She frowned, and then looked up at Blake.
‘But isn’t family in a place fondly called the Mother City an important part of our culture?’
Blake smiled at her, and she felt the knot in her stomach loosen.
‘I’d say so, yes. I think you’re on to something.’
She returned his smile. ‘So we focus on the common aspect of the two proposals—family. We use tour stops and business details focused on that.’
‘Yes, that should work.’
She waited for him to grab his tablet from the table to note things down. But instead he just stood leaning against the table slightly, with a satisfied look on his face.
‘You’d already thought about that, hadn’t you?’ she asked.
‘I had. But you needed to get there yourself.’
She shook her head and sat down, not sure if she was relieved that her idea was one he approved of or annoyed that he’d already thought of it and had let her panic for nothing.
‘So what’s the plan?’ she asked in resignation, and listened as he outlined his thoughts, only objecting when she thought she had something valuable to add.
And even though she knew he was good at his job—even though his calm and commanding presence gave her some stability—she still found herself saying the words that mingled with her every thought.
‘This is going to work, right?’
He looked at her, and something on her face prompted him to sit in the chair opposite her. He placed his hands on her arms and the heat seeped through her jacket right down to her blood.
‘This is going to work. And I would know, since I’ve already seen you in action when you haven’t had the time to plan anything.’ He squeezed her arms. ‘You’re good at what you do spontaneously, and you still have some time to prepare now, while Connor is with them. Think about how awesome you’re going to be with weeks of preparation and fifteen minutes of practice.’ He smiled, and her lips curved in response. ‘This is going to work.’
‘Thanks,’ she said as he stood, and something made her want to offer him the same comfort, even though she knew he didn’t need it. ‘Blake? I’ve seen you work. And your passion, your dedication, doesn’t come close to anything I’ve ever seen before. I know you didn’t have to get new investors, or do as much as you have to save our jobs when the hotel would have probably been more successful if you had downsized.’ She shrugged and then continued softly, ‘I’m still not sure why you agreed to this, but I’m thankful that you did. We all are.’
He nodded, with a mixture of emotions on his face that were complicated enough that she didn’t try to read them.
Instead, she simply said, ‘Shall we do this?’
* * *
‘As you can see, this is the best place to see Cape Town from and look around. Families—tourists and residents alike—all come here to experience the best of the Mother City. This is such an integral part of the family culture of Cape Town—the culture our tourists specifically come for—and now you get to experience it for yourself.’
Blake smiled, though he was sure their two potential investors barely saw it. Not when they’d hung on to Callie’s every word from the moment she’d introduced herself in the conference room that morning. She had done so confidently, as if they had always expected Mr Vercelli—who had insisted they call him by his first name, Marco—and Mr Jung to arrive at the same time.
He looked over at the two men who were admiring the view of Cape Town from its signature attraction. Mr Jung caught his eye and nodded, as though silently agreeing that this might be one of the most beautiful places in the world, his grey hair blowing in the wind. He wasn’t a man of many words, but he wielded a lot of power.
Blake had his finger in pies that didn’t have anything to do with the hotels, and in his previous dealings with Mr Jung he had been fair and open to suggestions. And that meant fertile ground for his expansion plans, he thought, and knew he had to do everything in his power to make sure this proposal was the best it could possibly be.
‘At sunset, this experience is even more beautiful.’
Callie smiled at him, acknowledging that these were words she’d said to him once before. Except then it had just been the two of them, and Blake had felt something inside him longing, which was decidedly not the case now.
‘I think that would be a...er...wonderful thing, Callie.’ Marco’s Italian accent was thick, and his words were punctuated by pauses every now and then, but otherwise his English was flawless. ‘I would love that.’
‘And I would love to bring you up here.’
She smiled again, and Blake knew that part of the reason she was handling these businessmen so seamlessly was because of their appreciation of that smile.
‘If you invest, our hotel’s connections with the staff here would mean we wouldn’t even have to wait in line.’
She smiled again, and Marco burst out laughing. She even coaxed a smile out of Mr Jung.
‘You have a firecracker here, Blake,’ Marco said. ‘I might even steal her for one of my hotels in Italy!’
‘You would have to get through me first,’ Blake said, and saw Callie’s eyes widen. It reminded him of her expression just before they’d almost kissed that night so long ago, when he had pulled her in closer to him...
She bit her lip and he realised that he’d been staring. And that Marco was looking at him with amusement.
He turned his attention back to the Italian man and smiled. ‘Unless you invest, Marco, in which case we can negotiate!’
The boisterous laughter that erupted from Marco made him think that perhaps he hadn’t lost face. But he’d nearly lost his composure, he thought, and forced himself to focus.
Clearly the businessmen weren’t the only ones captivated by Callie’s smile. Her proximity made him say things, do things that he wouldn’t otherwise. Even as she stood now, prim and proper in a black dress and red heels, a matching jacket lying over her arms, he wanted her with a need that surpassed even that which he had felt for Julia.
