Page 63 of Consequence of One Reckless Night

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alexandre was on theway to the airport when a ping from his phone signaled the arrival of an email. He was in a hurry to get back home and having finished his meeting sooner than expected, he’d booked himself on an earlier flight so he could spend the night in his wife’s arms.

Raquel wasn’t expecting him tonight, and he wanted to surprise her.

He’d wanted to bring her with him, but she didn’t want to miss the violin classes she’d begun for the children at the orphanage. He couldn’t be more proud of his wife, whose unparalleled compassion touched his heart. Raquel was truly a woman in a million. Beautiful, caring and kind—and sexy to boot. His body tightened with anticipation. Three days away from her and he was already craving her something fierce.

As he settled in his first-class seat, his phone kept pinging with incoming messages. He hadn’t spoken with Raquel since that morning, and wondered if it was she who was flooding his phone with messages.

Having naught much to do on the flight, he decided to go through his emails. There were several—but not one from Raquel. Several messages from his assistant mentioning Carlos wanted a meeting with him as soon as he got back, which he decided to push to tomorrow. Tonight, he would spend time with his wife.

However, one email caught his attention—one from his head of security. Frowning, he opened the attached file.

As he read the report, his heart sank. Alisha had leaked the news of his baby to the press!

Anger replaced shock as he tried to remember when he’d last seen the young woman who had been employed at the Club M before being fired for theft. He recalled speaking with her about the missing funds, which later she’d confessed to have taken for personal needs. He’d fired her, and soon after Raquel had walked into his office to give him the news of the baby. It was highly likely that Alisha had overheard his conversation with Raquel that day, because the newspaper article had come out the following day.

The report detailed that Alisha had supplied the news to a local gossip rag, which had in turn, sold it to a national paper for three times the amount she had been paid. Financial statements of Alisha’s bank record corroborated the receipt of money from a notorious gossip rag.

Swiping a hand over his face, Alexandre sat back in his seat. How could Alisha have betrayed him after all he’d done for her? He had given her a job, supported her siblings’ education and had even forgiven her once before for stealing. How could she expose him for a few thousand rupees, not caring about the upheaval the newspaper wrought on his and Raquel’s lives?

It reinforced his belief—people couldn’t be trusted.

Alisha had betrayed him because he had first, said no to her sexual advances, and then, fired her from her job. Clearly everything he’d done for her, and her family meant naught if she could betray him for money. She reminded him bitterly of his mother, who had bartered him so she could have a comfortable life.

Angry tears filled his eyes, and he blinked them away. What was done, was done. He couldn’t change the past. But he promised not to be gullible anymore—swayed by a pity story and tales of poverty and misfortune.

He wouldn’t trust another soul ever again—except, Raquel. Her face appeared in front of his eyes, healing the ache in his heart.

Raquel would never betray him, he was sure. She was always candid with him, and he trusted her implicitly. She would never betray him like his mother had. She wouldn’t win his trust only to deceive him like Alisha had.

Pushing Alisha’s betrayal out of his mind, he tried to get some sleep because tonight, he fully intended to wipe away the stench of betrayal with some passionate loving.

****

Hours later when Alexandrestepped out of the terminal, his phone rang. Seeing Carlos’s name on the screen, he wondered why his grandfather was ringing him so late in the evening.

Reeling from Alisha’s deception, he wasn’t in a mood to speak with anyone. But Leandro had hinted their grandfather was feeling poorly lately, so he answered the call.

“I need to speak with you.” There was a strange grimness in Carlos’s voice.

“Can we meet tomorrow? I just got in...”

“No.” Carlos was curt.

---