working in a branch or a corporate office? What was his father trying to do? Ruin his entire summer?
“Miguel …what’s wrong?”
He swallowed.
“You’re not excited. This will be a valuable experience. You can take what you’ve learned as an undergraduate and put it in action. Theory can only take you so far. You need to work in the field to see how these things operate. And then you’ll return to school for your MBA, knowing full well what is happening at the bank. This kind of experience you cannot get any other way.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You disagree?”
“Uh, I just …”
“If you’ll excuse me?” asked Sonia, rising from her chair. Miguel immediately stood and helped her out. “I need to use the bathroom,” she added.
“Me, too,” said Alexsi, glancing emphatically at Miguel.
Jorge waited until the women left and the servants had finished clearing their plates. Then he gestured that they should venture onto the deck to take in the moonlit ocean.
They stood there at a railing, his father with a drink still in hand, Miguel trying to muster the courage to decline his father’s offer.
“Miguel, did you think you were going to run around all summer and do nothing?”
“No, I did not.”
“This is a great opportunity.”
“I understand.”
“But you don’t want it.”
He sighed and finally faced his father. “I wanted to take Sonia on a vacation.”
“But you’re just back from Spain.”
“I know, but I want to show her
Jorge’s expression began to soften, and his gaze drifted past Miguel and to the ocean. San Cristobal was a place his parents had often visited, one of his mother’s favorite cities in all of Mexico. She loved the highlands of Chiapas and used to talk about the twisting streets, the brightly colored houses with their red-tiled roofs, and the green mountains all around. The place was rich in culture and Mayan history.
“I remember the first time I took your mother there …” He took another deep breath and could not go on.
“I think Sonia would love it, too.”
He nodded. “I’ll call them at the bank. You take the helicopter and spend a week there. Then, after that, you will go to work. If you want Sonia to remain here, that’s fine, but you will be working.”
Miguel drew back his head in shock. “Thank you.”
“You’ll have an escort while you’re there,” his father reminded him.
“I understand. But can they remain discreet, like they did in Spain?”
“I’ll make that happen. So what do you think of this girl?”
“She’s …great.”
“I think so, too.”
“Of course. You found her for me.”
“No, not just that. She’s very elegant. She would be a magnificent addition to our family.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to rush anything.”
“Of course not.”
“Well, we’ve stopped by for dessert,” called Miguel’s aunt from the doorway, with Arturo at her shoulder. “Are we too late?”
“Never too late,” said Jorge, giving her a kiss, then shaking Arturo’s hand.
While they chatted, Castillo was behind him, lifting his chin at Miguel, who shifted over to the man. “Do you need something, Fernando?”
“Yes, I’ve been trying to watch the monitors with my bad eye — if you know what I mean.”
“Thank you very much.”
“I wouldn’t do that again, though,” he said. “Your father would not appreciate it. He would say you are not treating her like a lady.”
“Understood. Thank you, Fernando. That was foolish.”
“I was young, too. I did things like that.”
Miguel placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “You’re a good friend.” He then drifted back onto the deck, where he caught his father telling Arturo that he can really make a difference and that they should work together to stem the violence in Juarez.
“I’m only the governor, Jorge. There is only so much I can do. The president’s policies are not working. They are only causing more violence. I just received another report today about more killings in the city, and just yesterday I received yet another death threat.”
“You are the best and the brightest we have. You know what to do. But above all, don’t get discouraged. This violence will come to an end. I’ll do everything I can to help.”
“Jorge, you may have heard this before, but not yet from me. I must add my voice to the others.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You should become the next president of Mexico.”
Jorge recoiled. “Me?”
“You have the connections and the finances. You could run a remarkable campaign.”
Jorge began laughing. “No, no, no. I am a businessman, nothing more.”
Miguel studied his father, the look of incredulity on the man’s face, with just a hint of guilt in his eyes, as though he was letting everyone down if he didn’t run.
“Did you miss me?” Sonia asked, hooking her arm around Miguel’s.
He turned to her and whispered, “I did. And I have a surprise for you.”
9 CONFIANZA
He wanted to choke her while they were having sex because he’d read about erotic asphyxiation and she’d told him that it was a turn-on to be dominated by him.
But when Dante Corrales wrapped both hands around Maria’s neck, while she had her heels firmly planted on his shoulders, he got a little too carried away, and by the time he reached orgasm, Maria was no longer moving.
“Maria! Maria!”
He slid her legs aside and dropped to her, putting his ear to her mouth, listening, his own breath ragged, his pulse still racing, growing more rapid as images of Maria’s funeral flashed through his mind.
The panic came in a shudder through his shoulders. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”
Suddenly, her eyes snapped away. “You fucker! You could have killed me!”
“What the fuck? You were faking it!”
“What did you think? You think I’d be stupid enough to let you kill me? Dante, you need to be careful!”
He smacked her across the face. “You dumb bitch! You scared the shit out of me!”
She smacked him across the face, and his eyes grew wide, his hand balling into a fist, his teeth coming together.
But then she looked at him. And burst out laughing. He grabbed her, draped her over his lap, her tight, shiny ass facing him. He spanked her till her cheeks glowed. “Never do that again! Never!”
“Yes, Daddy. Yes …”
