Page 63 of Bastard

“You look beautiful.”

Dios. My heart skips a beat. We didn’t say much earlier except to review the floor plan of the mansion. But I felt his attention as I fixed my hair into a sophisticated upsweep. Beneath the dress is the sheerest of bras, the tiniest pair of underwear, and thigh-high stockings held in place by a garter belt. Intimate items he purchased for me to wear. Odd that he had me all buttoned up inuna abuela’sbathing suit yet wearing lingerie in private where no one will see it.

I swallow hard because the way he’s looking at me right now makes me feel stripped bare.

“Do exactly as I say, remember?”

“Yes.”

We enter the room and introduce ourselves to the guests. And soon, Hayden has everyone at ease and talking business.

He masterfully controls each conversation without saying much himself. Unassuming and subtle in his deception. Clever in what he chooses to reveal. Tuned in on the smallest innuendos behind the reason people are here—to get a deal on their uranium purchase.

“My buyers are eager for delivery dates,” a tall, thin man with glasses comments.

“If you hurry Ogdenhayer, he’ll drive up the prices. He said so out at the pool today,” Hayden warns.

“Shit. He did?”

Mi esposo nods. “You’ll answer to the other buyers in the room. I don’t know about you, but some of these men scare me.”

¿De Verdad?“And you, pretty lady?” the man next to the accountant addresses me. “Do they frighten you?”

“Me?” I flutter my eyelashes at him. “Why would I be? They should be afraid of me.”

“I like a woman with some fire in her.”

“Don’t like her too much or her husband will have issues,” Hayden flatly answers, then in an equally flat tone, continues, “I’m looking to partner up with someone as perceptive as you to co-finance a business opportunity in development. I’m expanding distribution as clientele is growing fast. I’ve got buyers all over the world and demand is high. If I acquire a partner, we’ll have more purchasing power to drive down the cost.”

Both men look at each other.

“Here’s my card.” Hayden produces a business card from the inside of his suit pocket. “But full disclosure, I’ll be moving fast on this. Write your telephone numbers on the back if you’d like me to contact you before I close a deal with someone else.”

The men fall for his lie. And just like that, Hayden has both men’s numbers neatly recorded on his card. These men are going to be surprised when someone from TORC comes calling. If they thought I was fire, wait until they meet Diego.

We continue to mingle and as the night goes on, a similar scenario plays out over and over.

“Tu das en la torre,” I murmur at one point. Because that’s what Hayden does—hits these men where it hurts, their finances.

“Money is the way of the world.”

“No, it isn’t.”

His lips draw tight. Instead of saying what I was going to say, that “love is the way of the world,” I change tactics. “Dancing is.” I tug on his hand. We’ve been holding hands all night, like a couple in the first blush of marriage. So unlikeus.

He shakes his head no.

“Lore-e-e-nzo,” I raise my voice, “Don’t be shy. Men who fuck well are the best dancers, baby.”

“Emilia,” he warns. Yet, he unexpectedly gives in. Suddenly, his body is flush with mine, his hands on my lower back, and he’s twirling me around the dance floor. Surprising me more than anyone else in the room. Because Lorenzo can dance.

“You liar,” I say when the music slows. “Why ask me to teach you something you’ve clearly mastered?”

“When you’re ready, I’ll tell you why.”

I feel my spine straighten. “Ready for what?”

He flashes me a smile just as another song begins.