“My loft is up on the left,” she said softly.
“I know. I was there this morning, remember?”
She sighed and nodded. Yes, she remembered. And she might need to move because of it. Maybe she could just redecorate everything so that, once he was out of her life once again, nothing would remind her of his presence.
As soon as he parked the car, Zoe unbuckled her seat belt and jumped out of the vehicle. Bending down over the open door, she said, “Don’t bother seeing me up stairs. I’m perfectly fine and the door is right there.”
“Meet me at my office once you’ve met with George at the bank and we’ll go through the strategy once again. This time, you’ll hear me, right?”
“Sure,” she said, blushing once again and grateful for the darkness which hid that from his all-knowing gaze. “Tomorrow, then.” She slammed the door closed and walked quickly towards her building, her key already prepared for the lock, desperate to be where he couldn’t see her any longer. She was painfully aware of him watching her and she kept her shoulders straight, trying to be as unenticing as possible.
Marco watched with a mixture of amusement and desire as she walked into the building, locking it behind her. He loved the way she walked, but tonight she’d been much more stiff than usual. Normally, she had a swaying gait that showed how much she loved to dress, how she liked the way the fabric felt against her body. Her walk showed the world that she was all woman and loved it. Tonight, there had still been the telling sway, she couldn’t completely shut that off since it was so innate to her personality. But he could also perceive that she was trying hard not to show him anything.
Too bad, he thought as he reversed out of the parking space. He’d seen enough women to know what was underneath those clothes. Plus, he had a very vivid imagination. And he wasn’t just imagining her walking into a building, he knew as he drove to his own penthouse apartment in a different part of the city. No, he was thinking of her in all sorts of positions, all of which included her love of fashion and his love of naked and almost naked women. Her nakedness in particular.
Chapter 3
Zoe woke the next morning feeling as if she were trapped. Not the same feeling as the day before though. This was a much more crazy kind of trap. Hunted, she thought as she pulled on a pink, wool dress with a stiff collar that framed her neck and face. No more conservative suits, she though as she added several chains of gold, adding the perfect classic touch to the outfit. She pinned her hair up on top of her head, clipped on small gold earrings and a pair of gorgeous pink flowered heels. Yes, today was going to be a very different day.
She practically skipped down the back staircase to her workroom and smiled at the early birds who were busy sewing or packing up orders. “Good morning!” she sing songed to Debbie when she arrived with two cups of coffee.
Debbie eyed Zoe’s flashy outfit and smiled. “I’m guessing from your attitude that it’s going to be a very good morning.” She pointed in the direction of Zoe’s office. “Let’s talk!”
Zoe laughed and walked into her office, closing the door when Debbie followed. Zoe leaned against her desk and took a sip of the hot coffee.
“Let me guess. The police arrested the bastard and you’re getting all your money back, no worries and we’re staying in business until at least the next crisis.”
Zoe grimaced. “Do you have to ruin the day?”
“Shooting too high?”
“Definitely,” Zoe laughed. “But, I’ve found an investor who is willing to front the money so we’re still in business.” Zoe swallowed hard after that statement. Having said it out loud made it much more real.
Debbie gasped and stood up. “That’s fantastic! Are you kidding? Who is it? And what are the terms? How did you do this so quickly?” She hugged Zoe enthusiastically, barely managing to keep the coffee from spilling all over the gorgeous pink wool dress. “Oh, wow! I’ve been sick with worry. For you as well as for me! I didn’t want to find another job with the competition!”
“Good! You won’t have to.”
“Excellent! Tell me the details.” She sat back down and waited, eagerly waiting to hear how they were going to weather this storm.
“Your husband’s boss actually is our white knight. Apparently your husband mentioned something about our predicament to Marco DiAngelo and he showed up and offered to loan us the money.”
Debbie’s smile faltered. She stared at Zoe for a long moment before shaking her head. “Are you kidding?”
“No. Why?”
Debbie took an unsteady breath. “Because Marco DiAngelo doesn’t take over companies. He’s famous for tearing them apart and selling them off.”
“He’s done that in the past with companies that were too weak to survive. But in our case, he wants to build something, to loan us enough so that we can grow and expand more rapidly.”
“Why is he going to do that?”
“Because we’re a good investment.”
“Hogwash!” Debbie came back adamantly. “That man doesn’t help anyone but himself. He pays my husband a good salary, but he also works him to the bone, driving harder and harder. There are nights Michael sleeps at the office because he’d been working too long to make it home. I’m telling you, you don’t want to get involved with Marco DiAngelo. He’s worse than a shark. He’s like…like…”Debbie struggled to find the right words to describe what Michael went through working for his boss and what they did to other companies. “He’s like a swarm of piranha but he does the same amount of damage all on his own.”
“He’s not going to break us up this time. He’s going to help.”
Debbie wasn’t convinced. “Why doesn’t Michael know about this?” she asked suspiciously. “Michael is in on all the major acquisitions, doing the due diligence prior to any sale.”
Zoe faltered on that issue. “I’m not sure. Maybe we’re not a major acquisition?”
Debbie guffawed at that. “You can say that again. The last company the DiAngelo Group bought was worth over one point two billion dollars. That’s billion, with a ‘B’. Why would Marco step in and save our little operation?”
Zoe suspected she knew the reason Marco was interested in them but was loathe to explain. Looking at her friend, she knew she had no other option but to tell her. “I knew Marco when I was younger.”