She swiped her phone a few more times and typed something. “I was checking charts and I saw even an area we could do better, cut costs, be more profitable…”
Rogerio waved his hands around. “We are in a cable car, flying out over the bay. We can talk about this later, surely. Look around. Enjoy.” He waved his arm, waiting for her to follow his direction.
She froze, staring only at her phone, and Tyler at once understood. The poor woman was petrified.
Windows on every side of the car showed their incredible height. The car swayed in the wind, dangling by a pair of cables above. If he thought about it too much, he would be petrified too. They’d left one hill to move out across the bay to the top of Sugarloaf, a slice of granite rock sticking straight out of the ocean. Stunning, but precarious looking. He could only imagine what it would be like if he were afraid of heights.
How could he help her? He stood in front of her, blocking her view and pointed over her shoulder, behind her. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful cloud formation. Look, it rings Corcovado.”
The men turned and moved to the windows together to get a better view. They started pointing out things below. Kayla faced him. Her whole frame was trembling. She lifted her eyes to his, fear pooling in hers. “I can’t.” Her whisper cut through him.
“So, swimming in the dark?”
“It’s got nothing on this.”
“We’re almost there. This whole thing is, like, three minutes. Just stare at me. If they make you turn and look, don’t. I mean, turn, but do the glazed eyes thing: look but don’t see.”
She swallowed. The car swayed again and she gripped his arm.
“That’s right. Pretend you’re somewhere else. Where’s your happy place?”
She closed her eyes and started humming.
He grinned. He couldn’t be sure but he thought she might be humming a song from The Sound of Music. “Maybe I could sing some karaoke to distract us.”
She laughed and shook her head but kept humming.
He kept up conversation with the other two, pointing out industries or neighborhoods or boats on the water below. It was a stunning trip, one he was glad to experience, but he could safely assume Kayla would never want to do again. A surge of protective warmth rose inside him at the feel of her small hands on his arm.
He couldn’t understand the strength of his emotion, but everything he saw and learned about Kayla made him want to know more, filling him with an intriguing curiosity about everything to do with her. He decided he didn’t mind that one bit.
Chapter 10
After an hour of enjoying the views on the observation deck, eating ice cream and agua de coco from the vendor at the top, and trying to delay as long as possible, Kayla stepped with shaky legs back into the cable car.
Why, oh why could she not conquer this fear?
She decided this time to stand with her back to the window, facing down and watching where they’d been. Perhaps focusing on the clouds would take her mind off of how high they were. She shivered. Thinking about something else on the way up really had helped. It took the edge off at least. Otherwise, she might have curled into a ball on the floor and cried.
The car swayed, rocked, and seemed to hang precariously. Tyler stood at her side, facing the descent, his arm touching hers. That was enough to help her remind herself that they were safe.
About halfway down, he murmured, “Still want to swim in the dark?”
She snorted. “No way. I can only do one of these sorts of excursions per trip.”
He chuckled. “So, swimming in the dark next time we come?”
Rogerio approached. “What did you think of our beautiful Pao de Acucar? Linda, nao e?” (Beautiful wasn’t it?)
“Sim. So beautiful.” Kayla hoped her voice was convincing.
Tyler nodded. “I am amazed. A highlight I will remember for a long time, of course.”
Rogerio leaned closer to them both. “Our bottlers, they need to appreciate Brazil, and its culture and people.”
Mr. de Santos approached. “Yes, meetings might be delayed sometimes, work might stall, people have lives and families and have to live.”
Kayla nodded. “I totally understand this. My cousin, who runs things down here, married a brasileiro. He’s been living here for seven years.”
They frowned. “Will you not be involved?” Mr. de Santos eyed her with some disappointment.
She hurried to try easing it. “I will be super involved. Especially at first, but certainly after too, and I will plan frequent visits to Brazil.”
Mr. de Santos nodded, but he didn’t seem relieved. Oh dear. She had thought the mention of her cousin’s involvement would be a positive. “If things progress, we can arrange for swift and frequent meetings with my cousin. He is close. It will be easier for him to meet with you more often…”
Mr. de Santos nodded, seeming to feel a bit better. She gripped the bar behind her, trying to remember how a normal person, not someone who was totally petrified, would converse. Thankfully, Tyler stepped in. “I’ll be your go-to person through it all. No middle men. Just me. What you see is what you get.”
Her irritation simmered. She tried to soothe it, but the stress of her precarious situation so high in the air and her unsure standing with Antar rushed through her. She had just opened her mouth to respond when the whole car jerked to a stop and swung back and forth. What came out of her mouth was more like a strangled scream than anything else. She clutched at Tyler and then let go in anger before grabbing him again, the fear too great.
Mr. de Santos came forward. “No, menina. It’s all right. Sometimes this happens.” He patted her hand. His kind eyes and his soothing voice brought some reassurance. She didn’t look at Tyler but she didn’t let go either. She nodded. “Thank you, Mr. de Santos.”
Rogerio started shifting his weight. “This is nothing to worry about, see. It’s like an American ride on a roller coaster.”
