7

‘I hadn’t planned on sightseeing.’

‘I’m talking about visiting the fazenda. The coffee farm that supplies your chain. It’s right that you should know more about the product you sell.’ He watched her carefully but she simply smiled and the smile put dimples in her cheeks and made her seem even younger.

‘I couldn’t agree more. I’d love to visit the coffee growers. My father insisted on doing that bit when we originally set up the deal. What a great idea.’

Ignoring the dimples and the sudden heat in his loins, Rafael suddenly wanted to laugh.

For sheer bald front, you couldn’t fault her. By now she had to be wondering just how much he knew about her and yet there wasn’t even a flicker of guilt in her eyes. Or concern about his proposal to take her deep into the jungle. She just stood there in her perfectly cut Armani suit, balancing on four-inch heels, as if tramping through the Brazilian rainforest was something she’d packed for and which she frequently did in her spare time.

She clearly had no idea what it took to walk through the jungle in the heat and humidity.

Five minutes, he said to himself with grim satisfaction. Five minutes was all it was going to take to have her shrieking about snakes and

insects and clinging to him.

Without the heels, the suit and the lip-gloss she’d be lost and vulnerable.

And she’d turn to him.

And then he’d move in for the kill.

‘Then I will arrange it for tomorrow.’ He rose to his feet. ‘In the meantime one of the staff will escort you to a room so that you can change into something more comfortable.’

‘Staff?’

‘Of course, staff.’ He raised an eyebrow in mockery. ‘You thought this was a one-man band? You think I swing through the trees in a loincloth and eat pineapples?’

‘Pineapples don’t grow in the Atlantic rainforest.’

She knew that much, then. Which was more than the previous female he’d brought here, who had clearly been painting her nails through all her geography lessons.

‘I keep a team of staff in all my houses. It makes my working life more efficient. Your bag has already been taken up. I’ll see you at dinner. Maria will prepare some local delicacies.’ He waited for her shiver of apprehension but she merely smiled.

‘Delicious. Thank you. You’re very kind.’

Kind?

Over the years women had called him many things but never that. Rafael searched her face for irony but saw nothing except a frank, ingenuous smile.

The smile raked at his nerves. If she was worried then she wasn’t letting it show and suddenly he was even more determined to put a serious dent in her composure.

By the time he’d finished with her, she wouldn’t be smiling. She’d be wet and uncomfortable, her feet would be blistered, her skin covered in insect bites and she’d think twice before she ripped anyone off again.

But if she played her cards right, he just might be prepared to offer some physical consolation.

Satisfied that he was well in control of the situation, he turned his attention back to the string of phone calls that were awaiting him.

Feeling slightly shaky after her meeting, Grace followed Maria, the housekeeper, up the winding wooden stairs to her bedroom. She didn’t know whether to be relieved that her ten-minute deadline had been extended or worried that she’d be spending more time in the company of Rafael Cordeiro.

She’d expected him to be tough and ruthless. After all, that was his reputation, wasn’t it? It was just that she hadn’t expected him to be quite so cold and intimidating.

But it was probably her fault, she thought gloomily. After all, there was no arguing that her company accounts were less than impressive. And he wasn’t a man who made allowances for naïvety and inexperience. He wasn’t a man who made allowances for anything.

Grace glanced upwards, wondering how far up the staircase went. To her right were windows, offering tempting views of the forest from different heights, to her left a carved wooden handrail. They seemed to

be climbing up to the sky.

At least more time would help her plead her case, she thought as she walked upwards. She’d have a chance to elaborate on all her plans for the business. Given time, she was sure that she could show him that, whatever she lacked in experience, she made up for with sheer determination and hard work.

She’d been expecting ten minutes in which to present her case and now it seemed that she’d have considerably longer.

She should be happy, shouldn’t she? Not nervous.

Wondering why he’d suddenly changed his mind, she suddenly realised that they’d reached the top of the staircase. It opened straight into a large room, two sides of which were open to the forest.

Realising that they were level with the treetops, Grace walked across to the carved wooden balcony, which prevented any occupants of the room plunging down to the forest floor. Thoroughly enchanted, she turned to the housekeeper with a smile. ‘It’s really beautiful. Like being in a tree-house.’

A seven-star tree-house.

Even though it had been designed to blend in with nature and provide an enviable peep into the mysteries of the rainforest, no luXury had been spared. The room was dominated by a large bed with an intricately carved headboard that demanded closer scrutiny. The cream silk sheets were topped with a velvety throw and softened by piles of cushions in myriad shades of green, which blended with the trees around. A large woven rug almost covered the wooden floor and a gentle breeze played with the filmy gauze curtains that hung in the corners of the room, more

for decoration than utility.

The woman said something in a language that Grace assumed to be Portuguese and she gave an apologetic smile, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. ‘I’m so sorry, I don’t speak a word of Portuguese.’

‘I said that your clothes have already been unpacked. If you need anything else, you only have to ask.’ Her voice was soft, her English heavily accented, and Grace nodded.

‘Thank you.’ She cast a rueful glance down at herself. ‘I’m going to change.’ She felt sticky and uncomfortable and desperate to get out of her clothes. Not that she’d brought much with her. She’d packed for two nights in Rio de Janeiro. Just long enough for her to fly out to Forest Lodge and back before catching her return flight to London.

It hadn’t entered her head that he’d invite her to remain as his guest in the rainforest.

She felt a burst of optimism. Wasn’t this what she’d hoped for? More time in which to persuade him to extend the loan? Well, now she had that time.

‘Dinner is served in two hours, on the terrace. If you would like to swim then you can use the forest pool. Take the path on your right and walk for about five minutes. When it forks, go right again.’ Maria gave her an uncertain smile. ‘If you need anything else, please call me.’

Thinking that all she really needed was an extra dose of courage to go another round with Rafael Cordeiro, Grace smiled. ‘I’m sure I’ll be fine. Thank you.’

Deciding that the privacy of her bedroom was preferable to a pool that

might have other occupants, Grace chose to ignore the offer of a swim.

Relieved to be able to strip off the suit, she showered and washed her hair. Fortunately the potential problem of what to wear for dinner was instantly solved by the fact that, apart from a red swimming costume packed in case there was a chance to swim in the hotel pool, she only had three items at her disposal. The scratchy formal suit, which she’d taken off with a sigh of relief, the combat trousers she’d worn for the long plane journey from London to Rio and a simple linen dress, packed to give her something to wear around the hotel in Rio. Three outfits and three pairs of shoes. Remembering his comments about sex, she immediately dismissed the idea of wearing her heels. Obviously the lightweight hiking boots that she’d worn on the plane were completely unsuitable, which just left the flat ballet pumps.

Reminding herself that she wasn’t dressing to impress the billionaire Brazilian, she slipped her feet into the pumps and reached for the dress.

It felt wonderfully comfortable after the heavy suit and by the time she walked through the main glass atrium of Forest Lodge and onto the shaded terrace, her confidence was slightly restored. She’d cooled down and had time to think about the situation.

Everything would be fine. She simply had to let him see her passion for the business. If he saw just how much she was prepared to give, then he’d extend the loan.

Her confidence lasted as long as it took her to join him at the table.