Sweet Water: Destination Billionaire Romance

by Laurie Lewis

  “He was going to invest in Ben Ashburn’s building project.”

  “Yes. He planned to take some of the funds and leave you the rest with instructions on how to access the Swiss account. You would have been comfortable for the rest of your life.”

  Susan packed up her tablet and stood. “I sent you the video links in case you want to view them. I think you should.” She bit her upper lip. “I miss him, Olivia, but I think that’s a good thing. My brother wasn’t a monster. Just a selfish, proud man.”

  She walked to the door and pivoted. “Jeff is the one who failed your marriage. Not you. But I’m going to repeat the advice I gave you in the hospital. Your life is yours from here on out. So are your choices and the responsibilities that go with them. Jeff hijacked your chance to be with Hudson, but it’s your decision whether that separation becomes an end or just an eight-year delay. Hudson still loves you. You clearly love him as well. Go to him. Do it for yourself, for Hudson, and for Jeff.”

  22

  Jeff knew I loved Hudson. He knew Hudson was set to propose. These two facts turned in Olivia’s mind like tumblers in a lock, freeing her from the guilt she bore over her marriage. Knowing that Jeff also loved her—that he hadn’t just duped her—eased the suffocating self-doubt that had crippled her for so long. Even so, grief struck her afresh as video images of Jeff’s twisted mouth and downcast eyes haunted her, and his pained voice disrupted her sleep.

  She was lying in bed one morning after a restless sleep when her phone buzzed with two incoming texts and an attachment from Larry Brewster. The first text read,

  -Does this ring any bells?

  She downloaded the attachment—a bank image indicating the transfer of eleven million dollars to a nonprofit called “The Pioneer Group.” Olivia remembered that the name of the experimental school Susan worked for was “The Pioneer School,” and it came with an eleven-million-dollar price tag. Her eyes glistened at the realization that Jeff’s one withdrawal from the Swiss account had been to fund the school’s construction. He was the benefactor.

  Then she read this:

  Seven million dollars remains. One million in Jeff’s name, and six in yours. Mailing the particulars, including my fee. This concludes our agreement.

  She stared at the information for several minutes, allowing the news to sink in. Jeff had tried to make restitution. Again, he had done it without her. They never got anything right.

  She called Susan and shared the information. After a joint cry, she hung up the phone and pulled the videos up again. After a few more days of intermittent replays, she said her final goodbye to Jeff, deleted the links, and looked forward.

  She suddenly missed her mother and stepfather, and she was no longer afraid to admit that thoughts of Hudson were never far. Her emotional development still felt arrested. She needed more time to feel whole and healthy, but she was ready to go east and begin taking back her life, so she sent Ethan a text, hinting that she would be willing to move to New York.

  Ethan’s reply came at light speed. “Yes!”

  A real estate agent found her a one-bedroom apartment on trendy Roosevelt Island with a February first move-in date. At three thousand dollars a month, she could still manage without touching the Arena Corp money. The thought of having a place of her own changed something in her. She finally felt whole, and a week later, she packed her things, hugged the Ashburns one by one, and headed east.

  Her interest in the work was real, but she couldn’t deny that her real intent was to have opportunities to see Hudson, to gauge if their already strained relationship had sustained over the ensuing months since that unplanned and unforgettable kiss.

  She took a few days’ leave to unpack and decided to settle into her office space before going back on the company clock. Ethan greeted her with a wowed expression and a quick hug on her first day in the office.

  “Your arrival couldn’t have been timed better! I’m about to address a conference of the investors for the microbusiness programs. They’ve gathered for their annual review.”

  Despite her protests, he guided her through the back door of a dark conference room where a videotape was playing. As the pair took the remaining two seats, images of dark-skinned nuns in white and blue habits standing before a whiteboard filled the screen. Dozens of dark-skinned children bearing bright smiles sat on a dirt floor, staring up at the letters and words written on the board. The presenter, a woman with a British accent, stopped the media from time to time to explain the video tour of this Catholic convent in the Ivory Coast of West Africa.

