Escorts and Thieves (18 page)

“Yes,” Daniel barked back. “Where do I sign?”

“I should go over the document with you. That’s why Mr. Merriweather didn’t send it by courier.” He tried to take a step forward, but Daniel didn’t yield from his spot at the door.

“That won’t be necessary. Pen?”

Nervously, the lawyer reached into his suit to find a pen, tapped on both sides of his inside pockets but came up empty. “So sorry. I must have misplaced it. You wouldn’t have one?”

Daniel’s anger level was at boiling point already. “Wait here.”

He stalked back the two steps it took to get into the kitchen and opened a couple of drawers before he found a pen.

“Daniel, do you think the housekeeper could—” Sabrina’s voice came from behind him and suddenly broke off.

He jerked around instantly.

“Sabrina?” Hannigan. He’d stepped into the cottage and looked straight at her as she stood in the room wrapped in a towel.

“Oh no!” Sabrina shrieked.

“What the hell?” Hannigan looked from Daniel to her and back. “You little bitch. You had to fuck our richest client, didn’t you?”

Daniel instantly blocked Hannigan from approaching her. “Sabrina, go back to the bedroom. I’ll deal with him.”

Hannigan didn’t know when to shut up. “So she
does
spread her legs—for the right price.”

That’s when Daniel saw red. Nobody had the right to insult her. “Get the FUCK out!” he thundered. “Get out while you can still walk!” A supersonic airplane couldn’t have created any more powerful sound waves.

He rushed toward Hannigan, who instantly backed away, recognizing the raw brutality hidden beneath Daniel’s words. There was a promise of violence in the air as his nostrils flared dangerously. Hannigan didn’t wait to find out what Daniel was capable of and ran.

With the force of a thunderstorm Daniel slammed the door shut and turned around. Sabrina had left the kitchen.

***

Sabrina’s hands shook violently as she pulled her shorts over her thighs and zipped up. The trembling wouldn’t stop, but she had to get the T-shirt over her head. It didn’t matter that her hair was still wet. She had to get out of here.

Daniel had called her
Sabrina
. He knew her name, he knew who she was! There’d been no surprise when Hannigan had called out her name.

“Sabrina,” she heard Daniel’s voice as he rushed into the bedroom.

She quickly smoothed her T-shirt down.

“We need to talk.”

Now he wanted to talk? Good grief, the man had timing. She searched for her handbag.

“What are you doing?” He sounded frantic.

“I’m leaving.”

“No. Sabrina. You can’t leave.”

He had no right to tell her what to do or not to do. “You played me. You, you knew all along. Did you enjoy the laughs you were having behind my back? Did you?” Her voice was shrill.

“I never played you. Please. I was going to talk to you today.”

She gave him a sarcastic look. “Sure you were.” Talk about what? That he’d found her out? That he’d decided to toy with her, see how far she’d go? “How? How did you know?”

She realized now that
he
was the rich East Coast client the entire office had been talking about. That’s why Hannigan was here, not because he’d stalked
her
, but because he was looking for Daniel. Was that how he’d figured it out? He’d seen her in the office?

“Your friend, Holly.”

“Holly?”

“She confessed when I made the booking for this weekend.”

It was as stab that hit her hard. Her best friend had betrayed her. How could she? They’d grown up together, they’d looked out for each other. “I have no friend.”

“Sabrina, just listen. What did you expect me to do? You pretended to be an escort, and I went along with it. I never meant to hurt you. I want to be with you. We have something special between us. I love you.”

She ignored the three words she would have loved to believe. How could he love her? “I was your whore! You paid for my services, and I gave you what you paid for.”

“I never treated you like that. You know that as well as I do.”

“Go ahead, say it. I was your whore. That’s all I was. That’s all I can give you.” Because if she gave him anything more, he’d just hurt her even more. Already, she’d given more than she’d ever given a man. And the feelings he’d awakened within her, he’d crushed those later. His Italian sweet-talking in bed was part of the entire show. And she’d been so stupid to fall for it all, while all the while he’d lied to her.

