As suddenly as it stopped, the party’s back on. Live performers come storming in through the back door lake entrance. They already have microphones in hand and are shouting out Robbie and Theo as they take the makeshift stage at the front of the cabin and begin serenading the partiers.
Maya’s strange day keeps getting weirder.
She considers sneaking her phone out to take pictures, worrying that no one will believe all of this. But, concerned that Teddy’s watching, she thinks better of it. She assumes there will be plenty of opportunities for pictures, and at this rate, who knows what surprises the rest of the afternoon and evening have in store.
“Come on,” Robbie says as he grabs Maya’s hand.
She’s not sure where they’re going on the crowded dance floor. But, as Maya keeps reminding herself, this is a POTCH retreat and Robbie’s one of the kings of the Church. As he leads her, an opening appears in the crowd. With Jalen and his dancers close behind, they make their way over to the corner of the room where the second platform is set up. Despite being elevated from the dancefloor, this one doesn’t look like a stage for performing. Several of the leather couches and white cushioned chairs are set up atop it and a velvet rope encircles the platform.
Maya realizes this is the POTCH version of a club’s VIP section. Teddy and an entourage are already waiting for them and the velvet rope is quickly closed off again as soon as they’re on the stage. Following Robbie to one of the couches against the back wall, Maya’s happy to see their clear view of the performing stage. She can already tell they’re in for quite a show tonight.
After a moment, she notices the dinner table at the center of the VIP section. It’s a welcome relief since Maya hasn’t eaten since breakfast. Surveying the table, she isn’t sure where to start. It bears more resemblance to the buffet backstage at a Hollywood awards show than a typical dinner. A seafood platter covered in fresh oysters, tuna tartar, caviar, and whole lobsters sit at the center with truffles, macaroons, and chocolate-covered strawberries radiating out toward the edges. Either seafood doesn’t break Teddy’s rules about meat, or Maya’s correct in believing he’s a massive hypocrite. Reaching in for a taste, she tries to contain her reaction as she realizes the food is all decorated with gold leaf flakes. It takes considerable effort for her to ignore the obnoxious display of wealth in front of them and enjoy the rest of the party.
Her colleagues on the platform aren’t making it any easier. Looking around the table, Maya watches in amazement as a pair of tanned young men feed Jalen the strawberries. To make matters worse, he’s laying flat across their laps. Their badges say they belong to the Miami hub, but Maya still questions the authenticity of their strong tans.
Turning away from Jalen’s opulence, her eyes land on Teddy as he lights a thick Cuban cigar. She’s not sure which upsets her more, Teddy’s nerve to preach against greed or his indulgence in tobacco while banning so many other substances from the retreat. She wonders if anyone else here is allowed to smoke or if it’s a privilege reserved for their guru.
Doing her best to ignore the extravagance populating their VIP section, she tries to focus on the performers. Thankfully, their makeshift stage is perfectly in line with the performers’ stage, giving her a clear and excellent view past the dance floor to the private concert. There’s also a giant speaker set up beside their platform, filling her ears with the music and thumping bass. Cuddling into Robbie, the overpowering sound is the most helpful blinder to the greed carrying on around them.
While he holds her and stays relaxed on the couch, Maya wonders how Robbie usually celebrates this day. He seems far more subdued than his friends and isn’t stuffing his face with the cuisine in front of them, but is that only because she’s here with him? She likes to think of Robbie as different and above this kind of behavior, but it’s hard to ignore who he associates himself with. Is the philanthropy only an act to cover up his greed?
Maya tries to lie to herself and think of Robbie as always behaving this way, no matter the year or his female companion. It makes it easier to enjoy the show. Perhaps Robbie doesn’t have an official title with POTCH because he’s the driving force behind their charitable and moral decisions. Teddy’s the preacher, but Robbie’s the one working to improve the world. It’s a comforting thought as she tries to push her conscience away and enjoy his birthday.
