***
Noah is still talking to Brad as Chief enters the coffee shop.
“Hi, Brad.”
“Hi, Dad. This is Noah. Says he’s here to meet you and the tribal council.”
“Got that right.” Chief gives Noah the quick once-over and offers his hand. “I’m Chief.”
“Glad to meet you, Chief. Brad’s a bright kid.”
“Too bright. Brad, Noah and I have got to go. See you later.”
“Maybe.”
Noah gets up. He and Chief walk out of the coffee shop and head to toward the administrative center.
“Thanks for coming on short notice. Did you have a look around?”
“A bit. I like to have a firsthand perspective at what the foundation gets involved in… You know, it wouldn’t be too hard to change this place into a money-making venture. A coat of paint here and there, update the machines—”
Chief interrupts. “I don’t give a hoot about that. If we want to make money, we could have stayed profitable from day one on. But I don’t want to do it on the backs of our people, and it seems that’s what’s it going to take to get it to happen.”
“Brad says the problem is the tribal council.”
“He probably said the problem is me. That I’m holding progress back. All that shit. But let’s get real. He’s got substance abuse issues now, but if the casino goes full blast, it’s gonna get all the kids… ”
Noah likes this guy. No bull. Straight shooter. To the point. Noah nods in agreement. “I hear you.”
Chief sighs. “We’ve got to make a decision right quick, but there’s something in my gut that says we’re pissing in the wind, barking up the wrong tree… Progress isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“So how much do you need?”
“A lot more today than yesterday when I called. Yesterday, we could have got by with less than seven million.”
“What happened overnight?”
“A miracle. A miracle that’s a disaster. There’s a special state subcommittee looking at our situation. They were given extraordinary powers that no other committee has had because everyone is panicked about us Injuns. Now, I gotta admit that our tribe has not had a stellar record financially. We have pissed away a lot of dough, and that includes me.”
“So a lot of people aren’t doing business with you.”
Chief nods. “Exactly. We’ve been looking around trying to cut a deal with anyone that would want to come in, but it’s been tough. So last night, the committee passed a binding resolution that our tribe would be able to sell the Coyote River outright to whoever we want, as long as the new owner is approved by the committee. There is a candidate who most of the council is in love with. She’s smart, gorgeous and her family has casino ownership experience. And they have deep pockets.”
“That sounds pretty good,” admits Noah. “I’d go for that.”
“I’d rather turn it into a community center. The main Coyote River could be a huge gym and rec center. We could have basketball, racquetball and squash courts. A great fitness center. The hotel rooms? Some of them can be offices; some of them can stay rooms for the kids who need a place to stay. We need this, Noah. That’s why I called you.”
Noah inhales. He can see the merits of both contrasting visions. “So who’s behind the offer to buy that everyone loves so much?”
“We just call her Prez. Her father owns a big, fantastic casino in Macao called the Tiger Palace.”
Noah has just been struck with a blow harder than any heavyweight boxing champion could deliver. And it makes perfect sense.
If you strip away all the layers of paperwork, shell companies and a myriad of other legal obfuscations that Garret Southam, Olivia’s father, had put in place, Chin owned Tiger Palace.
But something doesn’t make sense. When Noah and Garret took down Chin a few short months ago, Noah thought that all the properties had been repossessed, too. Garret had orchestrated the legal structures in such a way that virtually every one of Chin’s assets, including his beloved Tiger Palace, was literally floating on so much borrowed money that like a house of cards, it could be blown down with just a little puff.
Did Garret miscalculate, or did Chin have an extra source of funds that the Tiger Master managed to hide from his senior lawyer?
Noah’s not willing to take the chance to find out and offers preemptively, “I’ll do it. The Chad Huang Foundation will come in and take over the Coyote River.”
“I wish it were that easy, Noah. And it’s a lot more than yesterday. Instead of three million, it’s fifty times that amount.”
“Coyote River’s not worth that. Nowhere close.”
“There’s a few other casinos in the same boat as us. Not as bad but close. Prez gets those for next to nothing if they fail and she succeeds here.”
Noah whistles. “Then it becomes a bargain. Do you think that you could get rest of the tribal council to back me?”
Chief nods. “No. But we can try.”
***
“How did it go?”
“Not well. There is competition. They sprang it on me during the meeting.”
“Who is it?”
“They wouldn’t say.”
“Then you better find out.”
“How?”
“Prez, you are on the ground. I am in Shanghai. You have to figure it out. And when you do, nail the coffin tight because that ghost is very slippery.”
***
Prez walks up to the reception desk. “Hi, Simon. How’s it going?”
“It’ll be a lot better when you take over, Prez. Get some snap into this place. We’ve had one booking in the past three days. One. And he’s not even paying. Courtesy of Chief. Room 647. The nicest suite we got.”
“Damned freeloaders.”
“Damn straight, Prez.”
“What’s his name?”
