Page 28 of Never Again
“Mr. Jones, how are you?”
“Great. Look at you. You’re all grown up. I wasn’t sure if that was you or not.”
“It’s me.”
“What are you doing in Atlanta?”
Carmen opened her mouth to speak and almost blurted out the truth. At the last minute, she caught herself and answered instead, “I’m here on business for my father, following up on the opening of two new gyms in the Atlanta area.”
Mr. Jones’s bushy gray eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I shouldn’t be surprised Fit Body Gyms has expanded this far south. Alfred had an aggressive plan to grab market share in the States. Good for him, and good for you, I take it? What’s your role in the company?”
“I’m officially the vice president of operations, but I’m learning the ropes in other departments—purchasing, marketing, etc. I’m learning all I can from my father and the other executives.”
“Learning on the job is the best way. Nothing beats it, and I’m sure you’re doing well.”
“Thank you.” She smiled easily, though her insides churned in distress. Mr. Jones hadn’t said a word, so she didn’t think Carlos was standing behind her. But she couldn’t be sure. If Mr. Jones said anything to her father about seeing her with someone fitting Carlos’s description, she’d have a serious problem.
“Tell your parents I said hello, and the next time I’m up north, I expect Alfred to buy me that drink he promised. Tell him that. He’ll know what I’m talking about.” Mr. Jones chuckled.
“I will.”
“Take care.” He walked away toward the exit.
Carmen breathed a sigh of relief and momentarily closed her eyes. He clearly hadn’t realized that she and Carlos were together because he hadn’t asked for an introduction, but now she had to face Carlos.
She turned slowly and froze in surprise when he wasn’t there. With a quick sweep of the area, she saw him down another aisle that contained small baskets filled with heirloom tomatoes.
She walked over, but when she stopped beside him, he didn’t look at her. He kept his eyes trained on the heirlooms. He picked one up, inspected it, and then put it back in the container.
“That was a friend of my father’s.”
“So I heard.” He looked at her then, his eyes probing, questioning.
“I was going to introduce you, I just—”
“Before or after you told him that you were here on business?”
So he’d heard that much.
“That’s partially true.”
He let out a dry laugh. “Don’t lie to me. You weren’t going to introduce us.”
“He knows my father. I couldn’t risk—”
“I know you can’t risk him finding out, so that’s why I walked away, as if we didn’t know each other.” His attention returned to the tomatoes.
Carmen stepped in close and stared up into his face, willing him to look at her and ease the guilt that burned her chest. She touched his forearm, but when he tensed, she dropped her hand.
“I didn’t know how to handle seeing him. I panicked.”
Her words brought a bitter smile to his lips as he glanced sideways at her. “Don’t worry. We’ve been here before, remember? How long did we date before you told your father about us? Three months? Four?”
She dropped her gaze. She’d known her father wouldn’t approve, so she’d kept their relationship a secret. He had never approved of anyone he thought didn’t match her financial status. She wasn’t proud of her decision, but she hadn’t wanted her father’s negativity to sully what she saw as something beautiful and special, which she’d wanted to protect and savor.
Carlos caught her chin and forced her to look at him. Blazing anger had replaced the playful light from before. “I get it, Carmen, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”
He stalked away, and she followed behind much more slowly.
