Touch of Heaven by Maureen Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

to do whatever it takes to help Mr. Mayne build at that location—with or without your cooperation!”
    Raina leaped from her chair, outraged. “Are you threatening me, Mr. Ralston? Because that sounded an awful lot like a threat to me!”
    He faltered for a moment, as if realizing he may have gone too far.
    After another moment he said in a lofty, reprimanding tone, “Ihave no respect for small-minded business owners who put their own selfish interests above the needs of the community.”
    Raina’s temper flared. “And I have no respect for greedy, opportunistic land developers who claim to care about the needs of the community when all they really care about is fattening their own pockets. Goodbye, Mr. Ralston!”
    Raina slammed down the receiver.
    How dare that man call her selfish, she fumed. The unmitigated gall! He was the one willing to sell out to the highest bidder. He was the one who would profit from displacing the tenants who occupied the shopping center next door. Where the hell did he get off lecturing her about serving the needs of the community? He didn’t know the first thing about her. She was not small-minded or selfish. She—
    A gentle knock at the door made Raina bark, “Who is it?”
    The door opened slowly. A petite, dark-skinned woman stood in the doorway holding two lattes and staring cautiously at Raina, as if she were a venomous snake poised to strike. “Is, um, this a bad time?”
    â€œYes,” Raina growled, waving the woman into the visitor chair. “But come in anyway.”
    Tina Deveaux entered the small office and walked over to the desk, her wide hips swinging. “I brought you a latte,” she said in her lilting Caribbean accent, “but you look like you could use something stronger.”
    Raina snorted, dropping heavily into her chair. “Tell me about it.”
    Tina passed Raina the cup and settled into the visitor chair, sweeping her long, braided hair off one shoulder. “I have thirty minutes to kill before my first appointment. Since I was off yesterday, I thought I’d pop my head in and see how the boss lady is doing. Not too good, I see.”
    â€œNo, not really,” Raina admitted. She took a sip of the iced latte and let out an appreciative sigh. “That hits the spot. Thanks, Tina.”
    â€œDon’t thank me. Thank Dalisay at the deli, who makes the best lattes in Houston, as far as I’m concerned.”
    â€œNo argument there.” Raina drank some more.
    Tina frowned. “When I was over there, Dalisay told me they might be leaving soon. She said the landlord informed her and her husband yesterday that he might not renew their lease at the end of July.”
    Raina scowled, incensed to realize that Tyler Ralston was not waiting until the deal with Mayne Industries was finalized. Thearrogant bastard was proceeding as if the sale were a foregone conclusion. Damn him. And damn Warrick Mayne!
    â€œSo it is true?” Tina prodded, noting Raina’s furious expression. “Their landlord is planning to sell the shopping center?”
    Raina hesitated, then nodded grimly. “I’m afraid so.”
    â€œBut why?”
    â€œBecause he’s a selfish, greedy businessman whose only concern is making money,” Raina grumbled.
    Tina’s perfectly sculpted brows knitted together. “I don’t understand.”
    Leaning her head against the back of her chair, Raina pushed out a long, weary breath.
    Tina Deveaux was one of the first massage therapists Raina had hired after opening Touch of Heaven. Tina, a licensed masseuse with several years of experience in the salon industry, had been going through a painful divorce and struggling to raise her infant son alone when she had applied for the job at the day spa. Raina had known, even before she’d looked at her résumé, that Tina was the type of employee she was seeking. Not only was she knowledgeable