I wake the next morning with a smile on my face. The luau was a huge success. Leilani smoked a whole pig in a pit in the ground, and it was delicious. The performers included Kahuna in a wide leaf skirt, and the nurses nearly fainted when he brought them on stage to dance with him.
Everyone had a great time, and I did too, but I still can’t get over the conversation I overheard when I stepped in yesterday. And I haven’t yet found a moment to ask Nate about it.
I’ve just finished making sure the girls are getting up when Nate stops by my room to let me know I need to be ready for a ten a.m. take off for Kauai.
“My friend Patrick Anderson is visiting one of the other islands, and he’s graciously agreed to let us stay at his home. Jim’s been working their security for several years, so he’s coordinated with the teams and they’re prepared.”
I nod, but I have to sort this out before I’m going to feel good about going. “I’m worried about leaving the girls and my mom here alone.”
Nate shakes his head and smiles. “There’s no need to worry. They won’t be alone. They’ll have the largest army on the island. Plus, Jim’s reached out to the police, and they’re aware of our situation. Jackson has motion detectors throughout the property. And the Andersons own most of the island of Kauai. Patrick is a conservationist, and he’s made sure the land hasn’t been developed. Are you getting nervous on me?”
“It is a naked island,” I say, feigning nerves. “I know you’re beautiful naked, but I’m not too excited about seeing some other people naked, and I’m sure many of them don’t want to see me.”
He laughs. I like making him laugh.
I have my overnight bag packed, and we head downstairs. I visit my mom first. “I’m heading to Kauai with Nate for a few days,” I tell her. “Everyone here will take care of you.”
Her eyes sparkle and a tear falls. I hug her so hard. “I’m happy, Mom. I wouldn’t care if he just had a regular job, but I’m so glad you’re here so you can enjoy some sunshine and see what makes me so happy.”
“Girl, that man of yours is a great one,” Patty says. “Will you give him my number to pass out to his friends?”
“Or my number?” Jackie adds with a chuckle.
“Absolutely, ladies. I plan on hanging on to him.”
I kiss my mom and squeeze her hand. “I love you,” I whisper in her ear.
I wave goodbye to the nurses and join Nate in the kitchen. Trevor is with him, along with two others I don’t recognize.
“This is Morgan and David,” Trevor says.
I smile and nod. “Hello.”
“They work for the Andersons and are here to escort you,” he explains.
I look at Nate and take a deep breath.
“Everyone here will be fine,” he assures me.
“Without a doubt,” Trevor says. “Brian’s here, and we’ve had no unexpected hits on the security system.”
Nate pulls me into a hug. “I know you’re nervous. If anything happens, we can come right back. It’s not a long trip.”
I smile. “Fine. Let’s go before I change my mind.”
I hug the girls before we leave. It’s hard to say goodbye since I haven’t even been here long. Everything has felt so crazy the last few days.
We load up into a caravan of cars and don’t stop until we reach the base of the stairs leading into the plane. Nate and I hop out and go immediately up into the cabin while the guys manage our bags. We sit in a double-club leather chair, and Nate holds my hand.
There’s a breeze with the door to the plane still open, and I shiver. Nate gets up for a moment and returns with a soft, fake fur blanket. He winks at me, and I know he’s up to no good.
“Are you excited?” I ask.
“I am,” he confirms. We watch them pull the Range Rovers away, and the ground crew signals us as we’re directed to the main runway. “I love my daughters, but I want to be able to wake up with you each morning.”
“This will be an adventure,” I tell him. “I don’t sleep without Bex very often. She likes to come in at night when we’re at home.”
“She did that as a baby. You’ve been very generous to allow her to sleep with you.”
I shrug. “I don’t mind. It helps keep the nightmares away.” I look over at the four men in the cabin with us. “I just hope by the time she gets to be Katrina’s age that her nightmares are less frequent and she can sleep alone.”
“I don’t think she’ll get in bed with Jim and Kate.” We chuckle at the thought.
I take a deep breath. I should get this out of the way so I can hopefully enjoy this trip. “I came in the house looking for a notepad yesterday, and I heard you talking with Jim and Jackson.”
Nate nods. “Now I understand why you’re so worried.”
“Does whoever is after us know we’re here? I mean, leaving seems so risky. My mom isn’t able to run to a car at a moment’s notice. And what about the girls?”
“They may know we’re here,” Nate responds after a moment. “But the estate is quite difficult to get to. The rocks at the base of the cliff are too jagged and the surf is too rough to get close from that direction. And there are dozens of perimeter alarms, so it would be difficult to get on property without alerting more than twenty men who are paid well to take bullets if they have to for your mom, her nurses, and my daughters. And even if Viviana sends the team, it’s not like she knows this place. Jackson and Corrine have made tons of changes and improvements. We came here because Jim’s people like their ability to manage our safety in this location. I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t feel your mom and the girls were in safe hands.”
That makes me feel a lot better. He wouldn’t leave the girls in harm’s way. I know that. He’s still holding my hand, and I spin the ring on the top of his diver’s watch. “Have you learned anything about the pictures sent to Katrina?”
