He stepped forward and she laid it in his palm. His skin burned where she touched him and as she looked at him, there was no fire in her eyes, just defeat. And sadness.
He closed his fingers over the memory card. “Thank you.” Unable to leave it at that and confused by the guilt that slammed into him the moment she’d given in, he had to ask, “Why would you do this? Surely there’s some other job you can do. Instead of invading people’s privacy.”
She sank down on the edge of the bed. She had gone pale. “I’m not normally a person who does this. I’m not a paparazzi.” She said the word with as much venom as he felt for it. “I just need the money really bad. For me and my son.” She looked away. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m not going to give you my sob story. Just take the memory card and go. It was wrong of me. Go and I’ll leave town in the morning.”
He stared at her. He’d gotten what he wanted; he should be happy. But something in his gut would not let him leave. He crouched down in front of her and looked up into her downturned eyes. “Thank you for these files. How can I help you? I mean, honestly, you don’t know how much this means to me that you gave me these photos. I’ll be glad to help you. Just tell me what you need.”
Boy, she could con him right now, but something told him this part of tonight was not a con. He was a pretty good poker player; he had a good poker face and he could read people normally and he did not feel as though she were playing him. Not anymore.
“I’m not going to take charity from you, Mr. Tanner. So even though you classify what I was doing as sleazy, it was a job. I was getting paid for it. And I wasn’t taking charity.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with somebody taking a helping hand when they need it. Especially from someone who has the means to help them and is very willing to do so. Do you need a job? I can give you a job, if that’s what you need. If that will help you out, believe me, we’ve got all kinds of jobs on our ranch and in our various businesses. Seriously, I can help you out. And then you won’t be taking charity.”
He was talking out of the top of his head. He had never ever thought he’d be chasing a wedding crasher down and then be trying to convince her to take a job from him. It had really been a strange evening. But she was desperate for some reason and he was so relieved that this wasn’t a gig she normally did that he wanted to do whatever he could to help her.
Chapter Three
Rita stared at the unbelievably handsome cowboy crouched down in front of her with the sincerest expression on his face. She had never taken charity. Her pride settled over her. She thought about Toby and the life she wanted to give him that would be so much better than what she had been raised with. She was tempted. But she couldn’t do it. “You don’t want to hire me.”
His expression turned stubborn. “Now hold on, I told you I wanted to hire you and now you’re calling me a liar?”
“Well, no, I’m not. I just tried to sell pictures of your brother, for crying out loud. I’m a terrible person.”
He closed one eye and squinted at her through the other. “I’m thinking you’re not. I’m thinking…” He opened both eyes. “I think you’re desperate. There’s this part of me, the stubborn part, that wants to know why a woman would do something as desperate as trying to turn into a sleazeball and sell pictures of my brother and his bride. It has to be something real important, I’m thinking.”
The man was aggravating; it was as if he could read her mind. She still felt slimy, but she had been desperate. “Look, you might be right but that still doesn’t mean you need to give me a job. What if I’m not who you think I am?”
He stood up and paced across the room, giving her a great view of his strong, lean body in his now wet and crumpled clothes that had been perfectly starched jeans and crisp white shirt at the wedding. Earlier, he had had on a jacket but somewhere along the way he had taken it off. He’d looked so amazing at the wedding but even now, he was every bit the gorgeous cowboy who had done everything he could to protect his family’s privacy. Including destroying her dreams.
But she had been in the wrong. Levi was one of the good guys—a billionaire but a good guy—because right now he was looking past all she had done and insisting on giving her a job.
The tabloids had loved stories about these brothers—the reluctant billionaires was what they were sometimes called. Everybody knew their story. In these parts, when oil hit, sometimes it was big. She knew in the Hill Country there was a lot of money hidden in these ranches, behind their secluded iron fences. And this guy, Levi Tanner, was one of the wealthiest. Her plan had just been to sneak in, get the photos and get out, get her money and open up her photography business; she and Toby would be in good shape after a little while, after she got up and running. Now she had messed it all up.
He turned toward her, making her realize she was lost in thought.
He put a hand on his hip, and she noticed the college ring. It was easy to see the A&M emblem on it. She had read that he and most of his brothers had gone to Texas A&M. The others had gone to other Texas colleges and were proud to be Texans. She had read a lot about them. She knew that they were ranchers; they loved their land and they loved their family. They pretty much wanted to be left alone and almost didn’t know what to do with all that money that they had. And now he was offering to give her a job. He could afford it. Could she let herself accept the offer? She couldn’t feel any lower than she did right now after trying to take advantage of him.
When she didn’t say anything, he did. “Rita, level with me. Tell me why you took the pictures. I think you owe me that, and then let me go from there.”
She rubbed her hands on her thighs. “You’re right. I do owe you at least an explanation. I’m a photographer. I take photos of families and weddings normally. I’m good at what I do. But I lost my job recently because I wouldn’t sleep with my boss. And then he spread the word that I tried to steal his clients and then tried to seduce him. I got another job and soon learned my new boss believed the sleeping around part. I quit.” The thought of it all made her skin crawl. “It was their word against mine, and my bosses all had really good reputations.”
He scowled and her heart fluttered, looking at him. What if she did accept his offer and he turned out to be just as rotten as her last two bosses?
She shuddered at this thought. She would be so disappointed if he turned out to be a bad guy. Looks were deceiving—she had learned that from her last boss, who looked like a choirboy. He was so sweet-looking and easygoing, but it had all been a lie, she found out.
“Anyway, I left the Panhandle and came down here thinking I would open my own photography business, and then I could take care of my little boy. My mother has him right now and my mother-in-law is trying to take him from me. I made this big mistake coming here and thinking if I took these pictures and took the paycheck then I’d be set. All I’d have to do is rent my building and open my doors. And I’d start a business of my own and no one could think about taking my son from me.”
He had been quiet, watching her. “So are the rumors true? Is that why she’s trying to take your son?”