Madre de Dios. He hadn’t felt so exposed since Anya’s doctors had stared at him with that same pitying expression.
He would not allow Rebecca Layton to get inside his head. It shouldn’t even be a possibility, yet somehow it was.
Alejandro opened his laptop and got to work. A message popped up on the screen. A moment later he took out his cell phone and made a call. It was answered on the first ring.
“Ah, so you are paying attention to your messages,” Nico Cavelli said with a hint of humor in his voice.
“Of course I am, your highness. What can I do for you?”
“You sound a bit preoccupied, Alejandro. Is everything okay?”
Alejandro took a sip of the whiskey. “I’ve had some stress. Everything is fine though.”
“Ah, you mean Dubai? Or Rebecca Layton?”
Alejandro’s gut tightened. He and Nico had been friends for years, since his bullfighting days when Prince Nico Cavelli had invited him to a party after a particularly impressive fight. Nico was the youngest son of the King of Montebianco, and an unrepentant playboy. They’d had much fun together back in the day, romancing the ladies and carousing across Europe. Nico knew about his romance with Rebecca, but only in a vague way. He didn’t know the details because Alejandro hadn’t shared them.
“Dubai, of course,” he said.
“But you’ve just bought her company, I understand.”
“Yes, I bought it. It’s what a businessman does. He looks for opportunities and takes them. How is Gaetano?”
He knew that Nico worried about his older brother. Gaetano Cavelli was the crown prince, but he was fragile somehow. Alejandro had his suspicions though he’d never discussed them with Nico. Nico was fiercely protective of Gaetano. It made Alejandro think of Roberto, and how he wished he could have protected his brother from the choice that’d ended his life. He and Roberto hadn’t been as close as Nico and Gaetano, but he missed his brother nevertheless.
“Gaetano is well, thank you. He’s engaged to a princess from neighboring Monteverde. I expect the wedding bells to chime in a few months. I hope you will join us for the festivities.”
“If I am invited, I’d be honored to attend, my friend.”
“Of course you will be invited. Gaetano likes you.”
He didn’t doubt that Gaetano did, but a royal wedding wasn’t the same as a friend’s wedding. Still, he would go to show his support if he were invited.
“Is that what you called me about, Nico?”
“No. I’m coming to Madrid next month. I want to throw a grand party at the Villa de Música for my friends. Can you help me?”
Alejandro pulled up the scheduling app for the hotel and scanned it. “Do you want the grand ballroom?”
“Yes, I think that would be adequate.”
“And the Queen Isabella Suite?”
“Most definitely.”
“I believe we can accommodate you. Shall I put my events coordinator in touch with your people?”
“Please.”
Alejandro and Nico talked for a few minutes more and then hung up. Alejandro looked out the window at the clouds floating below as he sipped his whiskey. He thought of Rebecca, discarding various thoughts about her until he could no longer deny what he needed to do.
The only way to get her out of his system was to take her into his bed. It was simply another layer to his revenge, nothing more. He would bed her, let her think she had him exactly where she wanted him. She would think that she could manipulate him into returning Layton International to her control, but she would learn the truth when he destroyed her utterly.
Alejandro accepted a mineral water and a refill of his whiskey from the flight attendant.
He already felt worlds better. Rebecca Layton would never defeat him.
Never again.
Rebecca was quite relieved she didn’t have to face Alejandro over a breakfast table, though she was somewhat surprised to learn he’d flown to Dubai. But now—oh thankfully now—she didn’t have to look at him and know he’d touched her so intimately or made her want to do things with him that in her right mind she’d never do again. She knew she couldn’t allow her sympathy for his loss, for the pain and anger she saw in his eyes, to divert her from her goals. She had to keep Layton International safe and whole, and she had to find a way to get it back. It was all that mattered.
He’d left her no instructions while he was gone, had not revealed a single element to his plan for her company. Until the man fired her, or she convinced him to let her buy back her stock, she had a business to run.
Rebecca frowned at her reflection. After last night, she had no illusions Alejandro would ever allow her to buy back her stock. The only way to retrieve Layton International was if Alejandro suddenly found himself in trouble and needed to sell some assets. And according to all her contacts, that wasn’t happening. Ramirez Enterprises was a juggernaut. Not only that, but Alejandro would sell Layton International piece by piece if forced. He would never allow it to be bought whole and certainly not by her.
Yet she couldn’t simply give up and cower like a whipped puppy.
After a quick shower and something to eat, she phoned Roger Cahill. She still needed to know what had happened five years ago, if there was even the smallest chance she could prove to Alejandro that she hadn’t stolen his deal. She didn’t think it was possible, but at least she would know for herself what’d happened.
“Becca,” Roger said when his secretary put her through. “I was just thinking about you. It’s been a long time.”
“Yes.
