His Paris Affair (The Albury Affairs) (17 page)

“I think she’s wet. May I change her in one of the rooms?”

Ruiz nodded not taking his eyes of the baby. Her eyes were
wide open, staring up at the woman who held her, her fingers in her mouth as
she made a suckling noise.

“She’s hungry,” he croaked.

“
Oui
. I will feed
her after. I will use that room.”

Ruiz nodded again, not even bothering to see which room out
of the five she had picked. His gaze was riveted on the baby.

“
Excusez-moi
.”

His trance was broken when the lady turned giving him her
back and shielding the baby. For some unexplainable reason he felt bereft not
being able to see her.

“Fuck, what’s wrong with me,” he took another huge swallow.
He stomped to the couch and grabbed his shirt, yanking it on as he held the
glass of whiskey steady in his hand. He had just pulled it down to his waist
when the main door swung open and Melody stumbled in, Antonio right behind her.
Ruiz didn’t say a word he just watched the two of them. Melody was looking
down, hiding behind her hair. Antonio on the other hand, stood ram rod straight
like he was ten feet tall instead of his five ten. He had a smug smile on his
face and he was attempting to stare Ruiz down. Ruiz scoffed, turning fully to
face him as he casually sipped on his glass of whiskey. He held Antonio’s gaze
in a glare stare down. The battle took only a few seconds before Antonio turned
away, a visible flush on his face. Ruiz chuckled shaking his head.

“You here to pick up your family?”

Antonio looked up again, the smug look back, “That depends.”

“On what?” he asked in the same easy tone.

“On whether or not you’re going to use the content of that
flash drive against me.”

Ruiz chuckled. “So that’s what Cheri was looking for in
here. She must not have found it if you’re here.”

“You distracted her.” He pointed to his chin. “I can see
she’s got that red mess on you. I don’t know why she likes doing that. Oh yes,
I do. So that the wives and girlfriends can see that they’re not responsible
for the dreamy look on their faces.”

Ruiz scoffed. “You give her too much credit. So I’m sure you
are here to strike some kind of deal?”

He nodded. “Yes. You don’t use the flash drive and I give
Melody to you.”

Ruiz laughed long and hard. “Give her to me? What makes you
think that I want her?”

From his peripheral view he saw Melody flinch but he didn’t
allow himself to care. One never showed his hand in a poker game and either
way, this was her mess he was left to clean up.

A door opened followed by a loud gasp. “
Mon
dieu
!
You animal!”

Ruiz turned to see the old lady rush to Melody’s side empty
handed. She must have left the baby in the room.

“I’m fine Jackie,” Melody whispered.

“Fine!” she exclaimed angrily, tilting Melody’s chin up and
pushing her hair away from her face.

Ruiz’s heart stopped at the blood on her forehead and cut
lower lip. He held himself to keep from physically reacting because if he did,
Antonio would be out the window in a matter of seconds.

“Let me make myself clear, if you use that evidence against
me, I will take my wife and daughter, disappear with them and bring them back
when there is barely anything of them left. I’m sure Allan Sinclair would love
that, don’t you?”

Forgetting his control, Ruiz dropped the glass slipping its
content on the carpet and charged at Antonio. He picked the little man up and
pinned him to the door. “Listen to me you little toad! Don’t threaten my
family, or me, or you’ll sorely regret it. And you are not taking my wife
anywhere!”

With raised brows Antonio looked between Ruiz and Melody the
fear gone and knew confidence settling in his eyes and Ruiz knew he’d made a
blander. “
Wife?
Oh Melody dear, have
you committed bigamy?” He laughed looking back at Ruiz. “You may keep me from
taking her away but I wonder if your threats will keep the police from doing
so?”

Ruiz bit down on his jaw, every instinct telling him to
pound him into the ground until the grey carpet turned red with his blood, but
he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop until the carpet had soaked up all of
his blood.

