Nicole: Star Crossed Lovers (A Wish for Love Series Book 2)
Page 5
At four Nicole was ready. She hadn't the faintest notion where Daniel planned to take her but had no doubt that it would be to one of the expensive and stylish restaurants that dotted the coast outside the city. She dressed with care, motivated by one desire, to appear cool, self-possessed, experienced and sophisticated. Daniel would discover the qualities of the new Nicole. The doorbell rang. She gave a last, fleeting glance in the mirror and opened the door, expecting to find Daniel standing there. To her great surprise she saw a gray-haired man.
"Miss West?"
"Yes," Nicole managed to blurt out, her self-confidence abating.
"My name is James Danforth and I'm Mr. Miller's chauffeur. He requested that I accompany you to your rendezvous." He spoke in a thick British accent and Nicole couldn't decide whether to laugh or to cry. She should have expected something like this.
"Are you ready Miss West?"
"Yes. And please call me Nicole." James nodded his head in polite assent and led her to the gleaming Mercedes, opening the back door for her. The car glided past the town to the main road but then they turned off to a small road unfamiliar to Nicole. She noticed several large buildings ringed by a network of wide roads. The car slid to a stop in front of one of the buildings. Nicole was totally confused.
"Could you kindly explain where we are, Mr. Danforth?"
"This is a private airfield. Beyond this building waits the plane that will take us to Mr. Miller. Please follow me."
"I can't believe what my eyes see and my ears hear," Nicole whispered to herself. She quickened her pace, trying to keep up with James whose long strides brought him in no time to the far side of the building.
"Excuse me, Mr. Danforth, I'm not one to make scenes, but there's no way I'm going to go up in that plane." Confused by the pace of events she took a deep breath, closing her eyes for an instant, and tried to calm herself. When she opened them she discovered James was already on the runway where a private jet plane was ready for takeoff. Nicole followed in his footsteps.
"Mr. Danforth."
"Please, my name is James," he said as he motioned towards the plane. "Shall we go?"
"No, we are not going anywhere. I must ask you to take me home Mr. Dan...that is, James."
"I'm very sorry, but I can't possibly do that. I received explicit instructions from Daniel to make sure you arrive safely at our destination."
"Even if that involves kidnapping?" Nicole asked sarcastically.
"I beg your pardon, but Mr. Miller led me to understand that this meeting was by mutual consent.”
Nicole began to feel silly. "Well," she confessed, "the truth is that we agreed to have dinner together but I had no idea that I would have to get there in such a roundabout way." Her voice sounded unconvincing even to her own ears.
"I quite understand your surprise, but if you think about it you'll agree that this is simply another method designed to get you from one place to another. More expensive, quicker, but still just an alternative means of transportation."
Nicole gave in. "Alright James, I won't interfere with your mission." But you, Daniel Miller, will pay dearly for this! she swore in her heart as Danforth let out a sigh of relief.
Nicole and James were received warmly by the pilot and the hostess. "Welcome to a pleasant journey," they greeted them as they buckled the seat belts. Nicole looked about her, curious at her first sight of a private plane, and had to admit it was impressive. The space was divided into two compartments. The room in which they sat was spacious and luxurious. A thick beige carpet covered the floor from wall to wall and pale velvet curtains, tied with darker-hued sashes, surrounded the windows. Large, soft armchairs covered in brown leather were placed around two large tables. Two screens hung on the walls and a well stocked bar stood in the corner. They took off into the blue skies and Nicole, looking through the windows, saw the earth receding below.
"May I offer you a drink?" she heard the hostess beside her.
"I'll have soda water."
"Let me take you on a quick tour through the plane,” James offered as he released his seat belt.
"Is this Daniel's plane?" she asked as she got to her feet.
"The plane belongs to N.M.W.D., the Production Company Daniel is a partner in. You've probably heard of the mega-merger between Daniel Miller's company and that of Jack Stern."
