Page 8 of Sail Away
“No. We didn’t. And that is the wrong way to look at what we do.” Preston took a good swig before wiping his face with a napkin. “People want to experience what thrill seekers do, only they can’t do it the same way. We provide a minimal safety net.”
“It’s the minimal that concerns me.” Reid wanted to bring up Erin, but he knew if he did, it could cause a scene, and he didn’t want to fight with Preston. Not tonight. Reid had to remember that Preston had lost someone he loved as well. He just handled Erin’s death differently. Preston lived by the philosophy that people who took the kinds of risks they did, people who pushed limits and boundaries, often died young. And they died doing what they loved: experiencing life.
That’s how he let the world believe he saw Erin, and while Reid had to accept there was a lot of truth to that statement, he also knew that Preston had many issues with his sister.
One of them was how she died.
Another was her growing vocal resentment for the industry and how unsafe it could be for both the guides and the guests. In any of the excursions she’d ever led during her traipses around the globe, she always ended up sacrificing her own well-being for those who simply wanted to step out of their comfort zone for five minutes.
Reid used to tell her all the time that she needed to make sure her safety equipment was top of the line. If it wasn’t, she’d never be able to help anyone. And that was how she’d managed to make her death appear to be an accident.
At first.
But that lasted five minutes before everyone knew what she’d done.
Erin’s need to put safety over everyone else was her way of deflecting attention. It made her appear to be something she wasn’t. However, it wouldn’t have mattered if Erin’s equipment had been faulty or not.
She wanted to die. No ifs, ands, or buts.
And Reid let Preston capitalize on her death when they created their company. Reid did it to honor Erin and was damn proud of it.
But Preston? Well, Reid recently found out Preston only cared about making a name for himself and money.
And not necessarily in that order.
His sister’s memory meant nothing.
“Look. I know you’re concerned about the fire suits, and we need to run more tests before we can even bid them out to the fire departments. But they are good to go for stuntmen use. Can we at least agree on that?” Preston asked.
“I want your word you’re not going to back out of the testing with the fire departments and that you’re not going to try to manufacture it in some sort of flame-retardant clothing line.” Reid swallowed the nasty bile that had bubbled up to the back of his throat.
Preston’s word wasn’t worth shit.
Now all Reid had to do was gather more evidence to prove it.
“Scout’s honor. Schedule the tests the fire marshals require.” Preston knocked his knuckles on the table three times. “Now, can we have a little fun? You have to admit, signing that contract was almost as exciting as hitting weightlessness. I don’t know about you, man, but I got a fucking hard-on.”
At thirty-eight, Reid had lost his desire to conquer the world. His father used to ask when enough would be enough between finding the perfect adrenaline rush and the deal that made him the right amount of money.
His answer had always been that he’d know it when he hit it.
But he’d found out that enough would never come. There could never be total satisfaction unless you set an end goal, and most true extremists couldn’t define what that final act would feel or look like.
And Preston had no idea what he craved other than a racing heart. The rush wasn’t tied to finding his inner energy or living his best life. He had no clue what he really wanted, and he teetered on the edge, waiting for fate to push him over it.
Preston would never be able to find that perfect blend of danger, life, and death that set the heart to jumping after it came to a complete halt. Even if he did, he’d demand more.
Only, what Preston failed to understand was that desire was actually death knocking at his door. That free-fall feeling he searched for was a mere illusion. It was like trying to take in that first five seconds of hitting Mach five and recreating it over and over again in a simultaneous thrust of motion.
It was impossible.
However, Prestion would never quit, and Reid would burn up upon reentry if he wasn’t careful. Perhaps it was time to redirect Preston. Get him turned on to something a little more exciting. Something that would really get his blood pumping.
“Speaking of having a little fun… Maybe we can let the company run itself for a while. Ever since I came back to work, you’ve mentioned that you wanted to take some time off and do some hiking in Laos or Cambodia. You should absolutely do that,” Reid said. “I’m doing well and can handle things here. I mean, you’ve been running everything while I was away; you might as well take a turn.”
“Oh, trust me, man, I plan on it. But not for a few months. I want to move on this partnership with the fire department. That’s going to be huge because we can take it to so many other consumer products. So, between running the tests and tweaking the technology, a trip like that is going to have to wait.” Preston raised a mozzarella stick and dunked it in some red sauce. “And I made a promise to my partner that I wouldn’t rush.”
Reid let out a slight chuckle, trying to fake finding this entire conversation amusing when in reality, his stomach churned. He wished he could trust Preston, but he’d lost all faith in him two weeks ago when he found out that Preston had taken a meeting with a manufacturer for the fire suits behind Reid’s back.