“Deal,” he gnashed out. “I don’t want to see you here ever
again or I’ll kill you with my bare hands!” Ruiz pulled him away from the door,
opened it and tossed him out then banged the door shut before he could change
his mind. He turned to Melody and stared at her as he tried to get his emotions
in control. He could see the bruises were already coming in.

He pounded on the door with his fist several times before he
turned away and stomped to his room, grabbing the decanter on his way.

“Ruiz!” Melody cried out behind him.

“Don’t!” he barked banging the door shut behind him.
I should have stayed in Argentina!

Chapter Eight

“It’s been two days already. You’re bruises won’t be visible
if you cover them with makeup. It’s time you got up and straighten your life
starting with Ruiz. Enough hiding and mopping,” Jackie scolded as she opened
the heavy curtains to let some sun in before she turned on Melody on the bed.

Melody clutched the covers tighter to her chest as Jackie
yanked on them. She wasn’t ready to move yet and she was most certainly not
ready to face Ruiz after their last encounter. “He doesn’t want me. What makes
you think he’ll want to even see me?”

Jackie sighed heavily sitting on the bed by Melody’s head.
“He’s angry now as is his right, but with a little time and patience you’ll
change his mind.”

The back of Melody’s throat burned with tears as she shook
her head. “You didn’t see the look in his eyes. He’s shutting me out; erasing
me from his heart. I could see it. I can feel it each time his vacant eyes
settle on me.”

Jackie gave her a sad smile. “That’s why you hide in here?
You’re running from his vacant eyes?”

“No, I’m running from the truth.” She sat up nervously
wringing the sheet in her hands, “How did you…how did you get over the love of
your life dying?”

“Oh Melody,” she began, placing her hand over Melody’s,
halting her hands. “Your love isn’t dead.”

“It feels like it,” she whispered a few tears escaping her.
“Not Ruiz, but our love. It feels like its dying, slowly slipping away and I
don’t know what to do to stop it.”

Jackie took her hands in hers. “I have a suggestion. Quit
hiding and face him with the truth and to hell with Antonio.”

“I do that and the whole Calvary will be here by tomorrow
morning and I can’t have that. Loraine is pregnant and she doesn’t need the
stress from the chaos I turned my life into. I told you what she went through,
especially after she lost their first child together. I won’t be the cause of
that happening again.”

“Then why not just your brothers?”

Melody smiled. “They are like my brothers. Matthew has been
Allan’s best friend for more years that I can remember and Reno he’s the best
brother-in-law anyone could ask for. I told you all he sacrificed for Riana
growing up. And Allan, he’s just the best brother anyone could have. I miss
them.”

Jackie squeezed her hands. “Then why don’t you let them come
and end this nightmare before it gets worse?”

Melody procrastinated on that decision. With how much
Antonio seemed to hate her brother, would bringing the two into close proximity
be wise? She didn’t want anything to happen to her brother. The door bell rang
delaying her answer for just a while because she knew Jackie wouldn’t let it
go.

 
“Jackie would
you get that while I fix myself up?”

 
She eyed Melody
like she was saying it wasn’t over yet before she left to answer the door.
Melody got out of bed and quickly tried to make herself presentable. She
covered her cheek with makeup, but there was little could do to her cut lip.
She covered the healing cut on her forehead with a band aid before dubbing a
little concealer on the surrounding bruise. She changed into other slacks and
t-shirt and feeling a little more human she walked out of the bathroom to meet
Jackie with a grim look on her face.

 
“Jackie, what is
it?”

 
“Your
mother-in-law is here.”

Melody wasn’t sure she had it right and if she did, someone
had just dropped a bomb in Paris again. “What did you say?”

 
“Your mother-in-law
is here,” she repeated slowly.

 
Melody could
feel the panic rise inside her. Clarissa was here and Ruiz wasn’t to play
buffer. He always assured her she would never meet the woman and if she did he
would be there to play buffer. Melody had never really liked how Ruiz spoke
about his mother. Having no mother made her soft when it came to other people’s
mothers and when she told Ruiz that he responded with ‘not every mother was
like Cora Albury or Aurora Sinclair’. It was difficult for her to understand
that but she did try to, at least about Ruiz’s mother. Now the lady was here
and she was going to get an opportunity to see for herself what the other side
of the coin looked like.

