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“A risk analysis,” she says, somewhat confused.
“We may have a generous disposable income, but it doesn’t mean we’re eager to squander money on someone else’s wild dreams,” I reply. “How do you think we made it this far in this business?”
Ramada carelessly scoffs and throws her platinum hair back with a flick of the wrist. “I don’t know, I just have money to invest in all sorts of ventures. So far, I’ve had mostly successes. I trust my instincts.”
“Good for you. That means you’re fine with failing because you haven’t experienced the sting of a serious loss,” I say. “We’ve been on the other side, however. And we have a certain way of doing things.”
Kace exhales sharply. “I agree with Elias here. We’ll gladly consider your offer, Ramada, but we do need to see some projections along with the aforementioned risk analysis. And a history of this entrepreneur of yours would certainly help us make an informed decision.”
But Ramada is still confused. I think she’s used to people just fawning over her and jumping when she says how high. It appears it’s the first time she’s getting questioned over her business decisions, and she doesn’t know how to react. On the upside, I am enjoying the hollow and confused look on her face. It’s like there’s nobody home no matter how many times you ring the doorbell.
“Right. Okay,” she finally says. “Yeah, I’ll get you all of that.” She pauses and gives Kace another indulging look. “Now, on to dinner. How about tonight? I know a great place up by Pine Creek.”
“Thank you for the invitation, Ramada, but I’m not available.”
“Oh, well, does tomorrow work better for you?”
She didn’t take the hint even though Kace basically smacked her over the face with it. In the meantime, Amaya keeps glancing our way, though trying to enjoy what’s left of her breakfast and paying more attention to her son.
Finn intervenes this time. “Hey, Kace, sorry to cut this short, but we have that call with Hong Kong in ten minutes.”
“Yes. Hong Kong,” Kace instantly reacts.
By the time Ramada realizes what’s happening, the three of us get up and head for the executive building, leaving the breakfast room behind with the hint of hurry on our heels.
I dare not look back. I know it didn’t leave a good impression with Amaya. I also know Ramada will be coming after Kace again, but at least we managed to wrap this one up before Amaya had even more reason to pull away from us.
“I think Ramada needs to be told directly,” I say to Kace as we make our way through one of the steel and glass passageways, the sun shining brightly above us. “She clearly didn’t get the hint. And you need to be more direct with her.”
“Elias, I’m well aware that she’s got the hots for me. But it’s not like I can overtly reject her in front of other people,” Kace replies. “She would cause a scene that would be bad for business.”
“Do it in front of Amaya, at least,” Finn starts. “She’s a busy woman, a single mother. She just got out of an extremely toxic relationship. She isn’t going to believe we can add anything to her life, not anything of value, anyway, if she sees us even appearing to entertain other women.”
Kace laughs lightly. “I wasn’t entertaining her.”
“She looked pretty entertained to me with her hands all over you,” I mutter.
I know it’s frustrating for Kace. He’s used to being the front man, the one who smiles and gets along with everybody. He brushes any advance from his shoulders like it’s nothing, yet he always manages to keep good relationships with those around him—even the women he beds.
He’s got a certain smoothness, a way of mending fences and maintaining a good vibe wherever he goes. But then there are women like Ramada who tend to get pushy and persistent despite his efforts to let her down gently.
Given the fact that we’re in a very delicate starting point of something potentially incredible with Amaya, we simply cannot afford any useless tension, any other woman barging in and ruining this precious ecosystem. It’s frustrating enough that Amaya seems to be distancing herself from us; we can’t give her additional reasons to continue.
Later that evening, I manage to leave my office and go out for a walk. She’s been responding to our texts, though I don’t like the shortness of her messages. Texts aren’t a good benchmark in relationships in general, but I can tell from the deviation from her usual style that something is definitely different about her.
My impatience gets the better of me as I allow myself to stray off the usual trail across the estate and casually head toward the residential area instead.
The lights are on in Amaya’s house.
I need to talk to her though I don’t know what it is that I want to say. Maybe I should follow Kace’s lead on this and let Amaya come to us.
It’s the fear of losing her that’s messing with my head.
We’ve waited for someone like her for so long, and we’ve only just gotten started. I dread the idea of going back to what used to be, now that I’ve been with her.
As I approach her house, I see a man coming up from the main alley. He seems familiar. It’s only when he reaches Amaya’s doorstep that I realize I’m looking at that Derrick prick. We sent him away once. Kace sent him away the second time around. What the hell is he doing here? More importantly, how did he get past security?
I make a mental note to talk to our security chief as soon as I get back to the office. I’m about to march up on him and drag his ass off the premises, the blood quick to boil in my veins, when Amaya answers the doorbell. I freeze behind a sycamore tree on the edge of her garden fence.
