Chapter 5 Paradise

• He extended his hand and finally observed her closely, hoping to make that first eye contact, but she deliberately avoided it. Mr. Rothschild was not willing to let go without getting that look, so when Victoria tried to withdraw her hand, he gave it a small squeeze. A squeeze that caught her attention and sparked his anger. He gave her the darkest and most intense of looks, and liked what he saw in her.
• "Hello," Victoria said reluctantly and somewhat coldly to end the ‘greeting’ matter. After all, he was the one who had ruined her vacation with her friends.
• After those five strange seconds greeting the last member of Hank's family, Mr. Rothschild nodded at David, instructing him to continue guiding them to the house.
• Walking a few steps behind, Mr. Rothschild followed along with Miller, paying attention to all the reactions of the group of strangers.
• Once everyone was in the room, he couldn't take his eyes off them. One of his virtues was being able to read people just by observing their body language, their breathing, and their reactions. While David explained about the house and the third-level apartment he would be occupying, he noticed how uncomfortable Hank became, surely thinking he had to impress the boss. Not Jamie, who seemed very comfortable surrounded by so much luxury. Not Victoria, who just waited for all the commotion to end. As for Noel, he just carried his little sister and assured her they would soon eat something. Cami was hungry.
• "Mr. Rothschild, thank you very much for everything, for coming to welcome us personally to this wonderful place. I know you are a busy man," Hank said.
• "It's a real pleasure. If you need anything, David will take care of it personally. Don't hesitate to ask for whatever you need."
• "Thank you very much, sir."
• "Good night."
• ---
• When they were finally alone, David explained a bit about the activities they could enjoy during their stay.
• Along with Miller, Mr. Rothschild left the house through the main door. Taking an external hallway on the right side of the house, they reached an external staircase that led directly to the third floor—an apartment completely independent from the house.
• "You can go now, Miller. I'll see you tomorrow at 9 a.m. sharp with the reports I asked for."
• "Of course, sir. Good night."
• As soon as he was absolutely alone, he took a minute to contemplate the peace of the island, with its natural sounds. He went up to the third floor. There was nothing that calmed Matt as quickly as a night in silence alone with the waves breaking on the shore.
• Noticeably more relaxed, he took off his jacket and tie, leaving them meticulously hung in the closet next to the main door. On his way to the balcony, he turned on the lights and the curtains automatically opened, revealing the impressive Caribbean landscape.
• Much more relaxed now that he was alone, Matt approached the balcony to take in some fresh air and admire the beautiful full moon that from that privileged spot seemed closer than ever.
• Absorbed in everything he had to do the next morning, he didn't realize until he heard a distant voice having a tense conversation that Victoria was on the beach. Sitting on the warm sand, she was talking on the phone. That was the first time Matt had to contemplate Victoria. Despite the darkness of the night, he could see her gestures, her reactions. Whoever she was talking to, she wasn't taking it well; she looked upset. But that wasn't a reason to stop watching her. No, he didn't even realize how long he had been there. If it hadn't been for his phone that at that moment sent him a voicemail notification, he could easily have stayed there for an hour.
• When he looked up again, after looking at his phone screen, their eyes met again. She still looked visibly upset, but she didn't look away. Uncomfortable at being caught, it was he who broke the contact and went back inside the apartment.
• —
• Fuming to discover her dad's boss watching her from the balcony on the third floor, Victoria went back inside the house intending to get something to drink and head to whatever would be her room while on the island. In the kitchen, she met her brother Noel.
• "Hey Vic, who were you on the phone with just now? Is everything okay?" Her brother's eyes were slightly worried.
• "There's not much going on. It's just Sue. She's very upset because I didn't tell her right away. I tried to explain, but she's stubborn and asked me to let her be angry for a few days."
• "Come on Vic, I give her no more than 2 hours before she starts sending you messages and asking questions."
• "Still, I feel... I don't know, this trip is strange."
• "I think so too. But I'm going to bed, are you coming up?"
• "I'm going to stay a little longer. Goodnight, Noel."
• "Sleep soon," he recalled, then kissed his sister on the forehead.
• "Yes, yes..."
• Victoria turned off the kitchen light and headed to the living room, choosing a spot in front of the large window where the moonlight illuminated the room.
• Just as Noel had predicted, an hour later, Sue began texting her.
• Sue [01:10]:
• Tell me there's at least something good about that all-expenses-paid trip to paradise...
• Sue [01:11]:
• I know you would have never ditched us if it were up to you.
