She’d reminded him that he was a passionate man and that he needed a passionate woman. He’d inherited more than his olive skin from his mother. He’d inherited her passion as well. He remembered the heated arguments she and his father had from time to time. As a teenager, Daniel had always cringed when he saw them afterwards as they ran off to their bedroom and locked the door behind them. Their lovemaking had been just as passionate as their fights, and Daniel had moved his room to the other side of the house once the ick factor had become too much for him.

Only now, he understood what they were going through. He had felt the same passion in himself.

When he was back in New York he’d do something about it, try to find a woman to complete his life. Maybe he could fulfill one of his mother’s wishes after all: bambini. But for now, he needed to concentrate on the deal.

After a long shower, Daniel got dressed and made his way down into the lobby to get to his first meeting of the day. Before he could ask the doorman to call him a taxi, a hotel employee tapped him on the shoulder.

“Mr. Sinclair. This was left for you last night.” The man handed him an envelope. His name was handwritten on it. The letter felt rather thick to the touch.

“Thank you.” Curiously, he opened it, discovering cash together with a note. He read it and stopped in his tracks.

Daniel. You’ve given me too much already.

It wasn’t signed. Holly. She’d rejected his gift. He didn’t understand why, and he had no time to think about it now. He had to get to his meeting.

The entire morning, he didn’t have a single minute to reflect on Holly’s note. Several new issues were raised regarding a contingency that hadn’t yet been met, and he needed to concentrate on the issue at hand. Everything could still fall apart if he wasn’t careful now. Too many things were riding on this deal.

Daniel was glad when it was time for lunch. He’d arranged to meet Tim at a downtown restaurant. They’d met the night he’d flown in and already caught up on the latest events, particularly on the breakup with Audrey.

“You look exhausted, Danny.” Tim was the only one who called him Danny besides his parents. With his blonde shaggy hair, Tim was the picture of a surfer dude and didn’t look a bit like the financial whiz kid he actually was.

“Didn’t get much sleep.” A wicked grin stole itself onto his lips.

Tim immediately caught on. “You dog! You fucked the escort. Who would have thought?”

He simply shrugged. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. She was cute.” She was more than cute, but he wasn’t about to share his experience, not even with his best friend.

“So, tell me more.”

“Get your kicks out of somebody else, Tim. I’m not sharing my sex life.”

“You have a sex life with an escort?”

“Subject closed.” He changed tracks. “Thanks for setting me up with the attorneys. I’ll meet them tomorrow morning. Just as well, we’re running into a few snags with some of the contingencies.”

“Anything major?” Tim had a business mind just as sharp as Daniel’s and was always at hand to bounce ideas off of.

“Nothing the attorneys won’t be able to manage. But I’ll probably have to stay a little longer than I anticipated.”

“Sounds good to me. Hey, a few buddies and I are going to see a show tonight. I’m sure we can get you an extra ticket. The cast is from London and—”

“Sorry, can’t. I’ve got plans already.” He didn’t, but he was about to make plans. The note Holly had left intrigued him. She was an escort. She worked for money, so why hadn’t she taken his tip? What escort in her right mind would reject extra money?

***

Holly was anxiously awaiting Sabrina when she returned home.

“About time!”

Sabrina gave her a stunned look. It was only about six o’clock, her usual time to return from work. “What’s wrong?” She was instantly on alert.

“He requested you again.”

Her heart missed a beat. She didn’t need to ask who he was.

“For tonight. You have to get ready now.” Holly was all excited and literally jumped in the air.

“But, I can’t. This was a one night thing. I can’t continue doing this.” As much as she’d enjoyed the night with him, she couldn’t continue pretending to be Holly.

“Sweetie, you’ve got to. If I show up instead of you, he’ll call the agency, and Misty will find out. She’ll fire me. Please. I’m sure this is the last time. He’s from New York. He’ll go back in a few days.” Holly’s voice was pleading. “Have I ever asked you for anything?”