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Two of the men in suits stepped forward to grab Andrus by the arms. He foolishly attempted to bolt but was caught by other law enforcement personnel, who rapidly locked him into force cuffs and began dragging him away. The generational billionaire was screaming insults at them, demanding to be set free and yelling for his lawyers.
“Is this because of what you were investigating?” Micki asked Josh as she stared wide eyed at the group going by, leaving the area.
“We found out the Sectors Criminal Investigative Agency already had a large scale investigation going into Andrus and his associates. The Agency was grateful for our additional information—we’d already dug up more than our original anonymous tip by the way—and after handing over the evidence we had, Benfield stepped back. The SCIA doesn’t need us.”
The AD paused next to them. “Too bad the arrest didn’t happen on camera. I’ll have to see if any of the crew caught footage of that.” She noticed Josh and Micki and blinked, refocusing. “Great job, guys, congratulations. Don’t forget the winners’ interviews tomorrow morning and be sure to wear the flashy ring. Our audiences love bling.” She hastened off, chasing one of the camera operators who was watching raw footage on his equipment.
“Are we doing the damn interviews?” Josh asked, tucking his trophy into his dance bag and reaching for hers.
“I think we have to. I’m sure it’s in the contract but it’ll be fun this time,” Micki said. “We have so much to talk about and the segments are so short it’ll be a breeze. Did you know Ryder was going to release our song as a single? He whispered it in my ear, said he’d written lyrics too and it’ll be out tomorrow. We can talk about that as well.”
“No wonder he’s a superstar, guy doesn’t miss a trick.” Josh’s tone was admiring. Putting his hand on her elbow, he asked, “Ready to go meet the family? Mother informed me she’s hosting a celebratory dinner at the best restaurant on board tonight. Trust her to make it a public event. I hope no one asks us to dance though because I am done dancing. Tonight was my swan song.”
“Not even at our wedding reception?” she asked with a laugh, flashing the big ring.
“All right, I’ll make an exception. We can dance privately any time you like though.” He gave her a squeeze, making his meaning clear. “Mother will probably talk about a pre-nuptial agreement, by the way but I’ve already told her I’m not signing one. You and I are an equal team in every respect.”
Micki was touched by his attitude since she was coming into this marriage with basically only herself and her dancing skills and he and his family were among the richest people in the Sectors, the Hinterlands and the Outlier empire. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Josh had a gleam in his eye as he added, “Of course if ISD hadn’t given us each a trophy this evening I might have had to sign a prenup guaranteeing my permanent possession of said item. I worked too hard to earn the damn thing.”
“You did, you truly did. Tass and Liam are having a party for us tonight too, for the Comettes and whoever else on the Nebula Zephyr crew is off duty and wants to attend. They’ve rented the beach deck for the occasion.”
“Terrific idea. We’ll have the perfect excuse to escape my mother’s clutches right after dinner.” Josh sounded extremely happy about the idea and Micki was grateful. “I can only handle so much time with her and I’ll need a strong drink afterward. It’s a good thing my family is normally far flung across the Sectors, which you’ll come to appreciate after we’re married.”
“I thought your brothers were okay?”
“They are and I might invite them to this beach party if I get them alone. Trust me, Mother will be relieved she doesn’t have to entertain us all night and I happen to know she’s planning an excursion to the ship’s casino before she takes her own ship to her next destination.”
They rushed to Josh’s suite and showered and changed into clothes suitable for dinner and then the beach party. Just before they were scheduled to leave to walk to the restaurant, Micki was alone in the bathroom fixing her hair and makeup while Josh talked with one of his brothers in the living room.
Maeve spoke to her from thin air. “Dancer Allwell, I wanted to tell you how touched I was by your performance tonight.”
Setting the brush on the marble counter, Micki beamed at the mirror, as if Maeve was looking at her from the other side. “I’m so glad! The captain seemed to enjoy it too.”
“I’m saving it in my personal memory bank,” the AI said. “The dance and Ryder’s music all came together, didn’t it?”
“Thank you for helping me with asking him. It wouldn’t have been the same without his song.”
“My pleasure. I’m sorry you’ll be leaving us soon but I’m happy about your engagement. Promise me you’ll keep dancing?”
Surprised, Micki said, “As long as I dream dances, I’ll dance them. Or I’ll give them to other people to dance. Josh is totally supportive.”
“Good, it’s a rare gift.”
“He keeps offering to set me up with my own dance company or my own dance academy,” Micki said with a laugh. “I’m not ready for those dreams, at least not yet. Maybe someday.”
“Dream big and be happy.” The link clicked to indicate Maeve had left the conversation.
There was a knock on the door and Josh stuck his head in. “You’re beautiful enough, my love. Ready to go face the mother dragon and try to eat dinner in the face of her glacial disdain?”
“Ready for any adventure we can do together,” she said, buoyed by the conversation with the AI.
“I’m full of ideas about our future adventures,” he said, taking her in his arms. “Starting with this evening after the beach party. And then a nice, long honeymoon.
“Hold the thought because I like it very much.” Micki kissed him and the embrace become passionate and lasted so long his brother pounded on the bathroom door.
“You’re not newlyweds yet! Mother will be waiting and you know she likes to arrive after everyone else does,” his brother yelled through the closed portal.