  “The sisters are a perfect model of what these microbusinesses can become with a little assistance. Besides the bakery, there are homegrown vegetables and fruit and a flock of chickens they began raising last year. Mother Thomasine has encouraged other entrepreneurial plans, and they are now selling eggs and manufacturing candles, medical soap, syrup, and jelly, all of which they sell to support themselves and the needs of local orphans. Their goal is to build a proper orphanage and school inside a concrete wall to protect the orphans from being conscripted by local rebels. Each influx of cash or goods draws these groups’ attention and endangers the sisters, so helping the nuns earn the money themselves through our microbusiness ventures has proven to be the safest and most effective plan of support.”

  Murmurs floated up from the darkened room. It was the first time she had heard about the rebels’ threat to the school and convent. Olivia couldn’t imagine such danger threatening those joyful faces. The lights came on, and she blinked to adjust her eyes.

  The presenter continued. “Your packets contain a list of the twenty American ventures we’ve also selected for funding. Ethan Machowicz and his team prepared a dossier on each. Ethan, I saw you slip in. Would you like to say a few words?”

  Ethan stood beside Olivia. “No, you’ve covered it beautifully, Arianna. Since all the investors are here, I want to introduce Olivia McAllister. She helped with the Syrian projects, and she’s the lead on the American ventures.”

  Olivia blushed and stood at Ethan’s behest. She turned her head to acknowledge each welcoming voice and found herself staring straight into Hudson’s onyx eyes. She hadn’t seen him in a suit since graduation. At first glance, all she saw was his commanding professional presence, a stark contrast to their last meeting when he arrived exhausted and bedraggled to rescue her. When he told her that he loved her.

  There was more about him that caught her attention. Creases and worry showed around his eyes, and he looked as if he had aged years in mere months. They held their gaze for a moment too long before Olivia felt conspicuous. Hudson coughed and stood. “Thank you, Ethan. And thank you, Ms. McAllister.” He picked up a folder from the conference table. “Very good work.”

  Her tongue felt thick in her mouth. “Thank you,” she managed to eke out before she again nodded to the guests. “I look forward to helping in any way I can.”

  She wanted to murder Ethan, who guided her out the way they entered amidst the exit of the committee.

  “You set me up! You knew Hudson was in there.”

  “Why are you so alarmed?” He leaned in close. “Does he look that bad to you?”

  Olivia reined in her indignation as she remembered that to Ethan, she and Hudson were merely old college friends. “He looks exhausted.” She looked back in the direction of the room.

  “Sweet Water is in big trouble. The rebels are uprising again, threatening anyone who tries to release their hold on the region. Hudson is a threat to them.”

  “So Hudson is also in danger.”

  Ethan glanced over her shoulder and coughed, resuming his conversation in a louder voice. “You’ll need to update your address. Personnel is two floors down. Go update your information, then check in with my secretary. She’ll show you to your office space.”

  Ethan peeled off, leaving Olivia confused. She moved numbly toward the elevators when she heard a voice from behind. “Liv?”

  Now she understood Ethan’s quick ex
it.

  Her lips quivered as she turned. She knew better than to try to speak. Hudson came to her, stopping several feet away, his unsteady smile under constant adjustment. “It’s good to see you. How long are you in town?”

  “For a year at least.” Her lips quivered as they formed a forced smile. “I’ve got a lease on a place on Roosevelt Island.”

  Hudson’s face brightened, and for a moment, Liv saw the return of the young man she once knew. “You moved here? To New York?”

  “Yes. Ethan said—”

  His smile dimmed to a business-only politeness. Awkwardly, he moved to her, nodding, extending his hand, taking hers, and covering it within his own. “Of course. Ethan asked you. I’m sure he’s very happy you accepted his offer.”

