The Italian's Blushing Gardener (5 page)

Suddenly he leaned forward and snapped a button on his office intercom.

‘Cancel that call, and the contract in the name of Kira Banks,’ he growled. ‘I need to do some more research.’

Stefano believed in being the best, and having the best. To keep up his high standards, he used only the top people. He wanted to employ Kira Banks because she really was the best person for the job, not just because he wanted to bed her.

Slumping back in his seat he gnawed the side of his thumb, deep in thought. Work and women were totally separate compartments of his life. He had fancied Kira from the first moment he saw her, but that was the very worst reason for giving anyone a job. Her work was great, but he had only seen one of her projects. For her body and spirit to haunt him like this, it could only be a bad thing. Emotion mustn’t be allowed to affect his judgement. He ought to distance himself from the process, and get some other opinions. He needed to be absolutely sure she was the right person for this project.

Picking up his pen, he drew two careful lines through the name and address on the cover of the file in front of him. He liked speed, but not at the expense of perfection. Besides, that faint air of mystery surrounding Miss Kira Banks might erupt into some sort of scandal for Albani International. It didn’t matter how Stefano
wanted her, nothing could be allowed to taint the name of his company.

Not even the most beautiful Englishwoman in Italy.

Kira looked at Stefano’s stark-white business card every day. Her heart fluttered with excitement. She ran her finger over the engraved wording until his telephone number was burned into her brain, but she never rang it. That smooth, self-assured man must never be in any doubt that Kira was her own woman, with other projects and a lot of things on her mind.

Finally, exactly two weeks after Stefano had grabbed her by mistake in the garden, she couldn’t resist any longer. She sat down, cleared her throat and picked up the receiver. Then she put it down again. Maybe she should get her laptop up and running in case he started talking business straight away. She wanted him to think she was calm and efficient, even though she didn’t feel it as she lifted the phone to try once more. This time she paused to fetch a glass of water. It would be terrible if her mouth dried before she could speak to him.

Eventually, her heart rattling like a touch typist’s fingertips, she dialled the number.

‘Signor Albani’s office. How may I help you?’ a sunny female voice enquired.

Kira had no idea. Naively, she’d thought the number on Stefano’s own business card would have been a direct line to his desk.

‘Who is speaking, please?’ the voice asked as though she was only one among thousands.

‘Kira Banks.’ Kira made herself answer in the friendly, confident tone she reserved for clients. ‘I’m ringing
to check on a contract that Signor Albani was going to arrange for me.’

‘Ah.’

That single sound was enough to bring her back to earth. While the receptionist went off to check, Kira was left to imagine exactly how many other women rang this number each day. Silver-tongued Stefano must make a million similar promises.

She was on hold for ages. The silence was almost as painful as piped music would have been. It gave her a long time to reflect on her foolishness. Finally, the receptionist returned, and Kira’s heart fell still further.

‘I’m sorry, Miss Banks, we have no record of a contract being issued in that name. Perhaps if you could give me a reference from the letter we sent you?’

‘No…no. It’s okay. I must have made a mistake,’ Kira muttered indistinctly. And not for the first time, she thought bitterly as she put down the receiver.

Kira stared at the telephone for a long, long time. She felt totally deflated. In her daydreams, Stefano Albani couldn’t wait to get back to her side. He would have paid cash for the Bella Terra estate, simply so he could move in as soon as possible. Instead, he must have forgotten about her the moment he climbed back into his helicopter. He had turned out to be no different from any of the other rich men she had worked for. All of them could spin a fine yarn. They couldn’t make and hang onto big money without being able to charm investors. And women, she thought ruefully, touching her lips. Remembering the rasp of Stefano’s cheek against her skin sent a tingle coursing through her body. She smiled, recalling the wonderful experience of being held and
kissed until her worries spun away. The man was a rat, but why had she expected anything else?

She would cope. She had survived a worse disaster—and at least her brush with Stefano had happened in private. Her life was her own, and from now on that was how it would stay. She smiled sadly. Her single, unforgettable contact with him was a total one-off. It was destined never to happen again. I should have known that from the start, she told herself briskly.

