by Debra Fisk
Did you find it?
Find what? She had no idea what Marco wanted, but she’d had enough of this already and wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Yes. Where can we meet?
How ironic to be thinking of Marco and then get his text. Things really were coming together. Ending this chapter of her life seemed to be almost within her grasp. While she waited for a reply from Marco, Noah sent her a message.
I’ll be right there.
Ana responded to Noah, but there was still no answer from Marco. This kind of behavior grated on her nerves. Marco expected her to be on call any time he sent a text. He never showed an ounce of consideration for Ana or their parents.
She scanned the beach and spotted Noah, hair blowing in the ocean breeze, eyes shaded, arms matching long hard strides as he ran toward her. The tank top he wore was stained with perspiration and clung to every chest muscle. Noah removed every bit of self-doubt she held inside.
She decided to meet him halfway. Forcing any negative emotions down, she jogged toward him and couldn’t wait to tell him her good news. The joy she’d experienced earlier returned, and she threw her arms around his neck. He placed a quick kiss on her lips.
Something about his demeanor had changed. He looked serious, almost stern. Ana asked, “Is something wrong?”
He popped out his earbuds, and Ana did the same. “No. Why do you ask?”
Something was definitely wrong. “I don’t know. You seem a little different.” Distant.
“I have a lot on my mind, resort business,” he responded in a cool tone.
Embarrassed by her insecurity, she took Noah at his word. Casa Blanca was an amazing property. Surely they relied on Noah’s ability to help keep guests safe.
“Of course. I understand.” Not wanting to force the issue, she went on to explain about Crystal’s phone call and the ranking of her product line on the social media voting. Perfect Fitz, her brand name, rested at the top of the voting data, along with the praise from the judges.
She could see his eyes gleam through the dark lenses, as if he was proud of her.
*****
Noah listened to Ana and tried to match her enthusiasm while he struggled with the element of distrust pushing to the surface. What had she meant just now in her response to Marco’s question?
Did you find it?
Yes. Where can we meet?
Find what? Did she plan to turn the flash drive over to her brother? Obviously, she didn’t know that Noah had taken it.
He forced himself to keep his cool, positive Ana noticed the angry twitch in his cheek.
Last night had been a mistake. His twisted heart was wrung out, torn between his feelings for Ana and his duty to take Marco into custody. Was there a way to have both? Under normal conditions in New York, a carefree romantic evening would result in spending the night together, getting up in the morning, and moving on. Somewhere, while wading through the sea of like, he’d tripped at the water’s edge and fell in love. Now what?
At one point when he’d held her in his arms, he’d thought maybe they could be together. At least give it a try. But after checking her texts with the app on his phone, seeing the chat with Marco, the dream died. She’d admitted to having something that Marco wanted. Noah felt like a lovesick fool all over again.
Like a caged tiger pacing back and forth, Noah waited for the perfect time to strike. Once Marco surfaced, Noah would make his move. For now, Noah had to play it cool, as if nothing had changed. Except that Ana was a liar.
“We should celebrate your social media success tonight. Dinner?” He issued the invitation with his killer smile. It worked every time. “We can eat here or in town. You choose.”
She arched an accepting eyebrow. “Why don’t you surprise me?” She took his arm, and they walked along the beach. “You know, if my product wins—”
“When. When your product wins. You need to be positive.” The pain of loss lingered in his mood. He didn’t want their relationship to end. Too bad she’d turned his heart to stone with her deception. From the way things looked, he’d be gone before she’d ever know who he was.
Chapter Eight
Ana checked her watch for the third time in the last hour. Almost dinnertime. Would the director ever get through the promotional filming for the show? The producers of the Golden Ticket were so far behind schedule, they could end up eating dinner at midnight.
Ana wanted to get out of her high heels. Her feet were killing her after standing in them off and on for an insane amount of retakes. Nerves had every contestant making mistakes, and the tension increased as the elimination process began. It felt like the Golden Ticket was a death pass, and she was doomed.
Already, the group had been cut in half after the first round. There was an edgy buzz in the room, and Ana recognized the evil side glances. All eyes were on her as the number one contestant to beat. As she stepped out from behind the private filming curtain set up in the director’s villa, she scanned the schedule tacked to the temporary board outside.
She wondered if Melonie and Whitney had been eliminated. She found both of their names, and it looked like Melonie’s Bikini in a Bag had climbed in the rankings. Whitney’s Sweet Dreams Pillow with built-in fragrance sensors also seemed to be doing amazingly. Ana liked Whitney’s pillow so much she wanted to order one. Who wouldn’t want a pillow that balanced temperature and had the fragrance of your choice built inside?
“Ana, we’ve found you.” Whitney had snuck up behind her.
She turned to find both women grinning at her. “There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes drama with some of the other women.” She ran her fingers through her long, dark hair and brushed it over one shoulder. “I hope this is the last of the promo shots for this week. I’m so over it.”