The car started to sway, and the rocking momentum picked up with each lunge he took on either side of the car. Kayla’s heart went to her throat. “No…”
Then the car started moving again, and the swaying decreased. She exhaled slowly. In. Two. Three. Out. Two. Three.
“See, I fixed it!” Rogerio laughed.
It took everything in her not to respond. She bit her tongue until it hurt. Her eyes flitted up to Tyler’s face, and he was visibly trying not to laugh. What a cretin. Nothing about this whole situation was funny: not him, not her competition with the man at her side, not Rogerio’s goofing around. She was ready to be done with the whole mess.
The car reached the ground with a jerk, and she was grateful that the men let her exit first. She fought the wobbly feeling in her legs, counting slowly in her mind so that she didn’t say anything to give away her fear.
They entered the waiting limo, Rogerio and Tyler talking about the Brazilian soccer teams. Mr. de Santos came to sit beside her. “I’m sorry for your experience. You were frightened, no?”
She nodded, fighting the lump in her throat. The man’s sudden kindness might be her undoing. She would not cry. She could not cry. “I struggle with heights.”
His eyes filled with sympathy. “But it was beautiful, too?” His hope that she had enjoyed something about their outing filled her with a warmth that helped douse her earlier anger.
“It was one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen.”
He leaned back, visibly relieved. “It is, isn’t it?”
She thought they would be going to the hotel, but instead they stopped in from of the Antar office building.
Rogerio gestured they exit. “We will hear your pitches now.”
Tyler started, his eyes wide though he said nothing. Kayla, relieved she wasn’t the only one taken by surprise, just smiled. “Wonderful.”
They once again gathered in the conference room where she had left her laptop and papers. Tyler had brought his briefcase, at least. They called him in first. “Come down the hall
with us, Tyler. Let’s hear what you’ve got for us.”
She knew he was a bit unsettled, but she watched in fascination while a whole new mask settled over his face. His jawline grew sharper if that were possible, his eyes turned calculating, and his shoulders broadened. In this new Tyler, she saw who her opponent truly was, and she knew she had every reason to believe she couldn’t beat him.
But she had to try.
And that trying is what might come between them forever. The man who just left the room would not cave, would not give in to any soft feelings for her, nor care that her desire to open up Brazil was as strong as his. And why should he?
She opened up her laptop to review her notes and presentation, grateful for the extra time she had to prepare. Somehow, instead of intimidating her, Tyler’s look of determination had only made hers grow stronger. Personal feelings aside, she could win this. If it meant he wouldn’t get it, if it meant representing her company as far better than his, she could do it. Because like he’d said, this was a business bid; it wasn’t personal.
She told herself that, but she knew deep down, for her at least, everything about this bid had become personal.
Chapter 11
As Tyler walked out of Rogerio’s office, he wished he could high five himself. He couldn’t have nailed that presentation any better. The timing had seemed perfect, their questions easy to answer, their concerns resolved. He kept himself from swinging his briefcase in glee, but only just. He’d be hearing from them today, if he wasn’t mistaken. They could begin bottling Antar products this week, or at the very latest, next week.
His whistle stopped at his lips when Kayla rounded the corner ahead of him. His mouth fell open as he stopped to appreciate this new creature. Here was Kayla in her element, her head high, her shoulders back, a small smile curling her lips, her slender legs seeming to stretch out longer to her signature spiky heels. She emanated a sizzling, irresistible power, and he at once forgot that she was his biggest competitor, too filled with desire to follow her in and watch her in action. She carried herself with a confidence he had previously only seen in very few people.
Her eyes met his, but her countenance didn’t change. She nodded and then entered Rogerio’s office.
His previous assurance that the bid would be his toppled around him, and he was left entirely unsure who they would pick. Shaking his head, he couldn’t believe he was falling for a woman that could potentially win in a bid against him. He texted his VP. I don’t know. They brought in Finley as a competing bid, and she’s good.
Finley? Nah. They’ve got nothing on us.
He didn’t answer because he wasn’t so sure. What was his company’s game plan if this bid didn’t pan out for them? He needed South America. That was the bottom line. Brazil was the best path there. His only other option right now was Argentina, but he wanted Brazil. He had other small clients in the country, so he was already set up as a business in this country. And since it was the more international location, his reach would be great, besides all the other obvious perks, like the country’s infrastructure and cheap labor making it more profitable.
He needed this bid, plain and simple, but he wasn’t sure he could win it. He moved to stand in front of one of the floor-length windows that lined the hallway. Perhaps he’d gone soft. He had claimed it wasn’t personal, but perhaps he’d held back some behind-the-scenes conversations he may have initiated if Kayla wasn’t involved. He needed to step up his game Perhaps he should be in discussion with lawyers about a potential merger, or maybe he could try to buy her out. He could make offers, convince her selling to him was her last resort…
He shook his head, watching the tiny cars move around on the street below. No. he’d win this or he’d lose it. Perhaps he was being soft, or perhaps just fair, but he’d let their bids speak for themselves, their companies’ reputations stand as testament, and planned to wait and see who Antar most wanted to work with.
