A Taste Of Brazil_An Interracial Billionaire Romance Read online

  “Oh well. It’s a little over a thirteen-hour trip. Sleep on the plane,” Melissa scolded. “And what are you going to do with the fish? I don’t know how much to feed them.”

  “Oh yeah. Whenever I leave them here, I just put in a food block. It’s for people who leave them a lot or have bad habits of not feeding them. This should last them two weeks,” Nichole answered as she placed the food block into the tank.

  “Why don’t you just do that all the time?” Melissa asked.

  “These things are expensive!” exclaimed Nichole.

  “You’re a vet for exotic animals. You own your own hospital! I’m pretty sure you can afford them,” Melissa replied.

  “I save money when I can. It’s called, ‘not being lazy,’” Nichole finished.

  Melissa rolled her eyes, smiled, and continued to look at her laptop. “It’s getting late. I should get back home to my husband.”

  “I didn’t even realize the time! Send Austin my hellos,” Nichole replied.

  “I’m going to send him a smack upside his head.” Melissa laughed as she packed her things.

  “Have fun in Brazil!” Melissa yelled as she walked out the door. “And keep me updated. Send lots of pictures!”

  The next morning, the car was packed and Tashka and Nichole headed for the airport. She let the ladies at the front desk know who she was. They checked her passport and told her which way to go. She went outside and saw a man standing outside of a Gulfstream 550 holding a sign with her name on it. She approached the man and confirmed her identity. He took her and Tashka’s luggage and put them on the plane. The two enjoyed the trip with free food and beverages as well as having Wi-Fi and comfortable napping spaces. When the trip was over, the two stepped off the plane and was greeted by another man with a sign that had her name on it. She showed him her passport and he helped them into a limo. It was a beautiful pearl color with complimentary snacks and drinks on the inside.

  “Victor Barbosa sure does treat people well,” Nichole said to Tashka. There were even dog treats in a bowl along with a water bowl with Tashka’s name on it. As they headed toward the hotel, the beautiful lights and colors she saw on her way through the city astonished Nichole. She was dying to see more. They arrived at a large hotel and were astounded. It had to be at least eighteen stories tall. It was blowing Nichole’s mind.

  “This way ma’am,” said the limo driver. He took their luggage inside to the front desk and told them to notify Mr. Barbosa that the special guests had arrived. They took her bags and escorted her to her room on the top floor, which she correctly guessed to be eighteen. She ordered room service and before it arrived she took a shower while Tashka watched television. Then when she got out, she put on a black bra and laced panties and put on a silk robe. “We probably won’t meet Mr. Barbosa until tomorrow,” Nichole assured Tashka.

  She stepped out onto the balcony and looked over at the beautiful sights. All she saw was lights and she could hear music. There was a knock on the door and when she answered it, she was a little shocked. What she expected to be room service, turned out to be an extremely handsome man in a suit.

  “Are you looking for someone?” Nichole asked, peeking her head out the door to look left and right.

  “Oh, my apologies. I am Victor Barbosa. You’re Nichole Jones, correct?” he replied. Nichole was at a loss for words. She was spending too much time admiring his looks and composure. His voice was deep but soothing all the same and his accent charmed her like a snake in a vase.

  “Oh, uh, yes. Would you like to come in?” Nichole asked.

  He thanked her and stepped inside of the room. As she watched him walk past her, she looked him up and down without him noticing. “I hope everything is to your liking,” he said, looking around the room.

  “Yes, very. Thank you so much,” she replied.

  “No, thank you for coming so quickly!” he exclaimed. He began to pet Tashka and she wagged her tail. “I was wondering if we could meet up tomorrow morning around eleven o’clock if it’s alright with you,” he asked.

  “Sure. No problem, Mr. Barbosa,” Nichole answered.

  “Please, call me Victor.” He smiled. “I would prefer it if you treated me like a friend.”

  I think I would like it if I could get to know you a little better than that, Nichole thought in her head. “Sure. No problem, Victor.” She smiled back.

