Mending Walls With The Billionaire (Artists & Billionaires Book 3)

by Lorin Grace

  fifteen

  Jade read her phone and started to laugh.

  Madison leaned across the board game. “Stop it, Jade. It isn’t funny.”

  “Of course it is. Her, an actress?” Jade smirked.

  The others were all reading their phones with various expressions of amusement and horror.

  Kyle looked at his phone only to see the blank screen of a dead battery.

  “Here.” Marci thrust her phone into his hands and ran up the stairs.

  Kyle read through the posts. He needed to get his group to stop talking before the guesthouse employees overheard or the other guests learned enough to gossip about it. “My group—mandatory meeting in the men’s dormitory. Now.”

  EmilyAnne looked at him, wide-eyed.

  “Only place we can all fit and shut the door. Upstairs now.” Kyle herded the group into the room.

  When the last person entered, Kyle closed the door. Marci and Araceli were not present. He would talk with them later as he assumed his sister had gone in search of Araceli.

  Kyle held up Marci’s phone. “This morning Araceli received a threatening letter. Without going into Haitian culture, let me tell you this isn’t like high-school-girl kind of mean. This is ends-up-in-the-hospital mean. And if you doubt a spurned Haitian woman won’t go to extremes to keep her man, ask the American owner of this guesthouse about her experiences dating her Haitian husband. I had, and do have, reason to believe Araceli could be harmed because of her pretending to be the fiancée of Aselòm to get out of the manifestation. It is imperative no one knows she is my fake girlfriend. Unfortunately, y’all found out. I ask you to please keep this quiet. Not a word about what you read tonight. Araceli’s actions during the manifestation show she has a cool head. Y’all should hope you are half as inventive if you are in that situation. Any questions?” Kyle looked each participant in the eye. No one blinked. “Okay, then, I expect you will all play along and not discuss this even between yourselves. You never know who is listening or how much English they understand.”

  Kyle looked around the room again. He wasn’t worried about the men saying something. But the women, especially Jade, might not keep their mouths shut. “For the business, we will be leaving here at 7:45 tomorrow morning and will be stopping at a place that makes cement bricks and pavers. Tanner has suggested filling the road by the culvert with them.”

  Kyle opened the door, and the group filed out and back downstairs.

  Jade stopped and laid her hand on his arm. “I need to apologize for what I did today.”

  This was the last thing he wanted to deal with. “It’s all good.”

  “Friends?”

  “Just don’t do anything like that again.” He held out his hand and shook hers. She waited as if she wanted something more, then followed the route the others had taken downstairs.

  Kyle crossed the landing to the women’s dormitory and knocked on the door.

  The door opened a crack, and Marci’s face appeared.

  “Your phone.” Kyle placed it in her hand.

  Marci started to close the door.

  Kyle slid his foot into the crack to prevent her from shutting it. “Araceli, as soon as you are ready, please come out and talk to me. I’ll be on the sofa up here on the landing.”

  His sister looked over her shoulder and back, giving him the tiniest of head shakes.

  Kyle removed his foot and let Marci shut the door. He got his backpack and plugged in his phone. As soon as it powered up, he opened it to the chat app and reread Araceli’s words.

  He knew she had to be mortified, but he felt hope. Maybe there was a chance to see if there was something real between them and if they wanted it to grow.

  Candace: Go talk to him!!

  Tessa: Ditto, Candace.

  Mandy: Don’t do like I did. I regret not talking with Daniel sooner.

  Zoe: But the bordello you designed . . . Oh, sorry . . . Go talk with the guy.

  Abbie: I could offer to come down and take him out, but my boss has been moody lately.

  Mandy: Your boss is not moody, she is expecting, but I’ll pay for the ticket. But Araceli must talk with him first.

  Araceli: I don’t think you need to come down here and take him out. But if the offer stands for Jade . . . I know she is going to find a way to make me even more embarrassed over the entire thing.

  Mandy: I’ll send Abbie in a private jet for Jade.

  Araceli smiled. She knew Mandy and Abbie weren’t serious, but it helped to know they had her back.

  Candace: Are you laughing yet? Next time Jade crosses you, think of Abbie having her pinned against a wall, arm twisted behind her back.

  Araceli: K. I’ll go talk to him. The other women are coming and getting ready for bed. Night.

  Candace: Hugs from all of us. Luv you girl!

  Madison knelt next to Araceli’s bunk. “You okay?”

  “I’ll live.” Araceli swung her legs over the side of the bed. Madison pulled her into a hug and whispered, “He’s sitting out on the landing, pretending to work.”

  Araceli stood but looked back to make sure she hadn’t left her stomach on the bed. Madison gave her a tiny shove toward the door. “Hurry. Jade went to the bathroom. She might not notice you aren’t here.”

  The first step out of the door was hardest. Kyle looked up, his face expressionless, then smiled and scooted to the end of the sofa, giving Araceli more than enough space to sit down.

  “Thanks for coming.” Kyle partially closed his laptop. “I had a meeting and told them the truth about our relationship and that for your safety they needed to not say anything.”

