Island Conquest

by Brooke Hastings

  After dinner, Michi led everyone next door to the nightclub to watch the early show. The Mayakawas excused themselves to check on their daughter, and Lani took advantage of their absence to ask Michi, "How can a hotel this size support so many restaurants?"

  Her glance swept the large nightclub; patrons filled every table, finishing their buffet meals or sipping exotic tropical drinks. The Koolau Room had been booked to capacity as well, and, as she walked into the hotel, Lani had noticed that the Bay Terrace, where she and Daniel had lunched the previous week, had also attracted substantial business.

  "The nightclub is a concession," Michi explained. "Mr. Kent rents the facilities from us, but every aspect of the operation is under his control." Lani knew that Jimmy Kent had played everywhere from London to Nashville to Vegas, his easy manner, good voice, and talent as an instrumentalist winning him fans all over the world. "He approached Daniel last year, shortly after he moved to Hawaii permanently. He felt that his personal life was suffering from so much touring."

  "So he decided to open his own club," Lani replied. "Judging from the billboard, the show is a combination of country music and Polynesia. Does it work?"

  Michi laughed lightly. "Strange bedfellows, I know, but people love it. You'll see." An almost imperceptible nod summoned one of the waiters, Michi ordering a bottle of wine for the table. "As for the chef in the Koolau Room, Daniel enticed him away from a three-star Paris restaurant," she continued. "We attract diners from the Waikiki hotels as well as many local residents, but there's more prestige than profit in the operation. We couldn't possibly accommodate our guests without keeping the Bay Terrace open for dinner."

  The show started moments after the Mayakawas returned to the table, and Lani was so delighted by the lavishly staged, rollicking confrontation between Jimmy Kent's downhome country boy and the talented troupe of Polynesian singers and dancers that she failed to notice the approach of a tall, dark-suited figure. When Daniel's hands dropped lightly onto her shoulders she jumped, abruptly twisting around in her seat, her flying elbow nearly knocking over her drink.

  "How dare you sneak up on me that way? Or is it too much to ask that you give some warning of your illustrious presence?" Lani spoke angrily but quietly; she didn't want either the Mayakawas or Michi Hansen to see how upset she was. "You ought to be a spy; you have a positive talent for the work."

  In reply, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I have a lot of talents you haven't discovered, including a few that require an intimate demonstration. Interested, princess?"

  Lani shook her head and murmured, "No," but the denial was an outright lie. When Daniel's breath had fanned her neck, his mouth momentarily touching her lobe, it had been impossible to think of anything except the "intimate talents" he had teasingly mentioned. It was quite dark in the nightclub and there was probably no danger of his noticing the pink flush on her face, but Lani turned her head away just the same. Her eye caught Michi's and the older woman smiled at her, apparently in sympathy. There was no hint of jealousy over Daniel's attentiveness, but then Michi was probably very sure of his feelings for her.

  After the show everyone remained at the table to talk, and in deference to Mrs. Mayakawa, Lani and Michi continued to use Japanese rather than English. Lani thought with satisfaction that she had finally found something that Daniel couldn't do. Linguistic ability was clearly not one of his strong points, and although Michi provided an abbreviated translation there were times when he lost track of the conversation. At other times he and Mr. Mayakawa sat with their heads together, apparently engaged in high-level business negotiations.

  Lani had seen a different side of the man she loved tonight, and she was impressed. Many people would have been upset or annoyed to be excluded from a discussion. Lani had never doubted that the godlike Daniel Prescott Reid was in fact human, but had occasionally wondered if anyone had ever bothered to let him in on the secret. She found his vulnerable side endearing.

  They drove back to the house in separate cars, and as they walked into the kitchen, Lani asked, "Did you nail down Mayakawa's convention?"

  He was so obviously puzzled by the question that she went on, "After the show… you were talking so earnestly."

  "We just met. He knows why we invited him— there'll be time to talk business after he returns to Tokyo. We were discussing family, tradition, that sort of thing. It's something we have in common." He paused. "What about you? Did you get the itinerary settled?"

