Love me if you dare (4 page)

The
building reached towards the sky, her eyes followed the sharp lines higher,
still higher until her gaze lingered at the point where the skyscraper met the clear
blue sky. She remembered standing at this exact spot when she was still a small
child, in awe of the building that kissed the sky.

It excited her every time, and always,
always she would skip inside beside her imposing father, chattering away about
how she would one day sit at the top of the building and be the boss.  He, of
course, always smiled and agreed that she would sit at the top one day.  Only
his office was not on the top floor, rather it was on the tenth floor, the
executive level, which had a private roof to the one side, where most of their
big events were always hosted. Also, he never intended her to sit in his chair,
so why this sudden change of heart in his testament?

She dropped her eyes from the
building, all glass and steel, no walls or bricks on the outside.  She read in
a magazine that this building had been turned into one of the top ten greenest
buildings in South Africa.  Something that was clear from the moment you
stepped inside the cool interior.

Natural plants and small gardens gave
the impression of an open walkway through a botanical garden.  The lighting was
soft hues, casting natural light over the complete floor, or rather, an
impression of natural light.  She ignored the reception area and headed
directly to the elevators. Even here, she had to familiarize herself with how
they worked, as you had to enter exactly where you were going and be swiftly
carried up to the correct floor, without stopping along the way.

She hesitated a moment before she
stepped off the elevator, directly into the Executive assistants open plan
offices of the Executives level. All the top Executives were housed on this
floor, and the Assistants their gate keepers. Her hesitant steps carried her
towards her father’s office, which she assumed were still the one in the far
corner, facing towards the center of the city.  She breathed out a sigh of
relief when Gertrude, her fathers’ Assistant did not appear to be at her desk
in the front reception area of his office.  Her steps faltered again when she
pushed through the door and the lights slowly flickered on above her.  Soft,
natural light enhanced the office, and she glanced briefly around. 

Gone were his dark, heavy wooden
furniture and leather couches he used to favor.  In its place where a massive
glass and steel desk, white leather couches and a glass and steel conference
table surrounded by white executive leather chairs, on the opposite side of the
office.  Try as she might, she could not picture Alexander DuPont in this
setting.

She walked towards the ceiling to
floor windows and stood staring out to the city spread out below her.  Had he
stood here gazing out while he was thinking out strategies? She was startled
out of her thoughts by her cell phone ringing.  She pulled it from her pocket
and with a start of guilt, recognized her partners name flashing on the tiny
screen.  She had completely forgotten the reason why she was in South Africa in
the first place and never phoned to inform him of what had happened.

“Hi Charles, how are you?”

“Samantha, I’m fine, but got worried
about you when I did not hear anything from you for so long. How did the
meeting with Crayon Solutions go?”

Guilt gnawed at her even more.  Since
she heard the news of her father’s death, she had not taken any action to meet
with them at all. She rubbed her forehead, turned from the window and slowly
sat down on one of the white couches. 

“I’m sorry, Charles, I have not been
to meet with them as yet.  I ha …”

“What?”  Samantha, you know as well as
I do how much a merger with them will mean to our business!  It will be our
first big merger with a major International company in the Southern
Hemisphere.  They expected you a week ago already!”

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes
wearily.  “I know and once again, I am sorry.  As soon as I arrived I heard on
the television news that my father had passed away….”  Her voice glugged up and
she swallowed hard.

“Oh no, I am so sorry to hear that.
Here I am ranting on about a business deal.  Are you okay?”

“Yes, but it has been extremely
difficult.  You know I do not see eye to eye with my family.”  There was a
moments’ silence.

“Do you want me to join you there?” 
Samantha hesitated.  She knew how much comfort she would be able to draw from
him by her side.  He had been more than a partner; he had been a close friend. 
On the other hand, she was afraid that he would get the wrong idea. Over the
past few months she started to realize that his feelings towards her, had
turned to more than purely professional and friendship, however, he had not
said anything to her as such.

“Thanks for the offer, Big C, but I’ll
be fine.”

“And Crayon?”

“A lot has happened in a very short
time that could change my life drastically.  I will set up the meeting with
Crayon today still, and I will be back in New York early next week.  There are
some serious decisions I need to make and discuss with you.”

They chatted for another fifteen
minutes with Charles updating her on all their big projects, before she ended
the call with, “I miss you too.”

“So, what did lover boy say when you
told him you won’t be back?”  Samantha closed her eyes, willing her body to
relax, when Nicolas’s smooth voice, dripping with sarcasm rolled over her.  
His hands closed over her shoulders from behind and she stiffened, but he held
her in place when she tried to rise from the couch.  His thumbs gently stroked
her neck below her hair.  His breath was warm against her temple, and she tried
to pull from his grip again.

His one hand turned to circle her neck
and drew her chin upward; the blue flames in his eyes singed her, anger
glittering in the deep surface.

“Is her aware of you propensity to
kiss other men every chance you get?

Before she could struggle out of his
hold, his head lowered and his lips closed over hers.  The heat of his mouth on
hers engulfed her, his hand circled her neck slowly stroking the vein pulsing
erratically there, the other moved down her arm to fold his large hand around
her breast.  She gasped and his tongue immediately surged inside her mouth, to
go deep, intimately delving and mercilessly pulled her tongue into his to feed
from her mouth greedily, whilst his were playing havoc in her mouth.

So easy and so quickly she was on
fire. So easy and quickly did he overcome her defenses.  Heat slivered down her
body to quiver in her loins. His loud growl when she returned his passionate
onslaught brought her to her senses. She literally ripped her mouth from his
and scrambled out of his hold to her feet. 

