Page 49 of The Wrong Fiancée

"Knock yourself out."

"I'm going to blackball Archer Arts & Antiquities," she threatened venomously.

I grinned. "Mess with my family at your own risk, Felicity. I’m the good guy here. But piss off Damian or Duncan, and Thatcher Consulting will be shutting its doors for good. And trust me, they’ll make sure all that money you think gives you the right to be such a raging bitch? Gone. Every last cent."

She stood up. "Watch me."

"I'm sorry how this turned out," I told her sincerely.

"Oh, Dean Archer, you're going to be sorry for how youtreated me. No one, but no one gets away with insultingme."

She stormed out of my bungalow.

My phone began to ring. I answered it.

"You coming or what?" Dante wanted to know.

"Yeah. I hadthetalk with Felicity."

"How did it go?"

"Worse than I thought it would be—but her behavior helped me feel better about my decision."

"You better come down here because your girl is something else. She just gave a masterclass on how to present art, and she's been doing this formerelytwo weeks."

I ended the call and, for the first time since getting engaged to Felicity, I felt a load lift off me. Deep down, I had always known I was making a mistake—that Fee was the wrong fiancée for me. My mind had sensed it long before I admitted it, and my heart, without me even realizing it, had been heavy. But now, there was a lightness.

I was smiling when I left my room—my first genuine smile in days.

Chapter Eighteen

ELIKA

The past two weeks had been the best I had ever lived. Even better than the two weeks with Dean. I mean, that was amazing, but working with the Giordano Art Director, Melody Levy, was a dream come true. Dante had brought her from New York to run the Giordano Hotels & Resorts art program. She was going to be responsible for acquiring art for all the high-end resorts and hotels, as well as building art galleries like theKe Ala O Ke Kaiat the Hale Moana resort, the first of its kind for Giordano.

"What do you think of the name?" Melody asked me when we first met. "It's a Hawaiian name, and I have no idea how it connects to the art gallery, but some ad agency came up with it."

I looked around the large room being set up to become a permanent art exhibition space and smiled. "Ke Ala O Ke Kaimeant the path of the sea in Hawaiian. I think it's very à propos. For me, it evokes the islands' deep connection to the ocean, and the journey of both traditional and contemporary Hawaiian art. It combines a sense of movement and history."

Melody arched an eyebrow. "The path of the sea. I like that. What do you think of the space?"

"I think it's perfect to showcase island art, and bridge the past and present, much like the natural and cultural paths of Hawaii."

Melody put an arm around me. "I can see why Dante wanted you to work with me on this. You know your art."

"I know a little."

"Well, hang with me, kid; I'll teach you a lot more."

In the short two weeks I worked with Melody, she did just that. Most of the work for the gallery was already done—it was all about the finishing touches—but I felt like a kid in a candy store the entire time.

My life had changed so much so quickly, and I was grateful to Dante. I had quit my job at the Lava Lua Tiki Lounge because now I needed to make time for the gallery, take management courses, and work as a hostess as part of my training at the restaurants. I would be doing four-week rotations at all the restaurants. Since I'd already worked there and knew the staff and chef, it had been much easier than I thought.

The only fly in the ointment was my new supervisor. Desmond Rykes was old school and known to be a stick in the mud. He was responsible for all the management trainees at the resort, so I'd had to lose Leilani as a boss, who had been thrilled for me. Desmond's problem with me came from the fact that mypromotionhad been authorized not by traditional channels—but by Dante Giordano himself.

"I don't know and don't care what you're doing with him, but I run a tight ship. Got it?"

What the fuck? Did he think I was sleeping with Dante? Me? Had he seen Dante? Did he really think he'd sleep with someone like me?

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