“They came from one of her classmates, but the images were created by someone associated with a Russian organized-crime group. The FBI are involved, and the school is cooperating. They’ve dismissed the headmaster, so we don’t have to worry about Katrina if she wants to return.”
“Oh, thank God. That’s great news, though I don’t know what she’ll want to do.”
“There’s Sacred Heart in San Francisco. I’m going to talk to her about it once we figure out what’s going on and where we’re going to be.”
“I can drive her over every day. That’s not a problem.”
He pulls me in close. “I know we’ll get it figured out. There are a lot of options.”
I have more questions, but I’m going to set them aside for now. “What do you want to do first?”
“Get you naked and have hotel sex with you.”
I smirk. “Then what?”
“Get sustenance and start all over.”
“What if we couldn’t have hotel sex for the first forty-eight hours?”
His eyes widen. “I’d have some serious blue balls, but there are other things to do. We can enjoy the private beaches. Patrick has a botanic garden his mother started with all flowers from all the islands. We can take a helicopter ride around the northern coast, go sailing, or play strip poker.”
“Did you know Jackson and Corrine are getting married at their estate?”
Nate nods. “I was thinking we’d leave the girls with Alicia and come enjoy the weekend together.”
“I don’t want the girls to feel like you’re choosing me over them.”
“The girls hate tagging along to poker tournaments, and I already talked to them about this. They’re fine.”
“You know they don’t want to disappoint you. Let me talk to them about it and let you know.”
“What do you want to do this afternoon?” he asks.
“I wouldn’t mind exploring the island today and finding a cheap souvenir shop to buy fun Hawaii stuff I can take back to the girls, my mom, and the nurses.”
“Whatever you want. I just want to spend the day with you.”
Lilly
We land and are greeted at the plane by two beige Cadillac Escalades. An older Asian man steps forward as we descend. “Aloha. Welcome to the island of Kauai. My name is Timothy Hsu, and I’m the majordomo of the Anderson main estate.”
“Thank you for having us,” Nate says. “It’s great to see you again, Timothy.”
“You know we always love guests.”
He turns to me, and I step forward. “My name is Lilly Duval. This is all so kind of you.”
As I walk over to grab my computer bag, Timothy and Nate talk about what we can expect over the next three days.
“I was deeply sorry to hear about Cecelia. She is gravely missed,” Timothy says as I return. “I’ve been working with Jim Adelson and his team, and I think we’re well prepared for you. I do hope the gods look kindly upon us and this comes to a conclusion soon.”
Nate nods. “Thank you. We were able to take a great step forward, thanks to Lilly. She was one of the last to deal with Cecelia on a business level, and she had a great clue.”
I take a big breath of air. Timothy didn’t mean to upset me, but now I’m thinking about the spectacular couple that was Cecelia and Nate. Will that always haunt me, if Nate and I move forward?
The weather is the same here as it is on Maui, but everything seems quieter. We make the forty-minute drive to the estate, passing several hotels and restaurants as we creep along on a two-lane road.
“The dirt is so red,” I marvel.
“It’s what makes the sugar cane here so sweet,” Timothy explains. “It has turned red because the volcanic eruptions that formed this island had a lot of iron oxide in them. It’s also what makes our forests so green and dense. The bad news is it does stain, so know that if you get it on a white dress, it won’t wash out.”
When we arrive at the house, we’re shown to our room. Nate immediately lies down on the bed, and I sit in a chair with my legs crossed at the ankle. He pats the bed next to him.
I stay in the chair. “Do you think everyone will always compare me to Cecelia?”
Nate sits up. “Why would you think that?”
“Most people know you as Nate married to Cecelia.”
He studies me carefully. I can tell he’s trying to figure out how to answer.
“I know it’s not a big deal to you,” I say. “But, if we’re going to do this like you’ve said, I’m going to have to build a pretty thick armor to the comparison. There aren’t many places the two of you haven’t gone, and everyone in your circle adored her.”
He looks down at the beige carpet with palm trees tastefully woven in. “You’re right. Cecelia and I didn’t have a lot when we were growing up, so we took advantage and explored once we had the means. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see places again with you and through your eyes.”
“I appreciate that.” I look out across the ocean. I can’t see anything on the horizon, not even clouds.
“My friends think you’re wonderful,” he continues after a moment. “My children would choose you over me. But I understand. Cecelia made a lasting impression on people, and even if she barely touched their lives, she impacted them. That was her way of getting out of my shadow.”
I sit back and realize what he’s saying. Cecelia felt covered by a big shadow, and she found a way out. I’ll need to do the same.
I move over next to him. “I can’t write as elegantly as Cecelia did. Her thank-you notes are legendary, and mine will pale in comparison.”
Nate lies back again and laughs. “I’ll tell you a secret. She hated writing them. She knew if she didn’t do them first thing, she’d never get them done. So, she did them, and once people started telling her they were saving them, she beefed up her skills. But you’re different than Cecelia. You don’t need to be like her. You’re you, with skills and gifts all your own.”
“At the wedding I heard Mason ask if you were ready for your next adventure. What would you do if you let others run Lancaster Holdings?”
“I don’t know. I’ve asked myself that a lot recently.”
