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Pressed by his daughter’s reference to his owning a second aparth ‘I had very good reasons for keeping that a secret Eva would have wanted er family place and I wanted to keep it for our retirement My motives weren’t entirely selfish either The current tenant is an elderly lady with a lease due for renewal I orried that the change of ownership would force her out’ ‘But you stayed silent about it when you had promised to disclose your assets

That al team,’ Gwenna pointed out uncomfortably

‘If I don’t look to my own interests, who else will?’ her father countered without reet the chance, you’ll do the best you can to ease our proble that conversation, Gwenna felt her stress level merely increase Her father’s airy lack of concern about his dishonesty had unnerved her When he’d stolen froe, it had not just been a case of ato a moment’s temptation His problems went deeper than that

There was a weakness in her father’s character, she acknowledged unhappily That could explain the woer et his history

‘We’ve arrived’ Delphine’s bright tones cut through Gwenna’s anxious reflections and shot her back to the present

E from the car, Gwenna stared in astonishment at the substantial property in front of her

Delphine shook out keys with a pronounced air of i front door ‘This has to be one of the best addresses in London’ Gwenna froze in theround in wonderment at the pillars and the elaborate staircase Fifty questions were on the tip of her tongue But she was too embarrassed to direct the suspicions the brunette already had about Gwenna’s precise relationship with her fabulously wealthy employer

‘It is a very large property, and don’t be , touch-pad electronic controls, an integrated sound syste security features,’ Delphine declared

The official tour began and stretched froht up through the floors above and a bewildering parade of vast eh-tech bathrooms

Delphine started to look a shade anxious at Gwenna’s continuing silence ‘TheNow let arden, which I believe is of special interest to you It’s large and sheltered and south-facing’ ‘Please excuse me for a few minutes…er, I need to call your boss’ Gwenna squeezed the words from her dry mouth and retreated into one of the lower rooelo had given her As she punched out the number on her mobile she blinked and shook her head several times

The minute she heard his voice she burst into speech ‘It’s Gwenna I’ave his PA a wave of disioia mia ’ ‘It’s just you said you’d sort out acco shown this house and I don’t understand It’s a stonking great enorelo spun round in his office chair to enjoy a view of the Manhattan skyline

‘All the properties that I use must enjoy three essentials—the maximum space, privacy and security available’ ‘Yes, but a house that must be worth millions is utterly insane in these circu in with asped in an appalled tone That was the sole explanation for such extravagant expenditure that made sense to her

Silence hu his even white teeth She azelle but she also had the diplo about him at all? Had not even thethe internet or checking out the gossip pages? He didn’t do coements

‘Naturally, I’ cool ‘I’oodness, no!’ Gwenna asserted at a much more cheerful pitch, quite i ‘We wouldn’t suit each other at all But that doesn’t explain the house on’t last five ether All this trouble and expense is so unnecessary’ Angelo’s eyes flashed tawny-gold ‘Perhaps you would like me to take you to some cheap hotel that hires out rooue She was shocked to realise that she was tre Honesty obviously didn’t pay with hiry and she knew that wasn’t a good idea She dared not say what she had al his of a house in Chelsea would not alter the nature of the sexual transaction he had offered her and if a cheap hotel got the wretched business over with quickly she would have been the last to complain False pride was not one of her problems