Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? (18 page)

       Now
Daniel was furious, he got up in Ariadne’s face.  “It’s not a sham.”

       “Oh, but
a three million dollar contract says it is.”

       Daniel
blanched.  His e-mail must have been hacked.  It was the only way he could
explain how she knew everything.  Ariadne was clearly an extortionist, plain
and simple.  He looked around to see if there was a hidden photographer.  “How
much do you want?”

       Looking
over Daniel’s shoulder, Ariadne could see Nina coming down the path to the pool
talking to an older man.  She had returned exactly at the time Elsa indicated,
and finding Daniel in the pool had just made her job easier.  Now the universe
was handing her a fish on a platter.  She shook her head, “It’s not what I
want, it’s what you want, and what you want is this—

       In the
split second that Nina and Arturo arrived at the pool, Ariadne grabbed Daniel’s
hand and put it over her bare breast and plastered her mouth to Daniel’s lips.  

       Nina and
Arturo stood speechless as Ariadne writhed on Daniel.  His struggling to get
away from her looked, unfortunately, a little too much like passion to
non-participating observers. 

       “What is
going on here?” Arturo bellowed.

       Wrenching
himself away from Ariadne, Daniel turned in time to see Nina bolting up the
path as she yelled at him, “I trusted you.”

Chapter Thirty One

      
It
was not much of a celebratory dinner that night.  Daniel had disappeared, and
Arturo’s wife postponed her return to the resort at his request.  Nina had no
appetite, and pushed at the food on her plate distractedly.  Arturo rattled a
glass with a shot of rum on some ice. 

       “The
staff has moved your things to another cabaña on the opposite side of the
resort,” Arturo noted.  “I’m happy to book you a ticket home, Nina, but maybe
you should stay for a few days.  You’ve had a shock.”  He reached over and
patted her hand. 

       A tear
started to roll down Nina’s face.  “I saw that woman yesterday morning.  She
was with Daniel’s friend and my boss, Elsa.  The only explanation is that
Daniel had Elsa bring her here, and then had Elsa take me off so they could
have a rendezvous.  Why would he do that?”

       “It’s a
little brazen, I have to admit.”  Arturo studied the drink in his hand, an idea
starting to form in his mind.  “Your job with the foundation, you like it don’t
you?”

       The
change of conversation was welcome, Nina thought.  “Yes, well, I like helping
people, and I think I’m very good at managing things.  Working for Elsa has
been challenging, but I thought Daniel was helping to make that better.”  She
dabbed at her eyes with the corner of her napkin.  “That woman is incredibly
devious, though.”

       “Do you
like it here in Panama?”  Arturo queried.

       “It’s
kind of hot down on the coast, but I love it up here in the mountains.”  It
seemed a little odd to be talking about the climate, but Nina went with it.

       “I mean,
not just the weather, do you like the place, the people?”

       “Oh yes,
people are incredibly friendly and welcoming—at the coffee plantation, here at
the resort.  We had so much fun at the festival.”  Until they got sloppy drunk
and fell into bed, Nina thought glumly.

       “What
about speaking Spanish?  Would that be hard for you?”

       “I took
Spanish in high school, and I had a couple of years in college.  You know, I
can navigate the basics.  I’m a little rusty, but I’m sure with some practice,
I’d do fine.  Why do you ask?”

        “Well,
it’s clear that Daniel isn’t ready to settle down.  Thank God the paperwork on
transferring the resort wasn’t ready to be signed.”

       That hit
Nina like a fist in the stomach.  Goodbye three million dollars, but at least
she would have her apartment, and Rueben was getting his rehab, and Rita would
get to go to France.  But deep down, Nina felt sad on Daniel’s behalf.  She
knew what it had meant to him in terms of his father. 

       Arturo
rubbed his jaw, thoughtfully.  “The fact remains that I want to work less, and
enjoy my family more. I’d rather be zip lining with the grandchildren that
sitting with lawyers.  I don’t have to sell the resort, I just need a
responsible person to take care of the day to day.”

       “What
about your sons?  Don’t any of them want to help with the family business?”

       Arturo
counted them off on his fingers, “Eduardo is a university economics professor
who was just elected to the National Assembly, Ricardo is a physician
overseeing the rural healthcare system that the DeVere Foundation helps to
support, and Jorge is a solar engineer with his own company.”

