Gentle Persuasion (4 page)

Ophelia reached for a napkin from the stack in the middle of the table. She wiped her fingers with it before placing it next to her plate. “Is that why you were sneaking in tonight? She doesn’t trust you?”

“It’s more complicated than that.
Tutu
has been responsible for me for years. And she had good reason to worry for a long time. But things are different now.
I’m
different. And she hasn’t been able to see that.”

“She seems like a woman who could be pretty stubborn....” Ophelia thought about her own mother’s rigid standards and dropped her eyes to toy with the remains of her rice, pushing the grains into a tidy pile in the corner of her plate. “But I’m sure she loves you. She seems like someone who would love fiercely.”

When she looked back up, Leilani nodded. “She is! She’s been there for me through a lot. I just wish she’d give me some credit for how much I’ve changed.”

Ophelia tried redirecting the subject. “Who was it that brought you home tonight, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Leilani’s eyes sparkled at this question. “My boyfriend, Sam. We’ve been seeing each other for three months now. Dane’s even been giving him odd jobs around the plantation. I think it kinda drives
Tutu
crazy, having him around so much.” Leilani giggled at this.

“So do you have a boyfriend?” she asked.

Ophelia started at this unexpected question.

“Um...”

“You’re not wearing a wedding ring.” Leilani pointed out the obvious.

“No. I, er, recently got out of a long-term relationship.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

But even as she said the words, Ophelia noticed the younger girl smiling.

She raised her glass of water. “Then here’s to your week of island adventures.”

Ophelia thought it a strange toast, but she clinked her glass next to Leilani’s and then took a sip.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Leilani said. “It will be good for Dane.”

Ophelia couldn’t be sure what Leilani meant by that and decided perhaps it was safer not to ask.

* * *

D
ANE
WAITED
RATHER
anxiously for Ophelia Reid to appear in the inn’s dining room the following morning. Keahi filled a large plate with stacks of golden macadamia nut waffles slathered in coconut syrup while Pele listened to Leilani chattering about her time kayaking at Kealakekua Bay the day before. Dane sipped from his coffee and made occasional attempts to read the newspaper, but with each slight noise, he would glance up, expecting to see Ophelia enter the room.

He attributed this edginess to Ms. Reid’s agenda—the last thing he wished to deal with was a pushy recruiter making the same offers he’d heard dozens of times in the past three years. But deep down, he had the uneasy feeling that Ophelia’s proposal wasn’t the only reason his gaze kept wandering to the dining room doorway.

He was sending just such a glance toward the entry when she finally appeared. The sight of her caused a tingling of interest along his nerves, but he forced himself to greet her casually with an offhand, “Good morning.”

He noted with a frown that she was not much more suitably dressed than the day before. Her pale green button-down shirt and knee-length black skirt flattered her figure immensely but reinforced the impression of her professional image. Dane didn’t much like the reminder, even if he did admire the long length of her calves as she crossed the room.

He forced himself to look away, returning to his papers, though he couldn’t find where he’d left off in the article he’d been reading. He finally placed the page aside and looked up, catching Ophelia’s eye. She offered a friendly smile, which ignited a warmth in his stomach. He found it a difficult endeavor to tear his gaze away from her.

“Are those waffles?” she questioned as she pulled out a chair.

“Macadamia nut,” Keahi offered around a mouthful of food. He shoved the platter her way before introducing himself. “I’m Keahi, the boss’s right-hand man.” He stood and reached across the table to offer the hand he had just mentioned.

She took it before seating herself across from Leilani and to Dane’s right. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Ophelia.”

“Keahi is my plantation manager,” Dane felt the need to elaborate.

“Would you like some sausage?” Leilani extended the plate.

Ophelia nodded and took a link. “Everything looks delicious, Pele.”

Pele didn’t utter a sound of acknowledgment but moved around the table to begin mounding several spoonfuls of fresh fruit onto Ophelia’s plate.

“
Tutu
loves to cook. It’s part of her nurturing spirit,” Leilani informed.

Dane cocked his head in curiosity. “Ophelia, you haven’t met Leilani yet, have you?”

Both girls flushed with what looked like guilt to him. He studied them more closely.

“Have you?” he pressed.

“Of course not,” Ophelia spoke up and then reached across the table to extend her hand. “Leilani, you must be in charge of reception and bookings. You probably spoke to my assistant, Holly, on the phone on Friday.”

