"They were also the ones who withdrew the money from the account, right?"
"I'm sorry. I will go on with our agreements. Tomorrow the money will be deposited back into the account.
"You can return the money, but you can never get back the trust I had in you."
His words whipped her.
"I know", she replied and waited for some time, but he said nothing. She turned back towards the elevator, feeling sorry she decided to surprise him. She was more surprised than he was. The appearance of the young lady in his arms confronted her with a painful reality she had no chance with him to begin with.
Daniel went back to his room and called Mikhail, who was happy to hear his voice.
"I tried all night and day to call you, but there was no answer. You really had me worried. I thought maybe you ran away and left me with the whole mess."
"It’s quite a mess," Daniel said. "You won’t believe it, the woman put me in jail, she and my fucking grandfather."
"Well, you are used to Israeli prisons. You already spent a few months inside, haven’t you? Mikhail joked.
"I will be back in two days, I hope you're still smiling by then."
Mikhail sounded worried. "What will I tell the contractors?"
"Tell them to come to the office tomorrow. The lawyer will give them all the payments. I hope everything will be okay."
Daniel heard a sigh of relief. "Did you fix everything?"
"It'll be okay, Mikhail." Daniel closed the phone. He could not guarantee everything was in order, just because Karina promised him. This woman was not stable, he concluded to himself.
16
Daniel arrived to the site in Constanza. He was happy to see the contractors came back to work and Karina stood by her word. When he entered the office, he noticed the secretary’s happy face. "Good to see you, sir."
Daniel smiled at her, "Just call me Daniel. I'm too young for ‘sir’. How did you survive the attack of the contractors?"
"I must admit, those were my worst days since I started working."
"Sorry to hear that."
"No," the secretary quickly clarified, "It’s not because I felt bad. I was worried about you. I was afraid things wouldn’t work out."
Daniel looked at her with gratitude. He thought if everything went as planned with Karina, he would increase her salary.
He drove off to Brasov to meet Mikhail and found him running around amongst the workers on the site. The noise of the engines and tools were deafening. Daniel approached Mikhail. "How's it going?"
"I’m coming to the office now," Mikhail told Daniel, who noticed a bruise under his eye.
"What happened to your face?" He asked.
"Believe me, you'll get an explanation and a demonstration at the same time," Mikhail said, with mocking anger, "A punch that I got from one of those freaks, that will cost you a lot."
"Honestly, I am willing to pay all the costs, just to not get something like that in my face."
"And you will pay for it, that’s for sure."
Daniel went to the office. He could not help but think that Israeli prisons were safer than the site in Brasov, at least until Karina was back to herself. On top of the table, he found the tender that Mikhail left him, and Karina had to sign for the bank guarantee until all the business arrangements were settled. Daniel had no intention of meeting Karina again. He planned to send Mikhail for two or three days, so he could rest a little bit from what happened to him lately.
Mikhail tried, with partial success, to remove the mud from his shoes before entering the office. "What an asylum we have here." he said, pulling a chair to sit, "You won’t believe it, I had to promise them something I was not even sure if I'd be able to keep. After all, you can’t build a business based on your beautiful eyes." Mikhail was sure the woman supported Daniel only because she was captured by his appearance.
"It's not just my eyes," Daniel said.
"Why, how many centimeters do you have?"
"Mikhail, your head is always stuck there."
"I must admit that. By the way, did you see the tender on your desk? I thought it might interest you, but I'm not sure we will be able to stand on all the projects."
"If you think so, give it entirely to one of your friends and ask for a percentage," Daniel said, trying to give Mikhail a sense of company decisions.
"Yes, it would be best. I'll give it to Igor. You know him. We will just follow the schedule and check things are done properly."
Daniel shrugged, "Whatever you say."
"Just don’t forget we have to deposit an amount of money; a bank guarantee for the job implementation." Mikhail said, and left the office.
Daniel thought despite everything he should call Karina to approve the deal, but found himself dialing Neta’s number. A man's voice answered him, and Daniel asked if he could speak with Neta. The guy hung up the phone. Daniel tried again, but it was quickly disconnected. He figured it was probably her boyfriend and promised himself to call some other time.
He was filled with a strange sense of discomfort from the need to call Karina and even thought of delegating the task to Mikhail, but he knew he had no choice but to do it himself. The secretary passed the call to Karina, and Daniel couldn’t feel any sense of solidarity with the words he heard from the other end of the line, "Good to hear from you." Having received no response, she continued, "So what made you call me?"
"Business", he said dryly, "I have here the tender from the municipality. We need to deposit a high amount of the bank guarantee and I wanted to inform you. But beyond that, we need your signature for the tender and for the liabilities. After all, you are a partner here.
"Yes, we need to finish all our paperwork, so it won’t cause any delay on the job," she said.
"Or you come here every time we need your signature."
Karina could not ignore the sarcasm. "Okay, but this time you need to come here, at least until all the details are arranged."
"Okay, I'll see you in a few days because we need to submit the tender by next week." His words gave Karina a delightful feeling.
