Who Wants to Marry A Billionaire?(42)
“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?”
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 caba?a 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.”