  Someone knocked on the door and Victor answered it. “Oh, thank you, I got it from here,” he said as he tipped the server. Victor wheeled in the cart in front of Nichole and Tashka and revealed their meals. Nichole ordered herself lobster bisque and her lovely companion, Tashka, a plain steak, well done.

  “These are my personal favorites. I hope you enjoy. I don’t want to keep you and interrupt your meals, so I will just stop by in the morning, okay?” Victor asked.

  Nichole had a smile on her face and she replied, “That’s perfectly fine with me.”

  “Okay great. Well. Good night. I hope you both have sweet dreams,” Victor finished. He walked out of the room, making sure the door was closed, and was gone for the night. Nichole swooned at the thought of him. He made sure she was happy with her stay so far. He was respectful to his employees. He was handsome with a charming voice. He was circling around in her mind but another part of her was telling her to keep things strictly business.

  Chapter2

  The next morning, Nichole woke up and made herself a cup of coffee. The clock read ten twenty-seven in the morning. “Ah crap, Tashka, why didn’t you wake me up!” screamed Nichole. Tashka sat up, her head raised, and laid it back down. Nichole tossed her suitcase on the bed and unzipped it. Then she grabbed a thin-strapped tank top and put it on and a thin white, see-through, button up top followed after it. She put on some light blue jeans and black wedges with a two-inch heel. She put a black and white bandana around Tashka’s neck. Then she went to the bathroom to do her hair. She only had five minutes to spare so she used a spray bottle to wet and re-curl her afro, then she put on her dark red lipstick.

  She opened her door and Victor was already in front of it. “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I too early?” asked Victor.

  “No. I just thought we were meeting in the lobby and I was running late,” admitted Nichole.

  “I wanted to meet you here, so I could escort you properly.” Victor smiled.

  “Such a gentleman. Thank you,” Nichole replied, trying not to blush. Tashka walked out of the door, Nichole closed it, and they headed to the elevator.

  “Has Zap’s behavior changed any?” asked Nichole.

  “No, he’s still a sweet, loving baby. He just doesn’t eat. He only eats when I hand feed him and he doesn’t play with me much anymore,” answered Victor.

  “How long will it take us to get to Zap’s enclosure?” asked Nichole when they reached the first floor.

  “Not long. He stays at my house,” replied Victor. They walked out of the front door and Nichole saw a valet pull up a black and navy-blue Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse.

  “Whoa. That is a beautiful car!” exclaimed Nichole.

  “That is also our ride.” Victor grinned.

  Nichole walked over to the car and Victor opened her door for her. She stepped in and sat down. “What about Tashka? She’s too big to fit in here,” Nichole asked with concern.

  “I got a ride for Tashka. No worries.” Victor grinned. “Look.” Nichole turned around and saw another Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse but this one had Tashka’s picture on the side. Tashka happily jumped inside and sat on the passenger’s seat of the car. Nichole saw the limo driver from before in the driver’s seat of the second Bugatti.

  “Oh my gosh!” screamed Nichole. “When did you do that?”

  “When I found out you were bringing her, I decided to get that done the same day. I got her picture off of your website,” Victor answered. “Do you like it? It’s the least I could do to show you how much I appreciate you coming out here on such short notice.”

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sp; “It’s amazing!” exclaimed Nichole. “What are you going to do with it when we’re gone?”

  “I might keep it so that every time I see it, I will think of you and Tashka or I will send it to you in the States, so you can show her off,” Victor answered.

  Nichole smiled. “Well, we better get going.” Victor wasn’t lying when he said it wouldn’t take long to get to his house. It only took about ten minutes to get to the gate. The security guard smiled at Victor and he returned the smile. “Hey Miguel. The car behind me is also with me,” Victor said.

  “Yes sir. Hello ma’am,” replied Miguel as he nodded his head at Nichole with a smile. When they drove through the gate, they approached a large mansion. After they got out of the car Tashka ran to Nichole’s side.

  They inspected the mansion. It was beige and dark gray and had red panda statues on the top of columns by the steps. “I like your statues,” Nichole said, admiring the color and details in the fur and the face.

  “Yes,” Victor laughed. “Isn’t Zap a great model? He’s almost as great as Tashka.”

