Page 7 of On His Bride's Terms

He made a minute movement with one broad shoulder. ‘I would have still spoken to your father, but I would have been pursuing a wife elsewhere.’

Faye smiled tightly. ‘How convenient for you that you deemed me suitable after...what...?’ She lifted her wrist and pretended to look at a watch, then looked back to him. ‘About an hour? How could you have been so sure you want me as a wife?’

A muscle in his jaw ticked. Faye didn’t care.

And then, before he could speak, something struck her and she felt slightly nauseous. ‘You had me investigated, didn’t you?’

She turned away and started to pace, her mind spinning with recrimination.Of course! How could I be so stupid?

She turned to face Primo again, folding her arms across her chest again. ‘No one in our world acts spontaneously. Tell me, where was I on the list?’

That muscle ticked again, but he had the grace not to feign ignorance. ‘You were top. Because of your association with your father.’

‘Lucky me,’ Faye said caustically. ‘And lucky you to have had such a quick search. Pity, though, that it’s come to nothing.’

‘I wouldn’t be so quick to reject a perfectly good offer.’

Faye’s jaw dropped. When she could manage it, she said, ‘You are unbelievably arrogant.’

‘Yes,’ he agreed easily, ‘I am arrogant. But I think you’ll find it’s born out of knowing I work hard. I’m very good at what I do and it’s not out of a sense of entitlement.’

His easy acceptance of what she’d just accused him of took the wind out of her sails a little. She couldn’t imagine many people accusing Primo Holt of arrogance. And getting away with it.

She hated to admit it, but he intrigued her—and he was right. He’d always had a reputation for working as hard as his employees, not expecting them to do anything he wouldn’t, and as Holt Industries encompassed everything from real estate to media corporations, that was some feat.

‘So, you’re hoping for some kind of value package deal? Is that it? Bag a wife and take over MacKenzie Enterprises at the same time?’

He put his hands in his pockets, and that made Faye want to look down. But she resisted the urge. He rocked back on his heels. Supremely at ease, in spite of the crackling undercurrents. Maybe she was the only one who could feel them?

‘You have to admit that it would be a convenient solution all round,’ he said.

Faye scoffed. ‘Convenient for you, you mean.’

Primo suddenly looked serious. ‘Do you realise how weakened your father is right now? The board could force him out within weeks if he continues as he is. He should never have taken the advice to sell off so many shares.’

Faye felt sick again. Primo spoke the stark truth. She’d said as much to her father herself. He’d given in to the lure of handing over a little more control, and at the urging of a bad advisor he’d let go of more than he’d intended.

Faye couldn’t help sounding a little bitter. ‘I suppose you’d like us to believe you have only our best interests at heart?’

‘I won’t lie and tell you that, no. Right now, you and your father have no personal relevance for me. But I do have the company’s best interests at heart because it’s a good business opportunity.’

You have no personal relevance for me.

Those words struck at Faye in a place they shouldn’t be striking. This man was a stranger.

‘Am I to read between the lines and surmise that if we were married wewouldhave more “personal relevance”? Which would then translate into a sense of responsibility to our family legacy?’

Primo’s eyes flashed. A ghost of a smile made one corner of his mouth quirk. ‘That would be one way of looking at it, yes.’

Faye’s eyes went wide. He was making those vultures from last night look like bunny rabbits. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so cynical and arrogant and downright—’

Primo held up a hand. ‘Please, save your breath. I know exactly what I am.’

Faye closed her mouth. She’d always considered herself a pretty level person, but this man managed to get her worked up in a way that no one else ever had. He made her feel defensive, exposed, and full of hot, volatile things.

Fighting to regain some semblance of control in the face of Primo Holt’s nonchalance, Faye asked, ‘Why do you think it’s such a good business opportunity?’

He answered without missing a beat. ‘You’re a legacy brand that’s been a cornerstone of supplying and managing the construction industry since the eighteen-hundreds. That’s the kind of name and reputation money can’t buy. By letting me take majority control, your father can be assured of its survival for another couple of generations, hopefully. And, yes, it will add to the Holt Industries portfolio. Anyone else will likely not have the same respect for your father or the name.’

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