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“Were you born in Florida?” Her soft voice broke the tension that had settled between them.
“Oh no, my parents and I lived on the outskirts of New York in a small rural town called Riverview.” Christian said. “My mother was a teacher and dad was an engineer.”
“Do you go back to visit often?” she said.
He hesitated, then told her the truth. “No. My parents are both dead.” Christian replied.
“I’m so sorry; a death in the family is very painful.” She looked up at him with compassion and her large brown eyes shone with unshed tears. He realized she did know the pain he felt, and whatever pain she felt was very fresh.
Christian contemplated asking her about the children then thought not to. If she wanted to confide in him, she would in her own time. Besides, he had learned that Raina was a private person; it was unlikely that she would want to talk about it with him—an employee.
After the dishes were cleaned up, Raina invited him to share a cup of coffee in the living room.
The kids, now wearing their pjs, were sprawled on the carpet working on a puzzle.
“Ah, the silence.” Raina said as she handed him the steaming cup of coffee.
For some reason, Christian felt like talking, especially because he knew that she was curious about him. Somehow they fell into companionable conversation as they watched the kids play. He told her about growing up with his parents and how his dad had lost his job and fallen prey to the bottle. He told the tale in a matter of fact way, he had come to terms with his childhood long ago and the issues of the past no longer bothered him. He stuck close to the truth but avoided mentioning some important things in his history.
Well, three billion important things, he thought wryly, as he recalled the state of his bank account.
Still, what he shared was not something he had ever confided to any women in his past. It felt good to speak the truth to Raina for once. He sensed she would not judge him—hell, if she didn’t judge the “homeless handy man” there wasn’t a judgmental bone in her body, that was clear. For once in his life he felt completely free. Free to be himself.
It was ironic, he thought a bit grimly, that to be himself he’d had to become someone else.
Suddenly, he wished that their friendship could have begun on an honest note. He wished he could tell her that he was the owner of the Del Mar Hotels.
Then he imagined her reaction. A wall would come up between them and the Raina he saw now would disappear from him forever. She would feel humiliated and think that he had been toying with her. Besides, as much as he had strong feelings for her, it was important for him to remain undercover and figure out what was really going on at the hotel. He still needed to find out where the missing funds were going.
“Wow, that’s a harsh way to grow up.” she said as she finished listening to his story.
“Not really,” he smiled a bit sadly. “I know a lot of people have it worse. At least my mom was there and she was working, so we never went hungry.”
“You have a good attitude about it.” Raina said. Her lips curved up and she pulled her knees up to her chest. He sat across from her, watching intently. “That was something I liked about you—that first day.” she reminded him. “When you came into my office you didn’t blame anyone or make any excuses for whatever happened in your life.”
He nodded curtly and then brought his mug to his mouth, hiding the slight grimace he made. Lies. So many lies. He needed to get the topic off of himself so that he could stop lying to her. Every lie he told her was one more he would have to apologize for—someday.
“I passed your boss in the hall the other day—Roger?” Christian said, keeping his voice casual, steering the conversation in another direction. “He seemed—intense?”
Raina made a face, one of deep disgust that didn’t go unnoticed. ?
??Be careful around him, he … he’s had people fired over the flimsiest of reasons.”
“Really?” His tone invited her to continue.
Raina wrapped her arms around herself in a manner he noted as a protective one, as though she was trying to shield herself. She shot an anxious glance at the kids, noting that they were engrossed with their puzzle before she continued. Still, she lowered her voice so they would not hear her.
“Don’t worry. He probably won’t bother you.” she laughed grimly. “Lucky for you that you’re not a woman, otherwise, you’d be very familiar with him.” Her lips turned up in disgust. She looked away, but he noted her arms were covered in goose-bumps and she was almost trembling.
Christian was puzzling over her comments, when Chantal looked up from where she sat on the carpet.
“Aunty, did you decide who will come to school for Father’s Day?”
Raina took a deep breath to steady herself and slowly let it out. He noticed she plastered a bright smile on her face before answering. “I haven’t sweetheart, but don’t you worry about it. I’ll figure it out.”
“Father’s Day?” Christian said. He watched the little girl bite her lip and then nod.
“Yes, they have this thing at school where fathers go in for an hour or so. It’s a special event every year. The problem is the school hadn’t thought of kids without fathers or other male relatives.” Raina explained in a whisper.
