Chapter 7

Alejandro’s POV

She looked like an angel sent to suffer by my hands from this distance.

She didn’t know it yet, but her life was about to spiral through a series of changes as she tried to change mine — it’s just the Alejandro Montenegro effect.

The laughter and chatter of my friends sliced through my thoughts, and I lost the staring match I was having with Miss Too-Good-for-the-World.

“Back to earth, Alejandro.” Marlo nudged me with a playful punch while Ace and Danny laughed, clinking their glasses together.

Ace turned, one brow raised, a smirk dancing at his lips. “Who’s that chick?”

My brows furrowed. “What chick?”

“Come on, man. We’ve all been following your line of sight since we walked into this house. There’s a new girl here, and strangely, you haven’t told us about her.” Ace let out a chuckle.

Ace, my friend of fifteen years. We’ve known each other since the moment we discovered algebra, and we’ve fought each other’s battles ever since. He’s twenty-seven, a little too serious for his age, and a hell of a lot less quirky. You’d think being friends with me would’ve loosened him up, but he’s still the most caring and straightforward guy I know.

“Dude, just tell us who she is already and stop stalling.” Marlo laughed, and the others joined in.

Marlo, the ultimate party animal, successful business mogul, and top billionaire playboy I know… after myself, of course.

“Y’all let Dro be. From here, I can already tell she’s not his type,” Danny said with a grin.

Danny, the funniest man I’ve ever met. Tech bro from a wealthy home, still lives with his parents, and guards his virginity like there’s a trophy for it.

We were like peas in a pod.

I exhaled, sipped from my drink, then turned to face their expectant gazes. “She’s the girl my dad sent to babysit me.”

“Bro! You didn’t mention she was that hot.”

Marlo’s comment set off a round of laughter.

“Yeah, Mira’s hot,  I’ll give her that. But she’s also a pain in the ass,” I muttered. “I don’t know what game she and my father are playing, but whatever it is, they won’t win.”

“I need an up-close look at her, man. Who knows? I might just get her to lie with me.” Danny chuckled, earning wide-eyed stares from the group.

“I’m pretty sure you don’t even know what a vagina looks like, Danny,” I said, standing up. “I’ll take another dip.”

I walked to the edge of the pool and jumped in, making a splash as I swam to the bottom. When I resurfaced, I was greeted by a pair of shiny red toenails.

I blinked, trailing the sight upward along smooth, fair skin that stopped right above the knees.

“I’m not a statue, Alejandro,” came a voice above me.

I looked up fully, and there she was, the most stunning babysitter I’d ever had. Mira.

I quickly swapped my expression of awe for something cooler. Something I hadn’t even named yet.

“Oh really? I thought my Christmas gift came early.” A smirk pulled at my lips as I climbed out of the pool. “I did ask Santa Claus for a live sex doll.”

Mira rolled her eyes, probably not in the mood for our little back and forth. She extended her phone toward me.

I raked a hand through my wet hair and turned slightly to glance at my friends, who watched us like this was some enemies-to-lovers TV show. They sipped their drinks like it was never going to happen, not with her.

“What am I supposed to do with that?” I raised a brow at her lifeless phone. “Oh, I get it. You want my number? Can’t resist my body anymore, huh? Well, darling, I’m fully booked for the week.” I let out a laugh.

Disgust washed over her face before a tight smile formed. “I don’t want your number, Mr. Montenegro. I already have it because you’re my client, remember?”

In one second, she shattered my ego,  right in front of my boys.

“Okay, suit yourself.”

“Take the phone. Your dad wants to talk to you. He’s been trying to reach you, but apparently your phone keeps declining his calls.” Her tone was flat.

I grabbed the phone and pressed it to my ear immediately.

“Yes, Dad?”

“It’s a good thing I have Mira there to reach you when you decide to dodge my calls,” came his voice,  stern and calculating, as always.

“What do you want, Mr. Montenegro?” I cut him off, trying to keep the call under a minute.

“Dinner at my place tonight. You, me, and Mira. We’ve got a lot to discuss.” His words dropped, and the line went dead.

That dinner could only mean one thing: another lecture on how to live my life, and a warning about freezing my accounts again.

“We can’t be late for dinner. Time is gold.” Mira snatched her phone from my extended hand and walked off with purpose.

I tilted my head, smiling as she catwalked away.

I made my way back to the guys, who now wore the most devilish smiles,  and only Mira could be the reason.

“Man, that girl’s body is insane. You see those curves?” Marlo hollered, pulling another round of laughter out of us.

“Even I, with the lowest taste in women here,  agree with Marlo on this one,” Danny said.

I turned to Ace, who seemed oddly distracted.

“What do you think, Ace? You agree with these clowns?”

“Ace!” I threw a pool ball at him, spilling his drink.

“Come on, bro!” he shouted. “What was that for?”

I laughed. “Join the conversation, dude.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine. I agree. That girl’s different. She’s stunning.”

“Then it’s settled.” Marlo grinned sinisterly.

I frowned. “Settled? What’s settled?”

“The bet,” he said.

“What bet?” I asked, clearly the only one in the dark, judging from their faces.

Danny looked at me. “You know these things are always Marlo’s ideas.”

“He’s betting you can’t get Mira into your bed like the others,” Ace said flatly. “Thinks she’s your toughest challenge yet.”

I threw my head back and laughed until my eyes watered. “You guys remember I’m Alejandro Montenegro, right? I get any girl I want. I mean any girl.”

“Well, we’re betting you can’t get this one,” Marlo said through a loud chuckle.

“She might just be the one to prove you wrong,” Ace added with a nod.

The first time I laid eyes on Mira, I was curious to know what she had beneath her skirt. But now, now I had something to prove. No girl escapes me, no matter what ridiculous principles she thinks she has.

“Well, it’s a bet,” I declared.

Marlo beamed. “One last thing, for proof, we want a video. Just so we see it. Then you can delete it.”

“Are you insane, Marlo?” I laughed.

“A bet’s a bet, Alejandro,” Danny chimed in.

After a brief pause, I stood and raised my glass. “A toast, to me getting Mira Martinez in my bed and winning this bet.”

They clinked glasses with me, and just like that, Mira’s fate was sealed.