She tried to smile again, but it was impossible.

Kira’s disappointment over the contract squashed all her fantasies flat. No one did anything for nothing. Mentally she shrugged her shoulders, but Stefano refused to be forgotten. He had set such an exciting fire into her soul. Long ago, life had taught her to expect nothing when it came to men. She knew in her bones Stefano could be no different, but it had been a lovely fantasy. Those sweet memories of him refused to leave her. Whether drifting through her dreams or sending shock waves through her day when she thought she glimpsed his familiar figure in the street, Stefano would not let her go.

She was putting the finishing touches to a very chic project on the outskirts of Florence when her mobile rang.

‘Miss Kira Banks?’

Kira couldn’t recognise either the woman’s voice, or the number that flashed up on her phone’s screen. The only people who used this number were clients. Instantly on her guard, she hesitated.

‘Who wants to know?’

‘I work for Signor Albani. We understand you are on the point of completing a project for Prince Alfonse.
Signor Albani wants you to leave it and travel straight to his office. A car will pick you up in approximately—’

‘Wait a minute!’ Kira interrupted angrily. ‘When I rang your office to check about this, you didn’t even have any knowledge of a contract in my name!’

‘When was this?’

‘The day before yesterday.’

‘Then perhaps you were a little impatient, Miss Banks.’ The voice was cool.

Kira was in no mood to be treated like an idiot.

‘If Signor Albani is clever enough to have found out where I’m working, then he ought to know better than to interrupt me when I’m busy. I don’t have time to waste on idle chit-chat with an unreliable man.’

She heard a little gasp at the other end of the line. The voice became a shocked whisper.

‘Miss Banks, what are you saying? No one refuses Signor Albani!’

‘Well, I’m very sorry, but no one disappoints the person I’m currently working for, either. Especially not me,’ Kira said firmly. ‘And if you aren’t willing to tell him that, maybe you could put me through to Signor Albani, direct?’

The woman wasn’t happy, but put her on hold to see if the boss was taking calls. It gave Kira plenty of time to decide she had gone too far. She was being too emotional about this. Much as she hated to back down in any situation, where work was concerned she was a realist. She needed contracts. This one had the delightfully infuriating Stefano Albani at the other end, and that might make it more of a liability than a blessing. Autocratic behaviour was part of every billionaire’s job description, but this particular man had got right under
her skin. She wanted to be known for the quality of her work, not for making a fool of herself over a man.

Suddenly a voice purred in her ear.

‘Kira, it’s Stefano.’ The sound was so deliciously accented, those few words were enough to wipe all the arguments from her mind.

‘Hello,’ she said, unable to think of anything else.

‘You wanted to speak to me, Kira?’

‘Yes.’ Everything sensible and businesslike seemed to have been swept out of her head. She gave herself a mental shake. ‘Thank you for having your secretary ring me, but I’m working on a very important project,’ she snapped, hoping her brisk tone would put some distance between them again. ‘I can’t simply drop everything and rush to your side.’

‘I know. You’re a woman of spirit.’ The laughter in his voice was infuriatingly engaging. ‘Alphonse tells me you’re practically finished at his place,’ Stefano continued. ‘I’m going to be out of the country for a while, and I wanted to discuss your contract with you, face to face, before I leave. I thought this would be a good opportunity for both of us,’ he added.

Kira needed this job. She was also desperate to see Stefano again. After all, it does make good business sense, she told herself. There couldn’t be any harm in a formal discussion. It would be like gazing at temptation through the window of a locked cake shop. Work would form an invisible shield between them, keeping her from disaster.

‘You could be right…’ She tried to sound grudging. ‘How do I find you?’

She could hear his lack of surprise at her decision. ‘Don’t worry. I found you, don’t forget. A car will be
arriving to collect you…’ There was a brief pause. Kira visualised him glancing at the designer watch clamped to his beautiful bronzed wrist as he added, ‘In exactly fifteen minutes.’

And it was.

