Depths of Salvation (Love on the Edge) (25 page)

“You could have taken this to the authorities,” Mr. Williams said. “It’s perfectly reasonable for me to wonder why you brought it to my attention first.”

I took a breath, realizing his logic. “He’s not fully implicated in crimes within this evidence, only severely unethical dealings. And I want Slade to be punished accordingly. Despite being a ‘silent partner’, Mr. Williams”—I made quotations around the term because I honestly didn’t understand it, especially since he had an office at headquarters—“Slade isn’t representing this company ethically, morally, or any other professional way for that matter. And even if you don’t care about his actions toward me and my site, you have to realize that this type of behavior is ingrained in him. He’s done it before, I’m sure, and will do it again.”

Williams rubbed the barely visible stubble on his jaw and sighed. “I didn’t see this coming. Slade has always had an ego, but he’s successfully run one of the nation’s largest gas corporations for over a decade. I assumed that was earned.”

“With a dirty pair of gloves.” I shook my head. “I don’t want money, Mr. Williams. And I don’t want this to go public, not by my doing at least. I simply don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

“And if your site is saved in the process?”

“Then the ecosystem that could quite possibly produce a cure for cancer survives, along with more than half the percentage of the island’s keystone food source.”

He cracked a grin, sitting further back in his chair. “You’re something else, Ms. Jenkins,” he said and chuckled.

I didn’t realize I’d said anything funny, but I took his words in silence, hoping he was leaning toward helping me.

He reeled in his laughter and cleared his throat. “This is deplorable behavior on his part and I will not stand for it.” A muscle in his jaw ticked as he composed himself. “I’d like to investigate the matter more thoroughly as well as handle this in a discreet manner.”

“And Slade?”

He nodded. “I’ll take the proper action necessary against him.”

“That’s extremely vague.” I popped my hand on my hip. I wanted answers. Crystal clear ones, before I had to fly back to a site I may not have the power to save.

He pushed back his chair and came to stand right in front of me, his hands casually in his pockets like the worst of the meeting had passed. He was so close I could smell his aftershave—a sharp but not unpleasant scent. “You were right. Ten minutes isn’t enough to placate you.”

It was my turn to arch an eyebrow at him.

He smiled again. It was a fine smile, and I even gave him a small one in return, but it had nothing behind it—because I was fixated on a man whose edges were jagged, not perfect.

“I need a drink,” he said, smoothing out his perfect tie. Again. “Join me?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Aren’t my ten minutes up?”

“Forgive me,” he said, “I’m not accustomed to taking meetings with Slade’s . . . well, I suppose you’re not a client of his. Perhaps
anti-client
? No matter. I deal with a different side of the business—booking, media, platform building. That sort of thing.”

“You’re the only person above him,” I said. “I had no one else to go to because I honestly don’t have a clue how far his reach is . . .” That’s why I hadn’t immediately gone to the island authority with this.

“Understood,” he said. “And I should have been more accommodating in the beginning. I do apologize, Ms. Jenkins. Please allow me to make it up to you with dinner.”

“Dinner, now? I’ve been upgraded.” I grinned, but there were no butterflies flapping in my stomach. The gorgeous billionaire before me spoke beautifully, offering more words than Connell ever would on a regular basis, but I had no desire to see where it would lead. Either it was too soon, or more likely, I would never be rid of the love I had for Connell.
Oh God, would I be comparing every man in the future to him?

The notion terrified me and left me with an even more empty hole in my chest. Because I didn’t want there to be other men. I wanted Connell to be the man I had believed him to be. Not the one who betrayed me, crushed me, all in the name of money.

“Join me?” Williams asked, drawing me back to the present.

“On one condition,” I found myself saying without thinking, no doubt the terror pushing me to act. “Call me Sadie, please. While you’re used to the formal, I’m not.”

He smiled and nodded, holding out his hand. “Casey.”

I shook it. His skin was smooth as silk where Connell’s working hands were rough and callused.

Comparing again, already a reflex. Damn it.

The red blend Casey had selected was soothing my nerves just fine, but it was nothing compared to the rum I favored on the island. I set the stemless glass down on the cloth-covered table for two, glancing across it. He expertly cut into his seared scallops, and I simply stared in awe at how perfect he seemed—like he thought about every move or word before acting or speaking.

Piano music filled the small restaurant, which set in the uppermost floor of some other incredibly tall sky-scraper building in Houston’s central hub. We’d driven here in a sleek black Cadillac, chauffeured by his personal driver. The life he led, so very different than mine. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find it intriguing—this type of life where nothing was off the table or out of reach—but it wasn’t me.

I preferred the noise of the ocean and the solidarity of earning a sore body after a day of hard work. Though I’m sure Casey could handle the exhaustion of a dive, and perhaps even understand what it was like to be a workaholic like I was, he’d never fully understand my calling. The waves, the water, the deep world underneath only few experienced, it wasn’t something you could explain. There was something magical about it, something that once shared with another was binding.

“Is your risotto undercooked?” he asked, and I blinked a few times.

“No, it’s perfect.” I took another bite. The dish was smooth and expensive, just like my choice of dinner partner tonight. Nothing compared to the rough seared conch I normally ate, or the even rougher man I wanted to be seated next to.

