Armando Returns (Barboza Brothers)

by Reeni Austin

  “What?” Katie’s jaw dropped and she looked up at him over her shoulder. “That’s excessive.”

  Armando cast her a doubtful look. “No, it’s not. I’ll do anything to keep you with me. After all we’ve been through, do you really think I’d take a chance on losing you again?” He smiled. “Trust me, it’s not excessive. It’s caution. So, just go shopping tonight. Get anything you need to last you through the next few days. If you must have something from your apartment, I’ll send someone to get it for you. But you’re not going back there. And tomorrow morning I’ll have someone drive you to work and bring you back to the ranch.”

  Katie fumbled with the credit card in her fingers. “Okay...I guess…”

  Patty chuckled. “Honey, if a man gives you a credit card and tells you to buy whatever you want, you take it and buy whatever you want.”

  “No,” Katie said. “I’ll only use it for what I really need, I promise.”

  Armando smiled down at her. “It’s okay. Spoil yourself a little.”

  Cara glared at Patty with a groan. “And Mom? Remember. You keep your mouth shut. No long talks with random strangers. A lot of people around here probably know Katie’s family. Word travels fast.”

  Patty’s voice was sad. “But that’s how I met my husband.” Then she closed her eyes and raised a hand like she was taking an oath. “But I’ve learned my lesson. I promise, my lips are sealed.” Patty opened her eyes and saw their confusion, so she explained. “You see, my new husband is the man Victor’s ex-girlfriend hired to spy on us.”

  Armando and Katie both said, “What?” at the same time.

  Katie now understood the odd glances Cara gave her mother when they spoke earlier about keeping their secret.

  Patty nodded. “Yes. Tom took a seat next to me one afternoon at the park. Such a sweet, handsome man. He started talking. I started talking.” She shrugged. “How was I supposed to know he was a private investigator?”

  Cara said, “He quit that job the very next day to be with Mom.”

  “Yes,” Patty said. “He’s a wonderful man. We hit it off right away.”

  Armando cleared his throat. “Please promise me you won’t strike up any random conversations here in Turnbrook. People are nosy, especially if you’re from out of town.”

  Katie nodded. “Yes. And everyone around here knows Ramon, at least in passing. And they all know my parents. If they hear you’re staying in this house—”

  Patty interrupted. “I swear, I understand. Not a peep outta me.”

  * * * * *

  Tom and Victor arrived at the house just before dinner. Victor took Katie and Armando aside and told them they needed to have a talk afterward.

  Dinner was not as awkward as Katie previously feared. Ramon was too tired to do much besides shove food into his mouth. And there was enough conversation to keep her sufficiently distracted from her worries, even if her appetite was non-existent.

  As the others cleaned up after dinner, Victor signaled for Katie and Armando to come down to Ramon’s office.

  When they entered the room, they saw Tom sitting behind the desk. He nervously ran a hand through his gray hair, then adjusted his glasses. “Have a seat,” he said.

  Katie and Armando sat in front of the desk. Victor sat on a stool close by.

  Tom started with, “Since we just met at dinner, let me formally introduce myself.” He gave Katie a gentle grin and leaned forward, his fingers knitted together on the desk. “Tom Sutton. Retired cop. Part-time investigator. Proud newlywed.” He cleared his throat. “Victor and Armando asked me to look into some things. You’re probably already aware.”

  Katie gave a little shrug. “Somewhat, yeah. I don’t know the specifics.”

  Tom nodded. “Basically, I’m trying to answer some questions about the past. Victor and I’ve spent most of the day researching public records. Seeing if we can find a starting point.”

  Victor interjected, “Haven’t found much so far.”

  “Nope,” Tom said. “And you’re probably wondering why you’re here. So, now that you have a little bit of background, I’ll tell you.” He continued to speak as he opened a drawer and pulled out an electronic tablet, tapping the screen with his finger. “Armando also wanted me to do a little research on Mitch.”

  “Oh Lord.” Katie’s stomach churned.

