A Deal With Alejandro

‘Is that what you’d do in my shoes? Bare your life to strangers in order to secure a deal?’

She lifted her glass and took a healthy gulp, relishing the warmth that blanketed her insides. ‘We’re not talking about me here.’

‘You’re fond of hypotheticals. So let’s have it. Would you give yourself the same advice, were you in my position?’

‘Maybe.’ She bore his intense scrutiny for a minute before she sighed. ‘Yes, I would.’

‘And what would you tell them about yourself?’

Elise shook her head. ‘That’s too broad a question.’

‘Let’s streamline, then. You attended a university on the west coast when your family is based in a state with excellent universities. Why?’

Nerves began to eat into the warmth. She took another sip, despite the faint warning that this form of Dutch courage hadn’t been her best idea. ‘The need to broaden my horizons?’

‘If you had such a need, why did you return to work with your parents?’

She stiffened at the other raw subject that grated her nerves. ‘Is there a law against that?’

‘Is that the answer you’d give a prospective business partner?’

‘No...’ She paused, aware she had skidded towards a chasm of her own making. ‘I agreed to work at Jameson in return for my parents paying for my university tuition.’

A slow frown gathered on his brow. ‘They expected you to pay for the education they gave you?’

Elise chose to blame the Malbec for loosening the tight leash she normally had on her emotions. ‘They expect a lot of things. Including not giving free rides to anyone, including their daughter.’

The enlightened gleam in his eyes further unnerved her. ‘Things aren’t cordial between you and your parents?’

A harsh laugh escaped before she could stop it. ‘You could say that.’

‘Then why do you work with them?’ he queried.

‘Because jobs don’t automatically fall from the heavens the moment you graduate from college. And if, by some divine grace, you make it to a second or third interview and your prospective boss finds out that you’re the daughter of Marsha and Ralph Jameson, they question why you’d snub the chance to work for the exalted Jamesons. Half of them won’t touch you because they don’t believe you’ll be committed to your job. The other half have certain...preconceived notions about you and won’t even give you a chance. Seven months of polite rejections and my parents demanding repayment of their loan left me little choice.’

Elise took another sip of wine to drown the sinking knowledge that she’d divulged far more than she’d intended to.

Silence seething with questions filled the room. Alejandro levelled a gaze at her, speculation swirling in his shrewd eyes. ‘And is that debt paid off?’

She swallowed. ‘No. But I’m almost there.’

He raised his brow. ‘Almost?’

‘Yep. With your help, of course.’