Seducing His Opposition (10 page)

“We don’t want slick-looking new stores,” Tomas said.

“I will be consulting with each of you individually. I’d like to schedule meetings over the next few days to figure out what you think will work and for us to consult with you. Then hopefully you will lift your protest and we can get to work.”

“We’ll see,” Selena said. “Justin, do you have the requests for bid?”

“I do,” he said, handing them to her.

She glanced down at the forms and skimmed them. “Can I have a few minutes to meet with the committee without you guys?”

“Sure,” Cam said.

The two men left the boardroom and Selena stood up and looked at her grandfather and the other men and women she’d grown up with. “I think we are in a position to get what we want if we handle this carefully. No one can be thrown out of their business due to the constraint that another local must be brought in if they don’t renew your lease.”

“That’s good news. Now how do we keep the Cuban American feel in this new development?” Tomas asked.

“How many of you have been to Luna Azul?”

A few hands were raised but not enough. “Tonight’s assignment, folks, is to go check out your enemy. I want you to visit the downstairs club to see the kind of effort they have put into redoing the building, but I think you will all be impressed by what they’ve created on their rooftop club. That’s the kind of ambiance and feeling I want to see them bring to the Mercado.”

“What do you mean by that? I can’t take your
abuelita
to a night club.”

“It’s not a night club like you are thinking,
abuelito
. And you have to do it. Then we will all meet tomorrow…can we use your bookstore again, Pedro?”

“
Si,
that sounds good to me.”

“They are going to build their marketplace no matter how many obstacles we put up. We just have to ensure they build it the way we want it,” Selena said.

There were a chorus of murmurs around the table but everyone agreed to go to Luna Azul that night. “Will you be there?” Tomas asked.

“I checked out the club earlier. And I have plans tonight,” she said.

“With who?” her grandfather asked.

“None of your business,” she said.

“It must be a man,” Pedro said.

“Never you mind,” Pedro’s wife Luz said. “She told you to keep your nose out of it.”

“I am. It’s just not like our Selena to have a date.”

And this was why she lived several states away from these people. She knew they loved her and cared about her but she didn’t like having her entire life discussed in a committee meeting.

“Okay, that’s it. I’m going to go and get the Stern
brothers and tell them we should be ready to meet with them again early next week.”

“That works for me,” Pedro said and soon everyone else agreed. The other business owners left and Selena’s grandfather kissed her before following them out.

He paused on the threshold of the conference room. “Come for breakfast tomorrow so we can talk.”

“Abuelito—”

“No arguments,
tata
. I want to know about this man you are seeing.”

“You don’t have to worry about him being like Raul.”

“I’m not,
tata
. The fact that you are being so secretive tells me that you’re worried, though.”

“Fine, but I’m coming for lunch, not breakfast.”

“Agreed.”

She stood there watching him walk away. Realizing that he was entirely correct—she was afraid of letting Justin in because she knew deep down that love was a losing game, at least where she was concerned.

I
t had been a long day, Justin thought as he drove through the quiet tree-lined neighborhood to Selena’s house. The buildings around here were relatively new since this area had been hit hard by Hurricane Andrew back in ’92 and completely rebuilt.

He felt good about all he’d accomplished today. Normally at this point in a negotiation he’d be chomping at the bit to close the deal, but this time he knew as soon as everyone was happy, Selena was out of here and that was the last thing he wanted.

Her suggestion that the Luna Azul Mercado committee go to the club tonight was genius. Nate and Cam were going to ensure they all had a good time; Nate had even invited his good friend, the rapper and movie star Hutch Damien, to join them. Nate’s fiancée Jen Miller was going to teach them all a few salsa steps and use them for the opening conga line.

He pulled to a stop in the driveway of the address that Selena had given him. She was going to cook him a traditional Cuban meal.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. As far as business decisions went, his being here wasn’t his best. That was it. He could tell himself that he was doing this to blow off steam or to learn his enemy a little better but at the end of the day he knew he was here for one reason and one reason only.

He wanted to be.

Selena was changing him. And he knew that she didn’t want to and was probably not even aware she was doing it. She had her own agenda and her own secrets. Secrets he was determined to find out tonight.

The front door opened and she stepped out onto the small porch. She was barefoot and wore a pair of khaki Bermuda shorts and a patterned wraparound shirt.

“Are you going to come in or just sit out here all night?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m coming in,” he said, pushing the button to put the top up on his car and gathering the flowers and wine he’d brought for her.

Though his parents’ relationship wasn’t the best, his father had always said that you don’t go to visit a woman empty-handed.

He came up her walkway noticing that the lawn was well kept but rather plain. There were no flowers in the beds at the front of the house and compared to her neighbors, this house seemed a little…lonely.