  “It’s okay,” Tom said. “Since you already broke up you may not even care about this anymore. But it’s only right that I inform you anyway.”

  Armando’s eyebrows shot up.

  Katie groaned.

  Tom let out a heavy sigh as he handed the tablet over the desk to Katie. “In short, he’s cheating on you.”

  Katie set her mouth firmly as she shook her head and reached forward to take the tablet. “I had a feeling. We had this big argument about it on Monday night. I feel like such an idiot.” She sighed. “Oh well. It’s over now…” Her voice trailed off as she examined the first picture. “Is this in the backseat of his car? It’s hard to see anything.”

  Tom nodded. “Yeah. I’m only allowed to take pictures in public places. Those are along the street or in a parking lot. There’s twenty-five pictures, total. All today. I gotta tell ya, it was too easy. He’s a bold one.”

  Katie flipped to the next picture, and gasped. “Oh my God!”

  “What?” Armando leaned over to see.

  Katie gritted her teeth and went to another picture. This time she growled, then shouted, “You’ve got to be kidding me! It’s Jennifer!”

  Armando’s eyebrows knitted. “Who’s Jennifer?”

  Pausing long enough to make eye contact with him, she said, “She’s the absolute worst employee at the restaurant. If she was any worse, I would’ve already fired her. The only thing she’s really good for is flirting with the male customers.” She snorted and went to the next picture. “What the hell? Kissing in broad daylight?”

  Tom’s eyes widened and leaned back in his chair. “Like I said. He’s a bold one.”

  Katie’s cheeks reddened as her anger increased. “It makes so much sense now. I bet they were together in Dallas over the weekend. That’s why she called out sick on Saturday. And that’s why she’s been so jealous of all the presents he sent me at work this week.” She brought the tablet to her lap for a moment and stared off at the wall. “How could I have been so stupid? I remember one night weeks ago I was complaining about her to Mitch and he was all like, ‘don’t fire her’ and I didn’t even catch on. It was right there in front of my face the whole time.” She looked at Tom. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been going on?”

  Tom shrugged.

  Victor said, “I was with Tom for a while when he took some of those. Seemed like they were familiar with each other, not like a new relationship at all.”

  “Yeah.” Tom nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. That argument this afternoon…”

  “This afternoon.” Katie shook her head as tears of rage filled her eyes. “It was after I broke up with him. He went straight to her.”

  Confused, Armando asked, “What’s wrong? Are you jealous or something?”

  Katie scoffed as her eyes met his. “Hell no, I’m not jealous. I’m pissed! After the way he played my emotions today? Begging me for another chance? He made me feel terrible for breaking up with him and the whole time he was…” She looked down at the tablet and saw the next picture of Mitch and Jennifer clearly making out. “Oh my God!”

  She put the tablet on the desk and stuck her palm against her forehead. “Oh no. No, no, no. I can’t believe this. I spent all weekend trying to be faithful when I knew I didn’t love him anymore. I tried to do what was right. And he’s been cheating on me. Probably for a long time.” She sniffled. “Why would he do this? If he wanted her all along, why didn’t he just break up with me?”

  Armando softened his voice in an effort not to provoke more anger. “Do you think it had something to do with your dad? Political connections?”

  “Maybe.” Katie st
ared straight ahead. “Yeah. Maybe he was just using me for that all along. Wow. I’m the dumbest person in the world.”

  “No.” Tom shook his head. “Don’t say that about yourself. This happens to the best of us and I see it all the time. There’s a million theories about why people cheat. Chances are, he wants to marry you for the right reasons. But there’s something about having a girl on the side that makes him feel good about himself. Maybe he’s told himself all along he’d stop when you got married. And please, don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not taking up for this guy.” Tom gave her a sympathetic look. “But you’re not stupid.”

  “Thanks for saying that.” Katie nodded, then reached forward to take a tissue from the box on the desk. “Is it okay if I ask you to email me those pictures?”

  “Sure,” Tom said.

  Katie then thought about some good that would result from Mitch’s cheating.

