Laurella was fastening the strap on her shoes when someone knocked. She assumed it was Calum. With a resigned sigh, she looked through the peephole then opened the door.

“Ready?” Calum asked, leisurely raking his gaze over her.

When his eyes returned to hers, she set her jaw. “Have you quite finished?”

He leaned in until his face was much closer than she would have liked, but there was no chance of her stepping away. That would signal defeat. If Calum Brook wanted to try to browbeat her, he could go right ahead. She was perfectly capable of standing her ground.

“I haven’t even started,” he said, his eyes boring into hers.

An irritated sound fell from her lips. She was tired, overwrought, and hungry. She didn’t need this shit. “Why are you so combative? Is it because I intimidate you?”

Calum laughed, short and sharp. “You intimidate me? Sweetheart, keep dreaming.”

“Well, there must be some reason you constantly want to pick a fight.”

“Yeah, there is.” He raked over her with a derogatory eye sweep. “I don’t like you, but as I’m fucking stuck with you—at least for now—I might as well amuse myself in the meantime.”

And with that, he walked away, hands buried in his pockets, humming softly to himself.

“Stronzo,” she muttered.

“I heard that,” he said, still strolling down the hallway. “I’ve been called worse. Now, move your ass, Laurella. We have work to do.”

She considered ignoring him, going back inside her room, and slamming the door. But as much as it stuck in her throat to admit it, he did have a point. They should discuss the best approach to take at the conference. Zane was counting on them to act professionally, to present a united front and, hopefully, impress one or two potential clients. If they spent the next day shooting daggers at each other and constantly arguing and backbiting, they wouldn’t achieve their aims.

She closed her door with a quiet click and followed him. She’d keep the conversation focused on work. If he strayed onto other subjects or made a nasty comment or observation, she would simply ignore him and draw the conversation right back to Necron.

She caught up with him by the bank of elevators. He paid her no attention as he pressed the call button. When the doors opened, Laurella breathed a sigh of relief. Two other people were inside. At least they wouldn’t be alone. The close confines of an elevator wasn’t where she needed to spend time with Calum Brook—although the small space would make it harder for him to avoid a kick in the balls. Her lips twitched. Now, there was a fantasy she’d enjoy playing over and over in her mind.

“Something amusing?” he said, stepping inside.

She smiled sweetly. “Private joke.”

Neither said anything further as the elevator traveled to the first floor. When the doors opened onto the busy lobby, Calum strode forward, his long legs making it easy to leave Laurella trailing behind. Damn the man.

They arrived at the podium in front of the hotel restaurant, and Calum gave his name. Only then did she realize he’d already made a reservation for two.

“And if I’d changed my mind?” she asked, irked by his presumptuousness.

He pinned her with his gaze. “Then I’d have found alternative company. Someone a little… warmer.” He followed the host to their table, tossing, “I knew you wouldn’t change your mind, though,” over his shoulder.

Laurella ignored his throwaway comment and held her tongue until they were seated. She took the menu from the host with a bright smile, but when he moved away, her smile fell.

“You think you’ve got me all figured out, don’t you?”

Calum didn’t even show her the courtesy of looking up. “Yep.”

“Enlighten me, then.”

He placed his menu on the table, his eyes sliding to hers. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re a typical woman who’s on the rise in her career, who thinks that to be successful, you have to win at all costs, and that includes selling your colleagues down the river.”

Laurella widened her eyes. “Have you any idea how offensive that is?”

He shrugged. “The truth hurts, I find.”

Laurella sucked in a deep breath and held it, because if she spoke right then, professional was the last thing she’d be. Luckily, the waiter chose that moment to appear. She quickly scanned the menu and picked the chicken salad. Calum ordered a large steak—bloody. What a surprise.

“It’s so strange,” she said after the waiter had retreated. She arranged the napkin in her lap then rested her linked hands on the table. “It’s only you I have issues with. At my last company, I didn’t have any problems with my male colleagues.”

“That’s not what I heard.”

Laurella paused for a beat, and then her heart began to race so fast she feared it would explode through her chest, like a scene in a horror movie. Keep cool. He’s fishing. Don’t bite.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Two words, sweetheart. Alberto Vorino.”

