Fighting Destiny (15 page)

“Do I need to remind you that I am
the Board Chairman and I delegated this responsibility to you,” replied Graeme forcefully.

“How could I possibly forget when you find a way to mention it every chance you get brother? Fine,
you should know that we had to switch from the Meridian to the Derrien Grande Spa Resort and as a result we had to agree to do a show for the “
Where In the World Is Sally Flanders
travel show. It’s actually being filmed at the hotel right now.

“S
ally Flanders, as in worldwide acclaimed Sally Flanders?” asked Graeme in disbelief.

“The one and the same!”
Nathan replied feeling proud of himself hearing the awe in his brother’s voice. It wasn’t often that he actually felt as though he was out of Graeme’s shadow and for once he was behind something big that Graeme wasn’t involved in.

“
And you didn’t think that this was something you needed to tell us immediately?  Do you need me to come down to help you? It seems like a lot for you to handle alone,” replied Graeme incredulously.

Nathan ground his teeth in frustration at his brother’s comments. Of course he could handle himself. Why did his family think that somehow he couldn’
t do this? He didn’t need to be supervised, advised and constantly watched. He had a MBA for goodness sakes, in addition to his degrees and certifications in the performing arts. Someday he would have his own business separate from his family, he vowed silently.

“There’s no need to come, the staff and I have everything u
nder control,” said Nathan trying to keep the hostile edge out of his response. There was no need to rile up his brother who loved the idea of being challenged.

“
Well I’ll be expecting regular updates from you now that this has been added to the schedule. We need to make sure that our brand is properly showcased. But before I forget, I really called to remind you about how we’ll be deciding the scholarship winner this year. Remember that Eve Samaroo from Trinidad is going to be the winner. Her parents are willing to replace our government grant if their daughter wins the scholarship prize. Don’t mess this up. Make sure you have all your judges in line about this.”

“
Graeme you know that I don’t like this idea! We can find other ways to raise the money! With this new publicity we can attract donations from a wider field. We don’t need this arrangement anymore,” Nathan argued.

“If you don’t like it then you can come back here and let me take over running the intensive then.  We were lucky to get this offer and I won’t have you messing it up bec
ause you are too afraid to implement the big decisions,” Graeme retorted.

             
“How do you think it’s going to look to the other judges when I keep inflating Eve’s scores? There is no guarantee that she will even be the best in her classes,” Nathan argued trying to keep his voice lowered to what was now sounding like a loud hiss.

“Nathan we discussed this already. There are five judges there with you.
I already told Blaine and Trudy what I require of them and they value their jobs enough to follow through. You don’t have to worry about that, they will follow your lead”.

“What about Candasee, she is one of Eve’s instructors as well. I noticed you didn’t bother to try to blackmail her.”

“I figured you would know how to handle her best, besides Eve won’t be using dance as her final showcase piece so Candasee’s opinion isn’t as important in the outcome.”

Sometimes Nathan wondered if he
’d been adopted. What his brother was suggesting was so unfair that it made him cringe on the inside. These delegates were about to pour their hearts and souls into this event and it would be for nothing.

“Graeme
you threatened your employees to cheat and fix the outcome just so we can keep up the appearances of financial security?” said Nathan shaking his head.

“Need I remind you that your job is also on the line as well as the scholarships and
study programs of the one hundred and fifty students we currently have in our existing programs. How would you like to see that many young people lose out because you don’t have the guts to do what we are asking you to do?” shouted Graeme.

“Fine, Eve wins this round, are you satisfied?” growled Nathan hating being forced into a difficult position.
There was no way he could tell Candasee about any of this, she would never understand
it
.

“Nathan, we are brothers and this is for the family, our family, we are
all counting on you! We can’t fail Mom now, not so soon. She would’ve wanted us to fight as hard as we could to make sure we kept the academy open,” Graeme said more gently this time.

“Right,
bring our late mother into this to guilt trip me,” replied Nathan unsuccessfully disguising a snort of disgust as he disconnected the call. He would do this but this was the last time he was going to be anyone’s scapegoat.

Marianne walked around Darius’ office suite upstairs waiting for him to get off the telephone. The glass wall revealed a powerfully, breathtaking view of the coastline, and she could see how it could be a good stress reliever to anyone faced with impossible circumstances.

Finally he hung up th
e phone and walked over to her.

“Okay
Mum, I ordered some lunch and it is on its way up!”

“Darius, are you living from
inside this suite still? What’s wrong with us eating in the restaurant?” she asked getting straight to the point.

“Mum
, what gave me away?” he asked with a laugh at his mother’s concerned expression. She was always trying to get him to do more than just working but he just didn’t want to do much since losing Candasee.

“Nothing besides the fact that
whenever we drive past your home, the windows are closed and the house is dark! Are you taking time to enjoy yourself like we talked about?”

“No, actually I have been immersed in my work here
with all that’s been going on so it’s been convenient to just stay here at the hotel,” he replied not mentioning that trying to live at home without Candasee was excruciating to say the least. Everything about that house reminded him of her.

“Hmm, so I see that Candasee is here and by the looks of it you two
still have a lot to work out between you!” she said sitting down on the black leather sofa which faced the glass wall. “Darius honey, could you lower the partial shade, the sun is really warming up the room, don’t you think?”

Darius obliged her and the room took on a subtle tint
reducing the full glare of the sunlight which was streaming in.

