“Nathan?” She sounded happy and confused at the same time.
“Oh, hey guys,” I said, walking over to the table. “Crazy seeing you here. I had a meeting, but it was canceled, and I figured why not get some food anyway.”
“That’s interesting,” Nick said in a monotone voice. “I thought Tuesdays were your no meeting days.”
“Well, Nick, when you run a company, sometimes you don’t get to pick your meetings,” I said in a confident tone that I knew would strike to the heart of him.
Nick was the kind of guy that could dish it out but not take it. Knowing he was here to put the moves on Ronni, with no intention of sticking around afterward, I didn’t feel bad at all in embarrassing him. He thought our parents’ money and hard work gave him the right to be a complete asshole, to ride on their shoulders and claim everyone else’s hard work as his own. As long as I had the ability to change that, I would never let him get away with it in front of me.
I was the person that actually worked hard. I was the person that was there for Ronni when she was learning English, when she was orphaned, and when she would come back every year to give thanks for what she had been given. I was the one that helped her pack up her things and get them to her car. He knew all of this, but he took the way my mother and I acted toward Ronni and rode on those coat tails. I never even gave a shit about his audacity until he decided to use it to hurt someone that was close to us.
“Well, why don’t I just join you guys,” I said, smiling at Ronni. “No reason to waste a table.”
They both answered at the same time, Nick said “no,” and Ronni smiled, saying “of course.” She looked over at Nick and wrinkled her brow, irritated by his asshole response. She looked back at me and pulled out the chair next to her. She patted the seat and nodded her head.
“Of course, you can join us,” she said, smiling. “Have a seat. We’ll have the waitress come take your order.”
I smiled kindly at Ronni and turned to Nick, trying to stifle a chuckle at the look of anger on his face. I was cock blocking him, and I was making no attempts to hide the fact. There were millions of women in this city, and there was no reason that he should be sinking his claws in someone as innocent and sweet as Ronni, especially knowing how our mother felt about her. As far as I was concerned, Nick had brought this on himself, and I was going to make sure he was miserable.
Chapter Four
Ronni
I never thought in a million years that I would be on an actual date with Nick. After so many years daydreaming about him, wishing he would look at me that way, we were finally on a date. Too bad it was a terrible one.
I was actually pretty shocked at myself when I realized how relieved I had felt to see Nathan at the restaurant. I immediately said yes to him crashing our date, desperate for a change of subject. I mean, Nick was sexy as hell and hadn’t aged a bit, but he was easily distracted, jumping from topic to topic, which all had the same thing in common, him. I’d never actually heard someone talk so much about themselves. At first, I thought he was trying to impress me, but in the end, I realized he didn’t give a damn how I felt. He was talking because he liked to hear himself talk. Before Nathan showed up, I had turned to leaning my head in my hand and just staring at him, seeing his lips moving, but zoning out to whatever was playing on the speakers in the restaurant.
When the conversation turned to business, I perked up, wanting his advice on my best friend, Maria, and my business proposal. I sat there patiently, listening to him talk about the real estate company, obviously frustrated with his inability to have Nathan take him seriously. When he paused to take a bite of his salad, I chimed in.
“So my best friend is a designer,” I said nervously. “And she has a line of bikinis that she has been working on. We are planning on getting everything together and starting that as a business. We figure we live in San Diego, everyone wears bathing suits, and—”
“You’re too young,” he said, interrupting me and waving his hand dismissively. “Besides, the market is absolutely inundated with swimwear lines. Someone like you wouldn’t stand a chance against the big boys out there. You should focus on whatever it is you went to college for. Get that job, land yourself a rich husband, and then play with whatever business proposals you want. I mean I’d let you do it.”
I scrunched my nose up and looked the other way as he turned the conversation back to himself. It had been a long time since I wanted to slug someone, but that was exactly how I was feeling about Nick at that moment. I was hurt by the fact that he didn’t even want to hear me out, laughing my idea off as some child’s pipe dream. We had put a hell of a lot of work into our business proposal, and now, we were waiting for the perfect time to launch. Maria was a genius, her bathing suits were gorgeous, and with my knowledge of business, plus what I could learn from other people, we would be unstoppable. I straightened my face, not wanting Nick to realize I was upset.
I had taken the invitation for a date with the thought, and hope, to have an amazingly romantic experience with my lifelong crush. I had imagined the flowers, which he didn’t bring, the linen table cloths, which were not on the table, the bottles of wine, that he didn’t order, and his charming smile. In the end, his charming smile was the only thing he brought to the table, and it was starting to not be so charming.
When things started to turn south, and he began boring me to death with his arrogance, I calmed my disappointment with the idea that at least I’d be able to talk to him about business, something that his family was known for. I had been listening to him for over an hour, and finally, I jumped in, just to be shot down. It was times like these I wished my father were still alive. He would have known exactly what to tell me about business and never shoot me down like that.
