Gentle Persuasion (5 page)

When Ophelia reappeared on the first floor of the inn to meet up with her host, she found Leilani waiting for her instead. The younger girl appeared awkward and uncomfortable as she shifted from one sandaled foot to the other and tugged on the hem of her coral-colored T-shirt.

“Dane’s a little preoccupied right now, so he asked if I could give you a tour of the plantation in his place.”

Ophelia clenched her jaw. Her assignment here was difficult enough, given Dane’s stubborn recalcitrance, but to have him renege on their arrangement so soon rankled thoroughly. Her mother had not advised her to throw away money needlessly. The $10,000 incentive was meant to anchor Ophelia to Dane’s side, allowing her time to get to know the man and continually illustrate the benefits of his return.

But seeing Leilani’s discomfort, she didn’t feel she could take out her annoyance on the younger woman. She forced herself to relax.

“Well, he’ll just have to make it up to me later, won’t he? At least it will give us some girl time together, right?”

Leilani’s fidgeting eased as a look of relief bloomed on her pretty face. She nodded enthusiastically. “Come on. I’ll show you around.”

* * *

“S
URELY
YOU
CAN
appreciate my situation, Dane.”

Dane clenched his jaw to keep from arguing. After all, Kenneth Masters had been generous enough in loaning Dane money to continue operations some months ago...if only Dane had realized the motives behind Masters’s scheme before he had accepted. Now, the other man was suddenly revising the terms and requesting payment in full within the week.

“It’s been a difficult year for all of us. You know how hard it is to compete with the larger estates.”

Dane still said nothing. It was rumored that Masters imported cheaper, inferior coffee beans from other regions, mixing them with his own crop of Kona in order to offer “quality Kona coffee” at a significantly lower rate of sale than his fellow farmers could provide. No one had dared to pursue an investigation on Masters, however, and Dane hadn’t learned about these illegal practices until after his deal with his shady neighbor had already been struck. It had unfortunately not occurred to Dane before this that perhaps Masters’s motivations in loaning him the sum went beyond the simple profit he would make on their interest terms.

Dane continued to dig his shovel into the dirt as he formed holes for a new crop of coffee trees. After he felt he had the right depth, he tossed in some fertilizer consisting of macadamia husks, coffee cherry pulp and other various greens and compostable materials.

When he finally looked back up from his task, he saw Masters frowning at him critically. He wondered if the man disapproved of his tenacity in planting more trees when his farm was on the verge of bankruptcy.

“I thought we had agreed to six months on the loan,” Dane finally said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.

“Well, as I’ve said, it’s been a difficult year.”

Dane sighed and leaned his weight wearily against the support of his shovel. “You know I was waiting until I harvest to pay you back the first installment.”

“I hate to put you in a tough place, Dane. I know you’ve been trying your best with this plantation. Perhaps your reach has exceeded your grasp, hmm? Coffee trees aren’t the same as corporate marketing. I have our contract in writing. There is a clause that states I can call in the loan at any time. My lawyer has all the necessary paperwork.”

Dane held Masters’s gaze until the other man looked away. He then straightened, took his shovel and began driving his spade into the earth once more, directing all his anger into the movement. He knew the clause Masters had mentioned. He hadn’t noticed it until the deal was already done. At the time, he’d been distracted—another recruiter had shown up on his doorstep, this one more obnoxious than most. Coupled with his growing concerns over the farm’s finances, he had been sloppy in his final review of the loan contract with Masters. The clause had not appeared until the last revision of the document, and he’d overlooked it in his haste to finalize the deal. When he had found the clause later, he’d hoped it was merely a formality. Now, he knew better. And he was angry at both himself for his carelessness and Masters for his underhanded trickery.

“Maybe we can come to some other sort of arrangement?” Masters suggested.

“I’m sure you already have something in mind,” Dane remarked as he continued forcing his shovel into the soil, sweat beading on his brow.

“Why not a partnership? I’ll provide the funds to carry you until the harvest, and in turn, you use your reputation and business contacts on the mainland to advance our joined operations.”

