Da Silva's Mistress
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Tina Duncan
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10
CHAPTER ONE
IT WAS DONE.
Or at least it was as good as done.
The requisite phone calls had been made and instructions given. Gino had been despatched to collect the Marshall woman and bring her back here to the London headquarters of Da Silva Chocolate.
She had no idea what was about to hit her.
No doubt she thought her precious Joseph was behind her unexpected summons.
Instead he would be waiting for her.
Luca smiled grimly.
Within the hour it would all be over.
Within the hour Morgan Marshall would discover just how stupid she’d been to mess with the da Silva family.
Luca swung the black leather chair back to his borrowed desk and picked up the latest quarterly figures for the chocolate division of his vast empire, pushing the whole ugly incident with the Marshall woman to the back of his mind.
She would be here soon enough. He would say his piece and then throw her out on the street where she belonged.
She wouldn’t bother him or his family again; he’d make sure of it.
Twenty minutes later Luca was still poring over the report, this time with a frown, when someone knocked on the door.
‘Enter!’ he said, without looking up.
He heard the door open, but continued circling some numbers he wasn’t happy with. When he was done, Luca closed the folder, tossed down his pen and looked up.
His heart stopped.
The breath locked tight in his lungs.
Standing in front of the burly figure of Gino was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Tall and slender, with raven black hair swirling around her shoulders, she had an elegant face totally belied by the I’m-in-charge black leather boots encasing her calves.
Luca exhaled slowly, staring at her through narrowed eyes.
This was the she-devil threatening his sister’s marriage?
This was the heartless and conniving witch who had seduced his brother-in-law?
She wasn’t what he’d been expecting at all.
In Luca’s opinion, a callous marriage-wrecker should look hard and calculating. Not young—she couldn’t be more than twenty-two or three—and gifted with an intriguing mixture of innocence and sensuality that even he, a connoisseur of some of the most beautiful women in the world, couldn’t help but appreciate.
Just by looking at her Luca could tell that Morgan Marshall was way, way out of Joseph’s league.
He was much more her type.
He knew how to handle a beauty like this.
Luca put a brake on his thoughts. There was only one way he was going to handle Morgan Marshall—and that was by teaching her a lesson she’d never forget!
‘You’re Morgan Marshall?’ he asked, needing to be sure.
The woman angled her chin into the air in a gesture Luca found vaguely familiar. ‘Yes. I’m Morgan Marshall.’ She looked around, then pinned him with the most incredible black eyes. ‘Where’s Joseph?’
The blood turned to ice in his veins. She was so eager to see her lover. Would she feel the same way after he’d finished with her? Somehow Luca doubted it.
Ignoring her question about Joseph’s whereabouts, he asked, ‘Do you know who I am?’
She nodded. ‘You’re Luca da Silva.’
‘That’s right. Joseph’s brother-in-law.’
She didn’t say anything to that.
He could imagine why.
‘Are you aware of that?’ he pressed.
Her eyes remained steady on his but Luca sensed her sudden tension. ‘Yes. Joseph is married to your sister, Stefania.’
Although he’d half expected it, her answer still disappointed him. For a second—just one—he’d hoped there had been some terrible misunderstanding. That maybe she hadn’t known Joseph was married. That perhaps Joseph had kept that information to himself.
Instead he had confirmation of her culpability.
Rather than re-igniting his anger, as it should have done, her response left him feeling strangely flat and out of sorts.
Because he wanted to pursue her himself?
The answer came quick as a flash: yes!
Given the right circumstances, that was exactly what he would do.
Only the right circumstances didn’t exist—and never would.
He had to face the ugly truth.
Morgan Marshall had known exactly what she was doing when she’d slept with Joseph. She hadn’t accidentally found herself in bed with a married man. She’d gone into the affair with her eyes open.
Now she had to face the consequences.
‘Do you know why I brought you here?’ he asked softly.
‘No. I don’t.’ Eyes as dark as his own glinted with angry fire. She jerked her head to where Gino was standing squarely in the doorway behind her, barring any opportunity for her to escape. ‘This…this…gorilla wouldn’t tell me a damned thing. He barely speaks a word of English. Every time I asked him a question, he just grunted.’
‘Did he, now?’ Good on you, Gino, Luca thought, looking into Gino’s impassive face. He’d instructed his head of security to say as little as possible when he collected her, wanting his involvement to come as a surprise. Judging by the wary look on Morgan Marshall’s face he’d more than succeeded in that endeavour.
‘Yes. He did.’ She thrust her hands onto slender hips. ‘I told him it wasn’t convenient for me to come with him, but he ignored me. He marched me out to the car as if I was some kind of criminal.’
