Page 102 of Midnight Enemy

“I know what I’m doing,” I say softly. “I had a good teacher.”

His lips quirk up.

We study each other quietly. The sun has set, dusk has fallen, and it’s semi-dark in the office. I’ve always admired both his business and personal instincts, and I’m like him in many ways. I would trust him with my life. But I’ve never really considered us close. We can’t mend that with one conversation, but for the first time I feel we’ve healed some past rifts. And I have Scarlett to thank for that.

“We should get back to the party,” I say. “I don’t want to leave Scarlett for too long.”

“You go,” he says. “I might head up to my suite.”

“Ah, come on. Rangi’s there, and I saw Huxley and Mack just now. It’s going to be fun. Come and have a drink with us.”

He hesitates. Then he says, “All right.”

We stand and leave the office. As we enter the lobby, we see that the solar lights around the pool have all come on, and the place glows like a beacon through the far windows.

“We did well here,” I say to my father. The resort is beautiful and popular, but more than anything I’m proud of the fact that we’re able to funnel so much of the profit here into charitable causes.

“We should talk about Kahukura,” he says as we cross the lobby. “You were right. We should offer them funding.”

I nod, pleased at the thought of telling Scarlett. “Kingi’s carrying out an audit of their finances next week.”

“Why?”

“The commune is struggling financially. Scarlett told me that their finance director, George, has sole control now Blake’s gone, and I said it made sense to get the books checked. I don’t know… I have a gut feeling.” He stops walking. I stop too when I realize he’s not with me, and I turn to face him. “What?”

“I’ve got something else to tell you,” he says.

Chapter Twenty-One

Scarlett

I finish off my champagne, and Kingi brings me another.

“It’ll be okay,” Marama says, seeing me trembling. “Don’t worry.”

It’s impossible not to, though. I feel as if I’ve thrown a hand grenade into the Cavendish family, and it’s detonating somewhere, and all I can do is wait to pick the pieces of shrapnel out of me when it’s done.

“I feel awful,” I whisper. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Yes, you should,” Kingi states firmly. “This stupid family feud has gone on for far too long. Orson doesn’t say anything now, but I know it upsets him that his father has refused to talk about it. Spencer is a cold fish, though.”

“Aw, don’t be mean,” Marama says. “He’s always been very nice to me.”

Kingi chuckles. “Sorry. To be fair, he had a tough childhood, and I guess he’s just erected a barrier to protect himself.”

“Tough in what way?” I ask.

“He came from a dirt-poor family,” Marama replies.

My eyebrows rise. “Oh. I didn’t realize. I assumed the family was old money.”

“No,” Marama says, “not at all. Spencer’s father worked in a meat processing factory. He and his wife had six children. Spencer was the oldest boy. His father was an abusive alcoholic who used to knock the wife around. As he grew up, Spencer used to try to protect her, and the dad beat him pretty badly on several occasions, I think.”

Kingi nods. “Hospitalized him twice. In the end the authorities intervened and put the kids into foster homes. They had to break up the kids into two homes. Spencer and his younger brothers were put into one home and the girls into another. Spencer says that’s when hisfortunes were turned around. The couple who had the boys were wealthy and supportive and just really nice human beings—I’ve met them.”

“He stayed in touch with them?” Marama asks.

“Yeah. The guy had had problems when he was young and someone helped him in the same way, so it was a sort of pay-it-back kind of thing, I think. He got the boys into a decent school, encouraged them with their schoolwork, and when he saw that Spencer had a talent for figures, he got him extra tuition and pushed him hard.”

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