• Sue [01:11]:
• I'm sorry :(
• Victoria [01:12]:
• It's literally an island... and the damn suit guy is attractive.
• Sue [01:13]:
• How attractive? Because there are too many attractive men in this world.
• Victoria [01:13]:
• A 10 maybe 11...
• Victoria [01:14]:
• Annoyingly attractive, and he has a shitty look. Maybe if you google him, he'll show up, I refuse to keep talking about the RICH GUY.
• Sue [01:15]:
• I will.
• Sue [01:13]:
• Go to bed.
• Sue [01:13]:
• I promise to keep you informed of absolutely everything that happens in Europe.
• Victoria [01:15]:
• Thank you :)
• —
• The next morning, it wasn't even 7 in the morning and the intense heat wouldn't let Victoria continue sleeping. The night before, she hadn't bothered to open her suitcase and look for pajamas; she had thrown herself on the bed and kicked her slippers far away, and she hadn't even turned on the air conditioning.
• Not knowing what to do, she turned her suitcase to the center of the room and, remembering her lovely mother, unpacked, and then took a refreshing shower. After 20 minutes, she was dressed in shorts and a sleeveless hoodie. She left the house armed with her sunglasses and iPod. She wanted to walk, and the cool beach breeze was perfect for a walk with her indispensable headphones at full volume.
• Just as everything was finally starting to calm down in Victoria's head, with the whole trip with her friends ruined, her mother's bad mood, and the fact of being on that wonderful island angry about how things had happened... he had to appear. He, the cause of her problems.
• Trotting in slow motion and wearing only sports shorts, the so-called ‘Mr. Rothschild’ appeared, with his firm and toned sweaty chest, accompanied by that sweaty six-pack that shone in the distance and that more than one would envy... Quite a sight for so early in the morning. Without stopping, Victoria continued walking, pretending not to look, furious that he was so attractive. But Matt had already seen her, so when he passed by her, deliberately close, he gave her a conceited half smile and continued to focus on his morning exercises.
• With a sharp shake of her head, she tried to get the image out of her mind and continue her walk. She decided to go to the cabin area where all the employees who worked maintaining the house and in the various recreational activities that the property had were staying.
• By 10 in the morning, when she finally decided to return to the house, she found her parents gathered with David, Mr. Rothschild's assistant, in the living room.
• "Good morning," David greeted her when he saw her enter the room.
• "Hello."
• "Where were you, sweetheart?" Hank asked, affectionately and in a very good mood.
• "I went for a walk, Dad."
• "How long ago, Victoria?"
• "Like two hours, I don't know, a while ago, Mom," she replied, gritting her teeth to avoid swearing.
• "Come on, Victoria, sit with us. David is telling us about the activities we can do on the island."
• With her mother's disapproving look on her, Victoria obeyed her father and took a seat on the farthest sofa, listening to the conversation. David basically read them a complete program with schedules and all kinds of information about the various activities available on the island.
• "Well, since it's vacation, breakfast will be served at 10:30 in the morning. You already have my number and it's at your disposal in case you want to sign up for any of the tours or activities I mentioned, or in case you need anything, anything at all, please don't hesitate to call."
• "Thank you very much, David. Are you staying for breakfast?" Hank asked.
• "Thank you very much, Hank, but I have work to do. But I repeat, you can call at any time."
• "How many assistants do the rich folks need?" Victoria muttered to herself, remembering the shadow that accompanies the big boss everywhere.
• "Well, Mr. Miller Anderson is Mr. Rothschild's personal assistant. I take care of the office work."
• "And what are you doing here?"
• "I offered to come. Miller doesn't have much patience for these things, plus, this island is beautiful, don't you think, Miss Victoria?"
• "Sure," she nodded uncomfortably under her mother's scrutinizing gaze.
• With a friendly smile, David bid farewell to the family and left. As soon as they were alone, Jamie couldn't resist the urge to find out where her daughter had been and with whom.
• "Where did you say you were, Victoria?"
• "Everywhere, I went for a walk, Mom."
• "Two hours... Who were you with?"
• "Myself," she replied, sighing, bored of the same old argument. Here came one of the many discussions with her mom, who did nothing but question everything about Victoria.
• "Where did you disappear to?" Jamie insisted, now impatient.
• "Why do you always pick a fight with me?" Resigned to having to give in, she sought help from her father, who watched them in silence.
• "Jamie, honey, enough. Let me talk to her alone."