Daniel hung up the phone, smiling. He knew that Karina was expecting to see him, but he had other plans. He called Mikhail, but responded quickly that he could not talk at the moment and hung up. Daniel couldn’t wait to get his sweet revenge, and after half an hour, he went out to Mikhail, who was still frantically working on the site. "How about a flight to Israel? I thought to compensate you after the difficult period you went through here."
"Honestly, it’s a positive opinion, but it is not advisable for now. I have a lot of pressure at work."
"Nothing will happen if you are missing for few days. You need to go to the big boss to give her some documents to sign."
"Now it is starting to sound interesting."
"The flight is tomorrow afternoon. I got you a suite at the Hilton because you deserve the best. I want you to enjoy it there." Daniel handed Mikhail a paper with Karina's office address "Be there on Wednesday at ten o'clock, that’s what we agreed upon."
"Did you tell her I’m the one who is arriving?"
"That's exactly the thing, she is expecting me but actually, it’s you."
"I understand you think she will be disappointed to see me and not you."
"Do you have any doubts?"
Mikhail looked at Daniel. "Now you’re leaving me with no choice."
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.
"I’ll try to get to her." He smiled. "I’m just kidding. She won’t take me seriously anyway."
"I do not care what you do to her, but please do not talk to me about this woman. Other than that, I don’t think you are her type."
Karina was not able to sleep all night. The thought she would meet Daniel tomorrow prevented her eyes from closing. She tried to sleep with all her ability. She knew tomorrow she would have swollen eyes, but even the sleeping pill helped for only two hours. She got out of bed and opened the closet trying to choose an impressive flattering dress
, but not something that would reveal her desire to impress him. She threw the clothes on the floor, tried them on one by one and finally decided it was always good to be pretty and look invested. She put aside a black dress and entered the shower, surveying herself in the mirror. There were black circles around her eyes and her face looked tired. She sat on the edge of the tub thinking that she would do herself a favor if she internalized the fact she was old for a guy like him. She recalled the girl she saw with him at the hotel, young and beautiful. After wearing the dress she felt her confidence was back and believed she would succeed to impress him.
At eight thirty she arrived in the office. The excitement elated her.
"Are you going somewhere today?" The secretary asked, when she noticed the unusual attire.
"No, why?" Karina replied cheerfully.
"You look very groovy," the secretary said.
"You read me right. Please make a breakfast reservation for two, the usual place." Karina said and entered her office.
The minutes that passed were like hours until the secretary informed her someone was waiting outside. "Let him in. " She ran her fingers through her hair trying to straighten her rebellious hair. She was so excited. The door opened. And an unknown man approached her and shook her hand. "I'm Mikhail." Her face fell.
"Where's Daniel?" She asked, hoping in a moment he would come in or the stranger would tell her that he came to fix something.
"He's pretty busy," Mikhail said. "I'm the foreman."
Karina smiled with dismay. "Nice to meet you."
Mikhail handed her the papers and she realized she didn’t offer him a seat. "I apologize, sit down please." Then she picked up the phone and asked her secretary to prepare coffee. "Ronit," Karina remembered, "Cancel the breakfast. It is not necessary."
Mikhail realized she did not know that he understood Hebrew. Cancellation of breakfast was proof she was really waiting for Daniel. Mikhail cursed Daniel in his heart for his good fortune.
In the evening, Mikhail received a phone call from Karina inviting him for dinner, merely a polite invitation.
17
The bungalow project had ended. The place was amazingly beautiful. In the beginning, Daniel planned to invest gradually and build the club step by step, but the use of Karina’s money almost left him with unlimited possibilities. Karina was not ready for any compromise. She wanted the highest standards and she took care for the things to get done. She insisted on every detail, from the external decor up to the small items that were inside each of the cabins. Artificial river pools were built around, containing different kinds of fish; statues scattered throughout the club; fitness clubs were set up in several places; the trees were in place before the construction fit well with the artistic creation that were imposed on them. Cabins were placed in such a way that every window was directed to a different view while ensuring that no window would be directed to another one, preserving the privacy of the tenants. Away from the main site, on an artificially built hill, there were bigger and high-standard cabins with large private gardens, surrounded by a variety of lights that were intended to illustrate the beauty of nature and its isolation.
The location of the complex and the vast space emphasized the peace and serenity of the area. It was not about a regular ski club but a world of isolated and peaceful skiing, a place where nature holds its overflowing glory and its natural beauty. Daniel bought the surrounding land so he could keep the unique character of the place and no developer would be able to build next to the site and ruin the uniqueness of the place.
Daniel stood on an artificially built hill and looked at the project. That’s how he imagined the place the first time he looked at the snowy mountain. But the end result exceeded his imagination. It was important the first project would create waves so people would invest in upcoming projects. A week earlier, he was interviewed by a newspaper. The interviewer was amazed when he learned it was started by a twenty-four year old guy who started his journey four years ago with four thousand dollars in his pocket.
