Chapter 71
Daniel
Fort Bend, Texas
‘Chuck Regas: the man, the myth, the legend … the crook’
Read the headline on the front page of theNew York Tribune. Daniel couldn’t remember ever having bought a physical newspaper but that morning he had driven into town early and then sat in his mom’s car reading the article from start to finish. It was enthralling, damning and beautifully written. The pride that swelled in his chest was almost painful.
On the ride home, he flicked through no less than three different radio stations butchering Ore’s name as they speculated about this new ‘rising star of journalism’ who had emerged seemingly overnight to take down one of the most powerful men in the world. Shares in Pagonis were plummeting; everyone wanted to know why they’d never heard about Claude Van Der Bodem before.
‘He comes across as some kind of Disney villain. Honestly, the real question is how was he allowed to operate such a profitable and destructive company for so many years completely from the shadows?’ came the indignant voice of the presenter as he pulled into his mom’s drive.
He switched the ignition off, tucked the newspaper under his arm and walked up to the door, keys at the ready. But before he could use them, it was opened from the inside.
She was even more beautiful than he’d remembered, her hair a cascade of dark tight coils, her smile radiant.
His mom’s voice called from the kitchen, ‘I tried to call you, but you left your phone. We have a visitor.’
‘I can see that,’ he replied softly, and Ore grinned.
‘I’m sorry it took me so long to come visit. I had some work to finish up.’
Daniel was in shock and it was all he could do to hold up the paper in his hand dumbly.
‘It just felt a little lame to justsendyou my love, when I could just give it to you myself …’ If Ore had had anything else to say, he would never know, because he couldn’t help himself any longer. He placed both hands on her cheeks and pulled her to him, kissing her softly at first, but then more urgently as the depth of his longing for her uncoiled itself. She snaked her arms around his neck and the rest of the world vanished.
‘And how do you two know each other then?’ His mom’s voice was brimming with bemusement. They pulled away from each other in a startle.
‘This is Ore, we um … we met on the boat a few weeks ago.’ It seemed such an unsatisfactory explanation, but they’d need a lot more time to tell the whole story.
