Hawaiian Masquerade (Destination Billionaire Romance)

by Rachelle J. Christensen

  For the next twenty minutes she worked to create an artist’s cove on her balcony with a makeshift easel made from two long planks she found in her backyard. The list of essential items doubled as Lexi thought of all the things she needed to order online to complete her nook of creativity. Finally, she settled in with a large, flat brush and a cerulean blue oil paint. She primed the canvas and stood back to stare at the beginnings of something that whispered to her soul; a soul that had been caged too long and was hungry for this new life.

  Oils were arrayed like a rainbow next to her canvas. In college, her professor had been a starving artist and insisted on teaching his students how to mix colors to make every shade with a handful of oils. Lexi ran her fingers over the row of tubes, grateful that she didn’t have to worry about painting with a budget of only six basic colors.

  She switched brushes and played around with raw sienna, blending it to color the beach in her painting, thinking of how her brother Jordan would love the scene from her balcony. Lexi concentrated on her painting and worked to create the fine line between sand and surf, but her mind kept straying to Jordan and how much she missed him.

  He’d kept his word and given her time and space to get settled in Kauai. Her brother’s eyes had brimmed with tears when she’d given him her final answer—she wouldn’t be returning to Burke Enterprises. The business would experience hiccups in her absence, but she doubted that was the reason Jordan had shown a wide arc of emotions when she left.

  When Jordan dropped her off at the airport, she’d hugged him and said, “I love you, Jordy, but I need at least a week before we talk. Otherwise, I know you’ll guilt-trip me into coming back before I even have a chance to get settled.”

  Jordan had hesitated before ruffling her hair. “You have my number. I’ll wait until you call me. I’m sorry you’ve been so unhappy here.” His sincerity twisted like a knife in Lexi’s gut, and it took everything she had to walk away from the empire that she and her brother had built together. She hated that he blamed himself for her unhappiness when he’d given her so much. Jordy was the best of big brothers. He took her leaving personally, but Lexi hoped to convince him of her gratitude for the chance he’d given her to work with him and partner the company—without strings.

  Lexi groaned. She couldn’t get the sand to look right, and she doubted she’d make any progress at all until she cleared the emotional air with Jordan. She set her brush down, fished out her phone, and dialed Chicago.

  His assistant answered, and a flash of doubt passed through Lexi as she thought of her own assistant. She wondered if Shawn had garnered the position he’d been vying for, but she wouldn’t ask about him.

  After a couple minutes, Jordan came on the line. “Lexi, is this really you?”

  “Yep, I figured you’d be up and working instead of sleeping.”

  Jordan chuckled. “One of these days I’ll try one of those forty-hour weeks for a change. I hear they’re pretty tough.”

  Lexi laughed. Her brother had consistently worked sixty- to eighty-hour weeks for the last five years. Her shoulders tightened when she thought about how many times she’d matched his timesheet. A gust of salty ocean wind blew across her balcony, and she sighed. “I don’t miss that, you know. I didn’t realize how drained I was until I came here. I think I was on my last piston.”

  “That’s my fault, Lex. I shouldn’t have worked you so hard.” Jordan’s voice was regretful.

  “No, I jumped right in with you. I loved the challenge, the success, that drive that I couldn’t turn off—but it’s not everything.”

  “You did the right thing, sis. I know Mom and Dad would be proud of you.” Jordan might not agree with her statement, but at least he agreed with her choice.

  Lexi wished for a moment that she could convince her brother to slow down and experience life, but she wasn’t qualified to do that yet. One week in Kauai was tourism, a short vacation. She sat up straighter, determined to support Jordan. “They’d be proud of both of us. I bet Dad is up in heaven shaking his head, trying to fathom that we’re worth a billion dollars together.”

  “About that, Lex.” Jordan cleared his throat. “Do you remember those factories we invested in near Hong Kong?”

  “Yeah, there were six in Guangzhou and four in Dongguan, right?” Lexi wondered what Jordan was about to say. His tone was light, so it must not be bad news.

