The Miami Millionaire

by Dawn Tamayo

  “Do you two know each other?” Victoria asked.

  “Jake’s pretty good to us poor reporters. He sends us hot coffee when we’re standing freezing our bits off waiting outside in the cold for him.” The reporter said. He hadn’t covered many newsworthy events for Jake Cumberland, but from the few he had covered he found the multimillionaire to be quite an accommodating man.

  “Well you’re just doing your job and as long as no one prints crap about me then I don’t see any reason not to be nice. We all have a job to do, don’t we?” Jake said.

  Victoria looked at Jake a little surprised. There weren’t many people who would do that, but then again if today was anything to go by the press weren’t stepping out of line, yet, so she guessed he knew what he was doing and played a good game! Or was it just that Jake was a nice guy? A nice guy, crazily rich and very good-looking. Wow, she thought he was just too good to be true, and she had always been told if something looks too good to be true then it is! Right now she had no reason to think Jake wasn’t as great as he was coming across, but seriously, he was just too good!

  “Very nicely side stepped Jake, but it’s not happening. Go on, tell us what’s going on, why here in this lovely little village. Is Miss Pembrose the reason for this?"

  “Oh!” Victoria looked at Jake in horror as she realised the reporter was obviously hoping for an extra scoop today and he was definitely barking up the wrong tree. She couldn’t really blame him for getting the wrong idea, it did look a bit strange for Jake to be standing with his arm around her all that time, but she was sure he was just as friendly with everyone he met! No wonder Alice had been so amused, she could see why now.

  “Oh no, we’ve only just met.” Victoria said, “As Mr Cumberland said, I’m just organising the event.”

  Finally the reporter gave up on Jake and turned his attention to the treasure hunt as they heard the promotional team let off a starting pistol to announce the start of the hunt.

  Seeing his PR team had everything very much in control Jake turned his attention back to Victoria. “Well this is all going well. I think my landing was a bit off-course, but never mind. No harm done.”

  “No harm done? You nearly crashed into me and scared the living daylights out of me.” Victoria said but tried to keep a smile on her face as she watched a lone photographer out the corner of her eye who was obviously another hopeful hanging around to see if Jake was going to do something interesting that no one else had spotted. Well as far as Victoria was concerned he could keep on waiting because there was nothing interesting going on here with her and Jake. Nothing at all.

  “Ah yes, sorry about that.” Jake said. “Can I make it up to you somehow?”

  “No, I’m fine thanks.”

  A beep of a horn caught their attention and Jake quickly looked over his shoulder, then back to Victoria.

  “My ride is here. Are you sure I can’t offer you a lift back to London?”

  “Aren’t you staying to see how your treasure hunt goes?” Victoria asked a little disappointed he was about to rush off so soon.

  “No, my team have it all under control. We’ve been doing lots of these in America so they know what they’re doing.”

  “Well the least we can do is offer you a drink and some cake before you go.”

  Jake hesitated for a moment, he really did have to get back to London, he had a big meeting planned for tomorrow morning and he wanted to go over some research his team had prepared for him tonight. But one look into those soft brown eyes as Victoria’s red hair once again blew crazily around her face in the gentle afternoon breeze and Jake knew he couldn’t go, not just yet. He laughed to himself, he was a sucker for a pretty face.

  “Oh go on then, introduce me to some English drink and cake. But do me a favour and send some over to my driver to keep him amused while he’s waiting will you? We can’t have him going hungry.”

  “Great.” Victoria said as she led Jake away from the promotional trailer into the bustle of the fete, and out the corner of her eye she saw one of Jake’s burley security men approach the lone photographer as he tried to follow them, preventing him from going any further. It was obvious that from now on this was Jake’s personal time.

  The rest of the afternoon had gone really well. The fete had raised thousands of pounds more than anyone had anticipated, and in the end Jake had stayed right up until it finished and had thoroughly enjoyed himself. Victoria showed him around the stalls and, much to the local traders’ delight, he put one of his promotional team in charge of packing up his large orders of local jams and other produce to be flown back to his home.

  Jake walked around the stalls with Victoria exchanging pleasantries with the locals and fete-goers. He even posed for a few more photographs at the journalists request once the treasure hunt had finished. However the photographs finished at the beer tent door, and Jake put one of his security personnel at the door just to make sure that they didn’t invade his privacy. He would do almost anything for work - it was all consuming and he didn’t mind that, after all it was him who had made it that way, but he still valued and protected his private life fiercely. No one was interrupting a private moment when he wanted it.

  Jake agreed with Victoria, the strange English drink she had given him to try was very refreshing and hardly tasted like alcohol at all. She had called it “Pimms” and at first he didn’t think it sounded particularly appealing - he wondered who on earth had ever come up with the idea to put a slice of cucumber and a mint leaf along with fresh strawberries in a liquor drink with a lemonade mixer! But when he actually tried the drink for himself he decided it was pleasantly light and fruity, and amazingly the interesting mix actually did work. Then again he thought it was not stranger than half the cocktails he drank in Miami! However, he definitely preferred the local beer even if it wasn’t served as cold as they served it in Miami.