She vaguely recalled having read something to that effect a year ago but when she discovered the article was mostly about Daniel she stopped reading.
On either side of the passageway were doors leading to two small but well-appointed washrooms, while a third led to another room enabling the plane to be divided into two self-contained units. The room they walked into was a bedroom, furnished with restrained opulence. In the middle stood a bed with a thick cover the color of burnished copper, embroidered with various patterns. Nicole was immediately drawn to the painting hanging above the desk that stood by the wall. It was an oil by a famous Dutch painter of the sixteenth century. She recognized it from her years as an art student. The scene depicted a young woman standing by the window of her room and Nicole, with her artist's eye, noted that the cover of the bed in the painting was an exact match of the one in the room in which she was standing. She didn't need to be told to know that Daniel himself had supervised all the details that had gone into the design of the plane. Even as a poor student he had been sensitive to the aesthetic in things. She remembered the earrings he had given her, no doubt spending his last penny. She looked closely at the painting. He was very lucky to be able to afford such a fine and important painting. She felt an unexplained surge of warmth as she thought of him. Everything he had he'd earned on his own! With his own two hands!
* * *
He grew up in Brooklyn in a small two-bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen and one bathroom. Daniel had recounted his childhood to Nicole with great emotion. When he was a year and a half old his mother gave birth to twins, and three years after that to another daughter. Daniel was the eldest and from early childhood had taken on the role of protector of his younger brother and sisters. Despite their poverty they were a warm and loving family. When he recounted how they would all gather in the living room, the father strumming a guitar, his mother singing along with him, encouraging the children to clap hands and dance to the rhythm of the music, Nicole felt a stab of envy.
Even as a youngster Daniel had shown exceptional intellectual and artistic promise. He excelled in mathematics and was an outstanding athlete, which made him the undisputed leader at school and in the neighborhood.
He described his teenage years, how at sixteen he became wilder, resisting any control, to his parents' great distress. He would disappear for days at a time, reappearing only to sink into a world of fantasies, unable to concentrate on studies. "The truth is," she remembered the gleam in his eyes and his smile as he continued, "I discovered New York City. Manhattan! I would wander around for hours, going from museum to museum, watching two, three movies a day, window shopping, eating frankfurters slathered with mustard."
"Where did you get the money?" Nicole asked, fascinated with his biography.
"I worked nights in a small neighborhood printing press and the pennies I earned were enough."
On his seventeenth birthday, after the entire family sang 'Happy Birthday', his parents presented him with a gift-wrapped package. He nearly fell down from excitement when he uncovered the present.
"It was an eight-millimeter home camera - secondhand but beautiful. You should have seen me. I was bursting with happiness, certain I was the luckiest boy in the world. Every now and then I look at those first shorts I made. I love to see my mother scowling into the camera and my brother and sisters dancing in the living room to the tunes of my father's old records."
* * *
A lot of water had passed under the bridge since that last conversation. She knew that the year after his graduation, that dreadful year after he deserted her, Daniel had directed two full-length, low-budget movies. Each had turne
d into a box-office hit. He set up his own production company. Within few years, thanks to extremely successful films, a merger of which he was a partner and a series of brilliant business investments, he had become one of the richest and most important persons in the entertainment world. Despite her attempts to banish Daniel Miller from her thoughts Nicole couldn't shut herself off completely from the blaze of publicity that followed all of his moves. When his movie, 'The Midas Touch', won five Oscars last year, she shut off her television when they announced his name and invited him to the stage.
"Daniel acquired the picture a year ago from East Germany." James' voice shook her out of her reverie.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"I quite agree. Strange as it may sound the tint of the girl's hair in the picture resembles yours."
"Do you really think so?" She stared intently at the painting. " I hope that's where the resemblance ends," she laughed. "She looks very old-fashioned."
James smiled. "Shall we continue our tour Miss West?"
"Nicole!" she reminded him.