  “You haven’t lost that money-making memory yet. Well, we have some interested buyers, and I’ve decided to take your advice and sell off some of our stress load. Are you still okay with that?”

  “Most definitely. That would be terrific, but are they really worth much?” Lexi asked.

  Jordan cleared his throat again. “I think they might be worth more than we originally thought.”

  “Well, go for it. I can’t believe it took my moving half a world away for you to see reason,” she teased.

  “I’ve missed you, sis. It’s been just you and me for a while now.”

  “Maybe it’s time to open your heart and let someone else in.”

  “What’s that? I guess I have another meeting, Lexi. But hey—I wondered if you could skype next week about the Falzon account.”

  Lexi smiled. She knew exactly what Jordan was doing: deftly changing the subject. And if she didn’t get the hint, he’d added the bombshell invite to re-enter the biggest and most stressful account the Burke Enterprises had ever procured. A bird called from the tree to the left of her balcony, and Lexi looked at her canvas from a different angle. An idea popped into her head to add more texture to the sand. Her fingers itched to try it out. “Hmm, I think I’ll pass. While you’re selling those companies, get rid of Falzon, too.”

  “No problem. I’ll just flush a few mil down the toilet for fun.”

  They’d both hit their marks, and now it was time to wrap up before she said something she shouldn’t. “Look, I’d better go now before my paint dries, but I just wanted to tell you I love you and thanks for supporting me.”

  “Wait, you’re painting? Who are you, and what did you do with my sister?”

  “I’ll text you my work in progress.”

  “I love you, too. You’re a great example to me.”

  It took a few minutes to immerse herself in the painting after talking to Jordan, but soon she was sweeping brushstrokes across the blue ocean expanse that rolled in its ever-changing colors and forms a hundred yards from her house.

  There was a particular color of aquamarine with a tinge of Payne’s gray that she wanted to get just right for a wave cresting in the distance. The incoming tide made her think of her parents, and emotions that she’d dealt with long ago bubbled to the surface. Four and a half years ago, Jordan and Lexi’s parents were killed in a head-on collision with a cement truck. They were on their way home from a movie, and Lexi’s mom, Shalice, had just texted her that she should go see it. Lexi didn’t remember the movie now, but she remembered how the disbelief and emptiness overtook her when she learned they had been killed. The shock intensified when Jordan and Lexi were contacted by an attorney to go over the life insurance policies for twenty-five million dollars on each of their parents. Suddenly, Jordan and Lexi were multimillionaire orphans.

  Jordan had already started Burke Enterprises—working ninety-hour weeks, flying back and forth to China—and it was a success. When he suggested that they invest their money into his business and that Lexi should come work for him and become a partner in Burke Enterprises, it seemed like the only thing that made sense in her crazy, turned-upside-down world.

  After a couple of years working with Jordan, she had discovered that being a millionaire didn’t mean you could sleep in and order crumpets and tea—at least not if Jordan was your brother. Burke Enterprises continued to grow, providing jobs for thousands of Chinese workers as well as hundreds in the States at their home offices in Chicago. She had dealt with anxiety, stress, and apathy for far too long before finally calling it quits.

  Lexi tightened her grip on
the paintbrush. She wouldn’t go back to that life. If only she could convince Jordan to come for a visit—maybe he would see there was more to life than work.

  7

  Pika and Derek made over six hundred dollars on Saturday, and while Derek was carefully counting out his money Sunday morning, Pika hit the surf to celebrate. “I’ll meet you at one o’clock. Hopefully Jefe will have run out of coconuts by then.”

  Derek sighed, but he knew he’d be back on that truck chopping his guts out; the money was too good to pass up. He massaged his right shoulder, wincing at the tenderness from chopping for six hours. He wondered what Lexi did for work. She hadn’t mentioned anything so far, except that she’d overtaxed her reserves before moving to Kauai. The corporate grind would probably take some time to recover from—not that he would know. He kept thinking of questions he wanted to ask Lexi, and now that he had her number, he could. He didn’t want to come across as needy, though, so he left his phone alone.