  “Wow! These are statues of Zap?” Nichole asked, amazed.

  “Indeed, they are. Are you impressed?” Victor asked curiously.

  “Very.”

  “Follow me.” Victor smiled. The two walked inside of the home and the entire inside was just as it was on the outside, beige and dark gray. The furniture was leather, and the floors were marble. “Let me give you a tour of the house.” Victor smiled.

  “What would a busy man like you need with all of this space?” Nichole joked.

  “My home is larger than the space needed to meet the requirements to keep Zap here. He roams around here freely so, technically speaking, only the bed is mine. Zap is incredibly spoiled. If anything, this is his home and I just visit.” Victor chuckled.

  Nichole and Tashka walked beside Victor as he went up the steps to the second floor. He walked to a door that was slightly ajar and knocked on it lightly two times.

  A woman answered it. She looked like she was in her forty’s and her hair was black and wavy. She wore a black polo shirt and black slacks. “Come on in Victor. Oh, hello, miss!” the lady said in an excited tone with a strong Brazilian accent.

  “Hi.” Nichole smiled, walking into the room. As they went around the corner, they saw a massage table where Zap laid. He was taking a nap.

  “Ugh, typical panda behavior,” Nichole laughed.

  “Yeah, ha-ha, he loves his naps,” replied the lady.

  “Nichole, this is Maria. Maria, this is Nichole. Maria gives Zaps his massages before his naps,” Victor said while walking up to Zap. “Hey buddy. Daddy’s home,” Victor said, rubbing Zap’s head between his ears. Zap woke up and quickly got excited.

  He hopped up and started hitting Victor to rub him. “Okay. Okay!” Victor laughed. “Has he been eating?” Victor asked, looking at Maria.

  “No luck.” Maria shook her head with a frown on her face.

  “Let me see him,” replied Nichole. Victor passed Zap over to Nichole and Zap grew even more excited. “He sure is lively. That’s a good thing.” Nichole smiled.

  She opened her purse and took out her stethoscope and checked his vitals. “Everything is well except for his tummy gurgle. Has he been drinking water?” Nichole asked as she inspected him.

  “He drinks but he doesn’t eat,” answered Maria.

  “Has anything changed in his schedule? What did he do before that he doesn’t do now?” Nichole asked while petting Zap.

  Zap saw Tashka and began jumping around playfully. He hopped down on the floor and threw his arms up, then pounced at Tashka. Tashka playfully laid on her back and started acting like she was swatting at him.

  “I don’t think so. I mean, I have been spending less time with him because of a business project going on to put another hotel a couple hours away from here, so I’ve been away to look at locations,” Victor replied.

  “Do you usually eat with him?” Nichole asked.

  “Yes. He lays on the bed with me and we eat while we watch movies,” Victor answered.

  “Where is his eating area now?” Nichole asked.

  “He still lays in the room when I’m gone. I never change the channel, so he just walks in and one of the staff brings him his food,” Victor answered.

  “Let me try something,” Nichole said, turning towards Maria. “Can you get someone to make us lunch? We’re going to get Zap to eat.”

  Maria smiled and said, “Yes ma’am. I’d be happy to.” They made their way to the kitchen and waited. About thirty minutes later, a chef rolled in two carts. Each had two dishes with tops over them.

  “Here you go,” said the chef. He rolled one cart in front of Nichole and he rolled the other in front of Victor. They all sat at the kitchen table and Victor turned on the television. Tashka sat next to Nichole and Victor and Zap sat across from them.

  Nichole took off Tashka’s top and it revealed lamb and gravy. Then she told Victor to take off Zap’s top. Zap’s dish was a salad of acorns, berries, mushrooms, and pieces of bamboo. Nichole took off her top and saw that she had lasagna with garlic bread. Victor removed the top on his dish and he saw that he had crab legs, already out of the shell, and butter to go with it.

  “These look really good,” exclaimed Nichole.

  “My staff only performs perfection.” Victor smiled. Zap stared at Victor without even glancing at his own plate.

  “He wants you to start eating,” said Nichole.

