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“Call me naive. I trust people are telling me the truth.”
“Look where that got you,” he exclaimed. “I investigate anyone who steps into my home, especially if they come near my child. This should be no surprise to you. Did you then really think I will not investigate you and your honourable Mr Harris?”
“Aren’t you one to speak?” I shot back. “Didn’t you investigate your wife before you married her, then?"
“Ex-wife,” he said tightly. “Why are you so mad? You had to know I will look to anyone in close contact with my child.”
“But you didn’t just go into my social media profiles, did you? You dug deep.”
What did the man not know?
“Is this why you went to Portsmouth? It wasn’t for work, was it?”
He didn’t have to answer. His silence was more than enough.
“I was wondering what type of business a man like you would have there. You didn’t, obviously.” A weak laugh spilt out. “What did you do there? Go to their house? Talked to the people there?”
I couldn’t bear it. I didn’t want their legacy touched. Asking questions about my parents to their neighbours, friends, strangers… The gossip that would have started. Did he even say who he was, or did he pretend to be someone… a loan shark?
“I just wanted to find out some information—”
“You could have fucking asked me,” I yelled. I was so angry that I couldn’t control the trembling of my body. “You could have just asked me instead of going around snooping, asking people, bringing doubt into what people thought of them. I don’t want anyone to think ill of them. Don’t you understand that?” My voice cracked, letting me down when I needed strength to convey my message to him. “Because they were anything but unethical.” I stalked up to him and jabbed his chest. “If you had asked me, I would have told you they were fucking great people, AND it was none of your fucking business.”
I stalked out of his office and slammed the door.
Then I forgot I hadn’t told him, leaving my grand departure in vain. I had to retreat and open the door again. His eyes were still on the doors, still cold, still calculating.
“And the answer is NO!”
CHAPTER TEN
ANTONIO
What the fuck happened?
She acted like a ballerina, but she could summon up the strength of a superwoman. Well, a tiny one, maybe. I grimaced, watching the doors slam against the frame. She couldn’t do much harm, but I was sure the entire household heard the commotion.
It had been going so well. I had her eating out of my hand when I said how perfect she was for the job. Like in any negotiation, I had to coat on the positives first. Her anger came out of nowhere faster than any blush she had had on her skin. Mad because I had her looked into? That I knew of her financial predicament? Maybe she felt embarrassed. That I could imagine. But how else was I supposed to convince her? It was no secret she was attracted to me. The coy looks and the awkwardness when I was anywhere near her could only mean one thing. Miss Praan wanted me as badly as I wanted to bury my dick inside her.
But women needed something more than sex. That’s why I proposed the money. She definitely needed it. Sex and money, and you got the woman. No brainer.
So what? I had seen where she had grown up. I had spoken to people about the family. There was no better way than to find out what people thought than by asking a stranger. All I had heard was what a tragedy it had been, how kind her parents had been, what a sweet and adorable girl she was. Nothing but good about them. She should be happy about that. I would have told her everything they had said if she had asked.
It was a tad uncomfortable to see the personalised nameplate still hanging next to the front door with Vineeth, Eleanor, & Divya. Apparently, she had neither sold the house nor rented it out. It remained as it had been, with a cleaning lady taking care of it.
Which is why I knew she needed the money. She had a house to take care of in the UK, a couple of years left of a mortgage, rent here if she didn’t live with me, and her studies.
She was obviously making a mountain out of a molehill.
Patience was a virtue I had acquired over the years, which was exactly why I was good in my field. I just had to wait until she came to her senses.
I was getting weary of waiting. There was a slight twinge of annoyance building up. She wouldn’t even give me the opportunity to talk some sense into her. That spark of fire I had experienced faintly in the beginning was now igniting full-blown flames.
Every time I entered a room, she would leave. If I sat down for breakfast, she would get up. When the front door opened for me, almost simultaneously, I heard her bedroom door close. I swear to Jesus, it was like she was standing there waiting for me to come home so she could race to her room. Fucking adolescent. Her rage with me was so thick that Rosa, who had never faulted me before, was now giving me dirty looks. She had turned my fucking household staff against me.
Once, I was able to catch her in the hallway before she could escape. I trapped her against the wall with my hands on either side of her. I held her prisoner while trying to drill some sense into her.
“Why are you so mad? This is the best solution for us.”
