Her eyes sparkled. “I don’t know. We might go back to our lives and realize this isn’t what we thought.” A hint of worry lingered.
He inclined his head in acknowledgment. “It’s possible.” But then he shook his head. “Nope, not seeing it.”
She laughed and stood. “I guess time will tell.”
Their phones rang at the same time. Pulling them out, hers said Mr. de Santos, and his Rogerio.
His heart pounded. “Oh boy. Here it comes.”
“They said they won’t know…”
“But it’s at the same time.”
“Well, we have to answer.”
They both slid the answer button at the same time.
Rogerio laughed into his ear. “Tyler, my man. It was so great to hear your pitch. You are one professional. Blew us away with your presentation.”
A pleased warmth filled him. He turned and stepped away from Kayla.
“We want to invite you to a dinner with the board and upper management tonight. Congratulations are in order!”
“Excellent. I’d love to be there.” Did this mean he’d gotten the bid? He couldn’t tell. Maye they would announce it at the dinner?
Rogerio mentioned last night’s soccer win and after a moment of chatting, he hung up, telling Tyler that he was looking forward to that evening.
Tyler clutched the phone, staring out at the ocean. If his phone call was this positive, Kayla’s had to be a disappointment. He gave her a minute before he turned around.
But she came up beside him and put a hand on her arm. “Are you okay?”
His gaze lowered to hers, confused. Warm caring poured out of her face, and a hint of victory. “Yes, that was good news, I think?”
“It was?” Her eyes widened, filled with relief.
“Yeah, and…yours?”
“Great news. I’m to go to a dinner tonight with the board.”
“And upper management?”
“Did you get the same invite?” Her forehead wrinkled in surprise.
“I did.” Tyler frowned, pleased and confused. “What are they up to?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m thinking about wearing that white dress again. You don’t mind?”
“Mind? Seeing you in that number would make my night.” He pocketed his phone. He’d never been in business negotiations like these, and he didn’t know what to make of it. “The good news? We still have all afternoon to enjoy ourselves.”
“And the bad news?”
He shrugged. “I can’t think of any.”
“True enough.”
A group of young men, teenagers dressed in white, gathered on the sidewalk behind them. Kayla grinned. “Capoeira. This will be good.”
“Is this that fight dancing?”
“Yes. Well, I’m not sure, but it looks like a form of fight dancing. Let’s watch for a minute.”
The men faced each other while others formed a circle around them and the two in the center moved forward and back, swinging legs in wide arcs, turning flips in the air, missing each other sometimes by a hair but never touching. It looked like an intricately planned dance.
“This is incredible. Do they practice?”
“I don’t know. Maybe that’s what they’re doing right now.”
After a few more minutes, when the crowds picked back up, Tyler and Kayla tipped their bikes and got on, heading back down the beach.
But they didn’t go long before Kayla’s phone rang. “I’m sorry I have to take this.” She looked concerned.
He held her bike while she stepped out of earshot, facing away from him. Her shoulders tensed, her head lowered, and he suspected it was a difficult conversation.
When she returned, she sighed. “Not good news.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. But here’s something we should take a look at.” She swiped at her phone a few times and came to stand beside him. “Apparently, we’re a big YouTube sensation, especially down here.”
“What?”
She found what she was looking for, and they stood close to watch it. “We’re trending in a few places.”
When the video started, she sucked in a breath. It was of the moment the other night when Tyler had dropped to one knee while the crowd around them shouted, “Agora, agora!”“They don’t post our names anywhere, but my brother recognized me and called to ask if I had news to share.”
“Did this mess up anything at home?”
She shook her head. “Oh, no. I mean, I may have to explain a few things. But this is nothing. What about for you?”
“I haven’t heard a word about it from anyone at home, and if I did, they’d think it was a classic escapade of mine. I was telling the Antar guys about it when you came in the first day.”
“I heard you.” She shook her head. “It’s an amazing story. And I’m glad it brought in more customers for the bar. Looked like they could use a revamp.”
“I don’t know if they would renovate. They’ve been like that forever.” He looked more closely at her face. “Was this the only reason your brother called?”
Her face darkened. “No. Everything’s falling apart at home.” She tried to be brave, to keep her face stoic. He saw the effort, the blinking away of tears, and his heart clenched on her behalf. “What can I do?”
She waved him away. “There’s nothing to be done. We just wait and see on the bid, and hope things work out.” She amended. “For both of us.”
He didn’t know how that would be possible, but he looked forward to this evening as much as he dreaded it, and that was a new position for him to be in, especially on the cusp of winning a fantastic new client.
Chapter 12
Kayla got ready for their evening dinner with a great heaviness weighing her down. She should be celebrating. A winning bid from Antar could help free her up and shoot her company to a new place of success where she could then hopefully pass off much of the decision-making to others.
But her brother had called again. Melissa, his wife, was doing worse. The newest medication wasn’t taking the edge off of her depression, and he worried more than ever about leaving her alone or with the children.
