Chapter 1 #2
I frown, shaking my head. “As far as I know, all is okay. Although now that you mention it, I did receive an odd call earlier.”
“What kind of call?”
“It was just silence. There was nobody on the other end. I didn’t call downstairs to ask if maybe there is something wrong with the lines.
I’m sure it’s nothing.” I pause for a moment, thinking about how to word my next question properly.
“Boston Kruger. He would have many reasons to come after Lawson Manufacturing, but do you think that he would endanger anyone?”
“No. Boston is gutless. If he did anything malicious, it would be by hiring someone to do it for him.”
“Do you think that he would ever do that?”
She chews the inside of her lip before answering.
“I’m not sure. It’s funny how you start to question everything when you find out that your partner cheated on you.
And, of course, now that I married his arch enemy and his strongest competitor, I suppose maybe I’m being a little naive thinking that he wouldn’t be out for blood. ”
My smile is weak. “God, Bowie. You and I are such similar creatures. I thought it was impossible for us to have any more in common, but somehow, we do now.”
She leans forward slightly, looking at me more closely, as my head is bowed down. “How’s that?”
“You know Chas?” I ask, knowing full well that she does. He showed up at Bowie’s party and made everyone feel very awkward with his drunkenness. Rush and Axl ended up having to drive him back to my place so he wouldn’t cause a scene.
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m almost ashamed to tell you this, but he cheated on me.”
Her face suddenly looks like she just ate a lemon. “Not with Freddie, right?”
Freddie, the girl that she is referring to, runs our North Carolina location, and she was also flirting with Chas the night of Bowie’s party. Rush later told me the whole story. “I’m not sure if he was, but nonetheless, he cheated.”
A disgruntled moan comes out of her. “God, some men are so gross.”
“Agreed.”
She licks her lips. “Does your dad know about what happened with Chas?”
I try not to reveal the whole story yet, as I gracefully tuck my left hand under my thigh. “He knows enough.”
“And has he mentioned anything about any oddities going on? Any staff reporting weird calls or unmarked letters?”
With a soft scoff, I think back. “Not that I’m aware of, although I’m starting to think that perhaps daddy and mummy have sheltered me some.”
“Why do you say that?” She asks, draping one leg over the other.
“Because I’m pretty sure that he was the one that paired Rush and I up together.”
Her eyes widen and her eyes dance. Her voice is flat, and she speaks almost in an exhale. “Really.”
I smile. “It seems that my father had both Rush and I on the same project. Only neither of us were aware.”
“I’m impressed, although, your father does seem like the romantic type. I mean, look at your parents together. They could not be cuter.”
I lean my chin on my hand, pressing my elbow into my knee. “I just wish that if there was any trouble, that my parents would let me know. I’m glad that you told me this.”
“Well, as Jagger said, the bigger we get, the more that we become magnets to crime. And we’re also vulnerable to people that feel that they deserve a stake, no matter how corrupted they are.” I'm about to agree with her, when her eyes bulge. “Oh my God! Is that what I think it is!”
It’s too late for me to hide it. And I chide myself for not simply removing it before Bowie’s arrival, I should’ve known better, but I can’t help the ear-to-ear grin, either. “Yes. Nobody knows about it yet. And Rush and I didn’t even discuss how we were going to spread the news.”
Both her hands go to her cheeks briefly, and then she reaches for my left hand. “Wow! I don’t mean for this to come out wrong, but now Jagger and I aren't the only ones to rush into marriage! I believe that you too upstaged us!”
Fanning out my fingers, as if the large, half carat diamond wouldn’t otherwise be seen, I try to be modest. “Yes, because that’s exactly what we were trying to accomplish.” I am facetious.
Her head tilts slightly, as she smiles. “You know what I mean. So, are you two going to do the more delicious approach, and keep this engagement a secret?”
“We didn’t even have a chance to discuss that part. He was only here for a day. He wanted to stay for longer, but you know how it is, when you’re running a business.”
She’s still examining the jewel. “And it’s not too soon? You're sure that this is what you want?” There is an edge of caution in her voice, and concern is registered on her face.
