Who Wants to Marry A Billionaire?(16)
They ate silently for a few minutes. Then Daniel wiped his mouth with his napkin and looked at her softly. “This is going to be a lot harder than either one of us realized Nina. But it’s business, plain and simple. I don’t want to hurt a nice girl like you. Okay?”
Nina nodded as she cracked the other claw on her lobster.
Chapter Eleven
“Elsa, could you please try to be nice to Nina? This was all your idea and you’re acting like she’s plotting to overthrow western civilization.” Daniel tossed his signed Babe Ruth baseball up and down in his hands. “She’s really a very good person, and frankly, we’ve used her finances to blackmail her into doing this. So be a little more sensitive.”
Elsa leaned back on the edge of Daniel’s desk, her fingernails nervously tapping the glass on either side of her skinny hips. “She’s just so…common, Daniel. No one is going to believe she’s a society girl.”
“Then make up a different story. Tell me about her real background.”
“Well, her mother was born and raised in Lowell, her grandfather was a barber, and her grandmother worked in restaurants. After high school, Vicki ran away to be a model. She ended up at a photo shoot in Rio and that’s where she met Nina’s father. The father was a minor celebrity on the F1 racing circuit, doing well enough. There was a whirlwind romance, they married, and Nina was born seven months later. When Nina was six, her father died when he crashed during a race. Her mother never really got over it. She drifted back to Lowell, and managed to sort of raise three kids with the help of her parents, but Nina took over a lot of responsibility at a very young age.”
“So what’s wrong with using the truth?”
Elsa paced around the room, thinking. “We could make her Brazilian, she looks it enough, and then we could tell people she doesn’t speak English. You’d both have to learn a few phrases of Portuguese to throw around, but after Cannes, people will believe almost anything about you—a girl with whom you can’t really communicate would be very believable.”
Exasperated, Daniel turned to Elsa. “Can we please forget about Cannes? Remember, I’m trying to look like a mature businessman here! Nina’s smart; she went to a great college. Don’t you think it will look better to Arturo that I picked a nice, intelligent, responsible girl from a humble background instead of some spoiled society brat? He’s a self-made man, I think he’ll like that.”
Elsa pursed her lips. “Hmm. You might be on to something there. All the same, she needs to learn how to swim with the sharks or she’ll be gobbled alive before she ever has a chance to meet Arturo.”
Chapter Twelve
“The first thing we have to do is find you a better name.” Elsa looked at her notepad and made a little check mark.
“What’s wrong with my name?” Nina looked alarmed. “I like my name.”
“It’s too…ethnic…and not in a good way. If you’re going to be a commoner, you need to be an exotic commoner…Natalie, Natalia…wait, Natasha.
“Natasha? To be honest with you Elsa, that sounds stupid.”
Elsa whacked her pencil sharply on the pad. “Do not call anyone or anything ‘stupid’ Nina. It makes you sound exactly that. Now rephrase what you just said to me in a more appropriate manner.”
Nina could feel her jaw muscles clenching. “I’m not sure that I would be comfortable with the name Natasha.”
“Better. But Nina, you have really got to get that fiery little South American temper of yours under control. Displays of emotion are not acceptable in the socialite world. Never—I mean never—let them see you get upset. There will be jealous women who will be cruel and catty and disparage you at every turn. Giving in to impulse is not only déclassé, it’s like chumming sharks.”
It was the first time Elsa ever sounded like a real person, Nina thought, like Elsa might have experienced some of that cruelty and cattiness first hand. She softened her response, “No, I understand, I do. I know you’re just trying to help me.”
Elsa sniffed. “I’m not trying to do anything for you, I’m just trying to help Daniel close this deal.” She looked back at her checklist. “Alright, we’ll leave the name alone. You at least went to an appropriate college, but never tell anyone you were on scholarship.” Nina nodded. “Working for the DeVere’s philanthropic foundation sounds good, creates a credible place for Daniel to have met someone outside his…circles. Your manners seem to be alright, but remember: never slouch, never curse, never use slang and never, never, under any circumstance, flirt with anyone who isn’t Daniel.”
“Why would I flirt with someone besides Daniel?” The idea puzzled Nina.
“Because, they will be flirting with you.”
“Flirting with me? Why?”
Elsa sighed, “It’ll be a game Nina. There will be men who will try to get you just because they think you are Daniel DeVere’s. They won’t have any real interest in you—their only goal will be getting under Daniel’s skin. Remember that—there can’t be a whiff of scandal around Daniel.”
“Okay.” Nina was starting to feel more and more dejected.