He sends it back with some redlines. Despite the fact that we’ve already determined where people are staying, Nate’s added that the better rooms will go to those who respond quickly. I add my name and contact information, reminding everyone that I’m on Hawaii time, and then it’s ready to go.
I’ve been sitting all morning, and I wander into the kitchen looking for a drink and a snack or maybe lunch.
I’m not a foot outside the library when my phone rings.
“Hello?” I answer.
“This is Caroline Arnault. Do you remember meeting me at Cecelia Lancaster’s service?”
Of course I do. She could call anyone, and after saying her name, they’d know who she is. “Yes, I remember you. How are you?”
“I’m great. Mason just forwarded me the invite. We’re looking forward to coming. Do you need any help with the planning?”
An idea hits me. Caroline knows these guests’ expectations better than I do. “Actually, if you could be a bit of a sounding board for me on occasion, that would be so valuable. Nate has left the menus, entertainment, and whatnot for me. Would you mind helping me look over my notes to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything?”
Leilani appears with a sandwich and a drink for me. I look at the time, and it’s already past two thirty. Where did my day go? I mouth thank you to her, and she leaves me to my call.
“Food and entertainment? Perfect. Count me in. I’m a great sounding board, and I’m also very good at getting people to help, so let me know if you need me to wrangle some extra hands for you.”
That takes a massive weight off my shoulders. “Thank you.”
I no more than disconnect the call, and my phone rings again. I bounce from call to call for the rest of the afternoon, and by five, I’ve heard from everyone except Jackson. I decide to call to tease him a bit.
“Hey, beautiful,” he says in his sexy, deep voice that makes my lower body clench with eagerness, despite the distance.
“Hey, you. I’ve talked to all your friends and gotten their preferences for alcohol, as well as a few Keto, lactose-free, and vegetarian requests.”
“I got a call from Landon asking if you were single,” he counters.
I laugh. “And what did you tell him?”
“To keep his fucking hands to himself.”
“I never pegged you as a jealous guy.”
He lowers his voice. “Trust me, you’re mine, and I don’t share.”
I’m a little stunned by his alpha-maleness. I don’t really know what to say to that, so I shift subjects. “Any word from Hydro or Jeff Wong?”
“Funny you should ask. My understanding is that Jeff Wong was apprehended coming into San Francisco through customs with samples of his solar film this morning. Apparently, ICE doesn’t take well to corporate theft, and he was arrested for importing stolen goods.”
“You’re kidding. How did customs know he was coming?”
“Wellllll, a little bird may have told them.”
I can tell Jackson is incredibly happy, and he deserves to be. “That’s fantastic news. I’m so happy for you.”
“This is a big deal. Jeff Wong’s not a US Citizen and was here on a permanent resident card. That has been revoked, and he won’t be able to return.”
I’m stunned. “Jeff Wong’s been banned from coming to the US?”
“Yep. The government views him as trafficking in stolen goods.”
“This is really amazing news.” My stomach does a few turns. “But how do we prevent Hydro from just giving the plans to someone else and selling them to our customers?”
“Certainly, there’s a strong chance they’ll try, but when I hang up with you, I’m leaving for New York. I’m doing all the morning shows tomorrow, and there will be writeups in the New York Times, Technology Today, Silicon Valley Business Journal, and the San Francisco Chronicle. We know the news went out over the wires, so it will be picked up worldwide. There will be people who buy fraudulent materials, but they’ll know what they’re paying for.”
“Holy crap, Jackson! That’s amazing. And, not to mention, talk about some incredible publicity. I’m so excited for you.”
“The only thing that would make it better is if you were here, too.”
“Your phones are going to blow up with women asking you out for the rest of the week—or even longer. You’d better warn Ms. Day.”
“I’m scared of her. I don’t want to talk to her if I can avoid it. She does not give me an inch.”
I laugh. I wasn’t assertive enough in the beginning to do that. “Something I should have done myself.”
“You were perfect with the way you handle me—both at work and in private.”
I know where he’s going, but I shouldn’t go there. “I don’t want to keep you.” I turn and look out over the setting sun. “I’m really happy though.”
“You know what that means,” he says. “Your stock options are worth some serious money at this point.”
“All thanks to you.”
We hang up, and a smile engulfs my face. With Jeff Wong out of our hair, life is almost perfect. Now to get this Bobby fanatic out of our life, and all will be good.
Chapter 33
Jackson
This has been one crazy week. I started Monday by flying in from Maui. Wednesday morning, I landed in New York and spent the day doing talk shows and news interviews. Our public relations firm has pulled one hundred and twenty-six different press clippings, which expanded coverage to include other companies who have had similar things happen to them and a discussion of what trade-secret theft by foreign entities does to the world economy. Everyone knows about Soleil Energy and our solar window film. We couldn’t have asked for this level of publicity if we tried and paid for it.
And Corrine was right. My phone blew up, and Ms. Day quit. She couldn’t take the phones ringing nonstop with the silly women, as she called them. I know if Corrine were here, she would have managed it just fine. I now have the twins answering my phones. I don’t really think they’re twins, but they’re odd. They dress alike and look a little alike, and they work together. Whatever. They both sit at Corrine’s desk and answer the phones and don’t get too caught up in all the craziness.
