Almost certainly. She had all the grace of a feline predator wedded to the prim characteristics of a Victorian maid—an explosive combination. She had a new haircut and the outfit suited her. Was she trying to impress him? If so she had succeeded. Like a costume she might have put on to play a role in one of his films, the elegant outfit had affected the way she walked and even the way she felt about herself, he guessed. She oozed confidence, which was a very attractive quality in a woman. But he was sick of women thinking all they had to do was lie on their back to hit the jackpot. A night with him wasn’t a passport to riches, it was a journey to nowhere.
When she got back she reminded him the canteen wasn’t open yet.
If she thought he was going to call off breakfast she was wrong. ‘Looks like we’ll have to eat somewhere else.’ He shrugged, having never intended to eat at the studio. ‘I’ll go and get the car and pick you up at the gate in five minutes.’
Her grip tightened on her bag, but she kept the panic under control.
‘Where will we go?’ she called after him.
‘Somewhere typical of the region.’ He couldn’t resist it, and was smiling when he started walking away.
‘Not too far away, I hope. I’ve got a lot of work to do.’
His jaw firmed. He admired her grit, but he wasn’t prepared to give an inch. ‘Not too far away.’ He glanced in the direction of the hills above Rome. He was allowed a small lie, wasn’t he?
***
Kate’s heart sank as Santino’s sleek black Maserati drew up outside the hotel. He had brought her to the hills above Rome, and it had taken hours. Thanks to the heavy traffic they had travelled the whole way at a crawl. She would be lucky to be back at the studio before it closed for the day, and she had wanted to review the ordering procedures in the canteen.
‘Ready?’ Santino said to her as he passed his keys through the car window to the hotel valet.
‘You’re the boss,’ she reminded him with faint sarcasm.
And didn’t he like her to know it? Kate thought as Santino came around the front of the vehicle to open the door for her. Climbing out, she stared up at the impressive façade of the pale sandstone building.
‘Does it meet with your approval?’ Santino enquired without the slightest interest in her reply, Kate suspected, well aware of the irony.
But the truth was, the hotel was magnificent. It was the hotel equivalent of the first restaurant he had taken her to, but this time she kept her thoughts to herself. For one thing, they had driven for miles without seeing a single habitation, so she could hardly ask if they could go somewhere else!
‘I’ve brought you here for a reason,’ Santino explained, giving nothing away as he steered her towards the revolving doors.
Kate’s heart fluttered with anxiety. However many times she tried to reassure herself that this was only a business meeting, she couldn’t help wondering what Santino really had in mind … and why he had brought her to such a magnificent place so far away from the film studio.
He wanted to test her to the full. He was going to ask the questions any boss should ask of his employee—marital status, for one.
As they approached the entrance the doors swung open and the bellboy and hotel manager appeared at once as if some internal grapevine had alerted them.
‘Signor Rossi.’ The manager inclined his head with respect. ‘We are delighted to welcome you and your guest. What can I do for you?’
‘I realise La Pergola is closed for lunch, but—’
‘Closed? Not for you, Signor Rossi.’
‘I was hoping you would say that, Fritz. Ms Mulhoon is over here from England.’
‘I will alert the chef.’
He held up a restraining hand. ‘There’s no need for that. A light snack is all we require. We have some business to talk over.’
The manager bowed. ‘I understand.’
He curbed his smile. He doubted it, though to ‘understand’ and be discreet was any successful hotelier’s rule of thumb. ‘I would like to show Ms Mulhoon the view.’
‘Of course, Signor Rossi. Ah, the view …’ It was Kate’s turn to receive a bow. ‘In the words of your own Charles Dickens, “Here was Rome indeed at last; and such a Rome as no one can imagine in its full and awful grandeur …’”
‘Like the Colosseum …’ Kate smiled and then grimaced when she thought no one was looking. Santino thought he saw a prescient shiver run across her shoulders, which only added fuel to his suspicions. What did she have to be apprehensive about here at such a lovely hotel, if not his questions?
‘I’m eager to see the view,’ she said, quickly recovering as she turned to smile at the hotel manager. Santino suspected she was relieved to have someone else walking with them.
Having led them across the lobby and along a discreetly lit corridor the hotel manager threw open some heavy double doors with a flourish. ‘Please …’ he invited, standing aside to allow Kate to pass.
‘Quite something, isn’t it?’ Santino murmured. He was already anticipating Kate’s reaction.
She stood quite still for a moment and then turned to look at him. ‘It’s breathtaking …’ She was smiling in amazement.
He guessed the view so surpassed her expectations she had forgotten the tensions that existed between them for a moment.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it before.’ She turned back to look.
The whole of Rome was spread out in front of them, with St Peter’s dome prominently in view. ‘I can’t take it in …’
She was breathless and the way she clutched her chest drew his gaze. ‘I’m glad you approve.’
‘Won’t you sit down?’ Fritz invited, smiling as he led the way to some tables by the window. ‘I’ll have the chef prepare some small snack … Carpaccio of scampi on a lime gelée with papaya, caviar and tequila ice crush, perhaps? Or some tagliolini with broccoli and clams…?’
Kate had to resist the temptation to ask if it was possible to have a cheese sandwich.
‘Three Michelin stars,’ Santino whispered discreetly, just in time. But as his warm breath swept her neck every tiny hair on the back of her neck stood to attention. ‘Could we have something light?’ She was glad of the distraction and smiled up at Fritz. ‘It all sounds delicious, but—’
‘I understand.’ The hotel manager beamed. ‘May I suggest pigeon breast on warm oranges with mulled wine sauce followed by a selection of cheeses from the trolley?’
‘Just the selection of cheeses from the trolley would be fine for me,’ Kate assured him.
‘And for me too,’ Santino said. ‘We don’t want to put the chef to any trouble. I’m sure he must be fully occupied preparing for tonight’s guests …’
Was this sudden show of consideration for her benefit? Kate wondered.
Even though he had failed to tempt them the manager scarcely missed a beat. ‘Would you care to see the wine list, Signor Rossi?’
‘Thank you, no. We’ll have a glass of champagne and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water.’
‘Certainly.’
Franz bowed his way out of their company with a smile as warm and as genuine as if they had ordered up the most expensive items on the menu. But as he disappeared Kate grew increasingly tense when Santino seemed in no hurry to start the conversation. He was waiting for her to say something … to give something away, perhaps?