Page 34 of Midnight Enemy

“Thank you.”

We turn and make our way hastily down the bank, but sub-tropical rain like this can easily soak you in seconds, and by the time we reach the gazebo, we’re completely drenched.

“Fuck me,” he says as we climb the steps. It’s covered over, but of course it doesn’t stop rain being blown over us as the stiff breeze whips it around. “Jesus that came down quickly.” He scowls at me. “This was a mistake. I just wanted to ask if the Elders were still pushing for the higher price.”

“You could have asked me that on the phone.”

“You weren’t around,” he pointed out.

“I rang you, but you decided you were ‘unavailable.’” I put air quotes around it.

“Iwas‘unavailable,’” he says, repeating the air quotes. “I was in a meeting.”

“Twice?”

“Yes, both times.”

“Yeah, right. You just wanted to make sure I came here today.”

He meets my eyes. Then his lips curve up. “Maybe.”

“I knew it!”

He chuckles and runs a hand through his wet hair. “So have you had a chance to speak to the Elders yet?”

His T-shirt tightens across his chest and arms as he moves. God, he’s gorgeous. “They’re deliberating,” I tell him. “They still want the higher price.”

“Kingi said he’d spoken to you.”

I nod. He rang on Wednesday and introduced himself as the friend who runs Te Aranui Developments with Orson.

“I haven’t approached the Elders about an audit yet,” I told Kingi nervously on the phone.

“That’s okay,” he said easily. He had a deep, gruff voice with a slight hint of a Maori accent, which is a little different from the standard Kiwi accent. “I just wanted to introduce myself and have a chat. Orson told me that at the moment you don’t have anyone to audit the commune’s finances. I wanted to echo his suggestion that you get someone to dothat, even if you’d rather use someone else. It’s so easy to make mistakes, and a second pair of eyes can catch all kinds of errors.”

“That’s his bad attempt at diplomacy. He doesn’t trust our finance manager.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Kingi said.

“It’s totally true, and he’s way off the mark.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to imply anything…”

“Yes he did.” My throat tightened, and my eyes pricked with tears. “The success of the commune relies on us trusting one another,” I told him, my voice a little husky. “He doesn’t understand that.”

“I think he does,” he replied gently. “Much of business relies on trust. Auditing provides reassurance, that’s all.”

It was similar to what Orson said, so it made it difficult to argue with him. I told him I’d speak to the Elders and let him know, and he reiterated his willingness to help before ending the call.

“Yes, he offered his services,” I tell Orson.

“And?”

“I put the suggestion of an audit forward.”

He waits. Then, when I don’t answer, says, “And?”

I hesitate. Then I drop my gaze to the floor. “A couple of the others said it would be a good idea. But George went ballistic. Said it went against the ethics of the commune. He said if we didn’t trust him, we should find someone else to do the finances. They spent half an hour talking him down.”

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