Triple Diamonds (Mystic Nights Book 2) (3 page)

“I like the idea.” Jonathan offered, gazing around the table at all present. “I know I’m her husband and really shouldn’t add my input, but the benefit to the reserve, the children, the people, would be great. Not to mention the cultural benefits it will have for the community.”

“I agree 100%.” That came from Myrtle Croaton. As a tribal council member and one of the tribal elders, her opinion was greatly respected.

“Well, it is something to think about. And I like it too. I think we should proceed with the research at least, and look at costs for development.” Those words came from Jason, the last of the tribal council members.

Josephine interrupted once more. “Yes, I’d like to hear more, too, see more. See the research, a business plan, and a proposal, but let’s not jump the gun. I would love for this to come to fruition, but we really can’t do something like this and make this kind of decision until we fill the empty seat on the council. Even with a quorum, I’d feel better about doing this kind of project if all the seats were filled and it were a unanimous decision.”

The elephant in the room was finally addressed, and Joseph cleared his throat preparing to speak. His mother looked his way awaiting his input on her latest idea. He supported the idea wholeheartedly, he just hoped she supported his.

“I like the idea as well. All would profit, but more importantly our people would benefit by keeping our culture alive. And that brings me to an issue of my own, that I’d like to bring up.” All eyes were on him. He paused for one more instant before surging ahead. He’d wanted to speak with his mother first, but the issue had been brought up and he decided to surge ahead. “I’d like to be considered for the tribal council position.” He put his hands on the table and gazed around the room at the others present. “I have my degree in tribal law, and constitutional law. I’ve worked here for four years, and on the reservation volunteering with the youth group for the last six months. I’m involved. I care. And it’s what I’ve wanted to do since I can’t even remember.”

Myrtle’s old eyes brightened. He saw her smile approvingly.

He looked across the table. Jonathan looked shocked at first. He knew Joseph planned to pursue a political career one day, but he’d surprised him by bringing it out into the open like that. Perhaps, he should have told him and their mother first, but he really hadn’t wanted them to try to talk him out of it. He focused on Jonathan as he began to speak. “But you couldn’t serve here at the Casino on the board and on the council. It could be construed as a conflict of interest. Having two votes . . . Well. It could be construed . . .”

“Not so,” it was Myrtle who spoke up. “We have other careers as well. As a council member he would be able to vote. He could relinquish his board vote. And he could still serve as casino attorney if he chooses. In that position he could continue to advise.” With those words, Joseph knew he had her support. But what about the others? He gazed across the table at Jason and Josephine still avoiding his mother’s eyes.

“But he has to run.” Again, the always pragmatic Josephine put in. “We just put in the paperwork to have an election. You’ll have to follow protocol. An election will be held at the end of next month. In May.”

“I just didn’t want there to be any surprises.” He glanced his mother’s way, and he saw the frown lines in her forehead increase. He knew he had surprised her. She had yet to voice her opinion, and he could tell from her expression she was biting her tongue. For now. He knew he would hear about it later. Her dream had always been to have her children work here, together at the casino. He hoped he could convince her that he could still do both. It’s not like he planned to pursue any other political pursuits. For now. But he wanted to help his people in his own way. Set his own path. Not just looking over contracts and ensuring the financial feasibility of business dealings.

He cleared his throat once more. “I’ll get my paperwork in as soon as I can. This week.” He had made his decision. He needed this time to campaign as well. “I just wanted the board to know of my decision. And of course, I would love your support.”

“You have mine, Joseph. You do good things for our youth, and I’d love to see what direction you will take us in.” Myrtle beamed at the younger man. He reminded her of her husband who had been so vigorous in his youth, and so full of passion for his people. “If you want to run ideas by me, and discuss platforms, I’d love to be of assistance.”

“If this is what you want, you have my support as well.” That came from his brother. Joseph let out a small breath, relieved to know he had his brother in his corner, even if it was against his mother’s wishes.

Tawny was upset, and inside she secretly fumed. She had not wanted her son to pursue politics, though she knew he had considered it since he was young. It was in his blood. Her blood. To fight battles for their people. But it was a dangerous and lonely existence. People were constantly second guessing you, and they were judgmental and critical. Your life went under a microscope of scrutiny and media hounding. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her son to pursue his dreams. She had always believed one could aid their people in other ways without thrusting themselves into the limelight. Her own work had brought her close to the political arena, and she saw first-hand what it was like to live in the public eye, under the microscope. She hadn’t wanted her son to have that kind of life. She wanted him to have what Jonathan would. A solid career, family, and the privacy to enjoy it. But she would discuss it with him later. The board meeting was not over, and there were still many things left on her agenda that needed to be addressed.

“Can we move on?” she suggested, with a flick of her long brown braid over one shoulder. There were murmurs of assent, and avoiding Joseph’s questioning looks, she brought up the issue of their recent theft problem. “The loss reported in the merchandise departments, food service, and on the floor of the casino needs our attention. We also have had a few rooms broken into recently. We need to budget more money for security.”

Glenna stood to pass out a report that she and the secretary had prepared while Jonathan was away his honeymoon. “As you can see, last month we had four hotel rooms robbed. We have over eighteen thousand in merchandise stolen from our five shops. The items taken have been clothing, costume jewelry, cigarettes, perfume and Cologne, mostly high end items that are not necessarily behind lock and key. But easily resalable on black market trade. About nine thousand stolen from the ATMs using some kind of fraudulent devices we haven’t been able to figure out. Merchandise theft has climbed since January about ten percent each month. We have never had four rooms robbed in a month. Last year we had only three rooms broken into the entire year. And the ATM issue really has me worried. We need to bring in some tighter controls, and figure out how it’s being done.”

