Chapter Ten

The meeting was not going well, but then, Nicole hadn’t expected it to. The financials didn’t look good; the profit and loss sheet was even worse. Westmore Hotels had been struggling for years. Everyone knew it, and she couldn’t hide it. Her only hope in defeating the vote of no confidence motion lay in impressing the group with her presentation on Savvy.

Vivian St. James sat in the back, hardly speaking a word. She didn’t have to say anything—she’d already done her damage. She only needed to remain here and watch the rest of Nicole’s world implode. Peter Baxter sat on a chair at the front of the room near where Nicole stood at the podium. Only his support kept her from collapsing into a heap. Even so, her knees trembled—luckily where no one would see.

One of the stockholders—a short man in his sixties with sparse gray hair—approached the audience microphone. “What has the company done to minimize labor costs?”

Peter had prepared her for that question because it always arose in regard to her hotels. “Labor costs have to be high if you want to provide the customer with a truly luxurious experience. If a guest wants something, you have to have sufficient staff to deliver it promptly.”

“You can find cheaper workers,” the man said.

“Not to provide the same service,” she said. “Many of our guests see the same servers and other staff year after year. You can’t beat personal loyalty.”

A murmur rose up in the crowd. They all knew she was talking Westmore’s old model, which hadn’t worked for almost a decade. Customers who liked that kind of service were dying off. She’d have to get past these sorts of objections and into her presentation on Savvy to show them she had a plan for the future of the company.

“You need to get the unions out of there,” someone called out from the rear.

“Please, if you have a question, bring it to the microphone,” she said.

That only earned her grumbling. Peter rose and joined her at the podium. “For now, can we hold our questions until the end? Ms. Westmore has some exciting news she hasn’t shared yet.”

Her heart sank. She shouldn’t have had to rely on anyone else to get her through this meeting. She’d just demonstrated her inadequacy. If she couldn’t keep her shareholders in order, how could she run a company? She had to get back in control of this situation.

“We’re thrilled to announce a new resort with a unique concept in luxury hospitality.” She pressed the button on the podium, and the large screen behind her lit up with an image of the facade of Savvy. The crowd let out a soft gasp, and no wonder. Her baby was, indeed, impressive.

“Savvy,” she announced. “On a pirate island off the coast of South Carolina.”

Just then, the door in the back of the room opened, and a man stepped in. If her knees had been shaky before, they almost buckled now. Adam Morrow glanced at her briefly and then walked down the center aisle in her direction.

Holy crap, this was not happening. He’d come to finalize his plan with Vivian to take her down. And he was going to do it in front of the stockholders, some of them her father’s friends. Not satisfied he’d broken her heart—twice—he now was going to take the very last thing she could call her own away from her. Her company, her name, the last gift she’d have from her father.

How could he hate her enough to do that? She’d given him her body, her heart, and even a piece of her soul. And now, he’d even rob her of that.

She clutched the podium, willing herself to stand upright and not crumple to the floor in front of the people she had to convince to put their confidence in her. What a laugh. She didn’t belong here. She wasn’t up to this job, and Adam had come here to prove that.

What would she do if he came right up to her? Call security? Maybe just faint dead away. He had to be a stockholder to get into the meeting, so she couldn’t kick him out unless he started a disruption. He didn’t, though. He simply took a seat toward the middle of the room. A tiny voice in her mind pointed out that he hadn’t joined Vivian.

A throat cleared nearby. It was Peter, reminding her to get on with her presentation. How could she with Adam looking on? He’d been to some of these places with her. They’d had sex in some of them. She had to take a few breaths before she could find her voice.

She’d have to do this on autopilot. She’d rehearsed her spiel dozens of times in case anything catastrophic came up. She glanced down at the script she’d memorized so she wouldn’t have to shuffle papers, got her bearings, and proceeded through the rest of the presentation.

Her own voice seemed to come from the PA system, not her mouth, as she showed off the safety features—all the precautions she’d taken to protect the guests in the event of a hurricane. They got no reaction whatsoever from the crowd—another failure to impress them. Could this get any worse?

So, she switched to the food. The mention of her head chef’s name got a few “ah”s, as did the slides of some of the food. The pools—indoor and outdoor—had the audience sitting up in their seats a bit straighter. Some even craned their heads for a better view. The rooms seemed to go over well, especially the suite with a panoramic view of the ocean.

She got through it all, her voice steady for the most part, by keeping her gaze away from where Adam sat. And there was no way she could look at Vivian. No matter what, she’d done a good job of presenting Savvy to her shareholders. Now, she just had to count on them giving her a chance to let it fly.