“Mom, you are right,
I have so much I need to say to Candasee and I am hoping I can do it justice. I asked her to come and see me this evening, but she never said if she would. I’m just hoping that she will at least try to make it.”

“I’ve always loved Candasee and this separation between you two has always been difficult for me to accept. I think you need to do all you can while she is here to s
ee if you can work out what went wrong between you!” Marianne advised.

“I know, and
I am working on that but there is a small problem!”

“What kind of problem?
” she asked.

“Ca
ndasee is here with her fiancé slash boss Nathan Carthswright!

At that revelation Marianne’s eyes widened with surprise. Candasee was
engaged to someone else?

“How do you feel about that?” Marianne asked.

“To tell the truth, it’s driving me insane! My focus and my concentration is totally messed up right now! I think Portia is convinced that something is wrong with me by now. The funny thing is that I don’t blame Candasee at all; I blame myself for all of this! If I hadn’t made so many mistakes I wouldn’t have to endure this right now.”

“Well she is a beautiful woman so it stands to reason that she would have moved on with her life,” reasoned Marianne with a shrug.

“I know that it shouldn’t surprise me that some other lucky guy has realized how great she is but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to rip his eyes out every time I see him looking at her! Darius dropped onto the couch extended his feet in front of him.

“So have you spoken to him about Candasee?” Marianne asked
.

“Not in so many words but he knows my intentions.
Let’s say that we got off on the wrong foot and we are trying to keep things business-like because of our shared interest in the travel show.”

“So, he despises you, is that what you are saying?”

“Yes he does but I can’t blame him really. We both want the same woman. ”

“
Does Candasee seem happy with him?”

“Unfortunately last night they seemed to be blissfully in love, but I’m not totally convinced. She introduced him to me as her boss but when I saw them together later after they had dinner, there was nothing professional about the way he was touching her.”

“I see, so maybe she was trying to spare your feelings when she introduced you?”

“I doubt that very much!” Darius replied with a dry laugh. “She was angry that she even had to be here in the first place. Introducing him as her fiancé would’ve been a good way to rub my nose in the fact that I lost her!”

“But she didn’t!”

Damn, this is so frustrating! Even though I saw them together last night I still can’t accept that he’s the one she wants especially after I kissed her this morning. I think she knows now that things aren’t over between us!”

“Oh this is good news! You kissed?” asked
Marianne prodding to know more with her face now shining with happiness. She was such a romantic, but even more so now that it was related to her son.

“
Don’t get too excited yet Mum! Yes, I ran into her on the beach this morning and well one thing led to another. I’m hoping I didn’t scare her off by being too intense. My best bet is that she will come to see me later this evening.”

“
And why wouldn’t she? That girl is in love with you and has been since the day you guys first met in Barbados,” replied Marianne.

“How can you be so sure of that Mum?” he asked
turning to face the woman seated beside him.

“
You are forgetting that I know how you both acted around each other? I saw the way you looked at each other in the lobby earlier as well! Your misunderstanding got out of hand and it caused you to separate for a time, but I’ve always prayed and known that you would be reunited. When I asked her about leaving in the next six days, she looked just as alarmed at the thought of going back home as you did. I’ve always believed that she’s your twin flame Darius, and this misunderstanding between you has finally run its course. Time has simply acknowledged that and brought you back to each other. It is now up to you two to get your marriage back on track,” she said.

“Mum you make it sound so simple”.

“It is simple! It’s only you two who are making this complicated. Candasee is a smart girl and she won’t be able hide the truth from herself for too long before her conscience kicks in. I’m sure she will see that she needs to give you another chance or at least give you a hearing!”

“
I don’t know Mom, I really hurt her a lot when we were married by the things I said and did. Actually I was unforgivable! There are things I’ve done that I haven’t told even you about, things I’m very ashamed of right now. Nathan probably offers her all of what I could never give her then and probably some of the things I still can’t now,” said Darius standing and walking toward the glass wall shoving his hands deep in his pockets.

“You never did tell me exactly why the two of you broke up
son! Even Candasee refused to talk to me about it! What did you do that was so bad that she can’t forgive you?”

“Mom,
I am ashamed to say it but, I began treating Candasee pretty badly when she told me she wanted to change her career.”

“
But why? She’s always been so talented!” said Marianne in shock.

“Do you remember the day D
ad left us in Scotland?”

“Yes, how could I for
get that awful day?” she replied twisting her lips in disdain.

“
Well the woman Dad was with that day was the lead dancer and choreographer from the performing arts troupe he managed and it wasn’t the first time I saw them together. I walked in on both of them having sex in his office one evening after school and she didn’t even bother to get up when she saw me. They made it seem as though I was the one who was the one who didn’t belong.”

“Oh son, you never to
ld me this!” exclaimed Marianne in horror.

“Yes I know
, but I couldn’t tell you that. You were already so sad all the time. I couldn’t say that I already knew who was behind wrecking our family. It was bad enough seeing how dad’s side of the family treated us and how awful his drinking made him behave. I’ve always resented both her and Dad for the pain they caused you and I’ve been holding onto that in my heart for years. So, when Candasee said that she wanted to be a dancer, I flipped out, I couldn’t handle it. It was as though I was ten again and was risking having my life ruined by becoming my irresponsible father. I felt that I was betraying you and I know it’s crazy but that is it and I pushed Candasee until she could not take it anymore.”