Page 11 of Finding Love in the Clouds

“Hannah is about to be a politician’s wife and have her face all over the TV. She has a security team. I don’t get what the big deal is. I just had my assistant call Sarah.” Fernando rubbed his brow. How had this collaboration turned into such a big deal? You would think he stole classified documents from the president’s office or something.

“Listen, I don’t even know the ins and outs of it all. Enrique and I know the family for two totally different reasons, but even from my more public dealings with the family, I know that Sarah is off-limits. Their picture is never taken. They attend events with tight security and no electronics. They live in a tiny town that is close-knit, and everyone watches everyone’s back, but even their little community doesn’t know that Sarah is the famous mystery author Marie Lautner. If you let the lid off that can of worms, her brother and husband will not be kind to you, and Enrique and Julio might not be able to help you. When he comes to see you, make it clear that keeping her identity a secret is your utmost priority, and you should be fine. Now, I’m a busy man; what advice do you need since I can’t help you with a time machine to undo this massive mistake?”

“Oh yeah, that. Um. Okay, switching gears. You have the most experience with women besides Enrique, and he loves them and leaves them, so I don’t want his advice. Sophie is going on this adventure with me, and she just told me to wear my glasses because I look hot in them. Should I be reading something into that? Anthony said to open ourselves up to the possibilities, and Sophie and I had been playing around with the idea of a pretend relationship to hide my identity on this trip. She is my assistant, and I don’t want to be that guy, but if she meant something, then I don’t want to be an idiot either.”

“Fernando, stop talking. You’re rambling,” Gabriel ordered. “First of all, you are an idiot. When Anthony proposed that pact that we find our soulmates, you had it easier than all of us because you have had the perfect woman, aside from Hannah, in your pocket for the last three years. Anyone with eyes could see that Sophie loves you. I’m glad he posed the pact so you, out of all of us, would pull your head out of the sand and see what has been staring you in the face all this time. That woman is head over heels in love with you, and you have been so busy building your empire that you have taken her for granted all these years. She knows every little detail about you, including the fact that you love shrimp but get grossed out when they come with tails on them. I have seen that woman leave the table, take the plate from the waiter, remove their tails, and then return to the table after washing her hands. I don’t know many wives who would go through that hassle for their men, but Sophie has done it many times for you,” Gabriel explained.

“But she’s my assistant. That’s what I pay her for. To take care of the details. I pay her well, by the way. I resent the insinuation that I take advantage of her,” Fernando stated defensively.

“Fernando, I have an assistant, and she works long hours just like I do. When a business deal breaks in the middle of the night, I call her,and she gets to the office at the same time I do. When negotiations go late into the night, she is there, ordering meals, processing paperwork, and making phone calls. She has, on occasion, picked up my dry cleaning. She hasnotattended family functions and brought my brother’s homemade versions of their favorite dessert. She doesn’t send back my drink order when the glass has too much ice. She doesn’t call ahead to a new restaurant to reserve the warmest seating in the house because her boss has a preferred temperature. My assistant minds the details of the job and the business and knows enough of my favorites to order me meals I will eat. Your assistant knows you better than just about anyone and pays special attention to your comfort and that of your family. Sophie loves you and your family, and she shows that in the little things that she does. Did you know that she sent flowers to Hannah on Mother’s Day? Not her birthday, although I’m sure she did that for you too, but Mother’s Day, because she knew how important that day was to her. To answer your question. Yes, Sophie meant something by that comment. She is a good woman with strong morals and has respected your work environment. Use this time out of the office to explore something more with her and have it figured out by the time you get back. I know Sophie, and she won’t feel comfortable being the boss’s girlfriend, but she is the best assistant on the planet, so firing her is a dumb move too. Good luck, man. I hope you make this work. I have a meeting. Talk soon.”

The phone went dead before Fernando could say a word. He sat there, staring at his phone, grappling with the weight of his brother’s words. He had never viewed Sophie in that light before. Yes, she was a beautiful woman. But more than that... she was smart, outgoing- in a quiet kind of way, independent, and hardworking. Fernando had admired her since the moment he met her. He offered her a job afterknowing her for less than an hour and hired her on the spot when she finally applied for the position.

