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‘Of course you do.’ Mason nodded. ‘Let’s go to your office.’
‘It’s okay, I know the way,’ he said irritably as his CFO put a hand on his shoulder to guide him. ‘I wasn’t away that long.’
Mason lifted an eyebrow. ‘I’d say five weeks alone in an Ecuadorian jungle is quite long enough.’
It had felt like five years, Trip thought. In places, the canopy of leaves had been so dense that night and day had often felt interchangeable, never-ending and he would have to stop moving or risk tripping over the treacherous, twisting branches and invisible dips in the forest floor. And always there had been that pattering sound of water, dripping against the vegetation.
But that had been only a part of it. Some of the time, he would probably never know exactly how long for certain, there had been simply the absolute darkness of the blindfold and the ropes biting into his wrists.
He had never felt so alone, so helpless, not even when he was a child, and it started to become obvious to him that he experienced the world in a different way from the rest of his family.
But it was not in his nature to show weakness or reveal vulnerability, particularly here. Here, he was the boss, the man in charge. He was not just Mr Winslow, he was the Mr Winslow, and, now that he was back, he was going to make sure that that name was associated with him for ever, and not with his grandfather or father.
As he dropped down into the seat behind his desk, there was a knock at the door and Conrad Stiles, the chief operating officer, and Ron Maidman, the head of marketing, walked into the office, their feet faltering, faces freezing into masks of shock and disbelief as they saw him. He wasn’t as close to them as he was Mason but they both shook his hand and clapped him on the shoulder.
‘I can’t believe you’re really here.’ Maidman was shaking his head. ‘I thought I was hallucinating. What happened out there? Are you okay? Are you hurt?’
‘Another time, Ron. Like I said to Mason, I just want to get back behind the wheel, so why don’t you take a seat and talk me through what’s been happening?’
Was it his imagination or did all their faces stiffen?
Mason nodded. ‘Of course, of course. Obviously, in your absence, we had to make some decisions.’
Trip stared across the desk at the three men sitting opposite him. ‘I’m sure you took care of everything,’ he said softly. He couldn’t quite keep the edge of bitterness out of his voice. His father might have formally named him his successor, but he’d made it clear that he expected his son to draw on the experience and expertise of his C-suite.
He’d been grateful for their advice and support in the immediate aftermath of his father’s death, but things were different now. Okay, he’d been a little off his game at the start, but he’d been running the business for ten months without a hiccup.
‘Now I’m back, and, in light of recent events, I want to make a few changes. You see, I had a lot of time to think in the jungle and I have a few ideas that I want to set in motion.’
Mason nodded. ‘And obviously we will be more than happy to discuss that but right now you should be at home, resting. You’ve had a traumatic experience—’
‘The doctor said I was fine, and I am,’ he said impatiently. There was a bluebottle crashing against the glass, buzzing around the edges of the window frame as it tried to find an opening, and for a moment he stared at it, body tensing as he remembered his own equally frantic attempts to push through the towering vegetation.
‘I don’t want to rest. What I need is to get back to work.’
Conrad cleared his throat. ‘And you will, but, as you pointed out, we need to bring you up to speed first. Clarify a few things. In light of recent events,’ he added, his eyes meeting Trip’s.
‘Meaning?’ Trip lounged back in his chair, trying to slow his heartbeat. The script he’d prepared in his head in the car was already starting to unravel.
‘Trip—you’ve been missing for weeks. We didn’t know where you were, if you were even alive—’
‘You make it sound as though I planned for that to happen.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘I can promise you I didn’t. I certainly didn’t expect to cross paths with a cartel. Or be taken prisoner.’
‘Is that what happened?’ Mason looked shocked. ‘My God, Trip, I don’t know what to say—’
Trip gazed past him at the heat-soaked city skyline. That was just the start of it. But he didn’t want to think about what followed. Not here, not now, not in front of these men. His breath caught in his chest. Not when he didn’t know how he would react.
‘Did they hurt you?’
‘I’m fine.’
He stretched out his legs and pressed his spine against the leather upholstery. It wasn’t a complete lie. He had been seen by a doctor in Ecuador shortly after he’d stumbled out of the jungle and, aside from a couple of nasty cuts and a mild case of dehydration, he was physically fine.
But he was sleeping badly, waking in darkness and sweat, cold with a fear that he could only shift by opening his eyes and getting out of bed so that he could feel the carpet beneath his feet. Because that was the only way he could convince himself that he had been dreaming.
‘I’m glad to hear it.’ Ron hesitated. ‘We all are, obviously—’ he gave Trip a nervous smile ‘—and we did everything we could to help find you from this end, but part of the problem was that we didn’t know where you were.’
Trip frowned. ‘I don’t need permission to take a vacation, Ron. I’m the CEO.’
