Page 67 of Rio
Tomas leans back in his chair, looking cautious, not entirely at ease.Beside him sits Orlando, the foreman.He was the one who fumbled his answers at the community meeting.I step into the shade of their umbrella.Alma stays close.I’ve asked her to record me handing over the injunction.Tomas is the first to look up, squinting.
“Can I help you?”
Rio takes off his shades, and stares at me his eyes widening in disbelief.His bronzed forearms on the table suddenly flex.“What are you doing here?”His voice is like ice.
I don’t answer him.Instead I face Orlando.Voice steady.“Orlando Rivero, you’re the site foreman for Delport Realty?”
The man’s eyes narrow.“You know who I am.What can I do for you?”
“Raquel Monteiro.I’m legal counsel for EcoGuardians,” I say clearly.“I’m here to serve you with an injunction regarding the continued development of your beachfront property—Blue Star Eco Resort.Effective immediately, all construction, excavation, and marine work must cease until further notice, pending legal review.”
The table quiets.
“What?”Rio snaps, sitting up suddenly.Tomas slumps back in his chair, watching in silence.The foreman rises.
“What is this?What the hell is this?”He grabs the folder, flipping through it fast.
Rio glares at me, shock all over his face.“You didn’t say a word about this.”
I face him, trying not to flinch under his hard stare.The foreman mutters, “This is an emergency injunction filed with the Belizean Environmental Court?”
“It is indeed.You’ll find all relevant documentation inside—including aerial images, reef samples, and sworn community testimony.”
Rio leans back, hands laced and behind his head.Looking defeated, and pissed.“You have got to be kidding.”
“Does this mean what I think it means?”the foreman asks.
“You’re seriously doing this?”Rio asks.“You’re shutting us down?”
Tomas still hasn’t said a word.
I nod.“We are.”
“But we’re close to finishing.The place needs to open next month,” the foreman cries.
The expression on Tomas’s face is still unreadable.Then Rio stands slowly, pushing his chair back.We’re almost eye-level now, heat rising between us like steam from an electric kettle.
“Raquel,” he says tightly, “what are you playing at?”
He so did not see this coming.
I turn to Alma.“Did you get the recording?”
She nods and puts her cell phone away.
Rio’s voice lowers.“A word in private?”
We step away from the table.
“Again, you could have come to me about this.No notice.No warning.”
“We’re not on the same side,” I remind him.
He shakes his head.“You blindsided me.”
“You work for a company that blindsides entire ecosystems.”
“You should’ve told me.”
