But there were some things they did the same.
“There’s only one reason you’d blow all that money on a coat,” Laney informed him as he drove. “Admit it. You’re wildly in love with the comtesse.”
Kassius glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “I didn’t do it for her.” He gave her a sudden grin. “I did it for you.”
“Me?”
“You know who I am and the resources I have. And yet you haven’t tried to take advantage of the fact that I hit you with my car. You should be claiming whiplash, spinal injury, threatening to sue. That’s what I assumed you were after when you flung yourself in front of my car.”
“I didn’t fling myself anywhere,” she protested.
His dark eyes seemed to trace over her petite, curvaceous body, as if imagining her without her button-up white shirt and khakis. As she blushed, his eyes met hers coolly. “You could be lawyered up, demanding millions.”
Millions? That thought hadn’t even occurred to Laney. That kind of fortune could have completely changed her life—and more importantly, her family’s.
But...
“That wouldn’t be right,” she said slowly. “I mean, it wasn’t your fault I fell into the street. You did everything you could not to hit me. Your quick reflexes saved my life.”
“So if I offered you a million euros right now to sign some kind of legal release attesting to that, you would sign it?”
“No,” she said, sadly, cursing her own morals.
His cruelly sensual mouth curved up cynically. “I see—”
“I would sign it for free.”
He looked startled. “What?”
“My grandma raised me to tell the truth and not take advantage. Just because you’re rich doesn’t make me a thief.”
Kassius gave a low laugh as he took a tight left turn. “Your grandmother sounds like a remarkable woman.”
“She is.” She smiled. “A true Southern lady.”
Kassius stared at her for a moment, and his dark eyes glimmered in the fading gray twilight.
His car pulled up in front of the grand entrance of the Hôtel de Carillon. But as he turned off the car engine, she saw something in his face that twisted her heart.
Without thinking, she timidly touched his shoulder. She immediately regretted it as she felt the hard muscle beneath his sleek black jacket. Her hand fell away, but she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Why do you look like that?”
His dark eyes met hers. “Like what?”
She wondered if he’d felt the same sizzle of energy she had when they touched. No. Of course not, that was ridiculous. He was interested only in her employer, who was beautiful, aristocratic and glamorous— everything that she, Laney, was not.
She took a deep breath. “You look...sad.”
Kassius stared at her for a long moment. Then he gave her an abrupt, hard smile. “Billionaires don’t get sad. We get even.” He turned away. “Come on. I’ll save you from Mimi.”
Her own car door suddenly opened. Jacques, the doorman, looked completely and utterly astonished to find her returning to the building in a sports car. He said, “Mademoiselle Laney?”
“Oh, hello,” she said with an awkward laugh and—she feared—a guilty expression. “Um. Monsieur Black was kind enough to offer me a ride in the rain.”
Jacques looked even more shocked when he saw Kassius, who handed him keys and what looked like a very large tip with a murmured, “Merci,” before he retrieved the carefully wrapped brand-new fur from the front of the car, then walked with her into the lavish lobby.
“Tell me,” Kassius said casually as they walked, “What do you think of Mimi? Is she a good employer?”
Laney bit her lip, struggling for words. “I’m grateful for the job,” she said finally, with complete honesty. “She pays a generous salary, and I’m supporting family back home. Thank you for helping me keep it.”
But she felt a little less happy about that prospect from the moment she got back into the comtesse’s suite.
“Laney! You lazy girl! What took you so long? You wouldn’t even answer your phone,” her boss said accusingly the moment she walked in. “You took so long that I was actually forced to get my own coffee. I had to call room service myself. Myself!”
“I’m sorry,” Laney stammered. “I was in an accident, and my phone was—”
“Why do I even bother to pay you, you useless—”
Then Mimi saw Kassius enter the suite behind Laney, and her jaw dropped. Her friend Araminta, lounging on the sofa by the windows, smoking and thumbing idly through a Paris Match, was so shocked her cigarette fell from her mouth.
Both women instantly rose to their feet, tossing their long hair and tilting their hips.
“Kassius!” Mimi cooed, smiling as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. “I didn’t realize you were coming for a visit.”
“I wasn’t. I ran into your assistant on the street.”
He winked at Laney, who blushed.
“What do you mean?” The comtesse looked between them, clearly unwilling to be left out of any private joke. Kassius looked irritated.
“I ran into her with my car,” he said bluntly.
She whirled on Laney.
“Stupid girl, why did you run out in front of Mr. Black’s car?”
Kassius choked out a cough. “It was my fault entirely.” He placed the black zipper bag from the expensive furrier into her arms. “Here. To replace your coat that was ruined in the accident.”
Zipping it open, Mimi gasped. “A new fur! I take it back, Laney,” she said sweetly. “You can let Mr. Black hit you with his car any time he wants.”
And Laney didn’t think her boss was joking, either.
Mimi’s red lips lifted in a flirtatious smile as she stepped closer to Kassius. “Buying me a new fur coat before we’ve even gone on our first date? You really know how to please a woman.”
“Do you think so?” Kassius glanced sideways at Laney. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been inspired to pursue anyone.”
Laney’s heart pounded strangely. He couldn’t be talking about her—could he? No, of course not. It was her boss he wanted, with all her blonde, slender, wickedly fashionable glory. Not Laney, dumpy, plain, ordinary. And clumsy—so clumsy!
“Just wait until you see me at the ball tonight.” Mimi preened. “You’ll be inspired to try a few other things to get my attention, maybe like...” Leaning up on her tiptoes, she whispered something in his ear. His expression was unreadable as he drew back from her.
“What an...intriguing thought.” He looked around at the three women. “So I will see you tonight?” His gaze paused on Laney. “All of you?”
“Of course Laney’s going,” the comtesse said. “I need her there holding my handbag with my lipstick and safety pins in case my dress breaks...it’s tight and mini and held together by tiny straps.” She giggled. “You’ll die.”
Kassius turned to Laney gravely. “Are you, also, planning to wear such a dress?”
Laney blushed in confusion. “I...that is...”
“Laney?”