A bet…that’s what I have been to him. A challenge to demonstrate who knows what to his mother. All to get that frickin’ promotion. Though my throat thickens with sobs, a rage poisons my veins.
How could Nathan do this to me? How cruel must a person be to play with someone’s heart like he did with mine? He courted me, acted like he cared, when in fact…
I swallow and let the anger take possession of every inch of my body. It can’t cancel the sorrow that smears all my molecules, but it does tame the ache somewhat. I try to consciously fuel it by rethinking our story with my new discovery in mind.
He wasn’t falling in love with me like I’d hoped. He might not even like me. He just needed me to prove a point to his family and to achieve his ambitious goal. All those gallant gestures, signs of affection, his patient and kind attention, absolutely everything has been a means to an end for him.
I remember his promise to help with Alejandro. Did he even use my brother to get into my heart? It seems almost too much, but in light of what I heard, that must be the case. Perhaps the only true thing I’ve ever heard come out of Nathan’s mouth is that he loves to plan. So everything was meticulously devised to make me fall for him. And I’ve been a big moron to walk into his trap. I let my guards down because he convinced me that he was real. That what we had was real.
My mother was right all along to warn me away from rich men. Why did I doubt her wisdom?
A loud laugh cuts through the silence of the night, and I jerk my head up. I notice two men. They are still far but their direction is clear. They’re heading straight toward me.
My heartbeat accelerates. It’s my neighborhood, and I’ve had my fair share of risky encounters. I know how to handle a couple of tipsy guys. Even if I’ve never met any while dressed like a princess.
I clutch my purse open. Abuelita must be still awake, waiting for me to return and tell her about my fairy-tale night with Nathan. I suffocate the disappointment bubbling up and grab my phone. I quickly type a message to my grandmother to come and get me. I was too embarrassed to call her before, but this unexpected company doesn’t leave me any choice. If the men get close enough and see me in this elegant attire, it won’t take them long to jump to the same conclusion as that taxi driver. I send off my text and close my purse again.
I squint my eyes, trying to assess the features of the men. Are they menacing? Walking with wobbly knees? I make a quick calculation. I’ll need to endure fifteen minutes with them and avoid getting into trouble. That will be enough time for Abuelita to get dressed and drive here.
As the men approach and the light of the streetlamp illuminates their faces, I sigh with relief. I know one of them, thank heavens. It’s Xavier from Fernando’s gang.
Xavier must also recognize me, because his bushy brows arch and he taps his friend’s shoulder. “ Look, amigo. I know her. She’s Nando’s ex.” He shoots me a smile that reveals his crooked teeth. “What are you doing here, Evita, all alone? And looking so pretty.”
His friend barks a horny laugh. “You’re darned right, she looks hot.”
I square my shoulders, cursing myself for my carelessness. It’s not only my wallet I left at home but also my pepper spray. I still hope I won’t need it, but I’d feel much better if I had it with me.
Xavier steps over to me and runs a finger on my bare shoulders.
I flinch and recoil immediately.
He narrows his eyes. “What’s the matter, Eva? Don’t act like you don’t know me. Fernando said you're fair game and…” He takes in my frothy skirt and elegant satin top. “He also mentioned you cater to the wealthy with your charms now. Both points probably true, given that you’re standing here all alone in this glitzy thing. Don’t tell me you’re waiting for the bus?”
“No, babe,” His friend chimes in, brushing a hand on his already slicked-back hair. “Don’t waste your time with public transport. My car’s just around the corner. We’ll take you home if you want.”
I’m just about to shoot back a fiery comment to their hideous offer when the screeching wheels of a car distract us all.
“Who’s the—” Xavier’s grumbled words are lost under the sound of a Ferrari’s shrill brakes.
Before I have the time to even wonder if it’s him, Nathan’s tall figure has already jumped out from the driver seat. He’s accompanied by Zach who must've looked for his friend as soon as I handed him the earrings. The two exchange a quick glance.
“Are you all right, Eva?” Nathan asks, sprinting to my side.
