Chapter Twelve

Ronni

I really didn’t want Nathan to leave the day before, but I knew how important his business was to him. He had taken charge of his father’s company after his mother passed away, and from studying the company as a whole during college, I knew that whatever he was doing was helping to bring the company into the new era. His father was a brilliant man, but he didn’t understand changing times. The company wasn’t in danger at any point, but if Nathan hadn’t come in with the changes he made, eventually the conglomerate would have been broken up and sold to the highest bidder. He was brilliant, just like his father, but he understood what it took for an enterprise to survive a changing economic and political world. They were one of very few real estate companies in the country that actually increased revenue during the economic collapse, while many others barely hung on or folded under the pressure. It was extremely impressive.

So, in the spirit of moving forward and hard work, Maria and I sat down to work out the details of the bikini line and all the logistics that went along with it. She was an exceptional designer, more talented than most of the famous ones I saw in magazines, but just like me, she was just starting out. She sat and listened to everything that Nathan had explained to me, and I patiently went through each step with her so that she could better understand.

She had a designer education, a designer background, and an artist’s mind so I wanted to make things simple but understandable for her. Though I wasn’t going to be designing anything, we were going to be running the company together. Between her amazing work and my business skills, I knew there was no way we could fail at this venture. Luckily for us, Maria came from money, her father being a very successful Latin singer. He loved Maria’s designs and had already set up an account to fund the entire venture, and he didn’t want us to pay him back at all.

I had known since the beginning that Maria had gotten lucky in the parenting department, especially since she didn’t have to pay for college, didn’t have to work at all, and always had money in her bank account. When we decided to move in together, her father came down and picked out the place we lived in, offering to pay for the entire thing. Though it would have been nice to not have the cost of rent, I didn’t feel comfortable having yet another person take care of me, so we settled on a fair price, and I paid my monthly share. Maria thought I was crazy since she knew her father just took that money and put it in her bank account, but it made me feel good to be taking care of myself.

We sat there, brainstorming ideas for what we wanted to call the business, how we wanted to incorporate it legally, and where we really wanted to start. We had a really good list going, and I groaned as my phone went off on the other side of the room. I grabbed it and flipped it open, not even looking at the name on the screen. I cringed at the sound of Nick’s voice on the other end.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” He was furious.

“Excuse me?”

“You just go and abandon me at the club, acting like you are so much better than everyone else,” he yelled. “And then I find you hooking up with my fucking brother?”

“First of all, that is none of your business,” I said. “Secondly, if you hadn’t just ditched me for your blonde disgusting bimbo, I wouldn’t have ended up wandering around the Gaslamp District, drunk as hell, not knowing where to go. I was almost fucking mauled by a group of frat boys. It was a fluke that your brother found me, and thank god he did, because who knows what those guys would have done. You can lay the blame on me to make yourself feel better, but when it comes down to it, you are a disgusting and poor excuse for a man.”

“Maybe if you learned to not be such a cold bitch, none of this would have happened,” he yelled back. “It’s not my problem you have mommy and daddy issues and can’t handle someone of my stature and power putting their hands on you. You should be glad that a man like me asked out a girl like you.”

“A girl like me? What the fuck does that mean?”

“Oh, come on,” he said with a harsh laugh. “You think because my mother took you in, that makes you part of this family? No. Everyone looked at you as the poor little immigrant who was taken in by my mother. That was it. Nothing more. You are trying to hold on to that and milk it for all its worth.”

“You are so blind,” I said. “I have done more to support myself than you ever have and ever will. Have fun milking daddy for his hard-earned money just so you can go invest it in shitty ideas and watch them fail. Go to hell, you piece of shit.”

I hung up the phone and screamed, letting my anger radiate through the entire house. Maria poked her head around the corner and lifted her eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes and waved my hand at her, wanting to kill that little prick. I sat down at the kitchen counter and tried to collect myself. It had been a very long time since I wanted to hurt someone, but right now, that was exactly what I wanted to do.

