CHAPTER 18
T he next morning when Erica walked into the building that housed EW Designs, she was greeted by a cordon of workers, all of them applauding and cheering for her. The gesture brought tears to her eyes, and she shook hands with everyone as she made her way to her office. Inside, she saw Tina, Kelly, and Elizabeth Forrester waiting for her. She exchanged hugs with Kelly, who had been her friend since college, and with Elizabeth, Dwayne's older sister.
"Thank you guys, but you didn't need to come here today."
"Are you kidding?" Elizabeth said, her blonde hair and sparkling emerald eyes full of joy. "First off, I'm your lawyer. Secondly I'm your sister in law. It would be wrong for me not to be here."
Erica thanked them both before sitting down, and told them about Dwayne's plan for the hotel and fashion event. She fleshed out the ideas that she and Dwayne had talked about the night before, and by the time she was finished, she could see the other three women smiling.
"You know what that means, right?" Kelly said, looking over at Tina.
Tina nodded, the two women having become something close to friends since they had met. They shared a lot of similar personality traits, even if they looked as different as night and day. "Oh yes. Bikini season!"
Both women laughed, while Erica and Elizabeth rolled their eyes. "Kelly, should you really be comparing bikinis with a woman who's one goal for this trip will be to seduce at least one man? Considering Peter's in the next room prepping for a catalog shoot?"
"Hey, Peter likes my body," Kelly replied, smiling broadly. "And considering that he's a former model himself, I’ll trust his judgment of what a sexy woman looks like."
Erica rolled her eyes, looking over at Elizabeth. At thirty eight, Elizabeth was the oldest of the four women, although she hardly looked it. Tall like her brother, with crystal blue eyes and naturally blonde hair, when she dressed casually she was easily mistaken for a woman a decade younger, and in fact Erica had seen her sister in law be hit on by guys from the University of Miami. Unfortunately for her, Elizabeth had yet to find the right guy for her. Having been burned once with a loveless marriage, she wasn't going to rush into a relationship for no reason again.
"Can you believe these two horn dogs?" she asked, causing Elizabeth to cock an eyebrow.
"What do you mean, these two?" she asked, looking Erica up and down. "I remember a certain person sending me my favorite niece last night, just so she could spend some time with my brother. Which, by the way, I do not need to hear details about. My psyche is already scarred enough as it is."
Erica felt the blood rush to her face, causing Kelly to laugh. "Look, she's turning red! We should get a photo of it, it's a great look for you!"
"Well, in any case, to get this pulled off, I’m going to need some help. Tina, I don't need this to be a full on show, just some best of highlights of past designs, like a retrospect of our high points as we have grown, and maybe one or two from the new collection. I'll go through my photo books and choose the ones I want, and you can get them over to Peter for fittings and photo work for a quick press book. Elizabeth, while this is happening on American soil, you know the fashion world deals with a lot of international things. Can you and Kelly be on the ball keeping that clear, both visa and contract wise?"
"We'll have it handled," Elizabeth said. "But, you gotta get us rooms at the event."
"Kelly already had a room," Erica replied, "unless Peter wants to invite someone else. As for you Elizabeth, you're family. You get to go to all of Dwayne's resorts for free anyway. In fact, didn't you inherit a five percent stake in the ownership too?"
"Lucky," Tina muttered under her breath. She looked around, shrugged, and turned for the door. "I think I'll get to work before I really say something stupid. Again, congratulations boss."
"Thanks Tina," Erica said. After she left, she looked at Kelly and Elizabeth. "The funny part is, she's nowhere near the most outspoken person I've met in the fashion industry. You guys should meet some of the Italians I know."
"Not sure I want to," Kelly replied. "Tina's great, and I love her, but it did take a while to look past her words and see her heart."
"Either way, thanks. And Elizabeth, thanks again for watching Liz last night. We needed that."
