“Well, thank you. I appreciate that so much. The Trident Towers is part of a mission statement my husband,” she raised her eyebrow and spoke lower, “my ex-husband, that is. And don’t worry. It was an amicable divorce. In fact, I think he sent these, unless your boyfriend did, Shannon.”
My pulse quickened. Either she was living in a fantasy world or she was tooling me. I couldn’t tell which one it was, and what complicated it more was that she was right about some of it.
“No, I’m sure they were meant for you, Rebecca,” I lied.
“I still enjoy working closely with him on his various philanthropic projects. As wives and family of Navy SEALs, it is often our calling to help heal these heroes when they come home. As I started to tell you, they have a saying, “Leave no man behind,” which is throughout all our military as a code of conduct. Some who come home can’t take the first step to becoming whole, to healing. They leave it all out on the battlefield and come home empty. We want to show them we love them. That they are not forgotten.”
She delivered it well. I put myself in the place I would have been if I hadn’t felt Marco pulsing inside me as he held me close—if I had never met him, tasted his kisses or the way he looked at me when we made love with our eyes open.
“Such an honorable and noble plan, Rebecca. And how unselfish of you to carry on your husband’s vision, too.”
“I think if you really loved someone once, you always do,” she answered timidly.
I imagined if Marco were watching the interview he’d throw something at the set right about now. She was exquisite with the lying and the play acting. Far better than I.
“So, when does construction begin and will all the designs be the same?”
“That’s the part I love the best. I should have been an interior decorator. We’re picking out colors right now, placing holds on fabric and carpeting. The construction will begin just as soon as the modified plans come out of design review. We have the financing all ready to go. I’d say, by next April? And occupancy on some of the earliest units in the back a year from now. Just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
“Really?”
She nodded, proud of herself.
“What kind of changes are you making to the plans?”
“Well, we’ve created some group living spaces where several bachelors can live together, share duties. They will be offered at a reduced rental rate. We have small condominium-style apartment homes for purchase, which will of course qualify for VA so the vets can come in with no money down. We’ve got a scale model prepared for the hearings, and I’ve brought in a whole new team of sales agents and representatives of the non-profit to help these men and women find the right home for them, based on what they can qualify for. We’ll have some that are designed for handicapped for some of our disabled veterans.”
She made it sound like Shangri-la. I was genuinely impressed at how well thought out the project was. “I’m sure our viewers will be anxious to hear more about it. When you have the interior renderings and color schemes, would you come back and share it again with us all?”
“I’d be happy to, Shannon.”
“And how can they get in touch with the non-profit group that is helping to spearhead this?”
“Well, when I took over, I naturally had to make some staffing changes. I have a brilliant general manager working under me and he has charity background, so he’s going to handle the sales. Perhaps we can have him come on and share as well. He’s smart. He’s about your age, Shannon, and he’s very cute!”
I couldn’t help but blush. I immediately sensed he was her new boyfriend, her new toy. Something she could torture and make run away.
“I’ll leave the contact information so anyone can call the station and get that given to them,” she added.
“That would be great!” My voice broke so I grabbed my water.
The ending music began and I was surprised how quickly the ten minutes had gone by. After I thanked her for her time, we talked out of earshot of the audience. She became fixated on the roses, and touched them.
“You are sure your boyfriend didn’t…because this looks like…” she started.
“No ma’am. If he had sent these, there would have been a card. Trust me on that.” A nervous giggle erupted from my throat, and then I had a hiccup.
“May I take them with me?”
“Of course. They’re yours, Rebecca.”
“Care to join me for a bite to eat?”
“No thanks, I have some things here I have to work on for the weather report later on.”
“Dinner?”
“My boyfriend, remember?”
“Oh yes. Well, maybe tomorrow then. If you’re free.”
“I’m going to play it by ear. He has to leave on—” I hesitated giving too much detail. “I think he’ll be here until Thursday and I want as much time with him as possible. Thank you so much for doing this, Rebecca.”
“I enjoyed it.”
Chapter 15
Marco
The Bentley was to arrive soon, so I quickly showered. I thought about the phone call I had with sultan Bonin earlier today. It went well, which is to say I gave him everything he wanted. In return, he got me. He didn’t want anyone else. He wanted me. And he would have paid double what he offered me. It was an insane amount of money.
So I light-heartedly asked him for his advice on the woman front.
“My biggest problem, son.”
“Oh really? Because everyone looks pretty happy to me.”
“You are not family. With family, they fight like cats and dogs.”
“So how do you keep the peace, then?”
“By never expecting it to change. Now, when my affairs of the heart get in the way of my duties as administrator of our tiny kingdom, my ministers’ step in,