But there I was, sitting there smiling at the passing waitresses and listening to Nick talk about all the people he knew, the money he’d made, and his plans for future investments. In reality, after actually listening to what he was saying, I realized that none of his ideas or plans seemed well-thought-out at all. The people he knew were because of his family, the money he had made was from investments his father made for him, and his plans had huge holes. Of course, I wasn’t going to be the girl that pointed that out, but I found it humorous that he thought so highly of himself and was so absorbed in hearing his own voice, that he forgot I grew up in the same household as him.
When Nathan arrived, I could tell Nick was pissed, but I didn’t really care. I was just happy for the distraction. I smiled kindly at Nathan and excused myself to the bathroom, needing some fresh air away from those two. I figured whatever was going on, they could work it out while I was gone. However, when I got back, both of them looked angrier than hell, wearing matching scowls. I sat back down at my seat and took a bite of my dessert. My eyes flashed back and forth between the two. It was painfully awkward, and I was starting to get tired of dealing with it.
I attempted to ask Nick more questions about his plans, but it was obvious he did not want to talk in front of Nathan. I took a deep breath and laid my napkin on the table. I looked back and forth between them and shook my head.
“I think I’d like to go home,” I said quietly. “I have a really early day tomorrow.”
Nathan smiled kindly and pushed his chair back, standing up and helping me from mine. Nick threw cash down on the table and walked over, putting his arm around my shoulder. The feeling was so forced. I didn’t even like the fact that he was touching me. He pulled me past Nathan and stepped in front of him, sliding his hand down my back. I reached back and lifted it from my ass but kept walking. He was being utterly impossible, and all I wanted to do was get out of there. He leaned in close to my ear and whispered loud enough for Nathan to hear.
“I’m sorry my brother is such a clock blocker,” he whispered, making me scrunch my nose. “Why don’t you come for a ride in my Lamborghini?”
“That’s a very nice offer,” I said, faking a laugh. “But no thanks.”
&nb
sp; “Your loss,” he said, pulling his hand from around my shoulders and nodding to the left at someone in the bar. Before I knew it, he was off, distracted by someone he knew, leaving me standing there by myself. I shook my head, looking down in my purse to find my keys. What the hell had happened that I was now standing here with Nick’s brother, and Nick had totally ditched me? Nathan stepped forward and smiled kindly, reaching out his arm for me to take. I dropped my keys back in my purse and shook my head, laughing as I hooked my arm in his.
“Well, that didn’t go like I thought it would,” I said, chuckling.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” he replied. “I didn’t realize Nick would still be pissed about yesterday, and it made things really awkward.”
“What happened yesterday?”
“He got angry about some investment he wanted the company to make,” he said, shaking his head. “It was a bad business move, but he took it personally.”
“Well,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “It wasn’t a total waste of a night, I guess. I got to run some of my business ideas by him, and he gave me some advice.”
He stopped in his tracks and looked around for a second, obviously formulating what he wanted to say. That was one thing about Nathan that I really appreciated, his ability to think about things before he said them. I started to understand why his father picked him to run the real estate business over Nick.
“I don’t want to sound mean,” he said carefully. “But please don’t take anything Nick says about business to heart. He has zero knowledge of the business world and no experience to back anything up. I’m not trying to talk shit, but I don’t want to see you make a mistake because you listened to something Nick said. He still thinks shaved ice stands would bring in millions like he did when he was a kid.”
“Oh,” I said, laughing. “I was starting to get that impression as he talked. I think he forgets I grew up in the same house as him.”
As we strolled down the street in the warm San Diego air, I realized I was walking with the head of one of the largest real estate conglomerates in the world. Nathan wasn’t just a nice guy, he was a repository of knowledge that I knew could help Maria and I jump on the road to success. Part of me wanted to jump right in and ask him to help, but the other part of me felt like I shouldn’t be so bold. I thought about what my father used to tell me about being a business woman. He told me that those that were bold were always the most successful. So, without another thought, I went for it.
“Hey, do you think that I could sit down with you and pick your brain about business?”
“Sure,” he said with a surprised look. “I’d love to help in any way that I can. How about we go somewhere and grab a drink? Somewhere quiet where we can talk.”
“That sounds great,” I said excitedly. “I actually know the perfect place, and they are open pretty late. I’ll drive us.”
We walked up to my car, and realizing it was no Lamborghini, my cheeks turned red. I had worked my butt off in college to buy a car, and although it was a new car, it definitely wasn’t anything luxurious. Nathan smiled as I unlocked the doors, not letting on that he noticed I was driving a Honda Civic and not a BMW, something I knew Nick would have scoffed at.
I often wondered how Nathan had turned out so normal being surrounded by people his whole life that were like Nick, including his father. I drove us over the bridge and into Imperial Beach, a small beach town a few exits from the Mexican border. It was one of my favorite places, with its small-town coffee shop and surfer dudes. Plus, you could look across the inlet and see the lights of Tijuana.
“So,” I said, sitting down at the table. “My best friend is a bathing suit designer. She has some really amazing pieces that I know people would love. With my business knowledge, that I am trying to grow even further, and her amazing line, we figured we could get these suits into some of the local surf shops, if not the bigger stores where the tourists shop.”
