at the Villa Rosala—but, as you will see later, there is much work to do.’ He glanced at his watch and walked over to the door.