Kayla’s mother had been stepping in as much as possible, but she had picked up one of the children during a tantrum of kicking and screaming and tweaked her own back. So she had to take a break until she healed. The new medication, the potential of twenty-four-hour hospital stays that could last weeks and months, treatment centers, homes...her brother was at his absolute wits’ end, and she didn’t blame him. And then just now, her vice president had called, wanting to quit. Kayla had been training Manuela for weeks, working with her, helping her learn as much as she could so that Kayla could hand more off to her. Working to train a new vice president to do the same felt overwhelming to her. Taking on a large presence in Brazil would free her up financially, but bind her down in all other ways, especially when those closest to her were less and less help. She told Manuela to help them find a replacement, in the company or out, and hung up.
She tried to sigh out some of her tension, but nothing seemed to take the edge off of her stress knots. So she spent extra time on her hair and makeup, as well as the rest of her appearance, and left her room right on time to join Tyler in the hall.
His appreciative once-over made her smile. “You are one beautiful woman, Miss Finley.” His tux fit tight across his broad shoulders, the white collar and bowtie at his neck contrasting his tanned skin well.
“This might be my favorite look for you.”
“Ah, so you like a man in a tux. Noted.” He held out his arm. “Shall we?”
She walked beside him. “I admit I don’t know what to expect.”
He shook his head. “Nor I. This whole process has been nothing like any other bids I’ve participated in.” He glanced at her and smirked. “Competition included.”
“Nor I.”
The limo waited for them, and once again, they were off to an event f
or Antar. She fidgeted, something nagging at her. “Do you think we should have fessed up in the beginning and admitted we know each other?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know why we would have. It has zero relevance.”
At the time, she had agreed with that sentiment, and even now, she felt the same, but something about it niggled at her.
The limo took them to the churrascaria where Tyler and Kayla had eaten their first meal together. They walked in and up the stairs as they had before. Antar had rented out the whole balcony level, and when they entered, everyone stood up and clapped.
“What?” Kayla smiled, unsure what she was supposed to do or how she should react. “What is this?”
“I don’t now, but I’m smiling and waving like a celebrity.”
She laughed.
Mr. de Santos approached and handed them drinks. “Welcome. We are so glad you could be here. We wanted to introduce you both to our team.” He led them around the room, to small groups here and there, introducing Kayla and Tyler to every face. The women air-kissed her face, and the men kissed her hand. She knew she would never remember every face or every name. But she felt overwhelmingly loved and appreciated by the end of it. Brazilians had a gift of showing love for others.
Then Mr. de Santos motioned that they and everyone else sit.
Rogerio stood at the front of the room. “Before we start the carne (meat) consumption, we have some announcements to make.”
Kayla shifted in her seat and almost reached for Tyler’s hand. How they had managed to be a support for each other through all this, while still being competitors, was a mystery to her, but she was grateful for him, and appreciated that he was at her side through everything.
Mr. de Santos joined Rogerio up in front. Then they smiled at both Tyler and Kayla.
“Oh boy.” Tyler muttered.
“You know it,” she answered. And through their teeth, they smiled some more.
“And now, we will make an announcement to you all at once. Our two bid contenders don’t even know our plans.” Rogerio rubbed his hands together, and Kayla was put in mind of an evil magician. She wondered at the wisdom of announcing it like a winner of some kind of contest, with both of them present. This whole situation was more eclectic by the minute.
“We got to know them both. Even saw Kayla up on the cable car pretending she wasn’t afraid of heights.”
Everyone chuckled, and her mouth fell open in shock. She turned accusing eyes on Tyler.
“I said nothing.”
“Hmm.”
Rogerio continued. “We heard their bids and were impressed with both.”
Mr. de Santos took over. “When we thought of going with one, we were depressed about losing the other.” He nodded to them. “And so at this time, we would like to open up a new relationship as a bottler for Antar…with both Finley Bottlers and Sperring Bottlers.”
Kayla couldn’t concentrate. “What did he just say?”
But Tyler was already on his feet, clapping, so she joined him. Then she nodded her head and blew kisses. “They want us both to be their bottlers?”
“Sounds like it.” His tone was flat, and she could tell he’d shut her out, back in business mode again.
She tried to run the math. Would that cut into expected profits from this country? Was this good news or bad news? It had to be better than if they had turned her down flat.
Rogerio continued. “We will hammer out all the details tomorrow in our offices, but officially, we would like to say, welcome to the Antar team.”
Everyone in the room cheered, and many came forward, clapping Tyler and Kayla on the back, hugging them, air-kissing and otherwise celebrating. Kayla didn’t know what to think, but she allowed herself to be swallowed up in the celebratory frenzy. At one point, she lost sight of Tyler altogether.
Then everyone sat back down, and the meat started coming. Rogerio and Mr. de Santos joined Tyler and Kayla at their table.
Rogerio laughed to himself. “Oh, we surprised you.”
Kayla nodded. “You sure did. I’m happy to be a part. Thank you.”
“Yes, I look forward to reading over the terms.” Tyler gulped down his water. “This promises to be a very profitable arrangement.”
The waiters brought out chicken hearts and giblets and then pieces of alligator in between the thick cuts of meat. She tried it all, within reason, saving room for what she knew was coming, the mango sorvete. Mmm.
