“Where did she get a crazy notion like that?” Bob scoffed.
“Who knows?” Aiden said, downing his drink and pouring himself another. “I’ve got my lawyer trying to figure all of that out right now. And also, I sent out a private eye to see if he can get any goods on her while I’m at it. Hell, I wouldn’t mind giving her a severance package of some sort, you know? But I don’t think she wants to go quietly. From what I can tell, she wants to hit me where it will hurt the most. She’s trying to force me to sell my resort.”
“No way, man, that just ain’t right,” said Kevin, disgusted beyond measure. “Didn’t you dedicate this place to your father?”
“I did,” said Aiden with a nod. “It’s his money that paid for it, too. But because I had it built during our marriage, the wench may just be able to force me to either give it up or find another way to cough up some dough. Thing is, though, there’s still one loophole. If I can prove she’s been cheating on me, I won’t have to sell anything at all. She won’t be entitled to one plug nickel.”
“Not to sound insensitive here, my friend, but that woman has been cheating on you every chance she can get,” Kevin pointed out.
“I know, but I don’t have any evidence to show,” said Aiden, sighing deeply. “I’ve got the guy working on that, though. I’m not going to let Brynn ruin my dreams anymore. She can go spread her malice in somebody else’s playground.”
“And the man has come to his senses at last,” said Bob, clapping. “Bravo!”
“Aiden, I get that Brynn’s got you so upset you’ve already downloaded four whiskey sours, but what has any of that got to do with going around masquerading as some guy named Scott instead of just laying low in that new condo you just bought?”
“They’re still renovating my new condo,” said Aiden in a longsuffering tone. “It’s not going to be ready, ironically enough, for another week. Which was exactly the reason I timed the job fair to coincide with the date I’d finally get to take possession of the thing.”
“Man, that’s rough,” said Kevin with a frown. “I really do feel for you. So why didn’t you just go stay in one of the rentals?”
“They’re being renovated too,” he replied. “They took a bit of damage from that hurricane. No, I was completely stuck about where to go, and I thought if I came down here early, I could take a vacation from myself and get my head back into gear. Trouble is, now that I’ve begun, I’m sort of stuck playing the role. How was I supposed to know I’d actually meet a girl?”
“What’s she got to do with anything?”
“I lied to her just now,” Aiden said, sighing. “I’m terrible at lying, especially when I’d be a lot happier if I simply let her know. If she finds out I’m not Scott Perry now, she’ll never be able to trust me.”
“Yeah? Well, truthfully, you shouldn’t be worrying about a woman right now anyway,” Bob chuckled. “You still haven’t even gotten your neck out of the noose.”
“I’m not stupid, Bob,” he sighed. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t know. But I really like her though.”
“So what’s stopping you from telling her the truth then?” Kevin wanted to know. “You could tell her all about it tomorrow, and explain it just the same.”
“No, I don’t think so,” said Aiden. “I’ll just have to play this out and see how it goes.”
SEVEN
As she usually liked to do in the evening, Cat settled down to watch sitcoms on the television and contemplate the nature of life, the universe, and everything. Only this evening, she found herself contemplating something else. The nature of really hot, mysterious guys who were much more than the sum of their parts.
There could be no mistaking Scott’s interest in here, nor exactly what type of an interest it was. Cat had her share of dates in college, and she had even went out with a beach guy or two since she’d taken on her job at her dad’s hotel, but she had yet to find a guy that she actually wanted to go out with more than a time or two before inevitably she figured out why he wasn’t the one for her.
Sure, everyone had flaws, but Cat had a list of a few big no-nos. First, he needed to be single. Second, he needed to be serious. And third—no games! She’d seen her best friend, Ginger, go through too many adventures with guys who were taken, guys who considered her just another flavor of the week, and guys who lied to her, to allow any guy to do the same to her. She preferred to go in with her eyes wide open and her defenses at full blast.
For example, what did she really know about Scott? Nothing at all. Well, other than that he was a hot diver who said he had a PhD. And he had a couple of friends—who very well might have been put up to it—telling her that he knew how to fly a plane and had some house in Miami? But that didn’t tell her anything about those three very important issues. So, even though he might get her pulses going, she reminded herself that she needed to be sensible. She needed to take her time and find out more.
But a rebellious little voice asked, ‘for once, don’t you wish you could stop being sensible? Just break free of the mold and take your chances, see where it goes?’
To which she responded with an emphatic ‘no!’
She was twenty-four years old. She had a long, long life ahead of her. She didn’t need to live that many years while nursing a broken heart. So she needed to keep her feet set firmly on the floor. And with that thought firmly in her head, she went to bed. Tomorrow was a big day, and she didn’t want to screw up just because she hadn’t slept. Because she really loved it there, and she wanted to stay.
*****
Aiden had learned a long time ago that procrastination liked to breed. So, bright and early the next morning, and hour before he was meant to be down at the beach with the other divers, he had something else he very much needed to do first.
Stepping into the main office, he stepped over to Kellen, who was already fast at work reading through the applications. “Say Kellen, about the young lady I was dining with yesterday? Cat Addison? I would like a look at her resume.”
