by Ana Ban
MBJ Tech was in control of the research and development of the treatment.
“We should cut all ties with this,” I spoke, pointing towards the failing airline, “and throw more into MBJ Tech.”
“Interesting,” Donovan leaned over my shoulder to get a closer look at what I was seeing. “But you’re correct. Olivia?”
She nodded briskly. “I’ll see it done.”
Closing the file, I slid it back across the desk, though I was itching to take it with me. Standing, I stepped behind Donovan once again to allow him to wrap up the meeting.
“Thank you for your time, Olivia. We’ll be in touch.”
He shook her hand, and when she turned to me, I offered my own. I didn’t think the finger gun would go over as well on her as it had with Michael.
“A pleasure, Selena. Please, come visit again.”
My only answer was a nod as I led the way out her door.
Back in the car, Donovan remained silent, simply taking my hand again, sliding off the glove to run his fingers lightly along my palm. The action sparked a response in me, and I had to concentrate not to let my desire run out of control.
“You had some amazing insight in there,” Donovan murmured to me.
With a shrug, I answered, “Fresh eyes.”
Using one hand to gently remove my glasses, his eyes met mine for a long moment, soft and searching.
“Beautiful eyes,” he finally whispered tenderly.
Swallowing once, I felt ensnared by his gaze, much like a deer in headlights, unable to look away.
His face moved closer, his eyes never leaving mine. As his lips brushed against my own, our eyes remained open, reading each other’s innermost thoughts as his touch shot sparks through every nerve ending, a swirling mass that eventually pooled low in my stomach. I could actually feel my heart beat in my chest, reaching towards him while my body remained still.
He pulled away just as the car began to slow, carefully replacing my glasses and slipping the glove back on my hand. Another beat later, he spoke.
“We’re here.”
Breaking away from his intensity, I glanced out the window at the restaurant we’d be having lunch at. Through the onslaught of emotions pouring over and through me, I managed to ask a question.
“Who are we meeting with?” My voice came out husky, a result of the desire pulsing through me.
That fact did not escape Donovan’s notice. He brushed the pad of his thumb across my lips, causing my mouth to pop open with a swift intake of air.
The car had stopped, but we had yet to move. I waited for the answer to my question while attempting to get my body under control.
“Andres McMillan,” Donovan straightened as he spoke, squeezing my hand once before reaching for the door. “Are you ready?”
Not trusting my voice, I merely nodded.
Donovan stepped out, coming around to open my own door before leading me into the restaurant. The ground level was a wine bar; to my surprise, we continued down a flight of steps to the basement, dimly lit with maroon booths and gold walls. Though it was fairly busy, the maître d’ led us to a roped off area which had been reserved for our party, leaving several tables as a buffer between our meeting and the rest of the restaurant.
A man was already seated, standing to greet us as we approached. He was dark featured with closely cut hair and a neatly trimmed beard that ran along the edge of his jaw. His gaze reminded me of Donovan- focused and intense, missing nothing.
Donovan extended his hand in greeting before gesturing towards me.
“I’d like to introduce you to Selena,” Donovan said proudly.
Instead of offering me his hand, Andres bowed respectfully. Sitting in the chair Donovan pulled out for me, making sure my back was against the wall with a clear view of the restaurant and entrance, I removed my hat but left my dark glasses on. The lenses made it difficult to see clearly, but I was nervous to remove them.
“I trust you’ve had pleasant travels,” Andres’ deep voice held a hint of an accent I couldn’t quite place.
“That we have,” Donovan responded.
Donovan hadn’t given me any background information on Andres, as he had with Michael or Olivia. Of course, our prolonged, intense moment in the car may have had something to do with that.
The other difference between the three clients we’d met today was that I’d heard of both Michael and Olivia, whereas Andres McMillan was ringing no bells.
The men waited to speak until our drinks had been delivered. With the waitress out of earshot, Andres began the conversation.
“Am I able to speak freely?”
“Please do,” Donovan encouraged.
“There are new players in the management here in Britain. One has been resistant to our approach.”
“Every man has a price,” Donovan rose a brow at Andres. “You have only to find it.”
“I was hoping you could help me with that while you’re in town,” Andres held his hands out, palms up. “I’ve tried everything I know.”
“Of course,” Donovan nodded. “Set up a meet this afternoon.”
“Done,” Andres said, then continued, “As for your other routes, everything is running smoothly.”
“Good,” Donovan leaned forward, folding his hands on top of the table. “We’ve already set a load for our new route in Egypt. Selena and I will oversee it personally.”
This was news to me, but I kept quiet. Egypt must be one of our stops on this trip. From what I gathered, Andres was not so much a client as a palm greaser. That begged the question, how did Donovan and Andres come to meet?
Chapter 15
Selena
4 years ago
The Lexington building was well underway. As I walked the floorplan, I could see the few improvements Donovan had made on the original from our building by the docks. It wouldn’t be much longer until this would be our new home, and the place downtown would serve as our backup.
