Billionaire's Revenge (2 page)

Sara
was
embarrassed to watch the way
Ang
ela
threw
herself so
blatantly
at the builder, brought in to help with some issue requiring a more specialised contractor.  He
was
a hard worker, his ideas and solutions a
god
send to the project he was working
on, nobody more thankful than Angela as she
fawned over him, her eyes promising so much every time that he would appear in the office.

He however,
had
been polite and distant with her sister, often choosing instead to deal with Sara.  She
had
been nervous of the devastatingly handsome man,
older than
her
-
then in his
mid-
twenties
.  She
was
never
really sure what to say or do
when
he would smile so warmly at her, his dark eyes holding her large blue ones which she hid behind sensible glasses, required when she was working on her computer, which in the office was all of the time.

T
hree months into his contract
,
money had
gone missing
- l
ots of money.  A sea
rch of lockers
found some
it
, the serial
numbers given to them by the bank
,
along
with a key for her father’s office and the security safe, all tucked away in a hidden compartment in his locker.

Her father was
furious.  Not a man who put up with betrayal
,
it
had
taken all her
persuasion
for him not to call the police there and then and have Darius arrested.  Sara, however,
never felt that he
stole
the money and
pled for hours on his behalf, only gaining her father’s support after telling him that it might cause a scandal.  Her family
were
mainstays of the conservative and proper establishment in the area, and her father
was
always careful about how his family was presented in the eyes of these stuffy judgemental people.  He
forced Sar
a to be the one to fire Darius
, his wa
y of punishing her for taking
the Italian’s
side.  After she had, she
had
never
forgot
ten
the shock on his handsome face, or the anger as he
professed his innocence.  She however,
held firm
,
informing him that if he did not leave then they would involve the police.  Darius
welcomed the police involvement, until she
explained the evidence against him
,
remembering the way his mouth
set in such an angry line, his eyes flints of cold rage as he
declared that he
had
been set up.
  While secretly she
agreed with him, she
said nothing, knowing that the police were very much on the side of her father and
she feared
that he would not get a fair hearing.

Lifting her head, she
g
ave
a small groan.  His last words
to her
had
been that he would make them pay, that one day her whole family would
pay for that day, the softness of his tone
, with the
hint of his Italia
n accent
,
adding to the
vehemence
of his statement.  With an ironic curl of her lip she
knew
that that day
had
finally come.  Darius would have his revenge, and her family would be destroyed.

Moving over to the drinks table, she
poured herself a shot of straight vodka,
downing the liquid in one gulp,
gasping as the spirit
burnt its way down her throat.  Not one to normally drink, she
felt the need for something to calm the way her whole body trembled as she
waited for the ax to fall, the dread filling her
more
with
each second that
slipped away. 

The fact he still harboured his grudge against her family was evident from the coldness of his look as they
bumped in to each other, and her
‘invite’ to his suit
she
realised
;
a small panicky laugh
bubbled
up inside her as she
dreaded his return.  Something about the situation seemed so ‘meant to be’
,
she
thought. Six years ago it
had
been her dishing o
ut the punishment to the man who would soon enjoy doling out far worse to her.

Moving back to the seat, she
stumbled on the long skirt of the dress she
borrowed to allow her to attend that
night’s
event.  She
wanted to kick off the uncomfortabl
e
stilettos
, but knew that when he did finally
appear, she needed as much height to face him as possible.
 
Sitting back down, she
waited, waited for nearly an hour, each minute stretching her already
taut
nerves further and further to
the
breaking point.

The sound of the door being opened saw
her leap to her feet, her body spinning round to face the man who
ente
red, his stance relaxed and sure, hers stiff, coiled with the tension
which filled
her
.
 
“Wh
y did you have your trained goon
bring me here
?”
,
she
demanded, her voice higher
and shriller
than she intended, her attempt at sounding calm and cool failing even to her own ears.

Raising an eyebrow in mockery Darius Garelli
moved over to the drinks table
.
 