  “No,” she said urgently. “I mean … yes, Ethan asked me weeks ago, but that’s not why I came. I didn’t move here for Ethan or for work. Telecommuting was working fine.”

  His head cocked slightly to the side. “Then what changed your mind?”

  “You. I … I w-wanted to apologize for that last—”

  He released her hand and shook his head. His voice lowered to a husky whisper. “There’s no need for you to apologize. I shouldn’t have pressed you. It won’t happen again.” He took a step away.

  “Wait. So much has happened in the past few months. I moved here to …” Her frustration muddled her thoughts. “Could we possibly talk?”

  His face, flush with wonder one moment, quickly shifted to disappointment. “I’m leaving for the helipad right now.” Worry etched deep lines in his brow. “It’s my parents.”

  She closed the small gap between them and took hold of his arms before remembering that this man was the head of the corporation, and she was an employee. She stepped back and asked, “What’s wrong? How are they?” The news explained the changes she saw in him.

  “They’re frightened, but otherwise all right.” His eyes rolled heavenward. “A rebel band roughed Dad up and threw a stick of dynamite down the shaft of the well he was drilling in Ghana. They issued a warning this time, but they threatened my parents’ lives if Dad drills another well.”

  “Why? Oh, Hudson, I’m so sorry.”

  Hudson’s face melted as his name rolled from her lips. “Water frees people. They can move where they want, grow crops, start businesses, and enjoy previously unimaginable possibilities, and that’s the last thing these rebels want.”

  Determination steeled his expression. “The final tests on the solar battery and pump are critical. If we can power these micro-pumps with the sun, families will be able to poke a tube into a dry riverbed and pull water from the sand.” His hand formed a fist. “And if we distribute them widely enough, the rebels will never be able to use water as a weapon again.” He closed his eyes and slumped into one hip. “I’m sorry. I’ll get off my soapbox now.”

  “Wait.” Worry replaced the warmth seeing him had brought her. “Won’t they try to stop you, too?”

  “They’ve threatened as much, so we’re moving the tests to a safer place—the Ivory Coast. I have friends there, and a security detail. It’s not a typical drought zone, but they’re having a dry year, so we’ll find dry riverbeds there for the test.” He fidgeted, and his eyes kept glancing at his watch. “I’m sorry. I just need to get my parents home. But I really—”

  “You need to go. Of course.”

  His face slackened as he took a slow breath. “I’m sorry. I have a minute. Please … tell me what you wanted to say.”

  She couldn’t adequately focus the myriad feelings swirling inside her. She knew her joy at seeing him was fully reciprocated, but now he was leaving. Again. Into danger. “It’ll keep.”

  Relief visibly washed over him. “I’m very glad you’re here.” He gently took her hands. “You can’t know how glad I am to see you. I’ll get in touch as soon as I’m able. Okay?”

  She felt her eyes begin to well as Hudson drew close enough for a momentary embrace.

  “Please give your parents my love.” She bit her lip. “And please stay safe.” Then she turned and headed for the elevators. “Because I love you, Hudson Bauer,” she said, when no one but she could hear.

  23

  Brief texts from Hudson appeared on her phone over the next few days.

  -Glad to have you in New York. Would love to show you around the city. Mom and

  -Dad are on a plane for Portland. Breathing easier now.

  -Things here are a mess now. The rebels are even threatening the tribal leaders if they so much as talk to me. They found a local tough guy named Safdar to frighten them. I need to stay here to bolster their confidence. If I lose them, I lose Sweet Water.

  -I would love for you to see Africa.

  Fear struck her as she read of the rebels’ new threats. She knew Hudson risked his own safety for the causes he loved, and she knew he would place himself in danger for Sweet Water. And some rebel named Safdar wanted to stop him. Why hadn’t she told him she loved him?

  A memo on the dilemmas with the Sweet Water project crossed her email, underscoring Hudson’s texts. The tribal leaders’ will to support the project was waning as fears mounted over rebel retaliations. As a result, the date of the pump test was moved up substantially. She wanted so much to be there.

