As the car stopped at a traffic signal, Cruze turned his attention on his son. “When are you going to tell us what happened with your young lady?”
Iveliss seemed to share her husband’s curiosity, because she silently regarded her son.
Marco groaned, but kept his tone in check out of respect for his parents. “I’m not. Suffice it to say I ruined things with her, and she’ll probably never speak to me again.”
His father’s expression showed his displeasure. “Marco, if you love her, then you know what you have to do.”
“Dad, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to speak about this right now.” He knew that if the conversation continued down this path, the path where his father lectured him about going after Joi and winning her back, a shouting match wouldn’t be far behind.
Cruze’s brow furrowed, but he threw up a hand in surrender. “Fine. But, son, do fix your face. Just because you’re miserable doesn’t mean we want to look at that scowl all night.”
Marco took a deep breath, and put on his best fake smile. “Better, Dad?”
“Actually, yes.” Cruze turned his attention back to his wife.
The rest of the ride passed in silence. After the driver let them out of the sedan, in front of the ritzy Tortuga Lodge Hotel, Marco straightened his bow tie and prepared to keep the false smile plastered on his face all evening long.
The atmosphere inside the ballroom was as festive as the milestone demanded. A large gold banner hung along the north wall, reading Herrera Incorporated: Celebrating 40 Years. Three long tables had been set up, displaying a sumptuous buffet, overflowing with savory dishes and a bevy of sugar-laden desserts. The buffet was staffed by white-coated chefs, dispensing the gastronomic delights in proper portions.
The tables around the room were dressed in gold and black, and waiters wearing black suits and gold ties floated amongst the guests, seeing to their every need. Yes, the Herreras knew how to throw a party, and tonight was no exception.
Following his parents, Marco strode around the perimeter of the ballroom, until he came to the table where the Herreras were holding court like a king and his queen. While the Herreras and the Alvarezes exchanged pleasantries, Marco went straight to Ernesto, who sat at his mother’s side looking as bored as a rambunctious child forced to listen to a long sermon.
“Marco. I’m glad you could make it, man.” Ernesto stood, shaking hands with his friend. “This party was seriously lacking in the hot women department, but I know you brought some with you.” He looked around expectantly.
Shaking his head, Marco scoffed. “I don’t travel with a harem, you know. And tonight I don’t even have a date.”
Ernesto’s brow rose by at least two inches. “What do you mean, you don’t have a date? Marco the Magnificent, coming to the party of the century solo? I don’t believe this.”
“Believe it.” He had no desire to elaborate, because this night was already going to be difficult enough without going into the gory details.
Ernesto chuckled. “I’m just teasing you, man. Actually, I have a little surprise for you. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Curious and confused, Marco followed Ernesto to a table a few feet away. Seated at the table were three young women, and when Ernesto placed his hands possessively on the shoulder of one of them, Marco’s eyes widened.
A smiling Ernesto announced, “Marco, meet my wife, Anita. Anita, my love, this is my dear friend Marco.”
The dark-haired, green-eyed Anita stood, offering her hand to him. “I’m pleased to meet you, Marco.”
“Likewise.” Marco pushed his shock aside long enough to kiss her offered hand. Then he turned to Ernesto, with questioning eyes.
Ernesto helped Anita back into her seat, then placed a soft kiss on her brow.
Marco waited only a few seconds before grabbing the end of Ernesto’s tuxedo jacket and tugging it. “Sidebar, sir.”
They moved away from the table of women, and as soon as they were out of earshot, Marco asked, “When did you get married? And is it the real thing this time?”
With a chuckle, Ernesto slapped him on the back. “I thought about telling you on the phone, but seeing your face has made keeping the secret well worth it!”
Marco gritted his teeth. “Ernesto, answer me.”
“I’ve been married for three months, and yes, it’s real. Anita is the love of my life, and I’m so glad she agreed to marry me.”
Marco looked at his friend, and immediately recognized the truth of his words—he was actually in love. Taken aback, he shook his head in wonder. “What can I say? Congratulations, my friend.”
“Thank you. And, get this, my parents love her, too. So everything’s wonderful.” Ernesto’s eyes were still on his wife as he spoke.
“I wish I could say the same.” Marco drew a deep breath. While he was happy for Ernesto, it was hard for him to accept things as they’d turned out.
Ernesto’s gaze landed on his friend’s face, and sympathy penetrated his expression. “Sorry to hear that, man. Is there anything I can do?”
And just like that, the lightbulb illuminated inside Marco’s head. Tossing his arm around the shoulders of his old friend, he smiled. “Actually, there is.”
Taking a breath, he began to explain the situation with Joi.
Chapter 18
With a pen in one hand and a stack of papers in the other, Joi turned sideways on the sofa and stretched her legs out in front of her. The venetian blinds at her living room window were open, allowing the afternoon sunlight to stream in. It was another chilly late-autumn Saturday, where it looked much warmer outside than it actually was. But the temperatures had risen a bit since the previous week’s cold snap, finally making it back into the mid-fifties typical for the area this time of year.