She stood facing away from him,
drawing deep breaths in her lungs, and then swung around to face him.  The
words she intended to fling at him wedged in her throat when her eyes took in
all of him.  He still stood behind the couch, his hands grasping the edge in
front of him.  The look in his eyes that of pure desire and lust, a look that
she saw once before, long ago in the eyes of another man.  Suddenly, fear rose
from deep inside her.  She took a step backwards, her whole body suddenly a
quivering mass. 

Nicolas could not take his eyes off
her; she was just too damn beautiful, too passionate and desirable!  She
managed to heat his passions by her presence alone! He slowly walked around the
couch in her direction and frowned when she stepped backward, with a shaking
hand warding him off.

“D … d … don’t please … stay away …”
He frowned, cursed, and then closed the distance between them in three long
strides.  She screamed when he reached her and he froze, noticing the fear in
her eyes.

“Samantha? What’s wrong? Why are you …
my God … you are scared of me!” He lifted his hand to pull her towards him, but
she managed to squeeze past him and ran to the door as if the devil were on her
heels.  Nicolas stood frozen. He was at a complete loss as to what just
happened. The look of terror in her eyes had cut him to the bone. He frowned,
turned and his eyes fell on the white couch, remembering the fervent kiss they
just shared, one she just as passionately returned at the end. 

Then
what the hell frightened her so much that she had to run away from him?

It
took nearly two hours and three cups of coffee before Samantha managed to get
her emotions under control.  She sighed and waived at the waiter to bring her
bill.  She had no idea where she was or even how she got there.  After paying
the bill she quickly went to the restroom and received a shock when she saw
herself in the mirror.  Her hair was windblown and her face pale with tear
streaks down her cheeks.

She never even realized that she had
cried – something she seemed to be doing a lot of lately!  She searched in her
bag for a stretch band and quickly pulled her hair back in a ponytail, then
smoothed some face powder on her face to cover the tear streaks.  With a light
rose lipstick on her full lips, she looked and felt much better. She pulled her
shoulders back, took a deep breath and walked out into the street.

Looking around she realized that she
was two blocks from Global Consulting and Co.  Briskly walking back to the
building she concentrated on tapping into her inner strength, the one thing she
had depended on for the past six years to motivate her to achieve everything
she did.

She walked into her father’s office
with brisk strides, but came to a halt when she noticed Nicolas sitting behind
the desk, working on his laptop.  He looked up, his gaze immediately
mesmerizing her, inducing her defense mechanism to rise in full force.

“What are you doing here?” 

His one black brow shot to his
hairline at her rude tone. Clearly she got her fear of him under control. 
Lazily he inclined back in his chair, looking at her down his straight
aristocratic nose.

“As you are very well aware, I am now
the main shareholder of this company – hence the big gun, so to speak.  This is
my office, have be …”

“Not yet it isn’t.  I have not said I
am accepting the shares or the position my father is trying to force on me.  No
court will accept such a ruling.  He couldn’t rule my life for the past six
years and he will not do so after his death!”

Nicolas’s expression turned violent,
he rose from his chair and stomped towards her, but she stood her ground.  Her
chin lifted proudly as she stubbornly glared right back at him.  He didn’t stop
until they were toe to toe.

“You would rather the company fall
into that weasel’s hands!”  He spat the words at her, barely holding onto his
temper. She had to force her legs not to move a step back.  She would not be
intimidated!  Anger she could deal with!

“It is not to say he will be the one
to buy all the shares.  They are not cheap and will cost him billions!”  At
which point Nicolas swung around, stomped two steps away and pulled his hands
through his hair.  Anything to keep from strangling her! He turned back to her,
pushing his hands in his pockets, fisting them in frustration.

“What do you know about Jason
Wieldman, Samantha?”  His voice was soft, controlled, but clearly goaded by
anger.

“That he is a shrewd businessman, and
owned a few companies…”  He snorted and his eyes turned even darker in his
anger.

“You clearly have no idea how much of
a threat he is to this company!  How he is quite capable of buying us all out! 
How he has done everything he could over the past ten years to destroy your
father and this company.  You … you were just the tip of the iceberg!” 

He noticed she went as pale as a
sheet, but was too angry to stop.  He stepped right up to her again, and
clasped her shoulders in an iron grip, shaking her.

“Yes, my dear … he knew very well what
it would do to your father when he took you to his bed … and you made it so
easy for him.  That, more than anything is what broke and totally devastated
your father!” 

He flung her away with loathing in his
eyes, but he was not finished.  He leaned forward and his breath was warm on
her face when he continued.

“You cried wolf when we found you, but
you went looking for it … I was there … you enticed him like a bitch in heat!”

The slap echoed through the office and
Samantha stared at the red mark flushing his cheek.  Her hand stung and she
struggled to draw air deep enough into her lungs.  She turned, but he snatched
her arm and pulled her hard against him, his eyes like burning embers, and his
voice hardly recognizable as he hissed at her.

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it?  Here is
a bit more truth for you.  Whatever you thought your father or mother did to
turn you into this empty shell of a woman, know that you did thrice as much to
them. His blue eyed girl, his pride and joy, the one he always bragged about … 
You. Broke. His. Heart.”

Her hand reached for his face again,
but he caught it in his.  “I took the first one, be warned the next time, I
will return the favor!”

They glared at each other, his anger
reverberating through his body, as tight as a string against hers.  Samantha
struggled to free herself from his grip on her shoulder and hand, but he
refused to let her go.  He dropped her hand to clasp both her shoulders again
and he pulled her up and tight against him, so she had no choice but to look
into his blazing eyes.