At the end, she received some applause. It wasn’t exactly raucous, but it was respectable. When she glanced at Peter, he gave her an encouraging smile. Maybe all wasn’t lost after all.

That was, until Adam got up and approached the audience microphone. He even took it from its stand and turned to address the crowd. Here it came. The ultimate betrayal. He was really going to do this. Kill the only thing that mattered to her, the only thing she had left. During her presentation, she might have harbored a bit of hope he’d sit quietly and not go for her jugular. Now, he crushed even that. She wavered, leaning into the podium, before she could catch herself. Peter started to rise, but she warned him off with a tiny shake of her head. This was her execution, and she’d take it without a blindfold.

“I think you all know me,” Adam said. “I’m Adam Morrow of Morrow Properties, and it turns out I’m also a shareholder in Westmore Hotels…with a rather large minority of the holdings.”

He appeared totally at ease, the consummate businessman, as if the love they’d professed hadn’t existed. Their time together had meant nothing to him, and he was going to ruin her company. And if she called security, she’d create a scene and destroy what little success she’d managed to pull from this disaster.

“I have to say Ms. Westmore is an intelligent and competent woman, but she isn’t the showman her father was,” Adam continued.

Nicole stood there. Nothing in the world she could do would stop him. She had to remain calm while he took her world apart. So she gritted her teeth and did exactly that.

“You see, I’ve visited Savvy,” Adam said. “And I can tell you this presentation doesn’t do it justice.”

He paused for a moment, apparently for effect. “In my not-so-humble opinion, Savvy is going to become iconic—a completely new approach to luxury hospitality that will set our industry on its ear.”

Speech completely escaped her, and she could only stare at him—at his back, to be precise. The audience seemed fascinated by what he had to say. And for the life of her, she couldn’t have guessed what would come out of his mouth next.

“For example, the cove. If we could go back a few slides.” He turned toward her. “Do you mind if I take over a bit here?”

“Please,” she managed to get out past a tight throat.

Someone…Peter…clicked back a few slides, and the picture of the cove appeared on the screen.

Lord, the cove. She’d almost not included that slide in the presentation because it brought up so many memories of their time together. In the end, she’d had to include it, but now, she had to look at it as Adam went on and on about its glamor.

“…total privacy for people who need it, like celebrities,” he was saying. “There even might be a bit of skinny-dipping in that water.”

That got laughter from the stockholders, and by now, Adam was holding them in the palm of his hand. He’d been right about her not being a showman, but clearly he was. And he was doing her job for her—selling her resort.

She hazarded a glance at Vivian, who now looked as if she’d swallowed something rotten. The woman was losing and knew it. And the longer Adam went on, the more Vivian’s displeasure grew.

He continued going through slide after slide, giving her presentation again, but this time with excitement. He showed the pools again. The rooms. The outdoor concert area.

“What Ms. Westmore forgot to mention is she has lined up the most popular entertainers for her concert and nightclub venues,” he said.

How did he know that? Right. He must have read it on Savvy’s website. Why in hell hadn’t she included that herself?

“So, she ends up with the perfect combination of old-school luxury and excitement to appeal to a younger crowd,” he said. “This is the place for people who want to play hard during the day and party hard at night. It can’t miss.” He turned toward her again. “Was that what you wanted to convey?”

“Perfect,” she answered. Absolutely perfect.

“And let me add that I have so much confidence in this company that I’m willing to buy up shares at above market value,” Adam said. “If anyone’s foolish enough to sell.” He gave Nicole his self-assured smile—sexy enough to send a shiver through her. “And you can all guess what my vote is on the motion at hand. It’s for Ms. Westmore.”

Suddenly, two tons of worry and sadness lifted right off her shoulders. Strength returned to her limbs, and she could finally breathe. Adam wasn’t going to take her down. He’d come here to support her, and he’d done a hell of a job of it. So she had only one task left before she closed this meeting.

“Unless there are more questions, we’ll conclude.” She waited just a few seconds, and, thank heaven, no one headed toward the microphone. “Good. If you’ll all fill in your ballots on the motion and turn them in to Mr. Baxter, the meeting is adjourned.”

And that was that. Adam returned to his seat, filled in his ballot, and walked to the front to hand it in. His posture spoke of support of her and her company. No one could have missed how he’d voted. A few people followed his lead, and then more and more until the room emptied of everyone but Peter, Adam, and Nicole. At the back, Vivian stood alone.

