Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
S eated at his desk in his brand new home office, Blaine leaned back in his plush leather chair and stared at his computer screen.
For once, it wasn’t full of Excel spreadsheets and statistical data.
Something far more compelling had his full attention at the moment—a TV interview he was highly interested in.
Wearing the outfit she’d worn on the boat prior to putting on her flotation suit, Xanthe stood on the dock fielding questions from the reporter with all the poise and professionalism he’d come to expect from her.
He and Maddy had passed the film crew on the way from the boat.
The interview must have happened right after they’d left.
Lachlan stood close to Xanthe as she talked about the tangled humpback. His posture and expression were stiff, but his stance was unmistakably protective.
He and Xanthe seemed really comfortable together, and it was clear Lachlan cared about her. Blaine wondered if it went further than that—and why he cared so much.
It was true she’d captured his attention from day one. But since Saturday he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Even with Maddy here to help distract him, she was always on his mind.
“I’m just getting word that the female killer whale who became famous for carrying her dead calf has lost her new one. Can you confirm?” the female reporter asked out of nowhere.
Xanthe stiffened. It was subtle, but Blaine was watching her closely enough to see the pain flash across her face.
He mentally swore, hating that she was having to talk about it live on camera when it was so fresh. He wished he’d been there. He would’ve stepped in to terminate the interview, then gotten her the hell out of there.
If she would have let him, that is.
But Xanthe maintained her composure and answered the question. Blaine’s respect for her increased even more. Her personal connection to the animal and care for it was palpable.
The instant she finished, the reporter immediately hit her with a question about the development.
“Shit,” he muttered, and paused the video.
“Uh-oh.”
He looked at the doorway. Maddy stood there, still dressed in her pajamas, hair damp from a recent shower while gray, late afternoon light poured through the massive windows overlooking the water.
The dark circles under her eyes had started to fade, but she’d been sleeping a lot since she’d arrived. “That doesn’t sound good. Why are you here? Thought you’d be in town for the vote.”
“Nah.”
Maddy frowned at him in concern. “What’s going on, bossman?”
“Nothing.” He gestured to the screen as she walked over. “Just watching Xanthe’s interview.” Calling her Dr. Lazos didn’t feel right anymore.
Maddy leaned in to look. “Ah. Yeah, there’s been a lot of coverage about the dead calf today on social media too. Is this a local network?”
“No. National network picked up the interview.” Crews had sent up drones to follow the orcas. That intrusive footage of Onyx carrying her dead baby was fucking ghoulish.
“I’m sure she held her own.”
“She did, but the reporter didn’t pull her punches—let’s say that. She made it seem like the interview was about the humpback she and Lachlan rescued, then blindsided her with a question about the calf. Followed by hitting her with one about the vote on our development.”
Maddy looked at him. “Having second thoughts about getting involved with that?”
“No. The development’s sound, and it’ll be good for the island in the end.” He was certain of that.
Development on the island was inevitable, whether it started with this project or something else. Like it or not, the island was dependent on tourism and desperately needed a big injection of tourism dollars if it was going to survive.
“What about in the meantime?”
He shifted his attention back on Xanthe, frozen on his screen.
Her dislike of him had surprised him at first, then he’d found it amusing. A challenge.
Now it left a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, similar to the one he’d felt watching Onyx struggle to keep her dead calf afloat.
He was used to people judging or even hating him, and it had never bothered him before. With Xanthe, it did.
“Let’s just say I have mixed feelings about it.”
“I can see that,” Maddy murmured. “But it’s just business, right? Nothing personal.”
It had started out that way. But it had been intensely personal for her from the start. And now it was starting to feel personal to him too.
Maddy had picked up on it somehow, judging by her pointed phrasing.
“You can’t pull out now anyway, can you?” she asked.
“No.” He’d backed this project financially. There was no way to change that now. But when he’d signed on, he hadn’t cared about anything beyond the opportunity he’d seen to pump cash into the local economy.
And your bank account.
He mentally grimaced. There was no getting around that point. If the project went through, he would benefit financially. And it wasn’t like he was hurting for money as it was.