“I was just having a look at it myself, sir,” said Kellen, smirking. “I figured that if the boss man singled her out, he’s either going to want to see the resume because he intends to hire her, or because he intends to weed her out. But if I were you, I would definitely keep this girl around.”
“Why?” Aide asked curiously. “What did you find out?”
“I think you should see for yourself,” he said, smiling.
Aiden skimmed over the document, becoming more impressed as he reached the bottom. “Top of her class, eh? Well, she’d suggested as much, but I assume you checked with Lafayette to make certain it was true?”
“Actually, sir, if anything the girl was being modest,” he explained. “All of her professors gave her a sterling review. If you don’t hire this girl to manage the domestic side of this resort, they you’re a total fool.”
“Never let it be said that I would discount your advice, Kellan,” said Aiden, nodding decisively. “I want you to push her through. Put her through all the paces, see if she lives up to all this hype, but by all means, do not weed her out. I believe I see all good things for Miss Addison. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal clear, sir,” he agreed.
“Good man,” he said, thumping him on the back as he turned and headed for the door. “I’ll be taking a special group with me on a reef dive this morning. We don’t expect to be back before two, but you can excuse these two men from the certifying activity. I already know they’re more than capable. I’m likely to hire them myself.”
“Yes, sir,” said Kellen, nodding. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”
Aiden left, and hurried down to the beach to meet with Bob and Kevin. The two men were already wearing their wetsuits and checking each other’s gear when he arrived.
“Well, there you are, Scott,” said Bob, smirking. “We were about to give up on you.”
“I don’t know how much that good would do, since you can’t very will impress
me with your diving skills if I’m not even there,” Aiden pointed out. “Forgive me, I just had to get a glimpse of the domestic class before I left the hotel. Apparently Miss Addison awakens bright eyed and bushy tailed, and ready for anything. Kellan sprang a written exam on them to weed out anyone who is incapable of reading and writing. They’ll need to actually understand the words on the computer screen if they hope to work in my lobby.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” said Kevin, nodding. “So, come on and get your gear already, Mr. Diving Instructor. It’s a perfect day to commune with dolphins, you know?”
“I’ll be right out,” said Aiden as he headed for the gear shack. Stripping down to nothing but his trunk, he stashed his clothes in one of the lockers. Then he unlocked the drawer where he stowed his personal suit and tugged it out, sliding it on like a second skin and familiar friend. He donned his flippers and pulled on one of the harnesses, attaching a couple of full tanks before he headed back out the door.
He stood with his arms slightly spread open while Bob stepped over and checked him, making sure the tanks were properly housed and all the gauges were in working order. “Let’s check the hose, sir,” he said, and Aiden pulled on his mask, which effective plugged his nose, then stuffed the tube into his mouth. He gave a thumbs-up when he was sure he was getting enough air.
“Good, you’re both set, somebody check me too,” said Bob, and Aiden turned to examine his gauges and tubing too. When all three of them were masked and ready, they head over to the little raft that was already inflated and ready to go. Aiden waited for the others to get in, then he pushed the raft out into the water, tugging himself aboard as the other men took up their oars.
Something told him they were headed off for a glorious morning.
The sun was bright, the dolphins were playful, and the fish danced merrily around them as the three men approached the corals. Aiden was familiar enough with the scenery to recognize that the hurricane had damaged a large patch of the reef, and seeing it made him frown. However, in anticipation of just that possibility, each man had brought along a pouch so they could gather up some of the pieces that had broken off, which could then be studied or sold.
They worked on the project for over an hour, then Aiden motioned for them to head in. Bob and Kevin followed as Aiden swam back up to their raft, and each man got in. He pulled off his mask and shut off the remainder of his air, then tugged his harness free so he could return to shore comfortably. Bob tossed him one of the life jackets, and Aiden slipped it on.
“That was a lot more coral breakage than I hoped to see,” he said with a frown. “Maybe next time I’ll have Declan act like he’s giving an assignment and bring a few more guys along for the ride. There’s no sense in wasting an opportunity for profit now that the damage has already occurred.”
“Good thinking, Aiden,” said Kevin. “You may need the extra cash to help settle your divorce.”
Aiden frowned at him. “Not funny, Kev,” he grumbled. “Not funny at all.”
EIGHT
“We had to take a written test today, of all things,” Cat told Aiden as they sat down in the corner booth together. Bob and Kevin followed them, he noticed, arranging themselves on one side of the table just as they’d done before.
“Really?” he asked with a curious chuckle. “So how did you do?”
“I passed it, of course,” she shrugged. “I guess they wanted to be sure anyone who might work behind the front desk would know how to work with a computer, and since I didn’t select any one particular category, and Kellen saw that I have an MBA, he’s decided to run me for both housekeeping and administrative positions. Lucky me, I get to have the best of both tortures.”
“Oh, I’ll bet you don’t mind that at all, miss over-achiever,” he teased her.
“You’re right,” she agreed. “I don’t.”
