Defying The Billionaire's Command. Michelle Conder

the lovely redhead be there?’

      His grandfather frowned at his disparaging reference to his mistress. ‘Carly is a very nice young woman, Dare, she—’

      ‘Spare me your platitudes. I’m sure she’s wonderful.’

      ‘She is. And...yes, she’ll be at lunch tomorrow. Is that a problem?’

      ‘Not for me.’

      Benson nodded. ‘Then I hope you will also accept my hospitality and stay the night.’

      ‘I hadn’t planned to.’ What he’d planned was to find a hotel room and get some distance from the claustrophobic element of this enormous place, check the Dow Jones, catch up on work, but... His eyes drifted unconsciously to the door Carly Evans had just disappeared through. Practically it made more sense to be on site.

      ‘I’ll stay,’ he said gruffly.

      ‘Good.’ Benson stood up. ‘Then, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll see you in the morning. Oh, and, Dare...’ the old man stopped beside his chair ‘... I understand your concerns. I made grievous mistakes thirty-three years ago. Mistakes I want to rectify.’

      ‘Why now?’

      ‘I have my reasons, reasons I’ll share with you when we have more time. For now just know that I’m not going to let my foolish pride stand in the way again.’

      ‘Just remember that I’ll be watching you every step of the way,’ Dare said softly. ‘And if you do anything to my mother to upset her, I’ll ruin you.’

       CHAPTER THREE

      ‘YOU KNEW HE’D think that?’ Carly paused in the act of placing her stethoscope’s bell over the brachial artery in Benson’s upper arm.

      The Baron had the grace to look contrite. ‘Not until I saw the way he was looking at you after my phone call, and then...it was sort of flattering.’

      ‘Flattering?’ Carly inflated the cuff. ‘Flattering that your grandson thinks I’m your mistress?’

      One thirty over eighty. Better.

      She tore off the Velcro cuff more forcefully than she intended. ‘Only a man would think that,’ she griped. ‘But he thinks I’m a gold-digger as well.’

      ‘He’s a virile male, Carly, and you’re a beautiful young woman. His masculinity was dented, that’s all.’

      ‘Dented?’

      ‘That you would choose an old codger like me over a young buck like him.’

      Carly sighed. ‘And men think women are hard to understand. I don’t even know him!’

      ‘Doesn’t matter.’ He grimaced. ‘How’s the blood pressure?’

      ‘Still too high. You know, you don’t need this extra stress right now.’