"Yes, the resort owners are looking to expand the scope of the events that we handle here. They’re going to hire more coordinators, and they’ll need someone to manage the team. I've been told that if things go well with this competition, they’re looking at me for the job."
"Congratulations, Nora. That's very impressive." He stops long enough to look into my eyes.
"I wish everyone shared your opinion."
Tossing the bottle behind his back, it comes down in front of his face, and he catches it. "Let me guess, your parents had different ideas for your life?"
"They wanted me to go farther in my education than I did. I stopped after I got my business diploma, whereas they would have preferred I was still working my way towards a PhD."
"In what?"
"Theology. They're both pastors. They run the Benavente United Church in San Felipe."
"Really? So you're a preacher's kid. I would not have guessed that."
The look on his face is melting me, starting at my heart and going directly to my lady bits. “What would you have guessed?"
He glances at the ceiling as if considering his answer. "I would've guessed your father was a dentist and your mother was a swimsuit model." His eyes sweep over me, and a surge of warmth moves through me.
"Hardly. But even if that were true, I would definitely have taken after my dentist father."
"You’re selling yourself short, Nora," he says, his face growing serious. "You’re hot, and don't you forget it."
I watch him for the next forty-five minutes, completely forgetting about all the work piled up on my desk. What he's doing is utterly hypnotic and impressive. It's like I'm getting my own magic show, only not by some creepy magician. My heart aches when I think about him losing his father at such a young age and the deep sense of betrayal he must have felt—and probably still feels today—when Theo ripped his dreams away. When he finishes, he places the wet cups on a drying rack and wipes down the bar top with a rag. "Well, I think I'm as ready as I'm going to get for tomorrow."
A sense of disappointment comes over me because I know our time together has to end. He's going off to do whatever it is he does when he is not practicing, and I have to get back to my desk. We walk side by side across the ballroom.
"Hey, Nora, thanks so much for listening to me. I rarely talk about what happened with anyone, and it feels good to know you understand."
"I just can't believe he did that to you. I mean, obviously, Ibelieveit. He’s pretty much exactly what you'd expect someone who was born as rich as he was to be: demanding, critical, and unpleasant. But what he did to you, well, that's just plain evil."
"I can’t help but see it that way." He pushes the door open and waits for me to exit first. "But the truth is, there's no sense in me dwelling on any of it. I can't change what happened, so I'm making the best of the life I have."
"That's very admirable of you," I tell him. "I think I’d be angry every day of my life if I were you."
“No, then he wins."
"Good point." I stare up at him for a second, then ask, "But why would he refuse to help you out? After all those years of you being part of his family?"
"I thinkthatwas the problem to be honest. He never really liked how close I was to his father, especially after I lost mine."
"So he needed to not only be rich and have everything handed to him on a silver platter, he also needed to have his father's undivided attention?"
"I think he did. Mr. Rojas Senior was such an open and giving man when it came to his time as well as his money. Maybe Theo never felt like he got enough of him."
"Well, regardless, you'd think as a grown man, he would set aside such pettiness and do the right thing."
“You’d think so, but apparently not everyone is capable of doing the right thing.” When we reach my desk, Paz rakes a hand through his long hair. "Anyway, if you could keep all that stuff I told you between the two of us, I would appreciate it."
"Of course. I promise I won't say a word to anyone, although Iamtempted to tweet at Rojas Rum about his awful behavior. Let the world see who he really is."
Chuckling, Paz says, "Thank you for being in my corner."
"And in your corner I shall stay. If you need anything at all while you're here, please pop by."Please, please pop by.
"Thanks Nora, I will." He smiles down at me, turning me completely to jelly. "I better let you get to work. I know how busy you are."
He strides out the door, leaving me with my tongue hanging out as I watch him walk away. Why is it that the good guys of the world never seem to come out ahead? Especially since nothing bad ever seems to happen to spoiled, entitled billionaires who think themselves far superior to everyone they meet. If only his dad hadn't passed away. Or if Mr. Rojas Senior, who sounds lovely, hadn't. Paz would have had a completely different life. My heart aching, I sit at my desk and turn on my laptop. As it boots up, I find myself wishing that karma would come for Theo Rojas in a big, bad way, becausethatis what he deserves.