  It lessened her guilt over breaking up with him.

  And it would certainly close the meddling mouths of her friends and family—especially her mother.

  * * * * *

  The next day at work, Katie was determined to make time pass quickly until the end of the day when she could start her long weekend with Armando. So, she busied herself with any task she could find.

  She also tried to stay the hell away from Jennifer, but it was nearly impossible. Katie considered Jennifer “almost bad enough to fire,” but never found enough reason to actually do it. And she refused to fire her today out of spite. Katie had no intention of confronting Jennifer, at least, not yet. Today she simply wanted to be away from the perky blond server, lest she lose her temper in front of the customers.

  Katie planned to work through her lunch hour today. There was no point taking an hour to sit there, stewing in her anger over Mitch and Jennifer. Or watching the minutes crawl by as she counted them down till six o’clock, when a driver would take her to the private jet bound for Los Angeles. Katie just wanted this day to be over.

  At twenty minutes till noon, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Her heart raced, hoping it was Armando.

  But it was Lisa, her mother.

  Katie took a deep breath and walked to a quiet corner. She answered with an unenthusiastic, “Hi Mom,” hoping to get this over with, quickly.

  “Hey sweetie. You free for lunch today?”

  A knot instantly formed in Katie’s stomach. “No. I’m working through lunch.”

  “What?” She uttered a disgruntled sound. “Well, too bad. I’m already on my way.”

  “No! I’m busy, Mom.”

  “Well, I’m determined to speak with you today and I won’t take no for an answer. I’ll just follow you around the restaurant while you work if I have to.”

  Katie smirked, having a sudden idea. This could be the perfect time to show her mother some pictures she’d recently obtained. “You know what? Let’s have lunch. But not here. Across the street at Cafe Spera.”

  “Fine with me. See you at noon.”

  After her mom hung up, Katie slipped her phone into her pocket with a sense of relief. Soon, Mom would see the pictures, and realize there was no hope for Katie reconciling with Mitch.

  When Katie entered Cafe Spera at approximately one minute after noon, Lisa was already there, her gold bangle bracelets jangling as she waved at Katie from a table for two.

  Katie went to the table and gave her mom a big smile as she sat down across from her. “Hello Mom.”

  Lisa cocked a brow. “My, my, my. Aren’t we happy today?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact.”

  “Hmm.” Lisa eyed her daughter suspiciously as she took a quick sip of her ice water. She set the glass down on the table and said, “So, I’ll assume that means you’ve taken Mitch back?”

  Katie let out a labored sigh and closed her eyes, trying to keep her anger at bay. “Did you come here to have lunch with me, or to insult me?”

  Lisa’s tone gentled. “How in the world is that an insult?”

  “You assume the only reason I’m happy is because I must have taken Mitch back? You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Lisa shrugged. “What? I can’t imagine why any woman would give up a guy like him. You need to snap out of this little rebellious phase before he moves on to someone else.”

  Katie chuckled. “Have you spoken to him?”

  “No, not yet. I wanted to speak with you first.”

  Nodding, Katie said, “So you do plan to meddle.”

  Just then, the friendly male server came to take Katie’s drink order. As soon as he left, Lisa responded with, “It’s not meddling. It’s helping. Now tell me what happened. Let’s get things back to the way they should be.”

  Katie shook her head and reached into her pocket for her phone. The pictures were saved in their very own folder. She touched the screen a few times, then handed the phone to her mother. “Here. This is what happened.”

  Lisa gave Katie a wry grin as she took the phone. Her eyes then narrowed at the picture. “Okay. What am I looking at?”

  “You can’t tell?” Katie took a deep breath, then let out a long sigh. She made sure the first picture her mother saw was one of the clearest, but apparently it wasn’t good enough. “Tap the right side of the picture to go to the next one.”

  Lisa tapped the screen. Then she tapped again. Then again. She spent at least five seconds on each picture until she came to the last one. And then, she calmly handed the phone back to Katie. Her voice was quiet, but firm. Her eyes widened. “Get rid of those.”