 
Melody took a
deep breath and glanced at Esme for a moment in her crib—Ruiz had had the rest
of their things moved to the suite a day ago—to make sure she was fine before
she took another deep breath and walked to the door. “Here goes.”

 
With a bright
smile, Melody stepped out into the living room and right into the eye view of a
very sophisticated looking woman. Her designer peach skirt suit made her skin
look fairer and delicate. Her makeup was light to the touch and seemed
completely unnecessary and her blonde hair was held back in a twist, loose
enough to give her a relaxed look. She was beautiful at her age and Melody
could only imagine the knockout she used to be before Ruiz came along.

“Hi, I’m Melody, your daughter-in-law.” She wasn’t sure why
she said that last part, but she felt like she needed a shield from the woman.
What was better than ‘I’m married to your son so be nice?’

Melody was sorely wrong and she had to hold herself from
fidgeting under her critical gaze. Clarissa looked—more like glared—at her from
the tip of her exposed toes to her unbound hair. She knew that look very well
being raised in high society. With just a look Clarissa told her she was
underdressed and not worth standing in her presence. Now Melody could clearly
remember why she and her brother left those social circles.

“Please sit,” she added counting on her debutant education
to get her through this visit.

Clarissa sneered looking away, “I just came to see my son.
Point me to the right direction would you and I’ll let you finish your work.”

“My work?”

She turned back to Melody with a look of contempt. “He may
have married you, but I bet you started out as a hotel maid, didn’t you? I’m
rarely wrong about ambitious people,” she finished with another once over glare
at Melody before turning her nose up and looking away.

Melody fisted her hands to keep her anger in check. This was
one other thing she needed to apologize to Ruiz for. His mother truly was a
bitch.

“Actually this hotel and the rest of the Red Roses franchise
belong to me. And I look like this because I had a late morning with your granddaughter.
Babies are messy and require complete attention. You’re a mother, you would
know—at least, you
should
have some
knowledge about it.” Melody jabbed at her knowing very well that Esmeralda and
not Clarissa who looked after Ruiz.

“Yes of course,” she mumbled before she said, “You own this
hotel? It would explain the poor state it’s in. And my son knew of your wealth
before he married you?” She nodded. “As ambitious as his father. Where is the
Albury protégée?”

Melody opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. In
the few minutes she’d been here, the woman had insulted Melody, the hotel and
her son in one sweep and with such a conversational tone. Melody could see the
woman would be a complete nightmare by…how long did she plan on staying? She
rubbed at her temples. A migraine and it was just morning.

An hour later after some serious grooming Melody went out in
search of Ruiz. She knew where she would find him, but she dragged her feet,
looking around to see the changes he’d already made and silently thanking him
as she garnered up the courage to drop the same bomb dropped on her. It was
when she was turning into the recreational center that she saw him speaking to
the staff there. Whatever he was saying had them nodding seriously and turning to
look where he pointed. To her relief they were all new faces and some of them
were women. Out of all the old staff after Antonio was done with them, it was
those from the recreation center she despised the most—all muscle and tan spray
with very little use of the head on their shoulders and excessive use of the
one below the belt when they were on the clock. With a few encouraging
breathes, she walked to where they were and stood behind Ruiz, giving their new
staff a cordial smile in greeting. They all smiled back with slight nods and
her own smile brightened. Finally, people who didn’t frown and glare at the
sight of her.

Ruiz stopped speaking and turned around. She took one
cowardly step back and like a deer in headlights just stared up at him waiting
for him to either glare at her or make a scathing remark. He did nothing. He
just stared at her with those vacant eyes for a second before he turned back to
the group.

“She is also a part owner of the Red Roses hotels—actually
the franchise was a gift to her from her older brother, Allan Sinclair.” He
reached back with one hand, grabbed her arm and dragged her forward to stand in
front of him. “Allow me to introduce to you Melody Sinclair—”