Page 25 of Degrees of Acceptance
From:[email protected]
Recently if I recall correctly!! Now, hurry up and finish!
C. H. Prestian
Chief Executive Officer, Owner
Prestian Corporation
***
I look up, and he’s smiling at me with that wicked grin, green eyes alight at the game. “You are incorrigible,” I state.
“You’ve been working all day,” he says.
“Five hours… hardly a full day,” I say.
“It’s what you accomplish that should be the measure of one’s work. You just put together an entire simulation. I would say it was a full day’s work.” he says.
“I’m almost done anyway,” I exclaim.
“Good, we should see if your mother would like to visit before dinner. Why don’t you find out if she is done working?” he says.
Message:Meet us in the kitchen for a glass of wine?
Reply:Sure, just finishing up with some final edits.
“Mom’s just closing up for the day, she’ll meet us shortly,” I relay.
“Like mother like daughter,” he says amused. His phone rings, and he answers it scowling. “Chase here. How long ago?” he says after a brief pause. “I want to know who they’re working for. Find out fast and get back to me. I’ll give Sid a call and provide them with a four-hour deadline. Once that’s in place, you’ll need to have the team prepared for an extraction. The locals are going to blow when they learn we’re pulling out and I don’t want Sid and his team caught in the crossfire.” He pauses, briefly listening. “Thanks, Jay,” he says before ending the call.
“Katarina, do you really want to stay and listen to this?” He looks tired, but his eyes are hooded and controlled.
“Yes,” I say, sensing the urgency of the situation, but not really knowing how bad things are.
“Sid, Chase here. We’ve had more issues locally. Give them a call and tell them I’ve issued an order to pull out altogether if negotiations are not reached in four hours. It ends now, Sid. Jay’s got the team on standby to extract you and your team. I’ll call you back with diversion details; in the meantime, make sure they know the deadline. You’re welcome, Sid. Stay safe and keep me posted.”
Holy shit, what triggered all this? One minute we’re going to have a little wine and the next minute it sounds like he’s ordering an invasion.“Chase, what the hell is going on?”
“Let’s go downstairs. Your mom is going to need a couple drinks to digest this,” he says, appearing agitated. “Your mom’s office and her home were broken into. Jay had both staked out, and they were able to apprehend all five men. Do you want to know this?” he asks.
I nod, fully aware I’m not going to like what comes next. “I just gave the order to have Jay’s teams find out from the men what they were looking for and who they work for,” he says, watching me intently, his deep, steely eyes never wavering.Holy shit, this is bad.
“You think they are trying to get to me through my mom?” I ask as the reality sinks in.
“The best way to get to me is to get to you, Baby,” he says, moving his chair around the table to take my hand. “Do you trust me, Katarina?
“I told you. I trust you with my life, but I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t scared.”
He takes my hand kissing it. “You have nothing to worry about, Katarina. These properties are locked down tight; the United Nations couldn’t get through the teams Jay has in place. Let’s go and find your mom. We should probably break the news to her before she hears it from the police and her coworkers,” he says.
Mom has beaten us to the kitchen and is enjoying a glass of red wine at the dining room bar. I hug her close and wonder how she’s going to take this.
“Karissa,” Chase greets my mom. “I hope you had everything you needed to work today,” he says politely.
She laughs. “More than everything I needed, Chase. I actually worked outside on the balcony. The weather was perfect, and the view was absolutely fantastic. Best day of work I’ve had in a long time,” she says.
“We worked outdoors this afternoon ourselves,” he says, pouring us both a glass of white wine.