“Miss Reid, of course.”

“Please, call me Ophelia.”

They looked way too conspiratorial for two people who had just met. He glanced at Pele, but she was busy pouring Ophelia a glass of juice and didn’t notice the exchange. And then, as one, the two younger women turned to look at him. He had the strangest feeling of being left out of something, and he didn’t much like it. When he gave no reaction, they turned back to each other.

“And what are your plans for your stay, Ophelia? I believe your assistant said you were on a business trip?” Leilani questioned.

“Yes, I’m actually here to present your boss with an offer to return to the mainland. As the Creative Marketing Director of Towers Resorts International.”

“Towers Resorts? Aren’t they opening a resort in Waikiki?” Keahi questioned.

Ophelia nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes, among a few others. It’s part of an ongoing expansion project. However, Bianca Towers, who inherited the company following her uncle’s death, is striving for a new image, and she’d like your boss to lead the way for her.”

“He’s retired,” Pele flatly informed.

Dane said nothing and waited for Ophelia’s response.

“I understand, but your boss was the best the business world has seen in terms of innovation and success in the advertising and marketing field. It’s why he still receives offers, even three years into his retirement.”

She slid a glance his way, but he refused to react to this praise. He had heard the same drivel spouted endlessly for years—it failed to penetrate anymore. He was proud of his previous successes, but he felt driven by his newest challenge—cultivating coffee. Ophelia spoke of his old life, and he was only interested in the new.

Leilani, however, looked at him with a curious gaze. “Is that true? Were you really as good as she says?”

He reached for his coffee. “Headhunters exaggerate.”

“Recruiters,”
Ophelia corrected, and he felt gratified by the way her jaw tightened on the word, “focus on potential.”

“Well,
my
potential has been refocused. Here. To this plantation.”

She met his gaze with a determined one of her own. “Perhaps you’d like to hear the terms of the proposal before you dismiss it out of hand?”

“After breakfast,” Dane relented, knowing he’d have to at least look at the offer. She wouldn’t give up until he did, and they might as well get the formalities out of the way so he could focus on running his plantation. “Deal,” Ophelia declared, the one word causing him to cringe as if it indicated he’d agreed to the contract.

Ophelia must have noticed his reaction because she frowned. “My suite is beautiful,” she said, as if this one compliment could make up for her being here.

“Ms. Reid—”

“Ophelia,” she again corrected.

“Ophelia,” he repeated with a nod in her direction, “is staying in the Liliuokalani suite.”

“Without a husband,” Pele tacked on as she settled into her own seat.

“I believe Lili-uo-kalani,” Ophelia pronounced the name with care, “was a forward-thinking lady, was she not? Surely she would approve of a single woman renting a suite that bears her name.”

Pele clucked her tongue. “What do you know of Liliuokalani?”

Ophelia’s grin seemed slightly smug, Dane thought. “I know she reigned as Hawaii’s last sovereign before the monarchy was overthrown around the turn of the previous century. She became queen following her brother’s death. David Kalakaua—am I saying that right?—who had named her his successor when he had no children to inherit the throne. A terrible injustice, the way she was imprisoned in Iolani Palace for a year and then later forced to abdicate. It is a fitting name for such a lovely suite, by the way.”

Dane stared at Ophelia following this unexpected flow of information. His gaze shifted to find Pele’s eyes narrowed to slits but then she gave a nod of approval. “You should eat more. You’re too skinny.”

Pele moved to pile another stack of waffles onto Ophelia’s plate. She nudged the syrup within easy reach. Dane eyed Ophelia again until she glanced his way, and then he arched his eyebrow in question at her newfound knowledge.

“I looked it up,” she confessed as she unfolded her napkin and smoothed it across her lap. “Your free Wi-Fi amenity is quite good here.”

He found himself fascinated by her confident demeanor, and the way she licked her lips before cutting into a section of waffle. The movements held him mesmerized, the length of her fingers, the curve of her wrist...until Keahi cleared his throat, and Dane shook himself back to awareness.

Ophelia didn’t seem to notice his distraction. “I only managed a brief glance at the property on my way in yesterday. Tell me more about the coffee plantation.”