  Derek slung his camera bag over his head and drove to Waimea Canyon. He’d had a couple people ask about photos of Kauai’s own Grand Canyon at the last street fair. Maybe getting in some nice shots of the reds and greens rippling across the dry scene would keep his mind off Lexi.

  * * *

  Monday morning, Derek’s muscles protested from the weekend, but his mind was clear and full of anticipation to see Lexi. With money problems under control for another month, everything looked brighter on the island as he drove up to Ke’e Beach. He parked his car, grinning when Lexi texted him that she was waiting by the sign for the trail. She was a few hundred yards away, and she was here to see him. Well, here to see the sights, but she was with him, and that was good enough for now. Even though he’d tried to humbly tell himself that he was just showing her the island, the way his heart rose every time he thought of her was proof that it was more than sightseeing to him.

  He quickened his step and skirted between the trees. Lexi’s hair hung in a loose braid halfway down her back. She wore a lime-green racerback tank top and blue athletic pants that were cropped at her calves, which were quite shapely. She turned and caught his eye, her cheeks lifting in a grin. He waved, and she held up one hand with fluttering fingers. She seemed different, lighter somehow, with a glow of happiness. Derek hoped it was partly because of him, but he knew that Hawaii was probably responsible.

  “Aloha,” he said when he reached her side. “You ready for this?”

  He didn’t think it was possible, but her grin widened. “I’ve been ready for this my whole life. I just didn’t know it until last week.”

  “Now that’s enthusiasm.” Derek chuckled. He put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward the trailhead. “That’s Pika’s main competitor right there.” Derek pointed to a pickup so covered in rust spots that the remaining bits of blue paint were more like accents to the dark brown stains.

  “Not too much different from Pika’s truck, right?”

  “Yeah, but Jefe is lazy. He only brings enough coconuts to pay his bills. When he runs out, he goes home. So Pika works his schedule around him, except on Saturdays. Pika is ruthless on Saturdays. He’s always here before Jefe.”

  “Interesting economics here,” Lexi said.

  She stopped and tilted her head, listening. Then she started swaying back and forth, snapping her fingers. Derek arched an eyebrow, and then he picked up on the bass rumbling from the truck with the iconic tune “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

  He laughed. “I think that’s Jefe’s personal soundtrack.” He lifted two fingers in a wave to the older gentleman swinging a machete. Jefe nodded and smiled in their direction.

  “Maybe we all need to add that song to our soundtrack,” Lexi said. “He looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world. I bet his blood pressure is low.”

  Derek looked at Jefe again and saw him as Lexi did. He was focused, his blade coming down with precision on the coconuts. He was slower than Pika and Derek, but Derek had never seen him accidentally split a coconut open with a clumsy stroke. Jefe was a good father, too, and it probably wouldn’t be too many years before his son would push the competition up another notch for Pika. Derek hoped he wasn’t still depending on coconuts to pay his bills when that time came.

  “Will you help me with this?” Lexi held up an expensive CamelBak water carrier. “My brother gave me this before I left. He heard there were a lot of great hikes here, and he made me promise to send him pictures.”

  “Sure.” Derek showed her how to wear the pack comfortably. Lots of tourists on the island wore CamelBaks, but Derek had never had the money to buy one. His own backpack held a couple water bottles, mangoes, and granola bars—nothing fancy. “Let’s get going. He won’t believe it when you send him a shot from a thousand feet above the beach.”

  Lexi grabbed his arm. “Wait, I thought you said this hike was a piece of cake! Did you forget I’m from Chicago?” She pointed at her chest. “My heart hasn’t been above a thousand feet for the past five years.”

  “Except on the airplane,” Derek said. “You’ll do fine. You look like you’re in pretty good shape.”

  “Office treadmill,” Lexi said. “Usually while Skypeing someone for an urgent meeting.”

  “Ouch. What did you do again?” He picked his way around the rocky beginning of the trail, which rose in a steep slant.

