Rebecca closed her eyes. That voice, the crisp Spanish inflections. The sound sent a wave of longing through her. And fury. How dare he show up over a month later and demand she open the door to him. Where was he a month ago? He should have been here, apologizing, begging for her forgiveness.
Right.
“Rebecca, open up or I’ll kick it in.”
She’d like to see that. The door was steel. And yet he was making enough noise that any second doors would start popping open up and down the hall. Worse, she believed he really would try to batter her door down if she didn’t answer. She yanked it open but didn’t undo the chain.
Alejandro stared down his nose at her. His arrogant, rotten, deceptive nose.
He looked every bit as delicious as he had over a month ago. He wore Hugo Boss, of course. The tailored grey suit made him appear elegant and commanding. Every inch the captain of industry. He was so amazingly beautiful to her eyes. Any second her heart would crack wide open and she’d be spilling her secrets to him.
His gaze raked over her. “You are unwell?”
Did she look that bad? Her doctor said she was healthy, if a little underweight. Alejandro had probably moved on to some elegant, gorgeous woman who simpered and put up with his moods. She felt so dowdy and unattractive just thinking about it.
And heartbroken, damn him.
“I’m fine. What do you want?”
“I wish to talk with you.”
“Start talking.”
He nodded at the door. “Can I come in?”
“No.”
He pushed a hand through his hair, blew out a breath in annoyance. “It would be easier to let me in, would it not? Or do you prefer your neighbors hear what I have to say?”
She had no idea what he would say, but no, she didn’t want her neighbors to hear it. She pushed the door closed and slid the chain back. Her stomach chose that moment to roil. All she wanted was to sit down and get this over with. She jerked the door open and turned her back on him, going over to sit on the couch and fold her legs beneath her. Hostility was her only armor against him. She prayed he would not see beneath it to the quivering heart of her.
He came inside, his grey gaze coolly assessing his surroundings. He seemed unsurprised she was moving.
Of course. He probably knew everything about her job with the Cahill Group. No doubt he saw it as a betrayal that she would work for Roger, but what else was she supposed to do?
“You look ill,” he said again as he strode into the living room. His hands were thrust in his pockets. He was so tall, so imposing. And he was standing in her apartment, his presence reminding her of all they’d done together. Her heart throbbed with anger and hurt.
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. What do you want?”
“You didn’t cash your severance check.”
Rebecca blinked. No, she hadn’t. She’d taken it to the bank once, but she’d been unable to deposit it. It felt… dirty somehow. Like accepting it would make everything he’d ever said about her motives true.
“You came all the way to New York to say that?”
“No. I came to meet with Layton International’s board.”
Ah, yes. He was here for business, not for her. It seemed strange to hear something about her company from him. A board meeting that she wasn’t a part of. Hadn’t known about. It made her feel her loneliness more keenly. She’d had a purpose at Layton International. Now she had no purpose but to protect her baby.
“Just tell me what you want and get out,” she said wearily. Her brain had gone numb. She couldn’t deal with him, couldn’t begin to imagine telling him about the baby she carried. When she got to London and got settled in, she’d give him the news. He’d be angry, but this was her body and her pregnancy and she’d do things her way.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. When he tossed it onto the coffee table, she eyed it warily. “If that’s another severance check, you can keep it. I don’t want your money.”
Perhaps if Roger hadn’t hired her, she would have been forced to cash it. But he had and she had no intention of taking a dime from Alejandro. He’d once called her greedy. Let him wonder why she wouldn’t accept money from him now.
“It’s not a severance check.”
Rebecca heaved a sigh and leaned forward to grasp the envelope. Maybe if she opened it, he would leave. Sadness washed over her, but she pushed it away and ripped the packet open to stare at the contents.
Dashing a hand over her cheeks to wipe away her tears, she tried to sound flippant. “I should refuse, but I won’t.” She clutched the deed, more touched than she wanted to be. She wasn’t going to take his money, but she would take this. One day she would give it to their child.
“No, La Belle Amelie is yours.”
“I’ll pay you for it. Just give me time to put together the financing.”
“No.”
Rebecca sucked back tears, forced a laugh. She didn’t know how to respond, so she resorted to flippancy. “Honestly, Alejandro, the sex was pretty good, but I doubt it was worth quite this much.”
His mouth opened, then closed as his gaze fixed on something lying on the table.
When Rebecca realized what it was, she scrambled for the bag she’d knocked over while reaching for the envelope and shoved the books that had spilled out back inside. Before she could stash the bag beneath the table, Alejandro ripped it from her grasp.
His expression was a mixture of horror and rage as he yanked a book out and stared at the title. Eyes hot with emotion pinned her like a bug. “What is the meaning of this?”
She considered for about half a second telling him the books were for a friend. But she couldn’t do it. This
