Six hours, fifteen minutes in the same hard chair at the
same desk, in the same cold office, in the same northern townโฆ
She'd lost the will to live.
Almostโฆ
Arranging a telephone conference with Signor Rigo Ruggiero
in Rome was a pain, even for a young lawyer as tenacious as
Katie Bannister, because first she had to get past
Ruggiero's army of snooty retainers.
Let me speak to him in person, screeched inner Katie, whilst
outwardly Katie was calm. Well, she had to beโshe was a
respected professional.
With no inner life at all.
No inner life? Hmm, wouldn't that make things easy?
Unfortunately, Katie was blessed with a vivid imagination
and an active fantasy life, and it was always getting her
into trouble. Dumpy, plain and unprepossessing became sharp
and confident in the blink of an eyeโespecially over the phone.
In her junior position at the small solicitor's firm, Katie
wouldn't normally be expected to deal with such a
high-profile client, but this was a trivial matter,
according to the senior partner, and if she wanted to work
her way up the profession it would be good for Katie to cut
her teeth onโ
'Prontoโฆ'
At last.
At last! 'Signor Ruggiero?'
'Sรฌโฆ?'
The deep-pitched voice speared a shiver down her spine. But
gut instinct wasn't enough. Did it prove the identity of the
speaker? Spoken Italian was sexy; distractingly so. Quickly
gathering her thoughts, Katie picked up her notes and went
through the security checks she had drawn up.
To his credit, Signor Ruggiero answered them all accurately
and politely. To her dismay her imagination insisted on
working overtime as she nursed the phoneโtall, dark and
handsome didn't begin to cover it. Still, this was going
better than she had expected after her run-in with his
staff. Now it was simply a matter of informing the Italian
tycoon that he was the chief beneficiary in his late
brother's will.
'My late
stepbrother's will,' he corrected her.
The honey-rich baritone had acquired an edge of steel. He
sounded stern, cold, uninterested.
A man who was so hard to contact would hardly want chitchat,
Katie reminded herself, moving up a gear. 'My apologies,
Signor Ruggiero, your late .
stepbrother's willโฆ'
As the conversation continued Katie picked up more clues. If
there was one thing she was good at it was reading people's
voices. Time spent training to be an opera singer at one of
the world's foremost music conservatoires had allowed her
well-tuned ear to instantly evaluate a voice, and this one
had both practised charm and a killer edge.
'Can we cut to the chase, Signorina Bannister?'
And cut out print yards of legalese? 'Certainlyโฆ'
Katie's reputation at the firm was founded on dogged
persistence along with her ability to calm even the most
fractious of clients, but after a long day in a cheap suit
in a cold office, she was at the end of her tether. It
wasn't as if she was trying to serve a writ, for goodness'
sake; rather she was trying to inform Signor Ruggiero that
he had come into money.
More money, Katie qualified, glancing at the magazine the
girls in the office had so helpfully placed on her desk. It
featured a devastatingly handsome Rigo Ruggiero on the front
cover. Not that she was interested. Firming her jaw, she
continued to explain to one of the richest men in Italy why
she must come to see him in person. To Rome, where she had
thought of going as a singer, onceโฆ
'Well, I haven't got the time to come over thereโ'
Katie snapped back to the present. 'Your stepbrother
anticipated thisโฆ' Her heart picked up pace as she went on
to read out the letter of instruction that came with the
will. She was normally unflappable, but office tittle-tattle
had unsettled her where Rigo Ruggiero was concerned. He was
not just a successful tycoon, but a high-profile playboy who
lived life in the fast lane. To say that Katie Bannister and
Rigo Ruggiero were worlds apart was a massive understatement.
Everyone in the office had thought it highly amusing that
the official office virgin had been appointed to deal with
Italy's most notorious playboy. Katie's public face had
remained unmoved through all this teasing banter, but her
imagination had run riot. After her initial trepidation, she
had thought, bring it on. What did she have to worry about?
Rigo Ruggiero would take one look at dull little Katie
Bannister and she'd be safe.
'No, I'm sorry,' she said. 'I'm afraid your late
stepbrother's personal effects cannot be sent to you through
the post, Signor Ruggiero.'
'Why not?'