Mason and Caroline have insisted that I join them for drinks at The Big 4 Restaurant in the Huntington Hotel this evening.
I’m actually on time for a change, even though Corrine isn’t here to manage me. Still, Caroline and Mason have beat me there.
They stand to greet me, and I give Caroline a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for the invite out tonight. It’s a nice reason to leave the office at a reasonable hour.”
“After the week you’ve had, I would bet that’s hard,” Mason says.
I shake my head. “The phones are ringing off the hook. I’m stunned at the number of women who call and ask me to marry them or father their children.”
“How is Corrine dealing with it?” Caroline asks.
“Thankfully, she’s in Maui planning the poker tournament.”
Caroline puts her head back and laughs. “You’re in the big leagues now. The microscope you live under will be on high-res at this point.”
I tsk and shake my head, willing her statement to not be accurate.
“It was like that for my twin brother, Trey, when we were growing up. When he met Sara, they had to go up to Stinson Beach and hide just to get time together without a zoom lens.”
She would know, but I still don’t appreciate her perspective. “The only good thing is the value of Soleil Energy has shot through the roof.”
Mason leans in across the table. “I’m not supposed to say this, but if I were you, I’d hold on to being a private company as long as you can.”
A sigh of relief runs through me. “Thanks. All this interest has the sales pretty high right now, and we’re hoping we won’t need the infusion of cash, plus all the chaos going public would bring. I can buy out your options, if you’d like.”
“Right
now, don’t worry about it. Let’s get through the launch and see a few quarters of profit before we make any decisions. We’re fine with that. You’ll only be the second company in our history of more than five thousand extremely successful investments where we sell the shares back to the company because they don’t go public. I like the feel of this.”
“You look dead on your feet,” Caroline says. “You headed to see Corrine this weekend?” She peers at me over her martini glass.
I shake my head. “I’m going to try next weekend, if I can.”
“I like her a lot,” she says.
“I do, too. I’m not sure Corrine’s in as deep as I am, but I’m working on her.”
We talk for a short while longer before I give up and go home. I’m so tired, I’m grateful I’m not driving. I can hardly keep my eyes open. I text Corrine before I lose access to all rational thought.
Me: Good night, sweetheart. Counting the days until I see you again.
***
I wake up to my phone ringing. It takes a few seconds for my brain synapses to connect and remind me it’s Saturday, and I’m not late for work.
“Hello?”
“Sorry to wake you, Mr. Graham.”
It’s Brian. I sit up in bed, and I’m alert. “Is everything okay?”
“We had some campers show up on the northeast side last night, and again there was a break in the invisible fence. The cameras aren’t seeing anything.”
“How is that possible? We have infrared and motion, and nothing is showing up on the cameras? Do you think it’s an electrical short?”
“Honestly, I don’t,” Brian says with a sigh. “It’s not the same spot as last time, but I can’t figure out why the camera isn’t seeing anything.”
“Is Corrine alright?”
“Yes, I have one of the guys outside her room, and we have sentries wandering the property.”
I blanch at the thought of them armed—and misfiring and shooting someone. These aren’t Jim’s guys who are former military and FBI; these are local Hawaiians. Don’t get me wrong, they’re scary dudes if you run into them in a dark parking lot, but they can’t match Jim’s team where training is concerned.
“What do you suggest?” I ask him.
“Jim and I are talking about it a little later. He’ll probably follow up with you with our recommendations.”
I don’t like that they don’t know very much right now. I lie back in bed and put my hand on my forehead to fend off the headache I can feel coming on. “Keep me posted. Is Corrine awake?”
“I’m not sure. It’s still early here.”
“Thank you for keeping me posted.”
I walk to the kitchen naked and make myself a single serving of coffee. My dick has its morning wood, and it only gets stronger as I think about her. I know I can’t push her or make her do anything she doesn’t want to do, but until we can confirm that whoever is bothering her is out of the way, she’s not going to make any commitments.
I take my first sip, and the headache dulls.
I’ve only felt this passionate about Soleil Energy before—I knew what I wanted, and I was going to get it. But with Corrine, I know if I push too hard, I’ll push her away. Still, my future is with her.
I take a shower, and then I text her.
Me: Good morning. I’m just getting up. Call when you’re awake.
***
For the last four days, Corrine has been in my dreams every night. I’m sure it’s because we speak before I go to bed, and then I can’t get her off my mind. Last night she was wearing white lingerie, including thigh-high stockings and crotchless panties. I woke up sporting the biggest wood—like I was thirteen again.
I’m still unhappy that we can’t figure out why we’re having a nightly breach in the lines at the Halona Moana. It’s irritating at best. I’ve spoken to Jim about it twice in the last couple days, and even he’s confused. We have the best security system available, and his team is working with the manufacturer to figure what’s going on. I’m trying not to talk about it with Corrine so I don’t stress her.