“Of course she’s all right, hombre.” Xavier waves at Nathan as if he's overstepped some invisible line. “She’s with us.”
“No, she’s not.” Nathan’s voice is even but cold as steel. His eyes are fixated on my face. “Come, Eva, let’s go.”
He extends a hand to me.
I’d love to take it. His sudden appearance in this moment of distress, his confident but calm manners, his familiar grey glance, they all want to make me believe that I can still trust him. That he’s here to save me because he cares for me. But it’s all a lie, so I’m hesitant to reach out to him.
“See, Mr. Sportscar.” Xavier’s gloating chuckle resounds. “Eva prefers our company to your to-the-face richness.”
“No, I don’t,” I snap at him. “The truth is, I would prefer if all of you just left me alone.”
Nathan looks like I’ve just slapped him.
He opens his mouth to reply, when Xavier launches forward, grabbing my elbow. “You can’t talk down to me like this, Eva. I won’t allow—”
Nathan’s hands are on his shoulders before he can finish his phrase. He hauls him back and twirls him around. His muscular frame towers over Xavier’s frailer build like a giant. “No, you don’t talk to Eva like that. Not now, not ever. The same goes for your friend. None of you is to approach Eva or her family ever again.” His eyes flick to Xavier’s friend. “Go from here, both of you, before I report you for assault of a young woman.”
Or beat you to pulp…is the silent promise of Nathan’s furrowed brows. It’s probably this that gets to Xavier and his friend. Coming from a gang, the only rules they obey are dominance and physical threats. Xavier’s friend takes Xavier’s arm. “Come on, let’s head home. I’m wasted anyway. This chick is spoken for, can’t you see?”
They retreat to the shadowy side road from which they came. Zach follows them from the corner of his eyes and even turns to check whether they actually leave. Nathan stands in front of me, motionless. He looks like he’s gathering his strength for something big.
Steeling himself for a confession perhaps? Whatever it is, it arrives too late. I’m not interested in hearing his excuses. I already know what he’s done and every reiteration of the excruciating truth could only dredge my wounds. I don’t need that. I’m barely holding it together as it is. All I want is to be at home and able to finally give free flow to my wretchedness.
As Nathan draws in a breath, I shake my head. “Don’t waste your energy with explanations, Nathan. I meant what I said. I want your company as much as I want that of those two jerks. You’ve betrayed me. You’ve lied to me. I could never trust you again! No matter what you say.”
I intended the words to come out like daggers piercing Nathan, but my last phrase sounds more of a whimper. Looking at his familiar face, my heart, despite all that happened, is still beating like a maniac’s.
Nathan winces. “Eva…I…I didn’t want you to find this out like—”
“You didn’t want me to find it out. Period.” I spit it out, this time with a bit more sass.
“That’s not true.” Nathan is rubbing his neck. “I mean, it was in the beginning when the bet started, but with time it all changed.”
“Ah, the bet…” I pronounce the word with as much contempt as I can muster given the circumstances—because a crazy part of my soul, the one that has been the instigator of my demise from the very beginning, is actually yelling at me to jump into Nathan’s arms. I ignore its luring voice
and force myself to continue, “To win your promotion?”
“Yes, Eva. I don’t want to lie anymore. Mother gave Murphy free rein to choose a task for me to perform. If I didn’t agree, I wouldn’t be able to become CEO. My brother picked conquering your heart as my test. His only other condition was that I wouldn’t be allowed to fall for you.”
Bile rises in my throat. I knew I was a prize in some weird challenge already, but hearing it all confirmed from Nathan’s mouth is worse than a nightmare. “Your brother really needs to stop attending patients and seek some help for himself.” And to think, I found Murphy’s concern for his brother’s happiness endearing. And his mother’s attention to me kind. I point my finger at Nathan. “And you? How could you accept it?”
Nathan cringes, guilt flooding his face. “I thought I was backed in a corner. I wanted my promotion. I didn’t think it would be such a big deal. I only saw it as a task to check off from my list at first.”