A beep from his phone pulled him out of his thoughts. He picked it up from the desk, read the message from Don, and blew out a breath.
“What? Bad news?”
“No. The vote passed.” He wasn’t going to lie, he was more than a little surprised. Local opposition had been intense.
Maddy perched a hip on the corner of his desk. Frowned at him. “For someone who just got what he wanted after winning a battle you thought you’d lose, you don’t look very happy.”
He grunted. “Yeah, I don’t feel very happy either.” What had happened to change the councilors’ minds? Last he’d heard, most had been dead set against the deal.
Maddy was quiet a moment. “Was she there?”
Xanthe, she meant.
Before he could answer, his phone buzzed with a new message. Don.
Wish you’d been here to see Lazos’s face. She stormed outta here like a human tornado.
“Yeah,” he answered, Don’s smug glee making this feel even worse. “She was there.”
He could just imagine what she was feeling right now.
After everything she’d done and said over the past six weeks, all the time and energy she’d put into stopping it.
Writing articles. Staging social media campaigns.
Organizing public protests. Her impressive presentation at the council meeting last week.
And this decision had come right on the heels of the tragedy they’d witnessed out on the water Saturday.
His phone rang. If it had been Don, he would have ignored the call. The last thing he wanted to hear was him fucking gloating right now. But it wasn’t. “Mayor. How are you?”
“Fine, Mr. Slater. Your absence at today’s vote was conspicuous, but I just called to let you know officially that the proposal has passed. Congratulations.”
Her tone was polite, but he knew she must hate the outcome. “Thank you.” The victory tasted like ash in his mouth. “Did you by chance get to speak with Dr. Lazos about the decision?”
“No. She was understandably upset and left before I could talk with her. But I’m sure that conversation will happen sooner rather than later. I’ll give her a day before I contact her. Although I expect she’ll probably reach out to me before then.” Her tone was fond.
“All right. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Of course. I look forward to working with you and your group on this project as it moves forward.”
“Thank you, mayor.” He ended the call.
Maddy watched him in silence. “Okay, that face is my cue to make my way into your beautiful gourmet kitchen you haven’t even used yet and whip us up some crepes with lots of whipped cream for a late brunch.”
“Brunch? It’s almost dinner time.”
“Crepes are delicious anytime.”
“You don’t need to do that. I’m fine.”
“Yeah, you’re totally fine. This is a totally normal reaction to finding out you got what you wanted and you’re about to add a few more million to your portfolio.” She rolled her eyes as she got up and walked to the door. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts, bossman. Crepes in thirty minutes.”
He ran a hand over his face, mentally shaking his head at himself.
He’d never thought he would care so much about orca scientists, whales, or what happened to them.
But now he did. Seeing Onyx and her calf, and Xanthe’s raw reaction, had affected him on a level he hadn’t expected.
Fundamentally changed the way he looked at the situation here.
There was nothing he could do to change what had happened. Nothing he could do to stop the resort from moving forward now, or make this any easier for Xanthe to bear.
But he felt compelled to do something to help anyway.
Don pulled over and parked behind the white car at the pullout. His contact was waiting for him.
“So, you did it.”
“Amazing what that kind of money will buy. Hope you’re pleased.”
“Extremely. How did you do it?”
“All individually. None of them knows anyone else is involved. They’re going to meet you in person when you contact them and give you what you need to set up the accounts.”
“That works for me.” The people holding the axe over his head were happy with the vote result. So much so that they were going to set up the offshore accounts and transfer to his account to make the payments.
Don took another envelope from his pocket. “Good work. Pleasure doing business with you. There’ll be a sizeable bonus transferred to your account once it’s ready. Shouldn’t be more than a day or two.”
His contact frowned. “Really? That fast? How?—”
“Don’t ask. I’ll be in touch.” He got back in his car and headed for the place he was renting near the golf course, feeling like a new man. That vote had saved his neck.
The markets had been picking up steam lately. His wiped out investments might still be able to grow enough for him to pull out enough to reinvest in new ventures and come up with the money he owed by the deadline.
But if he didn’t repay his debt by then, this would merely be a temporary stay of execution.