Who Wants to Marry A Billionaire?(43)
“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 caba?a. 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.