I just couldn’t seem to find the right words and tone of voice whenever I spoke to Jessie. All I really wanted to do was get close to her and get to know her, but it always came out all wrong as soon as I opened my mouth.

It had been so long since I had a natural, normal relationship with anyone that I felt silly when I tried to open up and show my feelings. She was the only person who didn’t seem impressed by my wealth and who judged me as a person.

So far I had failed to impress her. I hated seeing that look of resentment and anger on her pretty features. How would her face change if she relaxed and smiled a genuine smile in my direction?

Again, I looked at the phone and resisted the urge to call her back and ask her nicely to come over. I was going to have to learn to be patient if I was going to stand a chance of getting near to her. The tough guy act hadn’t got me anywhere with her so far but it was pretty much all I had these days.

After a minute or so I called Joe over and we started to prepare stuff for the trip. I had no idea in which direction Brazil was but I had one of the best yacht captains in the world to get me there.

Night had started to fall over the city and Puerto Madero was getting busy. This was one of the classiest parts of Buenos Aires for eating out in, so we went out for a final spread of barbecued meat in a restaurant that I had heard all the Argentine stars went to.

Joe loved all of the different cuts but I was feeling anxious and distracted. I kept glancing at my watch to see how long had passed since our phone conversation. Damn, she wasn’t coming, was she?

My friend was eating as though he was a man sitting in front of his last ever meal. Strange cuts that the waiter called by names I had never heard before came and went in little time.

I was looking at a plate of something called chinchulines that were like skinny sausages when movement caught my eye. It was Jessie.

“Hi Joe.” She hugged her brother warmly but just looked coldly at me.

“Sit down and have some food, Jess.”

“I thought I told you that I didn’t like you using that name.”

“That’s a shame, as it just rolls off my tongue so well.”

“Our grandmother was the only person who ever called my sister Jess. She died a few years ago.”

I felt terrible.

“Sorry, I never knew.” It was the first time in years that I had genuinely apologized for anything. It felt strangely good to do so.

“You weren’t to know.”

I felt even better when she looked me in the eye and smiled slightly for the first time. Was the ice between us beginning to melt just the tiniest bit? It didn’t last long before the next big freeze, though.

“Joe, mom called me to say that you are spending too much money.”

“Don’t worry, sister.” He looked embarrassed. He probably didn’t want me to know about his financial problems. Certainly, he had never mentioned not having enough money to keep up with our lifestyle.

“He just likes the finer things in life now. There’s nothing wrong with a Wagyu steak and a bottle of cognac now and then,” I showed her the bottle we had been drinking from earlier as evidence.

“My brother’s not a filthy rich millionaire like you.”

“Billionaire.” I felt stupid as soon as the word left my mouth.

“Why don’t you grow up and do something useful with your life, rather than just being a smug pain in the ass all of the time?”

“Yeah, maybe I should go and save the Amazon rainforest by giggling under a waterfall and eating bananas in a hammock.”

Damn, now she would know that I had been ogling her Facebook pictures earlier on. She looked fabulous in them but I certainly couldn’t admit that to her now.

Jessie stood up. She was angry again and looked tired as well.

“Let’s go home, Joe. I’ve been on the road for too long and you’ve been mixing with the wrong company.”

“I can’t. We’re going to sail to Brazil tomorrow.”

“What? With this creep? Get your stuff and let’s go.”

“Hey, you can’t order your brother around like he was a little kid.” I was standing up now, just a few inches away from her, and could feel the body heat coming off her. She was angry and all I wanted to do was grab her and hold her against me.

Would she slap me again if I did? Probably.

“I can talk to me brother any way I like. Unlike you, I have his best interests at heart.”

We argued a bit longer and then Jessie grabbed Joe and told him to lead her to where his stuff was. He tried to resist but eventually, they headed off to the yacht and I sat down alone.

I finished the cognac and have to admit that I was feeling a bit light-headed. That woman did something strange to me, with her dangerous combination of short temper and glorious curves. I longed to get her alone on my yacht, where we could fight and argue and make love under the stars before then arguing again all day long.

There was no time to lose. I left a generous tip and rushed off to the yacht to try and stop them before it was too late.

They were carrying Joe’s bags out onto the deck when I arrived. I stumbled slightly and had to grab on to the handrail. That cognac was strong stuff.

“Listen, we can all sail together. It’ll be…different.” I looked at Jessie, as she was the person I really wanted to share my yacht with. “Come on, loosen up a bit, Jess.”

I grabbed Joe’s shoulder but he was carrying a heavy bag and all I did was knock him off balance.

His ankle twisted at a hideous angle as he stumbled to keep from falling over.

“Argh!” He bent over in slow motion and began to hold his ankle while complaining.

I thought he was making a fuss out of nothing but then Jessie took off his shoe and I could see that his right ankle had already swollen up massively.

“He needs to get to a doctor.” Jessie stared at me after saying the words. “You’ve sprained his ankle.”

“What…? Oh, you want me to sort it out. Fine.” I was getting really annoyed now and just wanted this day to be over. It was obvious that we were doomed to constantly bicker and fight with each other.

“Well, it’s your fault for being a clumsy idiot.”

While I was dialing my assistant back home to find me a clinic in Buenos Aires I watched how Jessie was looking after her brother. She tenderly rubbed his sore foot while she had a very concerned look on her face.

Even more, interestingly, she had bent over to look after him and her dress had fallen enticingly open. I could see the curves of her breasts and was desperate to see more of her. Was it worth getting constantly humiliated and stressed out by arguing with her, though?

I had always loved a challenge and trying to get this feisty, puzzling girl’s clothes off in the next couple of days looked like being the sort of challenge that I could sink my teeth into.

A plan started to come together in my head. Standing there beside my yacht I was drunk and starting to get really aroused, so there was a chance that it was the worst plan ever devised.