  “So what’s your favourite drink Mr Cumberland?” Victoria asked as they sat on opposite sides of a small wooden picnic table.

  “It’s Jake remember. Don’t call me Mr Cumberland unless you’re expecting me to call you Miss Pembrose, and I don’t think I want to do that.” He said as he finally loosened his tie and took off his jacket.

  “Okay, Jake.” Victoria said as she tried not to make it so obvious that she was looking at the contour of Jake’s pecks and biceps through his shirt.

  “Dark rum and coke, I’m a simple man.”

  Victoria raised an eyebrow, she wasn’t sure she would call a chairman of a multimillion dollar company “simple” – it took a lot of hard work and determination, and probably complex behind the scene deals to achieve that. She didn’t think there was anything “simple” about Jake Cumberland at all.

  “And you? That’s your favourite?” Jake said tapping the edge of her glass only narrowly missing her hand as she held it.

  “Yes pretty much, I’m not a big drinker. I quite like a rum and coke too, but I’m a Bacardi girl rather than the dark stuff. A couple of glasses are enough for me, after that I’m useless.” She laughed.

  “I can’t imagine you ever being useless. In fact I think you’ve done a great job here.”

  “Thank you.” Victoria blushed and pushed her wayward hair behind her ear. “So how long are you in London for?”

  “Just a couple of days, then I fly back to Miami.”

  “Miami? I was expecting you to say New York or somewhere like that.”

  “No, I live in Miami. My family is originally from Miami but they moved to New York when I was little. I prefer the weather and the lifestyle in Miami so I moved back down there.”

  Victoria thought that explained his lightly suntanned skin, he looked like a man who lived the good life, she could just imagine him partying on yachts full of amazingly beautiful bikini clad women.

  Jake looked at his watch, aware the beer tent was emptying of people. It was nearly six o’clock and it would take a good two or three hours to drive back to London.

  “Thank you f
or this afternoon Victoria, this wasn’t what I had expected at all today, but now I really must go.”

  “No problem. Thank you for your contribution. I guess I’ll look forward to seeing you on the news tonight.” She smiled.

  “And you too.” He said referring to the fact that Victoria had been by his side for the whole day and almost certainly would be in all the news shots and photographs as well.

  She blushed and wrinkled up her nose at the thought of that, she wasn’t used to being in the photographs - she was the one behind the scenes ordering the shots from the office, not in them.

  “It was really nice to meet you Victoria.” Jake said thinking it was a shame she wasn’t coming back with him in his car to London, he had enjoyed her company and if he had his way he would like to sit and chat to her all night. Heck there were much better things he could think of doing all night long with Victoria rather than just chatting - he had been trying to keep his mind off her beautifully curvy body and those ideas for the last couple of hours, but just watching her lips move and her hands push back her shiny dark red hair and wave around her as she chatted to him, it had made him wonder just what she would be like somewhere more private. Preferably in his bedroom alone with him! Oh how Jake wondered what she would be like in his bed!

  Victoria stood up, “It was nice to meet you too Jake.” She watched him slip his suit jacket on and admired the straining of his shirt across his taut chest as his arms slipped through his jacket sleeves.

  Jake took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. Victoria took it and read his name and mobile number.

  “If you change your mind about dinner I fly back to Miami on Thursday morning.”

  “That’s very kind of you but I can’t. I’m sorry.” She said wiggling her hand with her engagement ring again.

  “Of course. Whoever he is Victoria, he’s a very lucky man.” Jake said, and he surprised himself realising that he actually meant it. He had a feeling that whoever got this intelligent beautiful woman was a very lucky man indeed, and he hadn’t thought that many times before. He stopped for a moment and thought. Nope, he had never thought that before – this was a first!

  Victoria held out her hand to shake Jake’s goodbye and he took it giving it that now very familiar squeeze, and she wondered if that was his trade mark thing - did he squeeze all the women’s hands like that? She wouldn’t be surprised, seeing that twinkle in his blue eyes again and she had to laugh, god he was incorrigible! Gorgeous, charming, and incorrigible – such a dangerous mixture!

  Jake smiled and then he was gone. Now all that was left was for Victoria to round up the last few fete-goers and then help pack up. The money counting was down to Alice and she would tell Victoria the final figure over the telephone tomorrow, but for now Victoria put Jake’s business card into her jean’s back pocket and started to politely usher people towards the exit closing the field gate firmly behind them. Today had been quite some day!

  CHAPTER TWO

  It was nearly ten o’clock at night when Victoria finally reached the London Docklands townhouse she shared with her fiancé Mark. She was tired but still on a high from today’s success – surely when her boss saw the news coverage and she told him about her part in today he would finally recognise her capabilities and give her more responsibility and bigger campaigns to work on. Marketing was a tough business and there weren’t many opportunities to move up the career ladder until someone else jumped off or was pushed, which she had seen too many times before. But surely after her boss saw the news tonight he would put her on one of the bigger marketing campaigns instead of the smaller brands which didn’t even begin to stretch her to her full potential. And if by some chance her boss didn’t see the news tonight then Victoria was going to make sure she showed him the press coverage tomorrow morning first thing.