Dane stopped digging but gripped the shovel handle tightly. “What was that?” He turned slowly, every line of his body tense at Masters’s suggestion. “We could do
what?
”

Masters didn’t even have the grace to look abashed. If anything, his smirk seemed even more pronounced than when he had first arrived and sought Dane out, forcing him to forego his afternoon tour with Ophelia and leaving his guest in Leilani’s hands. He was sure Ms. Reid had been anything but happy about the handoff. But now, his pesky recruiter lingered in the corner of his mind. The $10,000 incentive would go a long way in repaying his loan to Masters, even if the other debts still piled up in the interim.

“Come now, Dane. We both know this is a tremendous undertaking for you, especially given your background.”

“I was raised on a farm,” Dane pointed out. “In the Midwest. I’m not a stranger to the manual labor or the long hours.”

“Perhaps during your boyhood...” Masters trailed off. “But now? So many years later?” He clicked his tongue. “You’re in over your head, man. If you’re half the genius they claim, surely you can already see that.”

Dane only knew one thing—success was a lot of hard work and a healthy helping of luck. The hard work wasn’t the problem—he just hadn’t stumbled into the luck bit yet.

“Why not let me help you out? By merging your name with mine, we could go far, Montgomery. Especially given your reputation in the corporate world—why not use that to our advantage?”

In that moment, Dane wanted very much to command Masters to leave his property, but he knew that such a reaction would gain him nothing but the satisfaction of Masters’s indignation. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of his past and reputation, wishing to use his previous successes to their own benefit. He kept silent following Masters’s suggestion, considering the best response to buy him more time without surrendering to the other man’s demands. He was just thinking how desperately he needed some sort of miracle when he raised his head and saw Ophelia Reid striding toward them.

* * *

T
HOUGH
O
PHELIA
HAD
found Leilani to be an excellent guide, Dane’s absence had chafed more and more as they’d continued her tour of the plantation. Granted, the rows of coffee trees laden with green orbs waiting to ripen into red coffee cherries had proved an impressive sight, but Ophelia had continued to calculate the minutes as lost opportunities to speak with Dane personally. Still, she’d occasionally found herself absorbed by Leilani’s descriptions of wet processing, which resulted in a Kona coffee’s clean, bright acidity, and the technique of sun drying the beans on decks called
hoshidanas.
She’d found herself asking questions and then clarifying each step of coffee cultivation, harvesting, processing, roasting, packaging and finally, distribution.

And despite her irritation over Dane’s disappearing act, she had to admit his small operation was pretty impressive. She and Leilani had emerged from the plantation’s roasting room and begun walking back through the orchards as Leilani summarized the seasons on the plantation and the cycle of life on a coffee farm. But Ophelia had begun tuning out the words as she’d once more wondered exactly where Dane had hidden himself away.

Had that been his intention, to simply hide from her throughout the remainder of her stay? Clearly, his word meant nothing if he planned to avoid her, hoping she would go away. What about the $10,000 incentive? And if he thought, for even one second, that she would lack determination then he had certainly underestimated her!

The longer she’d thought about it, the higher her anger had risen so that by the time she and Leilani had rounded the corner of a row of coffee tree saplings, she had worked herself into an internal lather of righteous indignation.

And when she’d seen Dane Montgomery, standing at ease with a shovel in his hand, she’d muttered a triumphant, “Aha!” under her breath and barreled toward him.

She sensed Leilani’s gasp and the girl’s struggle to keep up with her, but she kept up a clipped pace down the row of trees until she came abreast of her quarry.

“We had a deal.”

“Ms. Reid—”

“Ophelia,” she snapped. “And you broke our bargain.”

Dane cleared his throat. “I apologize if you misunderstood—”

“Misunderstood?” She placed one hand on her hip. “
Misunderstood?
I hardly think I’m the one in need of clarification here.”

She noticed Dane’s jaw tighten. He seemed to have something to say, but she sensed he was desperately trying to hold his tongue. Then she became aware of the man beside Dane—a deeply tanned, silver-bearded gentleman who put Ophelia in mind of Long John Silver from the book
Treasure Island.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” the would-be pirate announced. “Kenneth Masters.” He extended a hand. “Dane’s neighbor.”

