There was no mistaking the pain in her eyes and her voice, and again the guilt clawed at him. Though he knew he'd treated her horribly, he'd justified it over the years with the knowledge that she'd gone on to become incredibly successful. If she'd stayed with him, who knew where she would have ended up. All he knew was that it wouldn't be here in paradise running one of the most exclusive resorts in the world.
He'd hoped, stupidly, selfishly, that her hurt would have faded over the years, but it was all still there on her face, raw and undeniable. When Chris had told him he'd be working with Carla, part of his excitement and urgency to see her again was that he'd have the opportunity to give her a much-deserved apology. But now, seeing the pain on her face, he realized what a selfish asshole he was, dredging all of this up for her just so he could make amends.
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Chris told me about some of the problems you've been having, and when I heard about your situation, I wanted to help. I figured it was the least I could do.”
Her arms were folded tight across her chest, her face a stony mask.
“But you're right,” he said at her continued silence and dug his cell phone out of his pocket, “this was a bad idea. Let me call Chris, I'll tell him I changed my mind, I can recommend a couple other guys―”
“It would have been nice if you could have done that about a week ago, before our investors got all hot and bothered by you. Unfortunately for me, I actually need you to keep your job so I can keep my job. According to Chris, they practically wet their pants when he showed them your resume.”
Sam couldn't stifle a chuckle. Carla always did have a way with words. “I can make some calls―there are a lot of guys more qualified than I am―”
Carla cut him off. “Even if you can find someone we can hire quickly, it won't look good if I send you packing right away.
No, if it looks like I screwed this up, I'm out. I can't lose this job. I've worked too hard to get her and I don't want to let Chris down. You have to stay, at least long enough to get everyone off my back.” For the first time since she'd stepped out on that patio he saw a flash of vulnerability in her eyes.
He'd always been drawn to it, drawn to her. The way she came off as so savvy, so confident, but inside there was a sweetness she didn't always let others see. “Of course I'll stay.”
“Good.” She nodded. The vulnerability vanished, replaced by the guarded wariness her tight smile couldn't hide.
Her shoulders lost some of their tension as she leaned a hip against the desk and folded her arms across her chest. Sam tried and failed not to notice the way the plump curve of her breasts swelled above the top of her sleeveless dress. She gave a deep sigh, giving him just the barest glimpse of black lace against smooth tanned skin.
Oh, Jesus, Carla DeLuca in black lacy lingerie, those luscious tits barely contained by thin satin...
“Eyes up here, soldier,” Carla snapped.
He dragged them back up to her face and saw that her cheeks were a delicious red. He felt his own face heat to be caught staring at her rack. World class or not, Sam had come to pride himself on his professionalism no matter the circumstances. “Sorry, I uh―”
“If we're going to work together, you can't look at me like that.” Carla said tightly.
Sam nodded, but didn't bother making any promises he couldn't keep.
She gave him a curt nod back and pushed away from the desk. “I'll go to my office and pull together all the information to get you up to speed,” she said, already headed for her office, “and after lunch I'll give you a full tour of―”
“Wait a second,” he said, reaching out to catch her. Jesus, he'd forgotten how smooth her skin was. Just wrapping his fingers around her upper arm was enough to send an electric shock straight through to his cock.
“What?” she said, forcefully jerking her arm from his grip. Like she couldn't stand to be touched by him.
But he knew different, could see the way her cheeks flushed and the way those world class tits rose and fell a little bit faster. God, he wished he could make her forget the past. He wanted to pull her into her office, spread her across the desk and shove that filmy skirt up her thighs.
Peel down her panties and bury his face between her legs to see if her pussy tasted as good as he remembered. In that moment, he realized why he'd jumped so quickly on Chris's offer. And it wasn't because of any good intentions or any ideas of doing right by Carla to make up for what he'd done.
He was here because deep down, he'd never gotten over her. Never stopped wanting to reclaim everything he'd thrown away.
Impossible, he knew, and a hell of a lot more than he deserved after the way he'd treated her. “Before we get down to business, I just want you to know how sorry I am.”