Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? (7 page)

       Oblivious
to the change in Nina’s demeanor, Daniel signaled for the waitress to start
their lobsters.  Nina stood up, “Would you excuse me for a moment?  My brother
is in the hospital and I should check in with my mom.”

       Nina
walked down the little steps to the dock, and headed out to the end, away from the
lobster shack’s deck.  She tried to take deep breaths.  Her charade was
starting to become real.  Playing the part of Daniel’s fiancé was just a job,
and if she was going to get out of it without going crazy, she has to treat it
like work.

       She dialed
her mom.  “Hi Mom. How’s Rueben?  Oh…that’s good news…Thanks for being there
with him…me?  I’m fine…I’m…out on a date tonight…yeah, nice guy.  I met him
through work.  We’re at a lobster shack over by Gloucester.  I’ll be home by
midnight, but don’t wait up for me…I love you too Mom.  Give Reuben a hug from
me.”

      
That
was
her life, she reminded herself. Not the cerulean crocodile bag or the GT or
watching Daniel DeVere lick beer foam off of his very kissable lips.   However
screwed up they might be, at least her family loved her, and they’d be there
for her when this was all over.

       As she made
her way back to Daniel, she saw the waitress set down two lobsters, and of
course, two cups of drawn butter.  She looked at her new clothes; she’d have to
be super careful not to get grease spots on them.

       Nina put
on her happy face, and slid into her seat across from Daniel.  He held up a
lobster bib.  “Can’t get your pretty new clothes messy, and if you don’t drip
butter all over when you’re eating lobster, you’re not enjoying it enough.”  He
stood up and stepped around behind Nina.  He ran his hand up under her hair to
pull it out of the way.  His touch was so soft and sensuous, Nina almost
gasped.  He leaned in close to her, his face almost touching hers as he put the
bib around her neck, one hand smoothing it down, while the other combed back
her hair.  He pulled the little strings back and tied them at the back of her
neck, rearranging her hair to hide the strings.  His hands lingered, and Nina
closed her eyes, enjoying a masculine touch.  It had been too long. 

       He took
his seat again and held up the other bib, “Come tie mine on me now.”  Nina
stood up, and tried to focus.  Her movements were industrious as she flapped
the bib and tied it.  Daniel reached up and grabbed one of her hands, holding
it on his shoulder.  He rolled his head to one side so he could look at her,
and teasingly said, “Your bib tying technique sucks.”  He pulled her hand to
his mouth, kissed her knuckles, and then let her go. 

       Nina
swallowed.  How was she supposed to interpret
that?
She sat back down, but
her musing was broken by the sound of a lobster claw cracking.

       “Don’t
let it get cold!  Daniel dipped a chunk of lobster in the butter then reached
across the table and fed it to Nina with his fingers.  His buttery fingertips
played across her lips, and Nina thought she was going to come out of her
skin.  Daniel DeVere was making it exceedingly difficult to follow her
inclination to keep it all business.  Then he hissed at her, “Now me!”

       Nina
froze.  Now what?  Daniel could see the confusion in her face.

       “Nina,
you’ve got to start acting like you’re my girlfriend.  We have to…act like a
couple.  I never know who might be watching.  The dishwasher could be shooting
us with his phone and sending it to TMZ or Perez Hilton even while we’re
sitting here.”

       “Oh yes,
of course.  I’m sorry.”  She shoved some French fries in Daniel’s mouth in a
not very polished move.

       He choked
a little bit, then chewed and swallowed.  “What?  Are you trying to kill your
soon-to-be fiancé?  Okay, no more feeding each other, just…enjoy your lobster.”

       Nina
cracked a claw.  It hit her how long it had been since she’d had any romance in
her life.  She was feeling a lot like the lobster: a hard shell with a very
tender interior.  Playing at romance was going to be hard—especially with
someone who was extraordinarily attractive and really, kind of nice.  She was
going to have to toughen up, make sure she had a mental wall in place so she
didn’t get confused about what was real and what was her job.  She needed to
think about the fact she could keep her home, keep Rueben in school and pay his
medical bills, make sure that Rita got to her honors program in Provence, and
that their mom was okay.  That’s why she was doing this, not because she wanted
something real with Daniel DeVere.

       They ate
silently for a few minutes.  Then Daniel wiped his mouth with his napkin and
looked at her softly.  “This is going to be a lot harder than either one of us
realized Nina.  But it’s business, plain and simple.  I don’t want to hurt a
nice girl like you.  Okay?”