On top of all of that, the last three days I’ve been dealing with production issues. We’ve stuttered Hydro’s entrance into the market, and our sales are through the roof. We’re having problems keeping up with the demand.
There seems to be a small reprieve from the phone calls here in the office today. I would love to hear Corrine’s voice. It’s too early to call her, or I would, and maybe we could have some dirty phone sex. I’m flying back tomorrow, and I can’t wait. I talk to Corrine every morning when she wakes and again after work. We seem to have a delicate balance of professional and naughty. But phone sex is not enough. I need to see and feel her. Sometimes I think I feel her slipping away, and it worries me.
This weekend my plan is to have lots of sex, spend as much time with her as I can, and help her with the poker tournament arrangements.
My cellphone rings, and it’s the house on Maui. It’s just after 5:30 a.m. there. For a second, I’m excited, thinking it’s probably Corrine, but then I realize she always calls from her cell phone.
“Jackson Graham.”
“Mr. Graham, this is Brian.”
These are never good calls.
“We had an issue this morning,” he says.
“What happened?”
“Actually, it was the boys who pointed it out to me. It seems someone was flying a drone over the estate this morning. It was a quiet one, so it wouldn’t have alerted us, but this morning the boys saw it outside the pool house at eye level. It even got so low as to look inside one of the windows in the pool house and in one of the estate windows—Corrine’s room.”
My radar moves to high alert. “Are Melinda and the boys okay?”
“Yes. Melinda was a bit shaken, but she’s fine. The boys thought it was cool, so what does that say about three year olds?”
“Have you alerted Corrine?”
“Yes, but she was in the library preparing for an early call with a vendor, so she wasn’t walking around the house or anything. But it concerns us that they seemed to know which room was hers.”
“I agree. What do we do?”
“The police are on their way. Legally I can’t shoot it down without violating FAA regulations. But Jim is flying out some radar-jamming devices that should arrive this evening. We’ll deploy these jammers, which will make the drones drop to the ground once they reach the area.”
I know Brian is a great guy, but I’m worried about Corrine. I’m responsible for my own schedule these days, and I was going to come in tomorrow, but I have meetings I think I can take over the phone or through video chat. “Brian, I’m going to fly in tonight. I’ll connect with Jim about bringing the jamming devices with me.”
“I’ll coordinate with the flight crew to be at the airport to pick you up.”
“Thanks. See you this evening. I suspect I’ll be in before dinner.”
I call Jim, we agree on our plan, and I alert the flight crew and still leave myself time to run home and pack my bag before heading into the airport.
Ben arrives in my office as I’m finishing up.
“Has Jim called you?” I ask.
“Yes, sir. He’s sending someone over so I can run home and pack my go bag, and then I’ll join you for the weekend.”
“Great. I’ve alerted the flight crew, and we’ll leave the office at three.”
“I understand. Would you like me to walk across to Starbucks?”
“You’ve read my mind, Ben.”
I bounce from call to call all morning. Shortly after nine, Corrine calls in.
“Good morning. How was your night?” I ask.
“I understand you’ve heard,” she says.
“I have. I’m flying in tonight.”
“That’s fantastic. I’m excited to see you, but I do hope it’s not because of the drone.”
It is entirely because of the drone, but I’m not going to make a big deal of it. “Not completely, I a
lso miss you. I hate this distance between us. Have you given any further thought to moving in?” Because that’s all I think about when I’m not at work.
“No. I’m more focused on getting everything done on time for Memorial Day. I’ll let Amber, the designer, know you’ll be in tonight, and hopefully you can figure out where we’re going with the décor in the island rooms.”
“Remind me which are the island rooms?”
“The Big Island is the second master, and the other seven rooms are all on the other side of the house.”
“Right. Why does she want to meet me?”
“She has design questions.”
“You know I don’t care about that.”
“I do, but I’ve made some changes, and she wants to talk to you specifically about them.”
I groan internally. Amber has worked with Corrine since the beginning. Why she needs me involved is beyond my comprehension.
“Whatever you need. I’m here to support you. Say, do you think we can have dinner out on the cliffs tonight? I think I’ll land by seven, and we can eat when I arrive.”
“Wherever you’d like.”
We talk for a while longer, and I hang up. I’m leaving in six hours and should be with Corrine within ten. Today’s going to be a great day.
Ben is my saving grace. Even though he becomes an overpaid errand runner, I’m grateful he doesn’t mind. He gets our coffee and orders our lunch. When Corrine returns, I’ll hire her an assistant to answer the phones and run errands.
I alert Ben that I’m ready to go, and it isn’t even three. He’s surprised, but I follow him out to the car, and we’re on the plane and airborne before three thirty.
I’m so excited that I can’t work or do much other than will the jet to go faster. When we finally land, I’m thrilled to see Corrine waiting in my favorite dress. I wonder if she has panties on.
I walk down the eight steps to meet her, and I bring her into my arms. It just feels right. I kiss her deeply. “God, I’ve missed you,” I breathe when we break.
“I’ve missed you, too.”
Royally Flushed: Tech Billionaires Page 26