Ira and his assistant stepped outside the room.
“Dad, what are you afraid of?” Ari inquired when it was just the two of them.
Malcolm frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You haven’t opened the letter yet. Why?”
“Because I know that everything I’ve ever believed is going to change. I’m not so sure that I’m ready for that.”
Ari broke into a grin. “Grandma adored you. That will never change. You and Grandpa—the relationship you had with him will never change.”
“Son, why is keeping this inheritance so important to you?”
“Because this is a chance to help our Aspen community in a way that we’ve always talked about. We talked about owning a chain of hotels…this just feels right to me, Dad. I will respect your decision, whatever choice you make.”
“We will hear what the rest of the family has to say,” Malcolm said.
Ari’s eyes traveled around the room. “Robert DePaul certainly had good taste. This is probably the best-looking conference room I’ve ever been in.”
Malcolm agreed.
“Is Natasha still on that call?” Ari asked. He wondered briefly if she were talking with the people wanting to purchase the hotel properties. Probably giving them an update, he decided. His father was a very intelligent man and had a head for business. He would not be easily swayed one way or the other.
“Must be.” His father pushed away from the table and stood up.
Franklin appeared with a tray of bottles decorated with Swarovski crystals.
Malcolm glanced over at Ari, who asked, “What are those?”
“Bottled water, sir,” Franklin replied.
“That’s some fancy bottle,” Malcolm commented as he took one. “Bling H2O. I never heard of this. Have you, son?”
“No, I haven’t.” Ari picked up his cell phone and began typing. “Franklin, would you happen to know how much one of these would cost? I’m just curious.”
“They run anywhere from thirty-eight a bottle to thousands of dollars. It really depends on the type of bottle, sir.”
Malcolm shook his head in disbelief. “Designer water…”
“It’s the Cristal of bottled water,” Ari interjected, reading from the web browser on his iPhone. “It was created by a Hollywood producer. The water contained in the bottle comes from a Tennessee spring.”
“Mister Robert only allowed Bling H2O to be served at his hotels,” the butler contributed. “However, he kept King Island Cloud Juice stocked for select VIP guests.” He paused a moment before adding, “Will this be all, sir?”
“Yes. Thank you, Franklin.” Malcolm examined the bottle of water. “This is too pretty to drink. I’m going to have to take a bottle home to your mama. I can’t wait to see the expression on her face.”
Ari chuckled. His mother would never believe it without seeing the bottle of luxury water for herself.
Malcolm poured the chilled liquid into a glass and took a sip. “It tastes good,” he said. “Almost too good to be true.”
Ari followed suit. “I have to say that this is the best water I’ve ever tasted. I thought Le Bleu was expensive at twelve dollars a bottle.”
His father nodded in agreement. “We only carry Le Bleu Premium when a customer requests it, and even then, they pay for it. This is certainly a different lifestyle.”
“It would take some getting used to,” Ari said. “Don’t know about you, but I’m up to the challenge.”
Natasha strolled into the room. “I apologize for having to interrupt our meeting, but that call had been scheduled for months.”
“It’s quite all right,” Malcolm responded. “You haven’t missed much.”
Ari leaned forward in his chair. “So you and Robert were close.”
“Not in the way that you are implying,” she responded coldly. “Robert was my mentor when I was in college, and I worked for him before starting my own consulting company. I was just as close to his wife before she passed away.”
“Son, stop giving this little lady a hard time.”
Natasha smiled smoothly, betraying nothing of her annoyance.
Ari looked at his father. “Miss LeBlanc looks like she can take care of herself, Dad. She doesn’t need your protection.”
Ira strode back into the conference room with purpose. “I need to get back to my office for a meeting,” he announced. “Let’s table the rest for tomorrow.”
Malcolm gave a slight nod. “That’s fine.”
Natasha rose to her feet. “It has truly been a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Alexander.”
“What about me?” Ari asked.
“It was nice to meet you, too,” she responded. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”
“We’re not going anywhere.” Ari smiled when he caught the expression on Natasha’s face. The meaning behind his words hadn’t escaped her.
Chapter 3
Ari Alexander was infuriating, to say the least. What had she done to make him so distrustful of her? Natasha drove along the 405 freeway, trying to figure out the answer to that question.
“I’m doing the right thing,” she kept telling herself over and over again. Natasha thought about her last conversation with Robert. He had been clear about his final instructions—this much she knew. Robert DePaul died the very next day.
The last thing she wanted to do was betray the man who had been a mentor to her, but in some ways she could understand why Harold felt so slighted. He had worked alongside his uncle and been extremely loyal to Robert. Malcolm appeared to be a good man, but he had never had any type of relationship with his biological father.
Natasha didn’t want to insult Malcolm Alexander or his infuriating son, but she hoped that they would seriously consider her advice to sell, although she didn’t mention that the investment group interested consisted of members of Robert DePaul’s family.
Shortly after the will was read, Harold approached her with a way for his family to retain the hotel group. She didn’t see any reason not to help him—Harold and his relatives only wanted to protect what should have been theirs in the first place.
Despite Malcolm’s business acumen, Natasha still believed that he lacked the experience for running a hotel chain of this size. Once Malcolm decided to sell, Harold promised to pay her the balance of the money they offered. Medical bills would eat up the ten thousand Robert left her. He had also given her complete ownership of the building that housed her company. If Harold hadn’t approached her with his offer, she had planned to sell the building.
She put on her right signal as she switched lanes. Natasha was taking the next off-ramp. She was looking forward to slipping off her heels and relaxing. It had been a trying day, to say the least.
Ari and his father escorted Ira and his assistant to the door.
“I’m only a phone call away,” Ira told them. “Call if you have any questions.”
“There won’t be anything pressing that can’t wait until morning,” Malcolm responded.
Ari settled down in the living room and turned on the television. Malcolm was about to join him when Franklin appeared from another room.