‘Your new assistants will arrive within the hour.’
Her gaze swung back to the man who served Xa Shiraq with such unswerving commitment to his orders. He did not ask her whether she would take the job. He knew she would.
‘Kozim, you will accompany these two gentlemen to their respective offices in order to clear their desks,’ was his next command.
Amanda watched them go, their numb disbelief equalled only by her own.
‘You have two minutes to effect a temporary reorganisation.’ This command was directed at her, galvanising her attention. The black eyes glinted with unyielding purpose. ‘Then you will escort me to the Presidential Suite.’
‘Very well, sir,’ Amanda said with all the aplomb she could muster. She had to think quickly. The front desk had to be restaffed. The rest could wait.
She dialled the office secretary. ‘Please come and fill in at the front desk,’ she commanded. The man in front of her, listening to what was going on, was ruthless.
She met resistance. ‘That’s not in my job description.’
‘If you’re not here in one minute you won’t have a job.’
‘Mr Arnold said...’
‘Mr Arnold has been relieved of all duties.’
Amanda put the receiver down. Next was housekeeping. She organised butler service for the Presidential Suite. She commandeered an affable young waiter for the front desk in case the secretary didn’t turn up.
There was something else she had to do. She had to find out the name of the man in front of her, and what his connection was to Xa Shiraq.
Amanda headed for the computer. ‘What name will I use for your reservation, sir?’ she asked sweetly.
‘Complimentary Upgrade,’ he replied laconically.
Amanda could play word games too. Some boldness was called for if she was to get what she wanted. ‘Very good, sir. That’s no trouble, sir. First name is Complimentary, surname is Upgrade.’ She typed the letters out on the keyboard, glanced up at him to see how he took that.
A quirk at the corner of his mouth told her he found it rather droll.
‘Your reservation is complete, sir. I’m now ready to escort you to the Presidential Suite.’
He looked at his wristwatch. ‘That’s very good, Miss Buchanan. You had ten seconds to spare.’
‘In that case, sir, I’ll use the time to assemble the paperwork relating to this afternoon’s activities.’
Amanda hurriedly assembled all the letters lying around. The men had not bothered to take their dismissal notices with them. She deposited them in the bottom of the cashier’s register. They would be safe there until she could find time to get back to them.
‘Time’s up.’
There was no demand in his voice, nothing peremptory. Amanda knew as well as he did she had satisfied every demand he had placed upon her. So far. How long that would last...
‘Do you have any luggage?’
‘None that is of concern to the hotel.’
‘Thank you, Mr Upgrade,’ she challenged him. ‘It’s my pleasure to escort you to your suite.’
He looked at her in reassessment, decided to let the challenge go unremarked.
‘I hope it will be a pleasure, Miss Buchanan,’ he said mildly. ‘A great pleasure.’
Amanda looked at him again. A prickle of danger ran down her spine. She was quite certain that the pleasure Upgrade had in his mind was not identical to the pleasure she had in hers. She needed to get close to this man, but not that close!
CHAPTER FOUR
HE HAD stipulated nine o’clock.
Amanda paced her room, waiting for the last few minutes to tick by before she had to face the man in the Presidential Suite again. She felt too on edge to sit down. Impossible to relax. So much depended upon what happened in the next hour.
He was a reasonable man, she assured herself. He hadn’t tried to detain her this afternoon. He had not said anything suggestive, nor made any move that could be interpreted as taking a liberty. He had agreed she had many pressing duties as the new general manager...and in the same breath, made this appointment for a discussion on her future.
Nine o’clock was not an unreasonable time. It had given her six hours to deal with whatever problems arose from the shock departure of the senior management and her startling promotion to the top rank. Implicit in that choice of hour, however, was the understanding that Amanda’s time was his, free of all interruptions. Amanda could not fool herself that he only wanted to talk business with her.
She couldn’t forget that brief blaze of searing desire this afternoon. She couldn’t deny the fascination he exerted on her. She was going to be in deep trouble if he rejected the schedule she had set in place.
Surely, as a reasonable man, he would accept what she had arranged. All the preparations had been made. She had covered every contingency. He couldn’t take offence at what she had done for him and it gave her a smooth getaway.
The only problem was...she had never met anyone like this man before. He affected her in ways...but there was no future in dwelling on that. If she gave in to this...attraction...compulsion...she would end up in his power, and where would that lead?
Amanda shook her head. It was too dangerous. However tempting it was to have the experience, to know all that he was, she had no doubt it would mean ceding control to him. And that she would not do.
Her decisions were made. She could not afford to waver from her chosen course. She had to seize the authority she now had and use it while time was still on her side. It was daring, so daring her heart had been pumping overtime ever since she had thought of it. Once she started there could be no stopping, no turning back. Her actions would be irreversible.
But first she had to face him.
She checked her watch. It was time to move. Punctuality was mandatory. She left her room and headed for the elevators. Her legs felt shaky. She steeled her mind to cope with the situation. She only had to get through one hour with him. She could keep her wits about her for one short hour.
She took deep, calming breaths as she rode up to the top floor. Her legs were much steadier on her walk to the door of the Presidential Suite. It was precisely nine o’clock as she pressed the buzzer to announce her arrival.
The door clicked open. ‘Good evening,’ she said to the butler.
‘I’m just leaving, Miss Buchanan. I’ve served the champagne.’
‘Thank you,’ she said on a note of resignation. The butler had obviously been given his orders. Mr Complimentary Upgrade meant to have her to himself, no third party around to inhibit whatever he wanted to happen between them.
The butler stood aside to let her through, and then, empty tray in hand, made his departure.
Amanda was immediately aware that the rooms beyond the vestibule were dimly lit. Champagne...soft lights...but the Presidential Suite was very large. Like a penthouse really. She had plenty of space to move around in.
Besides, this man was not the type to rush anything. Not something he wanted. He would wait patiently, wanting it all precisely as he planned it. Step by step. Relentless and ruthless in his execution.
Amanda shivered, then took firm control of herself. Nothing was going to happen that she didn’t want to happen. Determined to hold her own against this disturbing man, she set forth into the living room, back straight, chin up, a brave smile of