Ophelia stuck her hand into his automatically. “Ophelia Reid, executive recruiter. From New York.”

“Ahhhh.” Masters’s face lit up with what seemed to be approval. “So you’ve come to make an attempt at whisking Mr. Montgomery back to the mainland.”

“No one is
whisking
me anywhere,” Dane remarked.

Leilani came into Ophelia’s line of vision, but she didn’t look at her. She hoped she hadn’t gotten the younger woman in trouble, but she wasn’t about to let Dane off the hook.

“Mr. Montgomery and I had an appointment. He agreed to give me a tour this afternoon.” She decided not to mention the particulars of their arrangement. “But he apparently has a different agenda.”

“I’m afraid that’s my fault,” Masters apologized. “Dane was not expecting my visit today, but it could not be put off. We had an important matter to discuss.”

Ophelia hesitated at this, her gaze shifting to Dane. She had never seen such tension in a man, tightly clenching his fist around the shovel’s handle, the veins in his arm standing in sharp relief along the lines of muscle. She wondered what it would be like to be cradled in the safety of that strong embrace. Blinking, she looked back at Masters and shoved the thought aside.

“I—” She stopped. “Is that true?” she asked.

Masters nodded. “Perhaps you could help us come to some sort of agreement on the subject.”

“Masters.” Dane’s tone was filled with warning, but Ophelia found herself curious. She suddenly realized the strain within the immediate atmosphere was not the direct result of her outburst against Dane. He had already been tense when she’d come upon this scene.

“Oh, Montgomery, why not get her input? After all, if she’s offering you some sort of contract, that could be a benefit to us all.”

Ophelia had been manipulated enough by her mother to see Masters’s tactics for what they were. Still, she waited. Dane made a noise of disgust, but he didn’t stop Masters from elaborating.

“I’m afraid Dane owes me a tidy sum of money—a loan I issued to him recently. Certain circumstances have forced me to call in the debt earlier than anticipated, but of course, Dane is not yet prepared to pay it. I’m suggesting a partnership, which would pair his name with my own resources. Of course, his contacts and reputation in the corporate world would help elevate our joint venture. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Ophelia stared at Masters. He stood, smiling amicably, and beneath the thin veneer of his pleasantness, she noted a flicker of smug conquest. He had Dane right where he wanted him, and the man was hard-pressed to keep from gloating. Ophelia felt a shudder of disgust run through her.

Shifting her gaze, she saw Leilani eyeing her with sympathy while Dane looked off into the distance, as if he couldn’t bear to witness this conversation.

She turned back to Masters, who continued to wait patiently, his grin growing more cocky and self-satisfied by the second.

“You’re suggesting you take over his operation and gain the benefit of his name and reputation?”

“That’s correct—a solution to satisfy everyone involved. Even you might benefit, should Dane decide to return to New York—he could promote our business there at the same time he accepts your client’s offer.”

Ophelia shook he head. “I’m afraid I have to disagree with you.”

Masters’s cheery smugness dissolved, his sneer faltering. “Excuse me?”

“It seems this scheme benefits you more than anyone else. Hardly a fair trade for a small loan of such short terms. And on the contrary, the proposal I’m offering would allow Dane the benefit of a substantial bonus, meaning he could easily clear any debt to you. No point in giving up his farm before harvesting his crops.” She waited a beat before speaking again. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

She found the sour twist to Masters’s mouth strangely gratifying. Risking a quick glance at Dane, she noted him watching her intently, his expression unreadable.

“Well.” This single word from Masters’s lips drew her attention back to him. “You’ll hardly convince Montgomery to return to the mainland with such faulty logic.”

The man suddenly seemed eager to leave.

“Dane, I’ll stop by again in a few days’ time. Unless, of course, you prefer to phone me with your decision sooner.” He cleared his throat and bowed to Ophelia. “Best of luck to you, then, Miss Reid.”

“Nice meeting you,” she answered, but the compliment was not returned as the man strode away.

The atmosphere felt slightly lighter after Masters’s departure, but Ophelia still recognized tension in the air as she faced Dane. She knew her outburst had done little to endear him to the object of her mission.