  “My brother owns Burke Enterprises. He imports things from China and exports to other countries. Just think big business, lots of stress, minimum sixty-hour weeks, and you’ll have the idea.”

  “So you must have got a pretty good severance package if your brother owns the company,” Derek said. No wonder Lexi had some free time. Derek swallowed the memory of his mother working overtime and his own teenage years sucked away by minimum-wage jobs.

  Lexi shrugged. “You could say that. I’m still figuring out what to do next.”

  “I’m looking for a street caller to sell my photos.”

  Lexi turned to him and smiled. “I’ll be there. I haven’t forgotten the mahi-mahi, you know.”

  “Pika keeps telling me that if I want to make real money, I need to take pictures of him and sell them.”

  Lexi giggled. “Well, he is good-looking.”

  Derek’s heart dropped to the dirt. Of course she thought Pika was good-looking. Every woman thought Pika was good-looking.

  Lexi casually brushed her hand through the air. “In a tree trunk sort of way.”

  A flicker of hope brought Derek’s gaze off the ground. “Tree trunk?”

  “You know, bulky but kind of a knot head.” She grinned over her shoulder, letting him know she was teasing.

  Derek laughed. “You know him better than I do. He doesn’t know that I have some of him chopping coconuts. I took them when he was working hard, concentrating so that his body and face were determined lines. I think they show how some islanders live day to day and by the sweat of their brow. Some people like the pictures that go deeper than the surface. They like to see island life up close.”

  “I can see how that niche would be appealing. Do you do many like that?”

  Derek lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “Here and there. It’s tricky to get permission from someone, because then they think you need to pay them or give them free coconuts for life.” He reached out as Lexi slipped, grabbing her hand. “Watch out for the tree branches. This incline is brutal, but we’re almost to the vista.”

  “Remind me not to work out with you, okay?”

  “It’s uphill, downhill, flat, and more downhill on the way. But the way back always goes faster for some reason. Like I said, you’ll do fine.”

  Lexi held his hand as he led her over another rock-encrusted part of the trail. He liked the way her slight fingers gripped his with strength. She was just a little thing, maybe five foot five and slight of build, but she held her own as they climbed.

  When they reached the overlook, she flipped her braid over her shoulder and gasped. “I can’t believe we’re this high up. You
weren’t kidding.” She leaned forward, still holding on to Derek. The turquoise waters stretched out to dark blue and then gray as they touched the horizon. The beach was relatively quiet this early in the morning, but at least a dozen people were setting up umbrellas and chairs along the shore.

  It felt like they were a world away from Ke’e Beach, floating in a tropical paradise. The sun burst from the clouds, catching the golden highlights in Lexi’s hair. He wanted to reach out and touch her braid, see if it was as sleek and smooth as it looked.

  Lexi turned to him, appreciation in her eyes. “It’s amazing.”

  Derek nodded. “And this is your first hike.” He liked the open end to his sentence as they continued hiking, as if he’d said it was her first hike with him. He tore his eyes from Lexi and focused on the rocky trail, guiding her with him down the slope.

  8

  Going downhill was much easier on Lexi’s lungs than the uphill climb had been. She figured that if she went hiking once a week, in a few months she could keep pace with Derek without being winded.

  “We made it.” Derek pointed to the beach that suddenly appeared around a curve in the trail. “This is Hanakapi’ai Beach, or as Pika likes to call it, Stray Cat Island.”

  Lexi squinted, trying to figure out the meaning of Pika’s name for the beach. She saw a beach surrounded with smooth black and dark gray rocks; several of them were piled high like little statues. Then she noticed cats lying on the sand, wandering through the brush, and lounging under a tree. “Cats on a beach? How’d they get here?” She looked back up at the mountain they’d just climbed over, and then back to view the trail as it disappeared up the next ridge.

  “I don’t know. Some of them are friendly, but most of them are feral.” Derek walked slowly toward an orange cat lying in the sun and held out his hand. The cat stiffened, raised its pink nose in the air, and sniffed tentatively. Derek gently caressed the cat between the ears and down its back. Within a few seconds, the feline was purring like a motor.