Laurella’s insides collapsed. Her legs trembled, luckily hidden by the table, and a tightness spread across her chest. Oh God. She couldn’t breathe. Her vision blurred, and white spots danced in front of her eyes as memories she’d worked hard to forget crashed through the fortress she’d erected in her mind. Vorino. A name she hadn’t heard in four years. A man she should have been able to trust who had assaulted her, violated her body, crushed her soul.

She fisted her hands into her napkin to stop them shaking and forced herself to meet Calum’s intense gaze. He couldn’t know. Only two people other than her knew the truth about what Vorino had done to her.

Don’t give anything away. Make him tell you what he means.

She feigned a bored stare, although her abdomen twisted with fear, and a trickle of sweat eased its way between her breasts. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” Her voice was strained, a hint of a tremor in her tone. She prayed he didn’t know her well enough to pick up on it.

“Really?” Calum raised his eyebrows. “Because from what I was told, you wanted a promotion, and Alberto Vorino made it clear he didn’t think you were ready. Unfortunately for poor Alberto, he wasn’t aware that your daddy and the CEO of the company, were bosom pals. Next thing Alberto knows, he’s out on his ear, and you’ve settled your fine ass into his corner office.” He paused as the waiter poured their wine. When they were alone once more, he lifted his glass to his lips. “This is a small industry, Laurella. People talk. But your daddy isn’t going to help you here. If you think for one minute I’ll be as easy to get rid of, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Laurella almost slumped in her chair. Thank God. He only knew Vorino’s sorry excuse of a tale, because the man could hardly tell the truth. Her secret was safe. She could go back to how things were, put the memories back in the drawer, and make sure they were buried beneath all the good things that had happened since then. She wasn’t that girl anymore. She didn’t have to live in fear.

With a slightly amused expression, she rubbed her fingertips over her mouth. “As you’ve already made up your mind about what happened, there’s no point staying on this subject.” She drank a larger than advisable mouthful of wine.

He frowned. “You’re saying the version I was told isn’t true?”

Her pulse jumped. She’d shown too much of her hand. Close him down, Laurella. Right now.

“I’m saying that I think we should focus on the here and now. How do you want to handle tomorrow?”

A puzzled expression drifted across his face, and for the briefest of moments, his eyes softened. He quickly recovered, though, his trademark sneer making a comeback. “Seeing as you’re the one with all the answers, you tell me.”

Relief flooded through her. He’d backed off. Her heart rate slowly returned to normal, and the burning sensation in her lungs receded.

“Well, one thing’s for sure,” she said, leaning back to allow the server to put her plate down. “We have to pretend to get along.”

“Wrong Brook brother for that.” Calum placed his hand over his wineglass as the server went to fill it up. “Nate, my younger brother, is the actor in our family.”

“How many brothers do you have?” The question slipped out. She was suddenly curious as to whether the whole family shared the same enormous chip on their shoulder that Calum carried on his.

“Three,” he said, surprising her with his willingness to share. “One older, one younger, and a twin.”

“You’re a twin?”

He nodded and proceeded to slice into his steak. The juices oozed out, seeping into his mashed potato. Laurella eyed his fork, watching it travel to his mouth. While he concentrated on his food, she took the opportunity to appraise him. She couldn’t argue—he was very easy on the eyes. Such a shame. So beautiful on the outside yet so ugly on the inside. Fortunately, he was more interested in eating than in her surreptitious appraisal.

“What does he do?” she asked, keen to keep the conversation going, hoping that Calum would drop the bitter sarcasm he always spoke to her with. It’d be nice to have a few minutes of peace and relaxation, even if it wouldn’t last.

“He’s a cop. NYPD.”

“Tough job,” she said.

His chin lifted. “You have no idea,” he said, but not in a horrible way, just in a way that suggested only someone close to a cop would understand the half of it.

“I’m sure,” she said, tucking into her dinner as her appetite returned.

“So, we have to get along, huh?” he asked, bringing the conversation back to her earlier statement. He stared at her over the rim of his glass. “I guess I could give it a go for one day. Might call Nate tonight and get some tips.”

Laurella laughed. She held up her glass, surprised when he clinked his against hers. “To Necron’s success.”

“To success,” he said, which made Laurella wonder what he’d meant by leaving out the name of the company. Necron’s success… or his own in getting rid of her?

They finished the rest of their dinner, their discussions centering on the strategy they’d adopt the following day. As their dessert plates were being taken away, a tall, willowy woman with waist-length straight red hair appeared tableside.

