That was a slashing wound that wouldn’t heal till Carter was made to pay. It overset Alexei’s equilibrium, evoking unwanted feelings that interfered with his decision-making.
It wasn’t so much the money, but the personal affront of betrayal. The cold slap of horror that he’d let himself be gulled into believing the man,likinghim.
Carter had made a fool of him, conning him into giving his trust. Not just because of the man’s work qualities.
But because Carter reminded him of his father.
Like Alexei’s father, Carter appeared taciturn to outsiders, but his features broke into smiles when he mentioned his family. Uncannily, Carter also had a mannerism, a tilt of the head, that echoed Alexei’s precious memories of the father who’d died when Alexei was six.
Then there was his utter devotion to his spouse. There’d been no mistaking the man’s devastation when his wife was diagnosed with a terminal illness. His stoic determination to do all he could for her had touched a chord with Alexei. Plus there was that unexpected weakness for silly puns and his scrupulous honesty, both hallmarks of his dad.
Alexei shook his head. Scrupulous honesty!
For years Alexei’s motto had been trust no one. He and his mother had suffered because they’d been taken in by a conman. After his stepfather there’d been others, loan sharks, employers, landlords, vultures who’d preyed on his vulnerable mother, turning her life into a misery till finally loss and disappointment crushed her.
Alexei scraped a hand across his jaw, dragging himself back to the present. To the woman in one of the guest suites.
He’d acted instinctively, securing her to give him an edge. He should have ordered a dossier on her so he knew something about her before acting.
All he remembered from Carter’s conversations was that she lived in Paris, where she’d attended an exclusive art school. She loved fashion and shopping and wasn’t cut out for a commercial career. Alexei had gained the impression of a pampered airhead pretending to be an artist. A blonde airhead, he remembered from the photo Carter had waved before him and which he hadn’t bothered to take in.
So Carissa Carter had dyed her hair. That was one extra fact about her.
Alexei considered ordering a full report on her. But why bother?
She was here. Whatever Alexei wanted to know, he’d find out for himself. He’d enjoy the process.