Sarah Morgan - The Twelve Nights of Christmas

‘Your face is very revealing, so don’t even think of telling me you have no idea what’s going on.’ The menacing chill in his voice confirmed just how much trouble she was in and she felt the colour drain out of her cheeks as he turned up the pressure.

‘I’ve been set up.’

A dangerous glint shone in his eyes. ‘I’m listening.’

He didn’t believe her. ‘Carlos gave me instructions to sleep here tonight—’ Evie clutched at the silk throw, her mind racing forward with possible scenarios, all of which sickened her. No matter what she said, Rio Zaccarelli wasn’t going to believe that she had nothing to do with this. ‘I was really, really stupid—what are they going to do with that photograph?’

For a moment he didn’t answer. He simply stared at her, as if he were making a decision about something. A slight frown touched his brows and he strolled around her, looking at her from the front, the back and the sides. When he finally spoke, his voice was hard. ‘They’re going to publish it. By tomorrow, that photograph will be plastered all over the Internet and the newspapers.’

The bodyguard cleared his throat. ‘Boss—’

Rio turned on him and said something in Italian that silenced the other man immediately.

Evie felt faint with horror. ‘What?’ That was by far the worst scenario on her list and she gave a low moan of horror as she contemplated exactly what that would mean. ‘I thought maybe they’d just use it to blackmail you or something—’

‘Is that what they told you?’ His tone was dangerously soft. ‘Is that what you agreed?’

‘No! I didn’t agree anything. I was thinking aloud—’ Flustered, realising that she was digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole, Evie sank her hand into her hair, trying to think straight so that she could be more articulate. ‘What I mean is, at least if it’s blackmail they could be persuaded not to publish it. Of all the things they could do with that photo, publishing it would be the worst. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that would be? I’d never be able to go anywhere ever again.’

‘ Embarrassing? Do you think I care about being embarrassed? ‘ The lethal cocktail of physical height and powerful personality left her shaking and intimidated but all those emotions were eclipsed by the prospect of being exposed physically to the mocking eyes of the world.

‘No, you probably don’t care—’ Evie’s voice rose ‘—because you’re not the one who was lying there naked with your bottom on full view! And stop trying to scare me! This whole thing is bad enough without having to wonder whether you’re going to explode any minute.’ She covered her face with her free hand—the other was still clutching the throw, holding it in place. ‘Oh, my God—if that photo goes in the papers—everyone I know will see it—Grandpa will see it—he’ll be mortified—’ Melting with embarrassment, she looked at him helplessly. ‘You have to do something. You have to stop it. You’re completely loaded—can’t you pay them or something? Do whatever it is they want you to do.’ The thought of being seen naked in public was the most hideous thing that had ever happened to her. Worse than being demoted. Worse than losing her job. Worse than being dumped by Jeff.

Evie cringed with horror as she tried to work out what angle the flash had come from and remember exactly how she’d been lying.

It took her right back to the nightmare days of hiding in the corner of the girls’ changing rooms trying to wriggle into her gym kit with no one noticing.

‘If you genuinely care, then perhaps you should have thought of the consequences before you agreed to lie on the bed.’

Evie ground her teeth. ‘I lay on the bed because I didn’t have anywhere else to lie, OK? I told you—I lost my flat. I was in a fix and when Carlos made that offer—’ she licked her lips ‘—it just seemed too good to be true. Turned out it was too good to be true. Look, it doesn’t really matter whether you believe me or not. What’s important is stopping that photograph. Please pay them off.’

His gaze was steady. ‘They don’t want money.’

‘Then what do they want?’

He turned away from her but not before she’d seen the dark shadow flicker across his face. ‘They want to make my life…difficult.’

‘What about my life?’

‘They’re not interested in you. You’ve played your part. You’re expendable. I’m sure you can find some lucrative way to use your five minutes of fame.’

‘Do you honestly think I want to be famous for the size of my bottom?’

‘If you are genuinely distressed about the idea of being pictured, why did you agree to this?’

‘Are you thick or something? I didn’t agree to it! ’

There was a crashing sound as the door to the suite burst open behind him and three uniformed hotel security men pounded into the room, horribly out of breath.

Evie suddenly wished she could vanish into thin air.

Rio took a slow, deliberate look at the watch on his wrist. ‘I have been in this hotel for seventeen minutes,’ he said in an icy tone, ‘and no one has challenged me. That is sixteen and a half minutes too long. The security code for the Penthouse hasn’t been changed since the last time I stayed here as a guest, which is presumably how a complete stranger managed to access the suite. The security camera at the rear entrance is pointed away from the street. A journalist managed to get access to my suite. Is this how you protect the guests in your care?’

Evie watched as Arnold’s forehead grew shiny with sweat. The security chief was one of the few people who had been kind to her since she’d arrived in London and she felt a tiny flame of anger warm her insides as she saw him squirm.

‘We didn’t know you were arriving in the middle of the night, sir. We were expecting you later this morning and—’ His jaw dropped as he saw Evie. ‘ Evie? What are you doing in the Penthouse?’

Evie tightened her grip on the silk bedspread. ‘I had nowhere to sleep last night, Arnold—’

Rio’s eyes narrowed. ‘You know this woman?’

‘Of course. Her name is Evie Anderson.’ Arnold’s expression softened. ‘She works here as a receptionist—I mean, a member of the housekeeping staff.’

Evie was just beginning to hope that Arnold might vouch for her integrity when the door to the Penthouse opened again and a portly woman in her fifties arrived, breathless and flustered. It was obvious that she’d dressed in a hurry and her skirt was on back to front and the buttons on her shirt unaligned. Clearly woken from sleep, one half of her hair was flattened to her head and the other was in wild disarray.

Evie groaned in horror. No. How had Tina found out?

‘Mr Zaccarelli—we were expecting you much later to-day—I’m so sorry no one was here to greet you—’ Oozing deference, the woman’s discomfiture was almost painful to watch. ‘I’m Tina Hunter, Director of Guest Relations. We’re going to do anything in our power to make sure your stay here is memorable.’

Tina’s eyes widened with horror as she turned her head and saw Evie.

‘Evelyn? What do you think you’re doing?’ She turned back to Rio, squirming with mortification. ‘I’m so sorry. She’s given us nothing but trouble, that girl—thinks she’s better than the rest of us. It’s my fault for giving her a second chance, but that’s me all over. I’ve always been a soft touch. Evelyn, I want you to collect your things and go.’

Shocked by the injustice, Evie stared at her. ‘You haven’t even asked for my side of the story.’

Tina’s cheeks turned scarlet. ‘You’re naked in a guest’s bedroom. That’s enough for me. Let me just say that I find it incredibly tacky that you would try and force yourself on a billionaire.’