An Unexpected Debt

by S. J. Pajonas

  “Have you heard from Saif?” I ask. “I’m afraid I may have screwed that one up permanently, and I regret it.”

  He sits back and crosses his arms. I dip my head and pray for death rather than be a disappointment to this man.

  “I spoke to him after you threw him from the bathroom last night.” He sighs and lets his arms loosen. “He’s wary now; I won’t lie.”

  I wince and squeeze my eyes shut.

  “But I can tell he’s not ready to give up,” Marcelo continues. I slit my eyes open a millimeter. “I don’t know how you bewitched that man when he was a boy, but he’s bound and determined to make a life with you if he can.”

  Really? To think that Saif had feelings for me, just as I did for him, when we were teens is still unreal to me. I always figured he was too rich to consider a working girl from a spacefaring family. It’s supposed to be the other way around.

  I blow out a long breath, but Marcelo raises his hand.

  “Understand that this man already has more patience than I ever expected of anyone. If you continue to push him away or cause problems, then he is going to bail out.”

  Fuck. I am terrible at being a good human being. I wouldn’t blame Saif for bailing on me, but I don’t want that anymore.

  I nod, my head quickly bobbing along. “Yes, yes. I understand. Things are changing. I promise.” I put my hand on my heart. “I may not always be good at handling tricky situations, but I’m going to try. Really,” I stress. “I’m going to try to let go of what happened to me and put the past in the past.” I chew on my lip for a moment while Marcelo pours the tea. “At least I hope to. I don’t know what I’m going to do for a job now that I’m not going to buy back Mom’s business.”

  This is the first time I’ve said it out loud, instead of letting the idea just roll around in my head. Vivian was right. It’s time to let that dream go.

  He raises his eyebrows. “You’re not? You’re sure that’s what you want?”

  “I only know I can’t have that life anymore. What do I want?” I shrug. “I never really thought about it. I only had one goal in life, to run the business.”

  I spoon sugar into my tea and grab a biscuit. It’s tender and flaky and melts across my tongue. “Good God, these are amazing,” I say, my eyes rolling.

  Marcelo chuckles. “Well, you have some time to think about it. And who knows what’ll cross your path.” His expression becomes serious. “But it is something you’ll have to deal with, hopefully, sooner rather than later. As you know, finding mates for a relationship network relies on several things, and one of them will always be business. Credits in the bank or land or a burgeoning enterprise.”

  I nod and think about these possibilities. Right now, I have very little going for me.

  “But your connection to Vivian and the ownership of the Amagi are both good starting points. We’ll figure out the rest.”

  “I hope so.” I take a sip of tea.

  “Me too. In the meantime...” He sets his tea down and grabs a datapad. “I’ve been doing research on the top Bridge players you’ll meet.”

  I sit up in surprise.

  “It’s a four-day tournament, and you’ll be playing for several hours each day. I know you’re confident you’ll reach the last round, so I investigated all the players who are favored to do well.”

  “Excellent,” I say, dusting off my hands. “That’s a great idea. You’re so smart, Marcelo.” I wink at him.

  “Flattery will get you everywhere, Ms. Skylar.”

  25

  The vast room of tables stretches out so far, I can’t see the end of them. Oh, man. I may finally be in over my head. Just past the conference room floor is a stage set up to display high scores, the time, and partner matchups. The bright light from the overhead lamps pierces my brain, and the powerful scent of coffee causes me to inhale sharply. My stomach rumbles in response, despite having eaten an hour ago. The sharp clatter of bridge boards being set on a nearby table makes every head turn. The people here are ready to play.

  Takemo and I have been talking about bidding strategies for the last two days, and my head is swimming with the amount of information I’m holding onto. It’s not better or worse than flight school, though. Just different. And the next year of my life depends on how well I do here.