“Excuse me for a second,” Adam said and then took off in Vivian’s direction. They held a private conversation, their voices low enough that they didn’t carry all the way to Nicole. Vivian was obviously angry, waving her arms around. Adam said something, and Vivian went absolutely still. Even from this distance, you could make out the color draining from her face. Then, she turned, and after one more sour glance around the room, Vivian let herself out. And Adam came back to Nicole, his smile firmly in place.

Peter picked up the box with the ballots. “I’ll have the referees we hired count these, but I think we already know the results.”

“I certainly hope so,” Adam said.

“Thank you, young man.” Peter left, and now only Nicole and Adam remained.

She walked away from the podium and approached him. “Why?”

He smiled and shrugged. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”

“No, seriously, Adam. Why did you do that?”

“Several reasons.” His expression turned serious. “It was about time I put my anger at your father behind me.”

“And?”

“I didn’t really want to hurt you.” He stood in silence for a moment, his arms at his side. They stared at each other, and the years dissolved. He was once again the brash but insecure young guy she’d fallen in love with, and she was the innocent girl who knew nothing about sex and love.

“You were right about everything. I was behind the effort to ruin Westmore Hotels, and Vivian was in on it. You knew about her involvement, didn’t you?”

“Only recently.”

“She’s been my partner since the beginning. She financed my first big resort. I loved that I was using your father’s money to put him out of business.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “It sounds pretty awful now.”

He kept standing there, looking vulnerable, as if she might judge him. He’d only been acting out of his own hurt from the past. Maurice Westmore had caused a lot of pain for both of them. As much as he had to let go of his anger toward her father, she had to put her father’s memory behind her and become her own woman. Maybe she’d taken a few steps in that direction today with Adam’s help.

“That’s all of it,” he said. “It’s a lot to forgive.”

“You did a lot for me just now.”

“Nah. You just needed a little help.”

“It was more.” She got closer to him—near enough to catch the scent of his shaving cream and bask in the blue of his eyes. “Having you stand up for me was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Look, Nicole, we have a lot of things to put behind us, but we have the right foundation—love.”

The ground beneath Nicole’s feet seemed to move, and she might have swayed a little. He’d saved her company, and now he was throwing love into the mix.

“I thought it was just the sex between us,” he said. “That you had some kind of magic that made it better than with anyone else.”

“I do.” She rested her hand on his chest. “Love.”

“I’ve only been so angry with you because I loved you so much. Do love you so much,” he said. “Can you forgive me for everything I’ve done?”

Her vision blurred. “Oh, Adam, I already have.”

He closed his arms around her, holding her, and for a moment, she simply rested against his chest. She belonged here, with him. Warmed by his body. His love.

She pulled back for a moment. “What did you say to Vivian just now?”

He laughed. “I threw out a little threat, just in case she ever decides to go after you again.”

She pushed at his chest. “What?”

“Well, you see, she’s been engaging in insider trading for some time now. I told her I’d let the SEC and the police know about it if she ever stuck her head up again.”

“Oh my God, really?”

“Really.” He pulled her against him again.

Imagine. After everything they’d been through, the spark between them had never extinguished, and their bodies had retained enough wisdom to bring them back together. Now nothing would ever separate them again.

When she tipped her head up for a kiss, his mouth took hers with a hunger built of separation, loss, and reunion. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on as he caressed her.

“I thought I’d lost you again,” she whispered against his lips.

“Never.” He tugged her closer and laid a path of kisses along her jaw to her ear. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Joy bubbled up in her, and she had to laugh. “Nowhere?”

“Not unless you come along.” He took her face between his hands and stared into her eyes. His expression was full of hunger. But there was more. Heat. The incredible passion that flared between them as soon as they touched.

“Marry me,” he said. “I need you in my bed every night.”

She pretended to ponder that. “So it’s only for the sex?”

“You know better.” He kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose. “I’ve never loved anyone but you. I have to have you in my life, twenty-four seven.”

The more he said it, the more her heart filled with happiness.

“It was always you, Adam,” she said. “No one else.”

“Then, you’ll be my wife?”

“I will.”

He let out a whoop, picked her up, and spun the two of them around. Her feet didn’t touch the floor for seconds, and her head went dizzy. He’d taken her world and turned it upside down within the last hour. There’d be no more dread and sadness. Just Adam’s love and the promise of a life together.

Finally, he set her down.

After a moment, Peter reentered with a big smile on his face.

“The ballots are counted. You won the day,” Peter said. “It wasn’t even close.”

Nicole could have jumped up and down at that news.

“Congratulations, baby.” Adam bent and kissed her, then immediately put an arm around her and pulled her against him. “Now we have another announcement to make.”