You Had Me at Hola(13)

Carmen looked up from her desk and flashed him a fierce grin. “Papi, there’s nobody in this business better than I am. Come on, what’s the catch?”

With a resigned grimace, Ernesto leaned out the glass door of the office and called, “Déjalo pasar.”

The man who strolled into the office made Carmen’s confident smile drop. A myriad of emotions raced through her, all visible on her face. Shock, hurt, and then—anger.

But he . . . he was all smooth and secure, as if he had every right to be here. His lips curved in a sexy smile and he gave a little nod. “Hola, Carmen.”

His voice was silken and deep, wrapping around her, urging her to loosen up. Instead, Carmen steeled her spine. With tight, controlled movements, she set the tablet down, lest she throw it at him, and pressed her hands to the cool surface, letting it ground her. Her lips compressed into a thin line as she glared from the newcomer to her father.

“Really?” she said in a harsh tone, breaking the silence but not the tension. “My ex-husband is our new client?”

On a network show, this would have been a prime commercial break, but since this was being filmed for a streaming service, the scene continued.

Ernesto rushed over to Carmen, his tone conciliatory. “Mija, óyeme—”

“No, I will not listen.” Carmen slashed her hand through the air. “The answer is no. I won’t work with him.”

Her father didn’t give up. “Like you said, you’re the best in the business at rehabbing celebrity images. If you can turn Victor’s career around, we’ll have clients knocking down our door. Come on, mija. Do it for the family.”

Carmen pinned Victor with a glare. “What. Did. You. Do?”

Victor had the grace to look slightly abashed. His throat worked as he swallowed, and he lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck. “Ah . . . I might have . . . canceled a world tour.”

Carmen nodded and slowly let out a breath. “I probably would have known that if I hadn’t so thoroughly scrubbed you out of my life.”

Victor pressed a hand to his chest and winced. “Ouch. Direct hit.”

“Basta,” Ernesto said, getting between them. “You’re both grown adults. Can’t you work together?”

Carmen sucked on her lower lip, as if she were thinking about it, then she shook her head. “No, Papi. I can’t. I won’t work with him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more important things to do than to waste my time talking with this piece of basura.” She raised a finger and pointed at the door. “Victor, out.”

Victor and Ernesto exchanged glances, but Victor raised his hands in surrender and left the office.

With a heavy sigh, Carmen dropped into her desk chair. When she looked up at her father, betrayal was etched all over her features. “Papi, how could you do that to me?”

“Lo siento, querida. Pero . . .” Her father sat in the chair on the other side of Carmen’s desk, shoulders slumped. “Pero Victor es nuestra única esperanza.”

Carmen’s brows creased, and her tone was pleading. “No entiendo. Why is Victor our only hope?”

“Porque . . .” There was a hitch in his voice. “Porque, mija, we are on the verge of losing the business.”

Carmen let the shock of his words show on her face. “But . . . I thought we were doing well. You never said . . .”

“I know. Ever since your tío Fredo died, we’ve been struggling. He was the strong one, the smart one. I was good with people, but Fredo was good with numbers.”

“That was three years ago . . .” Carmen shook her head, still not comprehending. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped.”

“You and Victor were having trouble, and I didn’t want to worry you, or give you more work. Anyway, now . . . it looks like signing Victor is all we can do to save the business.”

Carmen clasped her hands together on the desk and shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she met her father’s gaze, and it was as if she had suited herself in armor. Eyes cold, shoulders squared, voice sharp.

“I will work with Victor under two conditions,” she said, and held up a finger before her father could rejoice. “One, I take over the financials for the business.”

“Pero you’ll be so busy—”

“Not too busy to get the firm back on top. Serranos do it better, remember?” A ghost of a smile played on her lips, but she squashed it and held up a second finger. “Two, no one gets any ideas about me and Victor, got it?”

Her father’s expression was all innocence. “?Qué quieres decir? Ideas?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” Carmen said, getting to her feet. “Just because I’ll be working with him does not mean that Victor and I will be getting back together. So get that out of your head. Same goes for Mom.”

Her father held up his hands. “Okay, bueno. I believe you.”

“Now call him back in. I know he’s still out there. He only leaves when it’s convenient for him.” Carmen came around from her desk and waited with her hands on her hips.

Victor returned, shit-eating grin firmly in place.

“I knew you couldn’t resist me.”

“You’d be surprised what I can resist,” Carmen replied through gritted teeth. “Right now, I’m resisting throwing a paperweight at your head.”