Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? (12 page)

       Nina
remembered what Elsa had told her about jealous women being catty and cruel. 
No doubt Paulina was someone Daniel had rejected.  Batting her eyelashes, Nina
said in her kindest voice, “You know, the latest scientific studies show that
being a bitch takes years off your life.”

       Paulina
sniffed.  “What are you doing hiding in here anyway?  Catch Daniel bringing in
some donkeys or lining up the clowns?”

       “Oh there
are some
asses
around, alright.”  Nina was beginning to understand how
it was possible to sock someone in the eye. “And the clowns seem to favor Hervé
two sizes too small this season.”  Kennedy would be so proud of her for
recognizing the designer, Nina thought.

       Stuffing
her lipstick back into her purse, Paulina leaned over and whispered in Nina’s
ear, “Just remember, he’s
terrible
in bed.”  Nina involuntarily stiffened
and Paulina cackled, “Oh my god, you really haven’t slept with him yet, have
you?  Saving yourself for marriage are you?  Well,
that’s
going to be a
disappointment.”  Paulina sashayed out, just a moment before Kennedy, Rita and
Boris came steamrolling through the door.

       “How bad
is it?”  Kennedy was already threading a needle she’d taken from her
micro-emergency seamstress kit in her purse.  Nina cleared her throat,
“Boris…if you don’t mind…”

       “Sorry
boss lady.”  He turned to face toward the door but didn’t leave.

       Nina
stood up and turned around.  Rita gasped.  Kennedy tried to maintain her
professionalism.  “Okay, it’s not
that
bad.  I can fix it.  I can fix
it.”  It seemed to Nina like Kennedy was trying to convince herself.  “But
Nina, I need you to take the dress off.”

       “Take it
off?  What am I supposed to put on?”

       Wordlessly,
Boris once again took off his jacket, dangling it behind him on a finger
without turning around.  Rita grabbed it, and Kennedy helped Nina shimmy out of
the dress.  Rita held Boris’s jacket for Nina as she slid her arms in, noting
in a less than helpful manner, “Wow, you look like you’re ready for some kind
of sexy lingerie photo shoot.” 

       Nina
tugged at a garter.  How had she ever let Kennedy talk her in to wearing
something besides panty hose?  All the fancy underwear was supposed to make her
feel more confident, but somehow standing in a public restroom dressed in
nothing but La Perla and a giant man’s suit coat was not making her feel
confident about anything.

       Kennedy
wandered toward the door leading out of the lounge part of the restroom and into
the interior room where the toilets and sinks were located.  “I’ve got to go to
where the light is better.  Rita, come help me so I don’t get her dress
completely wrinkled.” 

       Nina put
an elbow on her crossed knee, and rested her chin in her hand.  Everyone was
going to start to wonder where she was...then just as she was getting ready to
ask Boris to go tell Dominique what had happened, the door to the bathroom started
opening again.  Not sure what to do, Boris first started to block the door,
then thought perhaps it was better to shield Nina, then slipped on a wet spot in
the middle of the marble floor, his huge frame falling backwards. 

       And that
was how Dominique and Elsa came to find Nina wearing nothing but lingerie and a
man’s jacket, sprawled across a fainting couch, with Boris in her lap.

       Dominique’s
eyes fluttered rapidly as she started to hyperventilate.  And for the first
time ever, Elsa was absolutely speechless. 

       Finally
Dominique found her voice, “Please tell me that my son’s fiancé is not involved
in some tawdry affair with his bodyguard.”

       Boris
scrambled to his feet, “No, no, this is not what it looks like.”

       Elsa put
a hand to her chin as she surveyed the scene.  “What it looks like is that once
again Daniel has managed to collect a lively group of asses and clowns.”

       Nina felt
defensive of Daniel, and momentarily forgot how she would look trying to dress
down someone while wearing nothing but her Jean Paul Gautier designed, deep
plunge, silk ribbon soustache hand sewn over transparent tulle, nude bra and
matching panties—with garters.  “Don’t you dare criticize Daniel!  This was all
your idea Elsa!”

       Dominique
looked like she was going to be in need of the fainting couch.  “
What
exactly
was Elsa’s idea?”  Nina calling Daniel ‘Mr. DeVere’ at the restaurant was still
needling at the back of Dominique’s brain. 

