‘Well? I haven’t got all day to waste, Stephanie.’ There was rough impatience in his voice, and she started nervously, snapping back at him. ‘It isn’t that easy! Can’t you understand that?’
‘Frankly, no. I have made you a very generous offer. I can’t see what is so difficult about making up your mind what you intend to do.’
‘Why can’t you just lend me the money? I would pay you back; you have my word on that!’
He laughed softly, a low sound that made a frisson work down her spine, like a finger smoothing her skin. ‘I’m sure you would; however, I’m not in the business of making loans. You know what I’m offering, but if it isn’t acceptable to you then we had better call the whole deal off. Good luck, Stephanie; I think you’re going to need it.’
The line went dead. Stephanie stared at the receiver in shock, then slowly replaced it, gnawing on her lower lip. He hadn’t even given her a chance to explain her concerns! He was so damned ruthless that he couldn’t spare the time to listen. But now what was she going to do?
She sat worrying over it until the pangs of hunger growing in her stomach drove her from her room. She took the lift down and fed two of her precious dollar bills into the machine in the back hallway, grimacing as it disgorged a frosted can of drink and a packaged Danish pastry. It was a meagre meal, but the best she could do. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers’ was an old adage that was being proved very true.
She carried the food out to the terrace that overlooked the pool and sat down at one of the tables, leaning back against the hard metal chair with a weary sigh that echoed into the night. Peeling the wrapper off the pastry, she took a bite then had to force herself to chew the sticky confection. It seemed to lodge itself in her throat, held there by the huge knot of panic and tension. Popping the tab on the can, she took a long swallow of the icy liquid, then set the can down with a clatter. Who was she kidding? She knew exactly what she needed to do to get herself out of this mess, and she was just being stupid by not admitting it. It would probably stick in her throat even more than the pastry, but she was going to have to go to Logan Ford and hope that he would cut her a very large slice of humble pie.
The worse thing was the wretched man would probably enjoy watching her eat it!
The hotel lobby was bustling when she walked through the door. Stephanie waited her turn at the reception desk, then asked the girl behind the counter to ring through to Mr Ford’s room and tell him that she would like to speak to him.
‘I’m afraid that Mr Ford has just left for the evening, ma’am. Would you like to leave a message? I can see that he gets it as soon as he... Wait a minute; isn’t that him over there? He must have come back to get something.’
Stephanie’s heart had sunk at the news that he was out, and now it leapt back to life, beating painfully fast as she looked across to where the receptionist was pointing. Her eyes met his in one long look, and she felt her temper rise. He’d known she would come! Somehow, some way, he’d been expecting her, and the thought was galling!
She sucked in a deep breath, trying desperately to hang on to her temper, but when a voice spoke in her ear she swung round and glared at the tall man standing by her side.
‘Changed your mind, Stephanie?’
‘You know damned well that I have! I didn’t have any option, did I?’
Her voice had risen, and several people in the queue glanced curiously at them. Logan took her arm, his grasp harsh and uncompromising as he led her away from the desk into a secluded corner where they wouldn’t be overheard. ‘I don’t like scenes, understand? Whatever business we have has nothing to do with anyone but us. So keep your voice down if you hope to have me repeat the offer you so recently turned down.’
She would have given anything in the whole wide world to be able to tell him what he could do with his offer, but both of them knew she wasn’t in any position to do that. ‘If there were any other way that I could get the money I need, Mr Ford...’
‘You wouldn’t be here. And if I didn’t need someone to look after Jessica so desperately, then I would never have asked you. So I imagine that makes us even. Now all I need to know is when we can collect you tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow? Oh, but I didn’t expect that you would need me immediately! I imagined that you would want to finish your holiday first.’ There was no disguising her shock, and he smiled slowly, his dark eyes boring into her.
‘Jessica and I shall be returning home tomorrow morning. We’ve already spent the best part of a week here in Orlando and, frankly, I can’t spare any more time. What did you expect to happen, Stephanie? That I would pay your hotel bill and meet your expenses for the next few days without your having to do anything in return?’
She flushed. ‘No! I never expected that at all. I am willing to earn every penny, Mr Ford. I don’t want charity, especially not from you!’
His mouth thinned with displeasure as he took a step towards her. ‘Don’t you think your attitude is rather foolish, seeing as you are dependent on me for so much? I appreciate that you must find this situation you’re in galling in the extreme, but you must admit that you have been extremely fortunate. If I hadn’t made you this offer, then just imagine what might have happened.’
She could! She’d spent best part of the day going over the possibilities in her head, hour after hour. Finding herself broke and stranded in a foreign country was like a nightmare! She swallowed her pride, forcing the anger from her voice as she replied quietly, ‘I apologise. I suppose I must sound ungrateful. I do——’
‘Stephie!’ The delight in the child’s voice was apparent as she hurried across the foyer towards them. Stephanie turned towards the girl with a sigh of relief, only too glad of the interruption. What was it about Logan Ford that aroused her anger so easily? She wished she knew, because it was going to be an uncomfortable few weeks if she jumped every time he spoke. Somehow she was going to have to learn to ignore the effect he had on her, but it wouldn’t be easy. Logan Ford wasn’t the kind of man one could ignore!
‘Hello, Jessica. How are you?’
‘Fine, but what are you doing here? Daddy didn’t tell me that you were coming.’ There was curiosity on the child’s pale face, a sparkle of interest in her eyes, and Stephanie smiled warmly at her.
‘Maybe that’s because he didn’t know I was coming.’ She glanced up at Logan, watching the way his eyes narrowed at the barely veiled sarcasm in her voice. She sighed softly, realising that she was doing it again, declaring warfare when she was in no position to fight the battle.
‘Did you, Daddy?’ Jessica caught Logan’s hand, drawing his attention back to her. He smiled at once, his face softening as he looked down at his daughter. Stephanie felt her heart beat a shade or two faster at the unexpected tenderness she could see on his face. When he looked like that, his chiselled lips curled into a genuine smile, his eyes warm, he was devastatingly attractive, and everything female in her responded in a way that shocked her.
‘Did I what?’ he asked with mock-solemnity as he teased the child.
‘Know that Stephie was coming, of course!’ Jessica sighed noisily, letting go of his hand to stare up at him. ‘You know what I mean!’
‘Mmm. Let me just say that I had a good idea she might come, even if I wasn’t one hundred per cent certain.’ There was open derision on his face as he glanced over his daughter’s head, and Stephanie felt herself go cold as she realised that he had quite deliberately