Even now?

I set my fork down and chuckled lightly to myself. I must have had too much wine. It always did hit me harder than rum. I drew up an image of Connell’s signature—his slightly crooked lettering—on the contract comprised with the sole purpose of destroying the
Falconer
. The sting had become familiar, but it was still raw, and I let it fester just enough to lock down the comparison game I couldn’t stop.

“I hope you realize how genuinely sorry I am for Slade’s behavior.”

“I do, and it matters. Thank you.” I could tell he really meant it and it made a sliver of hope creep into my chest. Maybe I could save the
Falconer
.

“Tell me more about your site,” he said, as if reading my thoughts.

I couldn’t help but smile. The image of the ship popped in my mind. “She’s beautiful but productive. The
Falconer
isn’t lazy in the slightest. She’s a site that will produce well into the future if given the chance. We’ve only hit the surface of her potential.”

He took a sip of his wine before setting it down. “A WWII cargo ship, right?”

I nodded enthusiastically. “Do you know it?”

“I googled it on the way over.” He chuckled. “It’s quite a ship, or was.”

“She still is. Pictures on the web don’t do it justice. She really shines under the water.”

“It must be amazing, getting to experience that on a daily basis. Nothing like staring at a computer or stuck in board meetings all day long.”

I picked up my fork again and slid it through the rice. “It is, and I’ve had just enough time to properly fall in love with it.” I sighed, the thought of her being ripped from my fingers equating the loss of a beloved pet sat heavy on my chest.

“I’m certainly glad I’m not in the Head of Government’s position. I wouldn’t be able to deny you, not with your passion for it.”

A slight flush made my cheeks hot. This was another attempt I read for flirting, though I didn’t understand how he could find me in the least interesting with how different we were. I smiled at him. “Well, Henrick wishes he had never met me on most days. Not that he’d ever admit it.”

“Oh, I doubt that.”

“You’d be surprised. People don’t generally like it when you tell them they’re making a mistake that could put their people’s food source at risk.”

He set his napkin on the table. “I suppose not.”

“Still, if they’d only take me at my word . . . But people always need viable proof.” I eyed him.

He pressed his lips together. “You have me there. Again, I’m sorry I needed all the evidence to take this claim seriously. I never thought he was capable of such . . . disgraceful actions. I assure you, it will be handled.”

“I hope so, Casey. Because I don’t have much time left.”

“Well, I’ve already had your company for more than ten minutes, so I believe we’re off to a wonderful start.”

I laughed, then bit my bottom lip. The
Falconer’s
deadline flashed in bright red in my mind. “I wish it was as easy to buy time for the
Falconer
because she is on a dangerously short supply.”

He reached across the table and laid his hand over mine. “Lucky for me I’m extremely wealthy.”

I instantly drew my hand back. Couldn’t fault the guy for being confident, but I didn’t know him well enough to accept friendship—or whatever he was offering—that quickly.

And yet with Connell, you dove head first like you’d spotted a superhero plant from the surface.

“Yeah,” I said, trying miserably to pretend like the moment hadn’t happened. “And how is that? You’re not much older than me. Seems like I missed the class on how to make a billion before thirty.

“I was always talented in computers. One dot com after another, and finally, one caught. Gave me the buying power to invest in companies I saw a need for—on a global level. Slade needed a new investor, new funds. I gave him that.”

I nodded. “Did you ever think about why his previous investors kept opting to be bought out?”

He shook his head. “The reasoning they offered was nowhere near the light that you’ve shed today.”

“I hope for your sake this is the first case but I highly doubt it.”

“I fear you may be right.”

“I usually am.”

He laughed again, and I took a deep pull of my ice water. I found myself wishing I could be interested in him. He was a man who any woman would be over the moon to have dinner with, and I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to bolt out the door.

Because I had an island to get to, a ship, and a man—whether I wanted to acknowledge it or not—who owned my heart, even if it was in pieces. Connell had branded me, and though I may not want to see him, the deepest parts of my soul wanted to return to the one place where I knew he still was, just a few waves away.

I pushed back from my chair, standing. “Thank you for dinner, Casey. I have a flight to catch.”

He stood, too, holding his cloth napkin in one hand. “Let me call my driver.”

“No worries. I can grab a cab.”

He nodded, reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a business card. “Please call me.”

I took it from him hesitantly.

“If anything else comes up. Or . . .” He set his napkin on the table. “If you need anything.”

I smiled at him. “I appreciate that. Honestly, I hope to call you with a
thank you
after you’ve handled Slade and personally helped save my site.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

I shook his hand again, and he placed a hot kiss on the back of mine—which probably had made plenty of women feel like princesses but only made me feel even more out of place. I chuckled, despite myself, gave him a nod, and walked out of the restaurant, ready to get back to the ocean.

I’d always been more of a mermaid girl anyway.

It was well past midnight when I made it back to my lab on the island, so I was more shocked than I had been when Casey had turned out to be less Scrooge and more Bruce Wayne to find my team up and hard at work.

“You’re back!” Nemo said, as if I’d been gone for an entire week. I accepted his aggressive hug, patting him on the back and laughing.