Page 38 of My Sister is Going to Kill Me

“What about the guides?”

“Them too. We’ll start with the inner circle and expand from there. I’ll touch base with Charlie, try to keep him calm. You talk to PK. See if he can shed any light on the situation.”

“Okay,” Mandy said. “But when we split up the guides, I want Thor.”

“We aren’t prioritizing who to talk to based on hotness,” Liv said.

“You have your methods, partner. I have mine.”

Chapter Eighteen

Mandy strode to the dishwashing station, timing her arrival to sync up with her target. It felt good to start with Babette’s assistant instead of Charlie or Devon. Those two were at least a decade older than her, top brass, more likely to be on guard. The best sources were always at the bottom—people who collected information like magpies to help them get ahead. People like PK Raghuram.

“Love love LOVE your shorts,” she said. It was true. PK’s shorts were bright blue with koalas all over them, chomping away at tiny eucalyptus leaves. He’d paired them with a faded pink tank top and a silvery-white Babette headband that sent his faux-hawk shooting up like a feathery firework.

PK couldn’t help it; he smiled back at Mandy. His hands were in the suds, conveniently trapping him at the table at least through rinsing and drying.

“Thank you so much for making this happen,” she gushed. “You must have put in a lot of work to get all of us here.”

“It’s my job.” PK looked tired, maybe hungover. Babette was based in Las Vegas, and Mandy suspected he was a creature of bright lights and concrete. She wondered whether his colorful outfit was an expression of joy or a performance, a way to mask the stress of an extended work trip with no indoor plumbing.

She flicked her turtle sarong at him and smiled. “Apparently you and I were the only ones to get the memo about wearing animal print.”

He wiped his hands on his koalas. “Honestly? I didn’t expect investors to be up for this at all.”

“Have you put together this kind of trip for the company before?” she asked.

“Yes and no. This is my first Essence Quest. I joined the team three years ago, after the Fierce line had launched. But we do a board retreat every year in a foreign location, and that’s a lot of moving parts—booking reservations, making sure everyone’s needs are met. This is different. I don’t have to worry about what wine we’re pairing with dinner or who wants their board packet printed in eighteen-point font. But there are a lot of things out here I can’t control, and in some ways . . .”

“It’s worse?”

“Just harder to get a handle on.” His cheek twitched.

“It can’t be easy without Babette here.”

“It isn’t.” PK’s lips clamped into a firm line, and Mandy worried for a moment that she had lost him. PK had been the only one to express real distress about Babette’s well-being the day before. Whether he had useful information about his boss’s whereabouts or not, he was invested. Maybe even scared. It was up to Mandy to keep him talking before he shut down.

“Do you know everyone here?” she asked.

“Yes and no,” PK said. “The family, of course. And Dr. Fiona was around a lot when I first started at the company. Imogen and Lucinda I’ve never met before. But I knew from the contract negotiations that Imogen would be . . . special.”

It was clear the teenager was a flavor of special he never intended to order again.

“And Stefan?”

“Eriksen? This is the first time I’ve seen him. He became a trustee last year, and he’s never even switched on his video for a board call. I was starting to wonder if he was real.”

They looked over to where the bearded man was standing with Lucinda, both of them listening earnestly as Big Pete pointed out various sections of the supply boat.

“He seems into it,” Mandy said.

“Hopefully that translates to a favorable report.” PK twitched again, a reflexive twist of his left cheek. “He works for our biggest investor.”

“But they didn’t want to come themselves?”

Twitch.

“Well, I’m here to make it better.” Mandy raised one hand and touched her pinky to her thumb in her best impression of a Girl Scout. “I solemnly swear to be the lowest-maintenance, highest-fun investor you’ve ever had to deal with.”