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She dropped her gaze from his imperious regard, and parted her lips. Sucking on the straw, she drew the cool water into her mouth and shuddered with relief as the soothing liquid assuaged her ravaged throat.
He let her draw another mouthful, then he pulled the straw away. ‘Take it easy, you don’t want to make yourself ill again.’
The sound that emerged from her throat felt blissfully less abrasive. ‘Your audience is gone. Please stop pretending you care about my health.’
He returned the glass to the nightstand. ‘The state of your health is directly connected to the millions I stand to lose if you don’t meet the terms of your contract. Trust me, there’s no pretence on my part. Tell me what happened with your trainer.’
Carla frowned as the unwanted memory sliced across her thoughts. She’d let her emotions get the better of her. Had refused to listen to her instincts even though she’d known training with Tyson Blackwell had been a mistake. Hell, her agent and friend, Draco, had warned her repeatedly about Blackwell.
Further regret made her purse her lips. ‘He was a mistake that never should’ve happened.’
The moment the words left her lips, she felt the blood drain from her face. It took a single glance at Javier to see that he was just as affected by the words.
They were almost identical to what she’d said to him three years ago. The dark curl of his unbelievably sensual lips condemned her poor choice of words.
‘I... I meant—’
‘I’m well aware of what you meant. You seem to make a habit of collecting and leaving a trail of mistakes in your wake. You asked me what I was doing here. It’s quite simple, querida. It’s time to honour the promise I made to you a month ago.’
CHAPTER TWO
CARLA’S STOMACH HOLLOWED. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’
He didn’t answer for a minute. Instead, he strolled to the single window that let in bright sunlight, glanced out for a moment, then turned.
If anything, his silhouette was even more formidable, his almost god-like stature drawing her gaze to his captivating frame.
‘The reason you were chosen to be the face of the J Santino luxury line was because you’re an expert at blending the illusion of innocence with ruthless ambition.’
‘If there’s a compliment in there you expect me to thank you for, I’ll need a moment or two to think about it,’ she replied.
The haloed outline of his shoulders lifted in a shrug. ‘The results speak for themselves. Or at least they used to.’
‘Is there a point to all this?’
‘Your choices lately have been...disappointing, to say the least.’
‘My choices?’
‘You dragged out your negotiations with Draco Angelis’s agency until he threatened to walk away. I’m guessing you realised, almost too late, that playing hard to get with him would get you nowhere? Then you insisted on associating yourself with a trainer whose reputation should’ve made you stay well clear of him.’
Carla swallowed hard against the need to tell him why. But she could see no way to set the record straight without pointing a direct finger at her father. And in a way, hadn’t she also been at fault for desperately clinging to a familial bond that was only in her mind? ‘My last trainer retired. Tyson Blackwell was only supposed to be temporary—’
‘He was known to push his trainees too hard. You should’ve had nothing to do with him,’ he cut across her.
Her breath shuddered out. ‘I didn’t want to. My father made a deal with him without my knowledge,’ she muttered.
Disapproval vibrated off him. ‘Then you should’ve hired someone else.’
She wanted to blurt out that she’d said the same thing to her father, instigating yet another row. A row during which she’d discovered she had no choice but to work with Blackwell because there was no money to hire anyone else. A row that set in motion a series of disagreements that still remained unresolved. Ones she wouldn’t be able to brush under the carpet this time, even though it meant facing the hard truth—that her father loved the prestige and financial reward she brought him much more than he loved her.
Staunching the anguish before it bled into her voice, she replied, ‘We both know why you pursued me to sign with you. So why are we having this conversation?’
‘Because aside from our impending private matters, your father made an excellent case on your behalf by convincing me you were a good bet.’
‘Wasn’t it the other way round? Didn’t you pursue him because you convinced him you were a good bet for my image?’
‘Is that what he told you?’ he enquired silkily, his tone taunting.
