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One of the servants handed me a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. That was my cue. I strode out onto the terrace and said, “There will be celebrating tonight, but I am not sure the two of you want to join in.”
The looks on their faces were priceless. It was like they had seen a ghost in high heels.
“Melinda? What are you…”
“Don’t follow the news, do you?” Pierce asked. “I didn’t think you would accept the offer to fly down here.”
“We know all about your… relationship with our former employee,” Bob Beschloss said. “We assumed that’s why you want to purchase our company. To place her in charge.”
“Seems like a win-win situation,” the other Bob said. “Melinda gets to run the company she helped build, and we get golden parachutes.”
“We never would consider such a thing,” Pierce replied. Tristan shifted awkwardly in his seat.
“That option was appealing, I will admit,” I said while slowly twisting open the wire cage on the bottle. “But we decided on another route.”
“What’s that?”
“I want to put you out of business the old fashioned way.” I made myself smile, but there was no mirth in my lips. “I’m forming my own company to compete with yours. It won’t be hard; I have plenty of practice after building New England Digital Marketing from the ground up. My new company will be like yours in every possible way. We will hit the ground running. But you won’t go out of business immediately. Oh no. It will be slow. You’ll see your market share gradually shrink. Your margins will narrow. Your quarterly earnings will get worse, and worse, and worse. Like a noose around your neck, eventually you won’t be able to breathe. And then, and only then, will you know that you made a mistake by fucking over Melinda Norris.”
The cork on the champagne popped, and bubbles gushed out over my hand. There was genuine humor in my smile now. “Who wants glasses for a toast?”
The Bobs demanded to leave immediately. Pierce, having expected this, obliged them. They were on the helicopter and headed back to San Jose within minutes.
“Daaaamn,” Andrew said while we drank the champagne. “That was cold. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“It was marvelous,” Tristan said, eyes locked onto me with a mischievous glimmer. “If I was not already certain I loved you, I would be now.”
“Can you imagine if we had chosen any other surrogate?” Pierce mused. “I certainly can’t.”
I spent the following week begging Carly to talk to me. When that didn’t work, I reached out to her new husband Landon instead. It was only with his help that we were able to fly the two of them down to Costa Rica.
Carly was furious the moment she stepped off the helicopter. “If I had known we were coming to see you, I wouldn’t have agreed to this!”
Landon grimaced. “I told her we were taking a quick trip down to Costa Rica for work.”
“Lying already. Not a good start to our marriage.” Carly looked around. “So this is the private island you bragged about on my wedding day. I’m surprised you didn’t sell it off with all your other assets. I guess that was just a lie to make yourself look good for the media, huh?”
“I only own the island for another month,” Pierce replied. “After that, it’s being donated to the Dartmouth School of Wildlife Science. We’re also giving out scholarships to students in low-income neighborhoods, and have created a fund to allow them to visit the island and do research for a semester.”
“Woah!” Landon said. “That’s dope.”
“Until then, the island and its mansion are yours,” I explained. “Both of you work remotely, so you’re welcome to stay as long as you want. Consider this a make-up honeymoon for having the paparazzi hound you in Hawaii.”
“They really only bothered us on the first day,” Landon said. “After that we never saw them…”
Carly elbowed him in the ribs. “Whose side are you on?”
“There are sides?” he asked. “Carly, this place looks amazing. Way better than Hawaii.”
Carly was unswayed. “Throwing money at us isn’t going to make me forgive you, Mel.”
“I know,” I replied. “I’ll keep working on regaining your trust. But hopefully this is a good start.”
Alejandro walked out onto the helicopter pad. “Buenos tardes. I’m pleased to inform you of tonight’s menu. Our main course will be a wagyu filet with a rosemary-burgundy sauce, fluffed potatoes, and a selection of wild vegetables harvested from the island.”
The bartender was right behind him with a tray of champagne flutes. “Welcome. We have a wide selection of wines for your stay, which I will be pairing with each evening’s meals. Mr. Benning has also opened up his private whiskey collection for tastings at your leisure.”
Carly took a glass and sipped. “Okay. Maybe this is a good start. Thanks, Mel.”
