Chapter 32 : Helping the Underdog

**Cat POV "Luke, where's Victoria? Simon wants to talk to her about business," Barbs said, standing up. Luke pursed his lips, but he only spared Barbs a quick glance before looking back at me. "Come on, get ready. We're already going to be late," he said, pointing to his watch. "Late for what?" I asked, creasing my brow. Luke pulled out his phone. "Didn't you get any of my texts?" "Um… no." I grabbed my phone from the kitchen and scrolled through my notifications. I didn't have anything from Luke. "When did you send them?" "I sent a bunch throughout the day," Luke explained. I shook my head. "I didn't get any. Oh… I was driving around the island, I probably didn't have reception." "Well, we are going somewhere special, so dress like it," Luke said, nodding to my bedroom. My cheeks warmed, and I looked down. He was being more forward than I expected, especially in front of my friend. "I want to talk to Victoria, Luke. Is she over at your Villa?" Barbs asked. Luke regarded her with an annoyed, almost bored look. "I don't know where she is." "Shouldn't you?" Barbs asked. Luke looked away from her and back at me. "Get ready, Cat. We are on a schedule." Barbs scoffed and crossed her arms. She looked at me, like she expected me to intervene. I shrugged. What did she want me to do? It wasn't like Barb, and I were on good terms. I still hadn't fully forgiven her. I wasn't going to jump to her defense when Luke hadn't done anything wrong. "You're okay with this?" Barbs asked me. "You know Victoria is on the island, right?" I glanced at Luke, seeing that he was dressed in a tailored suit. It was made from a nice, expensive fabric and had smooth lines. The suit was black with a white undershirt and a pale-yellow tie. Barbs was probably thinking Luke was cheating on Victoria with me. I'd even thought that at one point, but Luke had set me straight. He'd also told me that he and Victoria weren't announcing their breakup until they'd finalized some deals. If I told Barbs the truth, it could get out and put those deals in jeopardy. I didn't trust her to keep that secret right now. Besides, If nothing else, Luke was my employer. What worked for him worked for me. What worked for the company worked for me. Barbs couldn't know that their relationship was a sham. "Why don't you head back to the resort? We'll catch up later," I told her. "Seriously, Cat? Isn't this exactly what you were pissed about earlier?" she asked, getting snippy with me. "This is work related, not personal," I assured. "I've got to get ready." "Hmph!" Clearly upset, Barbs grabbed her things and headed out of my Villa. Once she was gone, I turned to Luke and crossed my arms. "Okay, can you tell me what is really going on?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Luke smirked. "That is a surprise, as I said. However, it is a professional setting, so those cutoff shorts aren't going to do the trick." I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Okay, whatever." I headed to my bedroom and dug through the closet. I had a few things that I could pass off as professional. I'd known I'd be working, but I hadn't known I'd be going to some really "professional" events. I pulled out a little cocktail dress that hugged my curves all the way down to my shins where it flared out a little, for dancing. It was a black dress, strapless, low cut in the front. The neckline and the fringe around the hem were colored the same light pink. I'd picked it up after the last even when Luke had had to provide my gown to keep me from looking ridiculous. Luke wasn't in the Villa when I came out. I went outside and saw his car at the end of the boardwalk. He was sitting in the driver's seat of a dark blue, two-seater sports car with the convertible top down. Of course, he went with the sports car. "Hop in," he said, patting the seat. As we pulled away from the villa, I heard thunder behind us. I glanced over my shoulder and saw lightning flickering in the sky, very, very far away over the ocean. "Should we put the top up?" I asked. "Nah. You'll know when we need to put the top up," Luke said, chuckling. "What do you mean?" I asked, looking at the storm again. I wasn't convinced. Even at night, the sky looked like it could open up and pour on us at any second. "Storms here are violent, and then they're over five minutes later. We'll practically get blown off the road by winds long before the rain hits," he explained. We drove off the main road and onto a side road. The road got narrower and the jungle trees closed in around us. I shrank into the car as the big palm leaves reached out to me. Luke slowed down in front of an old Spanish Colonial house. The windows glowed gold with electric lighting. It was in absolute perfect condition. Gasping, I hopped out of the car before Luke had even come to a complete stop. "Luke, this place is gorgeous," I said, looking over the architecture. "It isn't… this isn't an original is it?" "Not exactly. Let's go inside." He grabbed my elbow and guided me along. Inside, the house