“Gem, youarefamily.”
“Ditto to what Frankie said. You’re just as much a sister to me as Leslie,” Charlie told her. “Nan would be insulted if you didn’t show up to dinner. She loves you.”
“And so does my dad,” Frankie added.
“As long as you’re sure, it’s a yes from me.”
Sequoia Valley is where my second family is. Maybe I should consider looking at a couple places to rent. It couldn’t hurt.
* * *
Around two, Gemma ordered a car service and was dropped off in the car park of a nondescript-looking concrete office building. Unless a person looked closely, it was difficult to tell that it was the headquarters of the Jasper Ridge Jaguars pro hockey team. While the car park was filled with high-end vehicles, the exterior of the building was labeled as Lake Wakahanra Business Park.
Entering the building’s lobby, Gemma spotted the team’s logo, a fierce orange jaguar jumping out of a circle with a hockey stick in its mouth, painted on the wall behind a reception desk manned by two security officers.
“Can I help you?” one of the officers asked.
She shifted her handbag from one shoulder to the other. “Hi. I’m Gemma MacLeod. I’m here to meet with Dr. Zhang at two-fifteen.”
“Do you have your ID with you?”
“Um, no. I didn’t think I’d need my passport.” She blinked twice. “I have a photo of it on my mobile. Will that do?”
The security officer stared at his computer screen and typed in a few things. “If that’s all you have, I guess we don’t have much of a choice.”
Gemma located the photo of her passport, passed her mobile to them, and answered a few other questions. She was issued a temporary visitor’s badge.
“Dr. Zhang’s office is on the fourth floor, suite number 405. Keep this visible at all times and don’t forget to turn it in when you depart.”
She thanked them, stepped into the lift, and pressed the button for four.
A few moments later, Dr. Zhang greeted her at the lift’s exit. “Gemma, nice to see you again. The front desk just buzzed me that you were here.”
“Hi, Dr. Zhang, the feeling is mutual. Thanks for fitting me in.”
“I’m happy to help.”
“The Jaguars certainly take security seriously.” She laughed nervously.
“When you’re owned by a family of billionaires, unfortunately, it’s a necessary evil.” He ushered her inside a room filled with all different types of top-of-the-line gym and medical equipment.
“Billionaires?” she sputtered.
“Yes, the Nunez family operates all their businesses out of the building. Off the top of my head, the two largest companies in their portfolio are SearchTube and the airline they just acquired, Pacific Skyways.”
I guess when you own a huge tech firm, an airline, and a pro sports team, everybody might want a piece of you.
Dr. Zhang sat behind a large desk and gestured for her to do the same on the other side. “How are you doing?”
“I’m hanging in there.” Gemma shrugged. “Since I haven’t been skating, when I wake up in the morning, the deep ache that’s been bothering me for the last couple of months has lessened. The shooting pains are also less frequent.”
“Excellent.” He took a few notes. “How many hours a week were you skating until you stopped? And what off-ice activities have you been doing?”
“It varies depending on how many shows we have, but I skate anywhere from four to six hours a day. Off-ice, I usually do jump rope, the elliptical, or cycling on the stationary bike for warm-up and cardio. For strength training, I do some weight training and Pilates. This last week, however, all I’ve done is go out on some walks and some stretching. Oh, and I’ve made sure that I’m doing the exercises the company PT gave me too.”
“Are those the ones you emailed me on Friday?”
“Yes.”
