Taming the VIP Playboy (10 page)

Nate's first instinct was to reach over and punch the guy. But he restrained himself.

“Why are you here?” Nate asked.

“I told you to see Jen. We have unfinished business,” Carlos said.

“I don't think you do. I know for a fact that Jen has left that world behind.”

“Do you? Or did it perhaps leave her behind?” Carlos asked.

“Either way she's out of it now,” Nate said. He wondered if Carlos was an old partner of hers come to gloat over the fact that he could still dance while she was out of that world. Nate knew men like that. Had encountered more than one player who had treated him that way after he'd been forced to retire.

“I think you should leave,” Nate said.

“I'm staying until I talk to her,” Carlos said. “You can leave me here if you want to.”

Nate did just that. He walked over to the stage and waited for Jen to finish leading the class. He knew she had to go backstage and change into her flamenco costume for the show with Alison in a short while, but this wasn't something that could wait.

When the lesson was over, she rushed into the dressing room before he could catch her. But as soon as she came out, he cornered her.

“Who is Carlos and what does he mean to you?” Nate asked as soon as they were alone.

“He was…I can't go into this now. There's not enough time to explain. Suffice it to say that he's the reason I'm not dancing anymore.”

“I will have security throw him out,” Nate said.

He turned to go get Billy, but Jen stopped him with her hand on his arm. “Wait. I want to hear what he has to say. Maybe he knows a way to convince the appeal board to consider my request one more time.”

Nate didn't like it. He didn't like the fact that Carlos might be able to help her or that she might want to return to the world of competitive dance. “I thought you were happy with the life you are building here.”

“I am. I just want to hear what he has to say.”

“Okay. Let me know if you need me. I'm going down to the main club.”

“Nate, it's nothing to worry about. I'm not going to change my mind. I just need to know why he's here.”

He nodded. “I can respect that. Send me a text when he's gone and I'll come and join you.”

“I will,” she said. Then she leaned up and kissed him, and he let that quick embrace soothe the savage part of him.

The part that wanted to go back to that table and lift the world-famous dancer up by his lapels and tell him that Jen was his now. And this was his world and he wasn't welcome in it.

O
nce their dance routine was over, Jen changed out of her flamenco costume and bade goodbye to Alison. She was anxious to see why Carlos was here. She hoped he'd finally stopped saying she'd slept with him to ensure a better score if he were to judge one of her competitions. She wanted him to admit that their affair had started out of their friendship. She wasn't sure she'd return to the world of dance competitions but she would like to have her name cleared.

And he was the only man who could do it. Carlos had gotten word that their affair was common knowledge and gone to the other judges behind her back. Telling them that his guilt wouldn't let him continue to sleep with her. Though he hadn't judged her in an actual competition, the appearance of impropriety was there. The damage was already done.

Being demoted from the world stage to a regional
judge had punished him for their fraternization, but he had been able to stay in the competitive dance world, something that she hadn't. Why was he back now?

She knew that Nate wasn't too happy that she wanted to talk to Carlos and she wondered what he'd think if he knew that she and Carlos had been lovers. That was something she didn't want to find out. Things were going well between her and Nate and she didn't want to rock the boat.

She forced herself to take her time instead of racing back out to the table where Carlos waited for her. She pulled her hair up into a loose chignon and fixed her makeup. She wore a pair of skinny jeans, strappy sandals and a blousy top that tied on the side of her waist. Nate had promised to take her on a midnight cruise of Biscayne Bay and she was looking forward to that. If Carlos had good news, she'd be able to tell Nate more about her past.

She entered the club and saw Carlos sitting by himself watching the room. She wondered sometimes what she'd seen in him as a man. She had long suspected that her infatuation with him stemmed solely from the dance. They'd taught kids together as part of an outreach program when they'd been on tour and Carlos had been a different man on the dance floor. He'd been a special guest judge because of his reputation in the dance world.

He stood up when he saw her approaching and she smiled at him. “Good evening, Carlos. It is such a surprise to see you here.”

“Good evening, Jen.”

He sat back down and she did the same.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“The competition is in town.”

“But you aren't judging in it,” she said.

“Very true. I heard that you'd appealed to the board again to reinstate you.”

“Yes, I have. I want to have my name cleared.”

“I need you to let this drop,” Carlos said.

“Why? You didn't lose anything. I did. I want my name back.”

“You're not going to get it,” Carlos said. “You should stop trying to make that happen.”

