Fighting Destiny (3 page)

“Okay, but make it quick
, I don’t want to keep these people waiting!” he replied gruffly gathering the necessary files on his desk for the meeting. Okay so he was more than a little annoyed that his fantasy trip was indeed interrupted.

Within seconds the door opened to admit Portia inside
and she was wringing her hands nervously.

“Mr. Brogan I just received some very bad news!”

“What is it?” he replied, his head snapping upward to take in the nervous wreck his secretary had become.

“Sloane Arts and Media
cancelled their appearances for next week. The lead singer in the production suffered a fall due to a diabetic episode and is in the hospital and the dance team has come down with food poisoning. Apparently they ate some bad seafood at an event last night.”

“No
way, you are kidding me!” exclaimed Darius, thinking of the long months his team would have spent looking for the right entertainment group to provide a professional entertainment package at the hotel during the travel show. “The filming for the show begins one day from now, did we have a backup group?” he asked anxiously.

“Well that’s the th
ing, we did but seeing we couldn’t offer them a definite yes, they went on to book another show and are currently performing at a music festival in Australia,” she said twisting her features apologetically.

“
This must be some kind of joke!” exclaimed Darius at the implications this had for the final evening’s program for the travel show being held at the hotel that week.

“I assure you it
isn’t a joke sir! The events team is looking for a replacement right now but they aren’t holding out much hope at such late notice!” replied Portia.

“No, there must be a solution to this. T
here must be some other group we can find to replace these two.  This recording will be shown globally and a lot was invested to ensure that we host this show with excellence,” Darius almost shouted with exasperation.

Portia noted his stressed appearance and decided that she had said enough.
“I will check back in with events team and let you know if anything changes in an hour or so!”

As Portia left
hurriedly, Darius swore softly under his breath and pinched the area between his eyes wondering where in the world would he find a replacement of the quality needed at this late hour?

The plane landed safely and now they were standing outside the terminal with throngs of visitors who were also trapped there until the weather improved.
All of the roads leading from the airport were completely flooded.
Could it really get any worse?
Candasee asked herself after it became clear that no taxis were available for airport transfers.

“
Nathan, this doesn’t look good at all, I wonder how the other delegates are managing with this weather?” she asked with concern.

“Yes, I am wondering the sam
e thing! The weather report didn’t indicate this kind of bad weather. I’m calling the hotel now to see if everything is okay!” replied Nathan pulling his cell phone out of the slim travel case attached to his carry-on bag.

It did
n’t take very long for his call to connect with the front desk at the Meridian Hotel.

“
Good afternoon, Meridian Hotel, how may I help you?” answered a polished and polite voice.

“Hello, may
I speak with Miss Solange Hassell please?”Nathan asked, while twirling a loose lock of Candasee’s long hair around his finger and smiling at her affectionately.

“
Sure, whom might I say is calling?”

“Tell her it’s Nathan Carthswright!”

“Sir, please hold while I connect your call to Miss. Hassell!”

The line became silent as the secretary linked the call through to its destination.

“How do you manage to look so gorgeous all the time sweetheart?” Nathan asked Candasee, covering the mouthpiece with his hand and admiring the way her hair curled around her beautiful face in lustrous waves.

Candasee smiled back as the compliment warmed her inwardly.
Nathan always looked at her like she was the centre of his world.

“Hello
, this is Solange Hassell!”

“
Yes Solange, its Nathan! I just arrived at the airport but we are stuck here in this weather. Have any of the other delegates arrived as yet?”

“Oh Nathan
, I am so glad that you called. Yes many of the delegates arrived before lunch, so they got in before this freak rainstorm hit. This place has turned into a zoo of epic proportions, Nathan. The roof on our conference building has been severely damaged by the heavy rain and a fallen tree. We are also experiencing some flooding as well. So, we had to make the decision to close the hotel without further delay.

“What?” exclaimed Nathan in complete shock.

“I know it sounds bad but I am about to call up a friend of mine to see if I can help you shift your venue at this eleventh hour. I am so sorry about the inconvenience. Just sit tight I will call you back within the hour with the details. The delegates and instructors have been taken to the restaurant and in the meantime we are serving them some light refreshments,” said Solange apologetically.

