Latino Billionaire Series Book 3: Forgotten Debt
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E.F Boni
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Chapter 1
Book 3: Forgotten Debt
RACQUEL
“Son of a bitch!”
With all my strength, I hurled the bottle of wine toward the wall.
Tearing my eyes away from the spilled red liquid surrounding the shattered fragments on the floor, I sat on the sofa, burying my face in my palms.
“Fuck,” I groaned. “I can’t believe he married that puta.”
The smiling faces of Tito and Kelly I witnessed on my laptop screen moments earlier replayed in my head, and I pulled my face away from my palms.
“Fuck,” I cursed again.
Storming toward the table, I switched off the laptop before I could spiral further into an emotional abyss.
My fingers tapped against the sides of my forehead as I shut my eyes tight. The news of the marriage was like a poisoned arrow shot through my heart.
One massive L, as some people called it. Was it because I was jealous of Kelly? Fuck no. But it was because despite everything, I ended up not being right and with egg on my face.
I shook my head, lifting my weight off the table.
“Whatever,” I scoffed. “I don’t see it lasting anyway. Those two will get a divorce in the end.”
That filled me with a bit of hope. Their marriage was definitely a ticking time bomb. I knew Kelly’s type. She was like most of the women who used their beauty and body to get what they wanted.
If my prediction aligned, she would probably have a child and then divorce him, using him as a means of child support or taking at least half of his wealth.
I shook my head with a huff.
“Fuck, I need a drink,” I muttered.
My eyes darted to the broken fragments on the floor.
“Oh,” I deadpanned.
***
“For real? You finally saw the news.” Thelma was laughing over her drink at the other end of the table. “I was wondering why it took you a while.”
I shook my head, taking a sip of my drink through the straw. “I can’t believe it myself.”
“What’s even funnier is that you weren’t invited.” Her gray eyes sparkled in humor, and she took a sip likewise.
“Thanks for rubbing it in.” I glared at her. “It’s not like you are benefiting from any of this.”
“In a way, I am.” She shrugged, the sides of her brown eyes crinkling. “The way you’re ranting over it is pretty funny. I wish I had a camera right now.”
I buried my face into my palms and groaned. Thelma Vasquez and I went all the way back. I met her years ago at the university. I don’t recall the incident that brought us together, but we became tight. After graduation, we managed to keep in contact and still hung out frequently.
“By the way,” she said, “I have something that will cheer you up.”
I lifted my face from my palms. “If it’s something that has to do with a podcast or a juicy piece of news, I’m interested. Any other thing, forget it.”
“You may want to backtrack on that, sister.” She smiled. “There’s a hot guy in this very restaurant that you failed to notice before you got to this table.”
“Thelma, I’m not in the mood for a man right now.” I massaged the sides of my head. “The last thing I need is a reminder of what happened today.”
“Just take a look and stop being a wuss.” She tilted her head to her left.
I followed her gaze and spotted a guy a few tables away from us. A bottle of juice and a plate of half-eaten meal were in front of him.
The hood of his white sweater was pulled over his head, leaving only his lips visible.
Arching an eyebrow, I returned my gaze to Thelma.
“Cute, right?” She winked.
“How would you know?” I shook my head. “We haven’t even seen his face.”
“Do we need to?” She rolled her eyes. “It’s very clear that he’s hot. Look at that pair of sexy lips and that jaw. Anyway, you know what that means.”
“I know that look, Thelma.” I scowled at the mischievous grin that formed on her face. “I’m not playing rock, paper, scissors with you.”
“En realidad?” Her head tilted to the side.
“Sí. My mind is all scrambled at the moment. Besides, the last time we tried that was when we saw Tito.”
My eyes narrowed. Years ago, at the frat party, Thelma and I had spotted Tito. A game of rock, paper, scissors followed, and she beat me. A silly twist in the result was that her attempt at flirting with him only brought his attention to me.
“So, you’re saying I have a shot with the hottie?” She wriggled her eyebrows.
“Go for it.” I waved her off.
“Okay, then.” She got up from her seat, only to clutch at her stomach seconds later, her eyes widening. “Oh boy.”
“What’s that?” My eyebrows lifted. “Are you okay?”
