They eyed each other across the desk. Owen wasn’t as strong as he liked people to think he was. He’d buckle. She knew it. Still, she applied a bit more pressure. ‘I’ll give you a chance. You keep saying no and I’ll send this to Dominic first. See what he makes of it. Personally, I don’t think he’ll be very impressed and more than likely furious with you for getting yourself into this predicament. My betting is he’ll take even more power away from you. That would be rather humiliating, wouldn’t it? I mean, at this rate you’ll end up as a stable lad, answering to someone else running the yard.’

The redness returned to his face. ‘You’re one evil bitch,’ he said. ‘When Harry first brought you home, I was convinced he had fallen on his feet with someone beautiful on the outside and the inside too. How wrong could I have been? You are rotten to the core.’

Elizabeth yawned uninterestedly. ‘Stick and stones, sticks and stones.’

‘Well, fuck you.’ Owen almost spat the words out.

‘I’d sooner you didn’t.’ She waggled her little finger at him. ‘I’m used to a real man.’

She hadn’t banked on his reaction and as he flew round the desk and grabbed her by the throat, sending the chair flying backwards, Elizabeth realized she’d gone too far. Jesus Christ! He was going to strangle her!

She grabbed at his wrists, trying to prise his hands away from her throat, while at the same time she writhed on the floor, twisting her body one way and the other, attempting to get away from him. As she twisted to the side, she brought her knee up swiftly and caught him straight in the side of the ribs. Owen let out a moan. She did it again. And again.

The pressure was released from her neck and she pushed him away. Owen rolled over, clutching his side and groaning. ‘I think you’ve broken my ribs.’

On her hands and knees, gasping for air, Elizabeth crawled to the other side of the office and sat on the floor, leaning back against the door. She held one hand to her sore neck. The bastard would have killed her if she hadn’t managed to catch him with her knee.

‘You ever do anything like that again,’ she spat, ‘then I swear to God I will kill you myself.’ She pulled the remote-control spy camera from her pocket. ‘I’ve got all that recorded.’

Owen, now sitting on the floor, propped against his desk, looked over at her. ‘Total fucking bitch,’ he muttered.

After a few moments, Elizabeth hauled herself to her feet. She felt light-headed and had to hold on to the desk to steady herself.