Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? (17 page)

       Daniel
hurriedly closed the e-mail.  This Ariadne girl reminded him a little too much
of the First Lady he’d been frolicking with in Cannes.  Compulsively, he
clicked the e-mail back open again.  Ariadne was drop dead sexy, in that
classic swimsuit model kind of way—long straight hair, pouty lips, amazingly
big boobs, a tiny waist, and a backside that would make any guy salivate.  And she
was wearing a three-Dorito and shoestring bikini. He clicked it shut again,
sweating, and then it hit Daniel: he was an addict. 

       Not a sex
addict, he mused, but a man addicted to gorgeous, empty-headed women, who
didn’t challenge him to be better than he was—women who made it easy for him to
act like a spoiled playboy.  Women who were, he realized, the opposite of Nina
when it came to substance and maturity.  He hit the delete button and emptied
the trash.  He was done with all the Ariadne's that had passed through his
life.

       “Hey, put
your book down.  Let’s have a little stroll and go get a smoothie.”  Daniel
stood up and stretched.

       Nina
looked up at Daniel.  They were acting like a completely normal couple she
reminded herself.  She needed to trust him, and she needed to not punish him
for the fact that they’d gotten the cart a little before the horse.  “Great
idea,” she forced a smile.  “Some fruity vitamin goodness is an excellent idea
for two hung over people.”

       “Speak
for yourself, Missy, I’m fine.”  He picked up Nina and playfully tossed her
over his shoulder.  “See?  Fit as a fiddle.”

       A genuine
giggle escaped from Nina.  “Mango?”

       “Is that
your safe word again…” he set her down and gave her a little kiss, “Or the
flavor smoothie you want?”

       Her eyes
sparkled, “Maybe both.”

       Daniel
slipped an arm around Nina and off they went in search of tropical fruity
goodness—sans the rum.

Chapter Twenty Eight

       Nina was
a huge hit with Arturo, and through her efforts, she could tell that Arturo was
starting to see Daniel in a different light.  They avoided discussing business,
and kept dinner strictly a social occasion, but it was clear to both Nina and
Daniel, that Arturo was warming up to the idea of selling the resort to Daniel. 

       When
Arturo relaxed, he was warm and funny, and he smiled and laughed frequently
through the evening.  Nina found herself attracted to him, not in a romantic
way, but just as a really fine human being.  He had a paternal side that was
very loving, and not patronizing at all.  It was clear he was a spiritual man,
and someone who held very high ethical standards, and expected the same of
others.  Nina found herself wishing that she could have had a father like
Arturo, and she knew those were the qualities she would want for the father of
her children.  For his part, Daniel was wonderful, Nina thought.  All of his
best qualities were shining through, and the thoughtful man sitting beside her
bore little relationship to the tabloid playboy.  They talked quite a bit about
the DeVere Foundation projects that Arturo had contributed to, and Daniel had
some very good ideas

       The
evening was growing late, and as Nina and Daniel started to say goodnight,
Arturo suddenly asked them, “So what are your plans, after you are married?”

       Daniel
gazed lovingly at Nina, “Nina is going to continue her work with the
foundation,” he turned back to Arturo, “And I’m hoping that I will be busy
expanding DeVere Industry’s sustainable business initiatives.”

       Arturo
didn’t comment, only nodded, then shook Daniel’s hand and kissed Nina on the
cheek.  “I could have used a daughter like you, three sons—it’s too much
testosterone,” he joked.  “I don’t know how my poor wife has put up with the
four of us for so many years.  Fortunately, they all married wonderful women.” 
He looked at Daniel as he said that.  “So Daniel, I’ll see you bright and early
at 8 o’clock?” 

       “Yes, and
Nina is off to look in on one of the Foundation projects with our Managing
Director.”

       “Then
I’ll see you, Nina, tomorrow night at dinner.  I’ve asked our chef to make a
real Panamanian feast.  You two will love it.  Goodnight.”

       As they
walked back to their cabaña, Nina said, “That sounds positive—like he’s already
planning a celebration!  I think everything is going to go beautifully
tomorrow.”

       Daniel
leaned over and kissed Nina.  “Thanks to you.  You certainly made a terrific
impression.”