As afternoon carries into evening, Maya’s continuously surprised by the collection of award-winning and globally popular celebrities who take the stage for a few songs each. She will never cease to marvel at who and what money can buy. This evening easily beats any political fundraiser she’s ever covered.
And it will make a far better story.
As the trays of food in front of them dwindle, waiters replenish the delicacies and bring new entrees to sustain them through the night, all seasoned with obnoxious flakes of gold.
Maya waits until a few of the truffles, oysters, and crab legs have been consumed, then slyly slips her phone out of her clutch. Keeping it pressed against her body and on the opposite side of Teddy and Robbie, Maya snaps a few quick pictures of the opulent buffet. Jalen’s too distracted by the Miami boys to notice.
Doing her best to angle her camera across the crowd without anyone noticing, she also tries to record a short video of the celebrities performing for them. She’s been in the business long enough to know how much attaching famous names to a story can drive readership.
“Where’s the bathroom?” Maya stands up and shouts.
She ignores the dirty look Teddy gives her and focuses on hearing Robbie’s directions over the music. Walking off the platform, she tries her best to look calm. Teddy’s already suspicious, she doesn’t need to look guilty. Her paranoia tells her Teddy’s watching as she navigates through the party. Plus, who knows how many cameras he has around this place. Not to mention cameras the FBI could have potentially snuck in leading up to the event.
It’s a fair suspicion. Down the street in his cabin, John listens to a report from one of his agents as they track Maya’s movements through the hotel. Hoping the rest of the group doesn’t split up, John instructs him to keep watch and wait for her to emerge. They have one other agent who’s keeping focus on the VIP area, but he won’t be able to trail everyone if Theo and Robbie decide to wander the party.
Unfortunately, John couldn’t convince a judge to grant him a warrant for cameras recording inside the resort, but that’s not stopping his team from conducting surveillance. They have no proof that any crimes are happening inside the cabin or castle towers, but they’ll be ready to capture it if that changes.
Locking herself in a bathroom stall, Maya wants to email these pictures to her server at work right away. She doesn’t trust Teddy to not go snooping through her phone. She doesn’t want there to be anything for him to find and delete.
She also sends some of them to Ralph, both so he knows their plan is turning up results and to make him feel a little jealous out on the side of the road in the cold November evening. Scrolling through her camera roll, Maya’s confident these pictures will look great above whatever article they end up writing; whether the paper lets them publish a piece on POTCH or if it’s a column about the lifestyle Robbie’s stolen money is funding.
Once the pictures are deleted from her phone and safely secured on other servers Maya returns to the party. Working her way back through the crowd, she doesn’t notice the waiter standing around the end of the bathroom hallway or the waitress carrying an untouched tray of salmon behind the VIP stage. Her attention is too focused on Robbie and Teddy to realize someone else is actually watching her.
To her relief, Robbie suggests leaving the VIP area and joining the rest of the mosh pit. It’s never been her scene before, but Maya’s thrilled to put some distance between them and Teddy’s hedonism.
She spends the rest of the evening dancing with Robbie to keep him happy while sneaking away as often as she can to interview as many guests and performers as possible. She only has two da
ys to absorb this information, but Maya has no doubt about it — she’s leaving this resort with a front-page worthy article.
Chapter Twenty
Waking up in the castle tower’s luxurious memory foam bed, Maya feels great. It’s the first time in forever that she can remember waking up from a long day and night of partying without a headache. She hates to think it, but maybe POTCH is on to something after all?
Maya finds her phone on the bedside table and discovers it’s still early in the morning, well before she would normally wake up in the city, let alone wake up after a party. There’s just something about the country air and the birds’ morning songs that makes it easier to come to her senses.
After a second, she realizes it’s more than just the birds. Something is going on outside and the sounds are wafting up to the tower. Whatever the POTCH followers are doing, it’s loud enough to keep her from rolling back over.
