Page 98 of Sapphire Spring

“The foreman’s got history with this vendor. Green Mountainthinks it might be clouding his judgment.”

“Kickbacks?”

“Not sure. I’ll probably head over there to mediate latertoday.”

“All right, figure it out, but don’t make a federal caseover a bunch of rocks.”

Mason nodded and went back to reading.

Pete hovered. “YouhangingwithChadwick later?”

“No.”

Mason figured that would be the end of it. Instead, his dadlingered. Mason had dressed that morning in a hurry. One of his old LAoutfits—lightweight Italian dress pants the color of café au lait and a whitelinen dress shirt he’d left unbuttoned down to the center of his chest. As ifhis spirit had been brightened by his lustful fantasies about Naser.

“Plans with someone else?” PeteWortherasked.

There were a dozen questions hiding behind his stare, andnone jumped to the front.

Mason stared back thinking,Maybethis is the moment. Am I ready?

“Yes,” Mason answered.

“Crybaby meeting?”

“No.”

He waited for his dad to ask for a name, vowed he’d be readyto share it when he did.

Pete didn’t say a word. Was he afraid too?

Then he was gone, and Mason sat there, heart rate slowinggradually, wondering if he’d just missed an opportunity or if his father hadsomehow managed to figure out his sexuality from a subtle and unintentionalshift in office wear.

His phone chimed on the drive to the Vistana site. SoberMason was trying to be a good, conscientious driver, so he didn’t read the textuntil he’d pulled into the parking area. It was from Chadwick, and it was apicture. An old photo of the two of them from high school. The guy had taken asnap of the glossy yearbook page with his phone, possibly that day. They wereseventeen and on the sidelines after a homecoming game win, their arms lopedaround each other’s bulging shoulder pads, youthful faces flushed, their hairsweat-tousled. No words accompanied it, but the message was clear.This isus. This is what you’re giving up on.The picture was over a decade old,but apparently, this didn’t seem to strike Chadwick as ironic.

A few hours later, after a mediation session between thelandscapers and the foreman that felt mildly productive, he was on his way backto the office. His phone lit up with another text. This one was accompanied bythe Klaxon siren alert he’d attached to his dad’s incoming calls and messages.

Avis Cooper flew in a day early from Dallas. Broughthis daughter with him. We’re meeting them at the Montage in Laguna at seven. Gohome and change after work, then meet me there.

“Goddamit,” he cursed.

Was his big night with Naser about to be delayed by one oftheir biggest investors? Avis Cooper was an oil billionaire who traveled byprivate plane. Mason knew about the visit, but their dinner plans with the man weretwo nights from now in Newport Beach. And the more he thought about it on thedrive back to his office, the more suspicious it seemed.

Mason would rather act like a spoiled brat—possibly anunprofessional one—on the down low, so he hatched a plan to fact-check hisfather’s story without confronting his father directly.

Cooper’s assistant was a perpetually caffeinated jack of alltrades who’d taken a flirty shine to Mason during their last visit, and he wasable to get through to her room at the Montage on the first try. Yes, the teamhad arrived a day early, and she’d notified Pete of this, but she knew nothingabout dinner or drinks at the resort that evening.

Mason gave the assistant some excuse about crossed wires,but when he ended the call, his hands had tightened around the steering wheel.

His father was up to something.

Mason pulled into the office lot, making sure to roll to astop before he typed out his text. But before he could type, he saw anothermessage from Chadwick. Another photo. This one was more recent and direct fromChadwick’s phone. The two of them on the deck of Lenny Victor’s yacht inNewport Harbor, splashed with setting sun, surrounded by bikini-clad women whoprobably hadn’t eaten a full meal in days. Mason couldn’t remember any of thewomen’s names or how the excursion had ended. Could Chadwick?

But he didn’t have time for Chadwick right now. The titleHeadache of the Day had already been claimed by his old man.

Mason responded to his father’s text.

As I told you, I have plans tonight.

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