“What if I run away with all your cash?”
The smirk drops from his lips. “I don’t care if you take all my money. What I won’t have is you running from me.”
Warmth blooms in my soul. “I’m not going anywhere.” I dig my fingers into his chest. “You’re stuck with me.”
He presses his forehead to mine. “That’s all I ever wanted.”
17
Cesar
Carter sits in his usual spot in my office, the slight sheen of sweat on his forehead reminding me that he fears me. Good. I keep a tight leash on him. It’s the only way to run an empire such as mine.
He stands as we enter and offers me his hand. I shake it. Then he goes to sit. I grab him by the shoulder of his coat. “You will treat Valentina with the same respect you offer me or you will find yourself in a shallow grave with no one to mourn you.”
“Cesar.” Valentina smacks my arm. “That escalated quickly. Here.” She holds her hand out. “Take it before he gets worse.”
Carter shakes her hand, and then I drop him in his chair and guide Valentina around my desk, then pull her into my lap.
“S-sorry.” Carter mops his brow.
“It’s okay.” My little mouse waves her hand at him.
“Not okay.” I tighten my grip on her waist, and she leans against me.
“If I may?” He pulls a sheaf of papers from his briefcase.
“Go on.” I watch as he flips the pages.
“Now. As you’ve turned 21, you are entitled to your father’s holdings so long as you are a virgin. That--”
“Not a virgin.” Valentina’s voice has risen just like the color in her cheeks. “I mean, not at all. Not that I’m, you know, promiscuous.” She gives a strangled laugh.
Carter’s eyebrows rise, and I don’t say a word, because I’m enjoying how my little mouse fidgets on my lap as she tries to explain.
“No.” She shakes her head. “That came out wrong. Listen. I meant to say I’ve had sex lots of times but just with one man, not like, lots of guys or something.”
“So you are--”
“Non-virginal.” She gives an awkward salute. “Absolutely not a virgin. This cherry is po--”
I wrap my palm over her mouth to save her from herself. After all, while it’s amusing, I can never stand to see her suffer.
“Valentina has forsaken her claim to the Cruz family fortune.” I drop my hand.
She takes a deep breath and lets it out, then turns and kisses me sweetly. “Thank you,” she whispers.
“Of course.” I squeeze her thigh.
“In that case, the money goes to Mr. Saldana, so long as he--”
“I’ve claimed my love Valentina Cruz in every way that God intended and several ways He did not.” I grin as Valentina whips her head around and gawks at me.
“Oh my God,” she mouths.
I shrug. “I’ll find more ways once this meeting is through, little mouse.”
“Oh.” Carter’s eyebrows jump. “All right. Well, then …” He flips through several sheets, his eyes scanning back and forth and his lips moving. “In that case … Let’s see. Mr. Cruz had so many stipulations . . .” His words fade on a mumble as he goes back to reading to himself and flipping pages.
“Sorry I’m late.” Maria hurries in, her tennis racquet still in hand. “My set with Mrs. Carollton went way over.”
“Did you win?” Valentina asks.
“Of course.” Maria grins and sits in the chair next to Carter. “You come from a champion bloodline, my precious one.” Her gaze moves to me. “You’d better be treating her right.”
Valentina hops to her feet and runs over to her mother. “Look!” She shows Maria the ring.
“What?” Maria hops to her feet, her racquet clattering to the wood floor as she takes Valentina’s hand. “Engaged. Oh my God!” She hugs Valentina and looks at me again, her eyes watering as she holds her daughter close. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. I’ll want to have the wedding as soon as possible. My little mouse mustn’t get away.”
Valentina turns. “Get away? When there’s so much more to steal?” She comes back to me and shows me her open palm. My money clip sits there.
I reach up and close her hand. “Yours. Everything I have and everything I am belongs only to you.”
“Wait.” Carter holds up a hand. “I’ve got it. Convoluted, but I’ve parsed it out. I didn’t think I’d have to go this deep into the document given that Valentina has been under lock and key and didn’t have the opportunity to have sex with a man other than--”
A growl rumbles through me.
Carter switches gears. “Moving on. I simply meant those are moot points. There is no clause to counteract the virginity arrangement or the slayer arrangement. So neither of you can inherit. However--” He holds up a thin finger.
“What do you mean ‘however’?” I’m losing patience with Carter. “You told me those clauses were ironclad.”
“I know, but if you read deeper, you see that if Valentina is engaged or married to the man who took her … her, you know.” He glances at me and continues, “Then it says here ‘Should my wife have led my daughter, upon her 21st birthday, to a state of grace via bonds of matrimony or the promise of matrimony to the man who took my daughter’s virginity, then my wife shall inherit all of my estate without reservation.”
I confess I never read that deeply into Hector’s will. After all, it’s the labyrinth of a madman who was obsessed with his daughter’s purity and his wife’s faithfulness, and I trusted Carter to interpret it for me. Besides, I only needed to ensure that Valentina received that money. But now? Now the fine print matters far more than I ever thought possible.
“Me?” Maria sinks back into her chair, the dumbfounded look on her face mirrored in Valentina’s.
“Justice.” I kiss Valentina’s ear. “That’s what this is.”
“Me?” Maria repeats and rubs her cheeks.
“Wait. So you’re saying that we could’ve already been married?” She stands and points at Carter. “I could’ve been having sex with Cesar this whole time?”
“Well, yes, but you still wouldn’t have inherited. I was under strict instructions to interpret the will so that you would inherit, not your mother.”
“I think … Yeah, I think I might kill you!” She lunges at him, and I catch her, caging my little mouse in my arms.
“Carter, you’re dismissed. We’ll discuss your highly precarious position later.”
He pales but collects his documents and scurries from the room with a hurried “My apologies, Mr. Saldana” thrown over his shoulder.
“Me?” Maria seems to be caught in a loop.
“You!” Valentina drops to her knees in front of her mother. “Yes, you.” She rests her head in Maria’s lap. “You deserve this. You always have.”
“You are now the wealthiest woman in all of Colombia, should you wish to return.” I can’t help the sensation of bolts and pins clicking into place, like the locking mechanism on my vault that Valentina can always circumvent. She’s done it again, solving the puzzle of her father’s will and giving her mother the freedom she’s always deserved.