Dane hesitated, uncertain why a recruiting headhunter wished to know about his life here unless she planned to use it in her arguments somehow. The air around the table grew thick with tension as he waited, studying Ophelia’s face. She remained turned toward him, her expression open and genuinely curious. He could feel the rest of his staff waiting for him to respond.

“There are fifteen acres, and about 2,500 coffee trees. We also have an orchard with mangoes, papayas, bananas and coconuts. Most of the fruit you’re served here at the inn is harvested from the plantation. We sit at an elevation of 1,200 feet above Kealakekua Bay, but we’re a short drive to some of the best attractions you’ll find anywhere, including snorkeling, swimming, historic spots, shopping and tours.”

“Yes, your brochure was most impressive,” she noted, and Dane frowned, realizing he had repeated most of what was already in their literature.

“So, why coffee?” Ophelia questioned as she speared a bite of sausage. “Why Hawaii?”

“Why not?” he countered. “Coffee is one of the world’s most sought-after commodities, and Hawaii is paradise.”

“But don’t you ever miss the city?” she pressed.

He leveled his gaze on her. “The concrete, the press of people, the exhaust fumes?”

“The accessibility, the high-rises, the adrenaline?”

“Didn’t we agree we’d negotiate
after
breakfast?”

To his consternation, he felt that same warmth spreading through his stomach as Ophelia Reid grinned brightly at him and didn’t say another word.

CHAPTER THREE

A
FTER
FINISHING
HER
proposal outlining the generous offer from Towers Resorts International, Ophelia was gratified to witness a slight break in Dane’s composure. He leaned back in his chair on the lanai and eyed her carefully.

“Those are some impressively decadent figures. Color me flattered. But I have to disagree on my worth—my skills hardly do such a number justice.”

“Bianca Towers would disagree. She feels you’re worth every penny of that price.”

“Ms. Towers is a spoiled brat, from what I’ve read,” Dane commented.

“Ms. Towers is quite concerned with the future image of Towers Resorts International. Her uncle’s passing and her subsequent inheritance of the company have created a media furor.”

“I noticed,” Dane dryly remarked. “Those photos of her, passed out drunk in the back of that rock star’s limo, were really in poor taste, even for the paparazzi.”

“Mmm, exactly. She needs a solid team behind her, to reestablish her company as a worldwide mecca of luxury and refinement.”

“And Ms. Towers feels she needs
me
to accomplish this?”

Ophelia leaned forward in her own seat and cocked her head. “Come now, Dane, don’t be modest. How many companies was it that you turned around during your time in the corporate spotlight?”

He scowled at her, but she would not be deterred.

“Take the case of the Heston Group alone. They were on the verge of bankruptcy from bad investments and poor media relations, and you stepped in at the last minute, raising them from the ashes and placing them within the top three companies in their field.
Time
magazine did an entire feature on it.”

“I don’t do that kind of work anymore,” he insisted. “And there are plenty of others who do. Go dangle your enormous salaries in front of one of them.” In his agitation, he stood and began pacing in front of the patio’s railing.

“Bianca has been very specific,” Ophelia smoothly returned. “She wants you. Only your skills and knowledge will do.”

“Has no one ever told her she can’t have everything she wants?”

Ophelia felt her lips turn upward of their own volition. “I rather doubt it,” she couldn’t resist remarking.

He looked at her directly then, in such a way that Ophelia’s heart began to pound in her chest, and she was forced to turn her attention elsewhere before she began to blush. She focused her gaze on the garden below and savored the breeze, breathing deeply of the fecund scents of greenery and soil.

“Have you ever tasted Kona coffee, Ophelia?” Dane questioned, drawing her attention back to him.

He leaned against the lanai rail, his gaze intent on her. “No,” she confessed. “Though I’ve heard it is incomparable.”

“The remarkable thing about Kona coffee is how each farm’s beans lend a different layer to the flavor profile. While some Konas are nutty with a faint caramel flavor, others are slightly sweeter with berry notes. In general, all Kona coffees have a bright but mellow acidity to them with a full, almost buttery body.”

“You must have a gourmet’s palate,” she said.

Dane shrugged off this remark. “Not especially. But what I find interesting about coffee is the same thing I find interesting about people—the diverse layers of flavor, or purpose. Some are more complex than others with notes so varied and subtle that it takes true effort to define them.”

She held his eye as he studied her. “And you’re still trying to figure out mine, is that it?”