"Like I said, no details. But you're welcome. Liz is welcome at my place any time." Elizabeth's life had taken a huge turn around in the past three years, after divorcing her husband, moving to Miami and establishing her own law office. Her condo, while nowhere near as large as Dwayne and Erica's house, was still nice, and since hiring Kelly as her assistant, the two women had formed the sort of symbiotic business friendship that Erica had with Tina. Her practice had thrived, and in fact now had two other lawyers working with her in areas other than just contract law as well. In addiiton, Elizabeth had become somewhat of a local real estate investor, using Kelly's knowledge to build up a portfolio that had her bringing in significant amounts of money every month in rent from tenants.
"Thanks, Aunt Elizabeth. You know your niece loves every time she gets to visit with you. In fact this morning she bent our ears for an hour about how the two of you made ice cream sundaes and watched her favorite Winnie the Pooh videos."
"It's the advantage of being her aunt," Elizabeth replied. "I get to do all those fun things, and when it's time for a shower, I just send her home to you."
* * *
T he butler who opened the door for Ivan Zubukov clearly detested the older Russian, but Ivan really didn't care. Let the stupid servants think what they would. They were beneath him, and they couldn’t hurt him in any way.
"I am here to see Mrs. Forrester."
"Yes sir," the butler replied, standing aside to let Ivan inside. Taking his leather coat, the butler tried to hold it as far from his body as possible while still looking formal. Ivan wondered if it was due to the coat's total clashing with American conservative fashion styles, or the smell of rich Turkish tobacco that was soaked into the coat.
"Mrs. Forrester is waiting for you in the study."
"Thank you," Ivan said, "I know the way."
Looking around the Forrester mansion, Ivan wondered if it truly had been in the Forrester family for multiple generations as Candace Forrester claimed. She was so proud of the family and the heritage, which struck Ivan as funny. She wasn't even Forrester blood, but married into the family and the money. Her own family, while upper class, was not anywhere near as famous, yet Candace Forrester acted like she was from some sort of aristocratic background.
Since her husband died two years ago, Candace had become even more obsessed with the Forrester name, especially after losing controlling interest in Forrester Hotels International. Peter Forrester may not have verbally reconciled with his son and daughter before his death, but he had changed his will to give them their shares of his empire. When combined with those that Dwayne already had, he had taken over control, and his mother found herself merely with a large minority stake. Always the calculating man, Ivan's ability to see the stress points and exploit weaknesses, which had allowed him to not just take over his father's position in the Russian Mafia, but also allowed him to burrow his way into Candace Forrester's confidence. His plan had been so successful in fact, that he had bedded the woman for the past six months, and expected to again this evening.
Finding the study, Ivan felt a mix of jealousy and disgust at the opulence. As a Mafia man, his money had to be spent on the inconsequential things. Fast cars, jewelry, and other items that could be easily hidden or bribed away were the tools and trappings of his position. But this library, with rows of books running four meters high, each of them leather bound and smelling of rich oils, rubbed him the wrong way. He wondered if any of the Forresters had even read half of the books that were contained within the teak bookcases.
Hiding his emotions behind his mental mask, Ivan looked across the room, to where Candace Forrester was sitting, lounged back in an Italian leather club chair. She was dressed, as always, in high end clot
hing, and while Ivan didn't know the exact designer, he had to admit the woman knew how to dress, especially for someone of her age group.
She had surprised him. He'd gotten used to young women as lovers, throwaway blondes from Moscow or aspiring models from St. Petersburg who could fuck like minxes, but were usually too inexperienced to know how to really please a man. While Candace Forrester was nowhere near as physically perfect as these girls, she had a certain intensity to her lovemaking that more than made up for the less than youthful body. Not that it stopped Ivan from enjoying the girls back in Russia, of course. He wondered if Candace had any lovers here in America when he wasn't around, and decided against it. She was the type to be loyal to one man at a time.
