Colin shifts his chair even farther from me, and I know absolutely no Spanish at all, but I’ve got a feeling I might be part of the problem here.
“Could you help me understand so I can maybe explain or help—” Colin attempts, but Ernesto slams his fist on the table, jarring everyone in the room.
“Escúchame, jovencito.” Ernesto points at the tablet. “If you think that I will do business withyou…” He drags his sausage-sized index finger to point at me. “... after you broughtesta ramerainto my home and humiliated my daughter,youarecrazy.”
All three of the women suck in a gasp simultaneously. Joaquin clasps his hand over his mouth as his eyes go wide. Auggie cuts his eyes up from his phone. And a muscle in Colin’s jaw pulses.
“Ernesto!”Fortuna hisses. “¡No puedes decir eso de ella!What iswrongwith you?”
I have no idea what this very large and intimidating patriarch just called me, but it’s obviouslybad. It’s also abundantly clear that Colin’s absurd and stupid plan completely backfired on us. And not to mention, that little fantasy I had only minutes ago about writing a check to pay off my loans just fizzled into nothing.
I could cry, but I won’t.
I simply lower my face to look at my hands and count the seconds until I can inconspicuously leave the room and call a cab. Knowing Colin the way I do, knowing how much he’s driven by his bottom line, knowing fromday onethat he’scompletelytwo-faced, I know he’ll do whatever it takes to save this sale, and that means he’s about to throw me under the bus just like he did during the meeting on my first day.
But, hey!
Maybe given that I literally sucked his dick last night, he’ll be nice about it and wait until I leave the room.
“I can say whatever I damn well please,” Ernesto snaps. “And I’m saying right now, Colin, that Iwillbe purchasing those jets, but I will go straight to the head of Platinum Aviation to do so to ensure that you don’t see a penny from that sale. Because I will not reward you after you came into my home and disrespected my family, especially given that I’ve taken you in as a son since you were a boy.”
In my peripheral vision, I see Colin slowly stand up. The room is silent, and he turns to me.
“Elle,” he says, and here it comes.
I turn my eyes up to him, and he’s holding his open palm out toward me.
“Let’s go, sweetheart.”
Let’s go?
Not,please leave?
That’s more than a little shocking. So is him calling mesweetheart.
I take his hand and stand up, but keep my eyes downturned.
Colin does the boyfriend-style hand-on-my-back thing again and gives me a nudge away from the table.
“I’ll have Dalton Sears get in touch with you,” Colin says to Ernesto, and that’s when my gaze snaps to his face.
No way.
There’s no way Colin’s just going to hand this million-dollar deal toDalton.
We’re halfway down the hall toward the front doors when I gather the gumption to say anything.
“I’ll leave,” I whisper. “You need to go back there and apologize.”
“No,” he says, not even trying to keep his voice low. “Hecan apologize. Or not. But I’m not going to.”
12
I WANT TO HIT something.
Back in the guest house, I usher Elle through the door to our room before slamming it so hard that the mirror above the dresser rattles.
Elle whips around and swipes the iPad out of my hand—which, by the way, has the totallynotfinalized sales contract on it—and holds it up neutrally as if waving a white flag. “Okay, just take a deep breath. Breaking stuff that belongs to him isn’t going to help him change his mind.”