As her chauffeur-driven limousine glided to a halt at the main entrance of Albani International, Kira looked up at the grand old building with a hint of anxiety. It was enormous, and a constant stream of people flowed in and out of the revolving glass doors. A commissionaire stepped forward to open the car door for her. Thanking him, Kira took a few moments to compose herself before walking into the reception area. She had worked in palaces, villas and condos, but this place had something extra—Stefano Albani. Taking a deep breath, she went in to meet him.

To Kira’s relief, there was no hanging around. That would have shredded her nerves beyond repair. She had been desperate to see Stefano again from the moment he left her house. Now she realised dreams were one thing, but reality was terrifying. The moment he spoke, her insides would turn to jelly. Her instinctive reaction was to keep her head down and pretend she was invisible, but that wasn’t the way contracts were won. Instead, she lifted her chin, ready to meet his gaze with an equally bold stare. It took a huge effort.

The man of her dreams was lounging back in a big black chair. His feet were on his desk. He was dictating into a voice recorder and although his eyes instantly locked onto hers he did not stop speaking into it as she walked towards his visitor’s chair.

Stefano looked every bit as intimidating as she
remembered. Despite his casual attitude, he was dressed in a beautifully cut dark suit. The formality of classically designed business wear suited him so well it was hard not to stare. Kira gave in to the temptation.

Completing his letter, Stefano switched off the recorder and tossed it aside.

‘We meet again, Miss Banks.’

‘Indeed we do.’ Kira purposely kept her voice light and professional, but couldn’t resist a question that had been tormenting her since he left her side. ‘Did you buy the Bella Terra estate,
signore
?’

‘Yes, but I’ve been too busy to visit since then. I suppose you’ve been wondering where I’ve been?’

‘No, not at all,’ Kira said coolly, determined not to betray any trace of the embarrassingly large amount of time she had spent wondering what he was getting up to while he was out of her sight.

She saw from a subtle change in his expression that the stony nature of her reply had given him pause. His reaction gave her a little lift, and added some real amusement to her smile.

‘In fact, Signor Albani, when your assistant rang it took me a little while to remember who you were.’ She batted the words easily across the desk at him.

He parried with a wicked smile. ‘I knew you were one in a million, Kira. Now it seems you are unique.’

He took his feet off the desk and sat up straight in his chair, his suddenly businesslike attitude making him even more imposing. Kira fought to keep her expression impassive.

Don’t overdo the flip answers! she thought. I might not want him to think he means anything to me, but
he is a man who managed to borrow me from Prince Alfonse!

‘I want you to work for me, Kira. Name your price,’ he drawled, glancing down as he threaded a pair of solid-gold cufflinks into his cuffs.

‘I’d rather find out what I’m letting myself in for first.’ Kira was proud of the careful neutrality of her tone. It was a shame the rest of her being was entirely focused on the man she had been fantasising about for the past few days. ‘I want to make sure I’m the right person for the job. I’d rather you offered the position to someone else if I thought I couldn’t give you exactly what you wanted.’

‘I agree completely,’ Stefano said. ‘However, I wouldn’t have asked you here today were I not already certain. You, Kira Banks, are capable of giving me
exactly
what I want.’ His face remained expressionless but the ambiguity of his words made her cheeks flush red and her breathing catch.

In a quick, carefully judged gesture he spun the file across the desk at her. ‘So why don’t you read that, and tell me what you think?’

Kira did not move, but regarded him coolly.

‘What? Now?’

Stefano raised an eyebrow. ‘Unless you have some objection?’

Kira had spent too many restless hours since their first meeting. After her roller-coaster ride of hope, disappointment and surprise, she did not find his words at all funny.

‘No. This is so important to me, and it deserves to be studied carefully. I take my work very seriously,’ she said slowly, trying to gauge his reaction.

Stefano nodded appreciatively. ‘That’s exactly the sort of attitude I expect from the people I employ. It’s why I want you on board. I had my staff check out some of the other projects you’ve completed. I needed to make sure I was offering you work for all the right reasons, not simply the wrong one.’

His smile became enigmatic and Kira had to look away. She transferred her gaze back to the cover of the file in front of her. If he paid such careful attention to detail, she wondered what else his people might have found out about her.