Getaway Bay, page 11
If Sterling could see the slight fib in those words, he didn’t indicate as much. Marshall felt like half of himself, because in the past he probably would’ve just told Sterling to bring him the car. He wouldn’t have asked.
“Let me call Mister DuPont,” Sterling said. He stepped away, ever the dutiful employee, and made the call. Five minutes later, Marshall had the keys as well as a text from Fish that said, Esther’s not driving you anymore? What happened?
Suddenly dedicated to not driving while texting, Marshall tossed his phone to the passenger seat and put both hands on the wheel. But he had no destination he wanted to go to.
So he just drove.
He woke to the sound of a jangling collar. He barely had time to throw his hands in front of his face before a golden retriever licked his face. “Ah,” he groaned at the same time Tyler pulled the dog back.
“Lazy Bones,” he chastised, but Marshall knew that was the retriever’s name. “Leave ‘im alone.”
Why Tyler lived in a one-bedroom shack was beyond Marshall. The man had billions of dollars. Surely he could afford a second bedroom for guests.
Marshall sat up and wiped his face clean of dog slobber. “Going surfing?” he asked when he beheld Tyler in a rash guard and board shorts. Of course, the man wore something similar every day of his life, so he could’ve just as easily been going to the grocery store.
“Yeah. Killer waves on the north beach this morning.”
Marshall exhaled and scrubbed his hands through his hair. “What time is it?”
“Five. Go back to sleep.” But Tyler started banging around the kitchen, putting food together and making coffee. Marshall watched him, almost envious of the man’s simple life. No job. No commitments, other than Lazy Bones, who sat very still at the end of the counter, waiting.
Tyler finally fed him and finished gathering the supplies he needed for that morning’s waves. Despite growing up on the islands, Marshall had never gotten into surfing. He loved sailing, however, and he decided on the spot to take the catamaran out for the day. He could sleep on it if he took enough food. Maybe he wouldn’t have to step foot back on land until his heart figured out how to beat instead of flop.
He probably should’ve gone to the boat last night. Or his own house. Or the one he owned on Maui. Or his parent’s place. But nowhere had seemed safe from questions, safe from self-doubt. Tyler stayed up late and didn’t ask questions, and he said, “Eat whatever you want. I’ll be back later.”
“I’ll be gone.” Marshall stood, intending to shower here, get some clothes and groceries, and head to the dock. “Thanks, man.” He man-clapped Tyler on the back and shuffled toward the bathroom.
The door closed behind Tyler and Lazy Bones as Marshall looked at himself in the mirror. Yep. He definitely looked like a man who’d lost it all.
Again.
He turned away from his reflection, the thoughts from the previous night still floating around in his head.
He stewed on them while he showered, dressed, and drove up to his house. The emptiness of the place helped him find clarity of thought, and he dismissed the idea of calling Esther to see if she wanted to talk.
Of course she didn’t. She probably knew by now that he’d canceled his service, otherwise she’d be showing up at his gate any minute. The thought sent panic through him, and he checked the screens in his bedroom to see if her car was waiting at the gate. Part of him hoped it was.
Nothing.
He packed quickly and stopped at the grocery store for convenience items he could eat without having to cook. The moment his foot touched the boat, relief spread through him.
Another text from Fish came in. Are you ignoring me?
No. Marshall sent the text and went back to the car for the rest of the groceries.
You’ll have everything ready? he asked. I thought you could work with Esther, but she says she has everything under control.
So do I. Marshall thought the shorter his texts were, the sooner Fish would stop bothering him, the sooner he could get out on the water.
Tayla’s expecting to hear from you today.
Marshall almost chucked his phone overboard. Instead he typed, I know, and set it to silent. He couldn’t pick the hibiscus flowers today anyway. They’d look like trash by Tuesday.
No, right now he just needed to get out on the water and figure out how to live on this island with Esther and not have her in his life.
Chapter Fifteen
Esther stayed at Sweet Breeze on Saturday night, afraid that Marshall might come by her bungalow. Not in a stalker, creepy way, but an apologetic way. And she wanted to hold onto her anger for a little longer.
At least she hadn’t been hacked by someone nefarious, who wanted to steal her assets from her. But Marshall didn’t trust her, and she couldn’t be with someone who would forever assume she would do the same thing his ex-wife had done.
Fisher’s hotel was incredibly comfortable, and because Marshall had canceled his service for a few days, Esther had nowhere to be. Nothing to do. She’d been working nonstop for fifteen years, and it felt rewarding and relaxing to spend some extra time in bed, leafing through the room service menu.
She didn’t quite feel like herself, and she suspected she might not for quite a while. After all, she’d given pieces of herself to Marshall, and she needed time to find them all and get them back.
Beach this morning? she texted to Tawny and Stacey, abandoning the idea of eating anything. I broke up with Marshall.
She’d managed to keep the news to herself for twenty-four hours, but now she needed reinforcements. Reassurance.
Oh, honey, Stacey’s text came in. Let me make sure Tayla can handle the checkouts, and I’ll be right over.
I stayed at Sweet Breeze last night, she messaged just as Tawny texted I’ll be there in ten.