Daniel remembered he had promised himself that as soon as the project was done, he would take a break and visit Neta. After the incident with Karina, he did not stop buying land, and continued to invest in the projects, to secure himself in case Karina decided to leave the partnership for any reason. He knew he was paying the price - that he might also lose Neta on his way up. But despite the great love he had for her, the hatred toward his grandfather was greater.
The opening party of the club was a media event. Many guests stood at the entrance. Most investors were Europeans and many others were close friends of Karina. Some of them were cabin owners, and all the others came just to turn the opening into something very significant through their presence. Karina roamed around with her turquoise blue body-fit dress with a deep cut exposing the front and rear of her body. The front of the dress was decorated with different shades of blue squares and the edges at the back were pleated. No one could take the fame away from her. She turned around with high heels… beautiful and impressive. She maneuvered among the guests who just couldn’t hide their admiration for her. But for all the times she got close to Daniel, he minimized his words with her. He noticed her approaching him again, but this time with her Israeli boyfriend.
"Daniel, meet Odi." She introduced him to Daniel.
Daniel shook his hand and Odi quickly said, "You did a good job here. Now I understand why Karina employed you."
"I didn’t employ him, he’s my partner." Karina corrected him.
"Call it as you want," Odi grinned and walked away towards the group of people who came with them. Karina remained standing next to Daniel because she did not want him to think she was also treating him with hostility, just like Odi. She did not like Odi’s behavior and thought she had to talk to him about it when the party was over. "I think you did an excellent job," she turned to Daniel trying to find a common language for conversation.
Daniel shook his head as a sign of gratitude and continued to talk with people standing around him. Karina felt useless but she had no intention of giving up. She got on her tip-toes and kissed him. He felt the wetness on his cheek. Before recovering from the shock, Karina pulled him to the center of the room. "I want you to meet some people. You can’t just stand aside as if the whole thing is not about you. After all, you are the star here."
Karina saw how Daniel impressed her friends in five minutes and exchanged details and information with them, becoming the center of attention for the night. At the end of the event, Daniel found himself with lots of phone numbers from businessmen who asked him to inform them about his additional projects or other investments in Romania, not even necessarily real estate, while Odi was staring from the corner, not understanding what all the chaos was about. He wondered what everyone found so interesting about this twenty-four year old boy, as if he was a star. He was just a kid who was supported by a rich woman, enough that for her to get rid of him he would go back to zero. After all, it was just Romania. It was not about a real estate project in Manhattan. Odi didn’t like Daniel. He heard a lot about him from Karina but now he understood it was about a charming and a charismatic guy who managed to endear himself to everyone, especially his partner. He didn’t like it, but he knew that it was not good for him to show some sort of jealousy to Karina, at least until they could get to know each other better.
The remaining guests left at two o'clock in the morning. Karina was sad she had to say goodbye to Daniel. She didn’t succeed in being alone with him for even a minute. She wished she hadn’t brought Odi with her. How could she dream of Daniel if Odi was with her?"
"Well, I’ve got to go," Daniel said. He took the car keys from the pocket of his jacket and walked toward the exit – an alley of trees and beautiful flowers, illuminated by tiny bright lights that were fixed to the floor.
Mikhail followed him. "What's wrong with you?"
"What?" Daniel was surprised. He couldn’t understand what Mikhail wanted from him.
&nbs
p; "She supports you and tries to promote you as much as possible, and not to mention about the fact that she’s in love with you, and you don’t even pay attention to her.”
Daniel grabbed the car keys and was about to open the door. "I'm still mad at her."
"For what, that she regretted giving you the money after a few hours of meeting you?"
"No. It's because she went to the person I hate the most in this world, my grandfather, and told him everything I told her."
"Daniel, I think there is more to this than what you are saying."
"Oh yes? What could that be?" Daniel wondered.
"Do you have feelings for her?"
"Absolutely not, it didn’t even cross my mind." Daniel laughed, and quickly left the driveway.
18
Daniel landed in Israel in the middle of the August heat. He was very excited to meet Neta. In recent years, he barely found time to indulge himself, except for the last visit, that he preferred to forget. He decided to take advantage of his stay in Israel and check with the investigation agency about his mother. Karina was happy to take advantage of the opportunity to get closer to him and made an appointment with the famous investigation agency in Tel-aviv, which she heard about from Gilad.
The phone in his room rang. Karina was on the line and invited him for dinner with her. But Daniel came to Israel with a single intention, to stay here until Neta would agree to go with him to Romania. He made a decision, he was not leaving without Neta. In the last couple of months, there hadn’t been a single moment that he woke up in the morning without dreaming of Neta sleeping beside him.
"No, I can’t. I have stuff to do this evening."
"What do you have here?" Karina wondered.
"I lived here once, remember? Apparently, my story was not a lie. Well, I'm in a hurry, I'll see you tomorrow."
Karina thought how lucky he was that she was in love with him, otherwise she would not tolerate his behavior. "Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow at noon and we’ll go together to the investigation office?"
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