‘Did he hurt you?’ Luca felt compelled to ask. Although he detested Morgan Marshall for sleeping with Joseph—how could he not, when he’d experienced first-hand the pain and destruction caused by extramarital affairs?—he didn’t condone violence against women under any circumstances. If she’d been a man a good beating would be no more than she deserved. But then, if she’d been a man the situation wouldn’t have arisen in the first place!
‘No. But that’s not the point.’
‘Then what is?’
She gave him a look down the chiselled length of her nose that suggested he was several brain cells short of the full quid. ‘The point is my being here is totally inconvenient. I have—had—a full schedule of appointments lined up for today. I had to ask my secretary to cancel them at the last moment.’
Luca inclined his head. ‘That’s regrettable, but unavoidable.’
‘Is it? Maybe it’s time you told me what this is all about. And while you’re at it, why don’t you tell me where Joseph is? This is his office. You shouldn’t be in here without him.’
Luca stared at her in amazement. She was like a miniature firecracker going off, eyes glittering, so much energy vibrating off her, he expected to see sparks fly from the ends of her hair at any moment.
Would she be as passionate in bed?
His eyes dropped to the thrusting swell of her breasts, clearly outlined beneath the black and white striped shirt she was wearing under her snappy black business suit.
She would be dynamite in bed.
How he knew that for certain he wasn’t sure, but know it he did.
Heat drip-fed into his blood stream, warming him from the inside out. He imagined taking her right now. On the desk. Naked except for those sexy black boots wrapped tightly around his hips.
His body surged on such a powerful wave of lust that Luca almost put thought into action. Instead, with a frown, he dragged his eyes back to her face, sucked in a lung full of much needed air and thrust the thought aside.
Morgan Marshall was the last woman on earth he should be thinking about in that way.
‘I intend making a formal complaint,’ Morgan continued, eyes still blazing.
‘Do you, now?’ Luca drawled.
‘Yes, I do. Joseph will be very angry when he hears how you’ve treated me.’
No doubt Joseph would be—if he ever found out about this meeting.
Rising to his feet, Luca rounded the desk. ‘Leave us,’ he ordered Gino.
Gino backed out of the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click.
‘Joseph isn’t going to hear about this meeting because you’re not going to tell him.’
She blinked up at him. ‘Of course I’m going to tell him.’
Luca took her arm and urged her across the room. ‘No, you’re not.’
Her perfume, something soft and spicy with a hint of orange, closed around him.
She licked her lips. ‘I’m…I’m not?’
‘No, you’re not.’ He eased her down onto one of two leather visitors’ chairs. Then, instead of resuming his own seat, he leant his hips against the edge of the desk. ‘Not if you know what’s good for you.’
His words, accompanied by underlying steel, made her eyes widen. ‘What…what’s this all about?’
He smiled his most charming smile and watched as she blinked under the impact. ‘Come on, Ms Marshall. You’re a bright young woman. Surely you must have some idea.’
She stared up at him, her eyes deep, dark pools of confusion then angled her chin into the air. The gesture once again struck him as familiar. ‘No. I have no idea. Unless there’s a business matter you want to discuss with me.’
His hands clenched. The only ‘business’ he wanted to discuss with her was the monkey business she’d been up to with Joseph!
‘Not as such, no. My business interests are extensive. I don’t have time to involve myself in the day-to-day running of my companies. I have competent managers to do that.’
‘Then what do you want to talk to me about?’ Morgan asked, in a voice that had the faintest tremor running through it.
‘Can’t you guess?’
Her chin angled back into the air. It was a look Luca was becoming increasingly familiar with and equally irritated by—because he couldn’t figure out who she reminded him of.
‘Why don’t you spit it out, Mr da Silva? If you have something to say, just say it.’
Luca had to admire her spirit. She had guts. He’d say that for her.
It was just a shame she didn’t have the morals to go with it.
He shifted position on the desk and was aware of her quick appraisal. He leaned forward, inhaling the tangy scent of citrus. ‘I brought you here because I am terminating your employment with Enigma Marketing.’
She gasped. Swayed in her seat. Paled until even her mouth looked parchment white and her eyes blacker than black. ‘You can’t do that!’
‘I certainly can.’
Normally such a blatant misuse of power would be abhorrent to him. But these were exceptional circumstances that required drastic action.
‘You may own half the world, Mr da Silva, but you don’t own Enigma Marketing. You have no say over who they employ or don’t employ.’