"Candace, my beautiful lady, I bring you good news," Ivan said, smiling broadly. Taking Candace's offered hand, he kissed her knuckles like an old fashioned suitor, before taking the supposedly bold step of sniffing her wrist. "I believe we have a way to deal with our mutual problem."
"Yes, your message did say something about that," Candace replied, crossing her legs at the ankles and sitting up primly. "I assume you mean our problem with Erica, and your son working for her?"
"Of course, we must include Kelly, the woman who has corrupted my son," Ivan replied.
"But of course. Yet another woman of inferior breeding."
Ivan's opinion of Candace's prejudice was that the woman must have either been picked on by poor children growing up, or perhaps lost a former boyfriend to such a woman. He personally didn't care, and had in fact had plenty of women in his clubs and his bed who Candace Forrester would disapprove of. In fact, many of his best lieutenants had come from the streets of Odessa, often smarter than the supposed upper crust that looked down on them. That was all beside the point, however.
"Yes, her. I have learned through some connections that your daughter in law-"
"Don't call her that," Candace interrupted, venom in her voice. "The best she can claim is to have given birth to my granddaughter."
Ivan waved the comment away, not caring to argue the point. "In any case, EW Designs is receiving a major fashion industry award, and your son has decided to put on an event to celebrate at his newest resort in the Florida Keys."
"I see. And what does that mean for our desired goal?"
"I have men who can go in there and disrupt the proceedings. In the chaos, my men can not only ruin the reputation of your son's hotel, but can also arrange for the deaths of Erica and Kelly. While getting your granddaughter would be more difficult, this is also possible, but you must be ready to leave the country if that occurs. Her father would undoubtedly want to find his daughter."
"I notice you mention no fate for Piotr," Candace said, using Peter's original Russian name. "What is to happen to your son?"
"I have hope that he can see the folly of his ways and return back to his home in Russia," Ivan replied, "but if that is to happen, it can’t be at this event as well. Disposing of Kelly will be enough. And if he dies in attempting to defend her, then I must accept his choice, and turn my attention to grooming the next in line for the head of my family. After all, I'm not exactly a spring chicken you know, and my line of work has a rather sudden retirement system."
Candace nodded in acquiescence of Ivan's comment. "Then by all means Ivan, proceed. I will use what resources I can to assist you," Candace replied, an evil smile spreading on her face. Zhubukov could read it well, and realized something. Candace Forrester, for all of her prim and collected outer image, was a bloodthirsty sadist. She was actually aroused by the idea of inflicting pain, far beyond the range of most other sadists he'd met. She didn't want to hear moans or whines, or even see the occasional trickle of blood. Oh no, Ivan realized, Candace Forrester wanted to see lives utterly crushed, with bodies lying broken, the ultimate aphrodisiac for her being death itself. Just the mention of a plan itself had her like a bitch in heat.
CHAPTER 19
T he distance from Miami to the Key West is only one hundred and sixty miles, a three hour drive on a good day, yet for Erica, it felt like a continent away. Miami is an urban metroplex, full of individual neighborhoods surrounded by concrete. The natural land had been beaten back into submission, sometimes to disastrous effects. While steps had been taken to preserve at least some of the natural flora and fauna, even they have the tinge of artificiality to them. Of course, every year there was evidence that Mother Nature was fighting back, with alligators in swimming pools making good slow day news fodder.
The Florida Keys however are different. Except for Key West, most of the Keys are natural, wild sanctuaries that house some of the most diverse biology in the United States. In addition to amazing fishing, diving, and hiking, the Keys are also home to the Key lime, and of course the origin of the Key lime pie, which was Kelly's favorite dessert. Kelly wasn't sure, but suspected that the Key lime pie was invented by the same sort of mindset that created crack cocaine. One hit, and you were hooked for life.