Aiden pretended to be Scott for the greater part of the week, and every evening he and Cat shared a meal together with his two sidekicks in tow. She told him about all the various tests she was given, and all the drills on cleaning rooms and doing the laundry. What she didn’t tell him was more telling than what she did, as far as he was concerned. Cat had won every single contest, but she never said a word.
In between their own drills and tests, the divers also managed to go out and bring in more coral remnants. Aiden managed to turn twenty people into eight within the first three days, though obviously it was Declan, and not him, who had to give the extras the boot. Originally he had thought to hire six divers, but that was the one thing about being the boss he liked. A guy could change his mind.
On the fifth day of the job fair, when he came to the dining hut in search of Cat as usual, Aiden was contemplating when exactly he ought to tell her who he was. Mostly because it was Friday night, and he was remembering all the teasing he’d received from his friends about that being date night. He couldn’t quite say why, but he was feeling nervous and giddy all at the same time when he came in, and their eyes locked and held.
“Scott! There you are,” Cat chuckled, coming to his side. “We had such a busy time today, you can’t possibly imagine. Well, especially me and about five others, since we were competing to see who could clean up the cabins the fastest. Me and three other ladies had to keep competing several times in a row until Kellen finally determined which of us truly has the fastest time.”
“Well, I’m sure it was you,” he told her, smiling. He gave her hand a little squeeze. “Kellen told me that you win hands down every time.”
“You’ve talked with Kellen about me?” Cat asked, blushing.
“Well, maybe once or twice,” he shrugged, then glanced at her slyly. “I couldn’t help it, you know. Whenever we are together, I have such a good time. I just wanted to know more.”
Cat chuckled. “I’ve really been enjoying it too. It makes me hope we’ll both get hired.”
Aiden’s face fell. “Cat, there’s something I’ve been hiding from you, and it’s starting to eat me up inside,” he admitted. “But I don’t want to tell you here, at the resort, since it’s—well, I suppose you could say it’s a private matter right now. Something I don’t want any of these people to know until later on. Will you come out with me tonight so I can explain it to you?”
“Wow,” she said, blinking a few times. “I wanted you to ask me out, but I wasn’t expecting anything about you having something to hide as part of the asking. That sure does make it tough to decide whether or not to go. I’ve always had one rule in my world, and that is that the people I hang out with need to tell me the truth.”
“It’s nothing bad, necessarily, just—well, kind of strange, I suppose,” he replied. “Something I was trying out that seems to have worked well for the most part, except as it pertains to you. I want you to know about it before the others so you won’t be taken by surprise.”
“Okay, fine, now that I’m curious as hell,” she said, laughing. “You’ve talked me into it.”
“Great, then,” he said, smiling. “How about if we forego this meal for now? For once, I’d like to know we’ll be dining alone.”
“What, you mean you want to go now? I thought maybe I’d get a chance to change clothes and clean up first, since I’ve just spent the last three hours running drills.”
Aiden chuckled. “Don’t worry, we’re going to go change clothes. Did you bring along anything worthy enough to wear to the Rock Reef Club? They serve some excellent meals.”
“No way,” she grumbled. “All of those type of clothes are probably dripping with seawater in my closet back home.”
“Wow, that’s rough,” said Aiden. “I guess we’ll have to scale it down a little. I know just where we can go. What do you say we get cleaned up, and I’ll come get you in about an hour?”
“Sounds wonderful,” said Cat, smiling shyly.
“One thing, though?”
“Hmm?” she asked, looking up at him.
“I’d like to get this out of the way before we go,” he sai
d, suddenly cupping her chin and drawing her lips up to his, kissing her. “Sorry, that’s the other thing I’ve been thinking about. I wanted to do it so I won’t spend the whole night being nervous about it, you know?”
Cat shook her head. “You’re weird, you know?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“See you in a while,” she said, then abruptly turned and darted for the door. Aiden wondered if she was just as embarrassed as he now felt, and he came back to the reality of the room and all of the onlookers inside of it. Smooth, he though, mentally kicking himself in the head. Real smooth.
Why was everything so difficult with this girl? First he had to go and meet her when he wasn’t even himself, and second he had to be an idiot and kiss her right there in front of everyone. That was going to look really good when she realized Scott Denton didn’t even exist, but was a combination of his middle name and the maiden name of his grandmother rolled into one. Did he think kissing her now would make him feel less nervous all evening? Not even close!
Wondering if that was going to be the only kiss he ever got from the girl, Aiden sighed and stepped back out of the dining hut, slowly heading for the main hotel building to give Cat enough time to disappear from the lobby before he entered it himself. His own room was conveniently located on the bottom floor, and he headed there now, already cataloguing just which outfits he had brought along with him, and which one of them would be the most likely to make him look to hot to send packing once he told Cat the truth.
He settled on a pale blue dress shirt, and did not select a tie, leaving the top two buttons undone. This particular shirt didn’t have long sleeves, so he was unlikely to get too warm, and it had the added advantage of showing off those biceps, just in case the view might help. He snickered at himself and rolled his eyes. Cat wasn’t the kind of girl who let physical concerns rule her world—surely even his subconscious must have figured that out.
Daddy Plus One: A Single Dad Secret Baby Billionaire Romance Page 25