Iris Johansen Read Free Page B

tension and turmoil of the evening that was making her so stupidly imaginative.
    “Very nice,” Santine said silkily, his gaze moving over her almost caressingly. “Not beautiful, but definitely arresting. Don’t you think so, Pat?” He half leaned, half sat on the corner of the desk.
    “She’s lovely,” the brown-haired man agreed politely.
    Janna felt as if she were on an auction block, as Santine continued to appraise her with an intimacy that caused the color to rise to her cheeks. She firmly brushed away the unusual shyness that threatened to overcome her. “Mr. Santine, I’m very sorry to have had to approach you in this manner,” she said quietly, her eyes fixed earnestly on his face. “I’ve been trying to arrange an appointment with you for over two weeks. I was getting desperate, or I’d never have resorted to invading your privacy. My name is Janna Cannon.”
    Santine’s lips curved in a mocking smile. “By all means, let us observe the amenities,” he said softly, his gaze running keenly over each feature of her face, so that she felt he must be cataloguing them. “This is my assistant, Pat Dawson, and you obviously are well aware of who I am. As for your rather unusual approach, I find it just as intriguing as you obviously meant me to. I enjoy aggression on the part of the woman occasionally. You might remember that.”
    Janna gazed at him in puzzlement. “Aggression? I didn’t mean to appear aggressive, Mr. Santine,” she said earnestly. “It’s just that time is running out, and it was terribly important that I see you before our deadline is reached. They’ll be taking over in two weeks, and we can’t allow that to happen.”
    “A takeover?” Santine drawled, his eyes narrowing. “So you’re not working on your own initiative.” His lips curved wryly. “You’ve been sent to persuade me to save your company from a takeover.” His gaze once more traveled over her from head to toe with that burning intimacy. “Well, I can’t say that I haven’t been offered similar inducements before, but this time I might be tempted to agree. You’re quite an unusual type, Janna Cannon.”
    Janna’s eyes widened in surprise as she finally realized what he thought her. “I think there’s some misunderstanding,” she said softly. “I haven’t come to offer you what you seem to think, Mr. Santine. In fact I haven’t come to offer you anything at all. I’m here to ask you to contribute a rather large tract of property you own to a very good cause.”
    There was an odd flicker in the depths of Santine’s eyes. “You’re rather an unconventional charity canvasser, Miss Cannon,” he said softly. “But I must admit you’ve caught my interest. What property am I to deed to your splendid cause?”
    “You own eighteen hundred acres about eighty miles southwest of Los Angeles,” Janna replied, herbrown eyes grave. “We need that property desperately, Mr. Santine.”
    “Pat?” Santine fired at his assistant, without taking his eyes off Janna.
    “She must be referring to the tract owned by your Camino Real Estate subsidiary,” Dawson supplied briskly. “It’s been scheduled for a commercial development early next year.” He paused. “You recently turned down an offer in the area of two million dollars for it.”
    Janna could feel a sinking sensation in her stomach. Though she realized that California real estate was exorbitantly expensive, she’d had no idea that this particular property was so valuable.
    Santine darted an amused glance at Dawson. “And you thought Diane was expensive,” he murmured wryly. His gaze returned to Janna with a lingering amusement. “I’m curious to know why you think I’d turn over a valuable piece of real estate to you out of the goodness of my heart. I hadn’t realized that I’d acquired the reputation of being quite such a philanthropist.”
    There was a sound from Dawson that was halfway between a snort and a delicate cough. “Sorry,” he