  She looked at Victor then signed that Zap was staring at him. “Oh, of course,” replied Victor. He proceeded to pick up a piece of crab, dip it into the buttery sauce, and eat it. Zap watched Victor chew then proceeded to eat his own food. Tashka began to dig in when she saw Nichole eating.

  “How did you know that would work?” Victor asked between bites.

  “Tashka won’t eat unless I eat with her. She doesn’t want me to feel left out and she has bad separation anxiety. If I’m not home, she won’t bother to take a bite. If she isn’t with me, don’t even try to get her to eat.

  “Zap wants to be with you when you eat because he only wants to eat when you’re around,” Nichole answered. “They’re our concerned babies. If they don’t see us eat, how will they know we ate? If they feel so heartbroken to think about us being gone and the possibility of us never coming back, they will get depressed and stop normal activity.”

  Victor looked at Zap, who was already asking for another plate. He sent for the chef to make Zap more food.

  “How long have you been working on this project?” asked Nichole.

  “A couple weeks. Now that I think about it, he did stop eating around then,” answered Victor.

  The chef came back with Zap’s second dish, this time with a little more on it. Zap dug in without hesitation. “I’m really glad he’s eating,” Victor said, smiling.

  “Me too. I’m glad there wasn’t anything physically wrong with him,” Nichole replied.

  “How can I ever repay you?” asked Victor. “I have the whole day off. How about, tonight, I take you out for a drink?”

  Nichole grinned. “Sounds good to me. Can you take Tashka and me back to the hotel? We want to go for a swim.”

  “Sure, as long as you don’t mind Zap and I coming along with you. I mean, I have a pool here, but I doubt you brought your swimsuit,” Victor answered.

  “Actually, I did, I always come prepared.”

  “Well, well, well, Nichole. I learn something new about you by the second,” Victor replied. “You can change in my room if you’d like. I’ll go change in the bathroom down the hall.”

  “Okay, thank you,” Nichole said as Victor led her to the bedroom. He opened the door and closed it after he grabbed his swimming trunks.

  Nichole looked around the room and saw a king-sized bed. It had a leather headboard and the pillows were thick and plump. The bed was made up, but she could tell from how high the comforter rose from the bed.

  He had a black marble
dresser with a large mirror connected to it. She decided to stop admiring the room and change. She put on a white two-piece swimsuit with gold splatters all over and it showed off her figure perfectly. She took off Tashka’s bandana and walked out of the room.

  A woman was standing by the door. “Hi, Victor told me to take you to the pool and assist you with anything you may want or need,” she said.

  “Okay. My name is Nichole. Nice to meet you,” Nichole said, shaking the lady’s hand.

  She smiled at Nichole. “My name is Lola. I love your bathing suit!”

  “Thank you!” Nichole exclaimed. She looked at the girl and saw that she had on the same outfit as Maria was wearing. She must be one of the staff as well, Nichole thought.

  Nichole and Lola went to the pool, and once again Nichole was amazed at what she saw. His backyard was bigger than a football field.

  The pool was about one-fourth the size and surrounding the pool was cobblestone. Certain rocks came together in different colors to spell Barbosa in big letters.

  Nichole then noticed that Victor was already swimming and Zap was lying in a lawn chair by the pool. Victor was wearing all black swimming trunks and she could see his hair flowing through the water. His head emerged, and he stepped out of the pool. Nichole looked at him while he wiped the water away from his eyes. His hair was soaking wet and glistening in the sun. He was masculine with a six pack and muscles that were well hidden when he wore his suit.

  Nichole didn’t notice he was admiring her too. “Wow. You look gorgeous,” Victor exclaimed. Nichole tried not to blush. Before she could get out a response to his compliment, Tashka jumped into the pool, splashing everybody. “She seems more like a dolphin than a dog,” Victor joked. Nichole laughed then jumped into the pool with Tashka. “Now I see where she learned how to swim,” Victor joked again.

  Nichole started doing laps and when she finished, she just floated on her back. Victor sat at the edge of the pool with only his legs in the water. He watched her stare at the clouds as she floated through the water. Her skin fascinated him, the water making it shimmer gold in the bright sun.