The Ruthless Marriage Proposal Read online

  ‘Wait a minute there,’ he interjected brusquely. ‘If I recall rightly, you were already thirty-six when you applied for this job. That makes you going on thirty-eight, not thirty-five.’

  Emily sighed. Trust her to make that mistake. But the cat was out of the bag. No point in trying any further cover-ups.

  ‘I didn’t think you’d hire me if you knew I was only thirty-three. So I increased my age by three years.’

  ‘I see. And what other subterfuges did you do to get me to hire you?’

  Emily pulled a face. What did it matter if she told him the total truth now?

  ‘I was advised by the agency not to look too glamorous, so I dyed my hair a mousy brown and wore glasses. And yes, I lied to you about having laser treatment later. I found I simply couldn’t stand wearing glasses.’

  ‘Understandable. That’s why I had laser treatment on my own eyes.’

  When he leant back in the chair and began studying her rather closely, Emily had to use her well practised—and often pretend—composure to stay calm and still. But inside she wanted to run from the way his eyes travelled over her. Because they were undressing her, stripping her of her loosely fitted navy tracksuit and seeing her as they’d seen her last night. Without a stitch of clothes on.

  It took all of Emily’s will power not to blush.

  ‘So what is your natural hair colour?’ he asked at last.

  ‘Actually, mousy brown is my natural hair colour,’ she said, proud of her steady voice and direct gaze. ‘But I’ve been dyeing it blonde ever since I was sixteen.’

  ‘I see. Presumably, before you came to work for me, your wardrobe was somewhat more flattering as well. As much as you might want me to forget last night, it was impossible not to notice that you do have a very…delectable…shape.’

  Heat zoomed into her cheeks. She couldn’t help it.

  ‘I didn’t care what I looked like at the time.’

  ‘But you do now…’

  ‘Yes. Yes, I do now.’

  ‘Because you want to find yourself a husband.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You feel you can’t do that while you work for me?’

  ‘Come now, Sebastian, I’ll never meet a potential husband if I stay here, in this job. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I don’t have a social life. I don’t have any friends. That’s been my choice up till now, I admit. When I took this job, I needed to retreat from the outside world. I needed time to heal.’

  ‘I presume you’re talking about your mother’s death.’

  Emily frowned before recalling she’d mentioned her mother’s death at her initial job interview. She’d had to explain what she’d been doing during the years leading up to her applying for the housekeeping job.

  ‘That,’ she said, ‘and other things.’

  ‘What other things?’

  Emily was beginning to find his persistence very annoying. ‘That’s my private and personal business.’

  His face reflected some hurt at her curtly delivered rebuke. ‘I thought we’d become friends during your time here, Emily,’ he said with disarming softness.

  Emily squirmed a little. ‘Please, Sebastian, don’t make this harder for me than it already is.’

  ‘You don’t really want to leave, do you?’

  Emily tried not to let him see the truth in her eyes. But she suspected she failed.

  ‘I don’t want you to leave either,’ he said. ‘You are the best housekeeper I’ve ever had. You make it a pleasure for me to come home.’

  Oh, God…

  ‘I have to move on, Sebastian.’

  ‘Rubbish!’ he said, snapping forward on his chair. ‘You don’t have to do any such thing. There must be a way around this problem where we can both have what we want.’

  ‘I don’t see how.’

  He stared at her for a long moment before a light suddenly switched on in his blue eyes. The sort of light which came with an idea.

  ‘We’ll talk about it over lunch,’ he announced.

  Emily sighed an exasperated sigh. ‘Sebastian, you are not going to get me to change my mind.’

  ‘Give me the opportunity to try.’

  ‘If you insist.’

  ‘I insist.’

  Emily’s teeth clenched hard in her jaw. He really was an impossible man!

  ‘What would you like for lunch?’ she asked coolly, determined not to let him rattle her.

  ‘I’ll be taking you out to lunch, Emily.’

