Kip continued around the table until it came around to Ian. “With Tag’s assistance, I placed $100,000 in your safe, Kip. Tomorrow, I’d advise distributing $5000.00 to each executive in this room. I plan on—”
The door flew open. “Couillons, am I late?” Julian “Smooth” Dupart, one of the San Diego branch heads, filled the door.
“Always a great entrance, Smooth.” Kip tapped his heart.
Ian’s eyes smiled. “As I was saying before the interruption, I’m catching a flight at dawn. I will task the DC branch to find the mystery woman seen at the Matin home. I will also ask them to take Ovax down to the first drop of ink on its origination paperwork. Kip, I’m a phone call away. I’ll leave you to it.”
Ian leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Believe.” Kip nodded. “Goodnight, all.”
Bless Ian. He remembered the first time Ian told him to “believe.” They were knee-deep in mud in the Colombian jungle, five hours away from their evacuation point with three hours to the pickup, carrying injured. Ian said “Believe,” and, somehow, they made it. He hoped Ian was right again.Believe.
The group stood as Ian left the room, and Julian took the seat Ian vacated. “What are you doing here?” Kip chuckled.
“Do you think I’d miss a true Louisiana hurricane? I thought thewho you knowfactor may come in handy. Dad and Mom are making phone calls. Unlike my brother, I’m learning to work with them.”
Tag spit the coffee he was sipping through his teeth. “Sure, they live in La Jolla. They work under Troy’s leadership. And you gave them another grandchild. I’m working on a similar set up.” He winked at Nora.
“Would the Dupart kids behave?” Kip asked.
Kyle rubbed his brow. He wasn’t as good at concealing his stress as Kip was.
“I spoke with the employees with background check issues. I found similar issues that Jule found in San Diego: DUI, juvenile records for shoplifting, underage drinking offenses that have followed them since college. Anyone with a crime against another person or persons were terminated—a total of six.
“Licensing—most were idiots and only failed to turn in up-to-date credentials. They either had a new version at home, or it was a marital name change. They were warned and reminded this is a condition of employment. Three nurses and two physicians were terminated for working with expired credentials. One, a nurse, was turned over to police for working without a license,” Kyle finished.
“Marital name change? Tobey, find out the maiden names of Adelaide Matin, Lourdes Sommerstone as well as the parents of Rene and Gabriel and their mother’s maiden names,” Kip asked.
“If that’s all, everyone turn in. Tomorrow looks like the beginning of a new hell week.” Kip smiled, his eyes almost slits from the weight of the bags beneath them.
Julian, Wes, Kyle, Rich, and Bruce remained behind. “Any word?” Julian asked.
Kip swallowed hard. “Nothing. I’m kicking myself. I had doubts about Matin. I should’ve had Zayne pull her the minute I heard she was there.”
Five sets of shaking heads greeted him. “And that would’ve worked in whose book? Not only would she be pissed at you, but you also wouldn’t have known she was visiting until the house blew up,” Julian said.
“You came down here to give me relationship pointers?” Kip pressed his lips together.
“That’s a benefit of me being me. Boy, I came down here to help you avoid getting eaten by a gator, bitten by a snake, and getting swallowed up in swamp quicksand.” His Creole accent was over the top.
The group of men couldn’t resist laughing. “No kidding now. Kip, make sure everyone who is qualified has a rescue swimmer bag, and your other security people have their own lifejackets. Make sure every supervisor has a supply of quick-inflate life jackets. I brought 5000 in with me, plus one hundred rescue swimmer packs.”
“I didn’t think of that. Shit.” Kip frowned.
“That’s why we function as a group,” Julian said.
“Everyone, head back to my house and get some rest,” Kip ordered.
“I’ll stay. I’m on California time,” Julian said.
The rest of the group left, leaving Julian and Kip alone. “When did you know about Holly?” Kip asked.
“Know? The first minute I saw her. Accepted it? After Troy signed to me. I wasted a lot of time.”
Kip grabbed his briefcase. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
Chapter 30
Josh sat waiting at the secretary’s desk when his boss and Julian came out of the CEO’s office. Kip smiled. “Go home. Send some relief.”