Had he really been overlooking an underlying attraction all these years? Could Sophie be the woman he never wanted but somehow desperately needed? Fernando never saw himself as a husband, settled down with a wife on his arm, but if he were to paint the picture right this moment, Sophie would be the only woman who came to mind.

Chapter Eleven

It had been a long day. Fernando was looking forward to a hot shower and bed. Making time in his schedule for this trip to Europe meant squeezing in extra meetings before and after. It had been nonstop all week, but negotiations had finally ended for the screenplay of a new movie project. Postproduction had wrapped up on several projects, and they were going to be good.

Then, tonight, there had been a celebration dinner in honor of his win at the Edgar Awards. He hadn’t been able to make the actual award show due to his inability to fly but was honored at a dinner in LA by industry leaders. It was an excuse for folks to hobnob and network, but he wasn’t complaining. Every award on the shelf was a success for his company and the people who worked there. He networked at events like this just as much as everyone else did, so he attended and thanked his hosts graciously.

He was in the middle of removing his tie and kicking off his shoes when an unknown male voice spoke from the sitting area in the corner of his bedroom.

“Took you long enough. I was giving you another hour before I tried out your bed like Goldilocks. If my brother had been here, you would have heard his snores halfway down the hall. Come in, have a seat. If I was going to hurt you, it would already be done.”

The medium-built blond man indicated to the armchair next to the one he was sitting in. He didn’t look scary, but the fact he was in Fernando’s home, in his bedroom no less, made his heart race.

“I assume you’re Sarah’s brother. My brothers Enrique and Gabriel told me to expect a visit. I guess one of them gave you the code to my security system. How did you get past my security team? Or did one of them call and get you permission to come into my home?”

“Yes, I’m Sarah’s brother. You can call me Tom. No, no one gave me the code. They didn’t need to. Using the date of your BBC adoption was better than your birthday but still not original. Never use dates that are part of public records as passwords. Enrique should have already told you that. No, your security guards did not let me in the house. Julio will need to find you new men, as yours are ineffective. My turn. What do you want with my sister? Who have you shared her identity with? Why do you have two of the most skilled security professionals in your family and don’t have them running point on your personal security?”

Tom sat back in the cream brocade wingback chair as relaxed as a king in his castle, not like an interloper who had broken and entered into the home of one of the wealthiest men in the country.

“I don’t like relying on other people. My brothers are busy, and I don’t want to be a burden. I am the youngest, but that doesn’t mean I need my big brothers babysitting me. I want to offer Sarah a collaboration. I have investigated her publishing house, and it is failing. She has the potential to grow with my company, and I want to offer her a partnership. I hired four PIs over the years to figure out whoMarie Lautner really was, but they all came back empty-handed until the last one. He first told me he didn’t know, but then a year later, back in February, he called me up out of the blue and said he had found her. My assistant Sophie Williams knows, and I recently learned that she asked our in-house investigator to locate Sarah’s contact information but not the connection to Marie Lautner. That is all. Sarah’s identity is safe with us,” Fernando assured.

“You don’t get to decide who my sister’s identity is safe with. The people in that circle of trust were very carefully vetted, and you, Fernando Knight Santos, did not make it in when two of your older brothers, and now Julio, did. The only reason you are getting the nicer version of this meeting with me and not my brother Eric is because your brothers all assured me you could be trusted. The fact that you have already shared this information with two other people is a concern. You can take chances with the lives of your family, but you don’t get to take chances with the lives of mine. If someone goes to such great lengths to keep their identity a secret, you should respect that.”

“I don’t understand why Sarah’s identity is such a closely guarded secret. She is a famous author. Her first young adult series has already been adapted for television, and her adult series is definitely close behind. I know she has received awards for her work and attended award shows. How is it that she is never photographed?” Fernando asked.

