the busy street. Despite her heels she kept pace with him and he slowed his slightly as he entered one of the city’s plazas, lined with cafés where couples enjoyed the cool winter sun of the afternoon. What would it be like to sit and relax with her, to forget the stress of their situation and get to know one another properly?
It shocked him to realise that was exactly what he wanted to do, not in the way he’d always done with other women, but in a deep and meaningful way. That would never be an option, not now. It was better if she continued to think of him as a womaniser, especially when he sensed she was not the kind of woman to indulge in one-night stands, making her exactly the kind of woman he always avoided. Was that the reason for this inconvenient attraction? Forbidden fruit? He was stronger than that, wasn’t he?
He paused outside the doors of the old town building that was home to the head office of Banco de Torrez. She looked at him and the uncertainty he saw briefly in her eyes pulled at his conscience. He silenced that conscience. There was no other way of dealing with the mess created by both their fathers.
Without a word, he pushed open the large and heavy door and entered the calm interior, which, like his apartment, was modern and spacious, belying the exterior that belonged in the city’s past. As he looked down at her, he saw her delicate brows rise in question and recalled her earlier remarks, suggesting that he could just write off the debt she had to pay. He could, if he was prepared to risk a company he’d built being sold off to the highest bidder. He couldn’t allow that to happen to all the people who depended on Banco de Torrez for employment. The only other option was for Lydia to find Maximiliano without luring the press closer. It was time to put her hobby of family history to the test.
‘I will show you to the office you can work from whilst here,’ he said as he stepped into the elevator, trying to ignore the close proximity they were forced into once again.
* * *
Lydia followed Raul past offices where staff members worked, some greeting him and others regarding her with mild curiosity. Did they think she was his latest mistress? That thought almost made her feet stop moving, but she forced herself to continue, trying not to care what others thought.
Finally, the glass-partitioned offices finished and they reached a more private area. Raul walked in and the luxury of what was obviously his space forced her to stifle a small gasp.
‘This is where you will work.’ He gestured to an office area off his. She walked in, trying to ignore the way he made her feel as he stood so close, looking out of the window, which took up almost all of one wall. Rooftops of grand old buildings nestled beneath the winter sun and she wished briefly she could explore the city, get to know it better. But she was here to work, to pay off her father’s debts and finally free herself of, not only Raul Valdez, but her ill-fated honour to her father. She was here ultimately for her grandmother. There wasn’t time for such frivolities and most definitely not for exploring the simmering passion between them.
‘Nice, but I only intend to be here for a matter of days.’ She had no idea how much her father owed, but even to her ears the fact that it would only take a few days sounded extortionate. He must be desperate to trace his brother, not for any emotional reasons, she was sure, but for the money his inclusion in the business would unlock. Raul had been brutally honest about that. It must be far greater than her father owed. Much more of a lure for a cold businessman like Raul Valdez.
He shrugged casually, a move so unexpected it aroused her suspicions. What hadn’t he told her?
‘I think we should discuss the extent of your father’s debt before you make plans to leave Madrid, because make no mistake, querida, you will not be leaving until I consider the debt repaid, either with the information I require or your signature on a marriage document.’
Inwardly, Lydia’s anger surfaced. She was not his querida, but outwardly she remained calm and poised and she resisted the urge to reply in Spanish. She would save that pleasure for another time. ‘In that case, I need to know the exact sum my father owes.’
She followed him back into his office and stood calmly waiting as he got a file out, opened it slowly and with purpose, then he looked at her as he slid it across the expanse of polished wood. The warning on his handsome face was clear and she braced herself for what was to come.
‘The figure exceeds five hundred million euros.’ He spoke without any emotion, any sense of surprise at the figure he mentioned. Her eyes widened in shock. How could he say that so calmly?
‘And the properties used as security?’ Her voice wavered and she dreaded the answer.
‘Far in excess of that amount.’
How many properties had her father hidden in her name? This was much bigger than she’d imagined and with each passing hour she was getting in deeper. Too deep. It would finish her grandmother, who was recovering from a bout of ill health, if she knew how much.
‘So if we married you would gain substantially more?’ He nodded and she carried on whilst she still had the strength to stand. ‘Why then are you prepared to accept the deal I offered? Before I knew the extent of the sums involved, I might add.’
‘I want my brother found. I’d prefer the money to come from the accounts my father set up for the purpose of his devious acts than from you and our marriage. I trust you agree.’
‘I agree only on that I have no wish to get married—to you or anyone.’ She injected as much confidence into her voice as she could even though inside she was still reeling from shock at the amount her father owed.
‘If you agree, then you must sign this confidentiality contract.’
Suspicion nudged into her mind. What was he keeping from her? ‘There must be more to it than that. What are you keeping from me, Mr Valdez?’
She stood in the middle of his office and used the long-ago-perfected art of indifference as she lifted her chin and challenged him. There was a hint of anger, a hint of bristling annoyance as his gaze met hers. Then it was gone. Replaced by icy disdain.
‘You are very astute, Lydia. You should be a businesswoman.’ His cutting tone bounced off her toughened barrier, but inside something changed. He’d seen her as something more than an empty-headed heiress. Briefly maybe, but he’d seen the real Lydia.
‘Maybe I am,’ she taunted him as she walked towards him, watching as his eyes narrowed in suspicion, noticing how his dark lashes made his eyes look so very sinfully sexy. ‘Which means, before I sign any contract with you, I want to know the finer details. All of them.’
‘Very well.’ He moved towards her and she suddenly wished she hadn’t been so bold, provoking him as she’d done moments ago, because now he was far too close. She could smell the unadulterated scent of a powerful male. It scared and excited her. ‘There is one more detail which needs to be agreed upon.’
‘Which is?’ She looked up at him, her heart thudding at his closeness. So close that if he lowered his head he could kiss her. Where had that thought come from?
‘That we become engaged—immediately.’
‘No,’ she snapped the word back at him, defiance echoing around the room.
‘I have no wish for anyone to know that I am looking for my brother—not until I am ready. The board of directors are demanding settlement of this historic, and seriously overdue, debt, and it is imperative that they believe that we are willing to marry to clear it.’
He