“Oh no!”
said Nathan holding his forehead in his hands.

“What’s wrong Nath
an?” asked Candasee alarmed at seeing his previously warm expression turn to one of anxiety!”

Shaking his head at Candasee, h
e continued to speak to Solange.

“Solange you know how important this
media and arts intensive is to the academy, please try your best to save the event! Some of these delegates would have done major fundraising just to make it here this week and I don’t want to disappoint them,” he pleaded.

At the back of his mind
another important reason was searing a hole into his brain. The Academy needed this intensive and if he failed he would be failing his family and all of the instructors who gained their employment with him. They’d lost a significant government grant which took care of many of their expenses. No one knew but he and his family and it had to stay that way.

“I know and I am on it right now, I’ll give you a ca
ll back very soon!” Solange replied.

Candasee was on the verge of bursting to find out what had happened and her questions poured out as Nathan disconnected the call.

“Nathan, what happened, what did she say? Are the other delegates there? Will we have to cancel the intensive?”

“
Whoa, whoa there Candee,” said Nathan raising his hand affectionately to her cheek, to slow down her barrage of questions. “There is a problem at the hotel due to all the rain. The conference hall’s roof has been damaged and Solange is trying her best to resolve the issue by finding us an alternative location,” he breathed in frustration.

“I knew it
!” exclaimed Candasee,” I felt that somehow that storm was an omen of some kind but I shook it off on the plane,” she said with a visible shudder.

“No
w let’s not get too negative and talk about omens just as yet. I know I looked completely stressed out just now, but Solange is pretty well connected here on Derrien and I am sure that she will find us a suitable replacement. In the meantime let’s find something to eat. I think we’ll be here at the airport for a little while!” he replied trying to remain upbeat.

Nathan
took control of the baggage cart and threaded his fingers through hers as they walked along the promenade to the food courts where they could sit and wait in hope for some good news. He loved the feel of her small hand wrapped within his. It had been a long road to getting to this point with her and every victory brought a new smile to his face. A few months ago she was still resisting even this closeness between them but last night all of that changed when she accepted his marriage proposal. She finally trusted him and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to make sure she continued to do that.

“What about that deli, I’ve always had a thing for soup and a sandwich when the rain falls,” Candasee said.

“I think that is a great idea. You sit and I’ll get the food!”

Nathan left her with the bags and went to the counter to place an order for both of them.
Candasee sank down onto the soft, leather seat of the booth and scanned the food court of the airport. It was amazing just how little had changed here in the two years since she left. Her gaze returned to the deli where Nathan placed their order and she couldn’t help admiring him as he stood there.

Nathan Carthswright was such an
incredible man in his own right, thought Candasee as she watched him standing at the counter. His lithe dancers’ body didn’t have an ounce of fat visible anywhere but instead his long muscles were like thick sinews that gave him the appearance of powerful grace. Dressed in dark blue jeans and a grey long-sleeved knit shirt, he looked confident and like a man in his element. Even at thirty-seven he was just as strong and flexible as the younger males at the academy. He was the Principal and Creative Director at Carthswright’s Academy of Modern Arts and Media in Barbados and also sat on the Board of Directors of the Grace B. Carthswright Foundation for Excellence in Creative Arts. The Academy had planned a week long media and arts intensive here on Derrien Island for people all over the Caribbean.

It was always his
late mother’s dream to offer a performing arts scholarship to a multi-talented artiste who couldn’t afford formal tertiary education and this year marked the third anniversary of the event. For the first two years, it was held in Barbados and it quickly grew to attract many young people from around the region. The last winner of the scholarship was a young man from the island of Grenada and this year he was now accompanying them as one of the junior classical song instructors during the intensive.

T
his was Nathan’s first attempt at taking the intensive on the regional scene, so she knew that although he was trying to remain positive he had to be feeling the pressure of the situation right now. But amidst it all, he was still showing the signs of strong leadership and optimism she’d grown to really like about him in the short time they knew each other.

