“I have to go,” he said in a clipped voice. He ended the call. “What are you doing up?” He walked slowly toward her.
“I heard talking.”
“What did you hear?” He stood in front of her now, and she clearly saw the remnants of anger from the conversation, but concern, too. The concern had to be because she’d learned something about him that he didn’t want her to know.
“Sounds like you owe someone money,” Carmen said quietly.
“It’s my problem,” he muttered and swept past her back to the bedroom.
She followed close on his heels. “So you’re keeping things from me?”
“Not exactly. This is something I need to handle on my own.” Carlos set the phone on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. He ran his fingers through his hair.
Carmen walked over and stroked her fingers over his furrowed brow. The creases cleared, but his eyes remained troubled.
“I don’t like this. Who were you talking to? That conversation sounded really intense, and whatever you’re going through, I want to help.”
“I can’t tell you anything except that I’ll handle the problem, and there’s nothing for you to worry about. The conversation may have sounded intense, but I have everything under control. And I don’t need your money. The last thing I want to do is take money from you for problems I created myself.”
“So you admit there’s a problem. Carlos—”
“Carmen, listen to me.” He took both of her hands and tugged her forward until she stood between his legs. “You have to trust me right now, okay? I know I seem very secretive, but it’s for a good reason. You can’t help me, and I can handle this on my own.”
She stared down at the hands grasping hers.
“Hey.” He tugged more gently this time and forced her eyes to focus on his. “Stop worrying.”
“If you need my help, you would tell me, right?”
“Yes. But this is something I need to take care of myself. I can’t explain, and I won’t let you help me.”
“Please don’t let your stupid male pride create problems when I’m right here and able to assist,” she pleaded.
“It’s not male pride. It’s me trying to right a wrong. An error in judgment that I regret.”
“Doesn’t sound like the person you were talking to will allow you to fix it.”
“Not right now, but I’m working on the situation, and I need time, that’s all.” He squeezed her hands. “Trust me. This problem is nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
She straddled his thighs and wound her arms around his neck. “I accept your answer. I don’t like it, but I do, because I trust you. I only have one question, and I need you to answer me honestly. Are you involved in anything illegal?” She hated to ask, but a late-night, furtive conversation that he couldn’t give her details about had her imagination running wild.
He actually graced her with a brief smile. “Nothing quite so exciting.”
Carmen breathed a little easier. “Good. Then I’ll leave it alone, and you can tell me when you’re ready.”
Carlos kissed her softly and tightened his arms around her waist. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“Don’t make me regret it.”
For two seconds, his brow creased again, but then the lines disappeared. “I’ll do my best,” he said solemnly, which was not the answer she’d wanted to hear.
17
Carmen walked through the halls of Fit Body Gyms corporate office with an extra pep in her step. Tomorrow she’d be on a plane to Atlanta. A month had passed since she last saw Carlos in the flesh, and she couldn’t wait to be with him again.
She stopped at her assistant’s desk, Trudy, an older redhead with black-framed glasses whose sunny disposition always brightened her day.
“Almost ready to leave?” Trudy asked with a knowing grin.
Carmen had confided in her about Carlos and explained that they’d reunited, without divulging Alfred’s role in the split. She didn’t want to sully her father’s reputation. After all, he was still the head of the company and came in every day. No need to start gossip that would cause employees to dislike him.
“Almost. Before I do, I need twenty copies each of these and the Mathis contract emailed to me so I can work on the revisions. I’m going to take it home with me tonight.”
“Will you have time to read it, with packing and getting ready to leave tomorrow?” Trudy asked.
“I had Valencia pack for me,” Carmen replied, referring to her housekeeper. She handed over the papers to Trudy. “But even if she hadn’t, I’d stay up all night because I’m determined to complete the revisions and have the final copy ready before I leave.” The last thing she wanted was to let her personal travels affect her work.
“Now that’s dedication, or someone determined not to let work interrupt their trip,” Trudy said.
Carmen laughed, downright giddy she would soon be able to see Carlos. “A little bit of both, but I’ll be working in Atlanta like I always do. This isn’t a vacation. I just need to get that contract completed and in to legal by first thing Monday morning.”
Carmen headed toward her office.
“You’ll be missed around here for the next week,” Trudy called after her. “By the way, your father stopped by while you were in the meeting.”
Carmen turned away from the door. “Did he say what he wanted?”
Trudy adjusted the glasses on her nose. “Only that I should let you know he stopped by and that it was important that he speak to you.”
“Thanks. Could you order me something from the Japanese place? The usual. I’m going to eat lunch at my desk.” She could go through emails while eating, crossing one more item off her list of things to do today.
“Got it,” Trudy said, already picking up the phone.
Carmen closed the door to her office and sank into the leather chair. Frowning, she considered picking up the phone and finding out what her father wanted but doubted it was anything important. They’d barely spoken since Carlos went back to Atlanta because he’d let his reservations about their relationship be known yet again.
To avoid confrontation, she stayed away from her parents’ house and steered clear of her father at work, which wasn’t that hard to do since they were both often quite busy. She could count on one hand how many times they’d spoken since the night at the charity event, and all conversations had been brief.
She’d waited until the last minute to mention her trip to Atlanta, and now he clearly wanted to corner her and give her another talking to. Well, she wasn’t interested. He’d simply have to deal with his own negativity. It wasn’t her problem.
Sitting with her legs crossed at the ankles and propped on top of the coffee table, Carmen munched on popcorn as she reviewed the contract on her lap. Using a blue-ink pen, she made notes in the margin and rewrote sentences that she crossed out.
Two firm knocks on the door dragged her out of deep concentration. Only one person knocked like that, and only one person would dare to come to her home after nine o’clock, unannounced. Sighing, she set aside the document and dusted her hand on her sweats.