Dealmaker, Heartbreaker

by Rochelle Alers

  “There’s never one direction, Grandpa, when it comes to business,” Noah said. “People no longer have to get into their cars to buy anything they want, because of online retail. There are apps for real estate companies where folks go online and decide what properties they want to look at even before contacting a broker. WDG has been a giant in real estate, but there are things we still need to change.”

  Wyatt angled his head. “What are you trying to say?”

  Noah successfully hid a smile when he took a sip of champagne. In the past his grandfather would’ve exploded if someone had challenged him, but now that he was in his eighties, he’d mellowed somewhat. “We’ve done well buying foreclosed properties and renovating them into luxury units with selling prices beginning at six figures. For every luxury building we put up, we also need to build affordable housing.”

  “Like you plan to do in Wicky Falls?” Edward asked.

  “It’s Wickham Falls,” Noah and Giles said in unison.

  “Sorry about that,” Edward apologized. “Please continue, Noah.”

  “I’ve discussed this with Rhett and Chanel, and they agree with me because now it’s not all about profits but making people realize their American dream with home ownership. Dad, you should bring Rhett and Chanel on, and train them to take over as CEO and COO. Rhett is well-versed in real estate law, and don’t forget Chanel graduated at the top of her class with a degree in business and finance. It’s about time a Wainwright woman is granted a seat on the board of directors.” He did smile when he saw Mya and Jordan’s wife, Aziza, nudge each other.

  “I like that idea,” Christiane said, smiling. She’d recently had her stylist cut her platinum hair into a becoming bob that flattered her oval face.

  “Of course you would,” Edward countered, “because they are your kids.”

  “And yours, too, Teddy,” she retorted. She looked across the table at her father-in-law. “Grandpa, what do you think of Noah’s suggestion?”

  “It just might work.”

  “Of course it will work, Grandpa,” Noah said. “It’s time to infuse some young Wainwright blood into the company.” Although WDG employed hundreds, only Wainwrights were permitted to sit on the board of directors.

  “Noah’s right,” Fraser Wainwright interjected. “My kids have no interest in real estate, so that leaves Teddy’s and Patrick’s children.”

  Edward gave each person sitting around the table in the formal dining room a long, penetrating look. “Don’t you think it’s time for Chanel and Rhett to speak for themselves?”

  Rhett, four years younger than Noah, smiled at his sister. “I know I’ve told everyone before that I prefer practicing law with Jordan, but I’m willing to step up if Dad needs me.”

  “The same with me,” Chanel said in agreement. “Even though I just started working at the investment bank, and I don’t think they’re going to be too happy about me leaving.”

  “It’s not as if you need them for a reference,” Giles said, deadpan. He smiled and bumped fists with Jordan.

  A beat passed, and then Chanel said, “Noah’s right about having a woman on the board, but I’ll only accept it if Aziza joins me. And because she’s married to Jordan, and that makes her a Wainwright.”

  Aziza Fleming-Wainwright looked like a deer caught in the glare of headlights when she stared at Chanel. The tall, beautiful African American attorney was the mother of a one-year-old. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” Chanel asked. “I know you have Maxwell, but I’m certain my mother would be willing to look—”

  “Of course I would love to babysit him,” Christiane said, cutting off Chanel. She doted on her only grandchild.

  Aziza whispered something to Jordan and then nodded. “I’m willing to come on board, but only for two and no more than three days a week until Maxwell goes to nursery school.”

  Noah leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest and affected a smug grin as he congratulated himself for shattering decades of a male-only boards of directors by suggesting his sister join the company.

  Edward stood up, with everyone following suit when he lifted his flute. “This calls for another toast.” He nodded to Aziza, Rhett and Chanel. “This is definitely a new day for the Wainwright Developers Group. Welcome aboard.”

  Noah excused himself before dessert was served and walked out of the dining room. He took a back staircase to his second-floor suite. There hadn’t been a reason for him to move out of the house where he’d grown up, because all of his needs were met by an efficient household staff.

  He’d done all of the driving from West Virginia to New York City because Giles had returned to Wickham Falls from the Bahamas on a red-eye earlier that morning and had spent the trip sleeping on the minivan’s third-row seat. Giles had spent four days in the Bahamas and had asked Noah to go back with him to meet with the owner of a new island who wanted him to design villas reminiscent of those in Bali. He’d agreed, even though he wanted to spend time with Viviana before they jetted off to the wedding.

  He’d got to see Viviana briefly earlier that morning when he dropped off his car and retrieved his laptop and printer from the guesthouse, before she drove him back to Giles and Mya’s house. He’d resisted the urge to kiss her when he saw Mya standing on the porch holding her daughter, not wanting to embarrass her with a public display of affection.

  Noah walked into the en suite bath, showered and changed into a pair of sweatpants with a matching Yale T-shirt. He had settled himself on the sofa when he heard a knock on the door. “Come in.”

  Christiane had also exchanged her dress and heels for a pair of slacks and a loose-fitting blouse. “Would you like some company?”