He smiled with genuine amusement. ‘Surely you can’t be that naïve? One phone call was all it took to seal your fate.’
She gasped again, her eyes so wide they looked like saucers. ‘I don’t believe you. My boss wouldn’t do that to me!’
‘No?’ He leaned closer. ‘Not even if I threatened to take away the Da Silva Chocolate account from her agency?’
A deathly silence fell. The look on her face told him Morgan knew the answer to that question as well as he did.
Da Silva had done for chocolate what Versace had done for fashion. The brand had developed a cult following among chocoholics, connoisseurs and A-listers around the world, their exclusive lines de rigueur on the tables of the rich and famous.
Da Silva was the marketing agency’s flagship account. Losing it meant losing jobs, not to mention reputation and the kudos that came from being associated with the brand.
And Enigma’s CEO, Dawn Merchant, would do just about anything to stop that from happening.
He reached across to the corner of the desk and slid the phone towards her. ‘Why don’t you call her? I’m sure Dawn will be happy to confirm what I’ve told you.’
Morgan looked from the phone to his face and back again. ‘OK. I believe you. But you’d better have a damned good reason for firing me or I’m going to sue the pants off you!’
Luca almost laughed in her face. Almost. Except there was nothing funny about the way she was trying to tear apart his sister’s marriage—particularly at a time when Stefania was so vulnerable.
His sister was battling depression over her inability to conceive. Although she was trying to put on a brave face and maintain a positive attitude, her failure to fall pregnant after the last IVF treatment had really knocked the stuffing out of her.
The last thing she needed right now was to discover the husband she adored was having an affair!
Luca was determined she would never find out.
It was because of him that Stefania was in this predicament in the first place. If only he’d—
Luca slammed a lid shut on his thoughts. He’d been through enough what-ifs and if-onlys to last him a lifetime. He’d almost driven himself crazy imagining what he could have done differently to avert the accident that had changed their lives.
But that was in the past. It was the present and the future that concerned him now. While he couldn’t do anything about Stefania’s infertility, he sure as hell could do something about Morgan Marshall.
‘I could say it’s because you’re incompetent…but I won’t,’ he bit out harshly.
‘Good,’ she said hotly, eyes glinting. ‘Because you’d be wrong. I’m good at what I do. Very good! Dawn must have told you that.’
He inclined his head. ‘If it’s any consolation, she did.’
In fact Luca had been surprised by just how rigorously Dawn had defended her employee. When he’d first called her, he’d phrased his request as exactly that. A request. When she’d rattled off what seemed to him to be an inordinately long list of qualifications and skills, he’d turned the request into an order.
An order Dawn had continued to resist.
Morgan was a model employee.
She was an excellent team player.
Not to mention innovative and creative.
Luca had frowned at the phone as he’d listened.
Were they talking about the same woman? he’d wondered.
The paragon Dawn was describing hardly sounded like the type of woman to have an affair with a married man. But then, he’d reasoned, just because she was a capable professional it didn’t mean she couldn’t also have the morals of an alley-cat!
‘It’s no consolation and you know it!’ Morgan glared up at him, her eyes glittering like black diamonds. ‘Now, tell me why you fired me, and make it good—or I’ll have my solicitor here before you can say Jack Robinson!’
Luca couldn’t help but admire her spirit. At the same time her continued refusal to admit the truth hardened his heart, until it felt as if it was encased in a block of ice.
He put his face close to hers, watched her draw back in her chair. Then he said softly, ‘I think your relationship with Joseph Langdon is reason enough, don’t you?’
Morgan’s world tilted on its axis. The blood drained from her head so quickly a series of black dots began swimming in front of her eyes.
She’d suspected something was wrong from the minute she’d walked through the door and found Luca da Silva waiting for her.
But not this.
He knew!
Somehow, Luca da Silva knew.
A wave of panic engulfed her. She couldn’t breathe—as if a band of steel had been strapped around her chest and tightened until it hurt. Her palms grew sweaty. Her heart was pounding so fiercely she was surprised he couldn’t hear it.
She dragged in a deep breath, and then another. Closed her eyes. Opened them again. And found herself looking at the hard shafts of his thighs. Her pulse quickened and heat stirred low in her pelvis. Swallowing, she dragged her gaze away.
How could this have happened?
They’d been so careful to keep their relationship a secret.
They always met in out-of-the-way places or in the privacy of her apartment. They’d even met here, in this very office, sometimes on genuine business matters but as often as not on the pretext of business just so they could see each other.
But it seemed they hadn’t been careful enough.