       “Wow,
they’re not exactly sitting around twiddling their thumbs,” Nina said
admiringly.

       “My sons
are doing terrifically, and while they sit on the board, none of them are going
to come run Eco-Resort Calderon.”  Arturo took a sip of his rum.  “That’s why I
need a daughter, Nina—a daughter like you—someone smart and capable.  You have
a fine education, experience managing things, and clearly you’ve been admired
by Dominique DeVere, which is saying a lot.”

       “But I—I
don’t know anything about the hospitality industry.”

       “I can
teach you that part—what I need is a kind, responsible person with brains.  And
frankly, someone who understands the United States, since that is going to be
our biggest market.”

       “Let’s be
very clear here—are you offering me a job, Arturo?”  Nina could feel her heart
beating rapidly.  “You hardly know me.”

       “I’ve
seen enough, Nina.  Your values are in harmony with mine.  And I know you’ve
had some family troubles that have been weighing on your mind.  Daniel told me
about your mom, and your brother’s accident, and the fact that you’ve been
putting your brother and sister through school.  I can help you with that.  You
don’t have to do everything on your own.  You help me, and I help you, and
together we help the community here.  It is, as they say, a win-win.”

       Nina felt
stunned.  Leaving Massachusetts would have been unthinkable before she met
Daniel, but now, her mind was open to all kinds of possibilities.  She choked on
a little sob that tried to well up at the realization she had Daniel to thank
for broadening her horizons.

       “I don’t
know what to say.  That’s so generous, and amazing…and tempting.”

       “Say that
you’ll think about it.  You don’t need to rush to give me an answer, a day or a
week or even a month isn’t going to make a difference.  I understand that
you’re processing what’s happened today, and that may take a little time.  But
sometimes throwing yourself into a new and exciting endeavor is the best way to
heal and to get on with your life.”

       “I’ll
think about it Arturo, I really will.” 

       “Let me
walk you to your new cabaña.  It has it’s own little waterfall, very soothing.”

       Nina
spent the night lying on top of the covers of the beautiful king-sized bed
fully clothed.  She listened to the splash of the water gently cascading down
the rocks as she tried to absorb the depth of betrayal that she felt.   Her
mind kept playing the scene over and over: Daniel standing in the pool with his
trunks down around his knees, his hand on that woman’s bare breast.  There was
so much about it though, that didn’t make sense even when she took herself out
of the equation.  Why would Daniel so blatantly risk the deal with Arturo for
something so slight?  A half-formed thought was nagging at the back of Nina’s
brain, as if she was missing a vital piece to a puzzle.  She knew that she
needed to talk to Daniel, but she needed to be able to do that without falling
to pieces. 

       At that
moment she wanted to pour out her heart to someone she loved, but Kennedy had
her own broken heart, and Rita was deliriously happy with her hockey player,
and things seemed to be going really well for her mom and Reuben.  She didn’t
want to rain her misery on anyone’s parade.  But there was someone else she
trusted, and that person was Boris.

Chapter Thirty Two

       Daniel
paced on the balcony of Elsa’s hotel suite in town, completely distraught. 
“How am I ever going to make this right with Nina?”  He rubbed his tired eyes. 
“Somebody set me up, Elsa.  Who wouldn’t want the deal to go through with
Arturo?  Is there someone else trying to buy Eco-Resort Calderon?” 

       Elsa
nervously clicked her fingernails against a glass of rum on the rocks.  It
seemed to be the remedy of the day. 

       Daniel
continued his rant, “Someone hacked my e-mail—it’s the only explanation.  She
had my personal e-mail address and she knew about the details of my deal with
Nina.  She even called it “a marriage of convenience.”  He flopped onto a
wrought iron chair, his face contorted in a miserable grimace.  “I don’t give a
damn about the deal, I just want Nina back.”

       “Daniel,
think about what you’re saying.  You need the deal to improve your relationship
with your father, and we need to make sure Arturo doesn’t go blabbing to
Wilson.”

       “Well,
that’s going to be hard now that Nina is out of the picture. I’m sure that Arturo
thinks I’m still an irresponsible twit.”  Daniel ran a hand through his hair. 
“Don’t you get it Elsa?  This is so much bigger than trying to impress my
father, this is about losing the only woman that’s ever meant anything to me.”