  She blinked, then just stared at him whilst her heart flipped over inside her chest. So much for her resolve not to be rattled.

  ‘And I want you to dress the way you dressed when you got that fancy new job,’ he added, his eyes taking on a knowing gleam.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’m sure you didn’t snare such a position looking the way you look this morning. Now, I have some business to attend to in the city after breakfast, but I’ll be back by noon. We’ll leave at twelve-thirty.’

  ‘You’re wasting your time, Sebastian,’ she said, desperate now to hold on to what little of her composure was left.

  ‘I never waste my time, Emily,’ he returned in a voice which sent an odd chill running down her spine.

  Suddenly, she was afraid. Afraid that by the end of lunch she would forget her own sensible plans and do exactly whatever Sebastian suggested.

  ‘That coffee smells good,’ he went on abruptly and picked up the morning paper. ‘You’d better bring it in before the percolator boils dry.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  BY NINE o’clock Sebastian had left for wherever he was going in the city. Probably his office, Emily reasoned, since he drove off in his car, a silver Maserati Spyder which matched its owner for style and power, but required careful parking, especially in the city.

  The office of Armstrong Industries was situated in a high rise building in the middle of Sydney’s CBD, which had its own underground car park and which supplied a number of parking spaces to the lessees of its office space.

  The executives at Armstrong Industries didn’t have to catch trains and buses to work. Nor did they have to pay the exorbitant fees charged by public car parks in the city. Their jobs came with their own personal car spot as a highly prized perk.

  As CEO and owner of the company, Sebastian had two private parking spaces.

  Emily knew this because Sebastian had offered her the use of one of them last year, not long before Christmas, after she’d complained about the horrendous parking situation in the city. When she’d thanked him for his kind offer, Lana—who’d been staying over at the time—had caustically remarked that Sebastian’s occasional bursts of generosity always had an ulterior motive and she’d better watch herself.

  Whilst Emily could not possibly see what ulterior motive Sebastian could have had on that occasion, she had to privately agree that her boss was basically self-absorbed, as a lot of successful men were.

  So she knew Sebastian’s reasons for taking her to lunch today would be entirely selfish ones. He didn’t really care about what she wanted. Only about what he wanted. Which was her, staying on as his housekeeper.

  His asking her to doll herself up for their lunch date was a puzzle, however. Unless he didn’t want to be embarrassed by being seen in public with a woman who looked downright dowdy. Which she did this morning, in her less than flattering tracksuit and with her hair pulled back into a knot.

  What would Sebastian think, Emily wondered as she completed her household chores, when he saw her wearing her smart new suede suit and with her hair done properly and full make-up on?

  Would he be shocked?

  She hoped so. She hoped he’d be stopped in his tracks.

  Emily craved the opportunity to show him that she was an attractive woman. Maybe not as glamorous or as sexy as Lana, but still capable of attracting male attention.

  As nervous as she was about this lunch, she now had her chance. And she aimed to make the most of it!

  Noon saw Emily looking the
best she could without going blonde, but with more butterflies in her stomach than when she’d gone for her job interview the other day. She kept worrying over what arguments Sebastian was going to employ to persuade her to stay, her improved appearance no longer the main focus of her thoughts.

  The sudden sound of the garage door opening underneath her flat sent her running towards the window which overlooked the driveway. She reached it just in time to see the top of Sebastian’s sports car disappearing into the garages below, the heavy door automatically coming down behind it.

  His putting his car away brought confusion and dismay. Did that mean he’d changed his mind about taking her to lunch? Had he decided she wasn’t worth the effort of trying to change her mind?

  Emily was still standing at the window, feeling totally crestfallen, when there was a knock at her door. It would be Sebastian, of course, she thought unhappily, come to tell her lunch was off.

  Steeling herself not to act like some disappointed fool, she went to answer it. But inside, Emily fiercely regretted the time she’d taken to painstakingly blow-dry her hair the way the hairdresser had the other day, practically strand by strand. It had taken ages. So had her make-up. What a waste of time!