He didn’t respond, and the silence was broken when Pele entered the lanai carrying a tray with a white carafe, two demitasse cups and a plate of candied fruits and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.

Dane took the tray from Pele and thanked her. She lingered, head cocked as she watched the two of them, until Dane pointedly cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Pele.”

With a shrug, she turned and headed back inside.

“Here.” Dane poured them each a demitasse cup of rich, dark coffee and passed one her way.

She leaned her nose into the fragrant beverage and noted the faintest scents of berry and cocoa. Blowing first on the liquid, she took a small sip and was rewarded with a satisfying explosion of tart fruitiness and mellow cocoa flavor along her tongue. She allowed the full body of the brew to linger in her mouth before it slid down her throat. Greedily, she took another steaming sip.

“It’s fantastic,” she admitted. “Easily the best cup of coffee I’ve ever tasted.”

He grinned proudly. “I knew you’d think so. It’s our own beans, roasted right here on the plantation.”

His pleased expression reminded her of a little boy who had been praised for a job well done. She took another sip. “Impressive.”

She reached for one of the chocolate macadamia nuts. The delicate milk chocolate against the nutty flavor of the treat only served to highlight the Kona roast’s cocoa notes even further.

“I assume this little exercise is meant to demonstrate for me the allure of island life?”

“The point of this little exercise was to demonstrate the quality of the product. Coffee is the second-most-traded commodity in the world, next to oil, and Kona is one of the most lucrative beans. Why should I give that up, along with paradise, to return to a city that never held much appeal for me and a career I left behind?”

As much as she hated to play the card Leilani had handed her the evening before, she knew she had to use it. “Because you’re drowning in debt, and the very best coffee beans in the world can’t save you if you don’t have the capital to properly distribute them.”

He sat in what she assumed was stunned silence. Ophelia placed her demitasse cup back on the tray.

“With all due respect, I think it takes more than a good cup of coffee to turn down an offer such as the one Bianca Towers has made you.”

She could tell by the hardening of his jaw that her words had only served to anger him.

“How do you know about the plantation’s financial situation?”

Ophelia held her breath for a second before releasing it. “Like you said, I’ve done my homework.”

He glared at her, and she felt every ounce of the pressure he must be under.

“Let me make you another offer,” she said. “My firm will pay you $10,000 in addition to my reservation at the inn if you’ll be my personal guide for this week. It will give you the opportunity to show off your paradise here, and it will allow me the chance to highlight all the benefits of Ms. Towers’s offer to you.”

The glare dissolved, replaced by wariness. She could tell he hadn’t expected this change in tactics.

“That seems somewhat...desperate.”

Ophelia attempted to keep her expression neutral. “Perhaps we’re both a little desperate, hmm? Why not see if it can work to our advantage?”

She had always known Dane Montgomery would be the toughest recruitment of her career. But she had the feeling that if she could just spend enough time with him, get to know him, find some sort of compromise to their situations...

“Fine.”

She knew that this time, her face revealed her surprise. “Fine? I mean...you’ll do it?”

“For $10,000, I’ll be your personal tour guide...for
this week only.
” He rose to his feet. “But let me warn you, Ms. Reid, that others with more experience than you have tried many times over the past three years to lure me back.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

He paused, seeming to consider her. “What makes you think you’ll have a better chance than they did?”

She met his gaze with determination. “I don’t know that I do,” she confessed, “but I have to try.”

He straightened at this, and did she imagine it, or was there just the slightest hint of respect in his gaze?

“Then let the games begin.”

* * *

F
OLLOWING
HER
PRELIMINARY
negotiations with Dane, Ophelia excused herself, heading to her room so she could check in back home. She stared at her cell phone for a long time before she finally decided to send her mother an email instead. It would be much less stressful than attempting to fill in the details by phone.

She opened up her laptop and typed a short missive.

To: Lillian Reid

From: Ophelia Reid

Subject: Dane Montgomery

Ms. Reid,

Things are progressing naturally concerning Dane Montgomery, with the expected resistance to our offer. As we discussed, I have offered him the additional monetary incentive in exchange for his time, and he has agreed to the terms. I will continue to outline the benefits regarding his acceptance of this contract and will keep you apprised of any developments.

Sincerely,

Ophelia

She considered adding something of a more personal nature, even going so far as to type
PS The weather is lovely,
followed by
We should visit here together one day,
and then she immediately deleted such trite words, knowing what her mother would think of them.