As did Selena as she stood there on her porch with one arm wrapped around her waist. She stepped inside as he came toward her and he followed her into the tiled foyer, which was done in deep, rich earth tones in a Spanish design.

As they headed farther into the sparsely furnished house, the walls were painted a muted yellow. There was a family portrait hanging in a position of prominence in her formal living room and the dining room was to the right.

“Whose house is this?” he asked.

“Mine,” she said.

“Where you grew up?” he asked.

“No. I…I inherited it from my great-aunt. I usually rent it out and give my grandparents the income from it. But since I was back in town, my
abuelita
didn’t book anyone for this summer.”

“So why are you staying at the Ritz instead of here?” he asked. This home was warm and welcoming, though he could tell that she didn’t live in it. There was a formal feeling that didn’t fit with the Selena he’d come to know.

“I just…there are ghosts of the past here and I really want to focus on doing my job and going back to New York. Besides I can’t pretend to be on vacation if I’m staying here.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “I brought these for you.”

He handed her the flowers, which she raised to her nose to sniff. The bouquet held roses and white daisies.

“Lovely,” she said without looking up from the flowers. “I’m going to put them in water. Want to come in the kitchen with me? Or you can wait outside back by the pool.”

“I’ll stay with you,” he said, following her through the living room into the eat-in kitchen, which was made for entertaining. There was a breakfast bar with two stools and place settings. She walked around and opened a
cabinet to find a vase and put the flowers in water. Then she leaned on the counter and looked at him.

“Thank you. I think my dad was the last man to give me flowers.”

He knew her parents were dead so that meant it had been too long since a man had treated Selena right.

“You are very welcome,” he said, putting the bottle of red wine on the counter.

“Dinner’s almost ready. I thought we could have a drink and sit outside by the pool,” she said.

“Sounds perfect to me,” he said. She mixed them both mojitos and then led the way out to the pool deck. There was a fountain in the center of the traditional rectangular pool. She sat down on one of the large padded loungers and he took a seat next to her.

“So…how did things go today with my brother?” he asked. “Why didn’t you mention your meeting was with him?”

“Probably the same reason you didn’t tell me you were golfing with Maxwell this morning.”

He laughed at that. “I guess we both are doing what we have to in order to win.”

“Indeed. One thing I observed at the club today was a true love and appreciation of Cuban American society and history.”

“We are definitely indebted to the community, which is why we want to make the marketplace the best it can be.”

“I can see that. Your brother told me about your nanny.”

“Maria? She was a great storyteller. She had a gift for making everything she said seem real.”

“My papa was like that. He’d tell me grand stories before bed every night about a tiny girl who would fly
to the moon and the adventures she’d have there.” Selena smiled to herself. “He made me feel invincible.”

Justin sat on the edge of his chair facing her. “What or who made you realize you weren’t?”

Selena didn’t want to talk about her past but with Justin she knew she would. Normally, she didn’t date. That was pretty much how she’d avoided talking about her family and Raul for the last ten years. She’d had some casual boyfriends but those relationships had been brief, defined by their jobs and busy schedules.

Being back in Miami had awakened something long dead inside of her and she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to just shrug this off.

“It’s a long story and not very flattering,” she said.

“I’m listening,” he said. “Not judging.”

She was glad to hear that but it didn’t make finding the right words any easier. In her head were all the details, she knew the facts about what happened but she realized that she’d never had to really talk about them out loud.

“You are the first person I’ve attempted to tell this to,” she said.

“I’m flattered.”

She shrugged. “I’m not really sure I can talk about it now.”

“This is the reason that your grandparents sold the marketplace?” he asked. He’d respected her privacy and stayed away from digging into her past on his own. He trusted her to tell him. Selena was nothing if not a woman of her word and he’d come to really respect her during the time they’d spent together.

“Yes, it is. I guess I’m making this into something more than it really is…I fell in love with a con man
and it took a lot of money to make him go away. My
abuelito
went to the cops and they set up a sting to capture Raul—that’s the man I was conned by—and he eventually was arrested and convicted. I made sure my grandparents got their money back but it took too long for them to buy back the marketplace.”

He took a deep breath as anger exploded inside at the way she’d been treated. He was glad that Tomas had had the foresight to make sure that the man who’d hurt her had been caught and prosecuted.

He didn’t want to say the wrong thing but he was so angry that a man had betrayed her love that way. He could scarcely sit still. He stood up and paced around, wanting to do something to make it right.

“I don’t know what to say. This isn’t what I expected to hear from you about your past.”

“I’m not the girl I used to be. I don’t…I don’t get involved with men on such a deep level anymore. It happened right after my parents died.”

“That bastard took advantage of you when you were vulnerable,” he said.

He got out of his lounger and scooped her up into his arms before sitting back down on her chair and cradling her. “You are a very strong woman, Selena. I think you should take great pride in the fact that an event that could have made you bitter and resentful instead made you stronger.”