  After scooping in one last calming breath, she swept open the door, her face an impassive mask.

  Sebastian wasn’t exactly stopped in his tracks by the sight of her.

  But he did take a long look.

  ‘Just as I thought,’ he said, his eyes showing satisfaction as they raked over her from top to toe. ‘You’re no plain Jane, are you, Emily? Not that I ever thought you were. Impossible to hide your lovely skin and eyes. As for your stunning figure…I confess you have hidden that extremely well these past eighteen months. But last night rather put paid to that little subterfuge.’

  Emily struggled to prevent an embarrassing blush from spoiling her resolve to remain cool and calm, no matter what.

  ‘It’s nice to finally see your curves shown to advantage,’ he added, his gaze dropping to the hint of cleavage displayed by the lowishly-cut camisole.

  Emily froze when her nipples tightened alarmingly within the silk confines of her strapless bra. No, she thought angrily. No, no, no!

  Time to stop this little scenario before it became seriously humiliating.

  ‘Thank you,’ she replied frostily. ‘I take it you’ve changed your mind about lunch?’

  Her assumption surprised him more than her appearance had, his head jerking back as his brows drew together in a startled frown. ‘Why would you say that?’

  ‘You put your car away.’

  ‘Aah. I see. No, I’ve ordered us a taxi. Easier than trying to park at the Quay. It’ll be here at twelve-thirty, so I’d better away and change into something more suitable for lunching with such a beautiful lady.’

  It was no use. This time she did blush. And it irritated the life out of her. As did the degree of her relief—and delight—that their lunch together was still on.

  ‘Flattery won’t change my mind, Sebastian,’ she said sharply.

  ‘Thank you for warning me. But I would never rely on flattery for something so important as keeping you, Emily.’

  Emily squared her shoulders in defiance of the supreme confidence she saw in his eyes. ‘There’s no point in offering me more money, either. Or better working conditions.’

  ‘Look, let’s leave this discussion till later. The taxi is due in twenty minutes. What say we meet on the front veranda just before twelve-thirty?’

  Emily sighed. ‘Very well.’

  ‘There’s no need to sound so put out. At worst, you will have a free lunch. At best…’ He shrugged, obviously not willing as yet to reveal his battle plans. ‘Must go. See you shortly.’

  Emily shook her head as she closed the door behind his departing back. Sebastian meant to persuade her to stay. How he aimed to achieve that goal was the unsettling question.

  As the minutes ticked down to their arranged meeting on the front veranda, the thought haunted Emily that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

  At twelve twenty-five, she picked up the camel-coloured handbag which matched her suit, locked her apartment door, then made her way downstairs, each step reminding her of the tightness of her skirt and the height of her heels.

  Whilst more than happy with her smart city-girl look, Emily was relieved that her suit jacket covered most of her breasts, and her still erect nipples. Thankfully, the morning had not warmed up too much, despite the sky being clear and sunny, so she could keep the covering jacket on without feeling too hot.

  Locking the back door of the main house on her way through didn’t take long, Emily telling herself all the time to keep calm and not let Sebastian change her mind about leaving, no matter what he said.

  But it wasn’t what he would say, came the unsettling realisation when she walked out on to the front veranda to find him already waiting for her. It was the way he could make her feel.

  Emily already knew that just looking at him gave her pleasure.

  Being taken to lunch by him, however, was a whole different ball game. She would have to keep her wits about her.

  He looked superb, of course, dressed in an elegant grey business suit, his shirt blue, his tie a silvery grey. His slicked-back dark brown hair looked faintly damp, suggesting he’d had a quick shower. He might have run a razor over his chin as well, as the skin on his face looked very smooth and sleek.

  ‘I love a lady who knows how to be on time,’ he said with a quick smile. ‘Did you lock the back door?’

  ‘Of course,’ came her cool reply.