In the cockpit the pilot gave a short explanation on the various instruments and described their route. "We're flying over the Coral Sea at a height of twenty-five thousand feet making our way to Efate, a small island that is part of the group of islands in the Pacific Ocean called Vanuatu. Flight time will be about two hours and we'll land at about seven in Port Vila, the capitol of Vanuatu. The weather is mild and I don't expect any problems."
Where, in Heaven's name, is he taking me? If her life had depended on it Nicole couldn't have described her emotions. Did she feel fear or excitement? Frustration or anticipation? She didn't know.
She thanked the pilot and sat in one of the chairs near a window, pressing her nose to the glass.
"If you relax you may conclude that the experience of flying in a luxurious private plane is quite enjoyable." James stood beside her, looking sympathetic. "Daniel is a fine man. You needn't fear anything."
"I know that," she answered, still gazing out the window. It's not him she's afraid of, it's of herself. Of her traitorous body when alone with him on a secluded island. The mere thought made her skin tingle. She would lose her mind if she continued to think about it.
"You're right." She turned to James. "Let's just enjoy ourselves."
The rest of the flight passed pleasantly. They watched an old Ernst Lubitsch comedy filmed in black and white and Nicole was glad James hadn't chosen one of Daniel's films. She didn't want to be reminded of him. At least not until she had to.
The sun had already disappeared into the sea and the sky was blush colored when the plane landed in the small airport. They left the plane and went straight to a car waiting on the runway. James sat behind the wheel while Nicole, over his protests, sat beside him on the front seat.
"Everything is so efficient and well-organized," she said.
"The team that works with Daniel, here and in his other residences, are most qualified and very loyal."
"Like you?"
"Precisely."
They drove on for a few minutes until they came to a lagoon where several boats were docked. James helped her on to a white motorboat. The skipper revved up the engine and the boat leaped forward, cutting the smooth mirrored surface of the sea, skirting the coast. To the left Nicole discerned the shadow of several small islands. Instead of the rage against Daniel and his subterfuges that had been building up inside her during the last few hours she felt wonder and excitement.
Never in her life had she witnessed a sunset as splendid as the one before her. The firmament went up in flames. The great Artist of the Universe moved his brush with savage strokes, painting the waters a shocking pink and the sky above in shades of scarlet, crimson, Tyrian, mauve, and vermilion. Like golden threads, long clouds hovered over the isles, breaking the magical red-hued harmony as fireworks of rubies exploded around them, lighting the skies in a dazzling light. She was elated, the exhilaration that coursed through her activating each cell and each nerve in her body. Only the delight and excitement of painting could compare to the pure joy that now surged through her.
She felt alive. She had not felt that way since those happy days with Daniel.
Nicole's face radiated a glow that matched nature's dazzling display. James looked at Nicole, pleased with his decision to bring Nicole to her destination by sea. The view from the road was pretty but could not compare with the matchless spectacle they had just witnessed.
Night had fallen when the boat reached the dock. Nicole climbed down and followed James in the direction of the brightly-lit house. They walked through an enchanting tropical garden. Lawns, flowers, trees and pools of emerald green water united to form a harmonious whole. Hanging lanterns shed enough light so Nicole could clearly see the graceful proportions of the large stone house with its wide verandah and garden. Her lips formed a small O as she said, "Wow!"
"It is a pleasing sight. Wait till you see the garden in daylight," James laughed.
She felt a warning light go on. "I'm afraid I won't be here when the new day breaks. I insist that I be taken home immediately after dinner."
James was silent and didn't react to her words. She swallowed nervously. Matters were not going entirely as planned and her growing feeling of helplessness unnerved her.
They reached the entrance. Impressive wooden carved doors were opened by a plump dark-haired woman. On top of her flowered skirt a white apron hugged her ample hips.
"Welcome, Miss West. I'm the housekeeper and you can call me Marie," she said as she led them into the house.
