CHAPTER 2

When I heard his voice calling out to me, I paused in the center of the boardwalk, completely pinned in place by his words. I shook my head to clear my brain of the haze that had come over me after seeing him for the second time and attempted to collect my thoughts. Because I was under stress, I persuaded myself to put my personal grievances toward the guy aside and focus on my job.

I breathed deeply and gently turned around to face him, concentrating on my grin the whole time. “You have no clue how shocked I am to know that I’m going to work with you, sir. Please accept my apologies for my previous actions.” I tried to be disinterested, but when he returned my grin, I was having such a difficult time keeping my heart under control that I had to clear my throat.

“I understand what you're going through, and I sympathize with your emotions,” he said, and I rolled my eyes at his praises. “By the way, you look amazing,” he added.

Was it necessary for him to use the same phrase he used five years ago?

“Thank you, and you don't seem to be in too terrible shape yourself,” I replied.

“How are you doing, Alexa? It's been a long time since we've seen each other.”

“I'm terrific, but you have no right to ask me that,” I told him.

“Pardon my manners, Miss Manrique,” he said, and then he gestured that we should go back to the villa before the sun’s ray would toast us alive.

Silently, I followed him, but it wasn't easy to walk faster with a blistered foot. “You can go ahead, sir. I’ll take my time admiring your island,” I lied, so when he stared at me, I felt uneasy. “Go ahead,” I repeated.

“Stubborn as always,” he mentioned before lifting my body from the boardwalk and carrying me back to his home like a sack of potatoes.

“Put me down!” I hissed at him.

“Shut up,” he replied in a hushed voice. “Or I will throw you into the water,” he issued a threat.

Automatically, I shut up and let him handle me like cargo. For the love of God, it was embarrassing, especially when he carelessly touched my softness.

When we reached his doorstep, he opened the door with no difficulty at all. “I can walk now,” I complained, but he carried me up to his living room and deposited me into his oversized sofa.

“Sit down,” he ordered, and then he kneeled in front of me.

My eyes blinked several times at the thought of receiving a marriage proposal from my ex-boyfriend! “What are you doing? You can’t do this, Lance!”

“Let me check your feet,” he said, and before I could react, he took off my shoes, and then gently massaged the soles of my feet.

I groaned at the comforting massage, but as soon as I realized who was doing it, I almost kicked him in the face. “That’s enough,” I said, but when he looked up, our eyes met, and no one dared to look away first.

I thought I was over him!

It turned out that I was still attracted to the bastard! What a horrible turn of events!

Lance then rose to his feet, a shake of his head signaling his readiness to go. He didn't even bother to express regret! “I heard from my secretary that you’re a reporter now,” he said.

“Something like that,” I replied.

“Can you guess how excited I was when I learned that you set an appointment to talk to me,” he stated, and his cute grin was bothering him!

“At least one of us was excited,” I told him.

“Where have you been, Alexa? I’ve been searching for you all these years,” he lied once again.

“Really? Wow, that’s amazing. Do you think you can fool me again?”

“I’m not trying to fool you,” he replied, and I sneered at his response.

“If you say so,” I replied. “I’m going to set up my equipment; kindly let me know once you are ready,” I announced that I wanted to get it done as soon as possible.

“Don’t be haughty, Miss Manrique, if you want me to proceed with it,” he issued another threat. “Come and join me for breakfast.”

“Thank you, but I'm already full, sir.” I declined to have a meal with him.

“Shouldn't you make an effort to be courteous to me?” Lance inquired, his pupils constricted.

“If I don't act properly, are you implying that the interview will be canceled?” My nostrils flared with wrath as he nodded his head in agreement! “That is extortion!” I yelled out loud!”

“You're absolutely correct,” he confirmed.

“You haven't changed at all!” I should have known better than to say that, but the words had already been uttered.

His ultimatum was, “Join me for breakfast, or you'll regret it,” he said once again.

Even though I was looking him down with daggers in my eyes, I was compelled to follow him to the kitchen. I attempted to keep a professional approach while speaking with him. It was clear that he would not treat me in the same manner, and his conduct just served to reinforce my fears.

Upon entering the dining area, I anticipated seeing numerous uniformed kitchen staff members serving him. Still, Lance was alone, and his meal seemed to be something that regular people usually have for breakfast.

“Hotsilog? Are you unable to find someone to make a nice meal for you?” I mocked him for his food choice because it wasn’t healthy! Hotsilog was a morning dish composed of rice, sunny-side-up eggs, and hotdogs.

“What the hell is wrong with it? They are well-cooked,” he continued, gesticulating with his palm for me to sample it. “It’s just you and me on this island,” he added.

“No, you’re lying,” I exclaimed in disbelief.

“Are you concerned about being alone with me at this point?” He asked with a wink.

I frowned at him and said, “Of course not!”

“After breakfast, you are welcome to explore the island at your leisure. Let's schedule the interview for later in the afternoon,” he added as he rose from his seat.

“Mr. Salcedo, we definitely can’t do it!” I complained when he mentioned rescheduling the interview.

“Why the hell can’t I?” He responded with a question.

When he inquired, I was at a loss for what to say, and I didn't respond either. “Are you attempting to make my life more difficult?” Finally, I had the gall to ask him about my inner fear.

“No, I'm simply not in the mood to answer questions right now,” he rushed out of the dining room and into the hallway. Before he went, he told me, “You can take photographs if you need to while I’m taking a shower.”

Who would do the dishes?

Anyway, I followed him into his living room and pulled my camera out of my bag. He told me he wasn't available now, and no matter how much I like his chesterfield couch, I couldn't simply sit in his contemporary living room and relax like I wanted to while waiting for him.

Oh, wait, he explicitly said that I was permitted to photograph him and everything inside the house, so what's holding me?

To win the struggle against myself, I redoubled my efforts and photographed everything I could discover on his property, except for his bedroom, which was off-bounds.

“May I see the photos?”

When Lance returned to the living room and took a seat across from me, I looked at my laptop's backup file for any errors. I couldn't focus since his fresh aroma was overwhelming my senses.

The man’s wet hair reminded me of the time when we did it together in the shower. I had to shake my head several times to dismiss the erotic scenes playing inside my head.

“Later,” I replied to his question, and he just nodded.

“Can you tell me what you like to eat for lunch?” He asked while staring at me intently.

It was impossible not to swear when it became evident that he attempted to prolong the interview by utilizing delaying tactics. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I glared at him, but the darn man had the nerve to glower back!

“Now tell me what you want to eat,” he said in a calm voice, but it was extremely authoritative!

I almost quivered in fear because of his commanding tone of voice. However, he has no idea what I was made of! I came up with a plan to make his life a little bit difficult and said, “I am not going to eat until this is over.”

“Alright,” he said.

I was aghast at his response because it wasn’t what I had expected to hear from him. “I'm baffled as to why you're doing this to me, Lance.”

“Doing what?”

Why don't you apologize for your actions in the past and go on with the interview?” I told him what I was thinking, and he burst out laughing.

“Alexa, you're still the same innocent young woman I met five years ago! I don't see any need to apologize since it was the greatest option at the time,” he responded and broke my heart once again.