  Lani outlined their tentative schedule as they climbed the steps, mentioning that she had suggested a leisurely pace because the couple's little daughter would be joining them.

  Daniel nodded. "That sounds all right. Just make sure you remember that for the next few days you're a tour guide, not a babysitter. You stay with the Mayakawas and let Brian stay with Linda, princess."

  Lani was deeply hurt by this gratuitous if gentle reminder, but merely nodded and went off to her room. How could Daniel think she would purposely disregard his wishes? They hadn't fought in over a week now— not a single angry stare had been exchanged between them. And perhaps, she thought dejectedly, that state of affairs suited him perfectly. Even if he was fond of her, he had no interest in her love—only in her compliance.

  Chapter Seven

  Lani woke up unusually early the next morning, full of nervous anticipation about her first day of work, and left for the hotel at 9:20 even though she wasn't scheduled to meet the Mayakawas until 10:00.

  She filled the extra twenty minutes by talking to Michi Hansen; they had met in the lobby and the manager had quickly invited Lani into her office for a cup of coffee. They chatted about upcoming VIP visitors, with Michi suggesting that Lani stop by at the end of the day to report on how things had gone.

  Lani smiled and said she would look forward to it, then walked over to the Mayakawas' suite. A doll-like little creature with coal black hair and huge brown eyes answered her knock.

  "Good morning, Miss Douglas." The child enunciated each syllable carefully. "My name is Noriko."

  Lani bent down to the little girl's level. "I'm very happy to meet you, Noriko. Are you ready to go for a ride all around Oahu?" This question was greeted by such a wide-eyed, solemn look that Lani realized that the carefully rehearsed speech of welcome had been memorized for the occasion. She smiled and repeated her comments in Japanese, and this time Noriko's head bobbed up and down.

  A few moments later the elder Mayakawas came downstairs. Lani settled everyone into the car, her route following the coastline in a counter-clockwise direction. They stopped at a lookout past Koko Head Crater, admiring a placid vista composed of two small off-shore islands, Rabbit Island and Turtle Island, which lay beyond the narrow channel of ocean. The colors of the sea dazzled the senses with their variety and beauty, ranging from a gemlike turquoise near the coast to a smoky, almost purple-blue farther out. Mr. Mayakawa, camera slung around his neck, snapped several pictures of the view.

  They continued to hug the coast until reaching the beachside bedroom community of Kailua, and lunched in a little coffee-shop located in a local shopping center.

  Afterward, Lani turned inland toward Nuuanu Pali, a historical site high above the towns of Kailua and Kaneohe, with the Pacific Ocean lying beyond. Nearly two hundred years before, Kamehameha I, the king who had unified the Hawaiian Islands, had driven the forces of a rival ruler over this one-thousand-foot cliff in the Koolau Mountains. Now a monument and a concrete observation platform marked the site of his victory, the dramatic view perhaps the loveliest on the island with the lush valley below and the cloud-shrouded mountain peaks above.

  As they drove down from the highlands, the bucolic isolation of Pali gradually gave way to the suburban sprawl of greater Honolulu. When Mrs. Mayakawa complimented Lani on her "charming Japanese accent," she found herself explaining her family background. They knew that she was Daniel Reid's stepsister, and now Lani added that her real father had been killed in an explosion when she was five years old. He
lay buried beside more than twenty thousand other American servicemen and women in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

  The cemetery was known locally as Punchbowl, because it lay within the gently concave one hundred twelve acre floor of a long-extinct volcano which they would pass on their way back to the hotel. The Mayakawas requested that Lani stop briefly.

  As they toured the memorial building with its massive stairways bordered by marble walls listing thousands of Americans missing in action, she felt a sudden urge to visit her father's grave. Of course, she had occasionally accompanied her mother to Punchbowl as a child, but remembered feeling little emotion at the time. James Douglas had been at sea so much of the time that her recollections of him were hazy at best.

