Chapter Nine
“Fern, do you have time to talk? I have two things we need to discuss,” Enrique’s voice came through the phone with a good deal of distortion.
“Yes, I can talk. Are you outside in the wind? It’s really loud,” Fernando complained, pulling the phone away from his ear as more static rattled his eardrum.
“I was. I’m inside now. Better?” Enrique asked, a sliding door closing in the background.
“Yes, much. What’s up?”
“I’m trying to decide if I need to call in professionals to do a mental health assessment on you,” Enrique’s voice held no hint of humor with this statement.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that you had Sophie reach out to Sarah cold turkey, and when asked how you got her number, the answer was from a family friend. That family friend would no doubt be me, and I most certainly did not provide you with any such information. When her very protective brother reached out to me to find out what was going on, it made for a rather uncomfortable conversation. He knows it all, by the way, and I have given him permission to visit you, so when it happens, remember you were forewarned. For being one of the smartest brothers in the BBC you really mucked this one up. Good luck. Second item, I’m moving to Florida and thinking about selling my penthouse. I know you use it for FK Media Group events. Are you interested in buying me out?”
“First of all, when am I getting a visit from Sarah’s overprotective brother?” Fernando asked uneasily. Enrique made it sound like it would be an uncomfortable meeting, and he wanted to be prepared.
Enrique chuckled, “When you least expect it. If you’re lucky, he will come alone. Lucky for you, he was able to trace your communication and has a pretty good idea of when, how, where, and why you got her personal information. The fact that you went to such lengths to get it may or may not work in your favor.”
“Alone? Who else would he bring with him? Why is he being so protective? She has made enough money to hire security if she needed to. It’s the price that comes with fame. If she didn’t want to be famous and make all this money, she should have chosen a more private career, not written so many bestsellers. She also could have chosen a safer genre than mystery and not allowed her books to be turned into a mini-series with one of the largest streaming services on the planet. None of that says, ‘Hey, I want to live a simple life of anonymity .’ Now, does it?” he groused.
“Believe it or not, Fern, some people believe they have things to contribute to the world and don’t want the recognition or fame that potentially goes with it. They do, however, need to feed their families, so they appreciate getting paid. Her brother and legal team have gone to a lot of trouble to keep her personal life personal and did a bang-up job at it until you used your billions of dollars worth of resources to breach that carefully erected wall of protection. Now, you will pay the consequences. Don’t worry; he promised not to kill you or maim you, even though messing with his sister definitely deserves the latter,” Enrique assured him.
“I didn’t mess with her! I simply had my assistant call her to set up a meeting to discuss a possible collaboration. You’re making this sound like I took out a billboard announcing her identity to the world.”
“As far as her brother is concerned, that is exactly what you did. Now, back to the penthouse. Are you interested in buying it?” Enrique asked impatiently.
“No. I’m strapped for cash right now. I can ask the CFO if we can swing it, but based on our budget meeting on Monday morning, it would not be advised. We have some projects that may not see the projected return, and spending a quarter of a billion dollars on the penthouse would be unwise at this time. Why can’t you hold onto it? Rent it out or something? All the family use it to host events in the city, not just me. This will be a hit to all of us, and you are the least extended right now. Do you have something happening that necessitates the sale?” Fernando was mentally crunching numbers. He needed Enrique’s penthouse for entertaining when in New York. He would never lowball his brother, but he just didn’t have the capital to spend on such a large investment with so many other irons in his fire.
“No, I don’t have to sell it. It would just make things easier for me. I’ll talk to Gabe and Anthony about it and see what they say. Julio already said he wasn’t interested and saw no need for it. I know Anthony and Gabe use it to entertain as well. Whatever I decide, I’ll let you know. Is everything else good with you? Have you fulfilled either of the BBC pacts yet? ”
“No, I don’t even want to think about them right now. I have so much other stuff happening, and now you say I’m going to get a visit from an angry brother. What about you? Have you fulfilled them yet?”
“As a matter of fact, I have, and no, I’m not going to tell you. You will have to wait until New Year’s Eve to hear my story and meet my lady. Talk soon. Be safe out there, and watch your back—no more shadow business. If you need someone investigated, you should run it by J or me first. Love ya, man!”
“Love you too. Be safe yourself. Tell your lady your little brother said hello, and I can’t wait to meet her.”
The call disconnected, and Fernando took a moment to wonder at the woman Enrique had found to love. How had he accomplished that in less than four months?
A knock sounded at the door, joining his and Sophie’s office. “Come in, Soph,” he called.
“Hey, Andy. I’ve been thinking about your fear pact. What about a European vacation? You said the other day you needed to look through old photos of your trip to Italy and watch some YouTube travel videos to help inspire your next book. What if you went back and saw it again? How much more inspired would you be if you went in person and walked the cobbled stone streets yourself? You could fly this time instead of taking the cruise ship.”
Her smile lit up the room, and she vibrated with excitement. Fernando knew she had always wanted to go to Europe. After speaking with Enrique, he felt even more pressure to get this pact fulfilled. He had no hope of meeting his soulmate, but this one he could do.
“Okay,” he agreed.
“Okay? Just like that? I thought I was going to have to do more persuading,” Sophie asked, astonished at his easy acquiescence .
“No, my brother and I just had an intense conversation, and I think now would be a good time to get away. Get it scheduled. Anywhere you want to go. Say, three weeks. Look at the schedule and see what meetings can be shuffled around and squeeze it in. I trust you to make everything work out smoothly,” Fernando replied confidently.
“Yes! I’ll let you know as soon as I get things figured out.” Sophie hustled back to her office to work her magic with his busy schedule.
A few days later, Sophie popped her head in, “Andy, I found a window for the trip, but before I begin booking reservations, I need to know how you want to travel. Do you want to do this in grand style and go all billionaire luxury, or do you want to be a normal tourist and hoof it like your readers would be if they went? I’m asking because you said you wanted inspiration for your book, but your characters wouldn’t be staying in the private villas or palaces of the wealthy, like on your last trip.”
“Hmm, good point. Doing the everyday tourist thing could be fun, but how would I pull that off with my bodyguards and famous face? It won’t be so much fun with the screaming women or paparazzi showing up and swarming us. There won’t be any saving the trip after that either. Once they know we’re in Europe, they’ll have cameramen stationed on every corner and be tracking my location better than my brother.”
“Leave that to me. We won’t be leaving until the second week of May. Your last on-camera interview was yesterday, and you had a clean face. Start growing your beard out now. You’ll have to have a more laid-back wardrobe. Maybe some skinny jeans, graphic tees, or a hoodie. Ditch the contacts. Wear glasses and a hat. No one will recognize you,” she assured him.
“Sophie, I’m fine with all of that but the contacts. I never wear my glasses in public, you know this. Get whatever clothes you think I need and yourself some too. We need to look like a couple so I don’t have to deal with the ladies. That will help maintain my disguise. If they don’t get too close, they won’t recognize me, right?”
“Why, Mr. Santos, are you suggesting we fake a relationship to hide your identity so you can enjoy a vacation?” Sophie asked flirtatiously, making her way back to her office.
“Yes, Miss Williams, I think I am. Will you be my fake girlfriend for three weeks so I can have some fun and be normal for a minute?”
“Yes, Mr. Santos, I’ll be your fake girlfriend. And you must wear the glasses. You look hot in them.” On that note, she closed the door and began making plans for their trip.