Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
“Y ou’re not coming down?”
Don snorted into his phone. “You couldn’t fucking pay me enough to go down there.”
“Half the island’s here, helping save the whales. Or trying to,” one of their investors said, his tone full of disapproval.
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t give a shit about the whales.”
“Slater does.”
He laughed. “Right.”
“No, I’m serious. He’s been here all day with the orca researcher, helping her with the little calf.”
Don blinked. “Well, good for him. That’ll help win over some of the locals?—”
“He’s not doing it for that. One of the whales died. He’s with the lady scientist.”
A picture came through on his phone. Of Slater, completely soaked, holding her on the beach.
It wasn’t just a hug. The picture made it obvious that there was more going on here than Slater being friendly.
No, the way he was holding her was intimate. Protective. One hand cradling the back of her head, his cheek pressed to her hair.
“What the hell?” he muttered.
Slater had sent him a weird message the other day about wanting to delay tearing down the research center and reducing the footprint of the resort to mitigate environmental impact. Someone had reported seeing them eating together in town the other day, alone.
Don had been annoyed by the suggested changes, and hadn’t thought anything about the other. But now that he put it all together, he had a bad feeling this was way more serious than he’d realized.
The investor sighed. “I gotta go. You really should think about coming down. It’d go a long way with the locals.”
Whatever. “I’ll pass.” He ended the call. Stared at the picture, his concern increasing.
Was Slater screwing her? Not that Don gave a shit, if that’s all it was. But this picture made him believe otherwise.
Ultimately, Slater was in control of the project’s purse strings. And he held sway within their group. Dr. Lazos was a radical. If she was influencing him and changing his position about the resort and use of the land, then she had become a legitimate threat.
He texted his contact. Don had to keep them apprised of anything that could impact the project. That was part of the deal.
We might have a problem.
The reply came several minutes later. What kind of problem?
He sent the picture. Looks like Slater’s changing his mind about some basic things about the resort design and size.
Unacceptable. Handle it.
Don lowered his phone and walked to the tall window overlooking the golf course. Altering the design or scale of the resort wasn’t an option. None of the others involved realized why it had been planned that specific way. Or that the people controlling him wouldn’t tolerate any changes.
He had to take care of this before it got out of hand. There were a few ways he could go about it.
He liked Slater. He was smart and rich as fuck. He was also a former Marine with a background in military intelligence and had contacts in places Don couldn’t reach. He didn’t want to target Slater.
But that lady scientist had to go.