Page 17 of Fall of the Trident
Before the conversation could lull, the waitress appeared.“Would anyone like a drink from the bar or are you ready to order lunch?”
Trevor glanced at each of his children.They’d been there so many times, none of them needed to look at the menu.His gaze fell on Marta.“Do you mind if I order for you?”
“As long as its blue crabs, go right ahead.”
Trevor loved it when she was a little sassy.
“I already like her,” Linda said from across the table.
“A bottle of Pinot Grigio for the table please, and we’ll start with a dozen raw oysters while we’re waiting for five orders of blue crab.”Trevor’s gaze swept the table for consent or additions.Sometimes they added crab cakes or hot crab dip for appetizers.When no one spoke up, he smiled at the waitress.“I think that’s all, today.”
The young woman in the black uniform smiled.“We’ll get that out to you right away, admiral.”
For a moment, he’d forgotten he was in uniform.He’d simply been Trevor Maddox, father to the wonderful, brilliant children around the table.Nothing more than a man, introducing his kids to a woman who played an important role in his life.
“Do you still work for the government, Marta?”Sam asked.
Trevor would have taken the question, but Marta spoke up.
She raised her eyebrows.“Yes.The same office where I met all three of you twenty years ago.I don’t know if I should be proud or embarrassed that I haven’t moved very far in all that time.For over a decade now, I’ve been the administrative assistant to which ever admirals are the commanding officer and executive officer of what they now call Naval Special Warfare.It’s had several names, a few that only lasted days.”
“So…you’re Dad’s secretary?”Sam asked, accusation woven through the question.
“No.”Trevor quickly corrected.“As NSW Command Administrative Assistant, she’s exactly that, my assistant.She has secretaries who work directly for her on both coasts, as well as an extensive staff both in Coronado and in Little Creek.”
When Marta smiled, it was herstandby, shit’s about to flyface.
He grinned and glanced at each child.“Brace.”
“Sam, you may also call me Professor Merkel, or Dr.Merkel.I’m tenured with the University of California San Diego.One class every semester is all I can handle these days.I also teach an extended class daily during their Senior Executive Service Masters’ Program designed specifically for the highest level government employees.”
Trevor was shocked.“SES are the equivalent of wearing stars,” he explained to his children before he turned his attention to Marta.“I had no idea.What do you teach?”
Her eyes met his.“Intelligence and security.That’s what my doctorate is in.”Her gaze swept back to Sam.“And before you ask, I remain administrative assistant at NSW because I love my job.I have one of the highest security levels of any civilian government employee, for obvious reasons.At least every two weeks I get an offer from someone representing the President to take an SES-level position in Washington.I love Southern California.The weather is wonderful all year round.”Her perfectly arched eyebrows raised.“It snows in D.C.and last time I checked the surfing sucked there.”She’d become very animated near the end of her explanation.
“You surf?”Linda sounded excited.
“At least a few times a week.I live a block off the beach in Coronado.”Marta’s smile was full of pride.
“I’ve tried surfing a couple times, but I didn’t like getting trashed by the waves,” Levi confessed.
“The ocean was filled with all kinds of yucky stuff like seaweed and big fish.”Linda scrunched her nose.“I prefer my seaweed wrapped around sushi and my fish grilled with a lot of spices.I’ll take the pool any day.”
“What about you, Sam?”Marta tried to pull him back into the conversation and Trevor appreciated her social skills at that moment.“Ocean or pool?”
Trevor knew the answer and was so thrilled to see the smile on his youngest son’s face.
“Ocean.Under rather than on top.”Sam met Trevor’s eyes.“I think I was twelve when Dad took me scuba diving for the first time.I fell in love with the ocean.You know, Dad, we’re long overdue for a diving trip.”
“I want to go,” pleaded Linda.“I like to dive, too.Daddy, can we go to Turks and Caicos, again?I love that place.”
Levi’s eyebrows drew together.“Hey, squirt, I thought you didn’t like the ocean.”
His sister flashed him a smile.“That’s not the ocean.That’s the Caribbean Sea.Clear turquoise water, colorful fish that aren’t the kind you eat, and the water was so warm it’s like taking a bath.”
Trevor’s brain instantly started planning the trip.Of course, he’d call Shakespeare, the former SEAL who owned Pop’s Place, the best dive shop on Grand Turk.Even though he’d recently fallen in love with one of the few female special operators and taken the reins of his parents’ foundation moving its headquarters to D.C., he might be able to talk the former Navy lieutenant junior grade into joining them for an over the wall deep dive.
“Let me check my schedule and all three of you make sure you can take off a week.Levi, I know diving isn’t your thing?—”
