The truth was that this idea had been eating at her for the past week. But the moment she had bought her ticket, she’d made her choice, right? Because if Ruiz Imports was involved in smuggling, it meant that part of her life was based on a lie. Maybe a large part. What was the alternative? Turn a blind eye?
Simon still said nothing. Just stared, his green eyes stormy. Was he doubting she could do the right thing if she had to? She’d cross that bridge later.
She swallowed. “This is why I need your help, Simon. There’s no one else I can trust to help me in all the ways you can. Please.”
He winced at this last plea. “I’m not the right person to do this. You need someone who can stay objective. Someone who doesn’t need a cold shower after a few hours with you.”
A cold shower? Yeah, right.
Marianna crossed her arms. “And how should I interview for that?”
Simon shook his head. “This whole idea is making me crazy,” he muttered.
He narrowed his eyes and started across the room in long strides. Marianna took a step back, but he came right for her. Closer. She stepped back again. She hit the wall, and he kept coming until his hard body pressed against hers.
“Do you know how hard it is for me to see you again?” he said, his voice low and raw. “It fucks with my head, Mari. And that’s not good for either of us.”
“It’s messing with my head, too,” she whispered. For all her revenge plans, that was the truth.
She closed her eyes, each of his unsteady breaths echoing inside her, each rise and fall of his chest brushing against her nipples. “Just help me through this,” she whispered.
She wasn’t playing fair. Not at all. But he wasn’t either, coaxing her with his body, reminding her how quickly things spiraled out of control.
“And what if your plan doesn’t work?” he said, his voice a low growl. “What if William is five steps ahead of you? What happens next?”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “Help me with that, Simon.”
Simon’s heavy breaths traveled over her skin. It was hard to think with him so close, his body against hers.
“Please.”
She was pleading with him, and his body gave in first. He swore, his lips brushing against her skin. Then he cupped her face with his hand and stroked her cheek with this thumb. “Okay. You win.”
Simon took a ragged breath and stepped away. She held his gaze, both of them silent.
“Let’s go finish the meeting,” he said quietly. “But no more surprises, Mari. Don’t hide anything from me.”
She swallowed. “I won’t.”
He nodded and headed for the door.
Max and Derek were deep in discussion when they entered, studying one of the photos of a warehouse. Simon pulled out her chair for her, and she sat down.
Derek glanced back and forth between Simon and her.
“All right,” he said, eyebrow raised. “Let’s continue.”
“We need to check the guy she sat next to on the plane,” said Simon. “That guy showed up at her hotel, and I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Did you catch a name?” Max asked her.
“Donovan. He might have said a last name, but I don’t remember it.”
“No worries,” said Max. “We can look by seat number if we have to. What else?”
“He had an American accent.” Marianna furrowed her brow. “He said he was here on business, but I don’t think he gave much in the way of details.”
“This is helpful,” said Derek. “Anything more you can remember about your conversation?”
