tilted her head to one side. ‘Is there something wrong with this one?’
He resisted the urge to run his gaze down her wicked curves again. The dress wasn’t indecent, by any means, in fact by some standards it was almost modest. Small delicate sleeves stopped just at the shoulder and the neckline swooped gracefully along her collarbone. It was just that it hugged every delicious curve of her body—a body he was trying very hard to ignore at this moment.
‘I decided your choice wasn’t appropriate for this evening.’
She turned slightly and his throat went dry. The dress was sinfully low-cut at the back, leaving the graceful curve of her spine completely bare for everyone to see.
He coughed, clearing his throat. ‘It wasn’t a request, Dara. I thought you would understand that.’
Dara stepped closer, her voice lowered to a dangerous whisper. ‘I’m confused. At any point during our meeting this afternoon did I indicate that I have difficulty in choosing my own clothing?’ She raised one sleek blonde brow.
‘You were unprepared for the formal dress code tonight. I was ensuring that you’d fit the part of my event planner.’
‘Temporary consultant,’ she corrected. ‘Out of interest, do you ensure that all of your potential business partners have the opportunity to bare their cleavage?’
Leo floundered at that question. This was not going to plan at all.
Just then a familiar voice came from behind his left shoulder.
‘Leonardo, are you going to introduce me to this beautiful creature?’
He turned to see Gianni, his watery brown eyes twinkling with amusement.
Leo closed his mouth and turned to the man, a playful glint in his eye. ‘I was planning to keep her away from you as a matter of fact.’
‘She looks like she’s planning to keep away from you too.’ He chuckled, extending a hand. ‘Gianni Marcello. I don’t think we’ve met.’
Dara stepped forward and politely introduced herself, all trace of hostility gone from her face.
‘Dara is my event planner,’ Leo explained casually.
‘Actually, I’m just here for tonight,’ she corrected, with a swift glance in his direction. ‘Leo is in the process of negotiating with my company.’
‘A businesswoman!’ Gianni exclaimed, clapping his hands together with glee. ‘Thank goodness he’s found someone who can actually hold a conversation in company.’
Dara had opened her mouth to correct him when they were suddenly interrupted by the club manager.
After a low murmured conversation with the man Leo turned back to them apologetically. ‘It seems that it is time for the host to officiate,’ he explained. ‘Try not to bore her with your business talk.’
* * *
‘He is quite the charmer, isn’t he?’
Dara stopped watching Leo making his way across the floor below and turned to find the older man, Gianni, watching her with interest.
‘I gave him his first job, you know. Tending bar in my flagship hotel in Paris. Now look at him—drinking champagne with supermodels.’ He chuckled.
‘You own the Marcello Hotel chain?’
‘I do.’ He smiled. ‘But as far as work goes, my children do that now. I’m just enjoying my golden years in the town that made me.’
‘Were you born here in Milan?’ she asked.
‘I was born and raised in Bella Sicilia.’ He smiled again, eyes twinkling. ‘Business brought me to the industrial north. I opened my first hotel here forty-five years ago.’
‘The Grand Marcello Milan was your first?’
‘She was my crowning glory. Hence the reason my apartment is on the top floor there.’
She smiled back. ‘I love the branding of your chain. “New city, old friends”.’
‘That tagline is probably the only part of my original work that still lives on.’ He tutted. ‘Young people want to make everything modern.’
Dara nodded in agreement. The old man was nice. He had a cantankerous warmth about him that made her feel instantly comfortable.
The champagne hour was going well, she thought as she looked down across the crowd of Milan’s glittering elite. All here to be photographed for the society pages, no doubt. Soon the lights would dim and the official event would fade into the background, allowing them to use the club for its true purpose. Privacy, anonymity and sin.
The music was lowered and a tinkling sound resonated through the air. Dara looked down to see that Leo had moved up to the small stage erected in the middle of the dance floor. Gianni took her elbow and they made their way down to the lower floor as Leo began speaking.
He began to outline the concept of the club’s renovation, explaining the fluid lines and mirrored backdrops. Gianni made a few more tutting noises beside her, commenting that it had been fine just the way it was.
Leo smiled brightly, ever the charismatic host, and he finished by thanking his team of staff in detail for their support.
‘Finally, I have the greatest pleasure to introduce you all to a rising star in the industry—Miss Dara Devlin.’
To her horror he pointed her out in the crowd and she suddenly became the focus of three hundred curious stares.
What was he thinking? She was a nobody here. These people were looking at her as though expecting her to burst into song.
Leo smiled, oblivious to her horror. ‘Miss Devlin is a recent discovery of mine, she is a rare creative talent in the industry. Such is her dedication to detail, she even gave the Platinum uniform a facelift to fit with our new theme.’
The crowd gave subdued applause, curious eyes glancing from the scarlet-faced event planner to the now very sleek waiters walking around all in black. Dara prayed for him to move on to another topic, breathing a sigh of relief when he began to wrap up the speech.
Gianni raised his brows beside her, seemingly quite entertained by the proceedings. ‘He seems quite taken with you, carina.’ He smiled.
Dara straightened her shoulders, trying in vain to dispel the heat from her cheeks. ‘Mr Valente is a very successful man. I’m grateful to be working with him.’ She took a sip from her cool soda water, feeling it hit her painfully dry throat.
‘You are quite naive if you think he’s just thinking about work.’ His eyes twinkled.
Dara ignored the uncomfortable sensation in her stomach at his words. Leo was taking her seriously, now that she had proved her talent. There was a playful tension between them, of course, but she had no plans to act on it. Not at all.
She decided to ignore Gianni’s comment, straightening her shoulders
