Chapter 16

Mira’s POV

I wondered what the play was here, but I sure did like the look on Alejandro’s face as he watched Ace be more of a gentleman to me than he could ever be.

“Oh, for me?” I smiled, jumping off the bed as I rushed toward the door.

“Yes, ma’am.” The guy nodded.

Alejandro frowned. “Are you aware of the time? Isn’t it late to be receiving this?”

I offered him no answer as I picked up the roses, sniffing them slowly. They smelled amazing. “Please tell Mr. Ace that I offer my thanks.”

With that, the man strolled out and Alejandro locked the door. I couldn’t understand why he was fuming, but I would never pretend not to love seeing him like this.

I spared him no glance as I opened the bowl of delicious pasta before me.

“You might as well join me instead of pacing like you lost something,” I suggested, serving myself some.

“Didn’t know digging gold was your second profession, and that you could be bought so easily by food and flowers,” he smirked. “Respect yourself more, Mira.”

After the hurtful words he tossed at me, making my jaw clench, he climbed back into bed and closed his eyes like he hadn’t just called me a gold digger.

It was only 7 p.m. at this point, so I ate some of the pasta, took a sip from the bottle of wine, picked up my journal, and wrote my soul away.

By morning, Alejandro was back to his annoying nature as we drove into town to begin scouting.

“Sleep well?”

No, motherfucker, my libido rises when I’m even just an inch away from you, I wanted to say, but I nodded because my pride would always be bigger.

Besides, if I couldn’t get down with the boss, I might as well try his friend, just for fun.

Alejandro took the wheel, and soon we made our way into a hall designed for the auditions. We had hired some people to put up flyers before our arrival, and from the queue standing outside the hall, the message we passed was received.

We were supposed to pick two of each talent from singing, acting, dancing, modeling, and the most sold-out business for Alejandro and his dad, porn stars.

Hours passed, and we had seen almost a hundred of the town’s residents, all desperate enough to bare their souls in front of strangers for the promise of a better life. Some were good. A few were unforgettable. Most were forgettable in the way small towns trained people to be. They played it safe, afraid to want too much.

By the time the last singer walked off the stage, my back ached, and Alejandro’s patience was visibly thinning.

“Next,” he said, voice clipped, fingers tapping against the table like he was counting down to freedom.

The girl who stepped up next was a dancer.

And not just any dancer.

She was tall, legs for days, skin kissed bronze like the sun favored her personally. Her hair fell in thick dark waves down her back, brushing the curve of her waist every time she moved. She wore confidence like perfume, which was intoxicating, and impossible to ignore.

Her name, she said, was Rina.

The music started slow. Then she began to move.

I watched Alejandro before I even realized I was doing it.

His posture changed first. This time, he straightened as his eyes followed her like those of a predator. The corner of his mouth lifted with something. Not a smile, not quite, but close enough to make my chest tighten, and I hated it.

Rina danced like she knew exactly what she was doing to the room. Every roll of her hips felt deliberate, every turn of her body a quiet challenge. She barely looked at the audience. She looked at him.

And he let her.

I told myself I didn’t care. I forced my face into something neutral and professional. The kind of woman who sat beside men like Alejandro and didn’t feel things so loudly.

But my thoughts betrayed me.

I imagined his hands where the stage lights kissed her skin. Imagined the way he might lean in, murmur something smooth and dangerous into her ear. I mean, I don’t care if she rubs her tits on his head, but…

Then the music ended, cutting off her little porn film she had been acting out on that stage and calling it a dance.

I could dance better than that in my sleep.

Alejandro was the first to clap.

“Impressive,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Very impressive.”

Rina smiled like she’d won something. Maybe she had.

“We’ll be in touch,” I added quickly, my voice tight with irritation.

She glanced at me, then back at him, and nodded before walking offstage, hips still swaying as if the music hadn’t stopped.

Bitch.

Alejandro exhaled slowly.

“Well,” he muttered. “That woke me up.”

I rolled my eyes and didn’t respond.

We reviewed a few more people after that, an awkward model who tried too hard, a pair of twin actors whose chemistry outshined their talent, but the energy in the room never quite settled again. Alejandro kept checking his phone and smiling faintly at nothing.

Eventually, he stood.

“I need to use the bathroom,” he said casually.

“I’ll be right back.”

I watched him disappear down the hallway, my pulse ticking louder with every second.

I told myself not to be ridiculous.

Men were allowed to notice beautiful women. Alejandro wasn’t mine. He had never been mine. It was even a taboo for him to be mine. And yet the idea of him chasing Rina through unfamiliar hallways made my stomach churn.

Time stretched, and he wasn’t back. Soon, five minutes turned to ten, then ten to twenty. Whoever peed that long must have been cursed by an old witch, except the bathroom wasn’t where he went in the first place.

I gathered my things, trying to ignore the sharp knot forming beneath my ribs. When I finally stood and went searching for him, my steps felt unsteady, like the building itself was tilting.

“Hi, miss, if you are looking for your partner, he left already,” someone said behind me.

I turned.

A stagehand, barely older than twenty, shrugged. “Saw him go out the back with one of the dancers who auditioned.”

The dancer?

Fucking Rina.

My chest tightened as I stumbled outside before I could think better of it, the cool night air slapping against my skin. The parking lot was nearly empty, and Alejandro’s car was gone.

So was my ride.

Panic crept in quietly, sinking its claws deep into my skin. I didn’t know this town. I didn’t know where the hotel was. I didn’t even have strong enough service to call a car.

The temperature dropped, the sky darkened, and then the rain started, soft at first, then heavier, soaking through my clothes until my teeth began to chatter.

Of course this would happen.

I wrapped my arms around myself, anger burning hotter than fear now. Anger at Alejandro. At myself. At the way my mind kept betraying me with images I didn’t want, his hands on her waist, her legs wrapped around him, her mouth—

From afar, headlights cut through the rain, and for once I hoped it would be that bastard Alejandro, but I was wrong.

A sleek black car pulled up in front of me and slowed to a stop.

The window rolled down.

Ace smiled at me, like this was exactly where he had planned to be.

“Need a ride?”

I hesitated, and I had no idea why.

Every sensible instinct screamed at me to say no. But then my mind supplied another image of Alejandro pressing Rina against some wall, her breath hitching as he whispered something wicked into her ear.

Ace popped the passenger door open.

“Hop in,” he said gently. “You’re freezing.”

Without a second thought this time, I did.

The car was warm and smelled faintly of leather and something expensive. Ace pulled back onto the road smoothly, glancing at me once before focusing ahead.

“Where to?” he asked.

I stared out the window, rain streaking down the glass, frustration strangling me.

“I don’t care,” I said finally.

Ace’s smile widened.

“Alright,” he murmured. “Let’s go somewhere interesting.”