Only a fool would fail to recognise the steely intent beneath his silky drawl, and she shot him a baleful glare as she picked up the proffered folder and flipped aside the covering page.

The first thing she noted was the name of the firm who’d compiled the data...and recognised it as one of the foremost sources well known worldwide for its excellent reputation.

Why did she have the instinctive feeling the goal posts had suddenly undergone a subtle shift, when it was she who’d determined to maintain control during this brief...very brief encounter?

A small ball of tension manifested itself in the region of her mid-section, and she took a calming breath before she began skimming the range of figures, dates, only to slow down as growing alarm escalated with each turn of the page. Detailed entries tracking each amount as it passed through an elaborate tracery of accounts.

A trail initiated by direct instructions from Roman Montgomery.

Amounting to millions of dollars.

Natalya felt as if she needed to sit down, and she froze for a few heart-stopping seconds as reality hit home.

If the report was brought to the notice of relevant authorities, her father would face restitution, penalties incurred for tax evasion, and probable jail time.

It was beyond belief.

She lifted her head and looked at Alexei with undisguised incredulity for a few unguarded seconds, before reassembling her features into a taut mask as realisation hit.

‘There’s more.’

Natalya’s eyes flashed dark fire as they fixed on his own. ‘How can there be more?’

Alexei reached behind him, collected a second folder from his desk and handed it to her.

Her reluctance to examine the contents was apparent, and he watched in silence as her shoulders stiffened before she turned her attention to the written details, the photographs, and caught the moment irrefutable proof led to the only possible conclusion.

Roman Montgomery led a double life and had been doing so for many years.

There was an apartment in Paris, occupied by a mistress. A London apartment in fashionable Notting Hill housed a second mistress. Each of whom were maintained by Roman, whose visits coincided over the years with so-called business trips to both cities.

Deeds to both properties were buried beneath a list of subsidiary companies, ultimately tracing back to one man...her father.

Disbelief, together with emotions she was loath to name, coalesced into anger she fought hard to control.

The burning question had to be why had Alexei Delandros hired accredited investigators to delve deep into Roman Montgomery’s business affairs and his personal life?

Why expend so much time, effort and money?

To do what?

Blackmail?

Her father? Her?

On the surface, such conjecture appeared unconscionable.

It took considerable effort to remain relatively calm, when her overwhelming desire was to toss both folders onto Alexei’s desk and walk out, take the elevator down to basement car park level and exit with a squeal of tyre rubber.

Not the best idea...but incredibly satisfying. Provided she maintained control and didn’t crash the car. Or worse, suffer an injury or three.

Her eyes darkened as they fused with his own.

‘What do you intend to do with this information?’

Alexei regarded her thoughtfully, noted the tension evident in the way she stood, the straight back, squared shoulders, her eyes fixed intently on his own.

‘That depends on you.’

The only visible indication apparent was a slight narrowing of her eyes, followed seconds later by an increased pulse-beat at the base of her throat.

A vivid reminder of past occasions when he’d touched his lips to that pulse, savoured it, before kissing it gently with his mouth. Her soft husky groan followed by a faint gasp as he used his teeth to tease and nibble a little.

Almost as if his body remembered, he felt its damning response, and silently cursed as he shifted position, using the moment to transfer a slim document and pen from his desk and extend it towards her.

Natalya’s eyes flashed with fine fury as she recognised it as a duplicate of the contract she’d just destroyed.

‘I have no intention of attaching my signature to a document representing any company involving your name.’

‘That’s your final decision?’

‘Yes.’

‘You might care to consider the fallout if I disclose the information I have on your father to the relevant authorities and the media.’

He’d do that?

The answer was clearly apparent in the chilling darkness in his gaze, and her mind reeled at the impact the exposure would have on her parents, their lives, her mother once Roman’s infidelity became known.

Anger burned her throat. ‘You bastard.’

‘Language,’ Alexei chided mildly.

For a brief moment she wanted to cause him physical harm, unaware how well he was able to read her.

Silence filled the room...ominous, intrusive, threatening.

‘Decision time, Natalya.’

The silky warning apparent in his voice acted as a reality check, and earned him a baleful glare.

‘I need to consider my options.’

‘There are two.’ His gaze seared her own. ‘You sign, or you don’t.’ He waited a beat, then added with irrefutable inflexibility, ‘It’s a simple no-brainer.’

Her father’s indiscretions made public. Worse, much worse...her mother’s humiliation and heartbreak.

The mere thought of the snide whispers, the disdain as the social elite tore her mother’s marriage, her very life to shreds...