Stomach churning, Morgan clenched her hands tightly together in her lap and angled her chin into the air. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
He moved closer, until his face was inches from hers, his breath feathering her face. ‘I’m-talking-about-your-relationship-with-Joseph-Langdon,’ he bit out, his accent, barely noticeable until now, thickening.
‘What about it?’ She wanted to draw away from him. This close, she could smell the spicy scent of his shampoo, could feel the heat radiating off his skin. Her tummy muscles contracted on a wave of awareness that made her press her knees together. ‘We’re business colleagues.’
His head went back, nostrils flaring. ‘You are not just business colleagues.’
Morgan resisted the urge to swallow. ‘Says who?’
‘Says me.’
Morgan looked away, her eyes following the strong column of his throat to the broad expanse of his chest. Just how much did he know? she wondered, fascinated by the ripple of muscle she could see beneath his shirt as he clenched his hands into fists.
Enough, she supposed, to drag her halfway across London to have this conversation!
Which meant she couldn’t plead total innocence…
She lifted her head. ‘We’re friends, too. Is that what you want me to say? There’s no law against that, is there?’
She didn’t need to be a genius to understand that the string of Italian that followed wasn’t in the least complimentary.
‘We are,’ she insisted.
‘Really?’ He pulled back from her with a jerk, as if breathing the same air she did somehow contaminated him. ‘I don’t think so.’
God, but the man was arrogant. He was barely listening to a word she said. Joseph had complained of that very thing so many times Morgan had lost count.
It was bad enough that Luca constantly intervened in the running of Da Silva Chocolate, but what Joseph found completely untenable was Luca’s interference in his marriage.
Talk about being over-protective. Luca was so busy handing out advice and looking after his sister’s interests he left no room for Joseph to be the kind of husband he wanted to be.
Well, she had no intention of sitting back and letting Luca walk all over her. She tossed her head, sending her hair swirling around her shoulders. ‘Believe what you like! I don’t care. You can’t have me fired without good reason!’
He stilled. It was an incredible thing to watch. He looked like a lion when it first scented its prey. His body stiffened and the eyes that met hers were so cold she shivered.
‘You think not?’ Suddenly he levered himself away from the desk, walked around to the other side and sat down.
Morgan felt some of the tension drain out of her. His close proximity had put her on edge in more ways than one. Whether she liked it or not, Luca…affected her.
Made her aware of him as a man.
Made her aware of herself as a woman.
The thought horrified her.
Luca da Silva was the last person she should be thinking about in that way!
But somehow she couldn’t help herself.
He was wickedly handsome. Hair as black as her own. Eyes as dark as her own. His body a patchwork of tightly honed muscle and warm golden skin.
But it was more than that.
She’d heard about people who had the kind of charisma that turned heads, but she’d never met one of them…until now.
Luca had that indescribable something in spades.
Leaning back in his chair, Luca smiled. It was the kind of smile a shark might give before gobbling up much smaller prey. ‘I want your promise not to see Joseph again.’
Her heart wrenched, her throat clogging with emotion.
Her lost job was forgotten—at least for the time being.
Time enough later to figure out how she was going to pay off her student loans and her mortgage without a job.
This—Joseph—was much more important.
He was the only family she had. The only person who’d ever really cared about her. Even her own mother had regretted her existence. Sheila had taken every opportunity to remind her daughter about how her conception had ruined her life.
Joseph was the exact opposite. He’d welcomed her with open arms, his delight so effusive she’d actually cried. For the first time in her life she felt wanted. Really wanted.
And Luca was asking her to turn her back on that?
An invisible hand clenched around her heart, squeezing until it was a physical pain. She couldn’t give Joseph up—couldn’t give up the sense of belonging she’d felt since finding him after her mother died.
But she couldn’t explain any of that to Luca.
Couldn’t…because she’d promised Joseph she wouldn’t discuss the true nature of their relationship with anyone.
So what did she do now?
She could tell Luca to go to hell, of course. It was on the tip of her tongue to do exactly that. But she had to be cautious. Antagonising him could make the situation worse—although how that was possible she wasn’t quite sure.
Her other option was to lie.
She didn’t want to. Lies and secrets had a terrible way of biting you on the backside when you least expected it.
But what other choice did she have?
Dragging in a deep breath, she looked across the desk at Luca and tried to smile. ‘OK. I promise.’
‘Liar.’
Her heart jerked in her chest, her cheeks burned and her attempt at a smile crumbled. ‘I—’ she started, but he cut her off with a dismissive wave of his hand.
‘Don’t bother.’ He steepled his fingers beneath his chin, staring grim-faced over the top of them. ‘I had hoped losing your job would be enough incentive to show you I mean business. But obviously you need a little more…encouragement to stay away from Joseph.’
