A Spanish Seduction (20 page)

Chapter Seventeen

The apartment intercom buzzed when Jess was on the phone to Tiffany the following day. ‘The doorman’s ringing up, I’ll have to go.’

‘Call me tomorrow. I want to hear more about the launch.’

‘I will.’

Thank God she had Tiffany to unload to or she’d probably go mad. Jess felt she was about to crack under the strain of the press. The paparazzi had been camped outside the door ever since the news of her mother hit the stands.

‘Hi Pedro,’ she said into the intercom handset.

‘Good afternoon, Señorita Harris. I have a gentleman here who is requesting to visit you.’

‘A member of the press?’

‘No.’ Pedro sounded offended she thought he’d even entertain the idea of disturbing her for a press member. ‘It’s Señor Juan Ramirez. He says he’s a friend of Señor Garcia and met you at the opera.’

Juan Ramirez? The man who’d intimated he would spirit Jessica away from Ricardo?

‘Please tell Señor Ramirez I’m not receiving visitors.’ She wouldn’t want to be in the same room as the man without Ricardo by her side.

‘Si, señorita.’ There was approval in Pedro’s voice. ‘Have a nice afternoon. I will ensure you’re not disturbed again.’

But she’d only just made herself a pot of tea and was trying to concentrate on the next unit of her naturopathy study when the intercom buzzed again.

‘I’m sorry to disturb you again, señorita. Señora Carla Lorezzi is here to see you.’

Carla Lorezzi? What on earth could that woman want?

Part of her was tempted to find out. For a few seconds she hesitated before common sense prevailed. The woman was trouble. ‘Please tell her I’m not receiving visitors.’

‘Of course. I’m sorry to have bothered you, Señorita.’

Jessica pushed the button to end the call. The prickle of unease raced up her spine and danced around the nape of her neck. Battling to pull herself together, she’d only managed to take a few steps away before the buzzer sounded again.

‘My utmost apologies, señorita, but Señora Lorezzi is most insistent. She says to tell you it’s vital to Señor Garcia that she sees you.’

Jessica gnawed at her lower lip. How should she respond?

Should she weaken? What harm could she come to in the apartment, and if it was vital to Ricardo...

No
. Decision made, Jessica crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Pedro, please tell Señora Lorezzi she should make an appointment to see Señor Garcia at his office.’

Phew!

‘Absolutely, señorita.’

Had she done the right thing? Unable to even think about focussing on her study, Jessica picked up the cordless phone and dialled Ricardo’s number.

‘Jessica?’ She heard the concern in his voice. She’d made a point of never phoning him while he was at work. ‘Are you okay?’

‘No. Something’s wrong. Only a short time ago the beastly Juan Ramirez turned up at the apartment wanting to see me.’

‘You didn’t let him in, did you?’

‘No.’

‘Good girl.’ She heard the relief in his voice.

‘Something’s going on, Ricardo. Carla Lorezzi’s downstairs insisting she has to tell me something that’s vitally important to you.’

Ricardo swore. ‘Don’t let her in.’

‘I haven’t. I told her to make an appointment with you at your office.’

‘Good.’

‘Do you have any idea what’s going on?’ She hung on his response.

‘Possibly. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.’

Those fifteen minutes feel like hours as she paced the apartment, unable to do anything but keep glancing at the clock. When Ricardo walked through the door, she saw strain bracketing his mouth.

Anxiety tore at her insides like raptor claws. ‘What’s happening?’

He threw his keys on a coffee table and began loosening his tie in short, sharp movements. ‘The board members are meeting tomorrow morning. Although I can’t confirm the reason for the meeting, I’ve been instructed not to attend until they call for me. All I can think is that they’re reviewing my position as CEO.’

Jessica swore. ‘Is this because of all the bad press about my mother?’

She watched his hands clench and unclench. ‘Sit down, Jessica.’

Almost certain he was about to deliver a blow of astronomic proportions, Jessica sat. She was unsure her legs would support her if she didn’t follow his command.

‘Aberto Lorezzi hired an investigator to track my movements and yours. Lorezzi has written again to each board member. He’s said it was impossible for me to be in a relationship with you until recently, and that your passport will show you were not the woman I was pictured with in Venice. Not only has he reasserted his claims that I was having an affair with his wife, but he’s sent a copy of his letter to the Spanish gutter tabloid that printed the story about your mother.’

Oh hell! She jumped up from the sofa and wrung her hands in agitation. The fuse had been lit. The spark was racing along and it was just a matter of time before she and Ricardo were caught up in the explosion. Would the truth blow all his career aspirations out of the water? Certainly, their credibility would be shot to pieces. The question was whether the whole incident would leave them very badly scarred or completely maim Ricardo’s corporate rise.

‘My mother always said truth had a way of coming out. Damn it, Ricardo! This is going to make you look a hundred times guilty when you were never guilty in the first place!’ Why hadn’t he listened to her initial reasoning?

