Page 5 of The Duke

“Do you?” His voice sounded wary.

“Do I what? Oh. Give intel? No. Just like what you saw in my article today.” She hoped he’d read it. She held her breath.

“I saw that! Well done. Great picture of Tripp.”

“And you. Thank you. That was a fun piece.”

They chatted for a couple minutes more and then she heard his phone ding five times in a row.

“Well you know what that means.”

“I do. Thanks for the talk, Trane.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll call you later?”

She felt her face heat. “Sure.”

When he disconnected, she sat still, letting herself calm down. She had to force herself to acknowledge that Trane didn’t have time for her, not really, but she could enjoy this effort he was making while it lasted.

She knocked on Mr. Calloway’s door. “You wanted to see me?”

He indicated the chair across from his desk. “I do. Come sit.”

Once she was settled, he eyed her over his folded hands. “I have a long term assignment.”

She sat forward. Something about his expression made her nervous. His eyes were calculating.

“This could bring big, international attention if it’s handled right.”

She pulled out a notepad and the pencil from her hair.

“I need you to follow the Valdez brothers, their efforts to stop ocean dumping and their yacht activity. Look for all discrepancies in their life that differ from these policies they are fighting for."

She swallowed. “So wait, am I like, a spy?”

He lowered his hands. “You are a reporter.”

She nodded. True. This was what reporters did. “But what are you expecting or hoping to find?”

He eyed her for a moment. “Let’s just say I have a hunch there’s a story there.”

Chapter 4

The Mediterranean Energy Commission left the building, and everyone breathed in a cleansing breath. Nico buzzed Trane on his intercom. He took it on his phone. “They’re gone.”

“Thanks for dealing with them, brother.”

“They should be pleased with their audit results. We are doing much better than most other countries. The only ones beating us with lower emissions and better quality of ecosystem are the small islands where no one lives.”

Nico chuckled. “It is the Torren way, to care for our nation, to leave our children a yet beautiful place to live.”

“Jo sweet talked them and made a few suggestions to their policy.”

Jo waved a few fingers as she walked away, all business now, to her own next meeting. Trane was happy yet again she had joined their family. And she brought with her a passion to protect the ocean and its oceanic wildlife. Trane shook his head. Nico won lotteries and struck all kinds of jackpots with her, not to mention the gold at the end of any rainbow. She reminded him of Seraphina. He checked his schedule. No time to call her yet.

“Nico, we are completely in compliance with all their listed regulations. But I suggest, and Jo agrees with me, that we should set our own standard, much stricter than is required by the MEC and stick by it.”

“I will support whatever you come up with if you can convince our corporation owners.”

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