The Power Trip

Lori, the girl who’d lasted longer than most.

But wasn’t her time about up?

Enid seemed to think so. As did Cliff’s PR people, his agent, manager, and the wives of all his many friends.

It was time for Lori to go.

Or was it?

Cliff always enchanted at award ceremonies with his self-deprecating grin, his air of sophistication mixed with just that tiny sliver of bad boy.

Oh yes, Cliff Baxter was a man of the people with a sexy edge.

Tonight he was at the pinnacle of his fame, with Lori — clad in a sleek silver dress and sky-high Louboutins — by his side. It was his first public appearance since the tragedy on The Bianca. Expectations of what he would do and say were high. Who would he speak to? What lucky journalist would get an exclusive?

Nobody knew.

Everyone cared.

He chose Jennifer Ward out of all of them. She was smart and feisty and he’d always enjoyed being interviewed by her.

‘So, Mr Baxter,’ Jennifer said, head on one side, mildly flirting, ‘want to tell us all about your summer vacation?’

Cliff smiled. Movie-star smile. Movie-star teeth.

Standing next to him, Lori felt a warm glow.

‘No, Jennifer,’ Cliff said amiably. ‘I think enough has been written about that already, don’t you?’

‘Our viewers are dying to know more,’ Jennifer said, gently pushing the mic towards him. ‘You’re quite the big hero — and yet so modest.’

‘I know you’re anxious, so I do have something for your viewers,’ Cliff said, pulling Lori into the shot. ‘In fact, we both do.’

Jennifer’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Both?’ she queried, because usually Cliff did not include his girlfriends in his interviews.

‘Yes,’ Cliff said. ‘Listen, I know I’ve said I would never do this, but…’ He leaned into Lori and gave her a full- on kiss. ‘This beautiful redhead and I — we’re getting married. So ladies, you can cross me off your lists. I am now well and truly taken.’

* * *

Dateline: Paris

Bianca would always be a super-star. She did not need a billionaire Russian oligarch to give her credibility.

After the pirating of The Bianca, things between her and Aleksandr had not gone well. First of all, Bianca had no patience with illness. Not that Aleksandr was ill, but he was on crutches, and that did not sit well with her. She had a certain image to maintain, and that image did not include a limping cripple by her side.

Harsh?

Yes. But Bianca was nothing if not honest.

Back in Moscow they fought constantly, long dragged-out screaming matches about how much time he was spending with his children, and why was his divorce taking so long? They did not make love. Aleksandr was never in the mood.

The thing that really irked Bianca was that he’d never mentioned a ring, and she could’ve sworn she’d seen that girl on the yacht steal a ring from his safe.

One cold Moscow morning, she’d woken up and thought, What am I doing here?

Later that day she was on a plane to Paris. And that’s where she’d been ever since.

Aleksandr never chased after her.

She didn’t care.

Within weeks she’d hooked up with an Internet nerd who’d made billions selling a series of complicated apps and websites.

A month later they were married in Tahiti.

Internet Nerd did not request her to sign a pre-nup.

* * *

Dateline: Moscow

Two weeks after Bianca left Moscow, Aleksandr called Xuan. They made polite conversation on the phone, until Aleksandr suggested that he send his plane for her to visit him in Moscow. ‘We have much to discuss,’ he said, sounding very formal.

Xuan was cagey. ‘We do?’ she asked carefully.

‘Yes, we do. The orphanage, other matters. Where are you?’

‘Vietnam.’

‘Of course. I’ll send the plane.’

‘No. I’ll make my own way there.’

‘As you please.’

Xuan took her time. She arrived in Moscow ten days later and checked into a hotel. Only then did she text Aleksandr to inform him she was there.

‘I’ll send a car for you,’ he said.

‘I’ll walk,’ she said.

‘Don’t be so stubborn. The car will pick you up in twenty minutes.’

Xuan stopped arguing and thought about all the good she could do in the world if she was with a man like Aleksandr.

But he was with Bianca.

Or maybe not. She’d heard rumours that Bianca had left him and was currently with someone else.

She prepared herself. If Aleksandr wanted more than a business relationship, could it possibly work?

He was a very attractive and intriguing man.

There was no harm in finding out.

* * *

Dateline: New York

Sierra returned to New York and the loving arms of her family. She was no longer perceived as the good political wife. She was now The Widow. A tragic but beautiful figure, feted by all as the brave woman who’d always stood by her husband’s side.

The sex scandal was long gone, wiped off the front pages in an instant.

Senator Hammond Patterson had lost his life defending the virtue of a young, innocent girl. He was an American hero.

Eddie March rallied to Sierra’s side. He tracked down Radical, sent her Goth boyfriend back to Wyoming, and made sure she was front and centre at her father’s funeral, standing right next to Hammond’s grieving widow.

Sierra went through it all in a daze. It was all too much for her to take in. Had she wished Hammond dead? Was his untimely demise her fault?

She didn’t know. She was confused. She was suffused with sadness. And when Flynn tried to contact her, she told him that she needed time to get her head straight and that she would call him when she felt up to it.

In the meantime she threw herself into her work. The rape crisis centre. The battered women’s homes. And anything else to keep her fully occupied.

Eddie was always there for her. Kind and understanding. The man that Hammond never was.

Sierra had no idea what her future held. She was living it day by day.

* * *

Dateline: Paris

Flynn returned to Afghanistan, a place where strangely enough he felt safe. He was working on a story about