       “I didn’t
do much—maybe what I did was just help you be yourself. You’re smart Daniel,
and you care, and when you let that come through, people are going to be
impressed.  Less shopping, more thinking—it works well for you.”

       Furrowing
his brow, Daniel joked, “And what’s wrong with shopping?”

       “Nothing
I guess,” Nina paused, half joking, half serious, “Unless, of course, a shark
is biting your ass.”

       When they
got in bed, Nina and Daniel both had their pajamas on, and stayed to their
respective sides of the bed like they were in a 1960s sitcom.  As Daniel
reached to turn off the lamp, he joked to Nina, “If I start creeping over to
your side of the bed, your job is to start screaming your head off.”

       Already
starting to drift off, Nina smiled and murmured, “Mango.”

Chapter Twenty Nine

       Nina and
Daniel were up bright and early, and after a quick breakfast of fresh fruit,
coffee and toast, Daniel left for his meeting with Arturo, and Nina waited for
Elsa who was uncharacteristically late.  Tired of hanging around the cabaña,
Nina decided to stroll toward reception, and perhaps have another cup of
delicious Panamanian coffee.  She saw an SUV flying up the road, and then it
screeched to a halt.  Elsa stepped out, looking flustered. 

       “I told
you I would meet you at your cabaña,” she said crossly.

       “Since
you were running a few minutes late, I decided to come get another cup of
coffee and save you the effort of coming to the cabaña.  I wasn’t aware that I
was under house arrest.” 

       Elsa
glanced around nervously, “Well, go on, go get your coffee.”

       “Would
you like me to get you a cup?”  Nina asked politely.

       “If I
wanted coffee, I would have coffee.”

       Nina
rolled her eyes as she walked toward the restaurant.  The day with Elsa was
getting off to such a pleasant start.  As she reached for the door, she noticed
a reflection in the glass of the window that puzzled her and turned just in
time to see another woman getting out of Elsa’s car.  She was nearly 6’ tall,
and looked taller, mostly due to the fact that she appeared to only be wearing
a belt rather than a skirt.  She had on a tight, knit, tank top that was
failing miserably at containing her boobs or reaching the top of her belt-skirt. 
She had bottle blonde, long straight hair, and swung it dramatically as she
straightened up out of the car.  She was beautiful in a kind of vapid way—every
movement was a pose designed to show off her tits and ass.  Shaking her head,
Nina headed in for her coffee, then stopped.  Why was some gussied up tart
getting out of Elsa’s car?

       Forgoing
the coffee, Nina turned and headed back to Elsa, but by the time she got there,
the woman had disappeared. 

       “I
thought you were getting coffee,” Elsa said irritably.

       “I decided
I didn’t need any more caffeine. Who was that woman getting out of your car?”

       Elsa
looked caught out.  Nina could hear the cogs turning in Elsa’s brain.  “Just a
guest who got stranded in town with a flat tire, she overheard that we were
coming up here, and asked if we could give her a lift.”

       Nina
didn’t believe that story in a million years, but what Elsa was up to, she
couldn’t say.

       Snapping
into her professional mode, Elsa gestured toward the car.  “We should get
going, they’ll be waiting for us at the health center.”  They got into the car,
and Elsa started going over the program with Nina in a completely normal and
respectful way. The complete personality shift made Nina worry that the woman
was suffering from some kind of mental illness, but she was just glad to be out
of the bull’s-eye. 

       When they
got to the rural clinic, the staff was incredibly welcoming, and Nina was
shocked to see the way in which Elsa related to them.  She asked thoughtful
questions, gave encouragement, and together with Nina they all brainstormed
some issues.  It was a side of Elsa that Nina had never seen, and she
understood better how Elsa had become the managing director of the Foundation. 
Her background was in finance, and she was smart about money, but it seemed to
Nina that she really cared about the programs truly helping people.  Nina
started to get a glimpse into the Elsa that Daniel saw—which made it all the
more puzzling, why she had to be so mean, sometimes.  Maybe, Nina wondered,
Elsa didn’t know why she was so mean, either. 

