From Barcelona, with Love by Elizabeth Adler

Author:Elizabeth Adler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Chapter 28

Antonio had arranged to pick up Jassy at her surprisingly small but luxuriously modernized apartment in an Art Deco building on a chic street in the Eixample district, and drive her to Floradelisa’s. He hated her tiny cage elevator, it gave him claustrophobia, so instead of going up he called on his cell and told her he was downstairs. Jassy said she was running late and would be down in a few minutes, then kept him waiting for exactly twenty. Antonio timed it on his watch, pacing the street, glaring at the parking officer patrolling the area. He got on the phone and called her angrily, again.

“I’m right here,” Jassy said, suddenly, from behind him.

Startled, he swung round. “Jesus Christ, Jassy, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Only almost?” she said, mockingly. “Too bad.”

“Jesus! I don’t know why I bothered coming. I should have let you go on your own to meet this detective. I sure as hell don’t want to meet him. I didn’t want to hire him in the first place.”

He held the car door open, waiting impatiently while Jassy dropped into the low-slung seat of his dark blue Maserati.

“You must have short-legged girlfriends,” she complained, pushing back the tan leather seat. “And anyhow, is this another new car?”

Antonio ignored her. He gave the parking officer another frosty glare before taking off, too fast, only to jerk to a stop at the red light.

Exasperated, Jassy looked angrily at her brother. The seat belt had almost choked her. She smoothed her narrow cream-colored skirt over her thighs. “You’ll end up killing somebody if you continue to drive like this,” she said. “And yes, I did ask if this is another new car. No wonder stepmother Lorenza is pissed off at you, squandering the sherry profits on fast cars and fast women.”

“What do you know about my women?” Anthony turned his head and smiled at her, a true Cheshire cat smile.

“Don’t smile at me like that,” she snapped. “We are here on business and don’t you forget it. Paloma’s future is at stake and I’m warning you now, Antonio, if you know anything about Bibi and are not telling, this detective will find out.”

“There’s nothing to find out.” Antonio’s voice was cold. He was negotiating Barcelona’s traffic like a race driver, after all he’d grown up here and knew it as well as he knew the route from Jerez to Marbella, only here, unfortunately, there wasn’t the same alluring woman waiting for him. Only his stepmother and some small-time Hollywood detective. He knew how to take care of guys like that. But he needed Lorenza’s shares in the company, so was forced to toe the line. Lorenza hadn’t said what the extra reward was, but Antonio knew it must mean money, and by God he needed money right now. He’d need even more when he divorced Elena and had to pay for her for the rest of her life, plus three children to put through school and God knows what else.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.