  “Mark, are you home?” Victoria called as she walked into the house seeing the lights were on.

  “Up here, just taking a shower.” Mark’s deep voice called back.

  “A shower? Is everything alright?” Victoria called as she put her bag down and made her way upstairs to the bathroom - it wasn’t like Mark to be taking a shower now, he usually had it first thing in the morning, not just before he went to bed.

  “Yeah fine, I just had a long day in the office and I need to relax.” He called back through the bathroom door. “Look I haven’t had time to cook any dinner, I haven’t long been back myself. Can you order some take-away or a delivery, I’ll be out in a minute.”

  “You mean you have been in the office all day?” Victoria knew Mark worked hard but this was getting ridiculous, he was working absurdly long hours!

  “Yeah but it’s okay, I didn’t go in until lunchtime and I worked through the afternoon and early evening. I got what I needed done so let’s just forget about it and phone for some dinner will you?”

  Victoria kicked off her shoes, she was so tired all she wanted to do was fall into bed and go to sleep. It certainly had been a long day, but she knew how grumpy Mark could be when he was hungry so she wandered back downstairs to the little brown leather folder full of take-away menus she kept by the telephone and picked it up.

  “Mexican okay?” She called again and picked up the telephone to call for their usual dishes, she knew what he liked.

  Fifteen minutes later and Mark walked downstairs. Victoria felt him cosy up behind her in the kitchen as she poured them both a drink. He moved her hair aside and kissed her neck.

  “The fete went really well.” Victoria said as she enjoyed the comfortable warmth he gave her. She pulled her long dark red hair around to her other shoulder away from Mark knowing he didn’t like her hair getting in his way, he preferred it when she had it all tied up like she usually wore it for work.

  “That’s good. What’s for dinner?”

  “Mexican, I’ve ordered your usual.” She turned around in his arms ready to tell him more about today but Mark was already reaching across the kitchen work surface for the weekend newspaper, more interested in the news than Victoria’s fete.

  Mark took his drink from next to Victoria and stepped back already reading the front page of the newspaper.

  Victoria looked at him slightly annoyed, she had only just gotten in and already his head was in the news rather than listening to what she had to say. She continued anyway, “I met Jake Cumberland today, he was nothing like I imagined.”

  “Jake who? Should I know him.” Mark muttered not looking up from his newspaper.

  “Jake Cumberland, Chairman of Creative Technology Holdings. He’s much younger than I imagined. Did you know he is only in his thirties, late thirties at the most, and he is a really nice guy.”

  Now that did catch Mark’s attention. He put the newspaper down and looked at Victoria. Of course he recognised that name, he just hadn’t been paying attention, but he was now - as a Fund Manager he had invested numerous private investor’s money in CT Holdings, as it was referred to in the industry, and he was interested in any information he could get which could give him an advantage. Besides he had been pushing for a meeting with CT Holdings’ Chairman for ages, but just like everyone else he had never managed to get a meeting with anyone other than the Finance Director, and here was Victoria telling him she had met the Chairman Jake Cumberland today! How the hell had Victoria met him? She had only gone off to some little country bumpkin fete. He almost wished he had gone now. Almost.

  “How did you meet him?”

  “I told you I organised some publicity stuff for today. You knew he was coming.”

  Mark looked at Victoria annoyed, he couldn’t believe he had missed out on that one, but he really hadn’t been listening to her rattle on about the little fete she was helping out with – it hadn’t been remotely interesting to him. How was he supposed to know that some little fete was going to turn into one of the hottest media events of the year?

  Seeing he was annoyed Victoria sighed, she had suspected he hadn’t been listening to her over th
e last few weeks when she had been telling him all about her plans, but then again she knew Mark was a London boy through and through and anything to do with quaint country afternoon teas and picnics in the park didn’t interest him in the slightest, which was a shame because she loved all that kind of stuff. No, if wherever they were going to wasn’t in an extortionately priced fancy restaurant or the latest club then Mark wasn’t interested. But she wasn’t about to let his grumpiness bring her down, she was flying on cloud number nine – today had been a brilliant success and tomorrow was going to be fantastic at work once she had time to get some press cuttings together to show her boss.

  “I did invite you to come but you didn’t want to.” She said as she kissed Mark goodnight and headed upstairs. Her dinner could go into the fridge until tomorrow, their bed was calling her and she was leaving Mark to sulk.

  “Yeah, don’t remind me.” He said over his shoulder as he went back to reading the newspaper and waiting for his Mexican dinner delivery.

  The next morning Victoria had barely walked in the office door when her boss called her through to his office.

  “Well aren’t you a dark horse.” Ben Churchill said as he motioned for Victoria to take a chair across from his big paper cluttered desk.

  “Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean.” Victoria said sitting down pulling her smart pencil skirt down making sure it reached her knees. Ben Churchill had a tendency to check out the women’s legs and anything else he could see from across his desk, and everyone knew it. But he was the boss, and as long as that was the extent of his sleaziness no one dared complain, not if they wanted to keep their job.

  “You and the news last night. Cosying up with Jake Cumberland from Creative Technology Holdings. Ringing any bells?”