Ever since she’d
begun working at the Academy last year, it was clear just how important it was to the Carthswright family to offer this opportunity every year. His late mother in particular had a long and celebrated career in the performing arts before she passed away four years earlier from cancer. They established the Grace B. Carthswright Foundation for the Excellence in Creative Arts to honour her memory and to continue her work in developing the creative arts back in Barbados. But, nothing they did during the year was on the scale of this intensive. This was their brainchild and the highlight of the year’s activities. The winner of the intensive would get a full scholarship to attend a university of their choice to further their studies in the arts.

When she
was hired as the director for modern and jazz choreography it was literally a dream come true. After years of taking weekend classes and being a member of several dance troupes over the years, her skills were excellent enough to allow her to land this job even without a degree in dance. Darius had never understood why she spent so much of her time at the studio rehearsing when they were married. In fact, he always made her feel that unless she was making the big bucks like him, she was wasting her time! So, in a way she had found a kindred spirit in Nathan, her fiancé and
boss
!

Ugh
! Would she ever be able to say that word ‘
boss
’ without feeling as though she had crossed the line somewhere with him? Becoming a dance instructor was her dream career and it was important to her to make the most of this opportunity.

S
he’d planned to open her own studio here on Derrien Island back then, but somehow she’d buried those thoughts deep inside ever since the divorce. Besides, being at the academy was comfortable and she was well-liked and accepted among the staff and students.

She and Nathan
had begun dating nine months ago and that took some persuasion on his part because of her workplace ethics and the fact that even then, she was still reeling from the divorce. Dating him like this was a huge risk and she hated to think what could happen to her job if things did not work out between them. But, he was charming and sweet and when she was with him she had a little respite from thinking about Darius and the fact that she’d vowed to swear off the notion of romance. It wasn’t the best foundation for a relationship but she believed that eventually it would progress to something much deeper if given the chance.

To safeguard
against any problems with her job she tried to take their relationship very slowly at first but after getting to know Nathan, she discovered that she liked him a lot and she knew that he shared her feelings in that regard. It wasn’t the kind of relationship where sparks flew at every turn as it had with Darius and that gave her some measure of comfort. Instead, there was a deep, steady, safe attraction between her and Nathan that made her feel both accepted and appreciated by him, and that she could trust him, which were things she really needed ever since Darius made it clear that she could never get those qualities from him again!

After Nathan placed the order
, he turned around and rested his back against the counter so he could look at Candasee Maxwell. They were perfect for each other. Did she even realize just how irresistible she was to him and to every other man in the area? The beautiful thing about her was that although she was gorgeous, she didn’t flaunt it and she was one of the most humble persons he ever had the pleasure of meeting. He knew from her job interview that she was divorced, but she never liked to discuss the details. With her youth and beauty, he often told himself that one man’s stupidity was another man’s treasure and he had certainly struck gold where Candasee was concerned.

Catching her eye he winked at her and
held her gaze as she smiled back at him in return. After he got their meal, he sauntered back over to her making sure he never broke eye contact. He could look at her all day if only she’d let him, he thought to himself with a smile. She had the most astonishing pair of slate-grey eyes he had ever seen and although grey was supposed to be a cool colour all he felt was fire and heat deep in his heart whenever her eyes connected with his.

No, it did not take him very long to fall madly in love with Candasee Maxwell at all. He just wanted to take care of her and love her in the way he knew that she deserved even though it meant that he was now seeing his employee.

“Okay, he
re we are, soup and sandwiches,” he said sliding into the booth with her so that their thighs touched. I hope you like spiced pumpkin soup and deluxe roast beef sandwiches?” he added with the intonation of a slight question.

“
Yes you made a good selection,” replied Candasee with a playful wink while sniffing the delicious aroma of the food.

“Aha, I knew it! It is this powerful mind
-heart connection we have going here,” he said jovially wiggling his eyebrows in the way that he knew always made her laugh! Was it selfish of him to want her to smile especially when he did it just so he could drink in the sound of her laughter and see the way her face became simply luminous when she smiled. He was in love with this beautiful woman and he did not care who else knew it.

His family had advised him of the risk of dating his employee and yes
he knew that it was far from ethical. But, he had gone way past caring about ethics now. Last night she’d agreed to become his wife and he wouldn’t be so foolish as to let her get away like her first husband did. He wanted her to have a stake in all of his affairs so she never had to consider herself as his employee again but rather his partner in all things.