Esther didn’t have any of her beach clothes. Her bag. Her lotions. Nothing.
She didn’t care. She wasn’t going to go get them. What if Marshall had slept in some work truck in her driveway? No, she had money and it was about time she spent some of it.
Maybe thirty minutes, she said. I don’t have any of my stuff and need to hit up Fisher’s gift shop.
She’d looked at exactly one bikini when Tawny stepped next to her. “Hey.” She wrapped her skinny, muscular arms around Esther and held on tight. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Esther almost lost it right there in the Sweet Breeze gift shop. But she managed to pull in a breath tight enough to keep her emotions behind the wall.
“I’ll get the sunglasses,” Tawny said. She peered at Esther for an extra moment and then stepped over to the spinning stand, selecting the shiniest, mirrored shades from the rack.
Stacey arrived as Esther added a towel to her growing pile of purchases. She wore a worried look in her green eyes, and she too hugged Esther as if she’d just been diagnosed with a terrible, terminal disease.
Maybe she had. Maybe she’d never be able to find someone to spend her life with. A wave of hurt tore through her, and no amount of sucking at the air was going to hold back this emotion. She couldn’t speak as the tears flowed down her face, and Stacey turned her toward the back of the store as she said, “Tawny.”
She took everything from Esther and handed it to Tawny. She unshouldered Esther’s purse and gave it to her too. “Go buy this stuff. Esther, come with me.”
Esther let Stacey lead her out of the shop and around the corner, down a hall that obviously wasn’t used by guests. Esther went, her lungs shaking, and her legs one step away from giving out. One more step. One more.
Stacey keyed in a code and the private elevator beeped. Less than a minute later, the car spat them out in a beautiful penthouse where Marshall had brought Esther previously—Fisher’s residence.
Esther couldn’t look at Stacey. If she did, she’d lose it.
“What happened?”
Esther shook her head and managed to get to the couch to sit. She covered her face with both hands and cried, something she’d never allowed herself to do with her previous boyfriends. Because Marshall was more than a boyfriend, and she knew it.
“I told him I loved him,” she gasped out between the sobs. “We were talking about having a family.”
Stacey joined her on the couch and wrapped both hands around her shoulders, saying, “All right. Just let it out. Get it all out.”
Esther leaned into her and sobbed, this heart break sharper than anything she’d ever experienced before.
They never did make it to the beach. Tawny showed up in the penthouse and they had their Beach Club meeting indoors for the first time as Esther cried herself dry and then told the whole story.
And Esther was very grateful for her friends. They were very good friends, and they didn’t offer advice, or tell her what she should’ve done, or bash on Marshall. Somehow they knew that none of those things would really help. Just having them there was what Esther needed, and they all cuddled into the couch and put a romantic comedy on the television.
By the time the movie ended, Esther felt rusty, creaky, the lines on her face caked with salt from her tears. “Thank you,” she said, pushing out a great big breath. “I better get to work.”
“You don’t work on the weekends,” Stacey said.
“Well, I can’t sit around here, feeling sorry for myself.” Esther gave her friends a hug each, and they went down the elevator together.
Her office felt safe. Somewhere Marshall would never come. She pulled around the back of the building and sat in the car, wondering if she was being stupid. Neither Stacey nor Tawny had said so, but Esther couldn’t help feeling foolish.
Deep down, she knew it wasn’t embarrassment for how she’d acted at Marshall’s yesterday. But humiliation that she’d told him she’d been in love with him for years, only to find out he had performed a background check on her and dug into her private and business finances.
I check into everyone I do business with.
The words hurt so much, and she wondered if they’d ever stop.
“Should’ve stuck to business,” she muttered to herself. She turned off the car and went inside the building. She paused just inside the door, something new and different about the place. Jaylani sat at the counter, and she glanced up at Esther.
Surprise ran through her eyes. “Esther. What’re you doing here?”
“I….” Esther didn’t know how to explain. “I just wanted to get caught up on a few things for next week.”
Jaylani stood, her expression radiating anxiety now. “I put something on your desk.”
Esther approached slowly, like she might scare Jaylani off with too many quick movements. “What is it?”
“Someone stopped by today. He had something for you, but I told him you didn’t work on the weekends. He said it was fine, that he didn’t want to talk to you.”
Esther raised her eyebrows. “He didn’t want to talk to me, but he had something for me?” All kinds of alarms were going off in her head, and none of them were good. “Who was it?”
“I…can’t say.”
Esther narrowed her eyes, all her senses on overdrive now. “You can’t? Or you don’t know who it was?”
“I know who it was.” Jaylani swallowed and ran her hand over her braided hair, a nervous gesture Esther hadn’t seen from her in a long time. “He asked me not to tell you. I didn’t think I’d have to, because I didn’t think you’d be in until tomorrow, when you’d see the folder on your desk….” Her voice trailed into nothing and she glanced over her shoulder to Esther’s office, where the door sat closed.
Esther cocked her head, in no mood for games. “Fine. I guess I’ll go find out for myself.” She half-expected Jaylani to step in front of her and stop her, but she just watched Esther walk by and enter her office.
