Chapter 1
Angelique opened the door to see Theo lying down on the bed, just as he had been in her imagination. But Lorenza was sitting on top of him, her dark legs straddling him in bright red lingerie that clashed horribly with her ebony skin. His pale hands held her curvy backside as she swayed slowly on top of him.
At the sound of Angelique’s step into the room, Lorenza whipped around, her eyes filled with fire.
“Get out!” she shouted.
Adrenaline shot through Angelique’s body. “No.”
Lorenza scrambled up and threw a hotel robe on, while Theo got up on one elbow, cool and collected.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Lorenza demanded.
Angelique crossed her arms. “To tell Theo all about you .”
Lorenza looked her up and down with contempt. “And what do you think you know about me that he doesn’t already? I’ve been his assistant for two years, you know.”
Theo looked on in interested. The intensity of his hazel eyes made the deepest place in Angelique’s stomach twist with a mix of anxiety and pleasure.
“I did something kinda wrong,” Angelique said. “But I had a hunch and my hunch was right, so I don’t regret it.”
Lorenza tugged her curls back into a tight bun, making her face look harsh and naked. “If you’ve done something illegal, I’m calling the police.”
“I looked at your phone when we were out with the realtor,” Angelique said. “And I read all your messages.” She watched a slight blush shine through nLorenza’s black skin. “Got anything to admit?”
“No,” Lorenza said forcefully. “Nothing at all.”
“Oh yeah?” Angelique said. “How about the fact that you told Iulia you’re gonna try and get Theo to marry you so you can get money out of him? You’ve told Theo that?”
Lorenza turned to Theo. “It’s not true,” she said. “I swear it isn’t.”
Theo raised an eyebrow and laughed a little. His skin looked so soft and creamy against the white cotton bedsheets. Angelique imagined her own dark chocolate tone intertwined with his, enveloped in a rapture so rich that all the money in the world couldn’t replace it.
“You just want his money,” Angelique said. “Admit it.”
“No!” said Lorenza, looking pleadingly at Theo.
Theo’s face softened. “Hey, don’t worry. I believe you.”
“What?” Angelique said. “I read the texts with my own eyes!”
Lorenza stared at her with eyes like ice. “You’re making it all up because you want him for yourself. In fact, you probably just want his money but you’re trying to put it on me to make yourself look innocent.”
“Are you actually hearing this?” Angelique said.
“Yes, that’s right,” said Lorenza, as if she had convinced herself she had cracked the case. She sat down at the dressing table and arranged her hair back into a softer style. “You’re jealous of what Theo and I have and you want to manipulate the situation.”
Theo looked on, almost in amusement, then reached into the bedside table for some papers. Angelique guessed they were part of his memoir—the story of his childhood in one of the poorest slums of Greece and his transformation into one of the country’s most celebrated billionaires.
“ And ,” she said. “You said that when you slept with him he would be thinking about his book the whole time. Iulia then suggested you could sleep with someone else on the side.”
Lorenza shot a murderous look at her through the mirror but kept her voice light and breezy. She even let out a little forced laugh. “Ha! Don’t be ridiculous.”
“It’s true!” Angelique said.
“You’ve got some imagination,” Lorenza retorted. “Some wild, overactive, crazy imagination.”
“You can deny it all you want, but I saw what I saw and nothing can change that.”
Lorenza turned on the dressing table stool to face Angelique, her hair cascading down her robed shoulders and reminding Angelique of dripping blood. She smiled nastily. “Prove
Angelique opened the door to see Theo lying down on the bed, just as he had been in her imagination. But Lorenza was sitting on top of him, her dark legs straddling him in bright red lingerie that clashed horribly with her ebony skin. His pale hands held her curvy backside as she swayed slowly on top of him.
At the sound of Angelique’s step into the room, Lorenza whipped around, her eyes filled with fire.
“Get out!” she shouted.
Adrenaline shot through Angelique’s body. “No.”
Lorenza scrambled up and threw a hotel robe on, while Theo got up on one elbow, cool and collected.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Lorenza demanded.
Angelique crossed her arms. “To tell Theo all about you .”
Lorenza looked her up and down with contempt. “And what do you think you know about me that he doesn’t already? I’ve been his assistant for two years, you know.”
Theo looked on in interested. The intensity of his hazel eyes made the deepest place in Angelique’s stomach twist with a mix of anxiety and pleasure.
“I did something kinda wrong,” Angelique said. “But I had a hunch and my hunch was right, so I don’t regret it.”
Lorenza tugged her curls back into a tight bun, making her face look harsh and naked. “If you’ve done something illegal, I’m calling the police.”
“I looked at your phone when we were out with the realtor,” Angelique said. “And I read all your messages.” She watched a slight blush shine through nLorenza’s black skin. “Got anything to admit?”
“No,” Lorenza said forcefully. “Nothing at all.”
“Oh yeah?” Angelique said. “How about the fact that you told Iulia you’re gonna try and get Theo to marry you so you can get money out of him? You’ve told Theo that?”
Lorenza turned to Theo. “It’s not true,” she said. “I swear it isn’t.”
Theo raised an eyebrow and laughed a little. His skin looked so soft and creamy against the white cotton bedsheets. Angelique imagined her own dark chocolate tone intertwined with his, enveloped in a rapture so rich that all the money in the world couldn’t replace it.
“You just want his money,” Angelique said. “Admit it.”
“No!” said Lorenza, looking pleadingly at Theo.
Theo’s face softened. “Hey, don’t worry. I believe you.”
“What?” Angelique said. “I read the texts with my own eyes!”
Lorenza stared at her with eyes like ice. “You’re making it all up because you want him for yourself. In fact, you probably just want his money but you’re trying to put it on me to make yourself look innocent.”
“Are you actually hearing this?” Angelique said.
“Yes, that’s right,” said Lorenza, as if she had convinced herself she had cracked the case. She sat down at the dressing table and arranged her hair back into a softer style. “You’re jealous of what Theo and I have and you want to manipulate the situation.”
Theo looked on, almost in amusement, then reached into the bedside table for some papers. Angelique guessed they were part of his memoir—the story of his childhood in one of the poorest slums of Greece and his transformation into one of the country’s most celebrated billionaires.
“ And ,” she said. “You said that when you slept with him he would be thinking about his book the whole time. Iulia then suggested you could sleep with someone else on the side.”
Lorenza shot a murderous look at her through the mirror but kept her voice light and breezy. She even let out a little forced laugh. “Ha! Don’t be ridiculous.”
“It’s true!” Angelique said.
“You’ve got some imagination,” Lorenza retorted. “Some wild, overactive, crazy imagination.”
“You can deny it all you want, but I saw what I saw and nothing can change that.”
Lorenza turned on the dressing table stool to face Angelique, her hair cascading down her robed shoulders and reminding Angelique of dripping blood. She smiled nastily. “Prove
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