  She could imagine Daniel's disapproval of such a personal pilgrimage during working hours, and decided to come back later in the week. But it seemed that Mrs. Mayakawa had noticed her wistful expression as she stared out over the acres and acres devoted to lives cut short by war or the threat of it. She whispered something to her husband, who turned to Lani and said in his quiet, almost accentless English, "We would like to spend more time here. Perhaps you would pick us up in half an hour?"

  Lani smiled and thanked him. But several minutes later, as she stood looking at her late father's name chiseled into a cold slab of stone, it was Jonathan Reid she thought of. It was impossible to grieve over James Douglas, he was only as real to her as the framed wedding portrait she kept on her dresser, next to a similar picture of her mother and Jonathan. It was Jonathan whom she missed, all the more because she had no flesh-and-blood reminder of him. Brian resembled her slim, blonde-haired mother and was a living validation of Anne's existence. As for Daniel, she could see nothing of Jonathan in him, only the patrician looks of the beautiful, spirited Laura and her curmudgeonly father, Thomas Prescott, Senior.

  She rejoined the Mayakawas, her thoughts still far away, and drove them up to an observation point near the crater's rim for a view of Honolulu and the harbor. Mrs. Mayakawa then asked Lani to stop at a store featuring colorful Polynesian "aloha fashions" to buy as presents for her nieces and nephews in Japan.

  The dual-level Ala Moana shopping center was on their way home, and would provide many stores from which to choose. The Mayakawas decided to shop on their own, giving Lani nearly two hours to herself.

  She strolled down the mall, thinking about the Maunalua Bay's Fourth of July Luau. It was less than two weeks away, and she really had nothing suitably Polynesian to wear. A window display of swimsuits and matching cover-ups caught her eye and she went into the shop to investigate further. After trying on several outfits she chose a strapless suit and matching sarong skirt in a brilliant shade of red, appropriately printed with bronze-leafed, pink-flowered ti leaf plants. As long as she was standing still, the side-tied wrap skirt was quite demure, but when she moved a seductive length of leg was revealed. Although concerned about Daniel's reaction, she told herself that she was in Hawaii now, and most of the women would no doubt be dressed far more daringly.

  After dropping the Mayakawas back at the hotel and making a brief stop in Michi's office, Lani returned home to be welcomed by the succulent aroma of braised beef ribs. The table was already set, and Brian was in the library watching television. Linda Wong handed Lani a glass of iced lemonade as soon as she walked in the kitchen, and she felt as pampered as her royal namesake must have been.

  Daniel walked in the door just as they were sitting down to dinner. Linda bolted up from the table with an offer to fetch him a drink, which he accepted with such a charming smile that a hard-bitten spinster would have been smitten. Linda was utterly beguiled. For a few minutes he and Lani discussed her day with the Mayakawas, and then he turned his attention to Linda, acting as though nothing could possibly be more fascinating to him than to discover every single fact about his new housekeeper. Lani supposed he was merely attempting to judge her suitability, but few females would be able to resist the seductive style of cross-examination he employed. She wondered jealously just how many women sat by the phone and waited for him to call.

  On Wednesday, after having a cup of coffee with Michi, Lani collected the Mayakawas for the hour-long drive to the Polynesian Cultural Center at Laie, on the north shore of Oahu.

  The Center, a non-profit living museum, housed reconstructions of seven south sea island villages depicting the traditional lifestyles of the natives of Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, the Marquesas, and Tonga.

  After a canoe tour through the entire area, they walked to the Samoan village. Although there was something deeply appealing about going back to nature to live in simple thatched-roof dwellings with mat-covered floors and tapa bark wall-hangings, Lani knew she preferred the comfort of her plush bedroom in Daniel's air-conditioned house.

  After touring several of the other villages, they went to an open-air theater to watch a show depicting the musical history of Polynesia. The biggest crowd pleaser was a vigorous Tahitian otea, danced with hips gyrating wildly. Next, they went into the Center restaurant for a buffet lunch, then took a tram for tours of the remaining villages before leaving for the hotel.

  The traffic was sometimes heavy as they drove home, and by the time Lani dropped her guests off, checked in with Michi, and returned to Daniel's, she wanted nothing more than to put her feet up, close her eyes, and rest. She spent several minutes with Brian before Linda chased her upstairs to her bedroom, and just before she fell asleep she admitted to herself that she was becoming thoroughly spoiled by the efficiency of the full-time housekeeper.

