Chapter 72 Ore
Chapter 72
Ore
JFK airport Six months later
Ore waited at the arrivals gate impatiently, checking her phone periodically even though she knew that Daniel wouldn’t dismiss the no mobile phones allowed signs like everyone else did.
He’d been on a tour of the French Riviera with the Hartfords, and then they had reunited to spend several weeks together over Christmas at Daniel’s mom’s house. In the new year the Hartfords summoned him for another trip in the Med and then he’d moved his things into Ore’s new apartment while she got into the swing of life at the NY Tribune .
Then he’d disappeared for another whole month, covering for a colleague in the Caribbean. It had been hard, but they were making it work. She hadn’t seen his lovely face in the flesh since he’d left, and much of the time since she’d spent fantasising about this very moment, which was no mean feat considering the new job and the ongoing court cases she was reporting on.
In theory she had understood that the US legal system took its time, but she couldn’t have imagined that it would take six months to get Chuck Regas in front of a judge. He was up for fraud and embezzlement in the US and then he’d have to face the Australian government too. But he was also being represented by the best lawyers in the business so the prosecution took ‘as long as it takes’ to build the strongest case they could against him.
He’d already forsaken his old school pal Claude who was safely behind bars in Belgium. Ore had been relieved not to be called as a witness for that trial. Even looking at the pictures of him on TV had sent shivers down her spine. She wouldn’t have been able to face those dead grey eyes across a courtroom; she had been awed to hear that both Vicky and Annie had braved them. It turned out that all the NDAs were legally close to worthless, as they couldn’t be used to cover up criminality.
The investors had gotten off lightly, which was to be expected, Gail had told her. White-collar crime, and a decent dose of plausible deniability is a great combo for a defence lawyer.
But now finally it would be Chuck’s turn on the docket. The moment the date was announced Ore had known she couldn’t do it without Daniel. And he’d worked it out, explained everything to the Hartfords, who for their part had been both very supportive of Daniel and utterly appalled by the revelations about Chuck.
All to say, Ore had been trying to keep it together. Reciting her affirmations in the mirror every morning to reassure herself that being the youngest, blackest person in the investigations team did not mean she didn’t belong there. Now though, her secret weapon was about to walk through those doors …
‘Daniel, over here.’ She waved and as their eyes met, he broke into a wide grin. All her anxious energy dissipated and her heart swelled, beating slower but harder.
‘Hello … beautiful … how … are … you?’ he asked between the smattering of kisses he peppered over her face. She giggled, dizzy with the closeness of him. And then as one particular kiss made her knees go weak and her insides fizz, she had to remind herself they were in public and pull away.
‘Did you hear about Vicky?’ Ore asked and Daniel shook his head. ‘So at Claude’s trial she bumped into Agatha, who offered her a job at Herax, her new company, as chief of staff.’
‘I guess those two were always kind of two sides of the same coin, and I have no doubt Vicky will make a formidable corporate boss.’
Ore agreed wholeheartedly. She’d been worried when Daniel told her that Vicky had turned down his offer to help find her another job, saying she wanted to leave yachting behind completely. Carlos had followed Daniel to the Hartfords, who subsequently discovered their love of Lebanese cuisine. Dudley ended up the second in command for Daniel’s old mentor, Captain Jack Carter. And the junior crew had scattered across various new jobs thanks to Daniel’s other connections.
He was the captain after all and he never shied away from his responsibility to look after people.
‘I missed you,’ she said, glowing with the thrill of freely expressed affection.
‘Not as much as I missed you, I’m sure.’ A peck on the forehead and he reached for the bag he’d dropped by his feet. ‘Shall we grab dinner and head back to your place?’
She chuckled at the memory, glowing with the deep satisfaction that they had engineered their make-believe into reality.
‘Sure, let’s do that.’ She took his hand; it was sturdy and warm, and it held hers tightly.
They headed for the exit. By his side, she knew that together, they could take on the world. They basically already had.