He let me go, “Gonna swim a bit. Stay here.”
I moved back to a shallower spot, sat down in the water, and watched him dive under.
We would make it through this. I felt it in the deepest part of me, the part that he’d woken back up. The part with hope. We were a team and I had him at my back, looking after me. I was going to be strong and be the same for him.
***
We were dressed, him in a gray suit, me in a purple swingy skirt and ruffled off-the-shoulder white peasant blouse. I was wired to eavesdrop, and we were in the dining room, having breakfast. Mr. Lucas joined us soon after. And the stuff he was saying? Some of it would definitely be good for the task force.
He and Dare started to discuss the partner summit.
“All members coming?” Dare asked.
“You said your brother couldn’t make it and he and you share a vote. There may be a vacancy coming up and we require votes to bring on new members. This could mean he has his own vote.”
Dare gave him a curious look, “A vacancy? Is that something that happens often?”
“Hasn’t happened in five years.”
“Hm,” Dare ate a bite of bacon.
Mr. Lucas raised a hand, “What we are thinking is that he could be a voting member as well as yourself. Gan, myself, Delgado, and another partner who arrived discussed this last night. Haven’t met Tommy face-to-face yet but with what your father shared, what we’ve seen of you, and that conference call we had with you and Tommy after Gan got shot, the Ferranos are what we believe have the right stuff to be part of the senior partner team. If you both want having your own votes and full shares, let me know. Now, normally we would want to meet him in person and assess his suitability first but with all we’ve heard…” he shrugged, “it’s mostly a formality. A meeting will be good, though. After the summit, perhaps you can get your brother here for a visit.”
“I’ll see what I can do to make that happen,” Dare said.
Mr. Lucas continued, “But as for the partners attending, all but a few. Sylvia and Edward will dial in for part of the conference. They don’t attend in-person, haven’t for years. They consider it too risky. The paparazzi are always on their tails.”
“Sylvia and Edward?” Dare inquired.
“Frost. You know who she is, I’m sure.”
“The one in politics,” Dare said softly.
Mr. Lucas nodded, “The very same. Donavan’s mother, Jason’s grandmother. She has been mostly uninvolved for the past decade but we’ve asked that all partners attend either in person or via conference for this meeting. And Edward Douglas.”
“Edward Douglas?” Dare asked, eyebrows raised.
“The Hollywood movie producer, yep.”
“Never woulda pegged him as a kinky fucker, would ya?” Delgado asked as he and Rafe Ruiz joined us.
“He’s been here at least five times a year for the past three years. He has to give the paps the slip and things have been heated so he hasn’t been able to come in a few months. He got some bad press with his divorce so they’re still followin’ him. Occasionally brings carefully vetted actors with him. Once brought an actress to prep her for a role. Your lovely wife here was very helpful in that scenario,” Delgado shared. Dare looked at him with an expression that made my heart skip a beat. Dare didn’t even try to hide that he disliked the turn in conversation.
“My apologies,” Delgado raised a hand, “Forgot there for a moment that you like to think of her as fresh like the pure virgin snow.” Delgado scoffed and rolled his eyes toward Rafe.
Dare gave him a smile but it was evil and sour and threatening. Delgado took the hint and signaled a server who came over and brought him a cup of coffee.
“Mr. Ferrano,” Rafe said, “no pressure at all, but I wanted to remind you that Cleopatra Jade is in suite 704, awaiting her punishment. We have been supplying her with food and drink. She’s not restrained or anything. If you have any instructions…”
“I’ll let you know,” Dare answered casually.
“If you want to be shown there, any of our staff will be happy to accompany you and get you any implements required. The suite is fairly well outfitted.”
“Thanks, Rafe.”
I was finished with my breakfast and Dare had pushed his own plate away, the food barely touched, when Mr. Lucas first joined us.
“What’s on the itinerary for today?” Dare asked.