Page 13 of Silk Shadow

He had to keep his head free of erotic thoughts, otherwise he was doomed. This was an ongoing position, there was no telling when it might end, and he couldn't be lusting after the principal the whole time. It would drive him crazy. It was driving him crazy.

"Maybe later, then?" she said. "When you're off duty. You deserve a break."

He was surprised. She'd actually thought of someone else besides herself.

"Thank you, ma'am."

She sighed. "I thought I told you not to call me that."

"Apologies, Miss Beaumont."

She rolled her eyes and pushed away from the side. He watched as she swam a few more leisurely lengths before getting out. Once again, she had a captive audience. Viper resisted the urge to rush over with her sarong to prevent the other men ogling her. The rush of possessiveness surprised him. What did he care if she flaunted her body? She had every right. He was just there to protect it, nothing else.

She lifted a hand, and a hovering waiter came scuttling over. After ordering something, he couldn’t hear what, she walked back to her lounge chair, shot him a languid smile, and lay down. Emily had scooted over to where the golfing boys sat and was perched on the end of one of their lounge chairs.

Izzy glanced over at her assistant, then pick up her phone. "You can join them if you like, Miss Beaumont.”

"That's okay," she replied. "I'm not in the mood for socializing."

Fair enough.

A moment later, the waiter appeared with three mojitos on a tray. She turned around, peering over the lounge chair at him. "I got you a drink.”

"I can't while I'm on duty, ma'am, er, Miss Beaumont. But thanks anyway."

She lifted her sunglasses so he could see the mocking look in her eyes. "It's a virgin, Viper. Surely you've had one of those before?"

Boy, did she like to get the upper hand.

CHAPTER 7

Izzy left Emily flirting by the pool and went back to her room to lie down and catch up on some emails. Allison, her father's D.C.-based executive assistant, was emailing her meeting schedules and filling her in on operating decisions Robert had made regarding Omega Enterprises.

Thank God for Robert. He'd been effectively running the company for years, since her father preferred to live on site. After his death, she and Robert had flown out to Mexico to meet the site manager, a tough local engineer called Luis Alvarez who was in charge of the miners and the day-to-day workings of the site.

Alvarez was rapidly promoted to General Operations Manager of the Montezuma Project and his remit had expanded to include the distribution network, railroad and port infrastructure, and decision-making powers. They'd spent two weeks helping him build a close-knit team of supervisors, assistants, and security officers to run the mine.

Security was outsourced to an American company operating out of Guatemala, mostly ex-soldiers and mercenaries, not unlike Blackthorn Security. It was necessary, Robert said, to prevent theft and random attacks by banditos and drug barons who wanted a piece of the action.

Omega Enterprises owned and operated several mines across Mexico. These included significant projects in Sonora, Zacatecas, and Guerrero. Each of these operations was profitable and managed by capable local teams. She had met all the managers after her father had passed away, ensuring continuity and a personal touch in the management of their extensive operations.

Robert oversaw all the mines from the D.C. office. He made high-level decisions and effectively ran the company. Her role was more like that of a silent partner, but she still wanted to know what was going on.

"The board was worried that I'd sell my share of the company after my father died," she told Viper on the way up to the suite. She had no idea why she was sharing with him other than he was a great listener—probably because he didn’t say much, and she needed to off-load. "To be honest, I thought about it, but the company meant so much to him that I decided to keep things as they were. Not rock the boat too much, so to speak. As it was, we lost market share when my father died."

"I can imagine," Viper said, politely.

She sighed. "Anyway, it's left me with a lot of extra work, not that I'm involved in the day-to-day running of the company. That's Robert's job." She glanced across at him. "Robert Hampton-Barnes was my father's Chief Financial Officer, but I've promoted him to CEO. You'll meet him next week if he manages to get out here for a few days."

Okay, so she was babbling, but Viper simply let her carry on, nodding in all the appropriate places. It felt good to air her thoughts, even if she wasn’t getting a response. She couldn't discuss such things with Emily, who was a genius when it came to fashion and marketing, not so much running a corporation.

"I like to keep tabs on what's going on. Allison, that's my father’s, now Robert’s exec assistant, keeps me abreast of any new developments."

Another wordless nod. They walked down the corridor to their suite. She stood back while Viper opened the door—see, she was learning—and checked the adjoining rooms before allowing her entry. "All clear, Miss Beaumont."

She glanced up at him, exasperated. "Izzy, please."

"I feel more comfortable with Miss Beaumont, ma'am, if you don't mind."

---