“Calum Brook,” she said. “I thought it was you.”

“Vonny.” He rose from his chair to give the woman a more than friendly peck on the lips. “I didn’t expect to see you here. You look great.”

“So do you. Handsome as ever.” She set her gaze on Laurella then. “You’re a lucky girl, but enjoy him while you can. He’s almost impossible to pin down for long.”

“Oh, we’re not together.” Laurella almost fell over the words in her haste to spill them. “I’m a work colleague.”

“So was I,” Vonny replied with an exaggerated wink. “Never stopped me.”

A smile tugged at Calum’s lips. Laurella’s face heated. “I assure you, it’s not the same at all,” she said in a curt, no-nonsense tone.

Vonny shrugged then seemed to lose interest. She turned her attention back to Calum. “What are you doing in Chicago?”

“Conference. Zane’s got big plans for Necron. Hence, he’s expanded the workforce.” He cocked his head in Laurella’s direction. “Brought in a big-shot marketing expert from a global player.”

The way he spoke about her as if she wasn’t there sent a loud message that the truce was over. The derision in his tone didn’t seem to have been missed by Vonny, who looked at Calum, then Laurella, then back at Calum.

“Well, someone has to hold the sales department to account,” Laurella said in a sickly-sweet tone.

“And someone has to bring home the bacon,” Calum hit back. “If we left it to marketing, we’d have a nice logo and some half-assed advertising and nothing in the bank.”

Vonny threw back her head and laughed. “Still a renegade, I see, Calum.” She gripped his tie then let it slip through her fingers. “What are you doing later? I’m free for the evening if you are.”

His eyes darkened with desire. Laurella shifted uncomfortably as she observed what was clearly two lovers—or at the very least, former lovers—having a silent conversation. Then Calum seemed to make up his mind. He picked up his cell, slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket, and inserted his middle finger into Vonny’s ample cleavage, using her bra as leverage to tug her toward him.

“Looks like I’m doing you.” He bent his dark head and captured Vonny’s mouth, but his eyes were on Laurella rather than his soon-to-be bedfellow. Transfixed, she tried to avert her gaze but found the simple action impossible.

And then, as quickly as the kiss had started, Calum drew back. He scrawled his signature on the check, snaked an arm around Vonny’s waist, and walked away, throwing a casual, “Dinner’s on me,” over his shoulder before he disappeared from the restaurant.

Laurella sat alone for a few minutes, quietly fuming. She barely acknowledged the waiter, who’d returned to collect the check. When Calum had spoken about his family, she’d dared to hope—for one stupid, unbelievable moment—that they might have had some sort of a breakthrough and maybe, just maybe, he’d stop looking at her as the enemy and see her as an equal. But no, he’d simply lured her in and then, at the first opportunity, turned his bitter, evil tongue on her once more—the very tongue that he would no doubt be using in a different way on Vonny in the next few minutes.

A tightness stole across Laurella’s chest, almost as if she were wearing a sports bra two sizes too small. She didn’t want to think about Calum Brook and his tongue. She wanted to go home. And not to New York. To Italy. His mention of Vorino had stirred up all sorts of horrifying memories, and she craved the chance to curl up in Papa’s arms and have him make it all go away, just as he had four years earlier.

She trudged to her hotel room, engulfed in loneliness—and then she gave herself a good shake. Get a grip, Laurella. One stray comment from Calum Brook should not send her careening back to a time in her life she’d worked hard to leave behind. She was a different person now, more worldly-wise in the art of life—and business—which was why the likes of Calum could go fuck himself if he thought for one moment his bully-boy tactics would scare her off.

Still, she had an urge to touch base with home. She picked up her cell to call Caterina then remembered Italy was seven hours ahead. She glanced at her watch. Ten in the evening. In another hour or so, her sister would be up. She’d call then. In the meantime, she’d go for a soak in the bath and forget all about Calum ‘Evil Bastard’ Brook.

An hour later, with her skin wrinkled and pruned, Laurella finally got out of the bath. She swaddled herself in a huge towel and trudged into the bedroom. She glanced at the clock beside the bed. She had a good chance of catching Caterina if she called right then. She dialed the number and crossed her fingers.

After three rings, her sister answered. “Ella,” Caterina said, using the term she’d always used for her older sister from when she was a baby and couldn’t say Laurella’s full name. “Mia cara, how lovely to hear from you.”