Unlike her, Robbie’s not susceptible to the singing birds and is still asleep. Maya loves how peaceful and normal he looks with a small puddle of drool pooling around his mouth on his pillow. She decides not to wake him up; she can go exploring without him. She’s likely to hear more honest answers from people if Robbie isn’t hanging around. Plus, it embarrasses her when everybody stands up to mark their entrance into a room. She never wants that much attention on her.
Delicately stepping out of bed, she decides investigating the early morning noise is the best use of her time. Hopefully, Teddy’s sleeping in like Robbie so that she won’t need to worry about his watchful eye. Maya pulls on the first shirt she finds in the top of her bag and the pair of jeans she brought for the day. Thankfully, the castle’s old door doesn’t creek nearly as loudly as she expects and she’s able to escape the room without Robbie stirring.
Making her way down the winding castle tower, Maya gives a slight smile to a pair of men dressed in maintenance uniforms who appear to be changing the lightbulbs outside of Robbie’s room. She otherwise doesn’t pay them any thought.
Once she disappears from sight down the stairwell, the repairmen pull out a walkie-talkie and radio in to confirm their cover is intact.
Sipping his morning cup of coffee up the hill from the resort, John breathes a deep sigh of relief. His agents are supposed to be switching out the batteries in the recording amplifier he has installed outside of Robbie’s room. It isn’t part of any plan for them to come in contact with any POTCH guests, especially Maya.
John doesn’t exactly have approval for the recordings and doesn’t need any suspicions raised around the retreat.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Maya blinks and rubs her eyes to confirm she isn’t witnessing a mirage. The sun’s only beginning to rise, but the resort’s lobby is already bustling with activity. Looking around, Maya starts to wonder if Robbie’s the only one still sleeping.
“What’s going on?” Maya asks the closest woman who doesn’t look too busy or crazy.
“The swimmers are starting to exit the lake,” she says matter-of-factly.
“The swimmers?”
Maya’s question doesn’t receive a response as the woman continues to walk toward the door. She wonders if this is a hallucination before she breaks into a light jog to catch up, hoping to resolve her confusion. “Who cares that they’re getting out of the lake?”
The woman looks over her shoulder and shoots Maya a rude look as if she’s asked an insulting question. This woman doesn’t seem particularly chatty, so Maya tries her best to look apologetic and naive.
“Well, we want to cheer them on before they grab their bikes and disappear for the next part of the triathlon.”
“Triathlon? The sun’s hardly up!”
The woman snorts and pushes her way to the door, leaving Maya behind in the crowd of people trying to exit the log cabin.
“Is this your first retreat?”
The question catches Maya off guard and she looks around to see where the voice is coming from. There’s another woman on her right who appears to be looking at her expectantly, so Maya assumes she’s the source of the question.
She nods her head while making eye contact. Maya isn’t sure how surprise at a moonlight triathlon gives away her inexperience. Who wants to swim in an upstate New York lake before the sun rises in the last week of November? Maya’s familiar with polar swims, but a triathlon length swim is ludicrous.
“It’s a tradition at every year’s retreat. We always have a triathlon to kick off the second day. Theo loves healthy living and the physical activity it promotes. Not only for today, but all the training we do in the months leading up.”
Ralph didn’t warn her about this nonsense. Maya’s hardly the running type, forget about an entire triathlon.
“Are a lot of people doing it this year?”
“Most members try to, especially the newest guides. They want to make a good first impression. I’m Stacy, by the way.”
“Thanks. Maya.”
She appreciates having someone finally answering her questions with enthusiasm and volunteering new information, but Stacy’s bubbly personality is a little off-putting this early in the morning. Her enthusiasm doesn’t become any more endearing as they finally make their way through the crowd and emerge onto the grassy field separating the lake from the cabin.
As soon as they step outside, the cold winter air smacks Maya’s skin. Looking at the trees, she can see winter’s frost. They’re only a few yards away from yesterday’s helicopter landing spot, but no one would ever guess it with the hoard of people now crowding the field. Why on earth is anyone agreeing to a triathlon in this weather? And why would they willingly do it year-after-year?