  I’m wearing comfortable but stylish clothing because there will be a lot of sitting today. Everyone has a lanyard, so it’s easy to identify who should be here and who should not. I touch my own and wonder what the others here think of me. I don’t really care, but I’m curious about how I’ll fit in here. I’m as ready as everyone else. I woke up early, took a walk on the treadmill at the gym, ate a hearty breakfast, and made sure to be on time. I’m going to do my best to show Takemo that I’m a stand-up girl.

  Though, I’m not really sure why I care. Usually, I would tell a man like him to go fuck himself. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. But I know that if things get rough, he’ll take it out on my mom, and despite how I feel about my mom and her men right now, I want nothing bad to happen to her.

  Perhaps I’m nicer than I ever gave myself credit for.

  The cool, dry air of the tournament room is a change from the hot and humid day outside. As usual, Rio is expecting rain. I love so much about Rio — the culture, the food, the nightlife, the mixture of languages — but I dislike the humidity. I’m used to dry ship air.

  “So, you’re ready for the first round?” Takemo asks, leaning in close as we file through the room to our first table. “This is your last chance to bow out. We can quit now and just say you’re sick. That won’t disqualify me from playing next year.”

  “It’s fine. I’m fine,” I say, correcting myself. “I have everything memorized and ready to go. All those rubber hands we played really helped.”

  “Okay,” he says, smiling at someone who waves to him. “Then let’s do this. Play should take a few hours, and then we’ll break for a meal. You can drink water, but try not to drink too much. There are not a lot of bathroom breaks.”

  “Got it,” I say, nodding. Thanks, Mom. I’ll hold my pee to the next intergalactic rest stop.

  “Skylar, darling,” a voice says from behind me, and I turn around to find India Dellis heading towards me. The last time I saw her, I blew her a kiss as I sprinted from the hotel ballroom during that charity event. Today, she looks positively pedestrian, wearing a pair of black slacks and a black knit cardigan sweater over a purple and pink print top. Her hair is in a low ponytail. No tiara today. “It’s so good to see you,” she says, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek.

  I produce a smile and try to act like we’re friends, which we’re not. I have no idea what we are, to be honest.

  Except opponents. As expected, she’s wearing a lanyard as well.

  “It’s good to see you, too. I would say I’m surprised to see you here, but I’m not.” She was on the list of top players that Marcelo briefed me about.

  She laughs, throwing her head back. “Well, yes, Richard and I have been playing Bridge professionally for absolute years.”

  Richard is her third husband from her relationship network.

  Takemo inclines his head to her. “That’s how I met her.”

  Right. They’re in business together now. What business? I’m not sure yet.

  But seeing as Takemo took my business, and I know India Dellis separately from him, this may be karma telling me there’s an opportunity I didn’t anticipate.

  “I’ve never seen you here before, though,” India says, leaning in. “Do we have an interloper in our midst, Takemo?” She bats her eyelashes at him.

  “We shall see,” he says, and his tone is a lot lighter than I thought it would be. His shoulders are more relaxed than they were a few days ago, and he seems confident.

  Good, good. All things I want right now. No one should suspect a thing.

  I pull on a gracious smile. “People say we live in a big universe, but maybe it’s smaller than we think.”
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  “We should have drinks later, just you and me,” she says, grasping my arm. “We can get caught up on our lives.”

  The humor and determination in her eyes does not escape me. She needs to talk to me, though I’m not sure why. “What a splendid idea,” I say.

  “I can’t do tonight,” she responds. “Family business. But let’s meet up in the hotel bar tomorrow evening or the next night. I’ll ping you with a time after play has ended.”

  “Great. I’d love that.” We both lean in to air-kiss, and she floats away across the room to a tall and handsome man. That must be Richard. I commit him to memory as well.

  “You’re not going to invite me for drinks, too?” Takemo asks, his eyebrows raised.

  “Nope. Let’s get to the table.”

  I keep my eyes peeled as we make our way to our assigned table. I’m wondering if I know more people here, and I’m hoping to see Saif, too. He knows I’m here. I sent him a message in transit two days ago, but he didn’t write me back. The disappointment of it has been sitting in my chest like a stubborn cat who won’t move off its captured prey. Is he already done with me?