“Are you ready to go underground?” Donovan asked me.
He’d been watching me quietly while I inspected the work being done, but I turned to him now and nodded. We went down the stairs together, not needing words. We always had a tendency to be on the same page, in our personal lives and in business. Even though we’d shared everything with each other, there were also many times words were unnecessary and only seemed frivolous.
Upon reaching the bottom levels, Donovan placed his hand on the pad to reveal the remaining underground steps, which I descended without hesitation.
The small crew we’d hired was working in a different part of the subterranean paths, so after swinging a leg over one of the BMW sport bikes we’d acquired for speeding through the tunnels, I fell in behind Donovan. The dark glasses I wore were a necessary evil- not only to mitigate the effects of the wind the bikes created, but also to hide my identity. Working in close counters to so many people was new to me, and it was of the utmost importance to remain anonymous.
When we reached the crew, I dismounted and set the kick stand before walking to Donovan’s side. He explained what the crew was currently working on- a way to light the tunnels.
Donovan approached the man in charge, while I hung back to observe. As they discussed the benefit and technicalities of running solar power over electric, I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed. Once the man had laid out his points, Donovan glanced at me, and I simply nodded.
“Let’s do it,” Donovan relayed my unspoken command.
Without any further comment, the contractor gave the order to his men. They were quick and proficient, a product of working for cash instead of hourly. When Donovan approached me, he spoke quietly.
“I’ll stay to keep an eye on them, if you want to take care of the other matter.”
With a smirk, I answered, “Gladly.”
Not wasting any more time, I approached the sleek bike, easily swinging my leg back over. Revving the engine once, I kicked it into gear and spun away from Donovan, heading bac
k towards our new home.
Chapter 16
Mia
Present Day
As our lunch wrapped up, Donovan asked Andres for the name of the person they would be meeting later that afternoon before shaking the man’s hand and leading me back to street level. Once we were in the relative privacy of the car, I asked the question that had been burning through the meeting.
“How do you know Andres?”
Before answering, Donovan glanced to me, reading my expression. I kept my face neutral, waiting for his reply.
“We were in the military together,” he told me. “Myself, Bruce and Andres were nearly inseparable. They saved my life several times, and vice versa. They are the only two people in this world who have my ultimate trust, aside from you.”
Nodding, I turned my head to watch out the window as we made our way back to the hotel. The fact that the three of them were in the military together meant that Bruce and Andres were also fake names.
Donovan and I didn’t speak again until we were back in the hotel room. He’d received a message from Andres to meet with their trouble official at 3:00, which meant we had some time alone.
“I was going to make some calls to our offices,” Donovan told me. “Your surprise will be here before I leave.”
“What, exactly, is this surprise?”
With a smirk, Donovan evaded the question, popping open his laptop instead of answering. “Stay close if you’d like to listen in.”
Shaking my head at his coyness, I took a seat in the chair beside the couch, so I could listen but not be seen. As the call connected, I heard Bruce’s voice come through the speakers.
“Just checking in on our visitor,” Donovan began after greeting his old friend.
“We’ve done as you instructed, one meal a day and no other contact. He hasn’t spoken.”
Considering this, Donovan spoke again after a moment. “You’ve tipped off the police?”
“Yes,” I heard Bruce respond. “They’ve kept it quiet for now. An infiltration on this level reflects poorly on them.”
“It may never become public knowledge, and that’s fine. It may be time to contact Tony.”
“Would you like me to, or would you prefer we wait until you’re back?”
Donovan’s eyes met mine. My face was neutral, though my heartrate had picked up.
“I’ll have you make the initial contact, but let’s wait. We’ll speak again from our next destination. Anything else?”
“The main offices have re-opened. Most of the damage was in the top levels, and the crews have begun work there now.”
“That was quick. Excellent work, Bruce.”
There was no verbal response, and I imagined Bruce acknowledging the compliment with a dip of his head.
“I’ve a name, if you could have Mason run it through the system, find out everything he can in the next hour and send it directly to me,” Donovan said. “Henry Windham, London. Approximately 40 years old. Works for the city.”
“I’ll send it right over,” Bruce promised.
“We’ll speak soon,” Donovan promised before disconnecting.
Though I hadn’t heard the name Mason before, it made sense that Donovan had some kind of computer person on his payroll. Henry Windham was the name of the man Donovan and Andres would be meeting with later today.
Before he placed his next call, I raised a question. “What’s your plan with the DeLuca?”
Turning to face me fully, Donovan answered, “The DeLuca’s have some information we need. I’ll have Bruce inform them of the situation, and when we return, we’ll make the trade ourselves.”
Cocking my head to the side, I asked, “Have we done a lot of business with them in the past?”
So tiny I almost missed it, Donovan’s eyes tightened. “Not exactly.”
“When we met with them, Tony had mentioned we’ve worked together.”
