The Proposal (A Billionaire Romance)

by Nikki Wild

  He was totally mesmerized by her beauty and her grace. He had no idea she could dance like that. It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. Shane had seen plenty of gorgeous women in his life but at that moment he realized Danielle Kane was in a league all by herself. The more he knew of her the more he wanted her. He wished he could make love to her that very minute but all he could do was salivate and try to keep his erection at bay.

  When the song ended and Danielle finished her dance, a swarm of men made their way to the stage with money for Auntie May’s tip baskets. Shane hung back and watched Dani work the admiring crowd with her gracious smiles and pleasantries. While she was in the midst of hugging and congratulating all the young hula students, he came up behind her and finally made his presence known.

  “Danielle, I must say that was a very beautiful performance. I’m completely stunned. I had no idea you were such a talented dancer.”

  Even though it was close to their agreed upon meeting time, Dani was caught off-guard by Shane’s sudden appearance.

  “You were watching me dance? How long have you been here?”

  “Long enough to see yet another amazing side of Danielle Kane. Are you all finished here now? I need to speak with you about something and I’d like to go some place quiet.”

  “Yes. Just give me ten minutes to change into some clothes okay?”

  Shane looked her up and down with an overt sexual hunger.

  “Change? Must you? You look unbelievable in that hula outfit.”

  At that moment May came running up to Dani with her arms outstretched for a giant hug.

  “Thanks so much Danielle,” she gushed. “We always make so much more money when you’re part of the show.”

  As May turned toward Shane to greet him, Dani suddenly remembered the lie she had told a couple days earlier about her “sick neighbor”. She knew once May introduced herself to him that would be it; he would know she had made it up. Dani tried to quickly think of a way to keep it from happening.

  “Hello, are you a friend of Danielle’s? I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m her close friend and neighbor Matilda Maunaloa, but everyone calls me Auntie May.”

  It was no use. Dani was too late. The cat was out of the bag.

  “Auntie May?” Shane abruptly stopped in the middle of shaking hands with her.

  “I’m so glad to see you’ve made such a remarkable recovery from your recent illness. I’m Shane Tanner. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Illness? What illness?” Both she and Shane turned to Danielle for an explanation as they finished their handshake.

  “I’ll be right back,” Dani yelled as she ran off to change her clothes.

  While Danielle was gone, Shane seized the opportunity to ask May a very key question.

  “I was wondering something. Maybe you can help me Matilda.”

  “Please call me May,” she reminded him.

  “May I was wondering……does Danielle Kane have Hawaiian blood? She sure did look like a bona fide hula girl while she was dancing.”

  “She does add authenticity to our show. She’s so beautiful and talented. But you know something Mr. Tanner that’s a good question. I don’t know if she’s actually Hawaiian. She might have a little Hawaiian blood in her on her grandmother’s side. But what does it really matter? She’s as much part of this island as I am. Everyone around here loves her,” May laughed. “Besides, the audience likes what they see, so who cares? It’s all about perception.”

  A very satisfied smile spread across his face upon hearing her answer.

  “You’re absolutely right. It is all about perception. Well I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed today’s show. It’s been a real pleasure meeting you May.” You have no idea how helpful you’ve been to me.

  Fourteen

  A small group of children gathered excitedly around Shane’s luxury rental car scattered in all directions as he and Dani approached them.

  “You’d think they never saw an Aston Martin roadster before,” Shane said as he opened the passenger side door for her.

  “I don’t know about them…….. but I definitely haven’t.” Dani was clearly impressed as she gawked at the interior.

  “Where’s a good place close-by that’s quiet, where we can talk?” Shane asked.

  “Well I know a cute little quiet wine bar in Kihei, just a few miles south of here. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds perfect.” Shane lowered the convertible top and they took off down the coast.

  Danielle thought it would be best if she cleared the air first thing. She immediately jumped in with an apology for lying to Shane about Auntie May being sick. She was pleasantly surprised when he blew it off as “No big deal.” So she decided she might as well come clean about the whole thing; how the lie and her quick departure were both prompted by the sudden warning text from her friend Allyssa. Dani also admitted that she chose not to share the protest info with him due to her deep dedication to the cause.

  She thought for sure that would anger him but it didn’t. He simply said, “I’m sure you had your reasons for keeping that to yourself.” Dani was instantly suspicious. She was no fool and Shane Tanner was not that understanding. There had to be a hidden agenda that he wasn’t sharing with her but what was it?

  When they got to the wine bar, they took a small table near a window and Shane ordered a bottle of the most expensive red wine on the menu.

  “So Shane if you’re not mad about the protest what is the extremely important urgent thing you want to talk to me about so badly?”

  “Who said I’m not mad about the protest? I’m fucking livid about it but not at you. It’s no surprise to me that the Hawaiians hate our company and I can certainly see why you were apprehensive about telling me about it. After all there’s no real reason for you to be loyal to me just because you work for me and we had amazing fucking sex.” Shane said facetiously.

  “You thought the sex was amazing?” Dani was taken aback by that.

