Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Barron
T he insistent buzz from my phone distracts me from staring blankly at the print hanging across from my desk. It’s a shot taken inside an underground cave with a single ray of light cutting through the darkness from above.
Frowning, I glance at the screen, my pulse kicking up when I see Holly’s name.
We have a problem.
This can’t be good. I dial her number. What the hell could have gone wrong? She’s at the club, which has security.
“Hang on…” she says, without waiting for me to speak.
The loud music in the background would make it impossible to have a conversation without shouting. Seconds later, with the background noise muted, the tone for the keypad to the office comes through clearly.
I glance back at the print, rereading the quote that sits under it. We all make small decisions that together weigh on us by the gravity of the consequences.
Hopefully that isn’t an omen this time.
Holly gives an exaggerated sigh. “Sorry. Had to get out of there.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, preparing myself for whatever’s coming.
“You haven’t made Bronwyn any promises, have you?” she asks with concern.
“No. I left everything up to you.” I’m not about to jump into additional problems if I can avoid them.
She gives a sigh of relief. “Good.”
Curiosity gets the best of me. “What happened?”
“She’s doing…” Seconds tick by, the silence stretching out until I’m gripping my phone. “Well, she’s drunk,” she says, annoyed. “And she’s doing some question- able stuff.”
Of course she is. Questionable stuff is essentially why underground sex clubs exist. Jesus, why did I ever let Holly do this? “Holly, it’s a sex club, so?—”
“No. I-I get that,” she says, sounding unsure and really uncomfortable.
“Why don’t you let Elliot take over?” I suggest.
Sex clubs aren’t her scene, yet she offered so I could spend time with my mother. I should be grateful for that.
“Security stepped in to defuse the situation,” she rushes to assure me.
“Security?” I straighten. That sounds like a bigger problem than what I thought.
“She went after a guy with a bottle.”
What the bloody hell? “Bronwyn smashed a bottle on someone?” I ask, confused. She doesn’t strike me as a brawler, though alcohol can change someone’s personality.
“Nooo-oh,” she says, sounding embarrassed. The awkward pause ends with her clearing her throat. Something tells me I’m not going to like what she says next. “That’s not…where she wanted to put it.”
Well, it takes all kinds. The likely scenario runs through my mind, leaving me speechless on the matter. “Okay. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be right down.”
“No, Barron,” she insists, apologetically. “I didn’t mean to take you away from your visit. I just want to see if you can find out more about Bronwyn.”
“You did a background check, right?” Considering the registrations include more stars than a red-carpet event, we deemed it necessary. We did the same for every employee on board, at a considerable cost.
“We did a standard review,” she says, as if she just realized that isn’t nearly enough. “I need someone to flip over stones and see what they can find,” she admits.
“Seriously?”
“Call it woman’s intuition, but something isn’t sitting right with me now that I’ve met her. This behavior is raising all kinds of red flags for me.”
The level of scrutiny might be over the top, but I understand she wants peace of mind. “You said yourself she’s drunk.”
“I don’t want a PR nightmare on my hands.” This sounds more like the Holly I know and put up with. “She started throwing your name around when everything went down. That could easily come back and blow up in our face.”
“My name? How the hell did I end up mixed up in this when I’ve hardly said two words to the woman?”
“Which is partly why I want to get ahead of this.” The steely determination in her voice is much better than the note of insecurity I heard earlier. “I have enough to juggle without trying to clean up a mess.”
That’s more like it.
“Do you want to get rid of her?” I suggest, admittedly feeling trigger happy over the opportunity. “If you think this will end in a mess, maybe we shouldn’t bother to work with her at all.”
“At this point, it’s all just a feeling.” She grows pensive.
While Holly may be overreacting to a simple drunken indiscretion, I can’t dismiss her instincts so easily. So far, Bronwyn hasn’t shown the best judgment.
“Look at it this way, she’s here on a contract for the photo shoot. Anything else she’s angling for would make it a more prestigious position.” The face of Maiden Cruise Line. “The way she’s been acting, she’s willing to do anything for it.”
“Then why would she get drunk and cause a spectacle at a club the first night?” Her nail tapping comes through the line. “Does she realize she isn’t doing herself any favors?”
“Could it be a stunt to call attention to herself?” I suggest. “She could think there’s no such thing as bad publicity.”
Holly scoffs. “She can’t be that na?ve?”
“Can’t she?” I give her a few seconds to think about it. “We’ve seen much worse when they know Daddy can make trouble go away.”
“True.” She blows out another breath. “We’ll take the pictures because we already have someone scheduled. We can still use her for the website, if nothing else comes up. But I say we nix the spokesperson position.”
“Okay,” I agree, knowing Holly will worry this to death. “I trust your judgment.”
“Thanks.” Her relief is unmistakable.
“Let me make some calls, and I’ll get back to you.” We hang up, and I immediately scroll through my contact list. For the kind of information Holly wants, I’ll likely need to call in the big guns.
I press the button on the screen and glance back at the print. I’m able to own that little piece of heaven, thanks to my association with this particular group.
“Barron,” Dante answers, seemingly unperturbed by my calling in the middle of the night. “How’s the maiden voyage?”
“Hey, Dante.” It shouldn’t surprise me that he remembers what I’m doing today. “It’s going as well as can be expected.”
Dante has made a lucrative living catering to businessmen with questionable practices. I doubt I’m anywhere near his biggest client, or the one with the most challenging business ventures.
“Glad to hear it.” To his credit, he doesn’t sound the least bit skeptical. Though he knows that if I’m calling, especially at this hour, something has to have gone sideways. “Now, how can I help you?”
“I need whatever you can find on Bronwyn O’Neal.” I slip into the no-nonsense tone I use for business dealings. “She’s an up-and-coming fashion model we brought on for a layout.”
“Got it.” The short, simple acknowledgment is all I receive in response. That’s one of the many reasons he’s at the top of his game.
“I want what won’t come up in a regular background check,” I clarify. “She’s acting a little erratic, which is a cause for concern.”
“After the way the world has changed the last couple of years, you need to be careful,” he points out.
“Exactly.”
“We’re discreet and thorough,” he reminds me. “Give me an hour… Hmm, it might take me longer since she’s a world traveler.”
Some of the tension eases from my shoulders. If anyone can get their hands on the truth—however unsavory it might be—it’s Dante.
“Thanks.”
“Also,” he says, his tone changing back to casual. “People are keeping an eye on your company’s progress. If the results align with the projections, they’ll be beating down your door to invest.”
No pressure, right? But, then again, that’s exactly what I want. Wealthy investors ready to put down a chunk of money. I hope to grow this a ship or two at a time so I’m not in the game forever.
“Let me finish this trip and get an evaluation done,” I reply, glad I won’t be starting from scratch.
“I’ll make sure you have legitimate businessmen who can stand up to scrutiny,” he assures me.
I’ve been around long enough to know we’re all sharks. Just that some of us wear suits, while others don’t.
“Give me a couple of days, then we can talk.”
“You know where to find me.” With that, he ends the call.
I paid a hefty registration fee to be a part of his group. He said he could deliver on anything I needed, given enough time. What he’s provided so far has been invaluable in my decision-making.
I have no doubt he’ll come back with something, if there’s something to be found. Now all that’s left to do is wait. I may as well get dressed and head downstairs.
Holly’s probably regretting taking over the shift at the club for me. She might do better sitting with my mother tomorrow. That should keep her out of trouble.