There is no hesitation in my voice. “I never knew that my heart could react so quickly and so deeply to someone. And I’ve always been a planner, a dreamer, never making any move, unless it was purely calculated.
But when he proposed, it’s like all of those things happened simultaneously.
It’s like all my life I’ve been thinking about this very moment.
And as much as my lips spoke, and said yes to him, I could feel that affirmation throughout my entire body and soul.
I don’t know if that answers the question or not. ” I close with a soft chuckle.
She gives my hand to squeeze. “I don’t think I could’ve said it any better myself.”
My phone beeps, indicating a text message. “I’m sorry, I just need to check this.”
Bowie waves. “No need to explain. Go ahead.”
“It’s my mum. She’s saying that the meeting got pushed up. It’s in an hour. Is that okay?”
The way she looks at me, it’s like I’ve just offered her the best deal on the planet. “Does a bear shit in the woods?”
We laugh together as we rise.
“We’ll take a walk through the garden. I’ll have the driver pick us up on the other side.”
“Works for me.”
We see my parents, who evidently have the same idea, taking a walk through the garden. “Wesley! Emily!” Bowie exclaims, as she sees them.
“Bowie! How lovely to see you again!” Pleasantries are exchanged.
“I can’t wait for you to see the new site and all the new plans, Bowie!” Mum comments as she kisses her on both cheeks.
“Lead the way.” I gesture with my hand.
Bowie interjects. “Aren’t we a little bit early?”
“Pish posh.” Daddy says. “We are the owners. Remember that." The way he says it isn’t pompous, it’s more respect towards Bowie, because we have an agreement with her and Jagger. It’s like saying my doors are always open.
The driver is waiting for us as instructed.
We talk a lot of shop on the journey to the site, where a large trailer sits.
The open land has markers, placed strategically, indicating where buildings will go, etc.
Inside the trailer, is a small meeting room, with a laptop, computer, a projector screen, and a large blackboard that looks like it’s been recently erased.
Although there is nobody in the trailer at the moment, daddy has the password to the laptop, and he opens it, helping himself to the gems that are inside.
He takes us through various slides, showing us the bare bones ideas of what one of the new plants will look like. Daddy checks his watch, But then he motors on. I then check my watch, wondering what could be keeping them. “Surely, they are aware that we’ve arrived early.” I comment.
“Not to worry, darling. I know my way around.” Although his words are soothing, I can tell by the slight tone in his voice that his patience is starting to wane. It’s a rare thing to see, but it does happen occasionally.
Bowie, picking up on the slight tension, asks daddy to tell her more about one of the production ideas.
Daddy gladly goes through it with her, while we listen.
I check my phone, but there are no messages from the production team that we were expecting to be meeting up with today.
Not even a message saying that they were running late, which would be completely out of character.
As daddy wraps up a presentation that essentially he has taken care of entirely, in the absence of the team, he shakes his head. “I have a bad feeling about this. I didn’t hire a team that doesn’t show up. Not even the assistant is here.” It’s tough seeing daddy upset. It almost never happens.
“I’ll call Michel.” I offer. Michel is the head of the team that we hired specifically for this French site. If anyone knew what the explanation was to this absence, he would.
I place the phone on speaker, and he answers on the first ring. “Michel. Is everything okay? We’ve been here at the site waiting for you for over an hour.”
“Isabelle, what do you mean? We are here at the office.”
“Were we supposed to meet at the office?” That would be a reasonable mistake.
“No, Madame. We didn’t have a meeting today.”
Daddy and I exchange a look. Mum looks just as perplexed. And Bowie has concern washed all over her face.
I speak in somewhat of a nervous scoff. “What are you talking about? I’m here in Paris, to see you.” I try to keep the clip out of my tone.
“Madame, Monsieur Hopkins, I’m afraid there must’ve been some sort of mistake. The meeting was canceled.”
Daddy interjects. “Well, that’s absurd. Isabelle would not fly all the way out here for nothing.”
“Oui, oui, Monsieur. I am so sorry. But somebody from your office called and said that there had been a change in plans. That you are no longer able to make it to Paris.”
I look at Bowie and she looks at me. And that’s when the hair on the back of my neck truly stands on end.