       Oh no. 
She had done it now, Nina thought.  This was the end if it.  Daniel would never
get his deal, and she’d be back on the street with nothing.  She hadn’t even
gotten them as far as Panama. 

       The door
separating the lounge from the toilets and sinks opened and Kennedy had Nina’s
dress over her arms.  Elsa quickly put two and two together and blurted out,
“It was my idea for Nina to come into the ladies room so Kennedy could repair
her dress.”

       For the
first time in her life, Nina felt grateful to Elsa, but she knew Elsa was
merely covering her own tracks. 

       Boris
looked shamed that his performance had been anything but flawless, “I—I was
caught off guard when I realized someone was coming in.  I didn’t want anyone
to see Nina like this…I mean, undressed…I mean…I slipped in some water on the
floor.”  He pointed to the offending puddle to justify his account.

       Dominique
took a deep breath and rubbed the back of her neck.

       “I’m
sorry Dominique.  I ripped my dress getting out of the limo and we all…kind of…
panicked.  I swear—nothing is going on here, it’s all just a
misunderstanding.”  Suddenly Nina realized her La Perla was on display and she
wrapped Boris’ suit coat tightly around her.    

       Pinching
the bridge of her nose, Dominique closed her eyes for a moment.  “All right,
I’m going back to greet our guests, you girls get Nina put back together,
Boris—get out of the ladies room, and we’re going to all pretend that none of
this ever happened and we’ll never speak of it again.” 

       Dominique’s
proposition was met with a great deal of enthusiastic head nodding.  She
started to leave, then paused and studied Elsa’s face for a moment.  “Good grief
Elsa, whatever happened to your eye?”

Chapter Twenty

       Daniel
greeted Nina with a kiss on the cheek.  “Hey—nice dress, where have you been?”

       If he
only knew, Nina thought.  “Oh, I was chatting with Paulina Pruitt.” 

       “Paulina? 
Why?  She’s horrible.  The only reason she’s here is because her father sits on
the board of the Foundation.  He’s not a bad guy.  But don’t believe anything
Paulina tells you.”

       Daniel
sounded a little defensive, Nina thought and he quickly changed the subject.

       “Your
family is a hit by the way.  Wilson introduced your Mom to some millionaire
that’s crazy about Formula One and they’re off chatting about car racing.  And
I think Reuben and his wheelchair are going to be part of an art installation
at the Museum of Contemporary Arts next month.  Something about the fragility
of the human body.”

       Nina
smiled at Daniel.  Okay, everything was going to be okay now.  She just needed
to breath.  Daniel took her hand and squeezed it.  “Thanks for everything
Nina.  I really do want you and your family to have some fun.  We’ll be off to
Panama in a couple of days and before you know it, this deal is going to be in
the bag.”

       Why did
he have to look so handsome and charming, Nina thought?  And be so nice? 

       Daniel
slid an arm around Nina’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head.  “You
really do look great in that dress.  Come on—let’s go get a drink.  Something
festive, how about a Cosmopolitan?” 

       Over the
next hour and a half, Nina met an astronaut that had walked on the moon, two
senators, a princess, a duke and duchess, star players from the NHL, NBA and
MLB, the conductor of the Boston Symphony, a national news anchor, two Academy
Award winning actors, a famous French film director, and one philanthropic,
mega rock star.  She was in a daze.  And everyone was so nice!  Clearly, the
DeVere’s mostly preferred the company of people that were decent human beings. 
Only Paulina had been disagreeable.  Well, Paulina and Elsa.

       Daniel
led Nina up the grand staircase at the end of the lobby. “I don’t know about
you, but I’m ready to get out of the smash and take a breather.”  A tray of
canapés passed by and Daniel grabbed a couple, popping one into Nina’s mouth.  
“When’s the last time you ate?”

       Nina
thought about it.  “I’m not sure… I guess I sort of had breakfast, just a bowl
of cereal—the rest of the day has been a whirlwind.”

       “That’s
what I thought.  Me too.”  Daniel led her through a non-descript door at the
end of the mezzanine level, and they emerged into an intimate room with wood
paneling and a fireplace.  A table was set with a few roses in a bud vase.  “I
figured we could duck out of the party for 30 minutes and have a quick bite to
eat.  Everyone else can stuff themselves on shrimp and pate.”  He gave her a
wink as he pulled a chair out from the table for her.  Nina sat very gingerly.