“The how and why are none of your business. I want my sister to enjoy life to its fullest and receive the recognition she deserves. It takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to do that. Her publishing house isn’t failing; it just isn’t thriving because all the attention is on her. All the other authors and books are basically for show, a cover. Those authors’ writing is mediocre at best. They would never havegotten a publishing deal at all if not for their contribution to helping hide Sarah. The owner died recently, and restructuring has been done. Things have gotten messy, and changes will be made. If she wants to hop over to your publishing house, that is her choice, but before any more action is taken, your ideas, suggestions, and offers will be run past her legal team, her husband, and me.”

“Man, it’s the 21stcentury. Women aren’t chattel anymore!” Fernando declared, infuriated by the leash these men had on this woman.

“Trust me, Sarah is her own woman and has a mind of her own. No man is going to tell her what to do except her brother and husband, who she knows will protect her at all costs. She understands what’s at stake here. Your assistant’s phone call last month scared her silly. She answered it out of habit and instantly regretted it. If it hadn’t been for Eric sitting right next to her to calm her down… let’s just say she values her privacy more than ever these days, and no one and nothing is going to threaten her peace of mind. If you want to collaborate with her, you will do it onourterms. There will be averydetailed contract. You and your team of vetted and approved individuals will understand that there is more at stake here than legal filing if you screw her over. If her name is leaked, her face is slipped to the media; if she is endangered in any way, even a single mention in an unauthorized email, I will erase your name from any and all records. It will be like you were never born, and there will be nothing your brothers can do to stop me. Then, Eric will take you somewhere no one knows about, and you will wish you hadn’t been born because that is whathedoes. Still want to work with my sister? Sit down with your brothers and find out how to secure your communications and close your circle. Then, and only then, may Sophie Williams reach out to Sarah again and let her know that your house is in order and would like to proceedwith a meeting. Make sure this is what you want because once you walk through this door, your risk factor multiplies exponentially, and so do your brothers. Sometimes, I shake my head at the mysterious ways God works. The number of ties that now connect our family is rather astounding, considering the layers of separation and division we have put into place over the years. Sarah is excited to work with you, and I will work with E and J to make that happen if you are willing to put in the effort. Think it over and choose wisely. Sarah is more precious to me than your Hannah is to you.”

“I highly doubt that,” Fernando argued with a smirk.

“My sister and I have never gone longer than a week without talking, and now she lives right next door to me and is married to my best friend. You go months without speaking to Hannah and only see her once or twice a year. Trust me on this. Whatever you feel for Hannah, multiply that by ten, and you may be getting close to my relationship with Sarah.”

Tom rose to leave but turned before exiting the bedroom. “Don’t ever say my sister’s name again. The same goes for Sophie. Come up with a code name if you have to, but don’t use Sarah Stoll; in fact, I would prefer that you don’t say Marie Lautner outside of your office, which E assures me is secure. You never know who is listening, and you are not your brothers. You’re naïve, which I can appreciate. The world needs people like you. But I don’t trust you not to slip and say it in public. Understood?”

“Understood. Thank you. I never meant to hurt her or endanger her. As you said, I was naïve and wasn’t thinking clearly about the implications of how challenging it was to find her. I would really like to work with her. I will talk it over with my brothers before proceeding.”

“Very good. Also, I took care of the PIs. Don’t reach out to them again. Any investigative work needs to be run through your brother’ssecurity firm. If you already had that procedure in place, a red flag would have gone up when you requested information on Sarah, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. Have a good night, and enjoy your trip to Europe. I know you’re trying to overcome your fear of flying, but I would still have Sophie book the first-class tickets. It’s hard for veteran travelers to make that flight in economy. If you have a phobia, it will not be fun for you or the people around you when you panic being sardined in those seats for fourteen hours.”

“How did you know…”

“You’re on my radar now, Fernando. I know everything about you. You have five pairs of red boxer briefs in your drawer, but the rest are black or navy blue. That, my new friend, says it all,” Tom called as he walked down the hall towards the main stairs.

---