Page 22 of His Unexpected Heir

Astra looked at the notation, then nodded. “ You’re right.” She looked over at Maria and Jeb. “I have a vendor who is sending us willow branches. We’ll get as many people together as we can to make–”

“Gardening?” Maria gasped. She glanced at her manicure, then shook her head. “No. I don’t do gardening.” She stood up. “Antonio wants you to throw parties. Not force the villagers to handle gardening chores.” She pointed at Astra. “I suggest that you focus on the entertainment factor.” She pulled her purse higher onto her shoulder. “Also, I will send you a list of the important people in Madrid and London that should attend Antonio’s functions. They all know me, so they’ll be expecting invitations.”

She started to turn away but Astra stopped her. “I don’t think that’s the vision Antonio has in mind, Maria.”

The woman turned and glared at Astra for a long moment, then laughed. “Trust me. Antonio and I have already discussed how he should be entertaining now that he is taking over his father’s title. He needs to further his acquaintance with the right people.”

“I was under the impression that Antonio wants to bring the locals together. He didn’t mention anyone outside of–”

Maria sliced her hand through the air fast enough that even Jeb stepped backwards, fearful of getting in the line of fire. “Are you seriously going to argue with me about this?” Maria paused for a moment, before continuing. “Even if Antonio wants to entertain the locals, he can do that on a smaller scale.” She sneered at the notes on the table. “I’ll send you some recommendations as well as the invitation list. You’ll be interacting with the Spanish aristocracy and the wealthy business people.” She sighed, shaking her head. “In fact, don’t bother. I will take charge from here.” She gave Jeb a sidelong glance. “I’ll be doing it soon enough anyway. I might as well start now.”

A moment later, Maria swept back into the castle and Astra heard her call out for the housekeeper.

There was a long silence while Astra stared at Macie, then looked over at Jeb. “Well, umm…” she started, but there were no words. In all of Astra’s time organizing various types of events, she’d never had someone so completely dismiss her skills.

“Ignore her,” Jeb replied. “If Senior del Campo explained what he wants, then go with that. Maria will just…” he made an unflattering sound with his lips, then turned to walk away.

When they were alone again, Astra looked over at Macie and they both burst out laughing.

“I’ll call Antonio just to let him know that we’re getting interference,” Astra said as they gathered up their notes.

Macie nodded. “I’ll start making calls and gathering supplies. This is going to be an interesting challenge. I’m looking forward to these events. They’re very different from what we’ve done before.”

Astra agreed. It would be a great way to expand her profile and her offerings, especially if she was going to be more city-oriented in the future.

Chapter 8

Antonio barely heard his vice president talk about the terms of the contract. He’d already gone through the details an hour ago. Now he just wanted this meeting to end. He wanted to get back to Astra. Was she okay? Was she getting enough food or was Eldora still offering barely edible meals?

“Todo listo!” his vice president announced. There was a moment of almost palpable relief as everyone around the conference room table took a breath. The contracts were signed and the transfer of ownership of his father’s last company was completed.

“We’re ready,” Antonio said into the speaker where a group of other business people were waiting on the electronically signed documents.

The catering company he’d hired entered the conference room with chilled champagne and appetizers. This wasn’t just a celebration for this particular client’s purchase. This was the end, Antonio thought, taking a glass and downing the contents. He started to reach for another, but the thought of not being able to drive home tonight made him take the glass, but not drink the champagne.

There was a celebratory feeling around the room and Antonio stepped back, smiling politely at everyone. But he wasn’t smiling inside. He wanted to hurry home. He was finally free of his father’s outrageous debts, his criminal enterprises, and every damn one of his father’s businesses. Now Antonio could concentrate on selling the castle, repairing the villagers’ homes that had been damaged by neglect because no one had been able to earn a living wage under his father’s brutal rule. Antonio was going to focus on investments now. He was putting half of the proceeds of the sale of each business into a fund that would repair roads, build up the infrastructure, and repair homes and businesses. The other half, he invested in various international, national, and local businesses. He loved investing. He enjoyed the challenge of finding businesses that needed an influx of cash in order to flourish. And he was just the man to find those businesses.

Damn, he finally felt free. Now, he just needed to…his mind froze. He’d been about to consider proposing to Astra. But he had to remind himself that Astra wasn’t interested in a future with him. She’d shown that the last time they’d been together in Sidrina.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy her company while she was here, though. Sex was definitely out of the question, but he was looking forward to seeing her rejuvenate the village. Her ideas were brilliant. Plus, he’d asked the village priest to introduce her to some of the others in the village who could help facilitate the planned events.

Now he just needed to get back there and see how things were moving forward!

“Gentlemen,” he announced, bringing everyone’s attention back to him, “I’m going to leave you to your celebration. I have another event I must attend.”

Everyone around the room lifted their glass of champagne to him, but Antonio barely acknowledged their gesture. He couldn’t wait to get back to Astra.

Astra stared down at the dead squirrel. The poor rodent’s tongue was sticking out and there were pieces of shattered glass next to him. The poor little beast had stolen some of the lemonade that had been brought out to the terrace table yesterday evening.

How had the little guy died?

She stared at the lemonade still in the pitcher. Sure enough, the strange “rainbow” sheen was still there. It was the reason she hadn’t drunk any of the lemonade last night. Macie had chosen to drink wine instead of the lemonade, so she was safe as well.

Astra’s gaze moved to the dead clump of daisies. That was where she’d dumped the tea several days ago. What the hell was going on?

Was someone trying to poison her?

Surely she was being overly dramatic.

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