Ice slid down her spine. How could he make such a simple statement sound so threatening?
He pulled open the top drawer and extracted something which he tossed down in the middle of the desk.
‘What’s that?’ she croaked, staring at the rectangular piece of paper.
He leant back in his chair. ‘Why don’t you look for yourself?’
Shifting to the front of her seat, Morgan reached out and picked it up by the edge, as if it might bite. She looked down. It was a cheque. A cheque made out in her name for the sum of fifty thousand pounds.
Her fingers started to shake, her insides shrinking. She looked up, the blood draining from her head and settling like a dead weight in the pit of her stomach. Then she jumped to her feet and, with a vicious flick of the wrist, flung the cheque at his face. ‘Don’t be insulting!’
With lightning-quick reflexes he caught the wedge of paper in mid-air. ‘Isn’t it enough?’
Her breath caught, the insult catching her on the raw. Furious, she slammed her hands palms-down on the top of the desk and bent towards him. ‘Do you really think you can bribe me to stay away from Joseph?’
‘Yes!’
She shook her head. ‘Well, you’re wrong. Friends don’t come with a price tag attached—nor do they come with a dispose-by date.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s a lot of money.’
It was a lot of money. Money she could no doubt do with now she was out of a job.
Four years at Oxford University had been expensive. Although she’d worked part-time—waitressing initially, followed by a stint as a marketing assistant—it hadn’t been enough to cover her fees, books and general living expenses.
She’d had to borrow money to get through.
Fifty thousand pounds would wipe out her student loans, plus provide enough for her to live on and make her mortgage payments for the next few months while she looked for a new job.
But, while the money would be a godsend, Morgan wasn’t in the least tempted to take it.
The price was too high.
Much too high.
Joseph and her self respect meant a hell of a lot more to her than any amount of money ever could.
‘I don’t care how much it is,’ she said forcefully. ‘I don’t want it.’
He frowned, as if her response bothered him in some way. Then his expression changed and he rose to his feet and mimicked her position on the desk.
Their faces were so close Morgan could smell the clean male smell of him, could see the flecks of gold in the darkness of his gaze. Her eyes settled on his mouth and suddenly she wondered what it would be like to kiss him.
The thought made her move sharply back from the desk.
‘Everyone has a price. What’s yours?’ Luca asked, in a voice that grated like sandpaper down her spine.
‘I don’t have one.’
‘No? We’ll see. When Joseph comes back to London you won’t be seeing him again. And that’s a promise.’
Seemingly satisfied by her stunned silence, Luca sat down, pulled a folder towards him and began to read.
Morgan stared at the dark pelt of his hair, not quite sure what to say. Or do. She’d heard every word he said but only two had registered.
As if he sensed her gaze on him, Luca looked up, his eyes like black chips of ice. ‘What are you still doing here? This conversation is over.’
‘But—’
‘But nothing. Now get out. Or do I have to get Security to throw you out?’
Although Morgan knew she was being foolish, she couldn’t go just yet. She had to ask him something first. Dragging in a deep breath for courage, she asked quietly, ‘Back from where?’
Luca’s head shot up so fast she was surprised he hadn’t pulled a muscle. ‘What did you say?’
She swallowed. He looked dark and dangerous. But she didn’t care.
Joseph had said nothing about a trip. That was unusual in itself. He always called her before he went away. Given the way Luca had confronted her, she was worried he’d said something to Joseph.
She gripped her hands tightly together in front of her, a ball of anxiety wedged firmly in the back of her throat.
Joseph had been suffering from chest pains for the last few months. He hadn’t told anyone…except her. He refused to see a doctor, convinced the episodes were the result of stress.
If Luca had confronted him…
She shuddered to think what could have happened. Barely daring to breathe, she said tightly, ‘Just tell me where Joseph is and that he’s all right.’
It was like waving a red flag at an already angry bull. Luca went berserk, rounding the desk so fast her head spun. He grabbed her shoulders and dragged her close.
He put his face close to hers, lips curled into a snarl. ‘You have no right to ask such questions! Dio! Don’t you get it?’ His hands tightened on her shoulders. ‘Joseph Langdon is dead as—’
His words hit Morgan like a sledgehammer, each syllable an individual blow she felt right through to her bones. She swayed on her feet as the floor rose up to meet her. Luca’s face, fuzzy around the edges, was the last thing she saw as she slid into a dead faint, completely unaware of the stunned expression that crossed Luca’s face as he caught her before she hit the floor.
