Orlando
Imight be in love with Amaya. I wanted nothing more than to be with her. And meeting her parents was the icing on the cake. I knew I would end up tired of their over the top presentation eventually, but at the moment it was a breath of fresh air after growing up in a very structured home and maintaining that into adulthood.
The feelings I had also led to a firmer decision on my part. I wanted to stay in Savannah. I wanted to give up the stringent way I had been living up to this point and actually enjoy life. With Amaya, preferably. While The Promenade had never been officially on the market, I had certainly shown it off to potential buyers. Thankfully none had bitten so far. There was one last company I was waiting to hear from—Worthy.
What nobody else knew was that I had shown The Promenade to one of Worthy’s people. Honestly, I tried to downplay the place to the woman who did the walk through. I pointed out every uneven stone, every tiny flaw. I hadn’t meant to do that, but I had taken an instant dislike to the dour-faced woman and I didn’t want her in my family’s sanctuary.
I no longer wanted to sell. Sure I could have cancelled that appointment, but I wanted to see what was offered—if it was offered.
The second the phone rang I grabbed it up. This was the call I had been waiting for. The question was, what would be said? “Daniels.”
“Mr. Daniels, James Worthy here.” The voice was low and gruff.
“A pleasure, Mr. Worthy.” I turned my chair backwards so I faced the wall.
“I’ve looked over the numbers several times,” he said. “Your little venture there does quite well.”
I nodded in agreement, though he couldn’t see me. “It really does. It’s been in my family for generations.”
“Why do you want to sell?”
I scratched my head. “To be honest, I was looking to sell just to get out. I wanted to help my mother retire in style and get myself back to Atlanta as quickly as possible when I came here. This is a treasure and anybody would be lucky to own it.” I was lucky to own it.
It might not pay what I made in Atlanta, but wasn’t a high-stress corporate job either. I could relax, maybe even take a vacation now and then. Being near the ocean, my mother, and Amaya were all icing on the cake. I felt like I was punched in the gut.
“It’s not what we’re looking for at the moment. While it performs well, it’s not big enough to entice me, I’m afraid.”
Thankful for his answer, I sighed. “I appreciate your time, Mr. Worthy.” He hung up and I swung back around to face my computer.
And I swung directly into the gaze of Amaya who stood stock still with her hands balled at her sides. Her face was tight and her color was more red than usual. I opened my mouth, unsure what I would say, but I closed it again. I had to do something. She was staring.
“You’re selling The Promenade?” She blinked, but otherwise remained unmoved.
“Um…”
“You are selling The Promenade?” Her hands squeezed tighter. “After you bring me on, telling me how amazing it is here. After you told your sweet, caring mother that you would carry on your family’s legacy.” She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, I felt sure fire would shoot forth from them. “You’re selling?”
A string of expletives ran through my head, but those wouldn’t get me out of this predicament. “Amaya,” I started. “That was someone who was interested, but he’s not buying. So nothing to worry about.” I made a show of smiling and relaxing my shoulders.
I did not think the expression on my face conveyed that everything was fine. I think it conveyed absolute terror at her reaction. I had seen her with her game face on. I had seen her a little agitated. That paled in comparison to how she was looking at me. A look that would send any man to his knees, begging for mercy.
In a step, she was up against my desk. She put both her hands flat on the cool veneered surface and leaned down. “You hired me to work here. We started dating. You met my family. And nowhere in there did you mention any inkling for selling The Promenade. Were you just hoping nobody would notice?”
I knew people would notice, of course. Wait, that wasn’t what she was asking. Was it? Her dark eyes were entrancing and the way she was leaning over made me want to kiss her. I shook my head to clear it. “No, no. I didn’t want to say anything if nothing was going to come of it. And nothing has come of it, so no worries.”
“You kept this from me, Orlando.” Her doe eyes began to fill with tears. “Did you keep this from your mother, too? I bet she’s clueless.” Amaya pushed off the desk and turned on her stilettos, striding from my office and down the hall.
“Amaya, wait. Wait! Hear me out!” I jumped up and ran after her, but she barreled through the door and out to the parking lot in the pouring rain.
Not bothering with an umbrella, she climbed into her car and tore out of the parking lot while I stood next to one of the grand columns. I patted my pockets looking for my phone, but it wasn’t there. It was still at my desk.
Back inside, I dialed her number, but it went right to voicemail. “Amaya, please let me explain everything. Call me back.”
I sat down and raked my hands through my hair. How had she ingrained herself into me so quickly? The idea of her walking out of my life forever made me nearly hyperventilate. I couldn’t do this without her. Why had I been so stupid?
I tried her number again and again no answer. For a moment I considered calling Linaya, but I figured she would just as likely give me directions off a pier before telling me where Amaya had gone. I squeezed my eyes closed and slammed my fists on my desk.
“You love her.” My mother’s voice startled me. She stood in the doorway to my office, her hands clasped in front of her.
“Mom, she didn’t let me explain,” I started.
“That you were going to sell a piece of property that has been in my family for five generations?” The hurt in her eyes made me forget about Amaya for the moment. “I could hardly believe it, Orlando.”
If I had felt at all broken before that moment, it was nothing compared to how it felt to hear my mother say those words.
“It was a foolish idea, Mom. I swear to you I will never sell The Promenade.” Tears pricked my eyelids. Nobody wanted to disappoint their mother, especially when she was standing before you with tears on her cheeks.
She sat in the chair opposite me. “It’s not even about the property, Orlando. It’s that you didn’t share your ideas or plans. I know that one day this land will no longer be in the family. I accept that. But for you do to this behind my back. It’s shocking.”
Never would I have described my mother as frail, but in that moment she was as frail as I had ever seen her. She looked weary and exhausted. Her entire life had been poured into this venue and I had been ready to pass it off without a word of her input or thought. I realized just how horrible I had been.
“Oh, Mom, I’m so sorry. I was only thinking about business and not about family. I realized my mistake, though, before this phone call. If he had made an offer, I would have refused it,” I told her. “Over the last few months I’ve come to love it here. I think shifting my focus was exactly what I needed.”
A slight smile warmed Mom’s face. “I’m glad you feel that way now. Now, how about that girl?”
“Did she call you?”
“She texted me her resignation and told me what was going on. But I will just pretend the resignation didn’t come through.” She chuckled a little. “What are you waiting for, son?”
I tilted my head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
“Go after her!”
“Oh,” I said, leaping up. “Where?”
“Do I have to do everything for you?”
I grinned. “I’ll find her.”