Chapter 55
Chapter
Fifty-Five
Alejandro
It’s been two days since my meeting with Carmichael, and I’ve been snapping at everyone around me ever since.
As I sit behind my desk, looking out at the LA skyline, my mind wanders to Alana and what she might doing.
She’s at the shelter, and Lucy is nowhere near the place.
I check my watch and feel a wave of frustration.
I have another two meetings to get through before I can get home to my wife—the only person capable of easing some of this tension in me.
I hear my office door open behind me and know it’s Jax.
“You okay, amigo?” he asks in his southern drawl as he walks into the room. I spin in my chair to face him. “You seem a bit on edge lately. More than usual, anyway.”
“That meeting with Alana’s father has me rattled, amigo. He’s such a fucking slimy cabrón. He makes my skin crawl.”
Jax shrugs. “So do something about him.”
“He’s my wife’s father. You’re suggesting I make him disappear and lie to her face every single day?”
“You’ve lied to every other woman you’ve dated.”
“But I’m not fucking dating her, am I? She’s my wife.”
He nods, unaffected by my outburst. “I know that. But I seem to recall you swearing that this was purely a business deal. That she wouldn’t change you or your life in any way. And now …”
“And now, what?” I scowl at him.
He flashes me a grin. “Now … You’re different. More considerate? And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. But you have changed, amigo. Six months ago, you would have squashed Foster Carmichael like a bug for the way he spoke to you.”
He’s right, and of course I’ve considered this myself recently. “You think people will think I’m weak?”
Jax shakes his head. “No. I never said that. I think the new, slightly more mellow you is good for business. But you’ve been distracted and pissed off the past few days. All I’m saying is if this is only about Carmichael, then let’s deal with him. But is it?”
I only wish that it were. I pinch the bridge of my nose. “No.”
While my meeting with Alana’s father was the catalyst for my bad mood, it’s more than that.
It’s the phone call I overheard a few nights ago; it’s that he told me I will never be able to trust her, and I can’t seem to let that go.
I refuse to share my bed and the rest of my life with her if I can’t share my secrets with her too.
“I thought it wouldn’t matter, Jax. As long as she was with me, I thought it wouldn’t matter why.
But I can’t do this half-assed with her.
I need all of her. I need to know whether this is real or whether it’s all an act and she’s waiting for the right time to run back to her father. What if she is spying on me for him?”
Jax runs a hand across his jaw and shakes his head. “I don’t know what to say. What does your gut tell you?”
“My gut says it’s real. But she’s skilled at telling people what they want to hear.
It’s why she’s so good at her fundraising job.
Not to mention, she had that narcissistic prick parading her in front of the cameras for every photo opportunity that could make him a quick buck or win him a few votes.
” I snarl with anger, mostly at myself. “Besides, I’m not sure I trust my gut around her. She messes with my head, amigo.”
Jax sits back in his chair and laughs.
“Just what is it about this situation that is so fucking funny to you?”
“The invincible Alejandro Montoya, in pieces over a woman. Never thought I’d see the day.” He winks at me.
Fuck, he’s right. What the hell has she done to me? There are only four people in the world who could get away with laughing at my misfortune—my parents, this man here who’s like a brother to me, and Alana.
“What the fuck am I going to do?” I ask him with a sigh.
“Maybe you need absolute proof that you can trust her.”
“And how do I get that, Jax? I can’t keep testing her. If she is for real, it’s not fair. And I couldn’t bear it if I ever hurt her by playing stupid fucking games.”
“Well, that, amigo, I can’t answer for you. Only you know what proof you need. And only you know if you’re prepared to do whatever it will take to get it.”
He’s right, and I know what I have to do. The trouble is I’m not sure I want to do it. I’m not sure I’m brave enough. Because there’s every chance I’ll lose her if I go through with it.
I leave the hotel as soon as my last meeting has finished and go straight home. I’m sure I’ll regret what I’m about to do, but I wasn’t lying earlier in my office—I need Alana for real. No more lies.
She’s sitting on the bed in our bedroom, brushing her beautiful dark hair, and my cock twitches at the sight of her.
Then she turns and gives me one of those killer smiles, and my heart leaps into my throat.
I almost toss aside the paperwork I took from my office safe and fuck her instead, but she notices the envelope in my hand.
“What have you got there?” she asks.
I hand it to her. “I need to talk to you.”
Her brow wrinkles, but she takes it from me. “Alex, what’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath, my heart racing. This is necessary. If she’s loyal to him over me, isn’t it better I find out now? I will give her my undying loyalty, but for that, I demand hers in return. “I need you to know that your father is not the man you think he is, Alana.”
“My father? What do you mean?”
“I know what he told you. How he convinced you to marry me. But that is everything I have on him. Everything he told you I’ve been holding over him to blackmail him.”
She opens the envelope and peers inside. “Why are you giving this to me now?”
“Because I want you to have it. You can do whatever you like with it. Destroy it or keep it. It’s up to you.”
“Why would I keep it? Shouldn’t we destroy it?”
I sit on the bed beside her. “I think you should at least look at it before you make a decision. And I think you need to talk to him about this arrangement between you and me, and his part in it.”
“Why don’t you tell me instead?” She places her warm hand on my face, and I allow myself to lean into it for a brief moment, then force myself to remove it.
I risk losing my resolve to keep going with every second she’s touching me. “This is a conversation you need to have with him. I need you to know the truth.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
I wish I could. “I’m not sure you’d believe me.”
“What exactly are you suggesting?” she asks, tears in her eyes now.
“I’m releasing you from the contract between us.
You’re free to go whenever you choose, but I suggest you go to New York and speak to your father first, and then decide what you want to do next.
But the information you have in your hands potentially hurts my business, so I want you to think about that and why I would ever release it. ”
“Alex, I don’t … What are you talking about?”
“I’ve booked you on the red-eye to New York tonight. Hugo will go with you, but he’s only there to protect you, not to sway your decision.”
“My decision? So that’s it? I can go, just like that? You and I are done?” Her pupils blow wide, her breathing heavy and erratic.
I take her face in my hands. “You and I will never be done, Alana. I hope you come back to me. I hope you weren’t lying when you told me you love me. But yes, you are free to leave.”
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes and a look of confusion on her face. I want her to go see her father and find out the truth, but I also want her to wrap her arms around my neck and tell me that of course she loves me, that she can’t stand to be without me.
But she says none of those things. The two words she does offer break my ice-cold heart.
“Thank you.”