  Put it out of your mind, Skylar.

  I turn around to better understand the room, and my eyes skip over a familiar face. Is that Dominic? I hold my breath as I lean to the side, but the man is gone. Phew. It could have been him, but I don’t think so. I’m being paranoid. Dominic wouldn’t dare show up here. He hates crowds, and he especially hates me.

  Takemo and I make it to our table and log in with the recorder. He sits on one side of the blind, and I sit on the other. Though we’re a ‘pair,’ we’re not allowed to communicate with each other during the games. Instead, Takemo and I agreed on bidding strategies that will help us determine which cards we hold and who has what. It’s the best that can be done without cheating.

  And I have one cheat in my back pocket anyway that Takemo knows nothing about. I haven’t seen the woman who holds the cards from my prescient dream yet, but she’s here somewhere.

  “You may begin,” the recorder says. The North player grabs the bridge board and bidding box and places them on the table. The bridge board has all the cards that we’ll play for this hand, and the bidding box is exactly like the ones Takemo showed me.

  The energy in the room is electric as hundreds of people all begin playing at once. I could get lost in the excitement of watching everyone else, but that’s not my job today. I’m here to play.

  I’m here to win.

  The screen moves down, and we all grab our cards. I rearrange the cards into like suits in an order I’m pleased with and count how many tricks I can take. I look for major suits and keep all my honors together. My goal is to always stop in an acceptable contract, not an ideal one, when it comes to bidding. I have things to watch out for from the other players, and I need to understand when Takemo doesn’t support my hands. I like to play defensive strategies, so that’s what I’m going to stick with. When in doubt, I know which card to play from my longest suit if I have to lead. Throughout the games, I plan to count cards and memorize everyone’s hand along the way, so I’m not blindsided by a trump that comes out of nowhere.

  My brain swirls down the rabbit hole of extra trumps, major and minor suits, raising and rebidding, winners and misfits. So much to know. So much to remember. Will I be able to recall every strategy? Or will I fail? I’ve failed so many times in my life that it feels like second nature now. I’ll fail here too; I know it.

  I close my eyes for a moment and pull in all my emotions. No, I will not fail here. This is just like flying a stressful flight plan, Skylar. I need to access my calm, cool interior. The one that pushes aside fear and hesitation in favor of confidence and resiliency.

  There. I have it. My breathing slows, and my heartbeat comes down to an acceptable pace.

  I open my eyes and get to bidding.

  26

  Ah…

  I let the heat of the bubbling hot water seep into my skin, bones, and soul. Being on the float all the time makes me forget how much I love the water and bathing in it. There’s nothing I love more than floating in a lake or ocean and staring up at the sky. That was another thing far-school was good for. How many spacefaring kids know how to swim? My guess is not too many.

  The hotel spa and pool are quiet, just the way I need them to be. Most people are out to dinner and drinks at the bar. But I’m here, trying to melt away my stress and anxiety.

  I sigh as I let my head rest back against the lip of the hottub. I played well yesterday and today and got us through to the third day of competition. There were a few times when Takemo bid incorrectly, but we pulled through on the next hands to make up for it. I have to admit that it was fun but tiring. I am bone tired. I hope I can sleep easily tonight.

  I wish Saif was here… or Vivian… or Amira. Vivian is, of course, at home, working like she should be. Amira is handling a shipping run for her mother. And Saif? I’m not sure. I checked my messages after the tournament yesterday and today, and there was nothing from him. He knows where I am, which hotel, even which room, but not a call. Not even a message.

  I fucked that up, didn’t I?

  “Well, look who’s living in the lap of luxury while the rest of her family suffers in poverty?”

  I jolt forward, and my eyes fly open.