  She pulled up the folder of photos of Hudson with the children. One photo pictured Hudson watching a nun from Mother Thomasine’s convent as she wrote the alphabet on a whiteboard, poised before rows of eager, happy children. All of them were rebel targets. Olivia wanted to do something to help each of them, but she felt powerless from so far away. So far away. Then she would fix that. But, she’d need help from Alejandra, the gatekeeper to Hudson’s world, who gave Olivia the death stare every time she even darkened the executive level hall.

  Alejandra’s elegant shoulders squared as Olivia walked towards her intimidating post.

  “Hello, Mrs. McAllister.”

  “Hello. I just thought we should get to know each other, since we’ll be colleagues.”

  Alejandra placed her arms on the desktop, folded her hands, and leaned toward Olivia. “Oh, I know you already. You’re the person Hudson went to Mexico to forget.”

  The news hit Olivia like a lightning strike, splaying her open like so much dead wood. She was the reason Hudson fled Seattle. Was she also the reason he abandoned grad school for Mexico? With Pepper?

  The stone coldness of Alejandra’s voice turned to gravel. “You didn’t know?”

  Olivia faltered for several seconds as she considered the depths of the despair into which her impulsive marriage had driven Hudson. Her hands shook and she interlocked them to hide her reaction. “Pepper told me he went there after a heartbreak. I suspected it was my marriage, but she wouldn’t confirm the timing or say as much. But I know you’re the woman who saved him and Pepper.” She met Alejandra’s eyes. “I know you love him and want to protect him, so one thing we can agree on is that we both care about Hudson.”

  “Easy words,” Alejandra hissed back. “For how long? This week? Two weeks? Until loving Hudson proves inconvenient again?”

  The barb struck even more painfully, because Olivia knew this was a good woman that Hudson dearly loved. “You don’t like me. I get that, but let me tell you respectfully that you don’t have all the facts. Neither does Hudson, nor did I until a few months ago. That’s why I’ve waited until now to come to New York. Until I was sure I had dealt with all the hurt and betrayal of the past.”

  “And you think you have?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know that you are his Achilles heel? His Kryptonite, so to speak? This man’s word is his bond, unless you need him more, in which case he drops meetings, flies across continents, and allows his global influence to dim in a world that needs men like him to shine. That’s the influence you have on him. Do you love him enough, and in a way that will help Hudson be the man he wants to be?”

  Olivia’s eyes held Alejandra’s like a tractor beam as she considered what
the woman was implying about the cost of Hudson’s love for her. She could either be an asset or a stumbling block. To be an asset to him, she would have to accept that Hudson would never fully be hers in the traditional family way. They would never have a nine-to-five, dinner-at-six sort of life. She couldn’t expect that she or any future children would ever be able to count on him to be there at a specific moment or event if a cause or a problem needed him, because if she protested, he would answer, and projects would remain merely plans, and hopes would go unanswered. It was a daunting thought.

  And then she remembered something Jeff said in the video. Hudson was always smart, but you, Olivia, you made him believe in himself.

  Alejandra sat back and nodded appreciatively at Olivia. “I appreciate that you understand why—”

  “Yes.” Olivia lifted her head and set her eyes on Alejandra’s. “Yes, I do think I love him in a way that will help him be that light. Because I was there in the beginning. Me. Hudson and I dreamed the first dream together.” She stood and held her hands outward. “These hands helped him make it come true. We were barely more than children when circumstances separated our paths, but I believe that we were always meant to be together, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  A smile spread across Alejandra’s lips. “I finally meet the woman Hudson described.”

  Nearly breathless with relief, Olivia leaned close. “I need to get to the Ivory Coast.”

  The woman’s head shook with a firm no. “You cannot go to the Sweet Water site. It’s too dangerous. The company pilots are ex-military because they are also part of the needed security.”

  “I love Hudson, and I’m going to be with him even if I have to book my own flight.”