She sent off the email and closed her laptop, hesitating as she considered calling Cole to see how he was doing. A sense of obligation prompted her to reach for her phone. She took note of the time difference, opened her speed-dial list and tapped Cole’s name. She drew a breath and held it as the line rang once, twice, three and then four times before her ex-boyfriend finally answered.

“Hello, Fee.”

She cringed at Cole’s nickname for her.

“Ophelia,” she corrected.

“Right. Of course. Sorry.”

He sounded truly contrite, and guilt washed over her. She quickly brushed it aside.

“How’s paradise?” he asked.

“It’s lovely,” she said, and realized she was nervously tapping her index finger on her laptop. She cleared her throat and pushed the computer from her lap.

“Have you convinced Montgomery to accept the contract yet?”

She felt a twinge of irritation. “I’ve barely been here twenty-four hours. It’s not the easiest recruitment ever, you know.”

“So I take it that’s a no?”

His voice held a hint of amusement, and she found her irritation rising.

“If you were here—”

“I’m not.” He cut her off.

This sudden interruption gave her pause. She couldn’t fault him for being touchy, not after she’d broken things off between them.

“I’m sure you’ll convince him eventually,” he said. This generous nod to her recruiting abilities sharpened her guilt even further, but she reminded herself of the reason she’d broken up with Cole in the first place.

“I’ll certainly do my best.”

The silence between them was strained.

“Cole—”

“Ophelia—”

They both stopped.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Fee?” She didn’t correct him a second time about the nickname. She already knew to what he referred.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted, Cole. It’s the only thing I’ve ever asked of you—that you be willing to move to Paris so I could oversee the European branch when the time came. I know that it’s a big commitment, but every time we discussed it, you said you’d be willing to go with me when the time came. Now it’s finally coming to pass, and you’re backing out of your end of the bargain.”

“Don’t forget that the entire deal hinges on you bringing Montgomery out of retirement. You just pointed out that it’s not the easiest recruitment, by far.”

“It changes nothing about you and me, though. I asked you to choose. I told you what it came down to—Paris with me or New York without me. You made it quite clear what you preferred.”

“I asked for some time to think about it—I didn’t know I was writing us off forever by wanting a chance to consider my options.”

“I want to be more than an option for you,” she stated. “Besides, has anything changed since I left? Have you decided I’m worth it, after all?”

The soft static of the line spoke volumes even when Cole said nothing. She scoffed slightly.

“Paris is everything to me. Everything,” she reiterated.

“Everything?” His voice was wounded when he finally spoke.

She sighed with weariness and leaned over to rest her forehead in the palm of her hand. “Cole, please. You have always known how important this is to me.”

“But you’d be leaving everything familiar behind. Including your mother.”

A strangled laugh escaped her throat. “I could finally prove myself to her.”

“Prove yourself? To your own mother? Ophelia, that’s not necessary. Surely you know that.”

She couldn’t explain it to him. She wondered if he had ever understood, if he had ever even paid attention to what passed for a mother-daughter relationship between her and Lillian Reid.

Her lack of a reply must have compelled him to speak further. “Ophelia, be reasonable. We’re talking about our future.”

She felt a twist of pity for him. “Cole, I don’t think we have a future.”

Another minute of silence stretched out between them.

“And what’s your plan if you don’t succeed? If you can’t convince Montgomery to return?”

The thought left a weight of apprehension in her stomach. She couldn’t fail her mother like that. She couldn’t fail herself and her dreams.

“I’ll figure it out. There’s no need to concern yourself.”

“Of course not. Why would I do that?” His words were laced with resentment.

She felt herself bristle. “Right. No need to expect your support or anything.”

They sighed at the same time.

“Well, I just wanted to check in,” she said.

“Yeah. Thanks for that. And good luck with Montgomery. You’re probably going to need it.”

She resisted the urge to grind her teeth together.

“Right. Take care, Cole.”

“You, too.”

As she ended the call, she marveled at the two of them, how awkwardness outweighed any heartbreak they might have experienced. She wondered if their entire relationship had been based on convenience and expectation rather than love. For her part, she felt only frustration.

Placing these thoughts aside and trying not to let Cole’s words get to her, she began preparing for her tour with Dane.