“It’s not too early, is it?” Laurella asked.

“Not at all. The children are still asleep, so I’m getting a head start on packing for school.”

Despite her earlier resolve, self-pity made a roaring return at the mention of her two nieces. God, she missed home. Her brothers, her sisters. Mama and Papa. The warmth of being in the bosom of her loving family. Hot tears scorched the back of her eyes, and her throat burned. “I’ve made a terrible mistake, Caterina,” she blurted. “I should never have come here.”

“Whatever do you mean?” her sister said.

Laurella could almost picture Caterina’s frown, her eyebrows drawn low over her dark-chocolate eyes. “I hate it. I hate New York, I hate the job, and I hate Calum Brook.”

“Slow down,” Caterina soothed, her soft tone like dabbing aloe vera on a nasty burn. “Tell me from the beginning.”

Laurella briefly recapped the last few weeks since Calum had returned to work. How she’d loved her first six weeks, and then he’d blown in and done everything possible to make her life a misery. She told Caterina the vile things he’d said, how he’d made it clear he would have her out of Necron the first chance he got. She even mentioned how he’d kissed that woman, while his eyes had mocked her as he’d met her startled gaze.

After she’d finished, she lay back on the bed, closed her eyes, and waited for her sister’s advice.

“Well,” Caterina said. “Sounds like someone’s got a crush on my rather beautiful and talented sister.”

Laurella frowned. “You mean Calum?”

“Who else?”

“Oh no. You’re wrong. He hates me. You can see it in his eyes every time he looks down his nose at me. He takes every opportunity to sneer, to be mean and cruel.”

“Hmmm. Reminds me of when we were at school and Diego Conti used to pick on you by putting slugs in your sandwich and telling everyone you were a witch just because you had black hair. Yet the truth of it was he adored you, but because you were too busy studying to notice him, that’s how he courted your attention.”

“Ah, Diego,” Laurella said with fondness. “I wonder what happened to him?”

“Last I heard, he ran away to try to fix his broken heart over you, got married, had four kids, and put on a hundred pounds.”

Laurella laughed. “I knew you’d cheer me up. But you’re wrong about Calum. The only person that man has a crush on is himself.”

Caterina snorted a laugh. “Honestly, bella, don’t let him get to you. For years, you sacrificed everything to study, to work hard, to get your break. You always dreamed of getting into a company that was about to take off so you could be part of driving the growth. Don’t let this stronzo take all that away.”

“That’s what I keep calling him. He says he’s been called worse.”

Caterina chuckled. “From what you’ve said, I can believe it. Look, keep your head down, do your job, and if things do get out of hand, then speak to the owner.”

“Who happens to be Calum’s best friend.”

“Merda. It’s almost incestuous.”

Laurella smiled. “I have to go. It’s late here, and I’ve an early start tomorrow. Give the kids a kiss from me, and say hello to Papa and Mama when you see them later.”

“I will. Love you, Ella.”

“Love you, too.”

Laurella hung up. Even though her sister hadn’t offered any earth-shattering advice, just hearing her voice had bolstered Laurella’s spirits. She could handle Calum Brook. From now on, she’d be polite, professional, and refuse to rise to his gibes. She brushed out her hair, got dressed for bed and, after setting the alarm on her cell for six the next morning, snuggled under the sheets.

Laurella drifted off to sleep but was awoken sometime later by soft moans that bled through the wall, gradually growing in volume. Her eyes sprang open.

Oh no. How much shittier could her night get? Mortified, she grabbed her pillow and slammed it over her ears to try to drown out the increasing ecstasy from next door. Vonny was not to be silenced. But from Calum? Not a sound. No groaning, no panting—nothing.

She grabbed a blanket and stomped into the living area of her suite. After a mere ten minutes, the hard sofa gave her terrible backache. Dammit. She had no choice but to go back to bed.

She hadn’t been there long when the sounds on the other side of the wall started up again. Vonny screamed Calum’s name, and Laurella tightened her hands into fists, heat flushing through her body. She pulled the covers over her head and squeezed her eyes closed. As she lay alone in the dark, though, it wasn’t the sexual noises from next door that kept her awake. The quickening heartbeat, the dry throat, and the tugging sensation in her gut led her to one conclusion: she was envious of the woman on the other side of the wall.