“That’s true,” Donovan sighed, running a hand through his short, dark hair. “A few years ago, we approached them with a proposition. At that time, they were our biggest competition, and we had come up with a plan to benefit both of our businesses. Shortly after, they got involved in weapons trades, so we kept our distance but kept out of each other’s ways. Our business boomed while theirs slowly began going downhill, along with becoming dangerous. They got in deep with the cartels in Mexico, which at first was highly profitable but quickly became not worth the trouble.”
“So, at least two of the brothers became jealous of us, hence the hit,” I pieced together the little bit that I knew.
“Far as I can tell. Tony truly didn’t seem to know much of what was going on in his own home, but turning a blind eye can be just as dangerous as knowingly allowing it to happen.”
“Can I ask something about our business?” Something had been bothering me since our meeting with Michael.
“Of course,” Donovan leaned forward, his focus solely on me.
“How do we get around customs? Obviously, there are bribes involved- but there must be more.”
With a smile, Donovan reached out to take my hand. Then, he spoke three words which made my mouth fall open.
“Unmanned Submarine Drones.”
For a moment, my jaw worked but no words would form. “Submarines? We have submarines?”
“Yes. Our ships, along with the subs, are a unique design that you and I came up with, and approached NoCorp to build for us. In the bottom of our ships, there is an airlock container that will hold two of the drones if needed. Depending on the port the ship is departing or arriving, they will remain in the airlock or deliver directly to the warehouse.”
“That opens up a whole bunch more questions,” I told him.
“Questions I will happily answer, but, I think it would be easier to show you. I promise you a tour of our facilities in Egypt, along with our dock when we fly home.”
Though my head spun, I agreed, allowing him to continue with his phone calls.
For the next hour I listened in while he caught up with our office manager, a woman named Felicity I had yet to meet, and the Baltimore Dock manager. It was an odd combination of legitimate business and code words that left me with even more questions.
Questions that would have to wait. As Donovan was preparing to leave for his meeting, there was a knock on the door. Donovan opened it to reveal a slight woman with a French accent, dressed in all black with her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She immediately began pinching, tugging and pulling on me, jabbering away in French while she gestured for someone in the hall to come in.
A bellhop entered, and I carefully turned my face away. He rolled a luggage rack inside the room in front of him, while pulling another along behind him. Each rack was stuffed full of clothing covered by cloth bags.
The bellhop immediately left, with Donovan being shooed out the door directly after. He gave me a wink as I stood in the middle of a maelstrom, and her name was Sophia.
She turned me this way and that, eyeing up every aspect of my body before pulling several concealed garments off the racks and shoving the rest aside. Next, she pulled me into the dressing room, finding a place to hang her selections in the roomy closet.
With one hand on my shoulder, she pushed me onto a vanity stool. Completely bewildered by the turn in events today, I sat, blinking up at her.
“I will be doing a full spa treatment,” she told me in heavily accented English. “Take a shower, and wear only a robe after. Then, we will begin.”
After handing me a small towel to wrap around my hair, she directed me towards the shower, placing a lavender scented scrub inside to use on my skin, while she hurried to the other room to retrieve her bags she’d dropped unceremoniously upon entering.
Stepping into the shower, I used the few minutes of privacy to relax, breathing in the calming scent of lavender mixed with jasmine that she’d supplied. Too soon, I was done, and found a short, silk robe waiting for me.
Sophia was ready for me as I emerged. The next
hour was filled with waxing and tweezing while my face was covered in goop she assured me was a face mask. Every inch of my skin felt raw by the time she was done with me.
Once I was able to apply moisturizer to soothe my aching skin, she sat me back on the vanity stool to begin a makeover. I’d never spent any time on beauty- I was lucky to remember to throw on some mascara- but I couldn’t deny, after the pain of waxing, the spa day was kind of fun.
After makeup was done, I felt more tugging and pulling, this time on my scalp, as she swept my hair up. Since I wasn’t allowed to look in a mirror yet, I had no idea what my face, or my hair, looked like.
Finally, she dragged me into the closet. Unzipping the first dress, my eyes widened at the elegant cuts as one after another Sophia held them up to me, making a face and returning them to the rack. When there were only a few choices left, Sophia paused, her eyes meeting mine. As I glanced down at the sheath of silk, I looked back to her and simultaneously we spoke.
“This is the one.”
Chapter 17
Selena
4 years ago
Though I knew it was necessary to split up from Donovan, I hated spending any of our time apart. The task tonight was a necessary evil, and one that I planned to enjoy thoroughly.
While Donovan dealt with the contractors in the tunnels, I had a meeting to attend.
Stopping a block away from our Lexington home, I made sure my disguise was in place- black scarf, dark glasses, black leather gloves to match the pants and jacket I wore- before making my way to the ground level. Exiting the building, I walked at a steady pace to my destination, using a roundabout way to avoid anyone who might be following.
