TWO
Ever since a young boy of twelve first visited a strange island that stood just twenty feet above sea level at the very most, Aiden Whitney had been in love with the small island chain known as the Florida Keys. Just miles away from a barrier reef and eternally filled with dolphins, diving, and adventure, every decision he’d ever made in life had centered on Key Largo, and his desire to build a resort there someday.
At sixteen, when he began diving, an instructor had suggested weight training for fitness and strength would improve his skills, and his second passion had been born. His body became strong, and his muscles were now a work of art. And, as promised, his level of fitness truly did enhance his skills in the water.
His grandpa had been so impressed with Aiden’s love of fitness that for his high school graduation present he surprised him with the gift of four fitness gyms. He told him that he’d got the lot of them ‘on special’, and knew he’d enjoy himself.
Aiden supposed most eighteen-year-olds would have had no idea what to do with that, but as for himself, he took his new responsibilities completely to heart. Industrious young man that he was, Aiden immediately took business courses in addition to the marine biology and ecology classes he'd already been planning for, coming away from college with a double major.
But he didn't wait around to finish classes before he invested time and effort into his properties. He visited each one of them, upgraded them, and branded them with the Whitney name. For each company, he hired professional trainers and fitness experts, as well as an administrator to oversee all of the businesses and ensure their success.
He never forgot his real goal of the resort, though. He even bought a few vacation rental homes down in the Keys just so he and his father didn't need to pay for lodgings whenever they visited, and gained a bit more income into the bargain. For the most part, he socked every dime he made away or invested it into ventures that would increase the diversity of his portfolio.
In his mind, he hoped to have his business and his passions unite, telling his father that while textiles paid the bills, they could never feed a man’s soul. He wanted something a lot more significant in his life, and when he built his resort, he would have it.
He dated here and there as he created his empire, but not until the age of thirty did he find a woman he believed he could build a life with. In retrospect, he figured it must have been an influx of hormones that had shut down his brain, and nothing more.
But who could blame him, really? Brynn was a buxom blonde socialite whose only true interests were shopping, and working out so she’d look good in all of her new outfits. She could be a real charmer when she wanted to, but that was usually just when it suited her agenda.
Within six months she had his ring on her finger, and all of her excited ideas for how to improve his business began to flow. Within mere weeks, she convinced him that he should invest some of his savings into making his four businesses into health spas, and even to build a couple more of them into the bargain.
He thought she was just as excited about the work as he was, but in reality she’d only been thinking about ways to pamper herself. When he found out about her first lover, she whined and told him it was a mistake, that she was bored because they hadn't managed to produce any children. They redoubled their efforts for a while, but never managed to conceive.
Aiden had even suggested a fertility clinic which Brynn declined. Having children was murder on a woman’s body anyway, right? The last thing she needed was the responsibility of raising a child.
After just three and a half years of marriage, the sex declined. Brynn kept finding reasons to avoid him, which was hell for Aiden. He didn't like the idea of cheating to get his needs seen to, but he was pretty sure she must be getting her own itch scratched somewhere else.
For the last four years now they'd been in a sort of limbo, just going through the motions. He'd begun leaving her in one city while he ventured off to take care of business concerns in the others. She now had pretty much made their residence near Fresno into her permanent home.
But that was not the only tragedy to strike, though. Because next his father discovered he had lung cancer, and his health took a rapid declined. Even in his parting moment, the old man hadn’t forgotten about Aiden’s greatest desire.
“Son,” he managed to tell him on a wispy breath, “I know how unhappy you are. I know you don’t want those old textile companies of mine, so I believe it’s time to sell. Take that profit and buy the land in Key Largo that I know you’ve had your eye on all these years. Knowing you’ll be happy in that, at least, will make it much easier for me to let go.”
"I'll do it, old man," Aiden had agreed, hugging him, and kissing his forehead. When he moved away, his father was gone, but a slight smile remained on his lips. And that was how Aiden chose to remember him afterwards.
Within weeks he sold the businesses and used that money, along with a great deal more of his own, to buy property at Rock Harbor and contract the building of a resort. For the past three years, he'd been eagerly waiting for the project's completion. The recent hurricane that had devastated the Keys had not slowed down progress at all, so he would be able to have his grand opening on time. Thank goodness for at least some miracles.
But now that he was so close to fulfilling all his dreams, it looked like he might have hit another bump in the road. Brynn had recently had him served with paperwork asking for a divorce. And although she had signed a prenuptial agreement that prohibited her from touching any of his holdings prior to the marriage, she had hired some fancy team of lawyers who were going for some gold.
His dream resort, as well as the two businesses he’d created after their wedding, were considered to be assets belonging to them as a couple because of when they’d been acquired. If Brynn had her way, he would either have to pay her off with cash, or all three of the properties would have to be sold.
Aiden refused to give up his dream resort, but he’d sunk most of his money into having it built. And knowing Brynn, she’d timed her bombshell on purpose, just to make him suffer even more. If he’d ever believed he loved her, he certainly didn’t believe it anymore. The bloom was most definitely off the rose, as he father used to say.
“Well, I’m sure not going to sit around here for the next week feeling sorry for myself,” he told his financial advisor, Tim Collins, over his cell phone. “The main portion of the resort’s interviewing event is scheduled for tomorrow, with almost one hundred potential employees settling in for their week-long adventure. I think I’ll just go down a bit early and maybe influence the final results.”
“Hey, maybe you should go down there undercover, eh?” Tim chuckled. “Maybe have it filmed and get it put on that television show. I know how much you love dual purposes roles wherever you go.”
“No way I’m doing that,” Aiden scoffed. “How would I explain being followed around by a camera crew? Although, the idea of going down there incognito has some merit. Maybe I could take a vacation of my own. I’ll just blend in with the potential staff and tell them I want to be on the diving instructor crew. You know, since that’s already what I’m going to go do.”
“So you’re serious about going native, then? You’re really going to go live down there the whole year round?”
”These business trips I’ve been taking haven’t been necessary for a long time,” Aiden scoffed. “I’ve just been visiting all of the spas so often to avoid being on Brynn’s radar and keep to myself. Now that she’s openly declared that we’re breaking up, I don’t need to go through the motions anymore.”
“But you’re not going to let her take away your resort, are you?”
“No, don’t worry about that, I do have a few tricks of my own up my sleeves. Part of that pre-nup said that if she cheats on me, she’s entitled to nothing. And I’m not going to just sit back and pretend I don’t know about her infidelities anymore. Didn’t you tell me your brother’s a private eye, Timmy?”
“Yeah, he is,” Tim replied. “If you want to hire him, I can set the whole thing up for you. Once you prove to the courts what’s really going on, it’ll be a whole new ball game.”
“That’s for sure,” Aiden agreed. “I hate stooping quite so low, but Brynn’s the one who decided to force my hand. Go ahead and give him a call. You know what I need him to do.”