It was warm enough that she could have gone out, but she didn’t want to. Since she and Chloe had returned from Costa Rica two days ago, she hadn’t had much desire to do much of anything. She hadn’t even gone into her office yesterday, nor had she swung by any of her job sites to check in with her guards. All of the catching up she’d done had taken place by phone, allowing her the space she needed to accept the new state of things.
She’d fallen into bed Friday afternoon, when the exhaustion from the travel and two all-nighters she’d pulled in Limón finally caught up with her. Wrapped in her own blankets and the comfort of her own bed, she’d slept for fourteen solid hours. Now, rested and fed, she planned on starting the process of expanding Citadel to accommodate the scope of the new contract she’d earned from Royal.
She’d called Karen from the airport in San Jose, before boarding her return flight, to let her know about their new contract. Karen, who was off the pain medication and would soon return to work, had been overjoyed at the news. Hearing about Chloe’s contribution to their victory over the malicious software, Karen had insisted on offering the assistant a permanent position as soon as it could be arranged. Joi was in wholehearted agreement with that, since Chloe had shown herself to be an important asset to Citadel’s cybersecurity department.
Joi settled into the microfiber cushion, with a small wooden lap desk resting on her thighs. She set the papers down, and started to jot notes about all the tasks she’d need to take care of for the expansion. In the margin of the page, she began to sketch out a rough timeline that would allow everything to be taken care of in the four-month period Mr. Perez had suggested. As she wrote, she reminded herself that this was just a draft, and that she’d go back later to add in more detail.
An image of Marco’s face floated into her mind, breaking her concentration. Despite her best efforts, she could not push the image, or the memories of what they’d shared, away. The remembered sensations of his touch, his kiss and his hardness filling her so completely were potent, and not easily dismissed. Sighing aloud, sh
e tucked her pen into the base of her haphazard ponytail. So much for getting any work done. Frustrated, she let her head drop back on the armrest behind her.
The sound of someone knocking on her door drew her attention before she could settle into studying her ceiling. Setting the lap desk aside, she climbed to her feet and went to answer the door. A glance through the peephole revealed Joanne standing on the front porch, tapping her foot. Knowing her sister was not going to go away, she unlocked the door and swung it open. “Joanne, what are you doing here? Saturdays are your busiest day at the shop.”
Entering the house, Joanne shrugged out of her coat and hung it from one of the row of hooks mounted next to the door. “I know, but my manager is handling the shop today. My baby sister just returned from an international trip and I want to hear all about it!” She gave Joi a peck on the cheek before moving farther into the house.
Joi followed her sister, who’d made a beeline through the living room, straight to the kitchen. Watching her rifle through the fridge, she folded her arms over her chest. “Really, Joanne? Don’t you have food at your house?”
Turning to her with a bottle of pinot noir in one hand and a bag of cheese cubes in the other, Joanne replied, with a straight face, “Girl, no! Don’t you remember? I live in a house with a grown man and a little boy going through a growth spurt. I’m lucky they haven’t eaten my countertops.”
A giggle bubbled up and escaped Joi’s mouth, despite her less-than-sunny mood. Her sister could always be counted on to say something crazy, but she knew the statement was tinged with honesty.
Joanne, having dumped the cheese onto a platter, was now searching the cabinets. “Where are you hiding the crackers? Because I know you have some in the house.”
Shaking her head, Joi helped her sister pile the tray with crackers and mixed nuts, then fetched wineglasses for the two of them. Soon she was back on the couch, moving her work out of the way so her sister could join her.
Holding her filled glass, Joanne said around a mouthful of cheese and crackers, “So, tell me about your trip. I’ve never been to Costa Rica.”
She shrugged, taking a sip from her own glass. “Really, I worked most of the time I was there. The only things I saw were the airport in San Jose, the bank headquarters and my hotel.” And the strip of beach along the Caribbean Sea, where Marco made me scream his name...
Ever perceptive, Joanne cocked a brow. “There’s something you’re not telling me, little sister. Spill the beans.”
Joi turned away, choosing to stuff a handful of salted nuts into her mouth.
Joanne stared at her for a few moments, squinting her eyes. Then her hand flew up, index finger extended. “Aha! Something happened between you and Marco, didn’t it?”
Joi groaned.
“Didn’t it?” Joanne repeated herself, her tone revealing that she had no plans to back down from this line of questioning.
Aware that she’d been backed into the proverbial corner, Joi sighed. In as few words as possible, she explained to her sister what had occurred: the night of passion she and Marco had shared, and the revelation of his betrayal, along with her subsequent early departure from the paradise that was Puerto Limón.
When Joi finished Joanne’s eyes were still locked on her, but her expression had softened considerably.
Joi groused, “Go ahead and hit me with the ‘I told you so.’ Might as well get it out of your system.”
Instead of lecturing her, Joanne set her wineglass aside and opened her arms. “Come here. You look like you could use a little love, sis.”
Joi put down her wineglass and leaned over into her sister’s embrace. Before she knew it, the bitter tears started to fall. “I love him, Joanne. I really do, but I can never be with him now that I know what kind of person he really is.”
Patting her back, Joanne offered her sister comfort. “I’m sorry things turned out this way, Joi. Usually I like being right, but this one time I think I would have rather been wrong. I hate to see you hurting.”