'Becauseโฆ' She took a deep, steadying breath. Forget the
letter of intentionsโshouldn't he care a little more? And
did he have to snap like that? His stepbrother had just
died, for goodness' sake. Surely he was curious to learn
what he'd been left in the will? 'Your stepbrother's
instructions are
most specific, Signor Ruggiero. He
appointed the firm I represent, Flintock, Gough and
Coverdale, as executors to his will, and Mr Flintock has
asked me to carry out the requirements therein to the letterโ'
'Therein?'
Mockery now?
'Do you always speak legalese to your clients, Signorina
Bannister? That must be very confusing for them.' His voice
was dry and amused. 'I recommend plain-speaking myselfโฆ'
No one had ever criticised her dedication to the letter of
the law before and it was becoming increasingly clear that
Rigo Ruggiero couldn't care a fig for his stepbrother. She
could see him now, lolling back on some easy chair as he
took the callโ all preposterously white teeth, inky black
hair and dark, mocking eyes. Closing her eyes, she willed
herself to remain calm. 'What I'm trying to explain, Signor
Ruggieroโ'
'Don't patronise me.'
The tone of voice both stung and acted as a warning. 'I
apologise. That was not my intention.'
'Then I forgive youโฆ'
In a voice like a caress. Was he flirting with her? Unlikely
as that seemed, it appeared so, and her body definitely
agreed. 'So could we fix an appointment?' she suggested,
returning determinedly to the point of the call.
There was silence at the other end of the line, but somehow
worldly amusement managed to travel down it anyway.
'Whenever you like,' he murmured.
The throaty drawl was enough to make her body quiver with
anticipation. Katie stared out of the window at the cold,
autumnal Yorkshire rain. That was the swiftest return to
reality she could imagine. Beneath her conventional, even
plain exterior, lurked a seam of wanderlust. She had dreamed
at one time that it would be the opera houses of the world
she'd be visiting. Did she have the courage to make this
trip to Rome in her new guise as solicitor, or would the
loss of her singing voice be a reminder that was too painful
to bear?
'Well,' the deep male voice demanded, 'I don't have all day,
Signorina Bannister. When would you like to meet?'
She longed for a break, and she could be in Rome tomorrow.
Before she could stop herself the words tumbled out. 'What
about tomorrow, Signor Ruggiero? If that's convenient for youโฆ?'
'I'll make it so,' he said.
'Thank you for your cooperation.' She could hardly breathe
her heart was thundering so fast. Talking over the phone was
easy, but when Signor Ruggiero saw how plain and boring she
was in personโฆ And when she saw Romeโฆ
'I look forward to meeting you,' he said. 'You have a lovely
voice, by the way.'
A lovely voiceโฆ 'Thank youโฆ' Playboys were expected to
flirt, and Signor Ruggiero couldn't be expected to know that
her voice had been reduced to husky ashes after a fire in
her student lodgings. She had been overjoyed in the hospital
when she found out all her friends had escaped uninjured,
and devastated to discover that after inhaling too much
smoke her voice had been reduced for good to a croak. Oddly
enough, people who didn't know her history found that husky
sound attractive. But that wasn't her only legacy from the
fire. She would never sing again and had enough scars on her
back to ensure no one would ever see her naked. When her
singing career had crashed to a close, she had set about
forging a new life as a lawyer. This was a life in the
shadows rather than the spotlight, but she wasn't interested
in the spotlight; it was the music she missed.
'Signorina Bannister? Are you still there?'
'I beg your pardon, Signor Ruggiero. I just knocked
something off my desk.'
Or wished she had, Katie thought, staring at the magazine.
A towering powerhouse of hard, tanned muscle, dressed in a
sharp designer suit, stared back at her from the front
cover. Rigo Ruggiero couldn't even be accused of having a
smooth, rich boy's face. His verged on piratical, complete
with sharp black stubble and a dangerous gleam in
night-dark, emerald eyes. Add to that a shock of thick black
hair and a jaw even firmer than her ownโ
'You haven't changed your mind about our meeting, I hope?'
There was a faint edge of challenge to his voice that her
body responded to with enthusiasm. 'Not at all,' she
reassured him firmly. Reaching across the desk, she was
about to send the magazine flying to the floor when she
paused. The cynical curve of his mouth set her teeth on
edge, but she had to admit it was the perfect frame for his
arrogant voice. And, as if there wasn't enough perfection in
his life, the image showed him with his arm draped around
the shoulders of a blonde girl so achingly lovely she looked
like a doll rather than a living, breathing woman.
It would be fine, Katie told herself, straightening up. She
could do this. The trip to Rome was business and no one
could distract her from that.
