Chapter 10
Duke rested his hand on the small outdoor table as a breeze rushed over his skin. A breeze that brought the delicious aroma of his favorite Casado food stand in all of Costa Rica.
To make it even better, he was seated across from none other than Vivi Tripoli. He wasn’t sure when the magnitude of the situation would wear off.
He glanced up to admire her face. Though they sat in the shade of a colorful table umbrella, a reflection of sunlight danced across her high, rounded cheekbones. They were part of her tell—the way they’d pop at the slightest hint of a grin. Duke had seen them do that very thing as she sat in on the photo shoot, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t enjoyed it.
Viv pulled her gaze off the food stand and turned to him. “Pura vida. I keep seeing that on street signs and food stands.”
“Means pure life,” Duke said. “It’s a theme here in Costa Rica. That’s probably why I love it so much, you know? I go to other places, knowing I’ll have work to do while I’m there, and I’m not even fazed by it. But when I come here, I try to clear those things off my schedule as quickly as possible so I can just…enjoy the simple life.”
Viv’s brow furrowed. “A billionaire should be able to live the simple life any time he wants, shouldn’t he?”
Duke shook his head. “Not even close. Well,” he relented, “if hefellinto money somehow, or was born into it and he didn’t care about growing it, investing it, using it in productive ways, then sure. But none of the Bentons fit into that category. It’s not in our blood.”
Viv scratched a few lines in her notepad before setting her gaze back on him. “So, whatisin your blood where your billionaire status is concerned?”
“Just the opposite. My grandpa used to call them the three G’s. Our obligation regarding our wealth was to grow wisely, to guard carefully, and to give generously.”
She nodded as she wrote some more. “Okay, that goes back to what you said about him last night. Sounds like he was a generous man.”
Duke nodded proudly. “Very.”
“Huh, that’s nice. So work is a priority, but it seems like you guys balance things out with a little fun, like travel and vacation homes.”
“Yes. Traveling, enjoying other countries, cultures, food…those things are—to a Benton—the epitome of money well spent.”
Vivi held his gaze, and Duke couldn’t help but notice the sparks of mischief in her brown eyes. It had him recalling late nights racing around the fountain at the park, or quiet evenings playing chess on a blanket out back.
“Let’s play a game,” she said. “You fill in the blanks. If anyone knew that I spentblankdollars onblank, they’d probably…”
“Crap their pants,” Duke filled in for her. The remark earned him a full-on laugh from Viv.
“That’snotwhat I was going to say, but sure. Let’s go with that. How would you fill in the blanks?”
Two purchases came to mind. One clear back from his senior year. He skipped that one and focused on a more recent splurge. A purely selfish one.
“You know I love baseball,” he started. “Well, I recently put a baseball diamond on my property. A freakingniceone with a sectioned off batting cage. We’re talking top of the line equipment. I paid a guy to come in and make it look like I was batting at Yankee Stadium.” He chuckled. “My brothers are going to give me so much crap for it.”
“They haven’t seen it yet?” she asked.
Duke shook his head.
“DoIget to see it?”
His pulse spiked as he considered bringing Vivi onto his estate. “Sure. If you’d like to. We can hit a few rounds. I have a fake audience that cheers when I hit a home run.”
Her smile broadened. “That’s awesome. You played for Stanford your freshman year. I thought you were going to keep going. What changed your mind?”
Duke shrugged. “Choices, I guess. I always sort of knew there were expectations surrounding my future. When you’re born into a family like mine—with world-changing amounts of money, essentially—you just kind of know your place is to, well, now we’re back to the three Gs, aren’t we?”
“I have to say,” Vivi said, her face thoughtful. She’d finished her casado and was still working on her iced horchata. “I love what your family does on your TV showThe Lion’s Den. I never knew how many revolutionary companies—essential businesses, even—end up drowning in debt. How many have gone under because they just couldn’t get past a rough bump.
“You and your siblings have rescued so many corporations that would have gone under if it wasn’t for you.”
Her comment warmed a very deep place in his heart. The truth was, Duke had a passion for what he did. “Not everyone sees it that way,” he said, “but I’m glad that enough people do.”
Viv’s forehead scrunched up in question. “Why would anyone object to it?”
