the charges against your father you are going to become my much-loved girl-friend.'
‘I'M what!’ At his words Farrah had jumped to her feet and she stood staring at him with disbelief on her face.
‘Calm down, Miss Halliday,’ he said with infuriating calm. ‘I realise my idea isn't quite what you expected, but—–'
‘You're right, it isn't!’ Farrah burst out indignantly, glaring at him defiantly as she saw anger spark in those icy blue eyes at her interruption. ‘How dare you!’ she continued angrily. ‘How dare you suggest such a thing? I couldn't do it!’ she said determinedly, her tiny nose wrinkling with distaste.
‘I said calm down, Miss Halliday,’ Joel Falcone said without emotion. ‘My suggestion that you do this for me was not meant in the physical sense. I've already said you're too young for my tastes.'
‘Yes. Yes!’ Farrah replied impatiently. ‘But if you didn't mean for me to—to—–'
‘Go to bed with me,’ he supplied tauntingly.
‘Yes, go to bed with you! If you don't want that how will she ever think you're serious about me? That seems to be the normal way you progress.'
Blue eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. ‘Do you want to share my bed?'
‘Certainly not!’ But the question gave her a warm unfamiliar feeling inside. What would it be like to be held in this man's arms? To be held intimately against his taut naked body? She brought her chaotic thoughts to a halt, her eyes opening wide with shock as she realised how wanton her thoughts had become. ‘Then I don't understand,’ her eyes were wide with bewilderment.
‘This is all to be pretence, Miss Halliday. Just a way of getting Laura out of my life.'
‘I still don't see why you can't just tell her how you feel.'
‘I've tried, damn you! She still maintains the mistaken idea that those shares give her some sort of hold over me, another woman should convince her otherwise. Although I doubt if she'll be very happy about it, especially as her rival is so much her junior.'
He said all this with a certain amount of satisfaction and she realised he was so angered by Laura Bennett's behaviour that he would enjoy doing this to her. ‘I'm not her rival,’ she said quietly.
‘Only you and I will know that. As far as everyone else is concerned we'll be ecstatically in love with each other.’ His mouth turned back in a sneer.
‘Not if you act like that they won't.'
‘Don't worry, Farrah Halliday, my acting will be superb.'
Farrah started shaking. This man really meant what he was saying! ‘You can't really mean to do this, Mr Falcone—–'
‘Joel, please. If I'm to be your lover—–'
‘You aren't!’ she said sharply.
‘Your pretend lover,’ he amended mockingly. ‘Then you should call me by my first name.'
Farrah laughed brokenly. This couldn't be happening to her! ‘No one's going to believe this, Mr Falcone—Joel then,’ she said at his dark look. ‘No one who actually knows us, especially Miss Bennett.'
‘They'll believe it,’ he said firmly. ‘If you don't know that then you must be as innocent as you look, which no one could ever be. All those baby waves and trusting green eyes!’ he said in disgust. ‘What do you imagine all the girls down in your office are thinking at this moment? Well, I'll tell you. They probably think I'm making love to you right now. According to rumour, no woman is safe left alone with me.'
‘They—they wouldn't think that,’ she denied uncertainly.
‘Sure they would. Why not? You're beautiful, in a childish sort of way. And like I said, no woman is considered safe alone with me.'
‘But they wouldn't—–’ she shook her head.
‘Of course they damn well would! And to convince them even more you're going to leave the building with me right now.'
‘I am not!’ Farrah said indignantly. ‘It's only three o'clock. I can't just leave without telling anyone where I'm going.'
‘I don't intend that you should. That wouldn't benefit us in any way.’ He pressed down the intercom. ‘Cathy, get me Angie Preston.’ He turned to Farrah again. ‘This should set the tongues wagging.'
‘What do you mean to do—–?'
The telephone buzzed to interrupt her and Joel Falcone picked up the receiver. ‘Angie? Joel Falcone,’ he said shortly. ‘No, no, it isn't that. We'll get together about that some other time. I just wanted to tell you that Farrah Halliday won't be back in the department today. No, she isn't ill,’ his eyes silently mocked her. ‘She happens to be leaving with me.'
Farrah almost got up and ran then. It had started already, this deception that would become more and more involved. And she hadn't even agreed to it! But she had no choice in the matter. Joel Falcone had her trapped, and he knew it.
‘That's right,’ he continued, seemingly unaware of Farrah's inner turmoil. ‘And she may be a little late in the morning too. Right. We'll talk about that other matter at a later date.’ He rang off.
Farrah's eyes filled with unshed tears. ‘This is terrible,’ she said huskily. ‘I can't go through with it.'
‘Wouldn't you rather it happened this way than to have everyone know your father is nothing but a common thief?'
‘He isn't a common thief! He needed that money, desperately.'
‘So you've told me. I'd be interested to hear the reason.'
Anger sparked swiftly at his taunting voice. ‘Well, you aren't going to. My father is twice the man you'll ever be. And do you know why? I'll tell you why. Because he loves. You couldn't love anyone or anything—you wouldn't know how to. But my father would and does, and for someone he loves he's willing to do anything. You're just a machine, Mr Falcone, a cold unfeeling machine!'
‘But a rich one,’ he said dryly, completely unmoved by her outburst. ‘And in this case it means I hold all the right cards. Wouldn't you agree?'
‘I hate you, Mr Falcone. I hate you!'
‘No, you don't, Farrah. From this moment on you're going to love me, or at least pretend to. It's something I've found women are good at.'
‘I couldn't even pretend to love you,’ Farrah said hotly. ‘You're hateful!'
‘So you would prefer that I prosecute your father?'
‘No! You know I wouldn't,’ she said miserably.
Joel Falcone sighed impatiently. ‘You can't have it both ways, you know. Go through with this pretence and I drop the charges against your father, plus forget the twenty-five thousand pounds
