"Take all the time you need, Miss Steele," he says.
"Do you mind if I record your answers?"
"After you"ve taken so much trouble to set up the recorder - you ask me now?"
I flush. He"s teasing meI hope. I blink at him, unsure what to say, and I think he takes pity on me because he relents. "No, I don"t mind."
"Did Kate, I mean, Miss Kavanagh, explain what the interview was for?"
"Yes. To appear in the graduation issue of the student newspaper as I shall be conferring the degrees at this year"s graduation ceremony."
Oh! This is news to me, and I"m temporarily pre-occupied by the thought that someone not much older than me - okay, maybe six years or so, and okay, mega successful, but still - is going to present me with my degree. I frown, dragging my wayward attention back to the task at hand.
"Good," I swallow nervously. "I have some questions, Mr. Grey." I smooth a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
"I thought you might," he says, deadpan. He"s laughing at me. My cheeks heat at the realization, and I sit up and square my shoulders in an attempt to look taller and more intimidating. Pressing the start b.u.t.ton on the recorder, I try to look professional.
"You"re very young to have ama.s.sed such an empire. To what do you owe your success?" I glance up at him. His smile is rueful, but he looks vaguely disappointed.
"Business is all about people, Miss Steele, and I"m very good at judging people. I know how they tick, what makes them flourish, what doesn"t, what inspires them, and how to incentivize them. I employ an exceptional team, and I reward them well." He pauses and fixes me with his gray stare. "My belief is to achieve success in any scheme one has to make oneself master of that scheme, know it inside and out, know every detail. I work hard, very hard to do that. I make decisions based on logic and facts. I have a natural gut instinct that can spot and nurture a good solid idea and good people. The bottom line is, it"s always down to good people."
"Maybe you"re just lucky." This isn"t on Kate"s list - but he"s so arrogant. His eyes flare momentarily in surprise.
"I don"t subscribe to luck or chance, Miss Steele. The harder I work the more luck I seem to have. It really is all about having the right people on your team and directing their energies accordingly. I think it was Harvey Firestone who said "the growth and develop-ment of people is the highest calling of leadership.""
"You sound like a control freak." The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them."Oh, I exercise control in all things, Miss Steele," he says without a trace of humor in his smile. I look at him, and he holds my gaze steadily, impa.s.sive. My heartbeat quickens, and my face flushes again.
Why does he have such an unnerving effect on meHis overwhelming good-looks maybeThe way his eyes blaze at meThe way he strokes his index finger against his lower lipI wish he"d stop doing that.
"Besides, immense power is acquired by a.s.suring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control things," he continues, his voice soft.
"Do you feel that you have immense power?" Control Freak.
"I employ over forty thousand people, Miss Steele. That gives me a certain sense of responsibility - power, if you will. If I were to decide I was no longer interested in the telecommunications business and sell up, twenty thousand people would struggle to make their mortgage payments after a month or so."
My mouth drops open. I am staggered by his lack of humility.
"Don"t you have a board to answer to?" I ask, disgusted.
"I own my company. I don"t have to answer to a board." He raises an eyebrow at me.
I flush. Of course, I would know this if I had done some research. But holy c.r.a.p, he"s so arrogant. I change tack.
"And do you have any interests outside your work?"
"I have varied interests, Miss Steele." A ghost of a smile touches his lips. "Very varied." And for some reason, I"m confounded and heated by his steady gaze. His eyes are alight with some wicked thought.
"But if you work so hard, what do you do to chill out?"
"Chill out?" He smiles, revealing perfect white teeth. I stop breathing. He really is beautiful. No one should be this good-looking.
"Well, to "chill out" as you put it - I sail, I fly, I indulge in various physical pursuits."
He shifts in his chair. "I"m a very wealthy man, Miss Steele, and I have expensive and absorbing hobbies."
I glance quickly at Kate"s questions, wanting to get off this subject.
"You invest in manufacturing. Why, specifically?" I ask. Why does he make me so uncomfortable?
"I like to build things. I like to know how things work: what makes things tick, how to construct and deconstruct. And I have a love of ships. What can I say?"
"That sounds like your heart talking rather than logic and facts."
His mouth quirks up, and he stares appraisingly at me.
"Possibly. Though there are people who"d say I don"t have a heart."
"Why would they say that?"
"Because they know me well." His lip curls in a wry smile.
"Would your friends say you"re easy to get to know?" And I regret the question as soon as I say it. It"s not on Kate"s list.
"I"m a very private person, Miss Steele. I go a long way to protect my privacy. I don"t often give interviews," he trails off.
"Why did you agree to do this one?"
"Because I"m a benefactor of the University, and for all intents and purposes, I couldn"t get Miss Kavanagh off my back. She badgered and badgered my PR people, and I admire that kind of tenacity."