Chapter Thirty

       The smile
on Daniel’s face was so big that he thought his cheeks might split.  He pumped
Arturo’s hand telling him, “This deal is going to be great for everyone.  You
stay on as a part-time consultant to help us as we expand the concept—and you
get to have more time with your family.  Eco-Resort Calderon stays intact, but
now a lot of other people are going to benefit from the principles you’ve
developed.”

       Arturo
smiled too as he put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.  “I never doubted that you
were smart Daniel, I just wanted to see that you could make a long-term
commitment and not get distracted.  It seems you’ve really learned from your
experiences, and you’ve found a wonderful woman with which to share your life. 
I’m happy for you.  I think Eco-Resort Calderon will be in good hands.”

       “You
won’t regret this, I promise.” 

       “I need
to go meet with the lawyers to draw up the contracts this afternoon.  Why don’t
you go relax at the pool until Nina gets back?  Then tonight, we’ll have a
wonderful, celebratory, dinner.  My wife will be back from our son’s some time
this afternoon, and I’m looking forward to introducing her to you and Nina.  We
can sign all the paperwork tomorrow or the next day, whenever the lawyers get
it ready.”

       “A swim
sounds like a great idea…maybe even a nap!”  Daniel laughed.

       “Go
enjoy, see you later.”

       Daniel
went and changed into his swimsuit, grabbed a towel and headed over to the
resort’s very nice, saltwater pool.  Many of the resort’s guests were out for
the day and the pool was quiet and empty.  Normally, Daniel thought, he would
have been bored being by himself, but he found that he was actually looking
forward to savoring the completion of the deal all on his own—but he was also looking
forward to telling Nina. 

       He slid
into the pool and swam some vigorous laps; making perfect race turns at the end
of each one.  It felt good to use his body and he realized that what his life
had been missing was discipline.  When he was racing, he never had time to get
in trouble.  Maybe, he thought, he should participate in some kind of adult
swim league when he got back to Boston.  It sounded like the kind of thing of
which Nina would approve.  After a while, he just floated in the pool, and some
parrots flew by and he thought of how Nina’s face had looked the first time she
saw them. Making experiences available to Nina was something that he truly
enjoyed.  Her openness and wonder made it like the first time for him
again—even when they were drunkenly making love.  He didn’t regret one minute.

       A small
splash roused Daniel from his reverie, and he treaded water to see who had
entered the pool.  There was a woman in the shallow end of the pool, and with a
sickening lurch to his stomach, Daniel realized it was the woman who had sent
him the e-mail. 

       “Hello!” 
She gave him a seductive look, “You’re Daniel, right?  I’m Ariadne.  You got my
e-mail?”

       Daniel
didn’t want to be rude, but neither did he really want to get into it with this
strange woman.  “Uh, yeah, I got it.  I don’t know if you know this, but I’m
engaged.”

       She
laughed, “Yeah I heard, but the word is, it’s—how do you say—a marriage of
convenience?”

       That
alarmed Daniel, he swam toward her, “Where did you hear that from?”

       “Oh, you
know, people.”  Ariadne was coy. 

       “And
how’d you get my personal e-mail address anyway?”

       “Oh, you
know, I have my ways.” 

       Daniel
was starting to get upset.  “Look I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying
to play, but I’m not interested.”

       “But I
think you are,” she rolled her shoulders back so that Daniel could get the full
show: elegant neck, enormous boobs, flat tummy, and luscious tush.   She was
wearing the teeny tiny bikini from the photo she’d sent him, and when she
turned, it was perfectly clear a shred of a thong was all that held the bottom on.
“Like what you see, Mr. DeVere?”

       “I’d like
for you to tell me who put you up to this.  I don’t know you, and I don’t
really want to know you.”

       Without
any warning, Ariadne undid the tiny strings holding on her bikini top and let
Daniel have the full effect of her Playboy perfect boobs.  “Don’t be angry, we
could have so much fun together.”

       Daniel
couldn’t help but ogle her for a moment and then remembered Nina’s words on the
plane—and that was before they had really admitted the way that they both
felt.  He turned and started to swim to the other end of the pool.  Ariadne
started to panic a little; her instructions were to seduce Daniel, but it
wasn’t working, so she had to fall back on Plan B.  She called out, “How do you
think Wilson will react when he finds out his son’s engagement is a sham?  Or
maybe I should tell Arturo Calderon?”