A silent curse rose and died in her throat. She couldn’t do that to a caring, loving woman who in no way deserved such denigration.

Natalya subjected Alexei to a killing look which should have felled him on the spot, and gritted her teeth in sheer frustration when he displayed no reaction whatsoever.

‘Give me the damn paperwork.’

Seconds later she tore it from his extended hand and began reading the various clauses. Carefully checking no word or phrase had been changed from the contract she’d initially signed.

Every detail was clearly defined, stating as his PA she’d be on call twenty-four-seven when necessary, and available to accompany him on business trips within Australia and overseas. The contract would be valid for one year...renewable by mutual agreement.

While a term of one year had seemed perfectly reasonable, now it stretched way too long. ‘I insist renegotiating the one-year term down to three months.’

‘No.’

His unequivocal refusal ramped up her anger to boiling point. ‘Revenge or blackmail?’ she demanded tightly. ‘Which?’

‘Neither.’

He expected her to believe that? ‘And the moon is a ball of blue cheese,’ she offered with deliberate disparagement.

If he displayed so much as a glimmer of humour, she would hit him and be damned to the consequences. Only a forward flash of reality provided her saving grace, and she forced herself to mentally calm down, breathe, and stick to the basics.

‘What guarantee do I have you won’t go public?’

Alexei spared her a steely look. ‘My word.’

‘Not good enough,’ Natalya dismissed with a retaliatory edge, and glimpsed his eyes harden at her temerity.

‘The original certified documentation is held in a bank’s locked security box.’

She didn’t hesitate in issuing a cool demand. ‘Copies?’

‘Returned to the bank’s security holding after you’ve signed a new employment contract.’

‘I’ll require a certified bank receipt in confirmation.’

He leant back against the desk, seemingly relaxed, but only a fool would ignore the restrained power apparent, or doubt his intent to use it. ‘Done.’

Her eyes silently warred with his own, her mouth tight as she fought for a semblance of control as Alexei handed her a pen.

A mesh of angry pride caused her to hesitate for a few seconds before taking it from him.

‘Just for the record... I hate you.’

‘An emotion which should make for an interesting relationship.’ His voice was a smooth drawl which did little to improve her anger level.

‘Business-related only.’ The emphasis was fiercely stressed with finality as she attached her signature to a copy of the contract, watched as he countersigned, then she stoodto her feet, walked out of his office, and took the lift down to the basement car park.

Alexei was intent on playing hardball, expecting her to meekly comply?

Comply, yes.

There really wasn’t an option.

But meekly?

Not a chance...

CHAPTER THREE

NATALYA ENTERED HER HOME, greeted Ollie, her beautiful Birman cat, caught him close for a customary cuddle, gave a light laugh at his plaintive miaow as she made her way into the kitchen.

‘Okay, I get it. Dinner time.’ She toed off her stilettos, dropped her bag onto the marble-topped servery, then moved to the walk-in pantry.

‘Chicken or fish?’

Unable to answer, Ollie merely butted his head against her chin and began to purr.

‘Chicken,’ Natalya decided as she extracted the appropriate tin, removed the seal, spooned the contents into the cat dish and placed it on Ollie’s food mat. ‘There you go.’

Her apartment was one of two situated in a large two-level converted family home in an exclusive bayside suburb overlooking a sweeping promenade bordered by a stand of tall Norfolk pine trees along the seafront.

Inherited from her maternal grandmother three years ago, the home rested high on a sloping hill with sweeping views over the bay and neighbouring suburbs.

Renovated into two beautifully decorated apartments, one of which she leased to a responsible tenant, the property represented a valuable investment, providing Natalya with a place where there were no memories of her shared time with Alexei to haunt her.

Except now he was back.

Food held no interest whatsoever, and she reached for the remote, activated the TV, checked local and international newscast, and scrolled through the host of programmes until she found something that might provide a distraction.

A night in was a conscious choice. Not that she was a social butterfly, although there were a few very good friends whose company she enjoyed...live theatre, movies, social events for worthy charity causes; lingering over a shared coffee, and there was a sports complex she frequently visited with an indoor swimming pool, and several large rooms hosting a variety of exercise equipment. None of which held immediate appeal.

She wanted out of her clothes, a leisurely shower, then she’d slip into something comfortable and carefully examine her copy of the employment contract in the unlikely event she’d discover a possible loophole.

An hour later she tossed the contract aside, aware there appeared no evident room to manoeuvre within the skilfully crafted legalese.