He cleared his throat. ‘Now that you’ve had a chance to see it for yourself, gentlemen, you can understand how the Elegance’s proximity to Table Mountain is an asset for the hotel. We arrange for free shuttles on request, to drop and fetch our guests at the location, with the added benefit of guided tours if the guest desires it. We’ve also negotiated special rates for families with the Table Mountain tourism management, so all our guests will be able to enjoy this experience together.’
He assumed that the nods from both the men meant they were on board thus far. Now, he thought, to keep going for the next seven hours...
* * *
‘I think we actually pulled that off,’ Callie said as she watched the two businessmen being escorted back to the Elegance from their final stop at the V&A Waterfront, where they’d had dinner.
As soon as they’d been driven away she turned and grinned at Blake.
‘We did,’ he agreed, and shocked her by picking her up and spinning in a circle.
She laughed, but when he put her down and they stood in each other’s arms she felt herself wanting him. She wanted to slide her hands around his waist and pull him close. To celebrate the success of the day. The stars gleaming down on them seemed to encourage her, seemed to tell her that it was the perfect moment to lean forward and kiss him.
But a couple of people nearby whistled at them, and broke her from her trance. She stepped back from him and smiled at their spectators. And when she turned back to Blake he was smiling at her.
‘What?’ she asked, wondering what the strange look on his face was.
‘Nothing,’ he responded, and tucked her hair behind her ear.
His hand lingered there, and again Callie found herself wishing that he would just kiss her. Then he took his hand away and stuffed it in his poc
ket, as though it was being punished.
‘We should go and have a celebratory drink.’
‘What?’ Shock seeped right through to her bones. Based on the last five minutes they’d spent together, the last thing they should be doing was spending time alone with each other.
‘I think we should grab a drink to celebrate.’
He took her hand and led her through the throngs of people who were out and about, despite it being a weekday evening.
‘And you can actually eat something instead of answering questions while we’re at it.’
Before Callie could fully process what was happening they were walking towards the dock. She frowned, knowing that there were very few bars or restaurants on this side of the waterfront. And then she stopped dead when he led her to a boat with two men standing on either side of the steps that led to its entrance.
‘What is happening, Blake?’
‘We’ve having drinks. Come on.’
He walked towards the steps, but she didn’t budge.
‘Callie?’
‘I don’t think you understand.’ Now she did take a step forward. ‘This is a boat. They don’t just serve drinks on private boats for people who decide that they should celebrate.’
‘No, they don’t,’ he agreed. ‘But they do serve drinks on boats for people who own them and decide to celebrate.’
She stared at him. ‘You own this boat?’
‘As of two weeks ago—yes. Now, will you come with me?’
Callie followed him purely on instinct. Her mind was too busy thinking about the fact that she was having drinks on a boat with her boss. And that the boat belonged to him. Two weeks ago? That had been after they’d spent the day together...
She still hadn’t come to terms with it all when he pulled a seat out for her at a table in the centre of the deck. The edges of the boat were lined with tiny lanterns, which lit the boat with a softer light than the full moon offered from the sky. Champagne chilled in a bucket next to the table, and one of the men who had waited for them to get on the boat now filled their glasses with it. The other still waited at the entrance to the boat, she saw, though he didn’t make any move to cast off.
‘How did you do this?’ She finally looked at Blake, who was wearing a very self-assured grin.
‘I called a few people.’
‘But when?’ she whispered, afraid she would embarrass him. ‘We’ve barely had fifteen minutes since Marco and Mr Jung left.’
‘Oh, that.’ He was still smiling as if he had just pulled off the world’s biggest heist. ‘During dinner. I knew today had been successful, and I wanted to do something on a par with what we pulled off. So I made a few calls and here we are.’
‘Firstly, I’m pretty sure this surpasses what we pulled off. And, secondly, dinner was only about an hour ago.’
‘Are you complaining?’
‘No, but I feel sorry for these men. How often do they have to do this?’
‘I’m not sure about their previous employers, but since they’ve only worked for me for two weeks this is the first time I’ve asked them anything. Don’t worry—I’ve made it worth their while. Besides, this is minimal effort since we aren’t going anywhere. Now...’ he lifted his champagne glass ‘...shall we toast to what we did today?’
Callie lifted her glass and toasted, but she still couldn’t believe she was on a boat. Okay, they weren’t sailing anywhere, but privacy after the day they’d had was exactly what she needed. Although she wasn’t sure if privacy with Blake was the smartest kind.
‘Did you buy this boat after our tour together?’
‘I did.’
He didn’t offer anything else, and Callie thought perhaps she should be more specific.
‘Did you buy this boat because of our tour together?’
‘Not really—although our time on the boat did give me some fond memories.’ He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. ‘You’re thinking too much about this, Callie. I wanted a boat so that I can have some peace when I need it. That’s what you told me, right? To do things that make me happy.’ He shrugged when she frowned at him. ‘Let’s just focus on tonight, okay? I wanted to do something nice for you to say thank you. And well done.’