  So I did see Dominic yesterday. He stands at the edge of the hot tub, glowering down at me, so I move across the water to put some distance between us. He’s grown out a few days’ worth of stubble on his cheeks, but his hair is swept up and neat. His suit is expensive, probably something he convinced himself he ‘needed.’ Never mind that he had everything he could ever ask for for the past three decades.

  “Jukia would never do this.” He waves at the hot tub. “She’d never feast on expensive caviar and champagne while the rest of the family ate stale bread and warm water.”

  He squats down and rests his arms on his knees. My throat is dry, and my heartbeat soars. I don’t like the predatory look in his eyes.

  “You know, I could jump in there right now and drown you without one worry or care for you or your mom.”

  Despite the heat of the tub, I shiver.

  “Then all I would have to do is get rid of Ana.” He laughs, and his voice is the most frigid weather of Neve. It is the vacuum of space. “She barely weighs fifty kilos. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard.”

  I guess there are some things Dominic has wanted that he hasn’t been able to get, like fathering a first daughter.

  “Ana is stronger than you think,” I say, pulling up and out of the water. I place my hand on the tile deck. It’s slippery, so I’ll have to be careful. He’s wearing shoes, and I am most definitely not.

  He blows out a disappointed breath. “This is such a shame. Look at you. You have such a nice body, and yet, you couldn’t make even one man stay long enough to convince your mother you would carry on the family legacy. Jukia already has two prospects, and she’s five years younger than you.”

  My blood burns with embarrassment and hatred. He’s right about my failure to assuage Mom’s fears that I would never have a relationship network. Still, I hate him for looking at my body like it’s a transaction method for bringing in men.

  “Fuck off, Dominic.” I am too tired for this bullshit. I cross to the piles of plush towels on a side table and wrap one around me.

  “You’re the reason why your mother is in trouble now. You know that, right?”

  I don’t turn around to face him.

  “She figured she had failed with you, that you were going to amount to nothing, and so she had no other choice but to sell out to Takemo Diaz… the very man you are playing Bridge with.”

  I turn around and eye the doorway out. “I never gave Mom any reason to doubt me. I got an education despite you trying to keep me stupid and locked away. I made top marks in flight school. I always told Mom that I was ready to take on the business someday. If she thought otherwise, then it’s someone else’s do
ing. Not mine.”

  His face flattens with anger. Ah ha. I’ve hit on something. Yes. As Mom’s Chief Communications Officer, he kept me from actually reaching Mom for… My God, years. I clutch my towel.

  “Oh, that’s interesting. You look like a toddler caught with his hand in the cookie box.” I take one step towards him. “I bet if I put Carlos to the job, he’d uncover a ton of messages that never made it to Mom.” When Dom’s face doesn’t change, I nod. “Or were altered before she saw them.” I shake my head and laugh. “You know, I gotta hand it to you. I knew you were interfering, but I wasn’t sure how.”

  It’s a good thing I never sent off that message to Mom with the ultimatum.

  He shrugs. “My skills were good for some things.” He takes one step towards me, and I take a step back. I raise my wristlet so he can see it. He stops.

  “I have surveillance at all times, Dom. You should leave now before I call in the cops.”

  I turn and hustle past the pool to the exit on the other side. I can hear Dominic’s feet right behind me. Fuck. He won’t stop.

  “You’re not going to call the cops,” he says, only a few meters behind me. “I disabled all the local data spots ahead of time.”

  Shit.

  Run, Skylar.

  I sprint through the door and push it closed behind me. There’s a giant potted plant next to the door, so I pull it across the threshold to stop the door from opening. I run for the stairs instead of the elevator. It’s not the best plan, but I’m in good enough shape to take the stairs two at a time. My floor is only two flights up, so I’m quick, my bare feet slapping against each step on the way up. I slip once and catch myself with the handrail before I tumble backwards. Dom is one floor below when I burst into the hallway, just around the corner from my room.

  The carpet stretches out before me, and I’ve never been so glad to see it instead of pretty marble floors. My feet gain purchase as I careen around the corner.