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Now he understood what she’d seen in his father. Bianca picked up strays as a hobby, and his father had taken advantage of that. Christian believed her that nothing physical happened between the two of them. After spending mere hours in her company he would bet his reputation and every dime in the bank that she wasn’t anyone’s mistress.
His eyes drifted shut. “I have to sleep.” One eye popped open, and he teased her. “It’s safe for me to take a nap, right? You won’t try to molest me while I’m unconscious?”
Her cheeks turned beet red, and her mouth fell open.
He grinned.
She made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat as he drifted off to sleep. His life wouldn’t be the same, not as long as he had this woman to throw him off balance and make him crazy. He thought about getting up, crossing the cabin, and planting a firm kiss on that luscious pink mouth. Maybe he would do it after he slept a few hours.
Or maybe he would think better of it once he was in his right mind again.
Chapter Three
Hours later, she witnessed Christian waking from his nap to find the cat sleeping on his stomach. He had gone to sleep sitting up, but had reclined fully on the long seat shortly after he started to snore. She bit her lower lip to keep from laughing at the disturbed expression on his face. He bolted upright, and Baby ran for cover with an indignant yowl. If possible, Christian woke in a worse mood than before the nap. He gave the cat a dirty look. Then he turned the glare on her, and it sucked the breath from her lungs. The aftermath of sleep looked good on him. Hooded, his eyes seemed greener, and a sexy five o’clock shadow had grown in to darken the lower half of his face.
He stood and brushed the cat hair off his charcoal gray suit with angry swipes of his hands. “Keep that beast away from me.”
“I tried to move him, but he refused to budge. He likes you.”
Christian’s scowl deepened.
The captain told them via intercom to put their seatbelts on. They would be landing soon. She grabbed the cat and sat down with him on her lap. Christian continued to glare at her from the other side of the plane. She had the distinct feeling he was already regretting giving her the task of running the magazine.
She repeated her earlier question in the limo, the one he’d missed because he’d been taking a quick nap. “Where will I be staying in New York? Can you loan me money for a motel until I get my first paycheck?”
“No need. We have a couple of penthouses in our building, plus six apartments. Two of them are empty at the moment. I’ll have something fixed up for you.”
That was a relief. She didn’t want to be trapped in close quarters with him, especially not when he believed she was his father’s mistress. The mere thought probably made her seem like easy pickings for him. Nothing could be further from the truth, she assured herself. No matter how attractive she found the man she was not in the market for a lover.
The plane landed without incident at eleven that morning, New York time. They had been in the air for roughly nine hours, but had only lost three because they’d traveled through different time zones. They remained seated as they waited for the stairway to be rolled to the door. She stared out the small window at the big city in the distance. Her heartbeat quickened, and excitement at all the possibilities had her nearly crawling out of her skin. Tall skyscrapers, steel and glass gleamed in the sunlight. She couldn’t wait to get started.
They disembarked together with Christian’s hand on her elbow. Rapid clicking and loud voices startled her. She held tighter to Baby and stopped their descent down the steps long enough to get her bearings. A sea of photographers snapped pictures at the bottom of the stairs. Christian whispered in her ear that they were there because of the news story he released earlier.
“Nothing to worry about,” he added.
When they reached the tarmac, the questions began to fly. Fast and furious, people shouted over each other. At first, she couldn’t tell what any of them were saying. Then the truth hit her like a metal pipe between the shoulder blades. They were not there because of Christian’s story about being the real CEO of Christinos for a decade; they were there for her story.
“Is it true you were John Sabatino’s mistress?” one yelled.
Another asked, “Did you inherit your father’s mistress along with the business, Mr. Sabatino?”
Christian stiffened beside her, and she feared he might throw a punch at someone. He wrapped an arm around her waist instead and rushed her to the waiting limo. Keeping his head down, he didn’t stop to answer a single insulting question.
They climbed into the backseat, and the vehicle shot off without hesitation as the black partition separating them from the driver slid down. The driver spoke over his shoulder while whisking them away from the airport. “Sully told me you’d want to see the latest headlines, boss. If you turn on the tablet I left for you back there, the story is already pulled up.” He paused. “You aren’t going to like it.”
The partition closed.
Christian picked up the tablet and turned it on. There, in big letters was a headline that shook Bianca to her core. How could they publish garbage like that without checking their facts?
Mistress by Proxy?Below that the first line read:Did Christian Sabatino inherit his father’s mistress?
She refused to read another lying word.
There was a disturbing photograph along with the fictional story. Someone had managed to snap a picture of them in John’s office earlier that morning when she’d been sure Christian was about to kiss her. They must have used a powerful zoom lens to capture the moment.
In the photo, her eyes were almost closed, drifting shut in passion with face upturned for him to take advantage of her parted lips. Was that her? She barely recognized herself. Her gaze went to Christian’s image. Determination showed on his face as he was moving in for the kiss. Anybody that looked at it would be able to see how much they desired each other.
“What do we do?” she asked without meaning to voice the words out loud.
