Chapter 23
Sasha
Sasha sat in the resort dining room with a plate of scrambled eggs, pastry, and a variety of fruit consisting of cut up honeydew, cantaloupe, and the occasional green grape.
She didn’t know why she grabbed the latter from the buffet since honeydew always tasted like flavorless water and she barely liked cantaloupe.
After being awake for most of the night, she was moving on autopilot and was lucky she functioned this well.
Somehow she managed to take a shower and put no thought into her attire, accidentally putting on the same clothes as the day before.
After a lot of frustration and being no closer to any kind of discovery on what happened to the missing couple, she made the hard decision to schedule her travel arrangements and meet the rest of the team in Belize.
While the feeling of guilt gnawed away at her, it also felt like she was wasting her time.
Sasha wished she could be as cavalier as the higher-ups at the company who shrugged their shoulders at the whole situation.
It was as if there was an age-old saying of, If a shrinking accident happens in a Cancun resort but no one notices, did it even happen at all?
Apparently, the answer was no. If Trey and Catalina were fortunate, maybe the couple’s story would end up in the last five minutes of a news segment of some kind of unsolved mystery, where the only evidence was the unclaimed baggage left in their hotel room.
Sasha couldn’t help feeling bad for the people who would miss and mourn them.
She tortured herself further, while picking at her breakfast, by scrolling through whatever public social media accounts she could find them on.
They both were active on Instagram. While Catalina’s account hadn’t been updated for a while, there were photos of her cooking with children and at some kind of fundraising event she had attended with her husband.
Trey also had images of him with kids, but more in a school setting.
Plus, there were lots of pictures of Catalina in different parts of Los Angeles.
In any selfies together, they were usually kissing, plus the one or two photos of him making a funny face.
They were close enough to her own age they all could have been friends if they had ever crossed paths.
There was only one picture recent enough to have been taken at the resort.
It was on Trey’s account, a single photo of the beach.
Close to the shoreline was a woman in a white bikini.
The woman was turned away, but her brown, wavy hair was teased by a breeze.
Sasha assumed it was his wife. The image seemed to be purposely taken to frame her.
She didn’t know why they’d been arguing at the resort, but hopefully, it had been a blip in their relationship.
Based on their images, they were a young, happy couple in love, and Sasha hoped wherever they were, they were at least together.
It made her angry that people like Zack Massey could be so callous.
She was ashamed of her part in helping him achieve anything.
She was going to Belize simply because she was obligated, due to her contract, but the truth was, she was questioning herself.
Her disillusionment in everything took root and wouldn’t let go, making her unsure if she believed in the company’s mission anymore.
The only thing holding her to anything was the money. Her father’s health issues had grown worse. Her paycheck helped to put a dent in his medical bills. How could she abandon her family financially when she knew it made such a difference?
Her father had always been an early riser, even after retiring and moving with her mother to Florida. Sasha had been so busy she didn’t call her parents as often as she should, but her father never complained, always appreciating whatever time she could spare.
“Hey, honey girl,” her father’s deep, rumbly voice answered when he picked up the call.
“Hey, Dad. How are you?”
There was a pause before he replied, “What’s wrong?”
Sasha had attempted to make her voice sound bright and strong, but her father clearly sensed her tiredness and frustration. She couldn’t keep all of the sniffles from her voice. “Oh, nothing, just work. It’s… It’s been a lot.”
“Are you still in Mexico?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She didn’t know how much she could tell him.
Some of her work fell under Mankind2Mars’s NDA, but, more importantly, even if she could tell him everything, she didn’t know if she would want to.
Sasha had been so proud of her work. And even if her parents didn’t always understand what her occupation entailed, they’d always supported her and were proud of her.
If her dad knew the truth…maybe the pride would tarnish.
Maybe this would change how he saw her. “Oh, it’s nothing,” she finally settled on.
“I’m in beautiful Cancun. What exactly am I going to complain about?
I was just wondering how you’re feeling and how you like your new doctor. ”
“Yeah, things are going fine.” There was another pause. “You can be in Cancun and still be unhappy, you know.”
She shouldn’t have called. It was alarming how insightful her dad was. Sasha pushed around the last lone grape on her plate. “Are you sure? It might actually be against the law here.”
“We better get busy cheering you up then,” her father replied. “My honey girl isn’t the type to be breaking any laws. She’s always been an upstanding, above board, full of integrity young lady. That’s why Mankind is lucky to have you.”
Sasha couldn’t answer, the rock in her stomach suddenly taking up a bigger portion of her torso. “Wh-what if I decide I want to leave…the company, I mean?”
“They’re not treating you right?”
“Well, it’s not me specifically, but it might be other people.”
“I see.” He paused before continuing. “I know you can’t give me the particulars but I know you.
And I know if something doesn’t sit right with you, then it’s something serious, something wrong.
I’ve always believed that, even in difficult situations, you’ll choose the right path.
You probably already know the answer. All I can tell you is that I support you in whatever that answer is. ”
Sasha wasn’t sure she’d always been as ethical as her father believed she was, especially lately, and it made her want to cry into her scrambled eggs. She roughly wiped away a stray tear. “If I leave, I might not have the money to help with your doctor bills.”
Her father gave a small scoff. “Your mother and I will be fine. We’ll figure it out. Using me as an excuse to stay in a bad situation is not what I want for you. Your peace of mind is too important.”
His last sentence stayed with her even after she said goodbye and disconnected the call.
How many other accidents would be overlooked by the company?
How many other people could be hurt? Everything achieved by them was only for propping up the ego of the smallest of men.
In fact, he was already small without having been targeted by the MASS laser.
He’d been figuratively born that way and never strived to grow any larger. God, what a waste.
Fuck Mankind2Mars, and, even more, fuck Zack Massey.
This minion had seen the light.
She’d spend what remaining time she had left at the resort searching for Trey and Catalina, giving the situation every chance she could.
If that failed, maybe she’d go to the press, become a whistleblower…
a whistleblower with hardly any evidence.
She wasn’t sure how everything was going to work, but she was hit with new determination.
To move forward with her plan, her body needed energy.
Sasha began to shovel her breakfast into her mouth.
As she ate, she studied a young family at the table in front of her.
The mom held a crying toddler in her lap while trying to eat.
The oblivious father ignored the situation as he continued scrolling through his phone, eating a piece of bacon.
As the woman bobbed the toddler on a knee and made soothing sounds, the kid continued being fussy, grabbing at things on the table.
The toddler snatched the woman’s partially torn package of instant oatmeal, flinging it to the ground.
Dried flakes of oatmeal scattered to the carpet.
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry,” the woman said to one of the resort employees who came to refill the scrambled egg tray at the buffet. “I’ll clean that up.” She looked embarrassed and distraught as the toddler grasped a lock of her hair and pulled on it.
Her husband only briefly looked over to say, “You’re making a mess,” before returning his attention to his phone screen.
“It’s okay,” the employee assured her. “Someone will clean that up. You’re fine. Enjoy your breakfast.”