  Those eyes. Her resting heart rate spiked to four-hundred-meter-dash speeds. This was such a bad idea. “Thanks.” Not that it changed what anyone had read. Heat rushed into her face. Great. Now her cheeks matched her red-rimmed eyes.

  Kyle ran his fingers along the edge of his laptop. “I know you didn’t intend to text us, especially me, but I think you deserve to know my response.” He opened the laptop and handed it to Araceli.

  It took a moment for her to realize he had copied her conversation into a text window. Her words stared back at her with Kyle’s response below them.

  My spring break? I don’t get those anymore, and this trip has already been more difficult than most. Uncooperative weather and a manifestation and only 2 days in. The one bright spot is getting to know Araceli again. But despite my best efforts, I think things are turning out as poorly as when we met fourteen years ago and I called her Celi-Belly. I think she forgave me for that, but now I made a bigger mistake. She is pretending to be my girlfriend. Long story. Anyway, I kissed her, and the kiss wasn’t so fake. I’m not sure where to go from here. There have been more complications, but I want to get to know the real her. Will she give me a chance‽

  Below the paragraph was her name with the cursor blinking after the colon. She typed back.

  Nice use of an interrobang. ‽‽ Since it was conceptualized for rhetorical questions, I suppose you don’t need an answer. Which is good, because I don’t have one for you. Today has been surreal.

  She handed the laptop back.

  “I had no idea that mark was invented for rhetorical questions. Where do you want to go from here?” Kyle closed the laptop and set it on the side table.

  Araceli resisted the urge to pull her knees up to her chin. “I know we still need to pretend to a point. And in some ways, it’s easier because Madison won’t ask me any questions or tease me. Jade will probably not need to play the jealous ex. But now I have embarrassed myself . . .”

  Kyle reached for her, then stopped. “Is it terrible I am a little glad you did it? Your unwitting confession saves us both weeks of trying to figure out if the other person is interested.”

  T
oo embarrassed to answer, Araceli turned her attention to the window. What she wanted to say next had the potential to mortify her into a catatonic state, but she needed to set boundaries. She bit her lip and turned to face him. Only she couldn’t look higher than the top button on his shirt. At least he’d changed out of the lipstick-stained one. “If we are going to keep faking a relationship while figuring out if there is one . . . That sounds weird. I have one rule. No fake kissing. If we kiss again, it can’t be for any other reason than—” She looked at her hands as they twisted in her lap, then pressed them together.

  Kyle briefly placed his hand on her knee and waited until she turned back to him before speaking. “I think I understand. Touch is a powerful thing. Are you all right with the hand holding and the hugs?”

  “They are part of earning the Oscar.” Araceli gave him her best smile.

  “A daytime Emmy might be more appropriate.”

  “A G-rated daytime Emmy.”

  Kyle laughed. Even his eyes looked happy. “Agreed.”

  “Well, I had better go face the room now.” Araceli stood to leave. Kyle stood too.

  He caught her hand. “If today had turned out differently, I would give you a good night kiss.” He raised her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “Good night, Celi. Don’t forget the bug spray.”

  She pulled her hand out of his, immediately missing the contact. “Night. And thanks.”

  At the door, she realized she didn’t really care what the other women said. She had started mending the relationship, and that was what mattered.

  sixteen

  André was waiting at the gate when the first van pulled up. The second was still at the drainage pipe getting unloaded.

  “Why isn’t he in school?” asked Kyle of no one in particular.

  As soon as they piled out of the van, André approached Araceli’s side. “I asked everyone, and everyone says they didn’t do it.”

  “Do what?” Araceli looked at the worried face of the director.

  André beckoned, his eyes near tears as Araceli followed him into the orphanage, Kyle and the director behind them.

  At the second floor, she stopped. The paint that had still been wet when she left last evening was smeared across the wall, the chalk lines she had drawn either erased or smeared beyond recognition.

  She walked to the nearest wall and traced a smear with her finger. Words failed her, and she fought the urge to cry. There must be something salvageable. She was aware of voices behind her, but the words didn’t register. She took a deep breath and tried to put things into perspective. Ten of the frames were smeared. That was less than 10 percent. And only three of those were badly damaged. The other seven could have a drop shadow to fix them.

  Unfortunately, most of the chalk lines were obliterated, which meant two hours of work only she could do. Perhaps there was a way to speed up the process.

  She felt Kyle come up behind her before he placed a protective hand on her waist. “The director says he also questioned the children. None of them claims responsibility. He feels a couple may know who did it, but their hands are clean, so to speak.”

  “I know it looks bad, and it’s going to put me behind a few hours, but for the most part, everything is salvageable. I’m going to have to get creative in these three or four places.” Araceli pointed to the areas with the most smudging. “But it isn’t the end of the world. It could have been a lot worse.”

  Kyle leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “André feels responsible. Is there anything you can say to help him? He really does need to get to school.”

  Araceli nodded and turned to André. “Thank you so much for your help. I know you didn’t do this. Sometimes bad things happen, and we must make the best of them. Wait until you get back from school and see what I do with this mess somebody has made.” She gave him the biggest smile she could muster. André broke into a huge grin, his white teeth against his dark skin a beautiful sight.