  “Excuse me?” Katie snapped.

  Lisa looked her daughter straight in the eyes and repeated, in a loud whisper, “I said, get rid of them!”

  “What?” Katie’s jaw dropped. “Why the—”

  Lisa looked around the restaurant as if she were afraid someone was listening, then she leaned forward as far across the table as possible and said, “Do it! In case Mitch ever runs for public office. Something like that could ruin him forever.”

  “Mom! He cheated on me!”

  Lisa’s nostrils flared as she glanced around the restaurant again. “Keep your voice down.”

  Katie felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. She stared silently at her mom as the server dropped off her water and said he’d be back in a minute to take their orders. When Katie spoke, her voice was weak. “I can’t believe this. You don’t even care that he cheated on me?”

  Lisa gazed sympathetically into Katie’s eyes for a moment, then smirked. Her voice was just loud enough for Katie to hear. “Sweetie, sometimes you need to look at the bigger picture. I’ve met that girl. She’s a dingbat. Probably his last fling before he marries you. She’s nothing to him.”

  Katie shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t understand—”

  “Think about it. Years from now, you’ll be married to a senator and she’ll probably still be waiting tables somewhere. There’s nothing to be jealous over.”

  “I’m not jealous! This isn’t a competition between me and Jennifer. My fiance cheated on me, Mom.” Katie’s eyes widened. “He lied to me. Repeatedly. He might be sleeping with more women for all I know.”

  “Have you talked to him about it?”

  “No. Why should I?”

  “You can still work it out. It may not be as bad as you think, Katie-bug.” Lisa grinned, softly. “Trust me. Sometimes people cheat. And sometimes the best thing you can do is forgive ‘em.”

  “Oh really? Has Daddy ever cheated on you? Would you forgive him if he did?”

  Lisa shrugged. “That depends. But this isn’t about me and your dad. It’s about you and Mitch. And you both have a bright future ahead of you. Now please, talk to him. We can talk to him together if you want. It’s time we start planning your wedding.”

  “No. I have no desire to be a senator’s wife, or a governor’s wife. Or the First Lady.” Katie stood up and walked around the table, staring down her nose at her. “Mitch and I are over. For good. You and Daddy will not
dictate my love life, ever again. I’ve had it with this bullshit. Goodbye, Mom.”

  And with that, Katie turned on her heel and walked out of the restaurant. Her phone vibrated with her Mom’s call as soon as Katie crossed the street, but she ignored it. She then ducked inside a coffee shop to hide as she called Armando.

  He answered quickly. “Hello? Katie?”

  “Yes.” The sound of his voice unlocked a torrent of emotions that suddenly made her choke up. “I uh...,” She sniffled, “I’m leaving work early. Now.”

  “Okay. I’ll send the car. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

  Katie inhaled as deeply as possible and did her best to calm down. “Lunch with Mom. I’m done. I don’t give a damn about losing contact with my family anymore. Take me away from here.”

  “All right. Anything you want. I love you.”

  She smiled, tears of joy rolling down her face. “I love you, too.”

  Katie hung up and called her manager to tell him she had to leave work immediately to start her long weekend. He heard her crying and simply said, “That’s fine.” She then sneaked over to the restaurant to meet the driver at the usual spot. Her anger mounted as she stood in front of the restaurant, wondering if her mother would exit Cafe Spera and try to speak with her again, but she didn’t.

  Chapter 16

  Katie and Armando left for Los Angeles two hours after she left work. He immediately took her out for a long, luxurious dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, then brought her to his house in Malibu for the night.

  She was relaxing in Armando’s arms on a loveseat on the patio of his beautiful home, marveling at the view of the sunset over the ocean, when his phone rang.

  When he saw it was Victor, he answered. “What’s up?”

  Victor took a hesitant breath and said, “Hey. Sorry to bother you, but we have a little situation. Katie’s sister is here. Said she’s been trying to get in touch with her all day.”