Kate had timidly inquired who exactly was in charge of that task the first time they’d returned to the room and she’d seen the tidy display all neatly lined up on the bathroom counter.

“Patty’s in charge of the house, the cleaning people, the yard men, the billing and deliveries. I don’t ask. That stuff all looks clean, right?” Dominic casually remarked. “Patty’s more of a stickler for hygiene than anyone. She uses organic everything so we’re safe there. You can eat off the floor, she always proudly tells me. So I think the toys are equally wholesome.”

A lifted brow. “Wholesome?”

He grinned. “And yet your qualms never last for long, do they, baby?”

“You’re shamefully good at corrupting me,” she murmured.

“It’s not corruption if you’re having fun,” he drawled lazily. “And I’ll always make sure you’re having fun.” He tipped his head. “So pick out something.”

Her question answered with Dominic’s habitual disregard for the duties of his staff, Kate followed his suggestion and made a selection. He might not know how the toys came to be arranged and organized so systematically in the bathroom, but he certainly knew how to use them.

The next day, when Kate was discussing a recipe with Patty, he took the opportunity to shut himself in his office and give Justin a call.

“I may hang up abruptly if Katherine walks in,” Dominic warned. “Have you found anything?”

“When money’s no object it’s not a problem.”

“Good. Where?”

“Upper Belgrave Street. A nice, two-bedroom flat. Five and a half mil.”

“It’s settled?”

“Someone in your office here will sign the papers this afternoon. And the account for Amanda has been set up.”

“Good. Roscoe said he’d take care of it. You’re sure Amanda doesn’t mind helping?”

“She’s in shopping heaven as we speak.”

“Give her a kiss from me. Although tell Amanda if anything needs painting or new carpeting has to be installed, it has to be environmentally responsible, no chemicals, no toxicity. Same with the furniture. All natural finishes, fabrics. Katherine’s not a large woman. She can’t absorb the same quantities of toxins as someone my size.”

“Sounds as though you’d like Katherine wrapped in cotton wool and put in a glass box.”

“If only I could,” Dominic said drily. “So,” he briskly added, “can you have this done by Saturday? We fly in either late Saturday night or Sunday.”

There was always only one answer for Dominic Knight. “Sure, no problem,” Justin said. “We’ll have it ready.”

“Thanks,” Dominic said. “We’ll see you this weekend. By the way, we haven’t met. You’re just a magnanimous manager from CX Capital helping out a new contractor. You can cover your ass on that, right?”

“Not a problem. I’m a little like you, Nick. I make my own rules.”

Dominic laughed. “Glad to hear it. Ciao.”

Then he made a quick call to Leo.

“I was wondering when I’d hear from you,” Leo remarked.

“Life’s busy when you’re on vacation,” Dominic said, the smile in his voice palpable.

“Sounds like it. Everything’s going well then?”

“Yes, very. We fly out Saturday though, Sunday at the latest. I’d prefer Saturday. We’ll firm up the departure time later. And tell Sese I’m going to need him in London. I’m hoping to talk Katherine into having him serve as her live-in cook. That way there’s someone on the inside as well as your crews outside. A little extra security. And Yash better come along too. Just in case.”

“I’ll tell them. Sese’s at his relatives in the Central Valley, Yash is attending some seminar. I’ll see that they’re back by Friday night.”

“How did things go with Tan?”

“Everything went well. They’re all gone.”

“You’re not saying Gora’s goon squad flew back to Bucharest?”

“No.”

“No repercussions?”

“Only in Bucharest I expect. It should help your negotiations,” Leo added.

“Maybe. Gora will run out of guns before he runs out of muscle. But it might make him question his tactics. Tan and his relatives are fine?”

“Everyone’s fine.”

“I don’t suppose—”

“You don’t want to know. I don’t want to know. Tan sees it as doing you a favor and it’s not as though Gora’s men had flown in from Bucharest for a vacation.”

“Right. Thanks for the update. Gotta go.” He set down the phone and smiled at Kate, who was standing in the doorway of his office. “I was talking to Leo. I think we’ll leave on Saturday, unless it matters to you. Did you get the recipe you wanted?”

Kate lifted a recipe card she was holding.

“Come here. Show me. Is it something I’d like?”

“As if you care about cooking,” Kate said with a smile, moving toward him.

“Hey, I care about what you care about.” He swung his chair a half turn and lifted his arms as she approached. “Are you going to cook for me?” He drew her down on his lap.

“Maybe.” She gave him a smile. “It’s your rice pudding.”

“Score.” He lightly kissed her cheek. “I’ll even help with that. Although,” he added, keeping his voice deliberately neutral, “I was thinking you might like Sese to stay with you and cook. You really don’t know your way around a kitchen. You like to work long hours, or at least you did in Amsterdam, and Singapore too, according to Johnny Chen. When you’re pushing yourself that hard, you need nourishing meals. And Sese will stay out of your way.”