“Noah Reid. He flew in from Shanghai just for this meeting.”
“Thanks, Simon.”
Prez turns around and walks away.
Noah Reid? In Oregon?
Prez steels herself. Suddenly, things are a whole lot harder. With an opponent like Reid, there is no such thing as a simple assassination. If it were, her father or one of her siblings would already have put him away.
And then she gets a gift. A text from Chief.
Sorry, but this meeting will take longer than expected. Maybe another two hours.
As Prez steps into the elevator, she assesses the situation in light of her own personal arsenal.
By the time the elevator hits the sixth floor, the plan is in place—she has to throw her entire arsenal at him, but fastballs won’t work. It’s got to be a mixture of curve balls, spitters and change-ups.
***
A few minutes later, Prez has slipped into Room 647.
Prez takes out a little package from her bag and hides it in a pocket on the inside of Noah’s suitcase, then leaves as discreetly as she entered.
She makes a call.
“Yes, Prez.”
“I will be uploading more footage shortly. Be creative.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll kill you.”
“That’s why I love you, Prez.”
CLICK.
Chapter 17
Get me outta here is all Noah can think about. He and the tribal council have been meeting for over an hour, and they are running around in circles. After the obligatory exchange of business cards at the beginning of their meeting, Chief reiterated the tribe’s current position, and Sandy presented her proposal. When Noah expressed his willingness to participate, that began an intensive grilling. And much of it had nothing to do with Coyote River’s casino—that was the easy part.
They thoroughly interrogate Noah about his entire personal and professional life: his relationship with his mentor, Master Wu. Was there anything sexual in the relationship? The murder of his parents by a drug addict. Was he really trying to help, or is there a hidden revenge motive in place?
Duh. Is he a “kept” man by a rich wife? Is that why he’s not interested in money?
Finally, Noah’s had it. “I know you are all tired of meetings. Hearing promises, thoughts of promises and false promises and outright lies. You want to know all about me, but that’s not really what’s important. It’s all about the money. A few months ago, three billion dollars was dropped into my lap. A few of my friends and I decided that we wanted to help change the world. For nearly the last four months, my job has been to find worthy projects to give the money to. All of them have a youth focus because we believe if you catch people before they’ve jumped in with the sharks, you have a better chance of saving them from being eaten. To date, we’ve funded more than a thousand centers, guaranteeing them funding and operating expenses for ten years so they don’t need to worry about fundraising for a long time. We want to do the same here and are prepared to spend whatever it’s going to take to get it done.”
“You mean you are willing to put up one hundred and fifty million?” asks Sally.
“That is the only reason I am here. I have no strings attached.”
“Thanks, Noah. Can you leave us for a few minutes? We’ll give you a call shortly,” says Chief.
Noah can’t get out of the room fast enough.
***
Noah is pissed as he enters his hotel room. God, I can’t stand bureaucrats. At the Chad Huang Foundation, he’s had to put up with his share of them, all of them questioning his motives, but this last group of them has been the worst.
Noah goes directly to the bathroom and opens the door.
Standing right in front of him is Prez, completely nude.
Before he knows it, she has jumped on him and thrust her tongue down his throat.
He knows he should push her off and run away, but Prez’s sexual aura is absolutely irresistible—even to the most faithful of men.
She guides him out of the bathroom and toward the bed. She takes his hands, sucks on a finger and then places it on her cheek.
Noah’s eyes inhale Prez’s breasts—not simply because they are centerfold quality but because of the multicolored dragons tattooed on them. He has always found tattoos sexy and even managed to convince Olivia into planting two butterflies facing each other on her bum cheeks.
But the bigger turn-on is the taste of forbidden fruit. Evil that says, “Get away as fast as you can.”
If Noah allowed himself to be honest for a moment, he would tell you that he would have preferred to have slept with Queenie, Prez’s beguiling half sister, rather than killing her.
“You know I won’t do this, Prez.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“So why are you here?” Now that’s got to be a stupid question.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Noah. I worked very hard to put the deal together.”
Noah stands still while Prez leads him toward the bed. She’s like Cleopatra, Helen of Troy and Mata Hari rolled into one.
“You don’t have the money to do the deal. Your father has thrown everything at me to try to get his back.”
“I’m not interested in working with my father. I’m interested in working with you.”
Her eyes are eating me up.
Prez starts taking Noah’s shirt off. She runs her fingers down his chest.
“There’s no reason that you can’t run your youth center and have a money-making casino. Especially the way I want to do it.”
“What are you suggesting, Prez?”
Every sentence a double entendre. An obvious meaning and a sexual one.
“I’m not my father’s daughter. He’s not the kind of man that I think anyone would ever want to do business with. I’ve never done a deal of this complexity and was hoping you might be willing to partner with me.”
She runs her hand down toward Noah’s zipper. “I am most definitely interested, and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Noah doesn’t resist until…
RING! Noah’s cell phone rings.