       Nina
nodded as she cracked the other claw on her lobster.

Chapter Eleven

       “Elsa,
could you please
try
to be nice to Nina?  This was all your idea and
you’re acting like she’s plotting to overthrow western civilization.”  Daniel
tossed his signed Babe Ruth baseball up and down in his hands.  “She’s really a
very good person, and frankly, we’ve used her finances to blackmail her into
doing this.  So be a little more sensitive.”

       Elsa
leaned back on the edge of Daniel’s desk, her fingernails nervously tapping the
glass on either side of her skinny hips.  “She’s just so…
common
,
Daniel.  No one is going to believe she’s a society girl.”

       “Then
make up a different story.  Tell me about her real background.”

       “Well,
her mother was born and raised in Lowell, her grandfather was a barber, and her
grandmother worked in restaurants.  After high school, Vicki ran away to be a
model.  She ended up at a photo shoot in Rio and that’s where she met Nina’s
father.  The father was a minor celebrity on the F1 racing circuit, doing well
enough.  There was a whirlwind romance, they married, and Nina was born seven
months later.  When Nina was six, her father died when he crashed during a
race.  Her mother never really got over it.  She drifted back to Lowell, and managed
to sort of raise three kids with the help of her parents, but Nina took over a
lot of responsibility at a very young age.”

       “So
what’s wrong with using the truth?”

       Elsa
paced around the room, thinking.  “We could make her Brazilian, she looks it
enough, and then we could tell people she doesn’t speak English.  You’d both
have to learn a few phrases of Portuguese to throw around, but after Cannes,
people will believe almost anything about you—a girl with whom you can’t really
communicate would be very believable.” 

       Exasperated,
Daniel turned to Elsa.  “Can we please forget about Cannes?  Remember, I’m
trying to look like a mature businessman here!  Nina’s smart; she went to a
great college.  Don’t you think it will look better to Arturo that I picked a
nice, intelligent, responsible girl from a humble background instead of some
spoiled society brat?  He’s a self-made man, I think he’ll like that.”

       Elsa
pursed her lips.  “Hmm.  You might be on to something there.  All the same, she
needs to learn how to swim with the sharks or she’ll be gobbled alive before
she ever has a chance to meet Arturo.”

Chapter Twelve

       “The
first thing we have to do is find you a better name.”   Elsa looked at her
notepad and made a little check mark. 

       “What’s
wrong with my name?”  Nina looked alarmed.  “I like my name.”

       “It’s
too…ethnic…and not in a good way.  If you’re going to be a commoner, you need
to be an exotic commoner…Natalie, Natalia…wait, Natasha.

       “Natasha?
 To be honest with you Elsa, that sounds stupid.”

       Elsa
whacked her pencil sharply on the pad.  “Do not call anyone or anything
‘stupid’ Nina.  It makes you sound exactly that.  Now rephrase what you just
said to me in a more appropriate manner.”

       Nina
could feel her jaw muscles clenching.  “I’m not sure that I would be
comfortable with the name Natasha.”

       “Better. 
But Nina, you have really got to get that fiery little South American temper of
yours under control.  Displays of emotion are not acceptable in the socialite
world.  Never—I mean never—let them see you get upset.  There will be jealous
women who will be cruel and catty and disparage you at every turn.  Giving in
to impulse is not only déclassé, it’s like chumming sharks.”

       It was
the first time Elsa ever sounded like a real person, Nina thought, like Elsa
might have experienced some of that cruelty and cattiness first hand.  She
softened her response, “No, I understand, I do.  I know you’re just trying to
help me.”

       Elsa
sniffed.  “I’m not trying to do anything for you, I’m just trying to help
Daniel close this deal.”  She looked back at her checklist.  “Alright, we’ll
leave the name alone.   You at least went to an appropriate college, but never tell
anyone you were on scholarship.”  Nina nodded.  “Working for the DeVere’s
philanthropic foundation sounds good, creates a credible place for Daniel to
have met someone outside his…circles.  Your manners seem to be alright, but
remember: never slouch, never curse, never use slang and never, never, under
any circumstance, flirt with anyone who isn’t Daniel.”

       “Why
would I flirt with someone besides Daniel?”  The idea puzzled Nina.

       “Because,
they will be flirting with you.” 

       “Flirting
with me?  Why?”