"It was very nice to meet you," said James. "I'm sure we'll meet again very soon." He lowered his head in a polite nod and Nicole was left alone with Marie who led her to a room, motioning her to enter first.
"Mr. Miller said you would want to freshen up and rest a while after your journey. Afterwards I will accompany you to Mr. Miller."
"Thank you."
Marie closed the door behind her and Nicole looked around, suddenly aware that this was a bathroom. She had been taken in by the large white sofa near the window whose louvered shutters allowed her to see part of the garden. The bathroom was a mirrored, streamlined space with floors of travertine and green marble. Nicole went to the sink and washed her face. She combed her hair, corrected the mascara and filled in her lips with lipgloss. She threw a last look in the mirror as she walked out. Her hair was pulled back in a tight braid which emphasized her long neck. She wore a green silk skirt and a darker green fitted thin sweater. Her only jewelry was a pair of gold earrings.
The earrings he had given her on her twenty-first birthday lay in the purse she held in her hand. She intended to return them tonight.
Marie was at her side in a split second, smiling and calm. "If I may say so Miss West, you look very lovely."
"It's very kind of you to say so." Nicole wondered how many women Daniel brought here and if Marie complimented all of them. She was sure that every woman Daniel chose would be very beautiful. She had seen two of them and was witness to their good looks. Marie walked through what looked to Nicole like the main room of the house and she followed her to the exit, where Marie muttered something and turned on her heels, leaving Nicole alone.
She didn't notice him at first. He stood, his hands in his pockets, near one of the heavy timbers that supported the terraced roof, looking at the tiny dancing waves that broke on the beach beyond the garden. He was intent on the scene and as yet oblivious to her presence. She took advantage of this moment to observe him without interruption. He looked so solitary and surprisingly vulnerable. She wondered how someone who had accomplished so much could look so forlorn. He looked as though he was missing something beyond his reach.
She cleared her throat, embarrassed at this invasion of his privacy. He turned swiftly, then he froze, and for a few long moments he said nothing and just stared at her. Finally he stirred. "You look cool, exquisite, like..." he turned his head slightly, "like a diamond polished to perfection."
"You're too kind."
"Not at all, darling. Not at all," he mimicked her tone. "Can I offer you a drink?" he changed the subject abruptly.
She had intended to ask for a glass of white wine but changed her mind. "Campari with ice and lemon would be nice."
He pressed a hidden button and immediately a man who looked like Marie's brother appeared at the door.
"Joseph, I'd like you to meet Nicole West. Nicole, this is Joseph, Marie's husband." She offered her hand and he, slightly taken aback, shook it. He was used to respect, and even friendship, from his employer and his family, but never from the guests. Neither could he remember Daniel bothering to introduce any of his guests so formally. This must be a very special woman indeed.
"Nicole will drink Campari with ice and lemon and I'll have the same."
"Very well." Joseph left, leaving Nicole and Daniel alone again. Daniel gestured toward one of the enormous Mexican chairs on the porch and Nicole sat on a large soft cushion embroidered in red and blue. He sat beside her, too close for her liking.
"I hope you enjoyed the flight. I intended to take you myself, but urgent business matters made it necessary for me to spend the entire day here."
"I understand. I'm sorry if you felt any obligation toward me when other matters, no doubt far more important, demanded your attention." She was proud of her steady, impersonal tone.
"Right now there is nothing more important to me than you."
"Yes, you like to live for the moment. I remember that very well."
"You're mistaken. I..."
"Your drinks." Joseph’s voice interrupted Daniel in mid-sentence. Daniel took the drinks and handed one to Nicole. They waited until Joseph's footsteps faded away.
"How long have you lived here?" Nicole asked, trying to steer Daniel away from subjects that were too threatening.
"I bought this place four years ago. I try to get here at least a few weeks during the year. The rest of the time, unfortunately, I have to spend in New York and Los Angeles."