“That’s not true. Look at me! That’s not true. You’ve given me so much more. We’ve given each other so much. You can’t deny what’s happened to us, please tell me you feel it too. I know you do. Sabrina.” Daniel moved toward her, stretching his arms out, but she stepped back.

“Don’t touch me!” Sabrina knew if he put his hands on her and pressed her against his half-naked body, she’d lose all her senses and give in to him.

She had to stop this now and for good. Nothing could come of this. How could he ever respect her, knowing what she’d done, that she’d slept with him for money? Like a common prostitute. He’d wake up tomorrow when his lust for her had died down and would come to his senses. But she wasn’t going to stick around to see the contempt in his eyes.

“You had your fun. Quit while you’re ahead. It will make a great story to tell your buddies back home. If you didn’t get your money’s worth I’ll reimburse you.”

“Why are you turning this into something sleazy? What are you afraid of?”

Sabrina shot him a haunted look. She was afraid of her heart being broken. “Consider the booking cancelled.”

“The hell I will! Sabrina, you belong to me.”

She stared at him. “No. I don’t belong to you. I never will. Hannigan was right. Even I spread my legs for the right price. And you can’t pay my price, not anymore.” Her price was his love and respect, something he could never give her. What man would ever respect a woman who’d done what she’d done? She was better off cutting her losses now.

Sabrina snatched her handbag and ran for the door.

“Sabrina,” Daniel yelled after her. “This is not over. You hear me?”

It was over. All she’d hurt was his pride. But her own pain went deeper. She’d fallen in love with the man who’d slept with her thinking she was a prostitute. He could have no real feelings for her. She’d only been a shiny new toy for him, something different. Something to amuse himself with. Tomorrow, he’d realize it and be grateful she gave him a way out.

20

The vintner’s daughter had taken pity on Sabrina and offered her a ride back to San Francisco. Sabrina had been too much of a mess to refuse the kind offer.

She slammed the door to her flat shut behind her, the noise alerting Holly to her premature return. Seconds later, she appeared from the kitchen.

“What are you doing home so early?” Holly greeted her with a truly surprised look.

“I’m not talking to you!” Sabrina snapped and headed for her room.

Holly visibly flinched. “What happened?”

She turned in the door. “Why don’t you tell me since you know everything else?”

“Sabrina, please—”

She interrupted her. “Don’t! I don’t want to listen to any more lies today. I’ve had enough already. I wouldn’t have expected this from you of all people. To betray me like this. How could you tell him? I hate you!”

She entered her room and closed the door behind her. Now she didn’t even have anybody whose shoulder she could cry on. To know that her best friend had betrayed her was more than she could bear.

On the drive down from Sonoma, she’d already cried more than her fair share of tears. She wouldn’t shed another tear, not for him and not for her best friend either.

She opened the door again and stormed into the kitchen. As soon as she opened the freezer, she realized that except for a half-eaten bag of waffles, it was empty.

“Where the hell is my ice cream?” she yelled furiously. Holly made the smart decision not to reply to her.

Sabrina needed her comfort food, and she needed it now before she went into major meltdown. She knew she was holding on by a mere thread. Grabbing a twenty dollar bill from her purse, she ran for the door. She could make it down to the corner store and back. Just a few more minutes.

After running down the stairs, she yanked the building door open and froze. She hadn’t expected him to come after her, not this fast anyway.

“Sabrina.” Daniel’s voice was soft and pleading. His hair was windswept. He’d obviously not bothered drying it before he’d jumped into the car to follow her.

“Leave me alone.”

She knew that her face was tearstained and tried to turn away from him. But he was faster and took her by the shoulders before she could escape.

“I’m sorry, baby. I wasn’t out to hurt you. Come back to me. I need you.”

Sabrina struggled to shake off his hands, but he didn’t release her. “Let me go.”

“I’m sorry, I should have told you earlier, but I was so afraid you’d run away without giving me a chance. Sabrina, I’m in love with you, and I know you feel something for me too.”

She looked straight into his face and suddenly knew how she could get rid of him. She’d have to lie, but what difference would one more lie make?

“I feel nothing for you. This was all about sex for me.” She noticed his facial expression harden. “All I wanted was an adventure, and you provided it. I never put my heart in it.”