       “I
thought we could both use a little comfort food—a couple of petite filets,
mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus. I hope medium rare is okay.”  A waiter
appeared with two plates, opened a bottle of wine and disappeared.

       “This is
really thoughtful.”  Nina’s stomach growled and she wasn’t sure what was making
her mouth water more, the smell of the steak, or the sight of Daniel pouring
wine in his new, black, bespoke suit.

       “The fact
is, Nina, I enjoy spending time with you.  You’re funny and interesting and
you’re honest about things.  Rich guys don’t always get much truth from people. 
You did me a big favor in India.”

       Nina
suddenly felt shy.  Daniel was being so open; it felt a little raw.  “I’m glad
you feel that way.  I really do think your natural inclinations are to do the
right thing.”

       They
clinked glasses.  “Nina, promise me one thing, whatever else happens while
we’re working this deal, promise me you’ll be honest with me—promise me that we
will always be friends.  I need a friend like you in my life.”

       Nina felt
conflicted, part of her wanted to applaud Daniel’s request, to see it as the
sign of someone who was maturing and growing.  But part of her couldn’t shake
that quiet longing of wishing that there could be something more between them. 
“I’ll do my best, Daniel—I’ll do my best to be a good friend.”

       The rest
of the party passed uneventfully. Wilson made a lovely climactic toast to the
couple, and then the guests started to drift out.  To Nina’s surprise, Daniel
climbed into the limousine with her clan.  He patted her knee.  “I just want to
see you safely home.”

       As they
crossed over the Charles River, Nina got the scoop on everyone else’s evening. 
It seemed that all of them had managed to hook up in some way.  Rita had a date
with a young hockey hot shot and Kennedy was going out with a twenty-something
famous cellist.  Reuben was ‘collaborating’ with a rather attractive
performance artist, Boris was cooking dinner for a Russian ballerina, and the
Formula One loving millionaire was whisking Vicki off for a weekend in Montreal. 
In one evening, everyone had found romance, Nina thought, everyone except the
bride-to-be.

Chapter Twenty One

       “First
class is now welcome to board.”  The gate agent at Boston’s Logan Airport looked
incredibly bored, and Daniel looked incredibly uncomfortable.  Wilson was using
the DeVere Lear jet, and Daniel and Nina had to fly to Panama on a commercial
flight.  The ten minutes they waited at the gate after leaving the VIP lounge
had literally made Daniel sweat.  Unaccustomed to crying babies, sticky
fingered toddlers, and Game Boy playing teenagers, Daniel bolted for the
jetway, dragging Nina along in his wake.   

       “Hurry up
Nina!  It’s time to board.”  He tugged her by the hand toward the phlegmatic
gate agent.  “You have the tickets and our passports, right?”

       Daniel
was also unused to traveling without someone to take care of all the logistics
for him.  For Panama, they decided, it was better to leave Boris and Kennedy at
home, as Daniel wanted to impress upon Arturo, the owner of the eco-resort,
that he was a normal, stable, and self-sufficient guy.

       “Hold
your horses.”  Nina dug their passports out of her purse.   “Remember?  Your
boarding pass is electronic.  It’s on your phone.”

       “Oh, right,”
Daniel reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. He looked at it
helplessly.  Nina reached over and punched up the text message with the
boarding pass. 

       “Really Daniel—helplessness
is not going to impress Arturo.  What happened to the guy who rescued me from
the paparazzi on Tremont Street…or the guy who gave away our cotton mat and
mangoes in Varanasi?”

       “Paparazzi
I understand, situations I can control, I understand, this…” he indicated the
crowd of normal, average people waiting to board, “I don’t understand.”

       “What you
mean is that you can’t control it.  Welcome to the world most people live in.”

       “Can we
continue discussing this from the first class cabin?”  Daniel tugged at Nina
again.  “With a cocktail?”

       Once on
board, Daniel relaxed a little as they settled into their cushy seats.   A
rather attractive flight attendant leaned over him provocatively, giving Daniel
more than a glimpse of her ample cleavage as she set their drinks down.  “Welcome
aboard Mr. DeVere.  If there’s anything I can do to make your flight more…
comfortable
,
please don’t hesitate to ask.”  The flight attendant gave him a seductive smile
while pointedly ignoring Nina.