“I think we both know why you AGREED to come to this room”
,
his tone smo
oth as he
thr
ew
some ice
-cubes into two glasses before pouring  whiskey into one and vodka and fresh orange into another.  As he did
this
,
Sara
fought to bring her breathing
under control
, her heart beating
erratically in her chest as her
eyes
followed his every sure movement
.  Under her lashes she
allowed her gaze to admire him. 

He
had
always been handsome, but dressed in the
tuxedo;
the darkness of it only accentuat
ed
his
good looks
.  His tall broad-shouldered slim-hipped frame filled the outfit so well, he was devastating.  His slightly tousled hair was shorter than he used to wear it, but it was still thick and glossy, the front still looking as though it had
defied his will for it to sit pe
rfectly
.  T
he
memory returned  of the many times as a young woman this had
made her want to reach up and fix
it
by running
her fingers through it
, the realisation that she
wanted to touch him
even
then suddenly shocking to her. 
Dropping her gaze in confusion at the jolt of awareness that
shot through her
,
she
stepped back as he moved towards her,
before he thrust one of the glasses into her
trembling
hand
s.

“If I remember correctly this was what you used to drink
”
Sara
did
not speak
a
s she
dumbly nodde
d, surprised that he would remember such a
minuscule
detail about her.
  Raising his glass, he
t
ook
a sip of the golden liquid, his eyes unblinking as they
watched her, those eyes
glacial, taking in
everything about her
-
his look predatory
, the thought sending another tremor through her
.

Silently, she
took
a
large gulp of her drink
before carefully placing it on the table beside him,
seeing as for the first time his eyes
held humour
,
relishing her discomfort
she
knew
.  Placing his drink
beside hers
he
moved around her, his eyes openly running up and down her body, Sara feeling the heat
flood
her cheeks at his
disrespectful scrutiny
.

“So little Sara Balfour...all grown up”
,
stopping
only feet
before her
.
 
“And how
you have
grown up
”
,
the innuendo so clear on his tone, Sara feeling the prickling anger give her the strength to stand taller.
  She
had
cursed Angela
for
talking her into wearing the cocktail dress, one that she would never have chosen.  The front
plunged
as the material wrapped around
her, clearly showing her cleavage, her breasts pulled together in the underwear her sister had
chosen for her.  Fighting hard not to cover herself with her hand she
glared back at him.

“Don’t play with me Darius..
.I came here to talk to the CEO of
Garelli
Corporation.  I didn’t realise it was you”
,
her voice full of the disappointment and despair she felt
. 
“You changed your name”
,
her tone accusing as he
g
ave
a small smile
.
 
“I took my
father’s
name”
,
he
explained
,
moving to lean against the table, Sara so unaware as she
g
ave
a sigh of relief at even this little bit more space between them. “He made it worth my while”
,
his voice tinged with an anger she did not understand
.
 
Taking another sip
of his drink, he
scrutiniz
ed her as his eyes
again
slid over her wonderful figure
.

“So how exactly did you plan on getting the CEO of Garelli Corporation to hold back from throwing your sister into jail?”
  T
he question
made
her wince before her cheeks once more stained pink as he
again r
ose
,
his finger gently running along her naked arm
. 
“Because how can you be so sure that I might not be open to
the same
kind of persuasion
?”
 

G
asping in indignation
,
she
took
a quick step back, her heel
catching
on the hem of her skirt as she lost her balance, his hands shooting out to grab her shoulders, keeping her from falling.  As she once more regained her balance, he continued to hold her, his thumb now gently stroking the soft flesh, Sara’s mouth suddenly so dry.  Standing, he towered over her, his eyes dropped to her cleavage.
 
Trying to pull her arms from him she felt the heat of panic rising from her belly
.

“
Th
...Thank you.  I’m fine now” She tried to pull her arms from his hold, Darius’ fingers only digging harder into her soft flesh, a wolfish smile lighting his features.
 
“Yes...I might very well be interested in that kind of persuasion”
,
he murmured softly
.  A
loud gasp
left
her as he h
auled her harder up against him
. 
Sara only just manag
ed
to bring her
arms
between them, her fingers feeling the hardness of his chest, praying that he would not feel the way her heart was beating furiously within her breasts, their bodies tight together.