Free Vanished Without A Trace by Nava Dijkstra

sophistication. He asked the guard to send her to him in ten minutes.

11
    Quickly, Daniel took a shower, shaved and put on some aftershave. When he finished he heard the ringing of the front door and opened it wearing a sports suit. He invited her to come in to sit and he sat in front of her silently, waiting for her to explain the purpose of her visit.
    "I came here on a yacht with my friends. At first the project did not interest me. I got onto the bus just because my friends convinced me to come with them, but I was impressed by your explanation and in fact, I am convinced enough to buy cabins."
    Daniel tried to understand why she had to come to his house to do what she could have done the day before.
    "Sorry ... I did not introduce myself. I'm Karina."
    She was a little embarrassed. "I intend to buy a few cabins for the club from you, so I thought maybe it would be better to have a private conversation." Excitement was evident in her words.
    Daniel was happy, but he hid his eagerness.
    "I thought if I wanted to invest on a large scale, I prefer a personal service. I hope you do not see my coming here on my own and without any invitation as disrespect."
    Daniel lifted his shoulders. "No, it’s fine." Generally, he was a fanatic to privacy, but here it was not only about a beautiful woman but it was also about a good investment.
    "I really love the place. I would like to consider doing more business with you, a business partnership. I have enough money to invest," she said.
    He wanted to believe the purpose of her visit was business, but it did not seem real to him someone who had seen him for such a short period of time was interested to get him into partnership. Now he was a bit bored, one hand on his chin and the other was playing with the glass. He was silent and let her continue.
    "Romania is close to my heart. I was born here. I left ten years ago, when I was eighteen years old. I married an Israeli tycoon. Since then I lived in Israel, but I always missed Romania."
    Daniel's eyes lit up. "Are you an Israeli?"
    "Yes," she answered.
    He smiled, and she finally saw him soft. "What happened?"
    "I was born in Romania, and lived in Israel for fifteen years, it’s a long story."
    "Do you speak Hebrew?"
    "Yes," he replied in Hebrew. "We have lots of things in common for two people who have just met."
    Karina was more relaxed now. A moment ago Daniel was more formal, enough to make her feel it was a mistake to go to his apartment, but now she felt free to go on. "My family lives in Romania and I really want to invest here. My husband was the only one who dealt with money. He didn't skimp on anything for me, but now I want an opportunity to do something for myself. I'm pretty lonely in Israel and if I start a business here in Romania, I will be able to stay close to my family."
    Daniel put his elbow on the table and leaned into his hand, listening intently. He wanted to say he felt pretty lonely in Israel too, but preferred to deal with business alone. You should know investing in Romanian business will not yield large profits compared to Israeli standards."
    "I know, but this is not only about financial profits, it’s also about my connection to Romania, my native country. Who knows, maybe, after all, it will turn out to be worthwhile in the future ..."
    Daniel smiled at her. "I'll think about your offer."
    "Don’t you want to hear more about the amount of money I am talking about?"
    He looked straight into her eyes.
    "I'm talking about a lot of money, enough to put you on the map in Romania, not only for this project."
    "What does your husband think about it?"
    "My husband died of cancer a year ago."
    "Sorry to hear." Now it seemed to be a much more serious proposal. If there was something real in her words, then he must take it with both hands. She was the way to the top. Although there were still lots of doubts in her words, he must not squander her offer.
    "Suppose I accept your offer, what are your conditions?"
    Now