Her back stiffened at the coolness of his words. “Did you assume I wouldn’t return?” she asked, noting that his gray eyes were like silver lightning.
“I am smart enough to never assume anything where you’re concerned,” Ari replied. He checked his watch and then said, “We should join the others.”
Irritated, Natasha glared at his back as she followed him into the conference room. When they were all seated, she pulled out a proposal. “Mr. Alexander, this is a copy of an offer from another corporation interested in acquiring the five-star properties.”
Malcolm picked up the proposal but didn’t open it. “I will review the offer and then get back to you with my answer,” he told her.
Natasha had expected this response from Malcolm. She also expected the stern expression that graced Ari’s face.
“May I have a word with you, Miss LeBlanc?” Ari inquired.
“Sure,” she responded with a tiny smile. Natasha struggled to appear calm, but deep inside her stomach was filled with nervous energy. She half expected Malcolm to intervene, but he remained silent.
Ari led her into another room.
“Tell me something. What’s in this for you?” he asked, openly studying her face, as if trying to read her thoughts.
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Excuse me?”
“Let’s not play games,” Ari snapped in frustration. “What will you get if you are able to convince my father to sell? What’s in it for you?”
Natasha struggled to keep her voice low. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“C’mon, I wasn’t born yesterday,” Ari uttered. “You definitely have something to gain, or you wouldn’t be working so hard otherwise. Who wants to buy hotels from my father?”
“It’s a conglomerate out of Nevada. They are looking to get into the hospitality industry. Purchasing the DePaul Hotel & Spa Resorts would provide them the opportunity with minimum risk.” Natasha settled back in her seat, saying, “I am merely here to look out for your father’s best interest. I think their proposal is a sound one. Mr. Alexander stands to make millions off this deal.”
Ari folded his arms across his chest. “Miss LeBlanc, my father doesn’t need you to look after him. He has a wife and six children who definitely have his back one hundred percent.”
Frustrated, Natasha shook her head. How could a man look so sexy and be so irritating at the same time? She carefully considered her words. “Ari, I’d really like for us to be on the same side. This is why Ira asked me to meet with you and Mr. Alexander. I am merely suggesting that your father consider all options.”
“No, you’re not,” Ari argued. “You are pushing for him to sell the properties. As long as you’re trying to force my father to sell what is rightfully his, we will never be on the same side.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “I haven’t known your father for very long, but from what I’ve seen, I can’t force him to do anything.” Natasha paused a moment before adding, “And neither can you. Now, if you’re done, I’d like to rejoin our meeting.”
Her cell phone rang.
She answered and said, “I need to call you back. Give me ten minutes.”
“Why don’t you take your call now?” Ari suggested. “There are some questions I have for Ira. I can discuss them while you’re returning your phone call.”
Natasha glared at him before heading to the door. She could feel the heat of his gaze on her body.
In the hallway, she slowed down her breathing as she stepped into the elevator, forcing her body to relax. Natasha went down to the lobby.
She waited until she was out of the building before pulling out her phone.
“I didn’t mean to be so abrupt, but I was having a conversation with Malcolm’s son,” she said when Harold DePaul answered his phone.
“How is it going?” he asked.
“I did as you instructed, but I think you might have a problem.”
“I’m listening.”
“Malcolm Alexander is willing to take a DNA test. Harold, he is the spitting image of your uncle,” Natasha stated. “He is Robert’s son.”
Harold muttered something unintelligible.
“As much as the thought may detest you, Malcolm is a part of your family. It may be better to embrace him rather than become his enemy.”
“I just want what should rightfully and lawfully be mine—Uncle Robert’s estate,” Harold blurted. “I gave that man nothing but years of loyalty and dedication. He owes Malcolm Alexander nothing.”
Natasha didn’t agree but decided to keep her mouth shut. Harold DePaul had always been temperamental, a man who wanted to have everything his way. Although he and Robert often butted heads, they respected one another.
“I did what you asked me to do and left the proposal with Malcolm,” Natasha responded. “Just so you know, his son doesn’t want the properties sold. I’m not sure how much influence Ari has on his father, but he could be a problem.”
“Use your charm,” Harold suggested. “I’m sure a beautiful woman such as yourself can convince the man to do what is right.”
Natasha struggled to keep her temper in check. “I don’t work this way, and you know it.”
Harold was silent for a moment then responded, “I’m sorry, Natasha. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” she said tersely. “I told you from the very beginning that I would help you, but only if everything was aboveboard. I haven’t changed my mind about that. I am not going to do anything illegal.”
“The initial payment has been made,” Harold blurted. “This should put a smile on your pretty little face.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re planning to play dirty,” Natasha replied, standing her ground. “You can have all of the money back if you try to change the terms of our agreement.”
“Natasha, I know that you need me as much as I need you right now, so let’s just try to get along,” Harold suggested. “We used to be good friends, you and me.”
“Until you showed your true colors,” she responded.
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Harold. Leave the past in the past.”
“I have faith in you, Natasha. You can convince Malcolm Alexander to do the right thing. We can’t let that hillbilly family mess up everything my uncle and I worked for. Those people have no clue how to run a multimillion-dollar-a-year luxury resort, much less a chain of them. Two insignificant hotels does not make a chain.”
“I will do what I can to help you, Harold.”
“That’s all I ask of you, Natasha.”
She ended the call and put away her cell phone. “I hope I’m doing the right thing,” Natasha whispered. She had no idea why Robert DePaul gave everything to a son he had never met, but she assumed it was mostly out of guilt.
He had spoken of his love for Malcolm’s mother, and his regret of not having a relationship with his son. Robert had confessed that he had loved Pearle Alexander more than he had ever loved another woman, including his late wife.
Still, Natasha was shocked over the news that the majority of the estate would go to Malcolm and not Harold.
Malcolm Alexander was not a man moved by money. Harold, on the other hand, enjoyed living a lavish