When she felt his grip loosen and his hands fall off her shoulders, she knew he’d gotten the message. She was free. He wouldn’t pursue her any longer.

“If that’s what it was …” He seemed cold now, unapproachable.

“Yes, that’s what it was,” she confirmed. Two seconds later, she slipped back into the building and shut the heavy door behind her. But she couldn’t make it past the first flight of stairs before she collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably.

In a few months, he’d be all but a distant memory. She’d have to put this behind her. Even though he’d said that he loved her, she knew it wasn’t true.

***

The next day, Sabrina called in sick. A day later, she still couldn’t face seeing anybody and stayed home again.

When the door bell rang in the afternoon, she was still in her bathrobe. Holly was out.

“Who is it?” she cautiously answered the intercom. If it was Daniel, she wouldn’t open.

“Courier with a letter for a Ms. Sabrina Parker. I need a signature.”

She buzzed him up, and a few moments later, the bicycle messenger was at her door. She signed for the envelope and went back inside.

The return address showed a stamp from her firm. Her heart sank into her gut. A hand delivered letter from an employer was never a good sign.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

… regret to inform you that your employment has been terminated effective …

She couldn’t read any further. They’d fired her. Just like that. And they could do it. Her employment was
at will
. And besides, she was still within her six months probationary period. They didn’t even have to give her a reason. And they hadn’t. Which was smart on their part. Without knowing why, she couldn’t fight it.

She sank onto the couch. This couldn’t be happening.

***

Daniel stomped into the lobby of Brand, Freeman & Merriweather. The receptionist greeted him instantly.

“Mr. Sinclair, good afternoon.” She looked at the calendar in front of her. “I don’t see your appointment here. Is Mr. Merriweather expecting you?”

He shook his head. He wasn’t here to see his attorney. For the last three days he’d been brooding over Sabrina’s words. His mood had gone from bad to worse, and he’d cancelled all his business meetings, not giving a royal damn if the whole deal fell apart because of it.

It had taken him three days to come to the conclusion that she’d lied when she’d told him that she had no feelings for him. After analyzing and re-analyzing what had happened the night in the cottage, when he’d kissed away her tears after they’d made love, he was almost certain that she’d lied.

But what had brought the absolute confirmation was Tim’s unexpected confession over lunch today. The revelation that he and the real Holly were good friends, and that they had wanted to set him and Sabrina up on a blind date, came as an absolute surprise to him. And then he’d told him how Sabrina had cried on Holly’s shoulder when she’d thought that he was still with Audrey. Proof positive that she had feelings for him.

Sabrina was a lousy liar. She’d had her heart in it from the beginning; he realized that now. She would have never agreed to the second evening and the weekend if she hadn’t already started feeling something for him.

And then there was something else. When they’d been in the cottage together he’d seen the few toiletry items she’d brought, and nowhere had he seen any oral contraceptives. He was pretty certain that she wasn’t on the pill, yet she’d let him be inside her without protection. He couldn’t imagine that a woman who claimed that it was all about sex without her heart being involved would risk a pregnancy.

“I’m here to see Sabrina,” Daniel announced to the receptionist.

She gave him a startled look. “Sabrina?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Sinclair.” She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “Sabrina doesn’t work here anymore.”

“What?”

“She was let go.”

Fired! There was no doubt in his mind who was behind this decision. The bastard had fired her. Hannigan! Now he’d have that asshole.

“Where is Hannigan?” His voice had taken a sharp tone.

The receptionist gave him an astonished look but pointed at a door across the foyer. “He’s in his office. I don’t suppose you want me to announce you?” She had an inexplicable smirk on her face.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Without hesitation, Daniel crossed the foyer and headed for Hannigan’s office. He didn’t bother knocking and kicked the door open with one swift move.

Hannigan was on the phone, but as soon as he spotted Daniel, he jumped up from his desk, his eyes wide in shock.

“I’ll call you back,” he said into the phone and hastily put the receiver down. His voice was edgy, and it was clear that he knew Daniel wasn’t here for a business meeting. This was personal.