Dirk: A Stepbrother Romance(22)
Grinning, she said into the phone, “I hope you tossed him out on his ear.”
“Sure did, and kicked him in the butt to help him on his way. Also called security and got his ass blacklisted; he can never step foot onto the premises of Beautiful Designs again on their watch.”
Alexandra snorted with laughter; she knew Claire well enough to know she was serious and not kidding around. The mental image of her prudish partner shoving her foot at Andrew’s ass made her smile.
Her wandering attention honed in as she caught the last few words of whatever Claire was saying, “? the bid by Beautiful Designs.”
“Huh? Say that again.”
“I said I got a call this morning from our guy at Alistairs Plc; he says he thinks Lead Inc may be positioning themselves to either change their bid to a figure below ours, or to convince us to bow out.”
A cold fist of fear clenched around Alexandra’s heart, “Someone wants us out of the running for Alistairs and you’re just telling me now? You know how much we have riding on that.”
Silence.
Alistairs Plc was a company with at least two branches in each state; not to mention some foreign holdings. They had recently decided to rebrand their offices across the states and had invited bids from interior design companies. Beautiful Designs needed the kind of exposure just such a contract would give them if her dream of becoming a household name was to be a reality. Beautiful Designs had sunk months of manpower, research and effort into this bid, not to mention the series of expensive high-powered meetings they had conducted to convince the Board of Alistairs Plc that they were the right people for the job.
If she lost this deal, it would mean Beautiful Designs had sunk a lot of money down the drain which it really could not afford to lose right now. They had come too far; made it to a point where it was just down to them and some other company. They needed this deal. Besides Beautiful Designs was in debt and if it didn’t get a huge cash infusion soon, they would have to start laying off some people and that was the last thing she wanted.
“Claire?”
“I’m here?”
“Who the hell are the Lead Inc people?”
Silence reigned at the other end and then quietly, Claire asked, “Have you checked your email recently?”
“Okay I haven’t. Who’s trying to shove us out the door and why?”
“They really just want contract as an additional feather in an already heavily-decorated cap. These guys are the big league; I even heard they officially decorate the White House. Last two weeks, someone contacted me and wanted to know if we would drop out of the running but I told them we’re in it to win it. I was going to tell you that day but that was the same day you found out about Andrew and you were so torn up about it. The man was all cocky like his boss is the most persuasive man this side of the planet and when you factor in the fact that he’s the Alarico, you can understand why they have such faith in his abilities.”
Alexandra fought off a sudden wave of nausea as she digested this latest bit of information. The Alarico? “What is his name?”
“He’s a Spaniard…Leandro Alarico. He’s a big deal apparently.”
“Claire, do they know where this Alarico person is at the moment?”
“Um, I actually demanded to see him and tell the man off myself and the pissy rep assured me that he was out of reach. Something about him needing a working holiday or some such thing.”
Alexandra felt a great chill chase up her arms and straight into her bones. Her eyes swung to the briefcase lying open on the bed across the room. Wordlessly, she replaced the receiver and turned to stare around Leandro’s suite with new eyes. Who was this man?
Muffled singing from the bathroom told her he was still in the shower and she hurriedly rushed to peep into the documents lying in his open briefcase. Her heart stopped; it was a copy of a bid by Lead Incfor the same contract. The envelope beside it also revealed some pictures of her as well as some reports detailing her life and her personal habits. Tears blurred her vision. Was this why he had sought her out in Hawaii? Obviously their meeting had not been an accident at all. Everything that had happened?the lovemaking, the laughter, the companionship? it had all been nothing but a master-seducer at work!
Her sense of betrayal was absolute and complete as she stared at the document. With a flip of her hand, she flung it back into his briefcase and with quick jerky movements, picked up her clothes and fled to the sanctity of her room.
Leandro whistled to himself as he emerged from the bathroom. The world suddenly seemed brighter. He felt more cheerful and happier than he could remember. He was interested in finding out more about Alexandra, he wanted to know everything! That was a first for him, most women he dated, he barely knew more than their first names. There was just something unique about her. As much as he was captivated, it also that scared the hell out of him. At some level though, he thought, maybe that’s what I have needed – someone who can really see me.
He loved her, he realized. He waited to feel choked or trapped but all he felt was exhilarated.
He would tell her the truth today, he decided.
“Alexandra?” he called as he dried his hair with a towel, looking around the room. It was empty. Where had she gone? He strode into the adjourning bedroom, but she was not there either.
A niggle of unease trickled down his spine and he immediately swung about the room, searching wildly for something. He didn’t know what it was but he couldn’t shake the sudden feeling in his guts that there was something he should look out for. His eyes fell on the open briefcase and with a sense of dread, he walked closer. Instantly he knew what had happened. Dammit, he thought to himself. She had found the pictures and the bid. What a mess. He had not gone through the papers yet, but he knew, essentially what he had asked his people investigate for him. He picked up the first document and his jaw tightened as he read what was written on it; the idiot had even detailed where she shopped for lingerie!