“You are probably right. So why are you really here?”

“I need your help,” he said.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Why would I help you?” she asked.

“You owe me.”

She didn't even want to imagine how it was he thought she owed him. “What exactly do you need?”

“A recommendation as a dance instructor at the Calle Ocho School.”

“Why me?”

“Your bosses own the marketplace where the dance studio is. So use your connections and I will get out of your hair.”

“Will you tell the board what really happened between us?”

“Let that go,” he said. “You can't go back. Holding on to the past is keeping you from moving on.”

That wasn't true. She'd moved on. But she still wanted to clear her name. “I'll see what I can do, but I don't know if I will be able to help you out.”

“I can make things rough for you, Jen. Tell Nate why you had to leave dancing before.”

She shook her head. “He doesn't care about what happened in the world of dance.”

“Just do this for me, Jen. And I'll be out of your hair.”

She doubted it. Seeing Carlos again reminded her that she'd been stupid once when it came to men, and she didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

“I'll see.”

“Make sure you do it. You know that Luna Azul is having trouble with the local business leaders and I'm not afraid to use my friends in this neighborhood to make their business dealings even more complex.”

She did know that. But she thought it was ridiculous that Carlos was threatening her. She could quit if it really would hurt Luna Azul.

“I'll do what I can.”

“You'll do what I ask or I will make life really uncomfortable for you. If I don't get this job…”

“What? I can't guarantee you a position, Carlos.”

“You better hope you can. If not, it's going to take a lot of money to keep me quiet.”

He got up and left the table. She sat there watching him, wondering how she'd ever let herself get involved with someone like that. He had no morals at all and was a complete jerk.

But that didn't mean she was going to be able to ignore him. She knew she had to let not only Nate but also Cam, who was her immediate boss, know what Carlos had threatened.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she glanced down at the ID screen to see a text from Nate. He wanted to know if she was okay.

She swallowed hard and knew that the mistakes of her past were going to be a very real threat in a few
minutes. She didn't relish the idea of telling Nate about Carlos but she really had no choice.

She sent him a text saying that Carlos had left and she'd come and find him in the club.

“No need,” he said, coming up behind her. “I'm here. Are you really okay? You look pale.”

“I…can we go someplace and talk?”

“Sure. Why?”

“Because a club isn't the place to discuss this.”

“What happened? Annie told me that it looked like you were fighting with Carlos.”

One of the club waitresses spied for Nate?

“How did Annie get in touch with you?” Jen asked.

“I asked her to keep an eye on you and let me know if you got in trouble.”

“Nice. Don't you trust me?” she asked, feeling bruised by her encounter with Carlos. She needed Nate to just accept her the way she was and back her up.

“You, I trust. That Carlos guy, not so much. What did he want?”

“I can't talk about it here,” she said.

“Then let's go,” he said.

She'd expected him to lead her to the backstage area where they'd talked the first night but instead he hustled her downstairs and out to his car. “Let's drive to the beach and you can tell me what's going on.”

“Sounds good,” she said. She needed time to figure out what she was going to say and how she was going to tell him that her past was threatening his future.

“Do you want to tell me while we are driving?” he asked.

“No. I need to think about this.”

“Is it bad?”

“I don't know yet, but then Carlos has always been bad news.”

“Carlos is a little jerk, Jen. And I don't mind showing that little dancer boy that you are with a real man now.”

She shook her head. This was going to be a lot more complicated than she'd hoped.

 

As Nate walked down the beach with Jen, he reached out and took her hand in his. He hoped she knew that he was on her side. He wanted her to understand that he wasn't going to stand by and let anyone threaten her. Nate hadn't liked Carlos from the moment he'd met him and that was saying something.

“What did Carlos want?”

“A job and money, I think. Though he didn't tell me an amount,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

That was the last thing he'd expected. He thought he might have to worry about Carlos talking her back into the world of competitive dance. He saw how good she was at dancing and he wasn't clear why she'd left.

“Okay, let's break this down. What job?”

“One at a dance school in the marketplace that you guys bought.”

“We're not going to influence anyone to hire him.”

“If you don't, he's going to use my past to bribe me into paying him.”

“Why would he want money?” he asked, not following.

She nibbled her lower lip and then looked away from him. “There is no easy way to say this, Nate. I made a very stupid decision several years ago and had an affair with him when he was a judge for the World Competitive
Dance Federation. That's why I got kicked off the tour and banned from competition.”

“What?”