One hand went to the back of his neck and she guessed his muscles were tight with stress. ‘Lorezzi’s investigator has discovered I’ve paid off your debt.’

She slumped back down into the sofa and willed herself not to throw up. ‘Cristabel’s public claims that you’re paying me...Her insinuation I’m a hooker is going to seem true.’

‘I won’t let that happen.’

‘How can you stop it?’

‘There’s only one way to handle it.’ He threw his tie on to the sofa and sat next to her.

‘More lies?’ This was such a mess.

‘No.’

‘Surely not the truth? You’ve gone to all this trouble to hide the truth from the board. Surely you’re unwilling to admit this has all been a hoax?’

His shrug was eloquent, his confidence alarming. ‘Share prices have risen and orders secured for our latest sports car are at a record high. The morale of workers has improved which in turn has led to increased productivity. The board members aren’t stupid. They know I’m the right person for the position.’

The man was a human dynamo and she knew his words were no idle boast. He’d already shared some of his successes with her in his daily telephone calls from the office, and everyone she’d met at their social engagements sang Ricardo’s praises.

‘I know you’ve already started turning the company around, but I still can’t believe you’re so calm when this lie about to explode!’

‘But it isn’t completely a lie anymore is it?’ He placed a hand on her thigh.

She shook her head in agitated denial, trying to switch her focus off the heat from his hand. ‘I wasn’t the woman with you in Venice and we can’t pretend I was when all the evidence says otherwise.’

‘But, you’re here with me. The truth is you’ve been sharing my bed.’

Ice trickled down her spine at the adamant note in his tone. She jumped up from the sofa and took a step away from him. Doubt stabbed at her. ‘Tell me that was real between us. Tell me you didn’t just take me to bed so you could tell the board in honesty that we’ve been lovers.’

‘
Mierda santa
!’ He sprang to his feet. His face had darkened like thunder clouds. ‘You’re seriously asking me that?’

She placed a hand to her forehead, biting down on her lip as she tried to sort through her confusion.

‘After all the time we’ve spent together, you think I’d be so low?’ he raged.

‘I don’t know.’ Misery washed through her.

Ricardo stood before her, anger emanating from every pore. ‘
You don’t know?
’

Guilt and uncertainty made her feel sick.

‘You claim you love me, yet you don’t know whether or not I’d use you like that?’ he demanded.

Jessica’s vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. ‘I’m so sorry.’ She shook her head and sat down once again, covering her face with her hands as she wiped away her tears. ‘Of course you wouldn’t. My insecurity was rising up again. It seems I haven’t fully overcome my lack of confidence.’ But at least she recognised those insecurities now and could immediately put them into perspective.

‘I’ve never lied to you, Jessica, or misled you.’

She let out a pent-up breath. ‘I believe you. What I want to know is how you plan to handle Lorezzi’s claims. This isn’t just going to blow over and I don’t see how either of us can emerge well from this scandal.’

‘There’s only one course to silence critics and remove all speculation.’ He paced away from her, and then spun to face her. ‘One course which will feed the media frenzy surrounding us, but with an entirely different spin.’

She hardly dared to ask what he planned. ‘What’s that?’

‘Marry me.’

Chapter Eighteen

‘Marry you?’ Jessica stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.

‘Had I planned to marry you before you moved to Barcelona, I would’ve paid your debt. Lorezzi’s insistence that I’m paying you to cover up an affair with his wife won’t wash if we claim we’ve been planning marriage since you left London.’

Her mind reeled. One problem with dishonesty was that one lie led to another.

‘I did allude weeks ago to Juan about the seriousness of our relationship and more or less intimated an announcement would be forthcoming,’ he said as he paced back and forward again. ‘We’ll have to announce our engagement tonight and marry quickly. Our announcement will have the press in a flurry and it’ll be our engagement and wedding creating headlines. Lorezzi’s accusations won’t even make the papers.’

Surely all her blood had drained away from her extremities and pooled...wherever blood pooled in moments of extreme crisis.

‘Say something, Jessica.’ He stopped pacing and sat down next to her.

What could she say? Forcing herself into speech, she finally elicited a word. ‘No.’

His head jerked back and his eyes widened. ‘No?’

She grabbed the armrest of the sofa in an effort to feel that something about this situation was real. ‘No.’

For a few seconds he was still, then he stood, towering over her. His hand slashed through the air as he spoke. ‘How can you refuse? You said you loved me. Don’t tell me you haven’t been hoping I’d have a change of heart and ask you to be my wife! Don’t sit there and pretend you don’t want to marry me!’

Jess stood and pushed past him, moving to put the physical barrier of the sofa between them. ‘I do love you!’ Her heart ached. ‘You’ve missed the entire point. Marriage to you hasn’t been some ultimate goal I’ve aspired to. I wouldn’t care less whether we were married, or whether we simply lived together for the rest of our days. It’s your love I’ve longed for, not your ring on my finger.’ She placed both her hands to her temples in a gesture of frustration. ‘I won’t marry you. You haven’t had a change of heart, you’ve merely had a change in strategy.’ She started turning away from him, wishing to leave the room before she had a complete, emotional breakdown.