“It’s almost December,” says Maya. “Who does a triathlon in the winter? This is practically a polar swim and you people are exerting yourselves. Does anyone ever catch frostbite during one of these?”
Stacy giggles in response but doesn’t say anything to calm Maya’s concerns. As far as she can tell, that’s because there’s no good explanation for this crazy behavior. It was probably something that came to Teddy in a fever dream one night, and now he forces everyone to do it in his honor every year.
Scanning the shoreline, Maya can see that there are hardly any extra lights set up around the water. It only reinforces her belief that anyone participating in this has lost their mind. Or is brainwashed by Teddy. Maya’s spine shivers as she fears the possibility of him trying it on her if she sticks around for too long.
“I’m so jealous of you,” says Stacy.
The comment surprises Maya. Does Stacy recognize she’s the only one here thinking clearly? Could this be her way of asking Maya for help escaping from these people? She turns to face Stacy but doesn’t see any worry in her eyes. It’s more of an expression of excitement that matches her bubbly personality.
“Jealous of me?” Maya asks cautiously. Her voice hovers somewhere between surprise and utter shock, not sure where Stacy’s going with this. “Why?”
“I wish I could experience all of this for the first time again. I remember my first retreat; it was one of the happiest times of my entire life.”
Stacy spins in place with her arms stretched out like she’s trying to hug the entire resort. With her back turned momentarily, it gives Maya the opportunity to roll her eyes and gag. She never expected cheery followers of the Church to make her feel more nauseous than a night of partying.
“Are you happy this week?”
“Of course! I’m home with my true family. I don’t get to make this journey often.”
“Where’s home for you?”
“I just told you, it’s here with my family.”
Stacy’s giggling is irritating Maya. She doesn’t like the implication that she’s the weird one in this conversation.
Still, she knows she needs to be friendly a treat a potential source nicely; not that this girl shutting up is a real concern. Taking a deep breath, she tries to reciprocate Stacy’s friendly smile.
“Sorry, where did you
travel in from?”
“Oh, I’m part of the Montreal pod,” Stacy says as she waves her hand away like it’s unimportant.
“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize POTCH is international.”
“Of course. The Church’s message is universal.”
“Are there a lot of Canadians here?”
“There are a few hub cities that bring pods, but that’s nothing special. You seem surprised but we’re hardly traveling from far. There’s a much larger group here from Mexico City. Ever since the President’s son joined, we’re seeing huge recruitment numbers out of the Mexico City hub. Not to mention all of the followers journeying from Lima, Caracas, Medellin, and Sao Paulo.”
The globe-trotting congregation shocks Maya. She knew Teddy had Robbie under a spell as well as the celebrities from last night, but powerful families are falling into this trap? What is she missing about him that can attract so many people from all of these backgrounds?
“All because Ted,” Maya catches herself before finishing the name and risking offending Stacy. “Because Theo asked them to?”
“Because we want to. There aren’t many opportunities to surround ourselves with so many lovely people and hear from our top guru directly. Face-time with him is a dream come true for many. Especially after all the hours of watching his videos and listening to his recorded teachings.”
“And you all travel this far alone?”
“Of course not. We come with our pods, all flying down together. Plus, my husband and sister are both POTCH members and they insisted on joining me this year. They want to be here for my promotion ceremony today.”
“Promotion?”
“Yes, this afternoon I’ll be upgraded to a guide.”
“Congratulations!” Maya does her best to sound enthusiastic, but it’s hard for her to hide her worry and concern over all of this. Her voice doesn’t even reach Stacy’s baseline passion.
“Thanks, I’ve been working so hard for it for years. All the classes and retreats, today’s going to be very special. My sister hopes to join me as a guide next year, so we’re trying to get her lots of face-time with decision-makers.”
Robbie's Scheme Page 15