  He pointed to the worst smear. “That one is mine. I know it was meant to be little Marie’s, but I traded her so she would not cry anymore.”

  “That is kind of you, but when I am done, she may try to get it back.”

  André laughed and waved as he hurried down the ramp and presumably to school.

  The director spoke with Kyle in low tones. Most of the other volunteers came up the ramp. Araceli chose to ignore the shocked comments and instead walked around the walls, inspecting the damage. Who had done this wasn’t nearly as important as how to fix it. She could save time by painting all the frames with help from Madison and Kate, but then the children wouldn’t have the opportunity to paint their own. But she could experiment on the thirty or so frames for the infants and toddlers, plus the fifty without owners.

  The storage room was exactly as she’d left it. Whoever had ruined the walls didn’t have access to it. Araceli wondered who else had keys to the room besides the set she had been given. Someone came in behind her. Araceli turned to confront them.

  Kyle shut the door behind him. “The director and I talked to several of the children. They still don’t know who did this.”

  “That’s what I pretty much suspected. The question being was it because of my fake engagement with Aselòm or my fake relationship with you? Either way, I have a choice. I can waste time trying to figure it out, or I can fix the mess they left me.”

  “I think there may be some of the original wall paint out in the storage shed.”

  “That might be helpful, but I’m going to see if I can paint something else over the smears.” Araceli grabbed a couple of the paint cans. Without the children around for the next several hours, she should be able to work quickly. “Do you mind going and dumping out the water in the tub? And rinsing out the brushes?”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  “Maybe.”

  “You’ve only guaranteed I’ll come back. I’ll see if Marci and EmilyAnne can help you for the day. The women who are sewing don’t need Marci for translation. I think they’re going to be working on things for the infants and toddlers anyway.”

  “Thanks. Any word on whether the roof survived yesterday’s rainstorm?”

  Kyle hefted the tub off the shelf. “No, I’ll go check as soon as I’m done rinsing these brushes.”

  When Araceli opened the door to let Kyle out, Madison and Kate were waiting outside.

  Madison closed the door behind them. “We weren’t sure if we should leave you guys alone.”

  Araceli shrugged. “I’m never sure either.” She handed them both paint buckets. “Let’s go get this fixed. I promised André he would be amazed.”

  “You broke the wall!” André yelled when he reached the top of the stairs.

  Araceli stifled a laugh as she waited for the teen and the others to cross the room.

  Sounds of disbelief echoed as the children spoke in Haitian. One of the ten-year-olds ran from the room calling, “Mr. Kyle! Mr. Kyle!”

  Madison clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing as the children ran their fingers over the “hole” in the wall.

  ‘‘You played a joke on us. Got me good.” André started laughing, and then other children joined in.

  The ten-year-old returned, dragging Kyle by the hand. Ryan, Jade, Tanner, and a couple of matrons followed.

  ‘‘How did you break the wall?”

  Kyle’s question caused André and the older children to laugh even harder. Kyle made his way through the group until he reached out and touched the cracks too.

  At the confusion on his face, Araceli could no longer contain her laughter. “I didn’t break the wall, I fixed it. They don’t seem to make plaster-and-lath walls in Haiti.”

  “It looks so real.”

  “That’s the point. I promised André I would fix this so
he would be amazed.”

  “I am very shocked, Miss Araceli. You fooled Mr. Kyle, too.” André turned to a little girl who was chattering at him like a hen scolding chicks. “Miss Marie says she wants her frame back.” Disappointment showed in André’s eyes, although he kept it from the rest of his features.

  “Let’s show her what I did with her frame first.” Araceli held out a hand for the girl and guided her around the corner.

  A huge smile spread over the girl’s face as she reached for the flowers painted in a faux alcove next to her frame. The girl threw her arms around Araceli’s waist.

  Araceli smiled at André. “I think you can keep your broken wall.”

  André spun and hurried back around the corner, bumping Tia, who shook her finger at him. Araceli smiled at Tia following Marci’s advice to let Tia speak first. A few steps brought Tia to her side inspecting the ‘crack’. “Good.”

  “Thank you, Tia. Do you want to paint today?”

  Tia shook her head and walked toward the dormitories.

  Other children sought her attention, bringing Araceli’s focus back to them. At least Tia spoke to her.

  Kyle joined Marie in admiring the flowers. “Impressive. I thought you would need to repaint the wall and start over.”

  “Thank you, I had thought of repainting too. But I was able to get one of my old roommates on chat. She once painted a trompe-l’œil hallway so realistic her husband claims it gave him a concussion.”

  “Seriously?”

  “The story is probably exaggerated, but Daniel claims running into the wall knocked enough sense into him to get him to start dating Mandy.”

  André returned with several children in tow. “Can we paint the rest of the frames?”

  “After you have changed out of your uniforms and done whatever else you need to,” Kyle answered before Araceli could.

  “Then we will paint in groups of ten. André, if you could organize the groups so I have both younger and older children in each, it will be easier for everyone to help one another. Those who didn’t get to finish painting their own frame can work on one for the nursery children.”