Page 14 of Degrees of Acceptance
“Sorry Kate. I know you’re not a big fan of all the security, but we’ve got orders from Chase.”
“It’s okay, Jay,” I state reassuringly.
They each give me their numbers, and I enter them into my contacts. “Also, if you can give us about a ten-minute window before you want to go anywhere that will allow us enough time to secure the vehicles. I’ll let Chase explain the rest of it to you,” he says.
“Thanks, Jay,” I say, knowing that it won’t help to express my frustration to him.
I’m escorted to the car, and Jay introduces me to Matt, another member of security, who gets out of the driver’s seat as Jay opens the rear passenger door for me. Dereck slides into the front and Jay takes the driver’s seat.
“Be right behind you,” Matt says to Jay as he and Sheldon walk away. I’m in the backseat taking all this in.This is serious. What the hell happened that made Chase raise my security to this level, I wonder.
As we pull to a stop, Dereck quickly gets out of the front and holds the door open for me. Matt arrives and trades places with Jay. Clearly no valet today. I give the bellman an apologetic smile as we go into the building. The elevators open and Jay grasps my shoulder lightly to keep me from entering. “Kate, we’ll take the next one,” he says as Dereck gets into the elevator heading up. He briefly looks at his phone and then allows us to use the next one. We reach our floor and Dereck and Jay both walk in with me.
I stop to talk with Mary a few moments, and she lets me know Chase is awaiting my arrival. As we enter his office, he waves us to the chairs, listening to someone on the phone.
“Thanks, Sid. Keep me posted,” he says. His eyes capture mine across the desk, and he looks tired. I wonder how much sleep he’s had and suddenly long to put my arms around him.
“Good to see you again, Dereck,” he says, finishing the call and standing to exchange handshakes.
“Good to be stateside, Chase,” he says.
“When do the teams arrive back?” Chase asks Jay.
“We’ve got one group en route, but we’ve had difficulty locating the second team, so the pilot’s been instructed to land until we determine if we need him to turn around and extract them. We have another jet on standby waiting for Sid and his team,” he says hesitantly, briefly glancing at me.
“I haven’t filled Katarina in yet, Jay, but you can talk in front of her. She was asleep when I left. Otherwise, I would have briefed her,” Chase says.
“Chase, the protestors have surrounded the building. I just talked with Sid, and he believes they are poised for more rioting. He’s working with the local facility team to see if they will intervene since the demonstrators are protesting both their government and us, for not moving forward with the project. They need work desperately in that area of the country,” Jay explains.
“Keep the second team on reserve, but let’s hope we can persuade the facility men to intervene. If not, we’ll need to send them in. How are their supplies?” Chase asks.
“Food and water supplies are fine, and they just received an ammunition supply a few days ago, so well stocked,” Jay says. My eyes lift in surprise.What in the world are they doing,I think to myself.
“Keep me posted and thank you both for bringing Katarina in today,” he says, rising to see them out.
“I’ll text you with plans later,” he says to Jay shutting the door behind him. He sits back in his chair, watching me intently for a few moments, and I see a mix of emotions play out in his eyes.
“You look so tired. How much sleep did you get last night? I ask.
“Not much,” he admits. “I had a lot on my mind and then all hell broke loose,” he says.
“What happened, exactly?” I ask.
“The locals learned we were planning to pull out, and are rioting. I’m not going to allow the mistreatment of women, or anyone, for that matter, in any plant that has the Prestian name on it. The government thinks we are interfering in their culture and beliefs, which of course we are. They couldn’t come to terms with the labor clause of the contract so we’re at an impasse.
I told Sid to pull out and the locals are furious with our company and their local government: they need the work to survive. The citizens were in full swing last night and started rioting; fires erupted close to one of the refineries, and a lot of people were severely injured. They are not sure, yet, if it was intentionally set or just an accident as a result of carelessness. The rioters seem to have settled down this morning, but another group of protestors has surrounded city center where Sid and his team are. We’re hoping they don’t start rioting again and that we can get them out without violence,” he explains.
“That’s why I have more security. You think I am in danger because of this?” I ask.
“Katarina, I’m not prepared to take the risk. These people have far-reaching arms, and many that are sympathetic to their beliefs live right here in our own backyard. As of last night, every member of our family’s security level was increased. Katarina, we are going to need to talk to your mom,” he says.
“You think my mom is at risk?” I gasp.
“Baby, I am not willing to take a chance with someone that means so much to you. There is already a team watching her, but we really need to bring her up to speed in a couple different respects,” he explains.
“You flew a team to Naples to watch my mom?” I ask incredulously.
He raises his eyebrows as if the answer is obvious. “Katarina, I believe you said you were going to start letting me handle things. In fact, promises were made in this area. I was planning to surprise you with a trip to Naples on Friday. I thought you might like to spend some time together which would allow me to learn more about your dad, but given the situation, we’re going to need to make the trip today.”