His raw honesty surprises me, and even though I’d decided not to listen to his excuses, I can’t stop myself from digging deeper. “Didn’t it cross your mind how sick it is? How you would hurt me?”
Nathan closes his eyes briefly and inhales. He blinks at me again, this time his grey irises burn with another fervor. “I didn’t know I could. I thought one week wasn’t enough time to get deeply involved with anyone. I just wanted to dazzle you enough so that you would get a crush on me, but…I never planned on…”
So he knows. I didn’t tell him I’m in love with him, but he knows. Did his brother or mother reveal my secret? Ah, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like any of it was real for him. There is no reason to pretend.
“For me to fall in love with you?” The cynical edge in my voice is far better than the whiny moan I feel inside, so I roll with it. “Huh, guess what, your tactical ability is clearly flawed then.”
Nathan gapes at me, his mouth opening and closing without any sound coming out. Then he clears his throat. “So you are in love with me?”
“What does it matter to you? Ah, wait, yes…of course. Do you need written proof of my emotional involvement for your bet to be valid? Just hand me a pen, and I’ll write it down for you…with the condition that”—I suck in a big breath, increasing my volume to almost a scream—“you get out of my life for good!”
“Eva, I can’t do that. I don’t want to.” Nathan launches forward, closing the distance between us so his face is only a few inches from mine.
His familiar musky cologne wafts around me and my insides quiver with longing to move closer and inhale it some more. I press my hands firmly to my body to avoid them taking on a life on their own. I withdraw my glance from Nathan. The less I stare at his handsome face, the more I can focus on how he mistreated me.
From the corner of my eye, I notice my grandmother’s red sedan. Finally! I’m saved before I can say or do something I will regret later.
My heart can’t stand more of him. There’s nothing he could say to mend my shattered trust. I don’t want more lies. Or half-truths. Or anything other than our old, shabby couch where I can cover my face in Abuelita’s lap and finally cry all the tears I want.
I capture Nathan’s gaze for the last time. “Ah, no? Guess what? You don’t have a choice.”
I grab my skirt with both hands, folding it in front of me so that the pointy toes of my stilettos peek out. I break into a run as fast as the grass and my shoes allow me.
“Eva, where are you going? Please don’t, I need to speak to you.”
The loud thuds behind me tell me he’s following me and will probably close on me if I don’t hurry. I increase my speed as much as I can, surprised how I’m able to pull off a sprint worthy of a marathon runner in these highly uncomfortable sandals.
Just as I grip the sedan’s handle, Nathan catches up. I might be a dancer, but his climbing practice gave him thigh muscles that would make him win in any race.
He turns me to him. “Eva, let me finish what I started.”
Abuelita rolls down the window and leans across the passenger seat. Her eyes are pulled in a frown of worry. “What’s all this, Eva? Nathan? Why are you two fighting?”
“Because he’s a liar,” I shout without thinking.
“Yes, Eva. It started out as a lie, but became real for me. I have been a fool for not recognizing my feelings before, and for keeping quiet about them when I did. I should have told you truth before. I’m in love with you.”
“Did you hear that, Evita?” Abuelita squeaks.
I did hear him. So did my heart. In fact, it skipped a beat or possibly a hundred. But my mind isn’t ready to believe him. Not after all the pretend.
I blink up at Nathan, setting my brows in a scornful wrinkle. “How can you be in love with me, if you told your Mother they can promote you? Wasn’t falling for me a condition of your precious bet?”
Nathan’s eyes widen and panic invades his features. “You heard that?”
“I did.”
“That was a lie. I lied to her because...”
“Ah, a lie. Another one. Of course, I should have guessed. How do you even know what is true anymore, Nathan? You’ve lied to me. You’ve lied to your mother. And most likely you’ve lied to yourself. Your ambition to become who you think you need to be makes you betray the people around you. People who love you.” I pivot away from him and pull the car door open.
Nathan grabs it and holds it so that I won’t be able to close it.
