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His remark brought a smile. “I’m the one they’ve questioned, Alejandro, not you.”
He leaned back as the waiter served their lunch, and waited for him to leave. “It could have been a model’s boyfriend who didn’t like Campos’s photos.”
She raised her fingertip to her lips. “Don’t give the police any ideas they don’t already have and implicate yourself.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the others in the restaurant. No one seemed out of place. “We aren’t being watched.”
She shrugged. Just because they didn’t see anyone, didn’t mean someone wasn’t there.
Alejandro took Ana to an American comedy that was so silly they laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks. She had to use the restroom to refresh her eyeliner and fluffed her black wig. She smiled as she rejoined him. “Thank you. That was so much fun, and I’d never have chosen it myself.”
He hugged her close. “I don’t laugh enough either. Let’s buy your notebook for your timeline and use it to make a list of things we ought to do.”
“Like ride a tandem bike?”
“Exactly.”
They found a stationery store and bought a small notebook to fit in Ana’s purse. Ready for a snack, they stopped at an outdoor café, and she doodled in the notebook’s margins. “We should learn to cook.”
“Both of us,” he agreed.
Ana’s cell phone chimed, and she checked the text message. “It’s my agent.” She frowned and dropped her phone into her purse. “My job for tomorrow has been cancelled. I’ve worked with the designer for years, but she gave Paul no reason why. Now I can add loss of work to the lawsuit. I’m afraid this is only the beginning.”
“Won’t there be other designers who’d want to hire you because of the controversy?”
“Probably, but they’re not the ones I usually work with.” Thoroughly depressed, she reached for his hand. “This has been a great day, but I need to go home. Just drop me off a block away, and I’ll go in the front door. No one saw me leave, so if any of the paparazzi are still lurking, they won’t notice me.”
He stood and helped her to her feet. Even in the Goth outfit, she had her usual grace. “I’ll help you any way I can.”
She kissed his cheek. “I’ll handle it.” She sounded as tough as she looked. When he dropped her off, she strolled through the front door of her condo with a lazy swagger and drew curious glances from the three remaining paparazzi, but none raised his camera to photograph her.
Alejandro went straight back to the port. His father’s office was in a high-rise building and had windows from floor to ceiling to provide a dazzling view of the harbor. “I’ve never understood your thinking. Why would you want me to stop seeing Ana Santillan and then try to hire her?”
Orlando leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers over his chest. “It’s always a pleasure to have you pay a surprise visit. Do sit down and stay awhile, but you needn’t concern yourself with promotions for the cruise line.”
“We’re talking about Ana. I care about her, and you need to leave her alone. Stop having us followed. I spoke to your detective today. Did he tell you? The brute would stand out in any crowd, and it’s easy to spot him.”
Orlando sat up. “Other than her looks, what about the woman appeals to you? You weren’t pleased to discover she’s a model, and you’re dating her again?”
It wasn’t her modeling career that had appalled him, but his sickening suspicion she’d used him for her own fun. He’d gotten over it. “Yes, and I’ll keep seeing her. Pay the detective for what little work he’s done and let him go.”
Orlando shrugged off the matter as unimportant. “He’s served his purpose.”
“In the future, if you want to know where I’m going or where I’ve been, call and ask.”
“Fine. Were you with Ana last Saturday night?”
Alejandro could see right where his father was going, but he wouldn’t lie. “Didn’t y
our detective provide a report? I was home studying.”
“Good. We can keep the Ortiz name out of the murder investigation, even if Ana Santillan is involved up to her beautiful neck.”
Alejandro stared at his father. He’d never struck the man, but he’d never been so sorely provoked. “She won’t be. On the remote chance she’s called in for questioning, I’ll go with her and pass out cruise brochures.”
Orlando laughed. “Your loyalty is touching. She was just playing with you until she learned who you are. You needn’t bother to wear cologne. Nothing smells better than wealth.”
Alejandro left without describing how he’d always thought his father smelled.
