Unwrapping the Playboy by Marie Ferrarella Page A

thought, recalling the title of an old science fiction movie he’d once caught on a cable channel.
    Leaning forward, Elizabeth extended her hand to him.
    Kullen wasn’t sure if she was waiting for him to shake it or kiss it. Exercising his free will, he chose the former.
    â€œI doubted if I had a choice,” he replied amiably. “I’ve never been summoned before.”
    The tight smile on her small, perfect lips never wavered. “I’m sure you have,” she contradicted knowingly. “You see, I knew your father.”
    â€œApart from that,” he amended.
    â€œPlease, sit,” she coaxed, one perfectly manicured hand patting the seat beside her.
    As he sat down, Kullen braced himself for absolutely anything.
    â€œIt’s a very nice palace you have here,” he quipped.
    She smiled magnanimously, allowing him the one parry. “It’s home.”
    No, Buckingham Palace is home, he thought. This amounts to an entire city.
    Sitting back, Elizabeth never took her eyes off him. Obviously, the woman subscribed to the theory that it was good to keep the enemy in your sights at all times.
    â€œI won’t waste your time, Mr. Manetti. I asked you here so that we could arrive at some kind of satisfactory arrangement.” Elizabeth inclined her stylishly coif-fured head whimsically. “A deal, I believe you might call it.”
    So this was an out-of-court negotiation. He hadn’t expected one so soon. He’d only been the attorney on record for a few days. The woman worked fast. Butsome thing was off. Kullen looked around. “Shouldn’t one of your lawyers be here for this?”
    The smile never reached her eyes. “I thought it better this way since the arrangement I’m proposing would be strictly between the two of us.”
    â€œYou and my client,” he asked, seeking to clarify just who she was referring to. He had an uneasy feeling that it wasn’t the two he cited.
    And he was right.
    The smile on Elizabeth’s lips turned positively reptilian to him.
    â€œNo, Mr. Manetti, between you and myself. You’re a bright young man with an equally bright future before you. I can make it better, infinitely better. I can supply you with connections you never dreamed possible, introduce you to a world beyond your wildest imagination.”
    In a nutshell, she was asking him to sell his soul. “And all I have to do is sell out my client,” he concluded, showing no emotion.
    She frowned slightly, then reined in her annoyance. The smile appeared more forced than before. “That’s such a harsh description. I don’t want you to sell out. I want you to make her see reason.” She gestured about, taking in not only the house but her vast holdings as well. “I can offer my grandson the world. She has nothing to compare with that.”
    His eyes met hers. “A mother’s love.”
    Elizabeth Dalton began to laugh, as if he was sharing a simpleminded joke with her. And then she stopped, her eyes widening as she looked at him, the truth dawningon her. “Oh, my God, you actually believe that, don’t you?”
    He wasn’t about to allow her ridicule to undermine him. Moreover, he began to see why Erik Dalton had been such an ass.
    â€œYes, I do.”
    Still seated, she drew herself up as if to cast a formidable shadow. “Then we have nothing else to talk about.”
    â€œIt doesn’t look that way, no,” he agreed, glad and relieved to be leaving this poisonous woman’s company. “I’d say it was a pleasure, Mrs. Dalton, but that same man who used to summon me also taught me not to lie.”
    With that, he turned his back on her and began to walk out of the room.
    â€œYou can’t win, you know,” Elizabeth called after him as he crossed the threshold.
    Kullen didn’t bother turning back around to face her. But he did toss off a reply as he continued on his way out of