When Erica got out of the car at the Aurantifolia Hotel and Resort, she was taken aback. Most of Dwayne's other hotels, which he had taken over from his father and refurbished through the years he had owned them, still had remnants of their old designs, fighting back the natural terrain rather than flowing and molding with it. The Aura, as Dwayne referred to it, was custom built to seamlessly coincide with the terrain of the key, and had been built using the latest in both safety and ecology in mind. The result was a totally energy independent facility that was also rated as an evacuation site for all but the strongest Category 5+ hurricanes. Focusing on whites and natural colors, the main building was only four floors tall, but stretched long and wide to encompass over two hundred rooms in three wings that made a hollow equilateral triangle. The facade of the building was sloped with the prevailing winds to resist storm damage, and in specially designed alcoves were passive wind turbines that harnessed the breeze to create electricity. Dwayne had also told her that the roof was lined with solar panels, and there was even an experimental tidal generator that took advantage of the ocean currents.
But for Liz, who was squirming in her car seat, the best thing was the play area. Being a family man now, the Aura was unique amongst Dwayne's hotels in that it was designed from the ground up to be family friendly. In addition to the normal resort facilities such as pools, tennis, golf, boating and a beach, there was also a one acre playground, a kiddie splash pool, miniature golf, and a movie theater that showed family friendly films every day, both in feature length blocks or in shorter thirty minute blocks that flipped between classic shorts and television shows. There was also another theater for older people that showed re-releases of recent blockbusters.
"About the only thing we don't have is a shopping mall and a casino," Dwayne said, as he lifted Liz up onto his shoulder. Perched up on top of her father, Liz giggled and pulled at his hair, like a cowgirl on a horse. "We don't have the space for shopping, and local laws don't allow gambling. Besides, if someone wants that, they can go to our place in the Bahamas."
"It's absolutely beautiful," Erica replied. "I mean, I'd seen pictures of it before, and you showed me the promotional video. But seeing it in person like this for the first time, you get a whole new sense of what Aura is. It's absolutely amazing."
"And, since we're down here two days before the rest of your staff, we have the place pretty much all to ourselves," Dwayne said with a smile. "I've got staff here doing preparations, but they don't need me sticking my nose in their business while they're working. So you, Liz and I have two days of just family time."
"I can appreciate family time," Erica replied with a smile. Following Dwayne, they entered the main lobby, where the general manager was already waiting for him. A transfer from his hotel on the British Virgin Islands, Gerald Bruce was one of Dwayne's most trusted managers. In his mid forties, he had already effectively run two of Dwayne's other resorts, and was being tasked with this one as a reward for his years of hard work.
"Mr. and Mrs. Forrester, and o
f course little Elizabeth, nice to have you here. I wasn't expecting you for another few hours, please excuse the mess."
Erica looked around, not identifying anything out of place. Gerald was wearing an immaculate copy of the hotel's manager uniform, and while there were some cleaning crews in the lobby, it didn't look anything different than any mid-day activity in a hotel. "No offense Gerald, but if this is what you call a mess, I'm never having you in my house," Erica said. "You'd have a fit."
Gerald laughed. Erica had only met him twice before, but he had always seemed like a professional, friendly person. She suspected however that some of the staff underneath him had a different opinion. The managers that grew up under Peter Forrester's tutelage tended to be strict taskmasters. Dwayne was working hard on making sure the next generation of Forrester manager was still just as much a perfectionist, while being a bit more personable to staff.
"Well Mrs. Forrester, the lobby is in good shape, but I’m afraid that your suite is currently being worked on. As per Mr. Forrester's instructions, his personal suite was to be saved until last in all of the work orders, so right now I have two plumbers and an electrician over there setting up the controls for your in bath whirlpool. They should be done by three this afternoon."
"That's fine, Gerald," Dwayne replied. "I'll just take our bags up, and then the three of us are going to explore the playground. They looked in good condition to me."
"Yes sir, the playground got the final safety checks yesterday. Also, if you want, the miniature golf course is up and running. I can have the staff turn on the electrical power to the obstacles if you like as well. I played it myself after work yesterday, it's quite fun."
Mr. Forrester: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Page 12