RING. “Ignore it, Noah.”
“I can’t.” Noah picks it up. “Hi, Olivia, what’s up?”
“Nothing, I can’t sleep, and I… I was thinking about you, about us… the baby. I couldn’t stop. It’s been bugging me for the last ten minutes that I needed to talk to you, to hear your voice. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No, sweetheart. It was just the right time. Is everything okay?”
“If you call staring at four walls twenty-four-seven okay. I’m getting to know everything about the Wang family… ”
Noah chuckles. “That’s good. Hey, I’ll see you soon. I’m almost done here.”
“That’s good… Can I ask you a stupid question?”
“You can ask me anything.”
“Do you really love me?”
It’s a question that is so awkward, yet…
“Of course, I do. And I always will.”
“Thanks, Noah. I’m sorry to bother you.”
“Never a bother. But I do have to get back. Love you.”
“You too. Bye.”
Noah clicks off his cell and turns to Prez. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”
He pushes her hands off his body, goes to the washroom and locks the door.
***
The argument is heated and passionate. Turk, Freddy, Russell and Gina press hard for Sandy’s proposal of allowing Prez to purchase Coyote River. Melva, Chief, Sally and Krystal are equally passionate about the socially responsible approach of Noah and the Chad Huang Foundation. All inwardly curse the decision of a previous council that there be an even number of members voting on any resolution so that any decision would be a clear victory and not simply a majority of 50 percent plus one.
They have voted three times, and each time the vote splits evenly. No one has changed their vote, and it seems like the deadlock will continue.
Chief types a message into his smartphone and sends it out to Prez and Noah.
Can you please come back to the boardroom?
***
Looking at Noah’s and Prez’s expressions, Sandy and the tribal council would never have guessed what almost happened in Noah’s room a few scant minutes ago.
“Both of your proposals are excellent, which is why we haven’t been able to make a definitive decision yet. We’re hoping to get some answers that will help us make up our minds.”
“Of course,” says Prez.
“Fire away,” shrugs Noah.
“You know the amount the committee has suggested. That is one thing the tribal council has agreed upon. What would be the timing of your payment? Prez, can you go first please? Noah, you’ll have a chance to respond after Prez speaks,” says Chief.
“I am willing to pay the full one hundred and fifty million. Three million dollars will be put into the tribe’s coffers by Monday, which will satisfy the credit union’s immediate demands. The balance will be divided into three equal payments, payable on the first of every month.”
Prez’s confident demeanor belies her anxiety about the necessity of the other parts of her strategy falling perfectly into place.
“Thank you, Prez. And you, Noah?” asks Chief.
“I am prepared to have two hundred and fifty million deposited into the tribe’s coffers within three business days, contingent on the board’s approval.”
Gasps of amazement. A hundred million more than anyone thought the property was valued at and three business days for payment in full?
“However, I’m not proposing a cash windfall for Coyote River. There are three Oregon casinos that are close to a similar financial plight you’re facing. If they are willing to convert their casinos into youth community centers, they will also have access to the funds. If he is willing, Chief will be the administrator of the new Native American Youth Initiative.”
“So that’s four casinos for two hundred and fifty. By the time you pay off the debts, buy out the buildings and staff it, there’s not a lot of money left,�
�� says Turk.
“The idea is to help Native American youth, not fund the Coyote River retirement plan.”
Noah takes his cell phone out and makes a call.
“Hello, Noah.”
“Hold on a sec, Sam.”
Noah makes another call.
“Yes, Noah?” says Olivia.
“Olivia and Sam, this is a threeway conference call board meeting. I need a quick answer. Would the Chad Huang Foundation be willing to donate two hundred and fifty million to convert Coyote River and a number of other Native American casinos to youth centers? If not, they will remain as casino complexes.”
“Do you even need to ask? Youth centers, of course,” says Olivia.
“Noah, there’s enough damned casinos in the world. Of course, something for the kids,” says Sam.
“Thank you both.”
Noah hangs up. “Board approval done.”
Sandy speaks up. “We would have to take this back to the gambling subcommittee. You are going outside the mandate of the gambling committee now. We have no authorization to deal with anything other than the casino license.”
“Do you actually think that there would be anyone opposed to this proposal?” asks Noah with a hint of derision in his voice. “It would be political suicide. Especially when Chief would be appointed the sole administrator of the funds.”
“Which would be perceived as a payoff to him for going along with this scheme,” says Sandy.
“What the hell are you talking about?” says Noah, now thoroughly irritated.
“This is nothing to do with you or me. This is strictly due diligence and protocol.”
“Screw protocol. Can’t you see what you’re doing?”
“I am a representative of the state of Oregon, and my duty is to represent its citizens.”
RITUAL SACRIFICE: The Ultimate Alpha Female & Political Corruption on the West Coast (Noah Reid Action Suspense Thriller Series Book 5) Page 13