Melonie interjected, “You’re lucky you booked a villa. You’re removed from a lot of the craziness with the other contestants. It reminds me of the worst season of Survivor.” Melonie had her long, blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, a few loose strands brushing gently at her cheek. “It’s hard to tell who’s sincere and who’s out to undermine the other contests.” Melonie dug through her purse and pulled out her phone. “Here,” she said, handing it to Ana. “Fill in your phone number and e-mail so we can keep in touch.”
Tapping her number into the phone keypad, Ana replied, “I promise you I’m sincere. I hope one of us, if not all three of us, win the top prizes. I’m afraid I’ll have to catch up with you tomorrow, though. I’m meeting someone for dinner.”
Melonie arched an eyebrow and shot Whitney a sideway glance with a smirk. “Noah.”
“Why, yes, but please keep that between us. See you later.” She gave them hugs and wished them luck. Ana’s spirits surged to new heights. She was falling in love with Noah, she’d made new friends, and she had a winning product. Her life was starting to take on a new shape, and she liked where it was going.
Ana hurried back to her villa and couldn’t wait to change out of her clothes and shower before her dinner date. Dropping into the dinette chair, she reached underneath the table, kicked off her shoes, and rubbed her sore feet. She sent a text to Noah to let him know she was running late.
Today, the Golden Ticket competition had been especially difficult. Would she hold on to the lead, or would one of the other women rise in the ranks?
Her phone rang. It was the Klein & Sons office. She’d almost forgotten about her job. Miles away, living at the resort, wrapped up in the show, she’d adjusted easily to life out of the city. And the romance with Noah!
“Luciana, it’s Alan.” He always called her by her full name. “You need to return to work immediately.” His stern voice jolted her out of the blissful state and returned her to the nervous, anxious woman she’d left back in New York. How she hated being under his rule. Like a piece of sandpaper, Alan Klein, Sr. rubbed her nerves raw.
“I’m sorry, Alan, but I can’t return right now.” Besides, she still had to find Marco and sort out the mess he
was in. She ground her teeth. Not once in all of the years working for Klein & Sons had she ever received one bit of vacation time, holiday pay, or even a raise. Steam came out of her ears, and her temper started to rise. She had to bite her tongue to keep from telling him off.
His puffs of breath were loud even through the phone. “You’ll return to work tomorrow, or you won’t have a job. Do you understand me, Luciana?”
“Mr. Klein…” She slipped backward from calling him Alan, returning the power to him by dropping the familiarity, and got pissed at herself for letting him rattle her. “I can’t leave early. I explained it all to you before I left. I’m under contract.”
“Yes, well, that was before the online voting. I expected your silly idea to be dismissed in a matter of minutes and you’d return to the office.”
His insensitive words cut through her self-esteem, and she began to crumble. Why did she even care what he thought?
“You won’t win,” he continued, “so I expect you here tomorrow. Understand me. Oh, and I’m reducing your pay. Evidently, I’m paying you too much if you can afford to fly off on a vacation for a few days.”
Ana choked back her tears. “You can’t do that, Alan. I barely survive on your measly salary as it is!” She wanted to beg for her job, or quit. She didn’t know what to do. She was frustrated and angry. This was the very reason she needed to win the Golden Ticket. She was beyond over working for a man who trampled his employees. He had to be bluffing. Who would replace her?
“I can’t leave here,” she repeated, and then held her breath.
He must have been looking for another way to bully her into returning early. Then he said, “Then you’re fired.”
The line went dead.
Ana gasped, still holding the phone and in shock. How could Alan fire her after all of this time? And over something like this? She’d had his permission to leave. Was he serious? Should she call him back?
Unable to focus, she sat down to sort out what to do. With a newfound determination, she realized she had to put every ounce of energy into winning the Golden Ticket.
She tried to call Noah, but the call went straight to voice mail. He hadn’t answered her text either. Maybe he was working.
She changed her clothes, washed her face, and applied light makeup. Marco hadn’t called or sent a text either—the usual inconsideration for her feelings put her more on edge.
She stepped outside onto the patio and closed her eyes, letting the warm sunlight sink into her skin and Klein’s words sink into her brain. Fired. Maybe it was a good thing.
“Long day.” Noah’s rich voice stroked her senses. “I hope yours was better than mine.”
Her eyes snapped open—surprised he was there. “I doubt it. I got fired from my job.” She sighed and wasn’t sure what to do except try to hold back the tears. “What are you doing here?”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“Of course not. I sent you a text, but you didn’t answer.”
“I thought I’d surprise you, but I guess that wasn’t a good idea under the circumstances.” He walked around and gave her a hug. “Sorry you had a bad day and were fired.”
His arms were strong and inviting, exactly what she needed to hold her up in the moment of weakness. “The thing is, I don’t understand why. I’ve worked for Klein & Sons for so long. I covered up all of their mistakes with their clients and did twice the amount of work for no pay increase. I just didn’t see them firing me. I thought they wouldn’t because I know everything about their company and their personal business, dirty secrets and all,” she said, and blew out a long breath.
He raised her chin with his fingers and kissed her on the lips. The hurt washed away. She molded her body against his and pressed her mouth firmly to his lips. She needed his love, now more than ever.
