LITMIR.BIZ

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was floundering. Her brother couldn’t have been so reckless as to arrange this party, could he? Hadn’t he told her his friends, Zach and Eric, had done all the organising?

      ‘Is that so? Really?’ José raised a dark, sceptical brow. ‘You’re the one who has the house keys. I trusted you. Obviously I was wrong to do that.’

      ‘But I gave the keys to Zach so we could work on the house,’ Ben protested. ‘He had to bring back some light fittings and cable and so on from the wholesaler when I wasn’t here.’

      ‘And you weren’t here because …?’

      Ben’s cheeks flushed with warm colour and he averted his eyes briefly. ‘I … um … Zach’s an early riser but I’m never too good first thing in the morning … It just seemed better to let him do the wholesaler run. And you had given him the keys one time before you went away, so I didn’t think it would matter.’

      José’s jaw flexed. ‘What you mean to say is that you drink too much and can’t get up for work on time.’ His eyes were like flint. ‘So Zach has the keys now?’

      ‘Well, no … he gave them back to me tonight, just a short time ago. We’ve finished the work here, so he didn’t need to hold on to them any more.’

      Jessie’s spirits sank with every word he uttered. Her brother wouldn’t have organised this party, she was sure of it, but he had believed his friend when he’d said it was all right with their boss to use the house. Ben was so naive, so gullible … and now, from the look of sheer disbelief on his employer’s face, she knew he was in trouble because José clearly didn’t know him the way she did.

      ‘I’ll have the keys back,’ José said, holding out his hand, palm upwards. ‘I shall be changing the locks, of course, and installing a security system.’

      Ben handed over the keys. His face was pale. ‘I’m sorry, Dr Benitez,’ he said. ‘Really, I am. Please believe me, I didn’t do this. Honestly, I thought you’d agreed to let us use the house just for tonight.’

      ‘You seriously think I would do that?’ José’s stare was frosty. ‘You need to start looking around for some other kind of work, Ben. I won’t be needing you any more.’

      Ben gave a short gasp, as though he’d been landed a blow in his midriff. ‘But I didn’t—honestly, I didn’t do this … I wouldn’t. I was wrong to let Zach have the keys, I know, but it won’t happen again, I promise. I’ll sort myself out. I’ll be on time—I will, if you’ll just give me another chance …’

      José shook his head. ‘You let me down and I’ve no wish to have my trust abused once more.’

      Jessie couldn’t bear to see this happening. She had to do what she could to plead her brother’s case.

      ‘José, please, won’t you reconsider?’ she said quietly. ‘He said he didn’t do this … and I believe him. Won’t you give him a chance to show you that he can be trusted?’

      José’s features remained etched as though in stone. ‘He’s your novio, yes? You care so much for him that you would plead for him? I’m afraid your feelings for him are misplaced, mi chica bella.’

      ‘No, no … you have it all wrong,’ she said anxiously. ‘He isn’t my boyfriend—he’s my brother. I know him. I understand him and I’m certain he’s telling you the truth.’

      José pulled in a quick breath, his eyes glittering, and for a second or two as he studied her, she dared to think that he might relent. But instead he shook his head. ‘It’s good that you care for your brother, Jessie, but he let me down and I believe you’re letting your emotions colour your judgement. He can’t be trusted to turn up for work on time and he gave my keys to a third party. He doesn’t deserve your sympathy.’

      ‘I think that’s for me to decide.’ Her chin jerked upwards. ‘So let me get this straight … if the situation were reversed you would turn your back on a brother or a sister who needed your help?’

      ‘I didn’t say that.’

      She sent him a scathing look. He had been charm itself just a short time ago, yet now he was ready to dismiss her brother without a second glance. How could she have any regard for a man who would treat her brother that way? His swift condemnation had brought all her protective instincts to the fore, and inside she was seething with resentment.

      She’d been right to be wary of him. So much for any expectation of good old-fashioned chivalry or plain and simple justice.

      ‘You haven’t even bothered to check his story,’ she said tartly. ‘How do you know Zach and his friend didn’t organise this?’

      ‘Perhaps they were all in on it together. I shall have to find out.’

      His answer did nothing to appease her. She’d had enough of this. She picked up her clutch bag from the table and turned towards her brother. ‘Come on, Ben. We should go. We’re through here. There’s nothing more to say.’

      José’s gaze moved over her. ‘I have no argument with you, Jessie. I would very much like you to stay.’

      ‘And I would prefer to leave.’

      Ben looked anxious, sending her a worried glance. He bent his head towards her and said in a whisper, ‘Don’t you think I should stay and help with the clearing up? I mean, we can’t leave the place like this, can we?’

      ‘I wouldn’t fret yourself about that,’ she said tersely, fully aware that José was watching them, a host of conflicting emotions written across his face. She was still upset by his perfunctory treatment of her brother. ‘Zach and Eric can see to all that.’

      ‘But they left half an hour ago,’ Ben muttered under his breath.

      ‘Did they?’ She gave a short laugh. ‘That was convenient, wasn’t it? I expect they found out that Dr Benitez had turned up. They knew they’d done wrong and they didn’t want to stay and face the consequences.’

      She started to walk towards the side of the house and after a moment’s hesitation and a hasty glance in José’s direction Ben hurried after her.

      ‘Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?’ he persisted anxiously.

      ‘Of course,’ she said. She wouldn’t be seeing Dr José Benitez again, so what did it matter? The fact that his brooding stare was burning a hole in her back only served to stiffen her resolve all the more.

       CHAPTER TWO

      ‘ARE YOU READY for your first day in the new job?’ Ben refilled his coffee cup and then did the same for Jessie, sliding a mug across the breakfast table towards her.

      ‘I think so.’ Jessie gave a wry smile. ‘At least, I would be if it weren’t for this throbbing hangover. I knew I shouldn’t have had that last drink at the party. I don’t know what got into me.’ Maybe it had been a nervous reaction after coming face-to-face with a man who had somehow managed to fire up all her defences.

      She didn’t want to dwell on the other events of the evening, but the image of the tall, dark stranger insisted on forcing its way into her mind. She’d been upset on Ben’s behalf last night, but perhaps she shouldn’t have reacted the way she had? After all, things might have turned out better for her brother if she’d gone on trying to appease José, instead of challenging him. She’d probably made things much worse, and now it wasn’t very likely he would ever consider taking Ben on again. The pounding at her temples worsened at the thought, and she winced.

      Ben helped himself to toast and spread it generously with apricot preserve. ‘It was a touch of the Caribbean getting into you, I guess,’ he said in a soothing tone. ‘It happens to the best of us.’ He watched her drizzle maple

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