  Brian shook her awake an hour later with the news that dinner was ready, and that Daniel had just phoned to say he would be eating with Michi Hansen. Although Linda didn't seem to mind the fact that part of her delicious meal would end up as foil-wrapped leftovers, Lani did. She wanted Daniel home with her, not strolling along on a romantically moonlit beach with a sophisticated rival like Michi Hansen.

  Lani had no particular desire to see Michi the next morning—she was tired and pale from a restless night and in no mood for coffee-break chats with Daniel's lady love. But morning and afternoon meetings with Michi had become part of her routine, and she knew her absence would be noted.

  The manager answered her knock, took one look at her drawn face, and observed, "You look like I feel. How about some strong black coffee?"

  Lani accepted a cup as Michi sighed, "I thought the meeting would never end. Usually Daniel gets through these things faster than anyone I know, but last night he seemed distracted, his mind just wasn't on business." She gazed thoughtfully at Lani, obviously expecting some enlightenment as to the reasons for Daniel's behavior.

  "Well… you know…" she stammered, "you went to dinner first, and… uh… maybe his mind was on… other things."

  "What do you think we were doing at dinner?" Michi's voice was light with laughter. "A problem came up that Daniel wanted to discuss before the meeting. It was hardly one of our more romantic meals!"

  The whole subject made Lani acutely uncomfortable, she didn't want to hear about Daniel's relationship with Michi. Perhaps this particular dinner engagement had been strictly business, but what about all their other evenings together?

  She finished her coffee and excused herself to pick up the Mayakawas, who had ten o'clock reservations for a tour of Iolani Palace. This beautifully restored building had once served as the official residence of Hawaiian royalty, and the demand for tours was too heavy for Lani to join the group. She had planned to take Noriko to a nearby playground while her parents were inside the Palace, but as they drove into Honolulu she began to suspect that Mr. Mayakawa preferred a different arrangement.

  Noriko was becoming rather restless after so many days of sightseeing, he said in his polite, low-key manner. Perhaps she missed the company of children her own age.

  The child was so quiet and well-behaved that Lani was puzzled by his comments. Remembering Daniel's caveat that she was to be a tour guide and not a babysit
ter, she offered to drop Noriko off at Daniel's house, explaining that their housekeeper would be happy to take care of both Brian and their daughter.

  But Mrs. Mayakawa gave a little shake of her head. Surely the girl did not speak Japanese, she said. Lani was about to offer the services of Michi Hansen's daughter when she realized that the couple preferred to be on their own for the day. Her suggestion that she pick up Brian and take both children to the hotel to play was greeted by two wide smiles.

  There was a good deal to see in the area around the Palace, including the Hawaiian State Capitol, Honolulu's Chinatown, and the Falls of Clyde, a nineteenth-century ship. The Kewalo Basin, starting point for the Pearl Harbor Cruise, was only a short busride away. At Iolani Palace, Lani took out her map of Honolulu and circled the locations of various attractions, arranging to meet the Mayakawas at the end of their cruise.

  Back at the house, she introduced Noriko to Brian and changed into a cotton bikini printed with a tapa cloth motif, and over it, a short-sleeved, ankle-length cover-up before taking the children to the hotel. The language difference proved to be no inconvenience to the two six-year-olds, who communicated via a series of giggles and gestures as they frolicked together in the shallow end of the pool and built castles on the beach.

  After the end of a long day, the Mayakawas and their daughter now reunited, Lani was gathering up some toys she had brought along when Michi Hansen sat down at the foot of her lounge chair. "I've been on the phone with Daniel. I happened to mention that I saw you here with the children today, and he seemed rather… put out about it. He wants to see you at his office after you take Brian home."

  "In downtown Honolulu?" Lani asked. "It will be six o'clock by the time I get there. Anyway, it's probably something to do with my taking care of the kids today, but it's what the Mayakawas wanted."