‘If you marry me, I promise to honour our vows.’ He spoke rapidly, the entreaty in his voice arresting her movement. ‘I promise to make our marriage work. I —’

Jessica couldn’t stop the small, incredulous sound that escaped from her lips as she turned back to him. ‘You obviously haven’t attended many weddings or you’d know that promising to love each other is one of the vows you’re promising you’d honour.’

‘Trust me Jessica. This will all work out.’

‘I don’t see how.’ She watched him swallow and shift on his feet. She’d never seen him look less confident. ‘You said the board is meeting tomorrow?’

He nodded. ‘Eleven o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ve been asked to absent myself for the first part of the meeting and be available when called for.’

That sounded ominous.

‘Marriage is the best option.’ His words were a deep plea.

Jess had never felt so torn. Part of her wanted to accept his proposal — even though he wanted to marry her for all the wrong reasons. She knew that was the desperate part of her.

It had been a desperate Jess who’d married Jett and she needed no reminders of that failure.

She’d convinced herself she wasn’t the same person anymore. No more desperate Jess. For her own sake she had to be confident and settle for what she believed she deserved. She deserved to be loved.

Ricardo may want her, but he wasn’t telling her he loved her. The only reason she’d ever marry again was for love — love that was reciprocated.

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.
Tiffany’s words rang in her head.

To be kind to herself, Jess had to walk away while she still could. As much as it was going to hurt her and she hated leaving Ricardo high and dry with his board, this had to finish here.

‘Go to the board.’ She waved her hands in front of her as she sought for her words. ‘Tell them I couldn’t handle the press attention about my mother. Tell them I wasn’t cut out to have a relationship that was constantly going to be in the media spotlight. Whatever. Please don’t tell them the truth, because I’ve really come to like the board members and their wives, and I don’t want them knowing we set out to deceive them.’

‘Jessica —’

‘I don’t really care what reason you invent, you can put all the blame on my shoulders, just tell them I’ve left you.’

‘No. You can’t leave!’

Tears pooled in her eyes. ‘Loving you the way I do, I simply can’t stay.’

‘Jess...’

Were his eyes damp as well?
His Adam’s apple worked up and down.

‘I realised last night I couldn’t let you go.’ His voice was hoarse; each word pained. ‘You asked me after the race if I could see you in my future. I planned to tell you tonight that I see you clearly in my future. In fact, I can’t picture my future without you.’

‘Why?’

His eyes darted around and his hands moved expressively. She felt his discomfort as he told her, ‘You’re different.’

‘Different?’

He swore. ‘No. Not just different. You’re special, Jessica.’

Was that the best he could come up with?
‘I want you to love me, Ricardo. I’ve had a one-sided marriage before. I don’t want to marry without love.’

‘Take the chance and marry me.’ He spoke in fast agitation. ‘If you’re not happy, we could divorce once all this has blown over.’

Oh, dear God. He was serious.

Not knowing whether to laugh, cry or strangle him, Jessica was incredulous. ‘One minute you’re promising to make marriage work, the next you’re offering a temporary arrangement with divorce as a safety net?’

Ricardo threw his hands up in the air. A dark line of red emphasised his high cheekbones. ‘I’m making a mess of this. I’m offering you whatever you want, Jessica. If you want marriage to work between us, I’ll be committed to seeing it does. If you’ll only marry me on a trial basis, I’ll agree to it. I want to give you whatever it is that’ll make you happy.’

‘But Ricardo, what do
you
really want?’ she asked softly, even though she dreaded his answer.

‘I want to protect you from any scandal and, more than anything, I want you to stay with me.’ His words were resolute.

Her throat was tight and scratchy but she forced herself to continue. ‘I want a normal marriage — one that’s based on love and entered into for life. I would only stay here and marry you if you loved me.’

‘Won’t my commitment do?’

‘No.’

She watched the slump of his shoulders as he turned and walked to a window.

Oh hell! She’d gambled and lost. ‘I’ll pack my things.’

His voice was distant when he finally spoke, his words slow. ‘Where will you go?’

The question made her throat close over. 

This really was the end. He was prepared to let her go.

Tumultuous emotion caused her chest to prickle. Swallowing down on her pain, she forced herself to breathe. She couldn’t break down now. ‘I have friends. The world’s a big place. In a few days, this will be old news and I’ll be able to return to life as normal.’

Who was she kidding? Life would never be the same again for her. How could she function anywhere when she’d leave her heart behind in Barcelona?

‘Please stay.’

Her lip trembled. Everything in her wanted to stay. Walking away from him was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. ‘Goodbye, Ricardo.’