After thirty minutes or so, longer than he’d spent in the office, all three people left laughing and smiling. Kayla looked flushed, and a sparkle of victory lit her eyes.
They approached Tyler, and Mr. de Santos and Rogerio each shook his hand. “We were just telling Kayla here that you are off for the afternoon. You should take her to lunch while we deliberate with the board. We expect to have an answer today or tomorrow. If it lingers longer into the week, then we will contact you once you return home.”
Tyler wouldn’t leave without a decision. He had to seal the deal now in person or not at all. But he smiled and placed a hand on Kayla’s back. “Shall we?”
“I’d love to.” She turned to Mr. de Santos. “What do you recommend?”
He smiled his usual warm and grandfatherly smile toward her and gave them some recommendations.
“Thank you.” Kayla smiled and all three men smiled back. Tyler couldn’t help it; he was as enamored with her as the rest of them.
As soon as they entered the elevator, they both relaxed. Then Kayla laughed. “Glad that’s over.”
He eyed her, knowing it was just the beginning. But he needed a break. “What do you say we get outside for a bit?”
“Yes! Can I take off these heels and put on shorts?”
“Whatever. Let’s go to the beach.”
“Bikes. Do you want to ride along the boardwalks?”
That is exactly what he wanted. “You get me.” He reached for her hand. “I have never met anyone who is so in tune with what I’m thinking.”
They hurried from the building, and the limo ride back to the hotel was unremarkable. As they rode the elevator back up to their rooms, Tyler rotated his shoulders. “We can grab something to eat once we’re out there.”
“You hungry?”
“I didn’t think so, but now…yeah.”
She laughed. “Classic.”
So much tension had left him since their pitches were over that he felt like they were almost back to the same place they were when he’d met her. He squeezed her fingers in his.
Once they were out on the beach with the warm air circling around him, he felt completely free again to enjoy their time. They stood together, straddling their bikes and facing Ipanema beach. “If we ride in this direction, we can go all the way around that peninsula there and ride down Copacabana beach as well.”
She adjusted her sunglasses. “I admit, I’ve been wanting to do this since I got here. Thank you, Tyler.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
Her eyes widened in surprise. “I’ve missed that.”
“Me too.” Then her lips puckered in a frown. “Not out of the clear yet. But no matter what happens, even if we can’t keep up what we have, I wanted to thank you. I’ve had some of the best times in my life the last few days.”
“I’m not going anywhere. If you decide I’m too much for you, then I’ll respect that. But otherwise? No way. I’m not leaving.”
She laughed. “You really are something.”
He stepped up on his pedals. “But I’m ready to put some space between us and our hotel. Shall we?”
“You bet!”
They took off, riding side by side. The crowds were sparse, the sidewalk wide, the wind mild, and the sun pleasant. For a minute, they said nothing at all.
Then she pointed. “People-watching around here would be something.”
What he saw made him slow down. “He’s just asking for skin cancer.”
A man stood in the center of a circle of panels of reflector glass of some sort. He was greased up from head to toe, a tiny white speedo the only covering on his skin, a blinding beacon against the rest of his skin, which was dark brown and weathered. He stood facing the sun, his eyes closed.
“He’s insane.” Kayla shook her head. “I wonder if he rotates with the sun?”
“That’s actually helpful. A human sundial.”
They kept riding. Men and women were doing pull-ups and other exercises on a set of bars. Volleyball games were common as they passed by one beach
after another. And the surf was high, so the blue water was dotted with the forms of people sitting on their surfboards out just past where the surf broke. People walked up and down the beaches, selling their wares, parading fabric sarongs, bead necklaces, sunglasses, and shells up and down the sand.
Tyler wondered how often they made a sale. It must be worth it to them to come, so at least some people must buy from them.
A man up ahead called out, “Aqua de coco, bem gelado.”
He loved Brazil’s chilled coconut water. “Oh, let’s stop.” He pointed to the vendor, and she nodded.
“Duas, por favor.”
The man dug down into his freezer cart and grabbed a large green coconut. Then he pulled out a machete and hacked the top off. Sticking a straw in the middle, he handed it to Kayla.
After a sip, she smiled. “Oh, this is so sweet. Obrigada.”
Tyler grinned. “The best aqua de coco in the world is right here on these beaches. It’s fresh and so delicious.”
The man nodded, chopped off the top of his and handed it to him. Tyler paid him, and they walked their bikes to a bench facing the water. “If we ask, he can cut it open when we’re done so we can eat the soft jelly inside.”
“Oh, I’ve never done that.”
“It’s good for you. Nature’s best electrolytes.”
She sipped for a minute and then her expression changed, and he knew something different was coming. “So, Iowa?”
Ah, the after-this-week conversation. He hoped that’s what this was. “Yes. Texas?”
“Yup. I wonder if this will be as magical on the boring, flat plains of Texas?”
He sat forward, pleased at the direction of her comments. “Well now, we won’t be riding bikes along the beach, and I don’t know you as well as I would like to––yet––but I would guess you could make even a typical chain restaurant magical.”
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