Chapter 4
4.The Devil's Proposal
Shantelle's POV
“Find me everything about Luke Sanchez….”
Esmeralda stared at me like I had just announced I was planning to rob the Vatican.
“You're actually going through with this?, please tell me you're joking!.”
I looked at the González mansion on the television screen. “I’m not, Mamacita.” My fingers tightened around my phone. “My father took everything from me in one night.” I smiled coldly.
“Now I'm going to take something from him!.”
His peace!...
“Shantelle, Luke Sanchez isn't some rich businessman you can charm into helping you.” She paced across the living room, dragging both hands through her hair.
“He's ruthless. He doesn't forgive betrayal, he doesn't tolerate weakness, and he definitely doesn't do favors!.”
“Well that's good!.” She stopped. I looked down at my hands. “I don't need a favor.” Her expression changed.
“What do you need then?”
“An alliance.” I lifted my eyes to hers.
“My father took away my money, my position, my name, and the future he promised me. Martina is celebrating tonight because she thinks she has won.”
My fingers curled into fists. “I want her to realize she hasn't.”
Esmeralda studied me for several seconds.
“And you think Luke can do that?”
“Oh I know he can.”
“Why?”
“Because my father hates him so much.” That earned a humorless laugh from Esmeralda. I leaned forward.
“Luke Sanchez has been trying to break my father's business empire for years. If I give him information that helps him do it, he'll have a reason to listen to me.”
“And what exactly are you planning to give him?”
I smiled faintly. “Something worth more than money.”
Esmeralda's eyes narrowed. “Shantelle are you–…”
“I'll figure it out!. Don't worry”
She sighed and pulled me into a hug. “Whatever you're planning, be careful.”
I hugged her back. “I will.”
She pulled away and pointed at me. “And don't fall in love with the devil.”
I almost laughed. “Trust me, Esme. The last thing I need is another man.”
But even as I said it, I knew tomorrow would change everything…
---
Morning came too quickly. I woke with a pounding headache and a mouth that tasted like regret.
Last night's dress lay crumpled on the floor. I stared at it for several seconds before picking it up.
That woman who had stood in her father's house while everyone tore her apart is no longer the same.
I walked into the bathroom and stepped under the hot shower. Water streamed over my skin.
For years, I had tried to become the daughter my father wanted. Smarter. Thinner. More obedient. More successful.
It had never been enough. Maybe the problem wasn't that I wasn't enough.
Maybe I had been begging the wrong people to see my worth…
I looked at my reflection in the mirror after my shower. Today, I wasn't going to ask anyone to choose me.
I was going to make a choice….
When I returned to the bedroom, I froze.
A black pantsuit was spread neatly across the bed.
Beside it sat a pair of elegant red-soled heels. I turned toward the doorway. Esmeralda leaned against the frame, holding two cups of coffee.
“You're welcome!.” she smiled while I stared at the suit.
“You made this?”
“Of course.”
“You did this overnight?”
She shrugged.
“I had the pattern prepared already.”
I ran my fingers over the fabric. It fit my body size perfectly. No attempt had been made to hide my body.
Instead, the suit seemed designed to make every inch of me look deliberate and powerful. Esmeralda was a talented fashion designer, never expect ‘bare minimum’ when it comes to her…
I quickly changed into the pantsuit.
When I stepped into the kitchen, Esmeralda's jaw dropped.
“Dios mío!.”
I laughed.
She walked around me, inspecting the suit from every angle.
“Look at you!” She cooed happily.
“For the first time in my life, I actually feel dangerous!.” I smiled while trying to twerk for her.
“You should.” She handed me my coffee.
“Because you're walking into the lion's den.”
I took a sip then picked up my handbag.
“No!.”
“I'm walking into the devil's office.”
---
The Sanchez Consortium tower rose above Valencia like a monument to power.
The moment I stepped through the glass entrance, conversations stoped abruptly.
People stared. I recognized some of the faces. I had seen them at González business functions.
Now they were whispering about me. The disgraced heiress. The daughter who had been replaced. The woman whose fiancé had cheated on her with her own stepsister.
I kept walking with my head high and my back straight. I refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.
At the executive reception desk, the woman behind the counter recognized me immediately. Her eyes widened.
“Miss González?”
“In the flesh. I need to see Mr. Sanchez.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No!.”
She hesitated for a second.
“I’m afraid Mr. Sanchez doesn't see—”
“Tell him Shantelle González is here regarding the Valencia land acquisition.”
The receptionist went still. I watched her reaction carefully. It was a bluff yes but I knew enough about my father's pending deals to make it believable.
She picked up the telephone on her desk.
“Mr. Sanchez's office?”
There was a pause.
Her eyes flicked toward me.
“Yes. Miss Shantelle González is here. She says she has information concerning the Valencia acquisition.”
Another pause.
“Understood!.” She hung up.
“Floor twenty-seven.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
As I walked toward the private elevator, my heart began pounding. I wasn't afraid of Luke Sanchez. At least, that's what I told myself.
---
The elevator doors opened. Floor twenty-seven was silent. Too silent. At the end of the corridor stood a massive wooden door.
CEO — LUKE SANCHEZ
I knocked twice.
“Enter.”
His voice was deep and calm. I opened the door. The first thing I noticed was the amazing view from up here. You could literally see the whole of Valencia from here…
The second was the desk and the third was the man sitting behind it.
Luke mother fucking Sanchez!...
He looked nothing like in the photographs. He was more intimidating in person.
Dark hair. Sharp jaw. Broad shoulders that were hidden under a charcoal suit.
And eyes so intensely green they seemed almost unnatural. He didn't look at me immediately.
His fingers continued moving across his laptop. As I closed the door behind me, he finally stopped typing.
The laptop snapped shut. His gaze lifted and met mine. It traveled over me slowly before settling on my face.
A faint smile appeared.
“Well, well!.”
His voice was smooth.
“If it isn’t the disgraced heiress. Did you lose your way to my office, Miss González?”
“You've been here for less than five minutes, and you've already lied to my receptionist!.”
My stomach tightened. He knew about it, oh my God!..
Of course he knew!..
I didn't react immediately. I didn't want to give him the impression that I was intimidated by him.
“I didn't come here for your pity, Mr. Sanchez,”
“Then what are you doing in my building?”
I took three long calculated strides towards him and placed my hands on his smooth desk. My handbag was slightly close to his laptop.
“I came to offer you a deal….”