“That wasn’t nice, Winston.”
The shepherd hung his head but only for a moment before he stood on his hind legs to put his paws on Pete’s shoulders. He looked over at Zolly and barked a happy greeting.
The authorities were not pleased, but when they saw the shepherd’s owner, they adjusted their attitudes. The dog had been crated, but it was airport personnel who let the animal get away from them. They knew it, and Pete knew it. Apologies were all over the place as Zolly reached into a cavernous bag on his shoulder for a leash and collar.
Security followed what became known as the “Kelly party” out of the airport. At least that’s how it was reported on the evening news. If Peter Aaron Kelly went to the drugstore, it was news. If he went on a plane trip, the stock market went wild wondering what he was up to. Suddenly, Lily was in awe of the man at her side.
Outside the airport, a caravan of four Hummers was waiting. Three contained PAK Industries security. Zolly had his own Hummer, which was the third car in line. Pete, Lily, and Winston climbed into the second Hummer, and they were off.
Winston barked his pleasure as he tugged at his seat belt.
“I taught him to do that,” Pete said proudly. “And he’s only two years old. I had his parents, but they…they got old and went peacefully in their sleep. I have a whole menagerie back in Georgia.”
Lily laughed as Winston kept slapping her hand with his paw. “What other kind of animals do you have?” She wondered why she’d never gotten a pet.
“I have a big old cat named Agatha. She just wandered by one day, decided she liked me, and stayed. She’s pretty much the boss. Winston treats her like a lady because she hisses at him. I have two Golden Retrievers named Jam and Jelly. They’re sisters from the same litter. They’re only a year old and they’ve already chewed through a couch, a chair, an air conditioner vent, and two door frames. They were working on the floor when I left. My house is definitely lived in, and not very pretty. A month ago someone dumped a basket of newborn pups in my driveway. I have that sort of thing going on all the time. But I have a nine-to-five vet seven days a week who keeps it all under control. I’m just a sucker for animals. I could never turn one away.” He looked over at Lily, and said, “I guess they’re the kids I never had.”
Lily’s eyes filled. She dabbed at them. “Understood. At least you had the good sense to go for it. I never even had goldfish.”
“I have those, too. I’ve even got a koi pond. You name it, and I have it. You have to come see for yourself.” Pete’s eyes bored into hers as he waited for her response.
“If that’s an invitation, I accept. South Carolina is right next to Georgia.”
Pete felt like pounding his chest. “I’ll send my plane for you when you’re ready.”
Lily adjusted her hat and smiled. “I have my own plane, thank you very much. But with the cost of fuel these days, I’ll be glad to fly in yours. Why aren’t we looking at the stuff in the envelope?”
“Because I can’t read in a moving vehicle. I get sick to my stomach.”
“How weird. Me, too.”
Pete felt like beating at his chest again. Instead, he leaned back and closed his eyes. “I’m thinking,” he said.
“And I need to know this…why?”
“When I think I don’t talk. I don’t want you to think I’m being rude.”
“Oh,” was all Lily could think of to say. She, too, leaned back and closed her eyes, but unlike Pete, Lily fell asleep.
The caravan of Hummers came to a stop under the portico of a secluded hotel. A doorman in a top hat and tails sprang to attention as bellmen hustled when he snapped his fingers. The man had arrived. At the foot of the long circular driveway, reporters and photographers with their zoom lenses snapped pictures and shouted questions, all of which Pete ignored.
Within minutes, the Hummers were driven off and the guests shepherded to private villas at the back of the hotel. Pete looked around at the lush landscaping as he tried to gauge the privacy he always demanded when traveling. He made a mental note to send Millie some flowers to show his appreciation.
Pete looked over at Lily, his eyes apologizing for the clamor below the driveway. “I guess I should have warned you about this, but I didn’t think… I should have known that somehow those guys would get wind of my travels. Tonight, they’ll have me trying to buy Microsoft, or Microsoft trying to buy me, or else I’ll be here to fight off some nonexistent legal battle. We might have to start some rumors if we have any hope of going off on our own. I’m sorry to say I didn’t think this through. Like you, I didn’t expect to see you at the airport, and I sure didn’t expect to see what we saw on the airport television screen. That’s another way of saying I need to fall back and regroup.
“I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of getting you a villa. Well, I didn’t really get you one, I always book the suites on either side of me for privacy. You might want to have your secretary cancel your other accommodations. You aren’t upset, are you?”
“No, not at all. I think we need to be close together. What I mean is…”
“I know what you mean.” Pete laughed. “Okay, let’s settle in and see what kind of information my people sent me. Then we’ll make a plan. Does that work for you?”
Lily looked up at the tall man standing in front of her. She smiled. He smiled. I think I like this guy, Lily thought. A lot. “Definitely.”
Pete smacked his hands together. He reached out his hands to squeeze her upper arms. “Good. I think we’re going to make a good team. In business it’s all about teamwork. I really like that hat.”
Neither one moved. It was Zolly who poked his boss in the back. “I don’t like it when you stand out in the open so much, boss. Let’s move it inside. Sorry, miss.”
“No problem.” Lily took a moment to wonder why she didn’t have security like Zolly. That was right up there with never even having goldfish. She moved off to enter the villa assigned to her.
The high-priced villas—and it was easy to see that they were high-priced because while each was distinctive in its own way, all looked like a cozy cluster of Swiss chalets—were perfectly landscaped to afford the utmost in privacy. Inside, Lily looked around at a plush living room whose main focal point was a fieldstone fireplace that rose from the floor to the ceiling. The kitchen was state of the art, the dining room elegant yet homey. The two bedrooms sported king-size beds. The décor was citrus in nature with vibrant greens, oranges, and yellows. The two interconnecting bathrooms were marble, and mirrored from top to bottom. Five grand a night, Lily thought. Maybe more.
Lily unpacked, hanging her clothes in a spacious closet before she laid out her cosmetics and toiletries on one of the marble vanities. With her chores completed, she opened the refrigerator and popped a cola. The huge basket of fruit sitting on the dining room table looked tempting, but she wasn’t all that fond of fruit, preferring candy, cookies, and anything else made with sugar. Instead, she opened the sliding door, to discover a garden so beautiful she gasped in delight. Colored lounge chairs circled a small table with a rainbow-striped umbrella. In the corner of the small sanctuary was a hot tub for two nestled among a kaleidoscope of colored flowers. Lily couldn’t ever remember seeing anything as pretty or as peaceful as this small private garden. She wondered if Pete’s patio was as nice. Probably nicer, she thought.
Lily settled herself on one of the colored chairs as she sipped at the cola in her hands. How surreal this all was. In a million years she could never have hoped for this particular outcome, and yet here she was, and Pete Kelly was right next door. She pinched herself to prove she was awake and not dreaming. The thought occurred