Page 47 of In Bed with Her Billionaire Bodyguard

‘Oh, I’m sure your ex-fiancé has something up his sleeve, if this doesn’t do the trick. I want you to back out of the CEO vote, or I’ll start digging.’

Simon stood up with such force it sent his chair falling back.

‘This is outrageous,’ he cried, increasing the volume of the disapproving muttering around her.

‘No,’ she said clearly, her voice loud enough to carry and quieten the voices of the shocked shareholders. ‘What is outrageous is that you thought I would let you get away with attempting to blackmail me into giving up my desire to be Harcourts’ next CEO. What is outrageous is that, once again, you—just like many others here—underestimated me terribly.

‘And just in case anyone was wondering about the deal I have to woo you, let me explain. I have a signed deal with Sofia Obeid for the first of ten internationally located, exclusive luxury hotels to be branded Harcourts Obeid,’ Hope said, pausing only long enough for that to sink in. ‘They will be stocked with Harcourts’ own brand and offer the ability to buy anything from the Harcourts’ catalogue.’ Excited whispers spread through the meeting. ‘The revenue projections for the two-year mark,’ she said, waiting to have everyone’s attention, even Simon’s, ‘half a billion pounds.’

Now there was interest in the mix as well as excitement. She desperately wanted to look to her brother for confirmation, hating that she’d kept this from him, and hoping that he’d understand. Understand her need to have done this by herself, for herself. And then maybe, just maybe, Luca might too.

She turned to the head of the table, where she felt the weight of serious and heavy contemplation.

‘I’m off the fence, Grandfather. I want the CEO position. So,’ she said, turning back to the room, ‘you can vote for someone who did absolutely nothing to forward Harcourts’ interest and instead wanted to win by forcing out their opponent. Or you can vote for someone who refused to play games and instead made a business deal for your benefit. It’s up to you,’ she said, pushing back her chair and leaving the room without a backward glance.

Luca’s heart was pounding so hard he was surprised it hadn’t burst from his chest. He went to follow on her heels, and Nate held him back with surprising strength for someone who had needed a wheelchair to get to this room.

‘Wait,’ Nathanial Harcourt ordered.

‘Cazzo, Nate—’

‘Just wait. They need to see her leave. Alone. Powerful message.’

The truncated sentence concerned Luca and he looked back to the man beside him, who was beginning to sweat a little.

Luca cursed again. ‘We should get you out of here,’ he said, but Nate was staring off somewhere behind Luca. Turning around, he saw that the target of his fierce gaze was his grandfather. There was a nod between the two men before the Chairman of Harcourts broke the gaze and turned to his colleague.

‘Nowwe go,’ said Nate as they worked their way to the side door, where some of Nate’s assistants waited with the wheelchair to whisk him away from public sight before the meeting adjourned.

He waited long enough to see Nate settled, and after a glare and a, ‘What are you waiting for?’ from the other man, Luca rushed off in the direction he thought she’d gone.

Trusting his gut, he ran to the lifts and hit the call button, the doors parting instantly. He slammed his palm against the button for the ground floor, praying that Hope was doing the same just one or maybe two floors down. He held his breath and when the lift drew to a stop only moments after leaving the top floor, he knew he’d been right.

The doors parted and a startled Hope stared back at him. Before she could run away again, he reached for her wrist and pulled her into the lift with him and straight into an open-mouthed kiss.

It was punishment and pleasure; it was everything he couldn’t say and everything he wanted to say. She gasped into his mouth and sagged against his body in willing submission, and everything in him roared in victory to have his hands on her again. He dragged himself back from the kiss only for enough time to hit the stop button, forcing a halt to the lift’s progress.

A few seconds later, a voice came over the speaker. ‘Is everything okay in there?’

‘Yes,’ Hope replied.

‘Go away,’ Luca commanded at the same time.

‘Yes, ma’am, sir,’ came the reply, as Luca let himself take the breath he’d not had since she’d flown away from him in Austria.

She pulled out of his hold, stepping back against the opposite side of the lift, her hands wrapping around the rail as if to stop herself reaching for him. Her eyes were full of hurt, shame and frustration.

‘Nothing’s changed, Luca.’

He shook his head slowly from side to side. Everything had changed, she just didn’t know it yet. He wanted to prowl towards her, to press his body against hers until she melted against him again, but he knew they needed to speak first. There were things he needed to know and she needed to hear.

‘Why didn’t you tell me? About Simon?’

She bit her lip and clenched her jaw as if attempting to defy him and he wondered if she realised what hung in the balance here. But he was a patient man. He’d waited his entire life to meet her and he would wait for her to catch up, he would wait as long as it took her to realise that she loved him as much as he loved her.

She opened and closed her mouth and found her courage. ‘My whole life people have been trying to protect me. My parents. Nate. You. Money made me a target, my gender made that easy. Simon’s been undermining me as a way of getting to Nate for years. But all those things? They weren’t aboutme,’ she said, shrugging as if it hadn’t hurt.

‘People like Simon won’t stop coming after me even if I do become CEO. So, are you and my brother going to find a way to protect me from every little threat I face? Or will you now finally trust that I can do this myself? That I have that power?’ she demanded. ‘Ineededto do this by myself, to know that I could. Not for Simon, or the shareholders, or even you, but forme. I needed to know that I could do this.’

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