“Does it matter? You’re going to win the contest.” He let his lips trail down her neck, reaching her collarbone and then taking a little nibble of the sensitive skin of her shoulder. His touched scorched her skin.
“I hope you’re right.” She didn’t want this to stop.
He lifted his head, gazing into her gray eyes. “Do you still want to go out for dinner? I understand if you don’t.”
“Yes, of course.” She rested her head on his chest, allowing the beat of his heart to calm her nerves. “It’s odd. I wanted to win so I could be free of Alan and independent, but now that I am, I’m afraid. Can I make it on my own? I realized I want to win because I believe in my product line even more.”
She caught a whiff of his spicy cologne but liked the natural scent of just him even more. Noah nuzzled her neck and nibbled her earlobe. She lost control and practically fell into his arms. Losing her job made her vulnerable.
Pulling her mouth away from his after their kiss almost killed her. She found it difficult to stop tasting his sexy lips.
If felt good to confide in Noah. She’d kept so much inside for so long. She wanted to tell him about Marco too, ask his opinion about what she should do. Marco’s actions hung over her like a black cloud. She didn’t even know for sure if he was in danger. He could have created all this drama so he could get what little money she had saved and run away.
Then there was the text. She had no idea what he thought she had. She hadn’t found anything among her things that didn’t belong there. Maybe over dinner she could broach the subject with Noah.
Noah spoke, his lips muffled against hers. “I made reservations at Junonia, but I can change it, and we can go anywhere on the island. I hear the SOB has great Mexican food.”
She laughed. “SOB?” Ana hadn’t heard of it, but then, she hadn’t explored the area at all, other than what she’d seen from the balloon.
“It stands for South of the Border. Most of the locals patronize it,” he said.
“Junonia is perfect.” Ana gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Give me a few minutes to freshen up.” Noah followed her through the glass doors into the villa. “I never dreamed when I agreed to be on the show that it would be such an emotional roller-coaster ride.” She wiped the smudges from her face and ran a brush through her hair. Her phone dinged, and she walked over to the table to see the word tonight.
Her stomach twisted, and she glanced over her shoulder at Noah, who raised his eyebrows. “It’s nothing important,” she said, hating to lie to him.
Of course Marco wanted to meet tonight when she had plans. Well, he’d have to wait. She had a life that didn’t revolve around him. It irritated her that he just assumed she’d drop everything when he decided to contact her. She had the feeling she was getting only a small part of the story.
“Ready?” Noah walked over to the door and held it open. His eyes, studying her every move, suddenly looked cold.
“Yes.” She brushed by him and paused to gaze at his face. A chill rippled through her body. Somehow she could tell he didn’t believe her earlier comment that the text she’d just received was “nothing important.”
*****
The lobby seemed unusually quiet for an early evening, and only the sound of Ana’s heels could be heard clicking along the marble floor. Noah looked at Ana, wishing things could be different. He no longer liked playing the role of undercover detective. It was difficult to keep up with the crazy game of pretend when he wanted to shake the truth out of her. And he wanted her to be innocent. She was meeting Marco tonight, based on the text message she just received, and she was withholding evidence. The text messages didn’t lie. She’d admitted to having something that Marco wanted, and tampering with evidence was a felony.
From behind the check-in counter, Courtney watched them cross the floor. “Noah, can I speak to you a moment?” she asked, overplaying a friendly grin.
He’d prefer not to. “Excuse me,” he said to Ana and walked over to where Courtney stood. “Is there something you need?”
A wide-eyed Courtney asked, “What’s going on here?” Her eyes shot daggers at Ana then turned back to Noah. “I get the feeling y
ou’ve been avoiding me.”
“I’ve been busy.” He didn’t have time for this. Flashing a smile, he lowered his voice, trying to defuse the situation. “I explained before. I don’t socialize with coworkers in my off hours.”
Courtney took his lead and whispered back, “And she’s not work? You’re security at the resort and, hello, she’s a guest.” She was definitely desperate to make her point. “I think you’re taking this a bit too far. I do live off property.” She motioned with her hand to signal far away.
He leaned in closer. “Can we talk about this later? I promise to explain everything.” Once he was leaving Barefoot Bay, he could tell her the truth and not lie or be pressured into an explanation. She let out a sigh and nodded her agreement.
“All right. Tomorrow or else.” She gave him a phony, forced grin.
“Tomorrow.” He slapped the counter, gave her a wink, and turned his attention back to Ana, who hadn’t taken her eyes off the two of them.
He placed a hand on the small of Ana’s back and guided her in the direction of the restaurant, thinking about Courtney’s last words—tomorrow or else. Noah didn’t like being threatened, and tomorrow he would try to smooth things over with her for the time being.
Chapter Nine
The full moon illuminated the long stretch of beach enough for Ana to see where she was going. Stumbling over a few rocks, she wondered about the location. This was where Marco said to meet—Pleasure Pointe. She’d followed the directions on her phone app, but was she in the right spot? As she used the flashlight mode on her phone to light the way, her tennis shoes sank into the sand. She hoped Marco would be on time. What if he didn’t show? She was out on a strange beach all alone, and no one knew where she was. She wished she’d told Noah.