I hop in anyway.
He bends down so that his face is almost on my eye-level. “I have been blind, Eva. Yes. But I’m not anymore. Give me a chance to show it to you.”
“I already gave you a chance and you blew it. So, no thank you. You can’t convince me with your words that you are different. You played with my feelings. You exploited them for your own advancement. I could never come first to you, Nathan. Never. Now please, let me go.”
Nathan drops his hand, and I slam the door. “Abuelita, please, take us home,” I whisper quietly, because the first real sob breaks my voice.
Abuelita stares at me bewildered, then her eyes move to Nathan.
He stands there, still like a statue. His somber face, gorgeously painful like it was sculpted by Raffaello himself, is a reminder why I need to get out of here fast. I might have said what I did with a feigned assurance, but I’m aware that my words are nourished by my freshly bruised soul. The anger I felt for Nathan began to dissipate as soon as he said he loved me. My brain refused to believe him and still does, but my heart? My heart is a different beast.
If I stay in his broody, self-accusing presence, sooner or later my heart will make me jump out and close him in a tender embrace.
Luckily, Abuelita switches on the engine and we roll off.
I sigh as Nathan’s masculine figure fades in the rearview mirror and feel the first hot tears drip down my cheeks. And this is the end of my fairy-tale evening.
I glance at my watch. It’s just before midnight. How fitting. Just like Cinderella escaping home from the ball. Only in my version of the story, there is no chance at a merry reconciliation.
Ever again.
Chapter 36
(Nathan - One week after the ball)
The steady drone of air conditioning is the only noise filling the large boardroom following Mother’s announcement, and it bounces off from the ecru-colored walls with a soft hum.
I’ve sat through countless meetings in this boardroom. I can recite in my sleep how many awards and plaques hang behind me without having to turn and peek. The long, rectangular oak table, the particular orange-yellow hue of the overhead lights, the large window with the view to the busy avenue outside the fences are all commonplace to me. I could probably even describe the color of clothes the peasant is wearing in the landscape painting across from me. In my sleep, no less. That’s how familiar I am with this space.
This morning, however, I hopped down into the black leather chairs with a knotted stomach. The tension didn’t ease much while M
other revealed the plan to the board directors. Now, in the silence stretching after her words, I literally feel jittery.
How will they react? I let my glance wander over the faces of my colleagues.
Erica, the only female in the room besides Mother, adjusts the blue folder in front of her—for the third time in the last ten seconds. Steve and Lloyd are rocking back and forth in their chairs as if the undulating movements will help to ease the puzzling turn of events. Harry and Richard cling to their glasses of sparkling water as if the fragile glass could advise them about the best way to behave. Larry, my former competition and the oldest member of the board, wears a stony expression as he tugs at his narrow shirt collar, pulling it back in small repeated motions with his thumb. He’s the one the news affects the most besides me. His eyes are fixed on a picture behind me, carefully avoiding my gaze.
It’s clear that none of them expected Mother to deliver this news. I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t have believed such a decision could even be acceptable to me a short time ago. Even less than the fact that I would be its mastermind.
But then again, fourteen days ago I didn’t know Eva.
My chest tightens as I recall our last conversation. Despair takes hold of me as I contemplate whether my actions will be enough to demonstrate for her that I’ve changed. That I’ve learned my lesson about people having to come first. Her having to come first.
I know that by sitting in this room right now and renouncing the very thing I’ve betrayed her for is the first foundational step to rebuilding her trust in me, but it still doesn’t feel like enough.
I can’t lose Eva. I need to make this right.
I’d love to jump up and hurry over to her house. I wish to tell her that she’s been my muse for finding my new career, a path that will combine all my aspirations and strengths into a strategy that will benefit my family’s company as well as this town. But above all, it will leave me the time to live. To live with her. If she accepts, that is. She needs to know that she’s the sole reason why I realized what I truly want from this life.
Law #1: Never Bet on Love: A Sweet Billionaire Love Story (Laws of Love) Page 29