Jacquelin Thomas - Five Star Attraction

Natasha smiled. “How did today go, Monica?”

“It was a good day,” she responded with a smile.

They talked for a few minutes before Natasha headed upstairs to a bedroom. She entered the room. “Hey, you,” she greeted.

A little boy sitting at a desk in front of a computer looked up and grinned. “Mommy, you’re home.”

“I sure am. Nurse Monica told me that you had a good day.” Joshua was her pride and joy. Natasha tickled his ears.

He giggled. “I did.”

“How was class today?” she asked. Her six-year-old son had leukemia, and for the moment he was in remission. He wasn’t able to go to school because his blood counts were low, putting him at risk for infection. Joshua was able to keep up with his friends and class work via satellite.

“Kinda boring,” Joshua responded. “I have homework to do.”

“Is that what you’re working on?”

Joshua nodded. “I have to write a story about a fish.”

She gave him a sidelong glance. “You love fish, don’t you?”

“But I don’t want to write about a fish,” Joshua stated. “I want to write a story about football.”

“Well, why don’t you email Mrs. Terry and ask if you can do that?” Natasha suggested.

He smiled. “Okay, I will.”

He had been looking forward to playing football this summer with a Pop Warner league. He was finally old enough for the flag football team that practiced at the park a block away from their building. But in a cruel twist of fate, Joshua was diagnosed with leukemia.

She hugged him. “I love you, Joshua.”

“I love you more.”

“You work on that email to your teacher while I change into something comfortable.”

“Can we have spaghetti for dinner?” Joshua asked.

“We sure can,” she responded with a grin. Joshua loved spaghetti and would eat it every night if she let him.

Natasha stood in the doorway of his room, gazing at him. When Joshua was diagnosed a few months ago, his doctor had informed her that he needed to be out of school for one to three years because the chemotherapy treatments would compromise his immune system. It didn’t take much for Joshua to get sick. Just last week, they had to run back and forth to the hospital because Joshua kept running a temperature.

She’d exhausted her savings just to hire Monica so that Joshua had a full-time nurse. Her insurance hadn’t made a dent in the mountain of medical bills sitting on her desk. Robert fell ill a month before she received Joshua’s diagnosis, so she hadn’t confided in him. She was grateful for the ten thousand he left for her, but that wouldn’t cover future treatments. When Harold approached her with the offer to pay the medical bills in full, she’d jumped at the opportunity. Nothing was more important to her than Joshua.

Chapter 4

“So, this is where Robert spent his final days,” Ari said when they ventured into the master bedroom. “This place looks fit for a king.”

Malcolm glanced around the large bedroom. “I guess to some, Robert DePaul was a king.”

Ari navigated around the bedroom. “Dad, this is spectacular. This closet is big enough to make me dizzy, and there’s another room in here with a washer and dryer.”

Malcolm frowned. “A washer and dryer in the bedroom? I’ve never heard of such.”

“I guess they make bedrooms more functional out here in California. If I had a bedroom like this, I could get a whole day’s work done without ever leaving the room.”

Ari strolled into another room. “There is a subzero freezer and fridge in here, too. This definitely works for me.”

“And to think, all your mother and I ever dreamed of having in our bedroom is a fireplace,” Malcolm said.

“Well, now you have two fireplaces, a wide-screen television and a waterfall in the shower built for two.” Ari walked over to his father and said, “Dad, I hope you and Mom know what to do with all this stuff.”

Malcolm grinned. “Don’t worry about us, son. I’m sure we could figure it out.”

“Dad, you and Mom deserve to live like this. You two have worked so hard for the family. I’m glad Robert left his estate to you. It was the right thing to do, but also he made the right decision. You will bring nothing but honor to his legacy.”

The two men embraced.

Malcolm stifled a yawn. “I don’t know about you, but I’m still on East Coast time. I’m beat.”

“I am, too,” Ari said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He left the master suite and walked across the hall where he would be sleeping. His suite was not as opulent as the bedroom his father was in, but it was the largest guest room Ari had ever been in. His master retreat at home was a nice size but definitely not this big.

Ari made his way to the bathroom and turned on the shower. “You can fit two people in this one, too,” he whispered. “Man, this is nice.”

He showered, slipped into a pair of pajamas and settled down in the sitting room to watch television. A picture of April formed in Ari’s mind.

She’s smiling. This must mean that she’s happy and at peace.

Ari missed her dearly. He touched the wedding band on his finger as his heart grieved the loss of the only woman he had ever loved. He often wondered if he would ever feel such emotion for another person again.

Another image formed.

His breath caught as Natasha’s faced loomed in his mind. Ari shook his head as if trying to shake the likeness of her out of his mind. How could she control his thoughts like this? Everything about Natasha disturbed him.

After a dinner of spaghetti and turkey meatballs, Natasha helped Joshua with his homework and then read him a story. Joshua had complained of feeling tired afterward, so he had gone straight to bed.

Natasha settled down in her den and opened a novel. She found it hard to concentrate on reading. Ari Alexander and his father dominated her thoughts. They didn’t have the experience needed to manage luxury properties like the DePaul Hotel Group. Why can’t Ari see that?

Harold had worked under Robert’s tutelage since college. He was more qualified, and he was Robert’s nephew. But Malcolm Alexander was Robert’s son.

“This is such a mess,” she whispered. It was too bad they couldn’t find some way to work together. Harold had been the one balking at the very thought of joining forces with Malcolm. He wanted all of Robert’s assets retained in their family.

Natasha wasn’t sure how this situation was going to turn out, but she prayed for a positive outcome. She liked and respected Malcolm Alexander. His son Ari was another story, however.

Those deep, penetrating eyes of his seemed to look right through Natasha. His gaze was uncomfortable and kept her on the defensive.

He thinks I’m trying to cheat his father out of his fortune, but I’m protecting him, Natasha kept telling herself. Besides, this really has nothing to do with Ari. It’s Malcolm’s decision. Enough about Ari, she silently chided. He’s a married man and after tomorrow, I probably won’t ever see him again.

Natasha stifled a yawn. She was exhausted, but it was much too early for her to go to bed.

She rose to her feet and made her way to her son’s room.

Joshua was asleep.

Natasha stood there, watching him. She was so proud of her little angel. Since finding out about the leukemia, Joshua had exhibited nothing but courage, even at his weakest.

Whenever he went in to have chemo, Joshua was always the one trying to cheer up the others who were scared or sobbing. He liked to make cards for the other children in the hospital, or take them candy.

Natasha felt something wet on her cheeks. She hadn’t realized she was crying. She wiped her face on the back of her hands and then eased the door shut. She quietly made her way to her bedroom and turned on the monitor. It gave her comfort, knowing that she could hear her son cry out if he needed her.