I was such an idiot, and after everything I had been through in life, I still couldn’t figure out what I ever saw in Nick. He was arrogant, ignorant, had no motivation, and when it came down to it, he was nothing more than a spoiled little rich kid. In fact, unless something drastically changed for him, I couldn’t see him ever making anything out of himself except for a mooch on his father’s name. Nathan, on the other hand, was that guy. He was the man who got things done and had the compassion and fortitude to think of other people in the process. Just thinking about him calmed my heartbeat, and I tossed my phone on the counter and headed back into the living room. Maria looked up at me and smiled as I sat down.

“Was that Nick?”

“Ugh, how did you know?” I rolled my eyes and stomped my feet.

“He’s pretty much the only rich asshole in your life, so I figured it was him harassing you,” she said.

“I thought you thought that about Nathan, too?”

“Yeah, well, he seems to have proven me wrong so far,” she said, laughing.

“It was the pancakes, wasn’t it?”

“You got me,” she said. “No, I just see how protective he is of you and how much you light up every time you are around him. I thought he would be bad for you, and for a second, I was right. But in the end, he really showed his true colors, and they are bright and happy, just how I like it.”

“God, Nick was such an asshole,” I said, still upset. “I don’t understand how you can know someone your whole life and be so mean. I mean we grew up together, in the same damn house.”

“Some people are only concerned with their egos,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Nathan doesn’t seem to be one of them.”

I nodded my head and looked up as someone knocked hard on the door. I peeked out the window to see Nathan’s car sitting in front of the complex. It was like he knew we were talking about him, and poof, he was here. I took a deep breath, trying not to look so upset. I didn’t want him to know his brother said those things. It would only cause more issues between them. I grabbed the handle and opened the door wide, trying to muster a smile. Well, Nathan saw right through that, and his eyebrows furled at the upset look on my face. He reached out and brought me in close, hugging me tightly and kissing me on the top of the head. Luckily, he took my silence as a sign I wanted privacy and didn’t ask me what happened. He just squeezed me tightly. He waved at Maria and then looked down at me.

“You have a minute to go for a walk?”

“Uh oh,” I said with a worried face. “The last walk we went on didn’t turn out so well.”

“No,” he said, chuckling. “It’s not that kind of walk, I promise. Grab your jacket. The wind is pretty strong today.”

I reached in and grabbed my lightweight jacket off the rack and smiled at Maria as I shut the door. I looked up suspiciously at Nathan as he took my hand and led me toward the beach. The sand was cool between my toes, and I couldn’t help but feel renewed as the sea air hit my face. I looked over at Nathan as we walked, curious of what he wanted to talk about.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“So,” he said, taking a deep breath. “You are so smart and so amazing, and you are thirsting for knowledge in the business arena. On my way to the office, after I left you the other day, I started brainstorming ways to get you the experience that you’re looking for. Then it hit me. I run a huge conglomerate. Why would I not just give you a job with me? You could help me out and learn at the same time. It would be perfect. What do you think?”

“Wow,” I said, taken back by the offer. It was huge, and everything I wanted since I left college, but I was completely torn. Working alongside Nathan would be amazing, but throw in the fact that he was the man I was lusting after twenty-four seven, and it suddenly seemed like it might be a bad business decision. It was hard enough handling a growing personal relationship, but twist that up in an office romance, and I knew bad things could come of it. However, if I looked at his parents, they did amazing things as a couple running a business. Nathan was so intelligent, and he was the savviest businessman I knew. I would learn so much from him.

“Say something,” he said, laughing.

I smiled. “Sorry. I’m just thinking it over really fast. That’s a big chunk of news at one time.”

As we walked along the beach, I played out the different scenarios in my head, always landing on the fact that, if it started to affect us personally, I could quit and go to something different. Best case scenario, I learned a lot, picked up some serious tricks of the trade, and ended up killing it with me and Maria’s new business. It was so blatantly obvious what I needed to do, but I was nervous since taking chances on things wasn’t my normal MO. In fact, I had been taking chances on things a lot lately, and though it landed me Nathan, it also put a huge rift between me and the family. But I couldn’t think about that. I needed to think about my career and making it big in the business. I stopped and turned to Nathan, taking in a deep breath.

“Okay,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll do it. I need to put in two weeks at my other job, but I can do that first thing tomorrow.”

“Yes,” he said, smiling and picking me up off the ground.

He leaned in and kissed my lips softly, gazing into my eyes. Maybe working with this man wouldn’t be so bad after all.