‘Well, you didn’t have to. Especially not this.’ She gestured around her, though she could see that maybe he was trying to reassure himself more than he was her. Especially after telling her that he’d bought the boat to make himself happy. ‘I was just doing my job. And I wouldn’t have been able to, I don’t think, if it wasn’t for you.’
‘If you’re talking about the fact that these proposals might help to save your job, and all those at the hotel—’
‘Actually, no. I’m talking about what you said to me before we left this morning.’
He frowned. ‘That you could do it?’
‘Yeah.’ She laughed a little, feeling silly for telling him this. ‘It made me feel like I really could do it. And...you know...gave me a boost of confidence.’
He didn’t say anything, and she had a sudden burst of doubt. ‘I’m sorry, I know that sounds corny—’
‘No, it doesn’t.’
She felt herself flush when he smiled at her. There was something different about this smile, she thought. It wasn’t the cordial you-smiled-at-me-and-I’m-returning-the-gesture type she usually got from him. No, it was a genuine smile that made her remember the completely different Blake she’d first met in the elevator.
The memory awakened other things inside her. Like how much she enjoyed looking at him. The planes of his face, the way his hair fell across his forehead, made butterflies stumble through her stomach.
It’s just the atmosphere. Which woman wouldn’t have butterflies if a man took her on a boat in the moonlight?
Yeah, she thought, keep telling yourself that.
But before she could ponder it further the man who had poured their drinks—she realised now he might very well be a waiter—placed two platters on the table. One held a variety of cheeses and the other a variety of breads and crackers. And, she thought to herself as the waiter described them, she hadn’t heard of most of them.
‘So you arranged this at dinner? While we were eating?’
He grinned. ‘Yes, because even from the starters I could see that you weren’t eating very much.’
‘Very perceptive,’ she said as she spread Camembert on one of the crackers. ‘Marco was incredibly interested in some of the sites we took him to. So whenever you were discussing something with Mr Jung he would lean over and ask me about them.’ She chewed slowly, contemplating what he had asked her. ‘I’m actually not sure if he was asking out of interest or if he was testing me.’
‘Well, he definitely seemed impressed. Especially when he told me how much he’d enjoyed the novelty of today’s proposal. I don’t think he’s ever been pitched to for business along with a tour.’
‘No wonder you’re doing all this. Maybe now would be a good time to ask for a raise.’
He laughed. ‘I’ll take that under advisement.’
‘I’ll have Connor put in a good word for me!’
When Blake’s face sobered, Callie realised how that might have sounded.
‘I was joking, Blake. Connor would never do that.’
‘That’s not exactly what he told me.’
She frowned, and then remembered the time when he’d told her she would have to pitch to their investors with him. He already seemed to know that her title wasn’t a normal one.
‘What do you mean?’
Blake drank the rest of his champagne and then asked the waiter to bring him a glass of whisky. She shook her head when he raised his eyebrows and the waiter nodded, presumably concluding that he would only need to bring one glass.
‘Connor told me he gave you
a job after your parents died.’
‘Well,’ she said, grasping for something that would make the situation sound better, ‘I didn’t get paid at first, so it was more of an internship than anything else.’
‘He also said that you had been studying towards a degree in anthropology. A degree which, if your human resources file is accurate, you didn’t complete.’
Callie opened her mouth and then closed it again. How was she supposed to respond to that? That it had been an internship was true, but she knew it didn’t make sense since she hadn’t studied tourism or anything related to what she was now doing. The fact that she hadn’t finished her degree made an even stronger case for nepotism, she thought, and cringed when she realised that she was going to have to tell him part of what had really happened.
‘Yes, that’s true. But Connor was just trying to help me.’ She had long since stopped eating, but the food felt like lead in her stomach. ‘I...I didn’t cope very well with my parents’ deaths. So, yes, maybe Connor wasn’t being completely professional when he got me the internship. But I’ve worked incredibly hard for the hotel. And I’ve built up a good reputation with our tours. I can show you—’
‘Callie.’
Blake was looking at her strangely, and she felt her heart stuck in her throat.
‘I’m not asking you to defend your job.’
‘I know that,’ she said, and resisted the urge to shake out her shoulders. ‘I just...just thought you should know that Connor has never done anything like that again. It was a one-time thing.’
Blake didn’t say anything for a while. The waiter brought his whisky and Blake thanked him. After what seemed like an eternity he drank, put his glass down and settled back into his chair.
‘I was there when we hired Connor. Did you know that?’
She shook her head, wondering where he was going with this.
‘My dad was still in charge then, and Connor started out as the operations manager of the Cape Town branch. During his interview I remember thinking that he was going to be a good fit for the hotel. He understood our values and seemed just as dedicated to our guests as we were. And then he worked his way up and I had the honour of seeing how much of himself he invested into the job. And the pride he took in the work he did. When I promoted him to regional manager he told me that he would make sure we got out of the mess Landon had made.’
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