Nathan considered my pitch for a second. Then he started rattling off things I needed to do to make this work. I sat listening to Nathan talk, impressed by the copious amounts of knowledge that he had. I soaked up everything he was saying, realizing that his solutions were exactly what I was missing in our plans. On top of that, he didn’t think our idea was stupid at all, and he even complimented me for the ideas that I put forth. As I sat there sipping my margarita and listening to Nathan talk, I realized that the night hadn’t turned out so bad after all.
Chapter Five
Nathan
While Ronni was in the bathroom at the restaurant, sparks flew between my brother and me. Nick was livid that I showed up, and he saw right through my story. After seeing how much of a dick he was being, though, I didn’t feel bad at all for breaking up his date.
“You need to leave Ronni alone,” I hissed. “Mom loved her like she was her own and wanted us to see her as a sister.”
“You’re just jealous that she wants me and not you,” he said angrily. “You’ve always been pissed about that.”
“No, what I’m pissed about is the way you treat women,” I said. “You act like a little-spoiled brat, the biggest issue being you didn’t earn any of the recognition you try to take credit for. You are constantly riding on the backs of others. It’s pathetic. Leave Ronni out of this. She has been through way too much to have you do what you do to women.”
That was where it really started, with my crazy need to protect her from Nick. As we walked to her car, I couldn’t help but feel warmth in my chest with her arm wrapped around mine. Even when we got to the restaurant and started talking business, I was having a hard time remembering that I should have a brotherly frame of mind. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. On top of all that, Ronni was extremely intelligent. Her ideas for the business were brilliant, and all she needed was a few pointers to fill in the blanks.
Her business instincts reminded me of my father’s. I went through everything I could think of, giving her advice about starting the business, getting the suits in stores, marketing, and all the rest. I really thought hard about the things that I struggled with at the beginning and tried to help tell her what I learned. That way, she wouldn’t have to make the same mistakes. Talking to her about business was a breath of fresh air, and she soaked every word up like a sponge.
I could tell this swimwear line was extremely important to her, but I did warn her against putting all her eggs in one basket. Of course, it had worked for my father, but it was a different time when he started the company. Now, with so much competition, and so many large organizations, it's hard to be a private business owner and turn a profit. When you order production of a product on a small scale, you have to pay more, and that expense gets passed on to your customers. Suddenly, people are searching for your design but in a cheaper location, causing you to lose out. It was important to provide innovation and quality in a way that the customer has to buy from you, and not go to the larger chain stores.
She smiled and nodded her head, listening to every word. She leaned her hand against her head and smiled at me as if it were the first time seeing me. I guess this was a change for her, especially since I had always been so quiet and serious. She stood up from the table, sipped the last bit of margarita from her glass, and slammed her hands on the table smiling.
“I’ll be right back,” she said excitedly.
I laughed to myself as I finished my second whiskey on the rocks. I could see from the way she polished off her third margarita she definitely had some fun while she was in college. I smiled thinking about my own days in college, the parties I would go to, and the women I would meet. Now, I had the whole of my family’s company on my shoulders, and going out like this almost never happened. Ronni skipped back toward me, holding two shots and two slices of lime. She sat one down in front of me and smiled, pulling out the salt and wetting her hand. She passed the salt to me and raised her shot in the air.
“A thank you, for all your amazing advice,” she said, smiling.
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nbsp; We both leaned back and took the shot, wincing as we bit down on the lime. I had never been much of a shot taker, and definitely not tequila. However, as the liquid burned down my throat, I looked over at Ronni and couldn’t help but be immediately attracted to her. My inhibitions were low from the alcohol, and any restraint I attempted to have in order to keep a brotherly mindset had gone down with the tequila.
She sat back down, and we spent time talking about what she had been up to. I hadn’t realized she had worked so hard in college to keep her scholarship. She never wanted to have to ask my father for help after my family had done so much for her already. That was probably a skill my brother could learn. He lived off my father and mother as a trustfund child usually does, except he was irritating and reckless in the process. She looked down at her watch with wide eyes, realizing that it had gotten pretty late.
“I’ve gotta get going,” she said, sighing.
“Okay, but let me call my car,” I said, grabbing her hand. “We’ve both been drinking. We don’t need to drive.”
She smiled and looked down at my hand on hers. Immediately, shivers marched down my spine. She was incredibly hot, and for the first time that night, I looked at what she was wearing. Her dress was black, tight, and accented every single one of her curves. Her tan skin and dark hair were intoxicating, and her breasts pushed up and out of the dress, bouncing as she walked along in her six-inch heels. She was so freaking hot.
When the car arrived, I held the door for her and then slid in, sitting close to her. Her thigh pressed against mine, and I set my hands in my lap, trying to control myself. She gave the address to the driver, and we took off toward the city. I raised the partition in the limo, sealing us off from the rest of the world. The smell of her floral perfume made me think all kinds of dirty things about her, and before I could talk myself out of it, I reached over, grabbed her face, and pressed my lips hard against hers.
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