He gets up and reaches for my hand. He leads me outside and down a path to where we can walk along the beach. The water is the temperature of a tepid bath, and the sand is so fine it’s almost dust.
I see an island off in the distance that I didn’t notice from my vantage point in our room.
“That’s the island of Niihau,” Nate says, pointing. “It’s owned by the Andersons. Less than two hundred people live on it, and there’s a small Navy base there. The Andersons bring in groceries and make sure everyone is well cared for.”
“They own the whole island?”
He nods. “They’re not the only ones to own an island. Dominic Bertarelli, who founded Prophecy, owns an island south of Maui called Lanai. There are two high-end hotels and several golf courses there.”
“I suppose you’ve been?” I sass.
“With Jim and a few of our buddies. We went to play golf and hang out. It was nice, but not enough shopping or a nice-enough spa to entice Cecelia.”
I give him a look that says I can’t quite tell if he’s joking, and he grins and kisses my temple.
“Cecelia and I saved Africa for when the girls got old enough to do some of the bigger safaris, and I’d love to enjoy Madagascar and the Seychelles. Mason and Caroline honeymooned there, and it sounds spectacular.”
I stop and look at him. “I know there are plenty of places you haven’t been. I know how hard you’ve always worked.”
“I worked hard so I could be there for my family. You didn’t know me then. You’ve only known me when I wanted to avoid being home.”
“You should talk to the girls about moving.”
“I just always come back to the Sausalito house being the only place the girls have really known.”
“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”
“I can go anywhere.”
I roll my eyes. “Where would you want to live?”
“I think I’d want to remain in the Bay Area. You grew up on the peninsula. Would you want to move down?”
“As long as I’m not close enough that I run into my stepmother while shopping.”
He laughs. “When you were at the house, how often did you go to the grocery store?”
“Once or twice a week. The girls would need something for a project, or the housekeeper wanted something for the dinner she was making. Ordering online takes a few days. It’s not immediate.”
“Wait, you actually went to the store?”
I nod, confused as to why that’s a surprise. “Who else was going to do it?”
“We have staff that can help you.”
I pull back from him. “You realize I am staff.”
“You’re more than staff.”
I look at him, puzzled. “I eat with the girls, and occasionally with you. The rest of the time, I’m paid to move the kids around and manage your schedules. Firmly in the staff bucket.”
“I want you to be more than staff,” he insists.
It’s not worth arguing with him. “How would you see my role changing if we walk down the path you’ve proposed?”
“You’ve been focused on us, with your career on hold, but the girls are getting older and more independent now. You can make the decision about what you need, but I hope it includes continuing your Brain Bursts work. We can bring in additional help as needed at home, and I’ll support you however you want.”
I stop and turn to him. “You sure know how to sweep a girl off her feet.”
“I’m glad you see I’m trying—you’re worth it.”
“Then I definitely think you need to talk to the girls about moving out of the house. We could go anywhere, and even if you find you want to live next door to my dad and his wife, I can egg the side of their house and toilet paper it at night when no one is watching.”
“Why is your relationship with your dad so broken?”
I shrug. “He’s beloved
by his students, and his current wife spends all her time competing with a woman who’s a shell of what she once was.”
“Is that why you’re worried about Cecelia?”
“Maybe? My mom and I are a lot alike. We’re the strong-yet-invisible women in the background, making sure everything is working like it’s supposed to. My stepmother is an organizational mess, and she wants to be out front receiving the accolades with my dad.”
“Does your dad know you’ve been working for me?”
“I’m not sure.” I tilt my head. “Why?”
“He asked me to speak to his software engineering class last year.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Really? He likes to impress his students, and you’d be quite the coup.”
“I committed to doing it this fall.” He squeezes my hand. “Do you think he wants to talk about you?”
I shake my head. “I would be shocked if he knew anything about me and what I was doing at this point.”
“Would he know how to get ahold of you?”
“We communicate through email, and he let me know shortly after Cecelia’s funeral that he’d transferred my mom’s power of attorney over to me, along with all the responsibility for her care—which means any bills Medicare won’t pay.”
Nate shakes his head. “My dad wasn’t much of a winner, either. He was an alcoholic. He held it together until my mom died. In fact, the night she died, Cecelia had come over to give me a piece of her mind because I hadn’t done my part of a group project—which I wouldn’t have done even if my mom hadn’t been sick. I may have been a pre-teen, but I was more interested in football and chasing this cute blonde at school who I was sure was going to let me touch her boobs. I always thought Cecelia was beautiful, but she didn’t have time for any tomfoolery.”
“So, you’ve always had a thing for blondes.”
“Always.” Nate takes a deep breath. “Anyway, I’m sure you read her version of that day in her journal, but…. My mom had been sick on and off for as long as I can remember. She had lung cancer from working in too many smoky bars and restaurants. The house was full of people, and I remember Cecelia coming in and sitting down with me. She didn’t say much about the project because she realized immediately that something was very wrong. My mom died at home that evening. People were there for my dad and my mom’s sisters, but I was invisible to everyone but Cecelia. She held my hand, and it was the most attention I’d had in so long.”
Showdown: Tech Billionaires Page 28
