The Tycoon's Proposition
“You can’t imagine.” Terri’s voice trembled.
“What tipped you off? Mom never said.”
Mom doesn’t know.
“When they took the oxygen mask away, I saw his eyes. T-they were gray instead of blue,” she stammered. “Listen, Beth, I’d better hang up. This call is costing me a fortune. I’ll see you and Mom tomorrow.”
“Can’t wait till you’re home. I want to hear all the details. We’ll be waiting for you at the airport in Rapid City. Have a safe flight.”
After their phone call, Terri showered and packed before crawling into bed. Unfortunately she was wide-awake and restless, haunted by the events of the last few days.
Angry at herself for reliving certain moments she needed to forget for her own good, she turned on the television to provide some background noise. There was a tourist magazine on the table that told where to eat and what to see in Guayaquil. She took it to bed with her and read until oblivion took over.
CHAPTER FOUR
BEN gave his family time to reach the elevator before he sat up and pulled the IV needle carefully out of his arm.
After levering himself from the hospital bed, he removed his sling, then took off his pajamas. Once he’d dressed in the new clothes his parents had purchased, he put the sling back on. He stuffed the clothes and sandals Terri had bought for him in a plastic bag and started for the door.
Dr. Dominguez appeared in the hallway. “Where do you think you are going this early on a Monday morning?”
“My throat feels much better,” Ben whispered. “I have work to do.”
The doctor stood there for a moment before nodding his head. “All right, but you shouldn’t be alone at home.”
“I have someone in mind who will take care of me.”
“That’s good. Come to the nursing station. Sister Angelica will give you some information for the care of your cuts as well as a soft food regimen. Make an appointment to return in a week. I need to see how your stitches are healing. Be careful when you shave.”
“I will. Thank you, Doctor. I’m indebted to all of you on the staff here for your excellent care. Please feel free to distribute the flowers and fruit basket to any patients who will enjoy them.”
“They’ll be much appreciated, Mr. Herrick. Thank you.”
A few minutes later Ben emerged from the front doors of the hospital to hail Carlos Rivera, his manager and right hand at the work site.
The night before, Ben had asked Sister Angelica to phone Carlos and notify him that he was at San Lorenzo Hospital. It hadn’t taken Carlos long to show up.
Using pen and paper, Ben had told the other man to pick him up early the next morning. Carlos could always be counted on to follow through without asking a lot of irritating questions.
“You have no idea how good it feels to get out of there!”
“I can imagine. Where to now?”
“The Ecuador Inn. Step on it!”
When Terri’s alarm went off at quarter to seven, she didn’t feel at all rested. Upset with herself because her thoughts had been on Ben Herrick rather than Richard, she realized she ought to be thankful she was leaving the country.
Knowing she needed food before a long flight, she ordered breakfast. Years ago she’d learned that she could skip other meals, but breakfast she couldn’t do without.
While she waited for it to come, she dressed for the trip in a short-sleeved blue cotton sweater with matching pants and bone-colored leather sandals.
Her haircut made it easy to brush into place. The sun had streaked it here and there, making her look more blond than she really was. With the moderate tan she’d acquired over the summer, she could wear coral lipstick. A touch of Fleurs de Rocaille on her throat and wrists, and she was ready.
Worried because she needed to be at the airport two hours before her flight was called, she let out a sigh of relief when she heard the knock on the door.
“Buenos di—” Terri started to say to the waiter after opening it, then let out a gasp, almost fainting from shock.
Someone tall and dark she’d never expected to see again in her life stood there dressed in a cream-colored sport shirt and trousers. He wore his arm in a sling.