“I think I’d like to go home,” I said quietly. “I have a really early day tomorrow.”
Nathan smiled kindly and pushed his chair back, standing up and helping me from mine. Nick threw cash down on the table and walked over, putting his arm around my shoulder. The feeling was so forced. I didn’t even like the fact that he was touching me. He pulled me past Nathan and stepped in front of him, sliding his hand down my back. I reached back and lifted it from my ass but kept walking. He was being utterly impossible, and all I wanted to do was get out of there. He leaned in close to my ear and whispered loud enough for Nathan to hear.
“I’m sorry my brother is such a clock blocker,” he whispered, making me scrunch my nose. “Why don’t you come for a ride in my Lamborghini?”
“That’s a very nice offer,” I said, faking a laugh. “But no thanks.”
“Your loss,” he said, pulling his hand from around my shoulders and nodding to the left at someone in the bar. Before I knew it, he was off, distracted by someone he knew, leaving me standing there by myself. I shook my head, looking down in my purse to find my keys. What the hell had happened that I was now standing here with Nick’s brother, and Nick had totally ditched me? Nathan stepped forward and smiled kindly, reaching out his arm for me to take. I dropped my keys back in my purse and shook my head, laughing as I hooked my arm in his.
“Well, that didn’t go like I thought it would,” I said, chuckling.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” he replied. “I didn’t realize Nick would still be pissed about yesterday, and it made things really awkward.”
“What happened yesterday?”
“He got angry about some investment he wanted the company to make,” he said, shaking his head. “It was a bad business move, but he took it personally.”
“Well,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “It wasn’t a total waste of a night, I guess. I got to run some of my business ideas by him, and he gave me some advice.”
He stopped in his tracks and looked around for a second, obviously formulating what he wanted to say. That was one thing about Nathan that I really appreciated, his ability to think about things before he said them. I started to understand why his father picked him to run the real estate business over Nick.
“I don’t want to sound mean,” he said carefully. “But please don’t take anything Nick says about business to heart. He has zero knowledge of the business world and no experience to back anything up. I’m not trying to talk shit, but I don’t want to see you make a mistake because you listened to something Nick said. He still thinks shaved ice stands would bring in millions like he did when he was a kid.”
“Oh,” I said, laughing. “I was starting to get that impression as he talked. I think he forgets I grew up in the same house as him.”
As we strolled down the street in the warm San Diego air, I realized I was walking with the head of one of the largest real estate conglomerates in the world. Nathan wasn’t just a nice guy, he was a repository of knowledge that I knew could help Maria and I jump on the road to success. Part of me wanted to jump right in and ask him to help, but the other part of me felt like I shouldn’t be so bold. I thought about what my father used to tell me about being a business woman. He told me that those that were bold were always the most successful. So, without another thought, I went for it.
“Hey, do you think that I could sit down with you and pick your brain about business?”
“Sure,” he said with a surprised look. “I’d love to help in any way that I can. How about we go somewhere and grab a drink? Somewhere quiet where we can talk.”
“That sounds great,” I said excitedly. “I actually know the perfect place, and they are open pretty late. I’ll drive us.”
We walked up to my car, and realizing it was no Lamborghini, my cheeks turned red. I had worked my butt off in college to buy a car, and although it was a new car, it definitely wasn’t anything luxurious. Nathan smiled as I unlocked the doors, not letting on that he noticed I was driving a Honda Civic and not a BMW, something I knew Nick would have scoffed at.
I often wondered how Nathan had turned out so normal being surrounded by people his whole life that were like Nick, including his father. I drove us over the bridge and into Imperial Beach, a small beach town a few exits from the Mexican border. It was one of my favorite places, with its small-town coffee shop and surfer dudes. Plus, you could look across the inlet and see the lights of Tijuana.
“So,” I said, sitting down at the table. “My best friend is a bathing suit designer. She has some really amazing pieces that I know people would love. With my business knowledge, that I am trying to grow even further, and her amazing line, we figured we could get these suits into some of the local surf shops, if not the bigger stores where the tourists shop.”
Nathan considered my pitch for a second. Then he started rattling off things I needed to do to make this work. I sat listening to Nathan talk, impressed by the copious amounts of knowledge that he had. I soaked up everything he was saying, realizing that his solutions were exactly what I was missing in our plans. On top of that, he didn’t think our idea was stupid at all, and he even complimented me for the ideas that I put forth. As I sat there sipping my margarita and listening to Nathan talk, I realized that the night hadn’t turned out so bad after all.
Chapter Five
Nathan
While Ronni was in the bathroom at the restaurant, sparks flew between my brother and me. Nick was livid that I showed up, and he saw right through my story. After seeing how much of a dick he was being, though, I didn’t feel bad at all for breaking up his date.
“You need to leave Ronni alone,” I hissed. “Mom loved her like she was her own and wanted us to see her as a sister.”
“You’re just jealous that she wants me and not you,” he said angrily. “You’ve always been pissed about that.”
“No, what I’m pissed about is the way you treat women,” I said. “You act like a little-spoiled brat, the biggest issue being you didn’t earn any of the recognition you try to take credit for. You are constantly riding on the backs of others. It’s pathetic. Leave Ronni out of this. She has been through way too much to have you do what you do to women.”
That was where it really started, with my crazy need to protect her from Nick. As we walked to her car, I couldn’t help but feel warmth in my chest with her arm wrapped around mine. Even when we got to the restaurant and started talking business, I was having a hard time remembering that I should have a brotherly frame of mind. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. On top of all that, Ronni was extremely intelligent. Her ideas for the business were brilliant, and all she needed was a few pointers to fill in the blanks.
Her business instincts reminded me of my father’s. I went through everything I could think of, giving her advice about starting the business, getting the suits in stores, marketing, and all the rest. I really thought hard about the things that I struggled with at the beginning and tried to help tell her what I learned. That way, she wouldn’t have to make the same mistakes. Talking to her about business was a breath of fresh air, and she soaked every word up like a sponge.
I could tell this swimwear line was extremely important to her, but I did warn her against putting all her eggs in one basket