‘I’ve noticed something about you, Erin.’
‘Really?’
‘The second you begin feeling a little bit uncomfortable with a conversation, you swiftly steer it back to work. Have you noticed that about yourself?’
‘I’ve noticed that the hotel is up ahead.’
Their eyes met. He smiled slowly and half nodded but she wasn’t sure whether he was nodding in agreement or nodding because she’d just proved his point.
He looked at the approaching bank of lights and Erin could sense the change in him as his business mind took over. Even from a distance, he was already assessing the venture he might eventually be sinking money into.
The bumpy road wound its way towards the hotel. Through the rustling trees on either side, Erin could see various paths leading out into the forest to the individual cabins she had read about.
Lanterns lit up the veranda of the main building and people were sitting outside, eating and drinking. Only a handful, fewer than she might have expected.
‘Hope you remembered to book cabins, like I asked,’ Raffaele turned and said. ‘I thought that separate cabins might be more relaxed in terms of work, more convenient for private debriefing. Everything we discuss will be informal, just a matter of useful observations, and then if I decide to go ahead, I can get my legal team involved along with the useful suspects. If you’d rather stay in the hotel, then that’s fine. The entire resort caters for approximately fifty guests but from the looks of it, it’s not running to full capacity.’
‘It’s such a shame because the setting is amazing. And yes, I did remember about the cabins and no, I’m happy with the cabin. It makes sense in terms of work to be away from the hustle and bustle, as you say. Not that there seems to be much of the hustle or the bustle.’
Raffaele hmmed. ‘The place has potential but I doubt it’ll ever make millions. Fortunately, I can afford to take the hit if I decide to go ahead with this. It’s late but feel free to head to the restaurant for something to eat or have something delivered to your cabin. I’m going to catch up on work and we can reconvene tomorrow morning eight sharp in the hotel foyer. Sound acceptable?’
‘Perfect.’
‘The first meeting is with the guy in charge of running the place. We’ll meet him at nine thirty and aside from showing us around, he’ll give us a general feel for how the hotel is doing financially and what improvements would need to happen to take it forward.’
‘Wonderful.’
‘And no need for the swimsuit just yet. The meeting won’t be ocean based.’
He was still grinning at his own wisecrack, she noticed, as they headed into the hotel to be greeted by staff who fussed over them as they checked in.
It was a charming open space with large windows protected by white shutters and overhead fans that made the heat just about bearable—although now it was much cooler than it had been when they’d arrived.
Through the open windows, the light breeze brought in the rich scent of the tropical flowers and the sounds of an orchestra of night creatures lurking in the encroaching forest outside.
The decor was colourful with a huge painting of tropical birds behind the reception desk, and the wooden planters by the entrance were filled with cascading ferns and lush, vivid flowers that were bigger than anything Erin had ever seen before. Like everything else around her, they seemed exotically, fantastically alien, reminding her of just how little she’d seen of the world, despite her parents’ wandering feet.
She glanced across at Raffaele, who was signing the usual check-in forms, asking a few questions about their accommodation, and was struck at the enormous gulf between them.
He’d barely looked around him. He’d seen it all before even if, as he’d said, it hadn’t been on ‘fact-finding missions’.
She imagined his trips to the Caribbean had been more along the lines of playboy-having-fun-in-the-sun excursions.
All of a sudden her childish crush…those little shivers of awareness…the warmth that had flooded her when he’d thrown her some breadcrumbs of personal information about himself… They all seemed pathetic and embarrassing.
‘Right. Ready?’
Erin blinked and focused on the drop-dead-gorgeous guy staring down at her.
‘We’re all checked in?’
‘Certainly are.’ Raffaele handed her back her passport and began heading out, waiting for her to follow him. One of the staff members led the way, chatting as he walked ahead of them, telling them about the restaurant, about the availability of car rentals or driver services, about the capital, which was by the sea and excellent for local restaurants and interesting souvenir shops.
They left the main hotel behind. Here, lanterns lit various diverging pathways into the forest and under the canopy of overhanging trees, the sounds of the insects and night animals seemed more insistent.
Erin unconsciously sidled a little closer to Raffaele.
It was now after nine yet the air was still hot and sultry and everywhere smelled of lush, rain-washed foliage. That made sense; it was supposed to be the wet season—although, as the hotel porter leading the way to their accommodation observed, there was no real difference between the wet and dry months. Sometimes rain in December and sun in July. Only the Big Man up there knew what was going on, he said.
