Page 90 of Rio
His eyes linger.“You should wear that more often.”
I grit my teeth and ignore the comment.“The court’s reviewing the injunction.I’m keeping an eye out for updates.Alma’s handling local follow-up.”
“Good,” he says.“In the meantime, you need to get back to the Santos case.”
“Of course.”I’m grateful for the distraction, even if I’m not fully ready to move on.I get up to leave.“Is that all?”
Pierce’s eyes snake across my body with a slow and painful sweep that makes me itch.I miss Alma, and having this sleazeball for a boss is slowly poisoning my mental health.Being in the same office as him is a daily assault on my boundaries and well being.
I need to get out.And fast.
Still, I am grounded by the thought of the man I can’t stop thinking about.I miss him.I need him and want him.Rio is such a perfect gentleman in contrast to this snake.He never once looked at me like I was a piece of meat.He wanted me, but the concern and care he showed me, is a stark contrast to this viper before me.
“You’re tanned ...”He remarks, his voice low, and dirty.“All over, I imagine.”
“It was hot out there.”I glare at him, try to level my breathing.Try not to make my chest heave as his gaze dips there, unashamedly.He shrugs, his eyes settling on my chest.
“You look like you spent too much time by the poolside, slathering yourself in sunscreen.”
My insides churn with nausea.I feel as if something rotten touched me.I taste bile in my mouth at the visual he’s got in his head.I ignore the heat rising to my cheeks and try to focus on my escape from this law firm.I need to get out of here.I’ve put up with this man for too long.
I square my shoulders, unable to put up with this anymore.“If you ever comment on my body like that again, Pierce, I’ll file a formal complaint.”
His smug expression falters, only for a second.
“It’s not a compliment.It’s harassment,” I add, my voice calm and cutting.“I’m not in the mood to be polite about it anymore.I’ve put up with your sleaziness for too long.
He stares at me, his expression tightening.He looks offended that I dared to say the wordharassmentout loud.Like it’s an insult tohim.He looks shocked that I’ve finally called him out.
I have zero fucks to give.I’m done tiptoeing around men like him.After Belize, after Rio, I can’t unsee how toxic this place is.
Chapter 28
RIO
I went back to the caye where Raquel and I got caught in the storm, and I looked at the mangrove basin.I saw exposed roots, the dirty, cloud water, yellowing and dead foliage, trash tangled in the roots.
It was bleak, and it was right under my nose, if I’d bothered to look sooner.If I hadn’t taken the old man’s orders blindly.It was hard to miss, just like Raquel said it was.What stared me in the face wasn’t just deception and lies, but irreversible damage to the ecosystem.
I felt sick to the core.It would have been easier to stop there, and return to my hotel.To swim for an hour, and then have a couple of drinks at the bar.To call Raquel and see how she’s doing.Any of those would have been a great distraction from facing the ugly truth, but I didn’t take the easy way out.Instead I drove to a small fishing village near the eco resort and got a local fisherman to take me out.He didn’t say much, in fact his silence spoke volumes, and I had sneaky suspicion that he recognized me from the community hall meeting.
When we reached the reef, I looked down at the murky water and didn’t relish the thought of diving in, but I had to, in order to see for myself, firsthand.
I stripped off my shirt, took a deep breath, then dove in.The salt burned my eyes, and everything blurred for a few panicky seconds.I swam around in the cloudy water and saw it, what Delport did its best to hide.
I saw the coral reef, bleached a pale white and damaged beyond repair, nothing like the myriad of colors I was expecting.There was no sign of life here.I remember Tomas telling me these waters once teemed with schools of fish.Not anymore.There is no sign of life here, only silence and decay.What was supposed to be untouched marine paradise is no more.
It’s what the locals said.What the people in the community hall said.What Raquel tried to tell me.But the reports didn’t show this.The reports said the reef was thriving, and the photos I saw seemed to confirm it.
I finally understood.This whole coverup has been perpetuated by Delport, and indirectly by us, by me, by Knight Enterprises.
Fuck.
I gasped, coming back to the surface, my chest burning from the dive, but also from what I’d witnessed.The fisherman looked out, silently.A quiet dignity surrounds him, and he didn’t look at me once.I was filled with shame and guilt, because I had a part in this.I might have been in the dark to begin with, but deep down, I had my suspicions and I chose to ignore them.
My eyes should have been wide open from the start, but I kind of treated this trip like a much needed getaway; a little jaunt the old man sent me on.A PR stunt.
Turns out, people’s lives are at stake, and I should have done better.Now I’m wrestling with my regret.