       Elsa couldn’t
help but let out a long slow sigh.  She had botched things and she knew it. 
Ariadne was just supposed to break up Daniel and Nina, to protect Daniel from
the grasp of a gold digger, not cause him to lose the deal.  How could she have
known the legal papers were yet to be signed?  But in her heart, Elsa knew that
her reasons for sabotaging Nina were much more tangled.  The question really
was why was she tripping up Nina when she should have been mentoring her,
Lowell girl to Lowell girl?  Why did Nina’s happiness grate on her so much—to
the point that she’d hurt the one person about whom she truly cared?  Right at
that moment, Elsa had no idea how she had become such a mean person. 

       A part of
Elsa wanted to confess everything to Daniel and to go patch things up with
Arturo and Nina, not just for Daniel’s sake, but also for her own.  Her chest
felt tight, and she knew that at any moment, she would burst into tears.  Excusing
herself, she retreated to the bathroom to gather her wits. 

       Daniel
watched a young family crossing the plaza below the balcony.  The mother had a
small baby in a carrier strapped to her chest, and the father pushed a toddler
in a cheap stroller.  The couple was laughing and talking animatedly. They
weren’t wealthy, Daniel thought, just people who worked hard in order to do their
best for their family, people who loved each other.  The toddler kicked his
sandal off, and the father kneeled down to buckle it back on while the mother
looked on indulgently, stroking her baby’s head.  As soon as the father
finished, the toddler kicked off his other sandal, and the parents broke up
laughing.  It was such an ordinary moment, and yet it was exactly what Daniel
wished for in his life.  The simple pleasure of being able to laugh surrounded
by people you truly love.     

        It hit
Daniel how his bad behavior and lack of discipline was just his way of asking
for someone to love him unconditionally and not because he adhered to certain
standards and expectations.  He knew his parents must really love him to have
put up with his antics as long as they had, but Nina was the person who’d
helped him be truly himself—and helped him to become a better man.  That was a
gift worth far more than any bank account.  He had to find Ariadne and force
her to confess to Nina that she was trying to extort Daniel.  How he was going
to do that, he had no idea, but it seemed like the thing to do.  He needed backup,
though, and he picked up the phone to call Boris.

Chapter Thirty Three

       Nina felt
a little better after she talked to Boris.  It helped a lot to just get things
off her chest. She told him everything—how it seemed like she and Daniel were
having a real romance—only leaving out the part about them sleeping together. 
And as she described the bizarre encounter at the pool, it suddenly hit her
that Daniel had mentioned that he’d told Elsa that things were getting real
between them.  He had been away on the telephone for some time the evening that
Kennedy called, and everything leading up to the rum-soaked lovemaking and even
the day after, had felt absolutely genuine between them.   She remembered how
Daniel had brushed her hair that morning, and he would have to be some kind of
sociopath to fake emotions like that.  Boris listened intently as she shared
her suspicion that somehow Elsa was involved, but why would Elsa want to muff
the deal?  That part of it made no sense.  And she told Boris about Arturo’s
job offer.

       Boris
advised Nina to not do anything rash, that maybe something would exonerate
Daniel, and at any rate, before she made a life-changing decision like moving
to Panama, she should take a little time to think about it.  And he told her he
would try to look into things from his end.  Nina agreed that it was wise to
just cool off a little, and wait before she spoke again to either Daniel or
Arturo.

       It hardly
seemed like the time to go zip lining or whitewater rafting, and the thought of
going to the pool for a swim made Nina completely ill.   She thought about how
peaceful it was the day they had hiked to the waterfalls, and Nina thought
perhaps communing with nature was the way to go.  She checked with the
concierge about overnight camping trips, and he told her that there was a
wonderful trail to a beautiful overlook.  There were a few rough places on the way,
but it was fine for an experienced hiker.  He told her they could set her up
with everything she needed to overnight—backpack, lightweight sleeping bag,
mosquito netting—and he assured her she’d see plenty of beautiful plants and
birds.  It sounded to Nina like just the thing—some time away from everyone to
think and breathe and find herself in all the confusion.  She asked them if
they could have things ready for her to leave the next morning.