  “Fuck yes! Didn’t you thinks so?” Shane took both her hands in his own.

  “Of course I did. I just didn’t think YOU probably thought so. I mean, you are an international playboy. A desirable man like you has probably been with thousands of incredibly gorgeous women.”

  “Thousands? Really Danielle, I’m a man not a fucking rabbit.”

  “Well you know what I mean. I’m sure you have a lot more to compare it to than I have.”

  “That may be true but nevertheless I thought it was second to none.” He said as he kissed her fingers.

  Dani flushed from the compliment. She was thoroughly enjoying the delicious wine and the company, but she was still wondering exactly what it was that Shane wanted from her. She was sure it had to be something pretty big to warrant a meeting rather than a phone call.

  “So what’s this about Shane? I know you sure as hell didn’t ask to meet with me ASAP just to tell me how great I am in the sack.”

  Shane acknowledged that she was correct in her assumption and spent the next hour detailing Tanner International’s ongoing problem with the Hawaiian island people; specifically the huge obstacle they presented, not only for the company, but for him personally in his goal as future CEO. Danielle totally agreed that Tanner had a dire credibility problem and that the native people were definitely going to continue to battle any and all Tanner development in their beloved islands. She also readily admitted she couldn’t think of any immediate solution to the conflict. Shane decided then it was the perfect time to propose his unorthodox idea to her.

  “Danielle, I need you to help me get the Hawaiian people on my side. You can obtain the credibility for me that I can’t get on my own.”

  “Why do you need me for that? How in the world do you expect me to raise your credibility with them?”

  Shane signaled the server to bring another bottle of the ultra-expensive wine sent to their table while he continued his argument.

  “I think if the island people saw that YOU were on my sid
e, a native Hawaiian woman who also happens to be an environmental activist…….”

  “Whoa! Wait a minute. Back up there. Have you looked at me lately? I’m not a native Hawaiian!”

  “Are you telling me you’re not at least part Hawaiian?”

  “A small part at best. My father told me we have Hawaiian in the family tree but I never pushed it any further. I guess that’s why we ended up here. Dad was always talking about how nice it was to be back ‘home’, and he didn’t just mean the house. He was talking about the ground we’re walking on. He was in the Navy and met my mom stateside. We all moved to Oahu the very first chance he got. I was just a baby, but the people here took me in like one of their own.”

  “Well, blood or no blood, the main thing is you look and act like you belong here. You walk the walk, talk the talk, and dance the dance. Everyone on this damn island knows you. A wise woman once told me ‘It’s all about perception’.”

  “Well even if that’s true, what do you want me to do exactly?” Danielle was still not quite bringing the big picture into focus.

  “First of all as marketing director, I need your finesse and expertise to do a major marketing make-over for the Tanner brand. As you know, your words have an extreme amount of power when it comes to defining our hotel and our commitment to the environment.”

  “Your commitment to the environment? What commitment is that? Your commitment to destroy it? You want me to lie?”

  “Now Danielle lie is a very harsh word. If anybody understands the power of promotion it’s you. Your brilliant presentation the other day proved that you’re a master at it.”

  “Do you honestly think that promoting the hotel as environmentally friendly is enough to get the Hawaiian people on your side?”

  “Of course I don’t. Not in itself. But don’t you think it would also help immensely if the Tanner family had some sort of familial ties to the Hawaiian people? Or connections with someone they respect and honor? Wouldn’t that help them embrace our company?”

  “I suppose so Shane but how do you propose to suddenly become Hawaiian? By growing your hair long and getting a spray tan?”

  “If it was that easy, I’d already be orange. You’re a different story though……your connections here are pure gold. You grew up here. Everyone knows you and they’ve taken you in like one of their own...”

  Danielle was still puzzled. She still wasn’t quite sure where he was going with his talk of island ancestry.

  “Shane what are you getting at? How do you intend to create an instant Hawaiian family?”

  And then it finally hit her.

  “Oh my god. Are you insane? You don’t mean that you…… and I……”

  “That’s exactly what I mean Danielle. You marry me and we have a baby together. What could be simpler than that?”

  “Hello? Just about anything! How can you even suggest something like that?”

  Danielle jumped up out of her chair and flailed her arms around comically as she shot down Shane’s outrageous proposal. To her frustration he remained calmly undaunted in his seat, reservedly sipping his glass of wine.

  “I know it sounds a bit unconventional to you but it’s really not that far-fetched. I make much more unusual business deals than this all the time.”

  “Those are business deals Shane. This is marriage and baby. Those are two extremely different things. We aren’t even in love.” Dani was still very animated as she spoke.

  “You might think business and marriage are different arrangements but they don’t have to be……. And honestly how many married people do you know who are actually in love?”

  “What do you mean they don’t have to be two different arrangements, Mr. Businessman? ”

  “I mean our marriage and child arrangement would be drawn up in a business contract just like any other. We wouldn’t have to stay married for probably more than a year or so. Just long enough for me not to be perceived as a sinister foreign outsider who’s threatening the islands. I can’t continue to allow my business to be held back.”