She closed the door behind her, immediately spotting the blue folder on her desk, even amidst the other chaos she’d left on Friday. So maybe she kept a messy desk. Didn’t mean she didn’t know what every sheet of paper was, and where every report resided.
After rounding the desk, she gazed down at the folder as if she could see through the thick cardstock to the papers within. It wasn’t thick, and she couldn’t imagine what it would hold. She sat in her desk chair and opened the drawer. She had a bottle of frankincense there, and she dabbed a little behind each ear, inhaling the fragrant scent to help calm herself. Her oils had always worked for her, but she wasn’t entirely sure even the best scents could ease this depression.
But she felt a bit calmer, and she opened the folder to find out what was inside. Her eyes couldn’t read fast enough, but it didn’t take long for her to understand the goal of the document. Someone wanted to buy Your Ride.
She flipped the page, searching for the buyer, and her blood ran cold when she saw Robison Enterprises.
She fell back in her chair as if the words had physically hit her. Marshall wanted to steal Your Ride from her?
Anger made her whole face hot, and she leaned forward again to find out how much he thought her business was worth. He ought to know; he’d pulled the financial records weeks ago.
Purchase price: $1,000,000,000
The air left Eshter’s lungs and leaked from her mouth in a low hiss.
“One billion dollars?” She slapped the folder closed and snatched it from the desk. Out in the front of the office, she said, “When did he drop this off?”
“A couple of hours ago.” Jaylani stood, perceiving the storm that was about to hit the building. “Why? What is it?”
“A con,” Esther said darkly. “Theft.” She marched toward the door. “And if he comes back, call the cops.”
“Mister Robison?”
“Yes. He’s not welcome here.” Esther knew Jaylani deserved more of an explanation, but she couldn’t give it at the moment. Right now, she needed to talk to Marshall and find out what kind of sick game he was playing.
* * *
Chapter Sixteen
Marshall wasn’t expecting to see anyone for a few days, so when some very angry—and loud—knocking landed on his front door, he was both surprised and terrified. Only a handful of people knew the code to his gate, and he didn’t want to see any of them right now.
He ran his hands through his hair as he walked over to the monitor that would show him the front porch.
“Esther.” He breathed her name, more terrified than before, because she hugged the blue folder against her chest like a shield.
He twisted toward the door, wondering if he could simply not answer. He could claim almost anything. He’d been napping. Hadn’t been home. It wasn’t like he had a car and she’d know.
“Marshall!” she yelled. “You answer this door right now.”
The sound of her voice, furious as it was, ignited something inside him that had gone out when she’d broken up with him yesterday morning. The past thirty hours had been a special kind of torture, and he decided he’d rather have her yelling at him than not have her at all.
A spark started in him as he crossed to the front door and pulled it open. Esther’s blue eyes danced with dangerous fire, and she slapped the folder against his chest as she moved right into his body.
“What is this?” she demanded. “Are you trying to steal my company?”
“Steal your company?” He scoffed and encircled her wrist with his fingers. “This is an offer, Esther. A very generous offer, in fact, for a thriving business.”
“Your Ride is not for sale.”
“Everything is for sale, sweetheart.” His heart pounded so hard she could surely feel it through the folder.
She wrenched her hand out of his light grip. “And even if that were true, which it’s not, Your Ride isn’t worth a billion dollars.”
“Sure it is.”
She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way, her chest heaving. Even angry, she was beautiful, and he wanted to keep her here for as long as possible.
“A business is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it,” he said, hoping she didn’t take his statement as business advice. “And I'm willing to pay one billion dollars for Your Ride.”
Tears gathered in her eyes and Esther’s chin quivered. “Why?” Her voice sounded pinched and timid and nothing like the bold, powerful woman he’d fallen in love with. “Are you trying to take everything I have?”
“What? No.” He peered at her, trying to understand what he’d done wrong. He knew how much Your Ride was worth, and it was a heck of a lot less than a billion dollars.
“Then why are you doing this?” She dropped her hands to her sides, the fight in her fading. At least this conversation had lasted long enough for that to happen.
“Why am I doing this?” He squinted at her, wishing he could see inside her mind. “Because I’m trying to get you back. I’m trying to apologize. I’m trying to tell you that I was wrong and shouldn’t have—I should’ve trusted you more.” His own chest heaved as his emotions came out of the box he’d stuffed them into.
Esther’s gaze searched his, earnest and hopeful, but not quite believing. “How is buying my company a way to get me back?”
“Because it got you up here. It got you to come talk to me. And it could get you into the Nine-0 club, and we could be together, no secrets between us.”
“Maybe you could’ve just called.”
He scoffed. “Right. I know you better than that. Give me some credit.”
“Your Ride still isn’t for sell.”
Marshall wanted to throw up his hands in defeat. He had no idea what to do now. Desperation clogged his throat and made his tongue thick.
The breeze kicked up, playing with her hair and telling him his time was almost up. She wouldn’t stand on his front porch for much longer, and she wouldn’t come in the house.
“Esther,” he said, not even caring that all his feelings poured into the word. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.” Marshall had always known what to do. This was a new feeling for him, and even as he stood waiting for her to respond, he knew he had to trust it. Trust her.