About halfway through the meal, Mr. de Santos pulled out his phone. “I forgot, Tyler. I heard you are famous.”
Tyler stiffened beside her.
“He is?” Kayla was intrigued.
“Yes, a new YouTube sensation. I haven’t watched it yet, but someone sent me the link.”
Tyler laughed nervously beside her, and with growing dread, she waited.
“Here it is. Look we will all watch.” He held it up for them to see.
Sure enough, it was the video they had both seen earlier: them standing in front of the Ba Ba Shack. Tyler got down on one knee, and the whole proposal played out in front of them. Mr. de Santos grinned. He wasn’t watching the video, but Rogerio’s eyes went from the phone to Kayla and back. Then he held out his fork. “This is you?” His eyes wide, incredulous.
“What?” Mr. de Santos whipped the phone around and slid his finger to rewatch the video. When he lifted his gaze again, a hint of betrayal tinged his kindness. “What is this?”
Tyler shook his head. “This, gentlemen, has been the oddest weekend of our two lives.”
“How so?” Rogerio was definitely not amused or intrigued. Mostly, he seemed suspicious.
Kayla chimed in. “I met him on the street outside the wedding-dress shop, three days ago. The night progressed until we were samba experts and dancing on the street outside the Ba Ba Shack and then the fake proposal.” She laughed. “We were happy to see it gave some publicity to that little place.”
“You would have us believe this is the first you’d ever met each other?”
“Absolutely.” Tyler nodded. “In fact, I didn’t even catch her phone number when she drove away. I’ve never been more surprised in all my life than when she walked into your office the other morning as Kayla Finley.” He laughed, but it sounded forced to Kayla.
She leaned forward, hoping her tone would sound convincing. “I know this sounds unbelievable, but we speak the absolute truth.”
“You did not look surprised at the time, neither of you. And why didn’t you tell us before? It seems simple and easy enough to admit.” Mr. de Santos seemed more hurt the longer he considered.
Kayla shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t know. When Tyler introduced himself as though he didn’t know me, I followed along. It didn’t seem like it was relevant, and I was so completely thrown by seeing him there I didn’t know what to think.”
Tyler agreed, nodding. “It’s not as if we were attempting a deception. You won’t believe how crazy we’ve found this whole situation. Our hotel rooms are on the same floor, our rooms across the hall from each other. We can only blame…” he smiled at Kayla, “or thank fate.”
“Fate indeed.” Rogerio frowned. “This bears further consideration.”
“What?” Kayla looked from one to the other. They were more concerned than she thought they should be. “Why is this a problem?”
“It’s a matter of integrity. You probably don’t know this, but the most important quality in anyone we choose to do business with is integrity. Can we trust them to be open and honest without us digging around to check up them?” He shook his head. “Your actions bring this most important attribute into question.”
Tyler scoffed. “Really, Rogerio. I hardly think this a reflection on our integrity or our characters at all. In fact, I would think it reflected positively on the both of us. We’ve been able to maintain a good friendship through it all.”
“I’m sure you have.” Mr. de Santos eyed them suspiciously. “Nevertheless, it raises questions, and we shall d
iscuss it more this evening and respond to you with our new plans to move forward.”
Another couple approached them. The tall man, Marcos, patted Tyler on the back. “I’m so happy to run into you again.” He waited for recognition that was not dawning. “We were at the Pereira wedding three days past?”
A sick feeling dropped in Kayla’s gut.
Marcos pointed to them. “I’ve never heard a better karaoke duet than from you two. The bride, Colette, requested the same song again after you left. It might become their new song.” He chuckled. “I think we should get an encore.” He laughed and turned to Rogerio. “This man has talent, and the two of them are as in love as I’ve ever seen a couple.” He winked. “Been together for five years now, didn’t you say?”
Kayla’s heart sank, and Tyler’s hands twitched. His game face was pretty impressive, but his pulse pounded in his neck. She laughed, not wanting to clue Marcos into their deception but wanting to make sure the truth of their relationship was known. “Oh, Marcos. That was one crazy night. It’s good to see you again.”
Tyler stood. “Might I have a word, Rogerio?”
“Oh ho. Only after you sing.” Marcos waved his hand around to the room at large. “I have a treat for you. Kayla and Tyler are not only the co-winners of our bid, but have been together five years now in their own relationship.”
Gasps and clapping were heard scattered around the room.
“And I know a secret about them. Tyler loves to sing.”
Kayla snorted, and Tyler reached for her hand.
“And the two of them together sing the prettiest love song. I’ve requested the music so that they can share it with us this evening.”
“Oh boy.”
The expressions on the faces of Rogerio and Mr. de Santos had only darkened, both men eyeing them with greater suspicion. At length, Mr. de Santos raised his hand toward the microphone. “By all means.”
As soon as Tyler and Kayla stood up, the music started again. Only this time, there was no magic, no attempt to help Tyler with a fear, just fear of her own, a sinking, horrifying realization that they might have lost the bid for both companies because of their foolish antics one evening.
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