She wrapped her arms around her waist and spoke so softly he had to lean forward to hear her.

“I know it was a stupid thing to do but I never asked him to cheat or do anything like that. We seemed to have a lot in common and I thought we were friends.”

Nate drew her closer to him. He didn't like what he was hearing. “You had an affair with Carlos?”

“Yes. Tonight I had hoped he was here to help me clear my name. Remember, I told you the night we met that the board had denied my last appeal. But Carlos didn't come to help me.”

Nate put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Instead, he wants money from you or what?”

“He said that the local leaders are already angry with the club and that if we don't help him, his word will be all it takes to ruin your business dealings.”

Nate was angry. Carlos was an idiot if he thought he could intimidate one of the Luna Azul employees. It didn't matter that he himself was involved with Jen; the Stern brothers would stand by any of their employees, as long as they hadn't broken the law.

“Okay, here is what we are going to do. Justin is not only a financial wizard but he is also a lawyer—our corporate lawyer—and he's very good at what he does. I'm going to call him and we are going to figure out how to stop Carlos.”

Jen pulled back. “I don't want everyone to know that I had an affair with him.”

“I don't see why anyone has to know that besides Justin. He's smart about these kinds of things,” Nate said, remembering that Justin had helped Cam with a
false paternity suit years ago. “Let me talk to him and we'll figure this out. You aren't helping Carlos or paying him a single dime and we are going to get your good name back.”

“I don't want to hurt the club,” she said.

“You won't,” he assured her. “When are you supposed to help him?”

“I don't know. I'm supposed to meet him at the Hallandale dance competition and let him know my decision.”

That didn't leave a lot of time. “We need to meet with Justin as soon as possible and get his thoughts on this. Frankly, the only solution I can think of is beating the crap out of Carlos. It would make me feel better but I doubt it would help the situation.”

She smiled at him. “You'd beat him up for me?”

“Sure would. I don't like guys who threaten women.”

She leaned up and kissed him. “Thank you. That's one of the sweetest things anyone has ever offered to do for me.”

“Not a problem, honey,” Nate said. He wasn't kidding about hurting Carlos. Normally, Nate wasn't a violent man but to think of someone who'd been intimate with Jen and betrayed her then come back into her life to twist the knife…well, it made him livid. “I'm going to give Justin a call.”

She nodded. “If you think that's the best idea, then okay.”

“I think it's the only solution. Blackmailers are only successful when someone is willing to pay them. We need to stop this now before it gets out of control.”

“I agree. I want him out of my life forever. I am so tired of him screwing me.”

“We're going to take care of it,” Nate said.

He called Justin's cell and his brother answered on the first ring. “We need to talk.”

“Now?” Justin asked.

“Yes. Jen just received a blackmail threat and I want it eliminated.”

“What are the circumstances?” Justin asked.

“Can you come to my yacht and we can talk there?” Nate asked. He thought they needed to get the details hammered out tonight.

“I can. Give me about forty-five minutes to get there.”

“That's fine. I've got Jen with me. Thanks, Justin,” Nate said.

“Do you want me to call Cam or are you going to?” Justin asked.

“I'll call him,” Nate said. “See you later.”

He hung up and turned to Jen. “Justin is going to meet us in forty-five minutes at the yacht.”

“Who else do you have to call?”

“Cam,” Nate said.

“They are going to think the worst of me,” Jen said. “I know that what I did—”

“No one is going to judge you. He's blackmailing you and threatening the club. It has nothing to do with what you did when you were dancing,” Nate said.

“I'm so sorry I ever got involved with Carlos,” Jen said. “He has cost me so much. I really don't want to have to leave Luna Azul, but if you think it's best I will do it.”

“You aren't leaving the club,” Nate said. “I'm going to make this right.”

“It's not your fault.”

“No, nor is it yours. You made a bad choice but it led you to my door. I'm not going to let it be something you regret.”

 

Jen tried to relax while they waited for Cam to appear. Nate had given her a glass of pinot grigio and she sat on the yacht deck under the stars, listening to the faint sound of Nate and Justin talking. Soon they rejoined her, taking a seat next to her on the bench.

“Tell me everything from the beginning,” Justin said.

“Well, when I came out to the rooftop club Carlos was sitting with Nate,” Jen said, thinking that was the best place to start.

“No. Tell me what happened with Carlos and why he thinks he can use that to blackmail you.”

“Should we wait for Cam? I don't want to have to tell this too many times,” she said.