“Do you think it’s related?” Jason Paralta asked.

“I really don’t know, but that’s why we need tighter security. More cameras in the halls. More on the ATM machines. More men watching monitors. And more men on the casino floor and near the areas where merchandising is being brought in and sold. We need to stop what’s going on, but we have to figure out how it’s being done too, to prevent it from reoccurring.”

Her words made Joseph think of the incident last month with the sous chef. His first instinct in that incident had been to question her. She had been extremely nervous, and that had made him think of theft. But she had explained it was donations to the food bank of nearly perished produce. He had let it go since then, and frankly, he’d avoided her because his reaction to her had been so intense. But he hadn’t forgotten her. In fact, he had thought about her on more than one occasion. Mostly in his dreams. She was gorgeous. Exactly his type. So shapely. He’d always hoped he’d meet a native woman pure of heart who wanted to be by his side and pursue his dream of instilling cultural pride in his people, and getting them the recognition they deserved politically, while helping them become economically independent.

He’d had one wreck of a relationship in college with a woman he thought could be that someone. But it hadn’t worked out. He didn’t like to think about her. Clearing his thoughts with a shake of his head, he asked, “Do you think part of the problem could be employee theft?”

“It could be,” came his mother’s terse reply. “But we need more cameras and more security to determine that.” She hated to think it was her employees. Many were from the reserve and the local community.

“What is your budget on that?” asked Josephine.

“If you’ll turn to page twelve of the packet Glenna passed out . . .” Her words were lost to him as the whisper of pages being turned and his mother’s words droned on while she explained the prospectus before each of them. He decided he might need to check in on the kitchens. The loss was significant, and he didn’t want to have his suspicions come back to haunt him knowing he’d done nothing about it. Plus, it was something he could do to appease his disappointed mother. Help her catch some of the theft that was going on in the casino. Seeing Jewel Diamante again wouldn’t be the worst thing either. She was a true beauty, he told himself. Not that he wanted to see her, or was looking for an excuse to go down there, but to help his people . . .

His mother’s words, infiltrated his wayward thoughts once more. “And so, if we add the cameras at an expense of thirty thousand dollars to those locations it would give us the most bang for our buck. And I think adding six more security personnel, the salaries, and the cost of the equipment over time, would pay for itself in six months in loss prevention. Plus, we don’t want to develop a reputation that theft is a common occurrence. We could lose business. And then there is the added bonus that we are creating more jobs for the community.”

The board members began to vote. And it was a sweep. Six more people, sixty more cameras, and his mother got her way. But he too had a small victory today. At twenty-nine years of age, he was finally beginning to pursue his own dreams, and not those of his mother.

The meeting ended and he stopped to chat with Myrtle. Clearly avoiding the look his mother gave him that said we need to talk, he listened to the wise woman before him who was giving him ideas on how to proceed with his campaign. But behind him, he heard his mother sigh, and only when he could no longer feel her eyes boring into his back, did he leave. With promises to come see Myrtle this week, he left for the kitchens. He had some investigating to do.

His trip to the kitchens was made hastily. And not just out of a sense of guilt, a way to make it up to his mother. Although he felt he needed to show her he could do both, work with her, and work on the reserve. That was there. But deep down inside, he knew he’d been looking for just such an excuse to take another trip into the bowels of the kitchens to see a certain raven haired beauty with dancing brown eyes. And curves that he just could not forget. As he headed in that direction, he also wondered if that jolt of electricity he felt the one time he’d seen her, and touched her, would still be there. Yes, he was very curious about that too.

Maybe getting to know Miss Diamante would not be such a bad idea after all.

‡

J
ewel shut down
her computer with a feeling of satisfaction. She’d just finished another online class for her degree in business management. She’d been working hard these past eighteenth months to complete the program early. She was lucky that she was able to do it with all of her other responsibilities. And the exhaustion of her pace was beginning to take its toll.

But she had one class left. Just one more.

She needed to get to work now. She hated that she didn’t have much time to spend with her brothers. But they were both seventeen now, and good kids. And they had their own interests that included sports and friends. They had matured quickly. Her parents deaths, killed in an auto accident two years earlier, had done the job of pushing them along into adulthood too soon. They had grieved, but she was glad she had made the decision to come home and be there for them.

Thankfully, her brothers were pretty responsible. Wesley and Lesley, twins, had gotten into the typical teenage troubles, but nothing too serious. Nothing she hadn’t been able to handle and get them through. At just twenty two, she had taken over their care. She had returned to Lantern Hill to do just that. She had just finished her degree in culinary arts at that time, and had only been working in Boston at her dream job a few months when tragedy had struck.

Coping with the deaths of her parents had been difficult, but leaving her new job at
Wahlburger’s
had been an easy decision. Her brothers needed her. Her boss, Paul Wahlberger, had been very understanding. And he had told her he would welcome her back whenever she wanted. He knew family was the most important thing despite the explosion of success which occurred when his restaurant developed into a chain practically overnight. But the Boston restaurant had been the flagship for the others, and he’d needed the help. Boston was where they developed the menu and where the creativity had happened. She’d been excited to work for him, learn from him so she could open her own restaurant someday, but family was family. And she was needed at home.