  ‘Of course,’ he repeated. Not nastily. Or sarcastically.

  But it annoyed her just the same.

  ‘The taxi’s here,’ she pointed out, nodding towards the front gates, which were shut. Sebastian often caught taxis but never let them come inside. He valued his privacy, and his security.

  Understandable, considering the extent of his wealth.

  ‘I’ll just lock the front door,’ he said.

  Emily practised some deep breathing while he did so.

  When he turned and took her arm, she flinched before she could stop herself.

  ‘Come now, Emily,’ came his smooth rebuke. ‘I’m not going to bite.’

  The penny dropped. So this was how he was going to persuade her to stay. By using his not inconsiderable charm. His demanding that she get dressed up was an underhand but clever way of making her more aware of her femininity, thereby lowering her sexual defences.

  And it was working, of course.

  ‘I still can’t get over how amazing you look,’ he continued as he steered her down the front steps and along the front path. ‘But you’re right, I think you’d look even better with blonde hair. One of those short sexy styles which would show off your swan-like neck.’

  The deviousness of his tactics inspired rebellion, as did the traitorous heat which his touch was sending through her entire body.

  ‘I’ll keep that in mind before I start my new job,’ she told him in a brilliantly blithe tone.

  Not with much effect, however, because he laughed. ‘You know, I realised when you were talking this morning that you were just like me.’

  ‘Like you?’ she threw up at him, stunned by such an unlikely observation.

  ‘Absolutely. You do what has to be done. You don’t fantasise or romanticise. You’re a realist.’

  Their arriving at the front gates stopped Emily from blurting out that he knew nothing about her at all. She’d been fantasising about him for weeks!

  Getting through the gates and into the taxi gave her a few moments to become what Sebastian thought she was. A cool-headed realist.

  Till they were under way.

  Finding herself sitting so close to the man she loved in the confined space of the taxi was not conducive to sensible thinking. The lack of conversation didn’t help, either. Suddenly, there was nothing to distract her heated imagination, or to stop it from running amok.

/>   Could he possibly be planning to seduce her? came the horribly exciting thought. Would he go that far to keep her? And if he did proposition her, how would she react?

  Last night, she’d regretted not going skinny-dipping with him.

  Today, she suspected she might be putty in his hands.

  In all seriousness, however, Emily could not believe Sebastian would go that far. He was not a callous womaniser. Or a cold-blooded seducer. He was a gentleman through and through. That was why she’d been so shocked last night when he’d suggested joining her in the pool.

  ‘Have you officially accepted that new job offer?’

  Sebastian’s unexpected question whipped her head around, her rapidly blinking eyes taking a moment to focus on his face.

  Something in her own face must have betrayed her.

  ‘You haven’t, have you?’ he said, sounding pleased.

  Emily adopted what she hoped was a totally unruffled expression. ‘I intend ringing the agency first thing Monday morning to accept.’

  ‘Why didn’t you accept the offer straight away?’

  ‘I don’t like to rush any decision,’ she told him coolly and he nodded.

  ‘Sensible girl.’

  ‘That doesn’t mean I didn’t decide later, Sebastian,’ she went on, hammering home her stance. ‘That’s why I resigned as your housekeeper this morning. In three weeks’ time I will no longer be working for you. Trust me on that.’

  ‘I believe you.’

  ‘Then what is the point of this lunch?’

  ‘I intend to make you a counter-offer.’

  ‘What kind of counter-offer?’

  He placed his index finger against his lips. ‘When we’re alone,’ he murmured.

  She stared at his finger, then at his lips.

  Sebastian had a very sensual mouth, in contrast to the rest of his more harshly sculptured features. His lips were soft and full, whilst his cheekbones were sharply prominent, his nose long and strong, his chin squared and stubborn.

  But it was his eyes which dominated his face and inevitably drew one’s own eyes. Deeply set and a bright blue, with a darker blue rim, they were piercing and quite magnetic.