  Noah patted the cushion beside him. “Come and sit down, Mom.” The familiar scent of Chanel No. 5 wafted to his nostrils when she sat. It was the only fragrance he had ever known her to wear. He dropped an arm over her shoulders. Christiane Johnston had come from old money, while the Wainwrights were new money—a fact that Wyatt, the Wainwright patriarch, was never allowed to forget whenever he interacted with his daughter-in-law’s family.

  Christiane patted his knee. “I like what you did at dinner. I’ve been trying to get your father to include Chanel in the business, but the old bull just wouldn’t budge. He’s too much like his father and believes women are only good enough to bear their children and host dinner parties.”

  “That may be Grandpa’s way of thinking, but it’s not the same with Dad. It’s just that there are so many Wainwright men that the women are overwhelmed when all they hear is talk about buying and selling properties.”

  “Did Chanel tell you she wanted to join the company?”

  Noah shook his head. “Not in so many words. I think she was a little upset when she had to apply for positions outside of WDG when Dad could’ve created one for her. It’s the same with Rhett. There was no reason he had to join Jordan’s law practice when he could work with Patrick.”

  “You have to know that Rhett doesn’t get along very well with his uncle.”

  “Well, they’ll have to learn to get along once Rhett becomes CEO.”

  Christiane sighed. “I hope you’re right. Now, tell me about what’s going on in West Virginia.”

  “Nothing much at this time because I’ve hit a snag obtaining permits with the town’s zoning board.”

  “I’m not talking about your construction project.”

  Noah met his mother’s eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  “When I asked you last week how long you were going to be here, you said only a few days because you’re flying down to the Bahamas with Giles, then you were going back to West Virginia. When are you going to stay home for more than a few days?”

  “I’ll be here for two days, and then I’m going back to the Bahamas with Giles because one of his clients wants me to design several villas for h
is new resort.”

  “Once you come back, can you spare some time for your old mother?”

  Noah kissed her cheek. “There’s nothing about you that’s old.” Christiane was sixty-three but looked years younger, and he suspected his mother was seeing her dermatologist for injections of fillers. “I can’t promise you that I’ll have enough time to hang out here because I’m invited to a destination wedding in the Bahamas over the Veterans Day holiday weekend.”

  “And what do you intend to do after that?”

  “I don’t know, Mom.” He knew he wouldn’t be granted a hearing with the zoning board until mid-January, so he did not project what he would be doing that far in advance.

  Christiane touched the area around her eyes with her fingertips. “Will I at least see you for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Even Giles and Mya plan to stay in New York until January, and I thought you would also stay.”

  “The only thing I’m going to promise is I’ll be back for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

  A beat passed. “Is there someone who has caught your eye?”

  Noah recalled telling Viviana that he did not lie to his parents. “Yes.”

  “Is she nice?”

  He smiled. His mother always asked if he’d met a nice girl. “Yes, Mom. She’s very nice.”

  “Nice enough to marry?”

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself. I just met her, and we have yet to have what I’d call an official date.”

  Christiane crossed her feet at the ankles. “I just hope you don’t date her for a while and then drop her like you’ve done with the others.”

  “I stopped seeing the others because I didn’t like them enough to commit.”

  “And are you willing to commit to this young woman?”

  Noah frowned. “Stop it with the interrogation, Mom. I know what you’re up to. You want more grandchildren. Isn’t Maxwell enough?”

  “No. I want more because most of those in my social circle have at least three or four to my one.”

  “Please don’t tell me that you and your friends compete as to who has the most grandchildren.”

  “Giles’s mother, Amanda, couldn’t wait to call me to say she now has grandsons and a granddaughter. And once Giles told her Mya was pregnant, she invited me to lunch and cackled like a hen laying an egg that she was going to get another grandbaby. If we weren’t family, I would’ve given her a good cursing out for gloating like she did.”

  Noah kissed his mother’s hair. “You shouldn’t let her upset you. I’m certain Jordan and Aziza will have more kids, and one of these days Rhett and Chanel will also marry and give you all the grandbabies you’d ever want or need.”

  “What about you, Noah? Don’t you want to marry and have children?”

  “Yes.”

  Christiane smiled. “Are you telling me my wild child is finally ready to settle down?”

  Noah had always resented his mother when she referred to him as her wild child. He thought of himself as a restless spirit. It was as if he couldn’t stay in one place for more than a few weeks at a time. And whenever he felt as if he were being smothered, he’d fly down to the family’s Bahamian island resort and stay there, living his life.

  “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you, Mom?” he said cryptically.

  “Yes, I will,” Christiane said as she rested her head on her son’s shoulder. She sighed. “I know you’re tired, so I’m going to leave so you can get some rest. Will you join us for breakfast?”

  Noah dropped another kiss on his mother’s hair. “Of course.” He assisted her in standing and walked her to the door, closing and locking it behind her. It wasn’t quite nine o’clock, but he was ready to turn in for the night. He shut off his cell, dimmed the table lamp in the living/dining area, walked into the bedroom, stripped off his clothes and got into bed. The sounds of vehicular traffic along Fifth Avenue sounded abnormally loud when he compared it to the silence he’d encountered in Wickham Falls.

