Gentle Persuasion. Cerella Sechrist

reputation in the corporate world—why not use that to our advantage?”

      In that moment, Dane wanted very much to command Masters to leave his property, but he knew that such a reaction would gain him nothing but the satisfaction of Masters’s indignation. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of his past and reputation, wishing to use his previous successes to their own benefit. He kept silent following Masters’s suggestion, considering the best response to buy him more time without surrendering to the other man’s demands. He was just thinking how desperately he needed some sort of miracle when he raised his head and saw Ophelia Reid striding toward them.

      * * *

      THOUGH OPHELIA HAD found Leilani to be an excellent guide, Dane’s absence had chafed more and more as they’d continued her tour of the plantation. Granted, the rows of coffee trees laden with green orbs waiting to ripen into red coffee cherries had proved an impressive sight, but Ophelia had continued to calculate the minutes as lost opportunities to speak with Dane personally. Still, she’d occasionally found herself absorbed by Leilani’s descriptions of wet processing, which resulted in a Kona coffee’s clean, bright acidity, and the technique of sun drying the beans on decks called hoshidanas. She’d found herself asking questions and then clarifying each step of coffee cultivation, harvesting, processing, roasting, packaging and finally, distribution.

      And despite her irritation over Dane’s disappearing act, she had to admit his small operation was pretty impressive. She and Leilani had emerged from the plantation’s roasting room and begun walking back through the orchards as Leilani summarized the seasons on the plantation and the cycle of life on a coffee farm. But Ophelia had begun tuning out the words as she’d once more wondered exactly where Dane had hidden himself away.

      Had that been his intention, to simply hide from her throughout the remainder of her stay? Clearly, his word meant nothing if he planned to avoid her, hoping she would go away. What about the $10,000 incentive? And if he thought, for even one second, that she would lack determination then he had certainly underestimated her!

      The longer she’d thought about it, the higher her anger had risen so that by the time she and Leilani had rounded the corner of a row of coffee tree saplings, she had worked herself into an internal lather of righteous indignation.

      And when she’d seen Dane Montgomery, standing at ease with a shovel in his hand, she’d muttered a triumphant, “Aha!” under her breath and barreled toward him.

      She sensed Leilani’s gasp and the girl’s struggle to keep up with her, but she kept up a clipped pace down the row of trees until she came abreast of her quarry.

      “We had a deal.”

      “Ms. Reid—”

      “Ophelia,” she snapped. “And you broke our bargain.”

      Dane cleared his throat. “I apologize if you misunderstood—”

      “Misunderstood?” She placed one hand on her hip. “Misunderstood? I hardly think I’m the one in need of clarification here.”

      She noticed Dane’s jaw tighten. He seemed to have something to say, but she sensed he was desperately trying to hold his tongue. Then she became aware of the man beside Dane—a deeply tanned, silver-bearded gentleman who put Ophelia in mind of Long John Silver from the book Treasure Island.

      “I don’t believe we’ve met,” the would-be pirate announced. “Kenneth Masters.” He extended a hand. “Dane’s neighbor.”

      Ophelia stuck her hand into his automatically. “Ophelia Reid, executive recruiter. From New York.”

      “Ahhhh.” Masters’s face lit up with what seemed to be approval. “So you’ve come to make an attempt at whisking Mr. Montgomery back to the mainland.”

      “No one is whisking me anywhere,” Dane remarked.

      Leilani came into Ophelia’s line of vision, but she didn’t look at her. She hoped she hadn’t gotten the younger woman in trouble, but she wasn’t about to let Dane off the hook.

      “Mr. Montgomery and I had an appointment. He agreed to give me a tour this afternoon.” She decided not to mention the particulars of their arrangement. “But he apparently has a different agenda.”

      “I’m afraid that’s my fault,” Masters apologized. “Dane was not expecting my visit today, but it could not be put off. We had an important matter to discuss.”

      Ophelia hesitated at this, her gaze shifting to Dane. She had never seen such tension in a man, tightly clenching his fist around the shovel’s handle, the veins in his arm standing in sharp relief along the lines of muscle. She wondered what it would be like to be cradled in the safety of that strong embrace. Blinking, she looked back at Masters and shoved the thought aside.

      “I—” She stopped. “Is that true?” she asked.

      Masters nodded. “Perhaps you could help us come to some sort of agreement on the subject.”

      “Masters.” Dane’s tone was filled with warning, but Ophelia found herself curious. She suddenly realized the strain within the immediate atmosphere was not the direct result of her outburst against Dane. He had already been tense when she’d come upon this scene.

      “Oh, Montgomery, why not get her input? After all, if she’s offering you some sort of contract, that could be a benefit to us all.”

      Ophelia had been manipulated enough by her mother to see Masters’s tactics for what they were. Still, she waited. Dane made a noise of disgust, but he didn’t stop Masters from elaborating.

      “I’m afraid Dane owes me a tidy sum of money—a loan I issued to him recently. Certain circumstances have forced me to call in the debt earlier than anticipated, but of course, Dane is not yet prepared to pay it. I’m suggesting a partnership, which would pair his name with my own resources. Of course, his contacts and reputation in the corporate world would help elevate our joint venture. Wouldn’t you agree?”

      Ophelia stared at Masters. He stood, smiling amicably, and beneath the thin veneer of his pleasantness, she noted a flicker of smug conquest. He had Dane right where he wanted him, and the man was hard-pressed to keep from gloating. Ophelia felt a shudder of disgust run through her.

      Shifting her gaze, she saw Leilani eyeing her with sympathy while Dane looked off into the distance, as if he couldn’t bear to witness this conversation.

      She turned back to Masters, who continued to wait patiently, his grin growing more cocky and self-satisfied by the second.

      “You’re suggesting you take over his operation and gain the benefit of his name and reputation?”

      “That’s correct—a solution to satisfy everyone involved. Even you might benefit, should Dane decide to return to New York—he could promote our business there at the same time he accepts your client’s offer.”

      Ophelia shook he head. “I’m afraid I have to disagree with you.”

      Masters’s cheery smugness dissolved, his sneer faltering. “Excuse me?”

      “It seems this scheme benefits you more than anyone else. Hardly a fair trade for a small loan of such short terms. And on the contrary, the proposal I’m offering would allow Dane the benefit of a substantial bonus, meaning he could easily clear any debt to you. No point in giving up his farm before harvesting his crops.” She waited a beat before speaking again. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

      She found the sour twist to Masters’s mouth strangely gratifying. Risking a quick glance at Dane, she noted him watching her intently, his expression unreadable.

      “Well.” This single word from Masters’s lips drew her attention back to him. “You’ll hardly convince Montgomery to return to the mainland with such faulty logic.”

      The man suddenly seemed eager to leave.

      “Dane, I’ll stop by again in a few days’ time. Unless, of course, you prefer to phone me with