The Business Affair: Forever Mine (6 page)

“This is absolutely beautiful.” Paula said,
almost losing her southern accent. She quickly got back into character. “Thank
you. This is where I get away from all the clutter in life.” The elevator door
opened and a little woman greeted them speaking completely in Spanish. She was
so cute, looked like someone’s beloved grandmother. Her hair was salt and
pepper and combed into one very long ponytail. Her short stature was covered by
a bright yellow dress that was tied in a bow at the back. “Benevidos.” She said
and then motioned for them to enter the room. “El amuerzo estara listo en
breve.”

“Gracious,” he nodded, “She said lunch will be
ready soon.”

Paula glanced around the room with childlike
wonder. The room was a magnificently huge open space that was completely
glassed in except the wall they were standing near, with ceiling elevations of
14 feet. The glass walls were sliding glass and were all opened. The panoramic
view of the ocean was overwhelming. The inside walls were white plaster and the
floors were a sand colored travertine. The particular wall that they were
standing near had a huge white fireplace that covered a quarter of the wall. On
top of the mantle was a picture at least eight feet by five feet of Roman and
Stephanie, embracing on a beach. All of the furnishings were modern with clean
lines. White leather sofas, chairs, and turquoise blue microfiber chaises were
all neatly arranged for conversation throughout the space. Each being defined
by large area rugs in different patterns, all in different shades of ocean
blue. A huge grand piano surrounded by lots of foliage sat near one of the
windows. Across the room to the right she could see that part of the estate
that jutted out into the ocean. It was an expansive balcony, decorated with
sand colored patio furniture, accented with turquoise colored throw pillows. To
the side was a table draped in white linen. Ms. Gonzales was busy preparing the
table.

Roman laid his keys on top of the mantle.

“So that is Stephanie.”

“Yes.”

“She was quite beautiful.”

“Yes, inside and out.” He began to walk towards
the balcony. “As much as I loved her, I want to replace that painting. I hope
you don’t mind but you are close to her size and I asked Ms. Gonzales to pull a
few of her outfits in case you wanted to change. I am hoping that does not seem
morbid.”

“No, not at all. You are very open about her and
that lets me know that the clothes would just be clothes, not to remind you of
her. There is no way that you could talk about her as you do if your mind was
not in a state of being healed.”

“That is true.”

Ms. Gonzales had prepared an amazing brunch. It
was a mix of both Mexican and American foods, and a pitcher of Mimosa. “This
looks wonderful Ms. Gonzales.” Paula said, as Roman pulled back the chair for
her. Ms. Gonzales nodded and smiled. Roman reached in his pocket and pulled out
his cell phone, “Would you take a picture of us please.” She took the phone. Roman
kneeled down and placed one arm around the back of the chair and the other on
Paula’s hands. After she snapped the picture, he lifted Paula’s hands and
kissed them saying very softly, “I am so glad that you are here.” A current
pulsed through Paula from her head to her toes. “Thank you Ms. Gonzales.” She
quietly left the room.

“If I can ever get over the view, I might be
able to eat.” Paula smiled.

“If I can ever get over the view, I might be
able to eat.” Roman laughed pointing at Paula.

She tossed her head back and laughed thinking,
“He has a sense of humor, I would have never imagined.”

“One of us is going to have to take the first
bite.” He said.

“No, let’s both do it, on the count of three –
one, two, three…Oh this is fabulous!” She said after a fork full of Fajitas
Rancheros.

“She is the best cook in the world.” Roman
smiled.

“Is she for sale?”

“Absolutely not. She has been with me forever
and lives here in her own wing. I have a few staff here that care for the home
while I am away. They are marvelous people. Not only that she is like a mom to
me.”

“That sounds very special.”

“It is. 
I am very fortunate. Now, Ann, tell me something about you. What makes
you tick?”

“Work. I am a complete workaholic. I finally
realized that I was in desperate need of change.”

“What kind of work do you do?”

“I’d rather not talk about it, because I need to
get it off my mind. I just want to focus on this moment. You will never know
how precious this time is to me.”

Roman felt those words. They came across so
sincere. “How so?”

“I have time to be myself and that is not
normally something I have time to do.”

“That I can understand, because neither do I. We
all wear masks don’t we?” He said.

“Yes.”

“Alright, then let’s just spend the day doing
whatever the hell we want to do if we were being ourselves. What would that be
for you?”

“See that waterfall over there?” She said
pointing.

“That’s my grotto.”

“I would be right out there in it.”

“Ok, let’s just make a day of it on the water.
We will drive around the gulf for a while, let our food settle and then go to
the grotto.” He called Ms. Gonzales to take Paula to a guest room. Then he made
a call on his cell. She heard him say, “Tell them I will need to cancel the
speech for tonight. Let them know how much I have appreciated being on the
schedule this year.” Paula began feeling faint. “Tell Ms. Gonzales if you need
anything, she understands some English.” Paula grabbed her bag and followed Ms.
Gonzales to the guest room. After Ms. Gonzales left, she immediately picked up
the phone and called Don.

“He cancelled tonight’s meeting.”

“Then things must be going better than we
expected.”

“Oh Don.” She sighed.

“Don’t worry about this baby, look, you’ve got
to know. I am going to be okay. I am going speed dating tonight and promise not
to turn on all the charm until we see what happens here.” He smiled.

“You are such a selfless person. I can’t imagine
anyone in the world allowing himself to be put through this.”

“That is because you do not fully understand The
Business Affair. This event is not about making a connection. It’s about making
the right connection. People here are truly sold out to “till death do us part,
and we are all looking for one way tickets.”