And she was hurting. It hurt to know that Marco had been so dishonest, and it hurt to know she’d never feel his touch on her skin, or his kiss against her lips again. But what hurt more than anything was the unspoken love for him that she still held within her. It was true, it was intense, and try as she might, she just couldn’t seem to make it go away.
“What do I do now, Joanne?” She moaned the words through her tears.
“I don’t know, sis. But I’m here for you.” Joanne tightened her embrace, rocking from side to side.
And as the tears continued to stream down her face, Joi wondered if she could ever go back to life the way it used to be, before Marco entered her world and yanked it loose from its moorings.
* * *
As Marco navigated the maze known as the parking lot of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, he tried to keep his focus on driving. It was Sunday afternoon, and his return flight from San Jose had landed about an hour prior. Due to the glut of incoming flights landing as the weekend faded into the workweek, the loops of roadway that funneled vehicles away from the terminals and back onto the highway were clogged with traffic.
When he’d left last week to go to Royal headquarters, he hadn’t expected to return with any extra baggage, other than maybe a few souvenirs. Circumstances had dictated otherwise, because now he had a passenger riding in his car with him, and it was not the one he’d expected.
Ernesto, busy scrolling through something on the screen of his phone, didn’t bother to look up as he spoke. “Whatever happened with your loan officer?”
He shook his head as he thought of the duplicitous Donetta Charles. “After the guards turned the security footage over to the police, they arrested her. She’s in the county lockup for now.”
Ernesto chuckled. “No flash drive is going to get her out of this jam.”
Marco had to agree, but it was still the weekend, and he didn’t want to talk about work now. The only thing on his mind now was Joi, and how he could get her to hear him out. That was the reason he’d insisted Ernesto accompany him back to Charlotte.
“So are you sure this is going to work?”
He shook his head, aware that Ernesto was asking about his plan to get back in Joi’s good graces. “No, I’m not sure. All I know is that if I don’t try, I’ll never be able to get past this.”
“Well, I hope I can help you make things right, man. I’m just sorry Anita couldn’t come along.” The new Mrs. Herrera had already planned a shopping excursion with her mother-in-law, the elder Mrs. Herrera.
Marco shrugged. “I understand. I didn’t intend to interrupt her plans, or yours, for that matter.”
“This is the first time I’ve traveled this far without her, since we got married. I already miss her.” A smile spread over Ernesto’s face as he looked up from his phone. “She’s been texting me since we landed, and she misses me, too.”
Marco shook his head, still trying to wrap his mind around the whole situation. The man sitting next to him was so different from the Ernesto he’d attended college with. The womanizing goof-off had now been replaced with a man of purpose. Ernesto obviously loved his wife, and would likely rearrange his entire life to gain her praise. He realized the change was a vast improvement, and inside, he had to admit he was a little jealous. What Ernesto had with Anita was just what he wanted with Joi.
Curious as to how the relationship that had changed his friend’s outlook on life began, Marco asked, “How did you meet Anita?”
Ernesto chuckled. “Actually, she came into the Herrera offices several months ago to apply for a position in the administrative office.”
“Did you interview her?”
He shook his head. “No, my human resources manager did the interview, but I sit in on most of them. Anita was so overqualified that she didn’t get the job, but I
got her number that day and the rest is history.”
The story made Marco smile. It seemed somewhat humorous to him that both he and his friend had fallen for a woman they met in the workplace. He supposed that in their lines of work, which led to them spending a great deal of time in the office, it made sense.
As he finally merged onto the highway, Marco had his first destination in mind. He and Ernesto had already grabbed something to eat before leaving the terminal, so there was nothing standing between him and making a very important purchase, other than the ribbon of road stretched out before him.
About half an hour later, he pulled into the parking lot of Josephine and Company, a high-end jeweler located in uptown Charlotte.
Ernesto tucked his phone away as Marco cut the engine, and looked up to see where they were. “I was shocked to hear the story of what went down between you and Joi, man.”
“I know. Sorry I threw you such a curveball, but I wanted to be honest with you.”
Ernesto waved him off. “I get it, man. And I appreciate your honesty. Like I said, I’m not mad. I never had strong feelings for Joi anyway.”
“Still, I wanted to clear the air. I had to, if I’m going to have any chance at a life with her.”
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
Marco’s eyes were on the sparkling gems displayed in the window of the store as he replied. “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.” He fully understood the risk he’d be taking, but he prayed that between him and Ernesto, they could explain the situation well enough so that Joi would forgive him. Her forgiveness was his first goal, and if he could gain that, he felt hopeful that he could gain her heart, and her presence in his life, forever.
The two men climbed out of the car, and Marco used the remote to lock it before they entered the store.
Chapter 19
The conference room at Citadel Security was full for the first time in months as Joi and most of her staff sat around the long table. Her laptop open, she streamed an internet radio station that played hits from the eighties. She kept the volume low, letting the music provide some background noise for their conversation, because the upbeat music helped to calm her frazzled nerves. She couldn’t help cracking a smile when The Bangles’ hit “Manic Monday” began to play over the computer’s speakers.
A Sultry Love Song Page 16
