Second Chances Read Online Free

biggest development project to date and the fallout that would
follow?”
    Renaldo resumed pacing. “I can’t bring
her back here. There must be another way.”
    “If you think of it, let me know.”
    Renaldo was used to Paulo’s sharp
tongue, but today he found it scraped his nerves. Especially because he was
right.
    There was too much at stake. Not just on
the business front, but there were so many people depending on him. After his
father’s death, they’d lost everything because his mother had been ill equipped
to run a company and hadn’t had the necessary expertise in investing in real
estate, an industry his father had worked in all his life.
    Since winning the contract, Renaldo had
mapped out which family members would come on board and participate in the
project. A small crew of workers had already started preliminary work at the
site. If the mayor took back the contract, not only would the fallout from the
bad press significantly hurt SDG’s reputation, Renaldo stood to lose a large
amount of money. He didn’t want her here, but without her the mayor could become
uneasy.
    “This is a nightmare,” he mumbled,
turning to look out over the vastness of Sao Paulo. Here was the hub of the
country’s commerce, and he was in the thick of it with this deal. He couldn’t
risk having it fall apart because he’d been foolish enough to offer a woman his
love and trust—both of which she’d been unworthy to receive.
    The images of Sabrina and the other man
flashed across his mind’s eye, stiffening his body with the pain he’d felt and
the bitter taste of betrayal. A full six weeks had passed since he’d thrown her
out of their penthouse, yet he hadn’t found a way to heal the gaping hole in
his chest that had followed after she ripped his heart out. He hated to have to
give in.
    “Fine. I’ll bring her back.” And somehow
he’d learn to stomach having her around.
    “Would you like me to speak to her for
you?” Paulo rose to his feet. He was a good friend to make the offer since Renaldo
now only communicated with her through his attorney.
    “No.” He would handle Sabrina.
    “Do you think she’ll go along with it?”
    Sabrina pursued money in a way he’d
never seen in another woman. She always wanted to move forward, work late, find
the next opportunity.
    He insisted on a healthy balance between
work and leisure, but Sabrina didn’t know what a healthy balance was. There
were times he had to practically drag her from the office. If there was one
thing he was certain of, it was that he could convince her, but the price had
to be right.
    “Yes,” he replied. “I’ll make her an
offer she can’t refuse.”
    Paulo looked skeptical. “What if she does,
though? She may see this as an opportunity to get a lot of money out of you.
She could easily argue for half of the net value of this deal.”
    “Half?” Renaldo balked at the idea. He
turned to stare out of the window again, at the hive of activity below him. There
was no way she’d get half of anything. “I’ll make her see reason.”
    Only Paulo and his closest family knew
about the separation. Renaldo looked down at the wedding band on his finger.
He’d removed it temporarily right after he’d discovered Sabrina’s infidelity,
but then he’d put it back on, preferring to keep it in place until the divorce
was final so he wouldn’t have to answer questions.
    He thought again about what Paulo had
said. Half .
    Had it been worth it? If she tried to
get more than he offered, he’d fight her tooth and nail.
    But in the back of his mind, all he
could think was, if she’d been in a better position to fight him and win…it
would have been worth more than half of this deal. It would have been worth
half of everything he owned for the short period of happiness they’d shared as
husband and wife.
    __________
    “You’re still in love with him.” Jewel stood in
front of Sabrina with her arms crossed and watched as she picked up her