Page 31 of The Bride's Billionaire

Rogerio continued. “We will hammer out all the details tomorrow in our offices, but officially, we would like to say, welcome to the Antar team.”

Everyone in the room cheered, and many came forward, clapping Tyler and Kayla on the back, hugging them, air-kissing and otherwise celebrating. Kayla didn’t know what to think, but she allowed herself to be swallowed up in the celebratory frenzy. At one point, she lost sight of Tyler altogether.

Then everyone sat back down, and the meat started coming. Rogerio and Mr. de Santos joined Tyler and Kayla at their table.

Rogerio laughed to himself. “Oh, we surprised you.”

Kayla nodded. “You sure did. I’m happy to be a part. Thank you.”

“Yes, I look forward to reading over the terms.” Tyler gulped down his water. “This promises to be a very profitable arrangement.”

The waiters brought out chicken hearts and giblets and then pieces of alligator in between the thick cuts of meat. She tried it all, within reason, saving room for what she knew was coming, the mango sorvete. Mmm.

About halfway through the meal, Mr. de Santos pulled out his phone. “I forgot, Tyler. I heard you are famous.”

Tyler stiffened beside her.

“He is?” Kayla was intrigued.

“Yes, a new YouTube sensation. I haven’t watched it yet, but someone sent me the link.”

Tyler laughed nervously beside her, and with growing dread, she waited.

“Here it is. Look we will all watch.” He held it up for them to see.

Sure enough, it was the video they had both seen earlier: them standing in front of the Ba Ba Shack. Tyler got down on one knee, and the whole proposal played out in front of them. Mr. de Santos grinned. He wasn’t watching the video, but Rogerio’s eyes went from the phone to Kayla and back. Then he held out his fork. “This is you?” His eyes wide, incredulous.

“What?” Mr. de Santos whipped the phone around and slid his finger to rewatch the video. When he lifted his gaze again, a hint of betrayal tinged his kindness. “What is this?”

Tyler shook his head. “This, gentlemen, has been the oddest weekend of our two lives.”

“How so?” Rogerio was definitely not amused or intrigued. Mostly, he seemed suspicious.

Kayla chimed in. “I met him on the street outside the wedding-dress shop, three days ago. The night progressed until we were samba experts and dancing on the street outside the Ba Ba Shack and then the fake proposal.” She laughed. “We were happy to see it gave some publicity to that little place.”

“You would have us believe this is the first you’d ever met each other?”

“Absolutely.” Tyler nodded. “In fact, I didn’t even catch her phone number when she drove away. I’ve never been more surprised in all my life than when she walked into your office the other morning as Kayla Finley.” He laughed, but it sounded forced to Kayla.

She leaned forward, hoping her tone would sound convincing. “I know this sounds unbelievable, but we speak the absolute truth.”

“You did not look surprised at the time, neither of you. And why didn’t you tell us before? It seems simple and easy enough to admit.” Mr. de Santos seemed more hurt the longer he considered.

Kayla shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t know. When Tyler introduced himself as though he didn’t know me, I followed along. It didn’t seem like it was relevant, and I was so completely thrown by seeing him there I didn’t know what to think.”

Tyler agreed, nodding. “It’s not as if we were attempting a deception. You won’t believe how crazy we’ve found this whole situation. Our hotel rooms are on the same floor, our rooms across the hall from each other. We can only blame…” he smiled at Kayla, “or thank fate.”

“Fate indeed.” Rogerio frowned. “This bears further consideration.”

“What?” Kayla looked from one to the other. They were more concerned than she thought they should be. “Why is this a problem?”

“It’s a matter of integrity. You probably don’t know this, but the most important quality in anyone we choose to do business with is integrity. Can we trust them to be open and honest without us digging around to check up them?” He shook his head. “Your actions bring this most important attribute into question.”

Tyler scoffed. “Really, Rogerio. I hardly think this a reflection on our integrity or our characters at all. In fact, I would think it reflected positively on the both of us. We’ve been able to maintain a good friendship through it all.”

“I’m sure you have.” Mr. de Santos eyed them suspiciously. “Nevertheless, it raises questions, and we shall discuss it more this evening and respond to you with our new plans to move forward.”

Another couple approached them. The tall man, Marcos, patted Tyler on the back. “I’m so happy to run into you again.” He waited for recognition that was not dawning. “We were at the Pereira wedding three days past?”

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