1. Darius #2
Why had Darius Wayne, the man who was said to have a staunch moral compass, led on an owner of the property he was trying to acquire, without revealing his identity?
Was what Baxter said actually true? Had this legendary executive actually been pursuing the hotel owner strictly as an underhanded tactical play to get his hands on the property's debt structure?
The thought sent a sudden, thrilling rush of heat through her chest. It was incredibly cold, ruthless, and absolutely useful to her own ambitions.
So the golden businessman was not as morally pure as he made out to be.
She respected that kind of corporate malice; it aligned perfectly with the way her own family had built their empire through real estate developments for generations.
A slow, calculating smile began to spread across her face as she looked at Baxter.
"I am so sorry your cousin is this angry with us," Debbi said softly, turning her face toward Baxter as they walked toward the car. She forced her voice to carry a sympathetic, comforting quiver. "He must have genuinely cared for Ms. Heart to react with this kind of anger."
Baxter let out a heavy sigh, running a hand over his face as he looked down at the asphalt.
"No, my cousin was completely done with serious relationships after his second divorce was finalized back in Miami.
I think his pursuit of Ms. Heart was strictly an aggressive move to get closer to the family, to figure out exactly what they were planning to try do to save the hotel.
" He clamped his jaw tight, looking miserable.
"And now I've gone and messed up his entire play.” He breathed out his nose. “Again!"
Debbi purred charmingly, leaning a fraction closer to him and touching his arm with a perfectly manicured hand. “I’m sure when he’s calmed down you can straighten this out.”
“I hope so,” Baxter breathed. “Otherwise I may just have to take your brother up on his job offer.” He gave a brittle laugh. His eyes cleared as they stared affectionately into hers. “Don’t worry though. I’ll ensure that you get what you need to assess the findings on the Hearts Hotel dig.”
"Thank you," Debbi murmured, offering him a warm, bright smile. "It really means a lot to me that you want to help me with it."
"Of course," Baxter murmured, leaning down to press a gentle, reassuring kiss against her temple. He looked into her eyes with such warmth. "You know how much I want this for you.”
Debbi accepted the embrace gracefully, but internally, her thoughts had already discarded him.
Baxter was a small fish, a disgraced executive who had been sent to the regional projects because he couldn't handle the high-leverage plays in Miami.
Darius Wayne was the true mastermind, the brilliant man who owned the entire corporate machine and was willing to pursue a woman just to secure a land registry.
Then he was the shark she needed to land.
She didn't care about Baxter's lingering affection.
Her mind was already spinning with ways to position herself beside Darius.
"Oh, my phone is buzzing," Debbi said suddenly, reaching into her blazer pocket with a look of feigned surprise. "Go ahead and get into the car. I need to take this call quickly. I'll catch up with you in just a second."
Baxter offered a polite nod and slipped into the front seat, closing the door to give her privacy.
Debbi pulled her phone out, staring down at a completely blank screen.
She moved a few feet away from the car so he couldn’t hear her, then swiped past her alerts, found a highly private, unlisted number, and hit the dial button.
The line rang twice before a hard, authoritative male voice answered on the other end. "Hello?"
"I think we might be able to completely ditch the small fish and bring the big shark directly into our plan for the coastline," Debbi said quietly, turning her back to the vehicle so her lips couldn't be read through the glass. Her eyes gleamed with a dangerous, dark light.
"Debbi, what on earth are you up to now?" the male voice answered through the line, his tone sharp with calculation. "We need to stick strictly to the original plan we laid out for the acquisitions. The timeline is tight, and I cannot afford any corporate scandals tracking back to my office."
"Oh, we are sticking to the plan," Debbi said, a confident smile spreading across her face.
"But imagine executing the entire property buyout with an actual Wayne leading the charge, without him ever realizing he is working with us.
From the look of things in the Hearts Hotel foyer today, he might just be searching for a perfect rebound relationship to clear his frustration over the Hearts Hotel ordeal. "
"Debbi," the male voice cut in, low and threatening. "Do not let your old teenage crushes end up ruining this entire development for us. We need that hotel parcel to secure the residency requirements and the local footprint before the primary voting begins."
"I won't let anything fail," she promised firmly, her fingers tightening around the plastic casing of her phone. "I am going to ensure our plan works exactly the way it's supposed to."
She disconnected the call without waiting for a reply, lowering the device to her side as she stood on the hot pavement.
Her gaze drifted toward the front entrance of the hotel.
The speaker on the phone was right about one thing; it was an old crush.
When she was just fifteen, her family had shared a summer resort area with the Waynes.
It was a few years before Mr and Mrs Wayne were killed in that terrible car accident.
She had thought Darius was the most handsome, mesmerizing man she had ever seen in her life.
She’d spent weeks trailing after him and her brother like a lost puppy, trying every single trick she knew just to get him to look in her direction.
He hadn't noticed a fifteen-year-old teenager back then, but he would certainly notice her now, especially since she could help him get the property he’d been trying to get ever since the death of his parents
She was brought out of her thoughts by a familiar, clear voice that suddenly echoed from the shaded hotel veranda, shattering her memories.
Debbi’s heart gave a violent thud against her ribs.
Her head turned toward the sound of the voice, her breath catching as she saw Owen standing near the heavy oak entrance doors. He wasn't alone.
"Isabel, wait," Owen was saying, his large hand gently catching the woman's arm to halt her stride on the concrete steps. "I think leave it. Don't interfere. Let him and Linda sort it out on their own."
"Oh, I don't blame my brother," Isabel retorted, her dark eyes flashing with a sharp, protective anger as she looked over toward the parking lot.
Her gaze scanned right past Debbi without a hint of recognition, landing squarely on the dark luxury sedan.
"Yes, Darius is an idiot for not telling Linda who he was right away. But my cousin..."
Owen’s eyes followed the direction of her look, his gaze locking directly onto Debbi’s face.
Debbi felt her chest tighten, a sudden, old familiar heat pounding through her veins before freezing into pure ice.
Owen's eyes were utterly devoid of any normal human warmth.
They were filled with nothing but a cold, cutting disgust that seemed to look right through her as if she were a piece of rotten wood.
He turned his face away from her after a single fraction of a second, looking back down at Isabel.
Even from across the wide asphalt driveway, Debbi could see the incredible tenderness that softened his features the moment he looked at that woman.