Food was a requisite, and having nibbled without appetite she settled into a comfortable chair and channel-surfed the TV for a while, noticed a much-viewed programme, only to discover it was a repeat episode she’d already seen.

What next? Phone a friend? Skype? Flip through the pages of a current magazine?

Indecision wasn’t one of her usual traits, so she decided to retire to bed with a good book. Ollie merely tilted his head in silent askance at this change in his mistress’s usual evening routine, and leapt onto the bed when it became apparent Natalya intended to settle in comfort.

Half an hour in, the written word failed to capture her complete attention, given her mind seemed intent on reliving events of the day.

No matter how hard she tried to focus on the story, Alexei’s image kept intruding, until she simply gave up, closed the bed lamp, and attempted to sleep...with no success whatsoever.

Emotional reflection eventually tipped her back into a place which transported her back six years to a time when she first met Alexei...at an end-of-year social gathering for employees of her father’s affiliate firm responsible for the manufacture of electronic components.

Tall, dark-haired and ruggedly attractive, he’d stood apart from the rest of the men present. For a heart-stopping moment she’d become acutely aware of every breath she took, unable to look away as he turned slightly as if drawn by her attention.

Dark gleaming eyes met her own, lingered, before returning to the young woman who clung to his side. Understandable, Natalya conceded, given he possessed the wow factor in spades.

She could, if she was so inclined, cross to his side and effect an introduction. Hadn’t she slowly circled the room achieving the social etiquette required of the boss’s daughter separately, and at her mother’s side, as the evening progressed?

Except she’d been forestalled by one of her father’s foremen, intent on introducing his son, and when she moved on the object of her attention was nowhere in sight.

Shame, she mused, aware she’d probably never see him again.

Yet she did, days later, when she entered a suburban supermarket to purchase a few groceries needed to replenish her fridge and pantry. And there he was, in the same aisle. Their eyes met, and they both exchanged a smile at the coincidence, whereupon Alexei introduced himself, and Natalya did likewise. Coffee, the universal suggestion, worked, and led to conversation and the exchange of phone numbers.

What followed rose to the surface, intact and in glorious Technicolor...a relationship so special, caring, so attuned to each other there had been no need for words. Just the touch of his hand, the warmth of his smile, dear heaven, his mouth as it possessed her own. The hard strength of his body, aroused emotions taking them both to a place where they existed in a sensual world of their own. Erotic, exquisite, mind-blowing.

A time when she’d felt so happy...so alive, in mind, body, and soul. Sure in her heart they were destined to share a life together.

Only to wake one morning to find herself alone in her flat, no explanatory note, only a brief text message on her cell phone later in the day indicating little, and not followed up at all.

‘The number you are dialling has been disconnected’, a disembodied robot had intoned, sending her reeling with alarm. Worse, the crushing news he no longer worked at her father’s electronics plant.

Five years, with no satisfactory explanation.

For all she knew he’d disappeared off the face of the Earth, followed by months of her agonising why. Ultimately, the realisation he didn’t want to be found.

Now he was back. Not the man she’d once known and imagined she’d loved, but a hard, resolute stranger bent on revenge—no holds barred. Bent on destroying her father, using her as a tool.

Blackmail...no other word suited as well.

She wanted to hit out...verbally, physically.

Silently didn’t begin to cut it.

Getting physical, however, did.

First up, her apartment, which she cleaned to within a whisker of perfection.

A long session at the local squash centre expended excess energy, and there was a certain satisfaction in continuously slamming a ball against the wall, especially as she mentally imposed Alexei’s body centre front and deliberately aimed to hit target every time.

Revenge of sorts for his physical image which had entered uninvited in dream form throughout the night, providing vivid memories she assured herself she’d long forgotten.

And knew she lied.

‘Why so aggressive?’

Oh, hell.

Natalya closed her eyes, then opened them again as she turned towards her squash partner and endeavoured to catch her breath.

‘There has to be a reason.’

Aaron offered her a penetrating look. ‘Spill.’

One of the pitfalls of a good friendship being they knew each other too well.

Initially they’d met at a social gathering hosted by her father. A partner in a prominent law firm and the eldest son of a wealthy family, Aaron was sophisticated, charming and considered to be a very good catch in the matrimonial stakes. Only a chosen few knew he maintained a relationship with a long-term same-sex partner.

‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ Natalya assured him as they emerged from the court.

Aaron read her better than most, a good friend who’d provided unstinting support when she’d needed it most.

Such as now, when his teasing anecdotes would do much to help lighten the dark mood threatening to destroy her composure.