  “Shane that is horrible idea. I can’t believe you would even suggest it. What the hell would even make me consider such a charade?”

  “How about one million dollars? And of course, lifetime child support for our bundle of joy should we separate. We can call it a business deal if things don’t work out between us, but who knows, maybe this could be our happy ever after. Promise me you’ll at least sleep on it Danielle. Better yet, we could go back to the hotel and sleep on it together. ”

  Fifteen

  Danielle got very little sleep that night but not because she had taken Shane up on his offer. She truly was dying for a repeat performance of the other day, especially after consuming so much sumptuous wine with him but his so-called business proposal had promptly sobered her right out of the mood.

  Dani told him she’d get her own ride home from Kihie which she could see clearly bothered him. Despite her overwhelming desire for another spin in his super-sexy silver Aston Martin she just didn’t feel it was worth subjecting herself to anymore of his crazy talk. However in the spirit of open-mindedness, she had decided to at least run Shane’s plan past three people she trusted before she dismissed it completely.

  Shane had refused to drive away until he was sure Dani had confirmation of a ride home. She called Paolo and he was more than happy to oblige, pulling up in his flaming red BMW less than ten minutes later. Danielle slid into the passenger seat and kissed her reliable friend on the cheek.

  “Thanks so much Paolo. I really appreciate this. I hope Max isn’t mad at me for calling you away like this on your Saturday?”

  “Max? No never. My Max is a pussycat. But where’s your car sweetie? How did you get down here in Kihei anyway? My woman’s intuition tells me Shane Tanner is involved in this somehow.”

  “Well he did drive me down here,” Dani admitted sheepishly.

  “I knew it. And he left you stranded? What is going on with you two anyway? Are you or are you not having wild sex with that gorgeous hunk of a man? Enquiring minds wanna know…..”

  During the ride to Danielle’s house, she proceeded to fill Paolo in on all the details that had transpired since Shane’s arrival including his phony marriage proposal.

  “Shut the front door! Are you kidding me Dani? A million dollars? Holy shit! And a Tanner heir? Does he seriously think people do this kind of thing?”

  “Can you believe it? Have you ever heard of anything so insane in your life Paolo?”

  “I have actually. One time my Aunt Sophia tried to fix me up with a woman. That was pretty preposterous.”

  “I’m serious you goofball. What is wrong with that man?”

  “Danielle, nothing is wrong with that man. I think he’s quite brilliant actually. It’s a great plan and I think you should go for it.”

  “Are you really serious? You think I should marry Shane and have his baby?”

  “Hey I’d do it myself if I could. But I don’t think marrying a short bald man from Colombia would give him the credibility he’s looking for. Besides Dani, wasn’t it only like six months ago that you were talking about how your biological clock was ticking? I remember you talking about looking for alternatives. Well….here’s an alternative.”

  After Paolo dropped her off at home, Danielle called her friend Allyssa in the hopes of hearing a more sensible opinion from a logical woman of science, but she got neither. In fact Allyssa shrieked into the phone so loudly that Dani had to switch ears.

  “Sorry to disappoint you Dani, but I vote for marrying the dreamy handsome billionaire and becoming his baby mama. Isn’t this the kind of thing every girl is waiting for?”

  “I don’t remember the bedtime story where Prince Charming rides in on a white horse and makes his bride-to-be sign a baby making contract.”

  “Well maybe they should update those stories for the 21st century! I would jump on that opportunity……right after I jumped his bones. ”

  “But how can I j
ustify turning a blind a eye toward Tanner’s disregard for the environment? This business arrangement might cause long-term harm to these islands.”

  “I have to compliment you on your noble concerns, I really do. But you can save plenty of plants and dolphins with a million freaking dollars. The Hawaiian Conservation Alliance could benefit from the sizeable donations you’d be able to make. That’s nothing to sneeze at.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Danielle admitted.

  “Plus do I even have to remind you about how much you’ve been talking about your biological clock lately?”

  Dani actually hadn’t realized how much she’d been talking about her ticking biological clock until her two friends had told her.

  After dinner, Dani decided she would make one final phone call to the only person she knew who had insight into Shane’s unconventional thought processes; Marguarite Grummond.

  “Margie I need your advice and I was wondering if I could tell you something in the strictest confidence?”

  “You mean you wanna talk about the business proposal Shane made to you this afternoon?”

  “You know about it? He told you?” Dani was more than a little surprised by her answer.

  “Yes of course Danielle. Shane has a habit of thinking out loud and then before you know it he’s bouncing ideas all over the place. It’s like a massive brainstorm. Or shitstorm, depending on how you look at it.”

  “So what’s your opinion of the proposal Margie? Does this seem normal to you?”

  “Well no, of course not. It’s not your ordinary business deal at all. But then Shane Tanner is not your ordinary man. In fact he’s twice as much. Twice as intelligent, shrewd, passionate, ambitious…...the list is too long but there’s probably nothing on it you can’t handle. I’m guessing you’re struggling with your conscience.”