"Well," she said as he continued to stare at her. "I'll be off."
I don't think so. You don't get off that easily. "Don't forget you're coming with me for the day," he told her. "I have business to discuss with you."
"I'm quite happy to discuss any business you might have," she said warily, "but we can do that any time, here in the office."
Daniel shook his head. "No, we can't. Today being Sunday, it's my only free day to do what I please. I have meetings all next week with other hotel owners in the area before I go down to Porto."
He saw her expression waver. "Well, if it has to be today, then it does," she said, her tone clipped. "But I would rather any meetings took place here." She looked like she wanted to add "on safe ground."
"And I would rather we went to Valença," he insisted. "I haven't been that far north yet." There was no compromise in his eyes, dark with stubborn determination. "I would have thought it was common courtesy to allow a potential customer to choose his own venue for a business meeting, and I must say, I'm surprised at how much fuss you're making over a simple drive out. I would have thought you would see it as a far more palatable way to ensure a good business deal for your friends than what you were contemplating last night."
Annoyed by the way her eyes widened in shock, he added, "Did you honestly think I wouldn't guess why you're suddenly so reluctant to discuss it? I wasn't born yesterday. You've expended a great deal of energy keeping me at arm's length, avoiding any close contact between us, and yet last night you were more than willing. I'm not so vain as to think my own charms would be sufficient to effect such a sudden change in you."
Laura opened her mouth to speak, but no words followed.
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "You seem confused. Let me spell it out for you. That was my brother on the phone. It seems the company you let half your rooms to is pulling out of the Costa Verde next year. I can only presume you've heard the same, and that's what changed your mind about me. You won't want any possible business deals jeopardised for your Senhor Silva now, and you obviously realised a little cooperation was in order." His ace successfully played, he reached for the door. "Well, you can cooperate by accompanying me to the venue of my choosing. I'll pick you up in ten minutes."
Chapter Fourteen
Laura stared after him, tears stinging her eyes. Did he honestly believe she would indulge in the kind of kiss they'd shared last night in the hope he would favour Paulo's hotel above the others? How could he think that? And how dare he demand she accompany him wherever he pleased when she was tired and unwell?
Yet even as she thought about it, she knew she had no choice. The fact that Daniel had heard about Paulo's problems meant he was already in a far better bargaining position than before. Even knowing what a low opinion Daniel now held of her, she hadn't the heart to be so stubborn as to let her pride lose Paulo any more ground.
In despair, she stared at the empty space where Daniel had stood a moment ago. Where was the tender man she was with last night? The man who stayed by her side hour after hour at the hospital without any complaint when he could have been sound asleep? The man who rose early to take a complete stranger to visit her husband? How could he go from praising her so freely last night to accusing her of something so monstrous this morning?
One short phone call, and he was back to the arrogant, manipulative businessman she'd first taken him for.
Stamping her foot in a childish tantrum, Laura headed to her room to get ready. She would go today for Paulo's sake—but she would not forgive Daniel for this.
****
Laura glared mutinously at Daniel's profile as he concentrated on the road ahead, her bottom lip set in a permanent pout. Daniel's mouth was a hard, thin line, uncompromising, and she knew it wasn't only because his attention was on the traffic. Neither of them had said a word to each other since he'd walked out of her office. When he was ready to go, he'd given a cursory knock at her door, not even waiting for her to answer it. Confident she would come, he'd simply continued up to his car, leaving her to scurry up the path after him to where he waited impatiently with the door open.
If she'd expected some sort of apology or explanation for his behaviour, then she could only be disappointed—but she wouldn't have accepted them anyway. Nothing he could say would alter the way he'd spoken to her. She fought back a tear. How could he think their kiss had been anything other than genuine on her part? What she had shared with him wasn't something she could playact.
Laura wished she'd thought of a reply, or tried to convince him she wasn't capable of anything of the sort, but by the time she'd fully realised what he was implying, he'd already stormed off and it was too late. He'd probably taken her silence as confirmation that he was right. And if she brought the subject up now, he would assume she'd had time to drum up a plausible defence. Well, let him think what he liked—he would anyway.
Weary of all the tension, Laura rested her head back and closed her eyes. How he expected her to catch up on sleep when she seethed with upset, she didn't know. But it would be a while before they reached Valença near the Spanish border.
She must have drifted off after all, because she was woken with a
