Page 12 of Passion

I nodded and strolled to my seat, pulling it out but remaining standing. No one paid us any attention. They were all too absorbed in their conversations to care about a trivial, surface-level chat.

“You were right, Tina. They were ecstatic about the idea of us investing in the property, and I’ll return in the down season to discuss details. Looks like we might add several new condos and perhaps a waterpark.” I winked at her. She’d had the idea to invest in the resort months ago, but we only made the leap to offer our support once Henry signed off on it.

“Fantastic.” Tina took a few steps as if to move on to the next empty cup and I touched her arm. “Yes?”

“Listen, I… uh, I might be getting a call today at any time. Her name is Vera, and she might need some help with lodging. You know Bryan destroyed several high-rises. It’s all over the news.”

“Oh, I know. It’s so sad. There are neighborhoods that can’t even return to their homes. They thought it was a category-two storm and it ended up being far worse. I’m surprised Tri-Tech is still standing. We have so many windows.”

I raised a finger. “Bullet-proof glass.”

“Yes, well, anyway… Vera. What shall I do if she calls?” Tina looked poised to receive my commands. I was so grateful to have her as my assistant. She was punctual, honest, and committed—three qualities I very much appreciated.

“If she calls, you bring me the phone. I don’t care what time it is or what I’m doing.”

“Got it.” She nodded and smiled, then moved on, continuing to fill cups. I sat and studied the papers on the table in front of me. Henry had done an excellent job of putting together an itinerary for the meeting. The items on the list were vital for the company to assess as we entered the fourth quarter, so getting them out while we still had a bit of quarter three to go made sense.

“Let’s get started, shall we?” Henry clapped his hands and started his speech about duty and honor. He liked to remind everyone that what we did at Tri-Tech was far more than just creating security software.

I took pride in the fact that our products made a safer world for everyone. Our anti-hacking code had reduced airline hijackings substantially over the past several years during government testing. Military planes had never been safer. We were already in beta tests for commercial airlines now, and it was only a matter of time before we were able to employ the same technology in trains, buses, and all manner of public transport. After that, perhaps self-driving cars.

Each board member listened intently to Henry, but I had heard it all. I had the ability to sit back and watch their faces. Some of them were surprised by the updates to our progress, while others seemed skeptical. Henry didn’t seem to notice a damn thing. He had trained himself to keep a poker face even when the board fully disagreed and vocalized that dissent.

The sun began to warm the room despite the dimming on the windows, and I loosened my tie farther. I was about to stand and walk to the thermostat to adjust it when Tina peeked in the room, waving a phone at me. I stood to stroll to her instead. “Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, I need to take this call. I’ve been expecting it.” They excused me graciously. They didn’t need to know it was a personal thing. I was CEO of a Fortune 500 company. I could do as I damn well pleased.

After I shut the door, Tina thrust the phone into my hand with widened eyes and mouth agape. “You didn’t say it was Vera Laine Davids.” She blinked incredulously at me and shook her head. “You are full of surprises, Mr. Smith.”

“Thanks, Tina.” I held my hand over the microphone of the handset. “I didn’t tell you because I don’t want anyone to make a big deal of anything. We met on Elbow and she needed a ride home. It’s possible her place got destroyed. I am just helping out.”

“Well, it’s about time you found a nice woman to settle down with, but isn’t she quite a bit younger than you? Or maybe it’s just the makeup. You know they make models all look like twenty-year-olds now. It’s a shame, really, because real women don’t look like that. We age and get wrinkles and love handles.”

“Tina, if you don’t mind?” I held the phone up and gestured away from her.

“Oh, goodness. Yes, don’t keep Ms. Davids waiting.” Tina grinned and sauntered off, and I walked away from the board room windows to have my call in some semblance of privacy. I ducked into the CFO’s office, shutting the door so no one who passed by would hear me talking.

“Vera, so glad you called. What’s going on?” I knew what was going on. I’d already called the city and found out that her building, along with several dozen more, were closed until inspections and possible renovations could be made. It was the reason I had prepared Tina for the inevitable call. I was just thankful that none of Vera’s other contacts had answered her calls or been able to help, because she’d certainly called others to gain assistance.

“Lucas, uh… Mr. Smith. Fuck, I don’t know what to call you.” She sounded exasperated.

“Just call me Luke.” Her politeness drew a smile to my lips. I really liked this woman a lot.

“Uh, so, my building is shut. I can’t get in until they do inspections. I saw the windows to my unit all broken out, so even when they allow people to start reentering the building, everything I own will be wet or destroyed.”

“So, you need a place to stay for a while?” It gave me the greatest pleasure to be in a place to help her, not only because that was my nature, but also because I believed our connection was genuine and I wanted to see where it went.

“Uh, if that’s okay? I don’t want to put you out or anything, and I’m really not one to take handouts, but I can’t really go home. I can’t imagine living in a hurricane shelter, and I still can’t reach my roommate to find out what she’s doing.”

“Vera, honestly, I told you it was no problem. I have more money than I know what to do with. I own a house the size of Texas, and it’s lonely sometimes. I’d love to have you for as long as you need, longer if you'd like.” I found a pad of sticky notes and a pen on the desk and prepared myself to write. “Where are you? I’ll send a car to you and I’ll have my housekeeper make the arrangements for you. You must be starving too. What do you like to eat?”

“Really, Luke. I can just Uber there if you tell me the address.”

“It’s a gated community, so you wouldn’t have access, and it’s really no trouble.”

I heard some movement in the background. Then I heard her saying something that was muffled. “I’m at 287, South 91stStreet. A little bistro a few blocks from my apartment.”

“Good.” I scribbled the address on the paper and put the pen back, ripping the sticky note free. “I’ll send a car right away. I’m not sure who will drive, either Hector or Emmanuel. Neither one speaks very good English, but I assure you they are both perfect gentlemen, and you’ll be perfectly safe. When you get to the house, Ella will greet you. Her English is a bit broken as well, but you’ll get along fine with her. Just do me a favor and try to relax a bit. I have a few things to take care of at work, but you’ll be in good hands.”

“I really can’t thank you enough, Lucas.”

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