She tipped her head up to look him in the eyes and he realized it would be so easy to get lost in her big brown orbs. “Do you mean that?”

“You know I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“That is true,” she said. “You shoot straight from the hip, don’t you?” She smiled and gently stroked his cheek.

He smiled at her because he knew she wanted to lighten this moment but it didn’t change the fact that he was still angry on her behalf and he wanted answers. He wanted to make sure the person who hurt her never came near her again. Make sure that she was never hurt again. Make sure that she was protected.

The intensity of his feelings surprised him. But a few minutes later when she told him she had to go check on dinner, he finally let her go. He sat there by her pool realizing that no matter how much he’d been trying to tell himself that she wasn’t going to matter to him, she did. Selena wasn’t just his vacation fling; she meant more.

He should have acknowledged that from the beginning. He didn’t flirt in waiting rooms or go out of his way to date women he had business dealings with. She was different.

She called him to dinner a few minutes later and they ate at her patio table with soft music coming from the intercom. He tried to keep the conversation light but it was harder than he’d thought it would be.

“I guess you are looking at me differently now,” she said as they finished their meal.

He nodded. “Yes, I am. I’m sorry but I wish that I had five minutes alone with that bastard Raul.”

“I shouldn’t have told you,” she said.

“You needed to,” he said. “If you have never talked about it until now, then it was past time. Have you been back to Miami since everything happened?”

“For Enrique’s high school graduation. But I flew in on a Friday night and out on Sunday morning. I didn’t really have time to do anything but marvel over the fact that my baby brother had grown up.”

“So how does it feel being in Miami this time
around?” Justin asked. “I guess that you’re ready to deal with it.”

She shrugged delicately and looked away from him. “I thought so…actually that’s a lie. I figured what happened ten years ago wouldn’t bother me anymore. But being here…dealing with you and knowing that if I hadn’t fallen for Raul’s sweet lies my grandparents wouldn’t have to be negotiating with your company for their livelihood, well that forced me to face the fact that this is all my doing.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad. Your grandparents don’t blame you for anything and I know you are smart enough to realize now that Luna Azul isn’t the devil.”

She tipped her head to the side studying him. “I’m not sure. I fell for a smooth-talking man once and I don’t want to make the same mistake again. Especially since it will be my grandparents who pay the price once again.”

He didn’t like the fact that she’d put him in the same category as a con man. “I’ve never lied to you and I’m not trying to cheat you or your grandparents out of anything. I resent the fact that you said that.”

Selena rubbed the back of her neck. The last thing she’d intended to do was to offend him, but he had to understand that she was trying to protect herself.

“I didn’t mean to say that you were swindling me or my grandparents,” she said.

“Yes, you did. You wanted to make sure that I understood that you don’t trust me.”

“You? It has nothing to do with you,” she said. She wasn’t thinking, just reacting, and she realized she was being truer with Justin than she’d been with any man before. “I don’t trust men. That’s it, period, end of story.
I want to believe you when you say you are dealing honestly with me, but then I find out you are meeting with the zoning commissioner behind my back.”

“Maxwell and I are friends. And you did the same thing to me. Going to meet my brother. What did you think that Cam would do, offer you better terms?” he asked.

An argument was brewing and she knew she was responsible for it. She’d simply wanted to tell him that trusting him wasn’t easy for her and now she’d somehow gotten them into a mess that she had no idea how to get out of.

“I thought he’d give me some insight into whether he was the same kind of man you are. The kind of man I can trust. Because you aren’t the only Stern brother that my grandparents and the other business owners are going to have to deal with.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Damn, I’m sorry I got a little hot under the collar.”

“A little? That’s an understatement.”

He shook his head. “You make me passionate, so of course I’m upset that you’d lump me in the same category as a guy who’d bilk your grandparents out of their fortune.”

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean it that way,” she said, then paused. “Do I really make you passionate?” she asked.

“Hell, yes. I know we just broke our number one rule about not talking about business when we are alone—”

“That was a stupid idea. I can’t keep up two lives. I mean it would be nice to think that I could do it but to be honest I feel too much when I’m here. And it’s clear to me you do, too.”

“Yes, I do. In the spirit of open communication, I knew I wouldn’t be able to think clearly unless I got the passion I felt for you out of my system.”

“Oh, really?” she asked, getting up and coming around to his side of the table. He scooted his chair out and pulled her down on his lap.

“Yes, really.”

She toyed with his collar, caressing the exposed skin of his neck. “Is it working?”

“Not yet. The more I get to know about you, Selena, the more I need to know. I feel like I will never be able to know enough about you and that’s not acceptable. I never let anyone have that much control over me.”

“So I can control you?” she asked, trying to keep things flirty and light because otherwise she was going to have to face the fact that Justin was more of a man than any other guy she’d ever let into her life.