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He started to step aside so she could pass, but at the lastshe was okay He moved forward, reached out, clasped her elbow

“Get your hands off me”

She said it quietly, cal venom in it shocked hi her elbow He hadn’t thought it possible but she paled even further

“Don’t ever touch ain,” she said stridently, as she quickly picked a path around the scattered forgotten furniture She scra it open Seconds later he heard the elevator pause, open and close again

He sat down on the nearest chair, releasing a puff of dust He’d only been trying to be a gentleman when she was clearly in distress It was obvious that whatever attraction he’d felt earlier was not reciprocated She was cold, irritating, dictatorial Nothing but a co the Fiori Cascade into the hotel it was meant to be

But he couldn’t do that She was good at what she did, he could tell He’d promised her no one would lose their jobs That had included her

And Luca Fiori was a man of his word

When he went back to the administration offices, her door was closed He knocked, then opened it

It was like the scene upstairs had never happened Her suit was straight, brushed of any dust Her color was back, enhanced by fresh lipstick and her hair was tidied, even more severely pinned in place, if that were possible

The sting of the insult had worn away and he’d been left with the very ee that for some unknown reason, Mari was afraid of him

“I wanted to ht”

She looked up fro and pasted on what he was rapidly co to understand was her face-the-public smile “I’h” She looked back down at her paper and began writing again

He wrinkled his brow The woman before him was cool, assured, in control A direct contrast to the wolued the mo her feelings, who happened to have slipped and let him witness a weak moment

He should nod and walk away It was none of his business But then he remembered the stark look of nakedness he’d seen on her face when he’d spoken of the antiques She’d looked like a wonore that, even if he wanted to If he let this go now, it would stand between theether It would be far better to get it out in the open Move on

“Do you want to talk about it, Mari?”

With a sigh she put down the pen, placed her hands flat on her desk and crossed her legs “Talk about what, Luca?”

“About what happened in the attic”

She looked away “No, I don’t”