“No doubt you have a lover or ex-lover paying most of your bills. What’s the matter? Did you overspend and now he won’t buy you a new car? Too bad.”
“Think what you like,” she said coolly.
“Oh, I will.”
She flung him a look of intense dislike. “By the way, you can take your offer and…” Without warning, her voice wobbled and she blinked rapidly.
“Yes?” he taunted.
She cleared her throat. “Mr. Donovan, no matter what you say, I intend to pay the loan back, even if it takes me a lifetime.”
He felt a flash of admiration, until he remembered this was just another ploy to trick him into believing she had integrity. She’d fooled Robert Ford at first, too.
All at once he wondered how far she would go in her quest to live the good life. How mercenary could she be? Would she take a new car if he offered it? He rather liked the idea of proving himself right. And dammit, he wasn’t a charity but he couldn’t bear to think of her pregnant self in a vehicle like he’d just seen. There would be no smooth ride in that thing.
He smiled with derision. If there was one thing she was used to it was a smooth ride, he decided, watching her sit back on the sofa like the lady of leisure she was, the contract casually resting on her lap.
Pushing aside his fanciful thoughts, he briefly glanced at his watch, noting the time. He had a half hour to get back to his office to meet with a visiting dignitary from overseas. What he really felt like doing was getting on his yacht and going for a sail along the coastline, letting the majestic view and cool sea breeze ease the tension out of his body. A tension that one woman had put there.
And still did.
He strode toward the door, but as he reached for the handle he suddenly pictured Danielle fainting. And what if she couldn’t get up? She’d have to crawl to the telephone. Perhaps she’d be unable to do even that.
He opened the door then turned to look at her over his shoulder. “Do yourself a favor and get a cell phone.” His gaze slid down to her stomach then back up again. “You never know when you’ll need it.”
Apprehension wavered in her eyes, then one of her eyebrows rose mockingly. “Gee, I wonder what pregnant women did before cell phones.”
The muscles at the back of his neck bunched together as he glared at her. “Good question,” he rasped, and shut the door on the way out.
Four
E verything about Flynn Donovan was so intense that Danielle brushed off his comment about pregnant women and cell phones. She had no idea why he’d accused her of ripping him off for not paying back the money for the loan, then turned right around and canceled it. Not that she had any intention of accepting the offer, as much as she’d wanted to take him up on it for just a split second. Oh, no. There would be conditions attached no matter what he said. As it was, she’d rather eat dirt.
But when a new shiny green sedan arrived courtesy of Donovan Enterprises, she was both stunned and dismayed. Could he know it was her birthday? Even if he did, why on earth would he make such a gesture? He couldn’t get her into bed now. He’d made it more than clear he didn’t want to get her into bed now. Why spend even more money on her if he didn’t want something in return? It just didn’t make sense.
But during the drive to his office to give the car back, a horrible suspicion occurred to her. Was he like Robert and wanted to play nasty little games with her? Robert had been spiteful when he didn’t get his own way and would have done something like this just to make her suffer.
Was this Flynn’s way of being spiteful because he couldn’t have her in his bed? Did it give him some sort of satisfaction pretending to terminate the loan, then committing her to a new car so that she was still tied to him?
It had to be. She could think of no other reason a man would throw away good money, especially when he’d already made it clear he didn’t give a damn about her as a person.
Thankfully his assistant wasn’t at her desk, giving Danielle the opportunity to walk into Flynn’s office without knocking.
He looked up from some paperwork, his eyes showing mild surprise, but she didn’t give him the chance to speak. “I don’t understand you,” she said, walking toward him. “You accuse me of taking your money yet you want to spend more on me?” She slapped the car keys down on some papers. “No thanks. You can keep your money and your car. I don’t need your help. I can manage to buy a car all by myself.”
“Really?” His lips twisted. “You’re not doing a very good job of it from what I can see.”
Her cheeks filled with angry warmth. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“Oh, so it’s compliments you want, not my concern over the safety of you and your child. Or do you really want to drive around in a death trap like the one you were in yesterday?”
A shudder went through her. “You really know how to play dirty, don’t you?”
“It’s come in handy over the years.”
She just bet it had.
He leaned back in his leather chair. “Why are you being so difficult about this?”
She clenched her teeth. “Why not? Isn’t that how I get your attention?” she said sarcastically.
He straightened, a sudden icy contempt flashing in his eyes. “Look, you wanted a car, you’ve got one.”
She lifted her chin. “I didn’t ask.”
“I didn’t say you did. But you’ll accept it, anyway. Well?” he proceeded.
She’d like to throw it back in his face but couldn’t afford to right now. Instead, trying to gather her thoughts, she put her purse down on the desk and took a few steps over to the tropical fish tank next to the wall. For a couple of moments she watched the colorful array of fish swimming around in the clear water and felt an affinity with them. No matter how you looked at it, they were trapped.
Like she was.
Dear God, could she swallow her pride and refuse the car? Worse, could she risk her baby’s life by buying a cheaper one that was perhaps not as safe?
Suddenly she knew what she had to do and she gave an inner groan. It would be hard but somehow she’d manage.
She turned to look at him. “I’ll accept it on one condition. I’ll pay it off, along with the other loan.”
“Of course you will,” he mocked.
Her eyes widened. “You don’t believe me?”