'I have a question for you, Signorina Bannister.'
'Yes?' Tightening her grip on the phone, Katie realised she
was still transfixed by the image of the girl's unblemished
skin.
'Why you?' he rapped.
This was no playboy, but a merciless tycoon questioning the
wisdom of sending such a young and inexperienced lawyer to
meet with him. But he had a point. Why were they sending
her? Because she spoke fluent Italian, thanks to her opera
training, Katie reasoned, because she was plain, safe and
unattached, and, as the newest recruit to the firm, she had
little or no say when it came to apportioning work.
Better not let on she was so junior. 'I'm the only solicitor
in the firm who could spare the time to come to Romeโ'
'You're not much good, then?'
'Signor Ruggieroโ'
'Piano, piano, bellaโฆ'
Piano, bella? He was telling her to calm downโand
in a voice he might use with a lover.
Italian was sexy, Katie reminded herself. The language
itself had a lyrical music all its own. And when you added
Rigo Ruggiero to the mixโ
'So,' he said, 'I'll see you in Rome tomorrowโ
sรฌ ?'
See him tomorrowโฆ
He was quicksilver to her caution, one moment stern, the
next amused. But he was right to be suspicious about her
credentials. She wasn't a great lawyer. She never would be a
great lawyer because she didn't have the hunger for it. She
sometimes wondered if the passion she'd felt for her
operatic career would ever transfer to anything else. But
the firm she had worked for since she had retrained as a
solicitor had been good to her when her life had gone up in
flames, and now she was scarred a role in the background
suited her.
'I'll expect you tomorrow.'
Tomorrowโฆ
This was exactly what she'd asked for. But since she'd
suggested tomorrow her confidence had been slowly seeping
away. The whole idea was ridiculous. How could she go to
Rome, the city where she had dreamed of being part of the
musical life, only as a second-rate lawyer to deal with one
of the most acute minds around?
The only reason Katie could think of was hard, economic
reality. The senior partner at her firm was talking
redundancies, thanks to the economic downturn, and as last
into the firm she was most likely to be first out. There was
no question this trip to Rome and her meeting with someone
as high-profile as Rigo Ruggiero would add some much-needed
colour to her CV.
It made senseโwell, to everything except her
self-confidence. How could Katie Bannister, dressed by the
cheapest store in town, the girl who wouldn't know a fashion
must-have if she fell over it, meet with the world's most
notorious playboy and come out of that meeting unscathed?
The plain and simple truth was, she had to.
'I'll book a flight,' she said, thinking out loud.
'I'd recommend it,' the man in question interrupted dryly.
'Mail me with the details and I'll make sure someone is at
Fiumicino Airport to meet youโ'
'That's veryโ'
Katie stared at the dead receiver in her hands. How rude. Or
look at it another way, she persuaded herself; this was a
challenge, and she was hardly a stranger to that.
She had laughed when the other girls at the firm had
insisted that Katie Bannister had hidden fire and would
master the maverick playboy in less time than it took to say
hold my briefsโmaybe she had possessed that fire once, but
not nowโand the girls in the office hadn't spoken to him, a
man so cold and heartless he could discuss a close
relative's bequest without so much as a play of regret. And
end a conversation without any of the usual niceties. Rigo
Ruggiero was clearly an indulged and arrogant monster and
the sooner her business with him was concluded the better
she would like it.
It was just a shame her body disagreed.
She'd cope with that too. Palming her mouse, Katie brought
up flight schedules to Rome. Could she make it there and
back in one day? She would try her very best to do so.
Having replaced the receiver in its nest, Rigo settled back
in his leather swivel chair. In spite of the unwelcome
message Katie Bannister had delivered from a man he'd hoped
never to hear from again, the young lawyer had made him
smile. Because he liked her voice?
It had certainly scored highly in several categories: it was
female; it was young; it was husky; it was sexy. Very sexy.
And intelligent. Andโฆ sexy. He already had an image of her
in his mind.
So, he reflected, returning to the purpose of Signorina
Bannister's call, his stepbrother had left him something in
his will. A poisoned chalice? Shares in a crime syndicate?
What? He stood up and started pacing. Why should the man who
had shown him nothing but contempt and hatred since the day
he had walked into his life leave him anything at all in his
will? And what was it about these personal effects that made
them so precious only a representative from a solicitor's
firm in England could hand-deliver them?
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