had the same Spanish Colonial architecture and was just as immaculate. There was a large mahogany table in the entryway set with candles and dinner. The dishes were still steaming, very fresh. The table was only set for two. "What's this?" I asked, motioning to the table. "Dinner. You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Luke asked. He went to one end of the table and held a chair out for me. I narrowed my eyes. "How is this work related?" "Well, it is the architecture that is the important part," he said, grinning. He nodded to the chair. I sighed but smiled and sat down in the chair. Luke took a seat across from me and we started eating. I kept glancing around at the architecture, forgetting to eat sometimes because I was so enthralled. "Has this house been here the whole time?" I asked. "When the islands were first settled, a Spanish dictator lived here. He took the locals as slaves. The slaves revolted and drove him out. He returned to Europe," Luke told me the story of the house. "And it has remained here for a couple of hundred years?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "No. The storms blew the original dwelling down a long time ago. This is a perfect, historical recreation of the house that was here. I like it as a template for the architecture of the other homes we'll be building. It just needs to be storm proofed," he added. "So, the only way you feel comfortable having dinner with me is if you turn it into a work meeting?" I asked, sticking my tongue out at Luke. Chuckling, Luke shook his head. "I thought you'd appreciate the architecture." "I do. It is absolutely gorgeous. It might be a little more high-end than what the locals are used to, though," I admitted with a shrug. I grabbed my glass of wine and took a sip, glancing around at the beams and architectural nuances in the recreation. "Did you have something else in mind?" Luke asked, drawing my attention back. "I saw a lot of the local architecture. I'm not sure they'd appreciate being reminded of their slaver's history in their homes. But the local style has some beautifully unique traits. Perhaps a combination of the two," I suggested. "It's also functional. High ceilings for the heat, lots of air circulation. We should take that into account in the designs." "I like that idea," he agreed. "There's still work to be done. I've got some final repairs to make on this place, a few more modernizations to add." "You've already put in electric," I said, motioning to the lights. "True. I'd like to put some computers in, desks, wifi. Get this place really modernized," he explained. I creased my brow, pausing as I ate. "Desks and computers?" "This is a big house. A plantation-style house. Its potential is wasted out here. I'd really like to see it become something more, especially given the history of this place," he said. I looked at Luke across the table, and his eyes met mine. For a long moment, we didn't say anything, we just stared at each other. Finally, I looked away. I couldn't keep looking at him, or I'd get swallowed whole. Panting slightly, my heart fluttered, and I fanned myself with my hand before reaching for my wine again. "So, what do you want to do with the building, then?" I asked. "A lot of our employees at the resort have families. Most come from households where both parents have to work at least one job. Or, in single-parent households, that parent has to work two jobs." When Luke paused, a clap of thunder shook the entire house. I gasped and clutched my chest. My wine trembled in the glass. "That was really close," I said. "We're fine. The thunder can be heard before the wind. And the wind comes before the rain," Luke assured me. "You were saying about the families?" I said, getting back on track. "Right. The kids end up on the streets a lot while their parents are working. A lot of them end up getting jobs young, and that's their lot in life. I want to change that, so I want to turn this into a school and daycare facility for the kids of the families that work at the resort." My smile stretched wide as I looked at Luke with a new sense of awe. Albert had warned me that he was a genius, but I'd never known how much of a humanitarian he was. If he gave a school to the kids of the island, he could drastically change the entire local economy and quality of life. "That's an incredibly kind thing to do for your employees," I said. Luke smirked and raised his glass. "Well, there was a time when you thought that I was going above and beyond for you. I wanted you to know that I go above and beyond for all my employees." My cheeks burned, but I raised my glass too. "All right, to improving the quality of life for the locals," I said. Luke clinked his glass to mine, and we both took a sip. Admittedly, I was a little upset that Luke had only gone above and beyond for me because I was an employee. Although I knew I shouldn't, part of me had hoped it was for something more. BOOM! Thunder shook the house, the table rattled, and then the lights went out. Luke and I were plunged into darkness.