       Elsa
sighed, “It’ll be a game Nina.  There will be men who will try to get you just
because they think you are Daniel DeVere’s.  They won’t have any real interest
in you—their only goal will be getting under Daniel’s skin.  Remember
that—there can’t be a whiff of scandal around Daniel.”

       “Okay.” 
Nina was starting to feel more and more dejected.

       “Let’s
move on to appropriate conversation.  Have you ever traveled Nina?”

       She
thought for a moment, “I went to a conference for philanthropic organizations
in Chicago once, New York and Washington DC a couple of times, up the coast to
Maine.”

       Elsa
rubbed her forehead, “I mean internationally Nina, have you ever been anywhere
out of the country?”  Nina shook her head and Elsa sighed audibly.  “Do you
know about fashion, designers, what’s trendy right now?”  Again Nina shook her
head.  Elsa’s voice was sharp as she asked,  “For heaven’s sake, Nina, what do
you know?”

       Nina
could feel her throat tightening.  She was a perfectly capable and intelligent
person, why wasn’t that enough?  “I’m well read, I know about music, movies,
art, history, current events—I had a great liberal arts education.”

       Elsa’s
high heels made an annoying sound as she clicked away from Nina to stare out
her window at Boston below.   Her voice was softer though, more human as she
spoke.  “That’ll have to do then, but whatever you do, don’t mention politics
or religion.”

       The door
looked inviting, Nina thought.  She was ready to scamper away.  Kennedy wanted
her to come try on dresses for her dinner with Daniel’s parents, and somehow
that seemed a lot more appealing that being made to feel completely
inadequate.  “Is there anything else you think I should know?”  She tried to
sound sincere as she said it, but she felt like a jackrabbit waiting to bolt.

       “Confidence,
Nina.  You’ve got to project confidence.  If you don’t believe in the role
you’re playing, no one else will either.”  Elsa sounded a little sad herself,
Nina thought, and she was starting to believe there was a lot more to Elsa
Woodruff than what her chilly demeanor implied.   Without turning from the
window Elsa suddenly shifted back to her usual haughty tone of voice, “Don’t
screw this up Nina.”

       Friday
afternoon was a flurry of appointments as Kennedy dragged Nina around Back Bay
Boston—a wash and trim for her hair, a manicure and pedicure, new lingerie.  It
wasn’t exactly clear to Nina why she needed new underwear when no one was ever
going to see it, but Kennedy was insistent, saying it would boost Nina’s
confidence.  Nina had to admit that La Perla made her feel a lot prettier than
her sensible Fruit of the Loom.   

       They went
back to Nina’s place, and Rita joined them there.  Kennedy laid out three
different dresses, and the trio was eyeing them, trying to choose.  Nina
pointed to one,

“You can’t go
wrong with black.  That one is nice, feminine.  The cut out in the back gives
it a little interest, but it’s not crazy.”

       Rita
shook her head, “Bo-ring.  Go with the tangerine bandage dress.  Show off those
curves baby.  You’ve got the legs for it.  And the color will look great with
your dark hair and eyes.”

       Nina
looked a little horrified.  “I’m going to dinner with his parents, not out
clubbing.  I’d feel like a total hoochie mama in that.”  

       Kennedy
held up the third dress.  It was a beautiful burgundy silk crepe, sleeveless
with a simple scoop neckline that would keep her cleavage under wraps.  It was
short enough to be fashionable, but long enough she wouldn’t be tugging at the
hem all night.  There was a simple, silver metallic tie at the waist.  “This is
it—elegant, modest, unpretentious, fashionable without being trendy.  And most
importantly, you’ll look beautiful in it.  This black clutch with a little
bling, black heels, some big silver hoops in your ears and a silver cuff—that’s
all you need.”

       The dress
was
lovely, Nina thought.  Okay, confidence!  She smiled at Kennedy,
“You’re right.  Let me get into my La Perla.”

       Daniel
had offered to pick Nina up, but she didn’t really want him to see where she
lived.  Since he now owned every other aspect of her life, her home seemed like
the one thing that could still be hers.  And she’d taken the Porsche back to
the dealer, despite Daniel’s pleas, as it proved to be more trouble than it was
worth.  If it was up to her, she would have just taken the “T,” but Daniel
insisted on a driver/bodyguard, so her new muscle was coming to get her in a
town car—classy yet it wouldn’t call undue attention either.   She wondered,
too, if he was also a spy, but she didn’t share that thought with anyone else.