  He punched the pillow under his head, and after tossing and turning restlessly for ten minutes, Noah stared up at the ceiling. Reaching over, he picked the remote off the bedside table. He clicked on the wall-mounted television, scrolling through the program guide for a movie he hadn’t seen before.

  Noah finally selected one starring Dwayne Johnson and settled down to watch his favorite action-hero actor do what he did best: rescue those in danger. He set the sleep timer, and after twenty minutes his eyes closed and he never saw when the movie ended and the credits rolled across the screen before going dark.

  Chapter Five

  Viviana waited on the porch with her luggage for the car service. Noah had called to tell her he was sending a driver to pick her up and take her to the Tri-State Airport, where he would meet her for their trip to the Bahamas.

  She’d armed the security system and reprogrammed the timers on the lights, and the day before she had contacted Seth to let him know she would be out of town and to keep an eye on her property. He’d laughed, telling her he was also watching Giles and Mya’s house, which was across the street from his, until they returned from New York. He then promised to have one of his deputies stop by to check on her house at least once or twice a day. The opioid epidemic hadn’t passed Wickham Falls by, and home break-ins were more frequent. When she had contracted with the security company, Viviana had the technician install cameras around the exterior of the property, with no-delay motion detectors on the side and rear doors, and program the system directly to the sheriff, fire and local doctors’ offices.

  She had also called her brother, giving Leland an update about the issues facing Noah’s inability to build on the property they’d sold him. He encouraged her to stay positive, and if she needed him for anything, then all she had to do was call. She did tell him she was going away for a week but did not disclose who she was going with or where. Leland told her to be sure to have fun and that he would see her for Thanksgiving.

  The driver pulled up, popped the trunk to the town car, got out and opened a rear door. “Good morning, Miss Remington.”

  Viviana smiled. “Good morning.”

  She settled herself on the leather seat, while the driver loaded her bags into the trunk. Viviana knew she had packed too many clothes for a long weekend, but she couldn’t resist not bringing some of the outfits she’d purchased during her shopping spree at her favorite Charleston boutique. She had selected several dresses, shorts, slacks, blouses and caftans, as well as bikini and one-piece swimsuits. The wedding was scheduled for Saturday, and Noah said some of the guests were flying in on Thursday to avoid the airport holiday crush. She and Noah would spend six days together before she returned to The Falls.

  The drive to the regional airport was a lot quicker than the hour-long one to Charleston. Viviana peered out of the side window when the driver maneuvered into the airport, where he handed security personnel a document. The man peered into the window, stared at her and then asked for her passport. After scanning the bar code on the inside of the back page, he stamped a page, returned her passport, punched in a code that opened the gate and waved for the driver to pass through. Within minutes, she spied Noah on the tarmac talking to a pilot outside a gleaming white private jet. When she’d asked him about a ticket, he’d told her he would take care of all of her travel documents and that she only had to bring her passport. She smiled when he walked over to open the rear door.

  His face was deeply tanned and his hair nearly bleached white from his time in the hot sun. “Now I know why I don’t have a ticket.” She’d noticed WDG and several numbers painted on the aircraft’s tail.

  * * *

  Noah extended his hand and helped Viviana out of the car. She wore a pair of pale blue cropped pants, a matching off-the-shoulder ruffled blouse that left her flat belly exposed and a pair of blue-and-white-striped espadrilles with laces encircling her slim ankles. H
e lowered his head and brushed a light kiss over her mouth, then leaned back to study her face as if committing it to memory. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her until now. When Viviana had called to tell him she would be his plus-one he did not want to believe she had changed her mind, and whispered a prayer of thanks that she had. He’d attempted to recall everything about her, but failed miserably. She was more beautiful than he had remembered.

  After spending two days with his mother, he and Giles had boarded a jet for a flight to the Wainwright resort to meet with a wealthy client who’d recently purchased a ten-acre island from WDG International as an investment on which he wanted Noah to design private villas. It had been more than a week before the eccentric billionaire had finally approved the design of villas built over the water.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered for her ears only.

  “Me, too,” Viviana said, as her arms went around his waist.

  Noah stared over her head. It had taken spending time away from Viviana and Wickham Falls to figure out what he wanted and needed for his future. It was no longer about doing what made him happy but how he could make someone else equally happy.

  “Come on, sweetheart. The tower has cleared the pilot for takeoff.” He slipped the driver a generous tip after he’d handed off Viviana’s bag to the pilot. Holding her hand, he escorted her up the steps of the jet and into the cabin.

  A flight attendant greeted Viviana with a friendly smile. “Welcome aboard, Ms. Remington. As soon as you are seated and belted in, we will be on our way. Once we reach cruising altitude, the crew will serve breakfast. You’ll find the menu on your seat.”

  Noah showed Viviana to a seat in the aircraft and waited until she was seated and belted in before turning his chair to face her. He had to admit she looked well. Her face was fuller than it had been when he’d last seen her. She had brushed her curly hair off her face and styled it in a single braid. Her large brown eyes stared at him.