“I think I must have consumed too much juice.” She winced. “Nature calls.”
“No kidding,” I deadpanned.
“I’ll have to go to the bathroom.” She quickly walked away.
I shook my head at her retreating figure and glanced at the large bottle in her spot at the table. There was no limit to consumption of drinks when it came to her.
I turned my gaze to the man who had gotten up from his seat. “Oh no,” I muttered. “Thelma, you may have to hurry with your business.”
The man, however, began to approach my way.
“Wait, what?” I narrowed my eyes. I finally got a good look at him. Despite the loose hooded sweater, it didn’t hide his muscular physique. His dark-blue jeans framed his trunk-like thighs and calves.
My eyes widened when he casually took Thelma’s seat. “Hey, you can’t sit there,” I said. “It’s taken.”
“I know.” The edges of his lips curled upward, and he pulled the hood back, revealing his face.
Thelma guessed right. His deep-brown eyes matched his curly hair, with a straight nose below. Frowning at the scar vertically across his left eyebrow, my gaze drifted to his square jaw. A loud thump echoed in my ears.
No, wait, that was my heart pounding against my chest.
“It’s been ages, Racquel.” He spoke again, his accent not betraying where he came from. Latino through and through.
“Do I know you?” I tilted my head sideways.
He mirrored my head motion, his scarred eyebrow lifting.
“I mean, it’s kind of easy to recognize me,” I snorted, examining my fingernails. “I’m one of the most popular journalists, bloggers, and influencers. Even half of the people in this restaurant looked my way when I entered.”
“Si, I know that.” He nodded slowly, chuckling. “Racquel Mendes. Owner of RM.com. Of course, I know all that.”
His lips pursed as he rubbed his chin. “But it’s way deeper than that. It’s such a pity that you can’t remember me.”
“A name might juggle my memory,” I said flatly. “If I had seen a face like yours before, trust me, I would remember. Well, depending on the impression you must have left on me.”
His head reared back from deep laughter. “Feisty and sassy as ever. Your cheerleading traits never left you. That queen bee persona still reflects, even though it’s a tiny fraction.”
“You attended my high school?” My eyes widened for a split second, then narrowed. “Who are you?”
“Telling you right away will ruin the fun.” The edges of his lips quirked.
“Then why the fuck did you come here?” I was beyond exhausted at this point. Handsome or not, I was not in the mood for this stranger’s games.
“I was hoping that sharp brain would piece things together.” He shook his head slightly. “I’m disappointed.”
“This world is full of disappointments.” I clicked my tongue.
“I love that you never lost your strange sense of humor, though.” His lips parted to reveal perfect white teeth.
“Good to know.” I batted my eyelashes in false innocence. “It’s one of my gifts.”
I glanced beyond him at Thelma, who had emerged out of the bathroom. Her perplexed gaze alternated between the stranger and me, and then her eyebrows lifted in a querying fashion.
Took you long enough, I thought.
The stranger followed my gaze. “Looks like your friend is back.”
“Yeah.” I grinned as he returned his gaze to me. “You might want to get off her seat.”
“Sure.” He lifted his hands in surrender and stood up. Glancing down at me, his face spread with a mischievous smile. “Believe me, we’re not done. We’ll meet again.”
“And why would you think that?” I scoffed.
“It’s very simple, really.” His eyes twinkled and his lips twitched as if he was suppressing a smile. “Your reputation and occupation will be the perfect magnet between us.”
The scent of his cologne penetrated my nose as he walked past me, and I swallowed a small lump that formed at my throat.
Thelma took her seat moments after he made his exit. “What was that about?” She nodded to the door.
“Beats me.” I shrugged. “Someone who claimed he knew me.”
“Claimed?” Her head tilted to the side.
“He went to my school,” I sighed.
“Did he say his name?”
“No.” My eyebrows furrowed. “He conveniently left that part out, like he wants to play some mystery game with me.”
“Weird.” Her lips pursed. “He didn’t ask for your contact?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Although I feel he would have done that if you hadn’t shown up.”
“Well, that sucks.” She shook her head. “Was cute, though. Sure we might see him again?”
I glanced toward the door, still catching a whiff of that cologne.
“I don’t know.”