“Thank you.” She said wiping a tear away. “I’ve
got to go.”

“I will be here, just call me if you need me.”

The guestroom was as beautiful as the rest of
the house. This room was decorated in all Southwestern colors, and also had a
glass wall. This one did not open, but it was directly on the cliff. Standing
at the window you could see the drop off to the ocean. A huge king size bed was
decorated in a beautiful sunset mosaic comforter set. A plush dusty
rose-colored rug covered the floor. Huge Thomas Kincaid oil paintings of water
properties hanged on the remaining walls. It had a huge connecting bathroom
that was Zen and spa-like. Again, there was an ocean view to everything besides
the toilet. It was enclosed behind a wall made with seashells.

Ms. Gonzales had laid out numerous outfits.
There were dresses, jeans, shorts, shoes, sandals, three swimsuits to choose
from and an assortment of toiletries. She quickly suited up in a pair of jeans
and tank top, and then tossed the most conservative swimsuit in her bag. Then
she reached in pulled out her cell phone, powered it down and left it in the
nightstand draw. Ms. Gonzales had been waiting at the door. She walked Paula to
the elevator and pushed the button for the boat dock on the 4
^th
level. Roman was waiting for her in the boat. He was shirtless, in jean shorts
and all tanned and gorgeous revealing more of himself than she had ever seen in
seven years. Between a body amply worked out to perfection and soft black hairs
covering torso and strong legs she had to catch her breath.

“You are going to be too hot in those jeans.” He
called Ms. Gonzales to bring down a pair of shorts. “You can change in the deck
below.”

He sped off into the gulf. When Paula got back
on the deck, she sat in the seat next to him. They were far enough out in the
gulf that his limestone estate looked like a small house in the distance. The
boat bounced over the waves sending spurts of wind tossed sea into the boat.

“I am glad I don’t have jeans on now, I would be
soaked.”

“Don’t worry the sun is going to dry all of that
up pretty quickly. I want to show you where the dolphins play.”

After driving about another 3 miles out she
began to see dolphins doing their acrobatics. He slowed the boat down and then
turned the engine off and anchored the boat.

“If you get to close they will leave. It is
better to let them come to you. They are very curious and sometimes they will
come all the way up to the boat.”

“Wow.” She said.

“Come sit here.” Roman said pointing to the
cushioned built in seat along the front of the boat.

When she got close, he pulled her down and she
found herself sitting between his legs. The bench was too narrow to sit
anywhere else. It was just enough room for them to sit and put both of their legs
up lengthwise. She took a deep breath and refused to give into the butterflies
churning in her stomach.

“Now, if they come up to the boat we will be
close enough to touch them.” He said.

“They are amazing.” She said watching them at
play.

Roman and Paula got lost in conversation for hours.
They had so much in common. Somewhere in the midst of everything, Paula went
from sitting between Roman’s legs to leaning back on his chest with his arms
wrapped around her waist. They never left that spot.  It was only when the sun was going down that they realized
how long they had been there and the dolphins were long gone.

“It’s getting late. I’d better get us back to
shore. I am sorry Ann, we never made it to the grotto and that was the main
thing you wanted to do.” He said apologetically.  “ I can’t believe we spent all those hours talking.”

Her emotions were soft as oil by this point.
Marcus Grant, Roman Neilson – whoever he was, was truly someone that she wanted
to know more. She stood up and stretched her legs and extended her hand pulling
him up, until they were standing face to face. “This has been a perfect day.”
She said.

“I would love to have another perfect day,
tomorrow. I promise I will take you to the grotto.” “I would like that.” Paula
said, before she could realize what she was doing. She tipped up and kissed his
lips softly. She caught herself. “I am so sorry. I did not mean to do that
and…” Before she could say another word he covered her lips, deepening the kiss
she started until she went limp in his strong embrace. It was minutes before he
released her. He kissed her like they had known each other forever. “I’m not
sorry,” he whispered, “but I do think I should get you back home.” All she
could do was close her eyes and nod her head.

***

That night Paula could not sleep. Her mind was
swirling with thoughts of the Roman Neilson she was introduced to today. Every
preconceived thought she had of him was flipped on its head. The kiss kept
floating into her conscious wrapping her in very uncomfortable warmth. Her
emotions ached for that kiss but her mind should have known better.

Then anxiety would strike at the thought of how
she was going to reveal herself to him or would she just simply leave Mexico
without him ever knowing who she was and let the whole thing just be a summer
fling. That thought un-nerved her even more. Surely if she took that path she
would have to resign. The weight of this day was killing her. After much mental
torment, she walked over to her bag and got his book out and read through the
night. She could not stop turning the pages. She laughed and wept through the
whole book. Every page was emotionally charged because she was not an ordinary
reader. Many of the things in the book relating to his business she was aware
of or a part of. The other parts of the book revealed a man she could never
recognize. It was a very un-nerving experience to flip through those pages.

Everything was there – who he was, how he got
started in business, the role models in his life, the wild days with women, the
time he thought he was going to be a father. The book talked about his
destructive side, the damage power had done to him and his abuse of women. His
love story with Stephanie was like a Hollywood movie, she loved him and tamed
him, and his life was shattered the day she slid off the icy road into a tree.
Then there was a phase of prescription drugs that took over his life to dull
the pain, and when he got through that he emerged into the Roman that she knew
– aggressive, determined, controlling and fixated to build an eternal empire
that would keep him busy enough to forget. Somewhere in the midst of all of the
drive, healing began and The Business Affair got started giving his life new
meaning and a way to move past the love of Stephanie. Paula’s heart was ripped
in two. She kept reading.