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“Oh, just dealing with Knox’s bullshit.”
“He’s young.” He smiled. “Ease up on him a little, will ya?” I shook my head and tried to put Knox out of my mind. I sat heavily in a chair and propped an ankle over one knee as I attempted to tamp down my anger.
“Look, Leo, I want to talk about Mexico.” His face instantly showed worry. “It’s okay. I know things didn’t run as smoothly as you’d have liked, and I know there’s a lot of shit going on here too. You did your best to take over for me, and the two trips you made there to close the accounts was enough. I left a lot of things unfinished, and it wasn’t fair you had to clean it all up when I came home.” He looked relieved. “Look, how about you come with me and Kenna to New Orleans this week?”
“Yeah?” His face lit up.
“Yeah, I think we both need this.”
“Okay.” He nodded as his smile widened. “Kenna’s coming?”
“Yeah. I’m trying to sign Chef Trahan for Secrets. I really want him, and I’m told he relies heavily on his friends’ opinions. Kenna’s good with people. Better than me lately.” I rubbed my head. “I think she’ll be an asset for this deal, and I could use your help too.”
He nodded. “I agree, Kenna’s good. I’m looking forward to spending time with her too. She’s cool people.”
“Good. It’s all set, then. We leave tonight at six.” I smacked him on the back.
* * *
“Evening, folks.”The captain’s southern drawl flowed over the intercom of my private jet. “We should have smooth sailing all the way to New Orleans. Our flight will be three hours and ten minutes, so please sit back and enjoy the sunset.” We heard a click as he shut off his mic.
“Your drink, sir.” The flight attendant batted her pretty lashes at me, and I moved back so she could put the whiskey down in front of me.
“Miss?” She addressed Kenna, who smiled and took the white wine I’d ordered for her. She thanked the young woman and turned to Leo.
“You look like you’re ready for this.” She grinned and clicked glasses with him. He was already a couple drinks ahead of us. “I guess it’ll be a little vacation for you?”
“Yeah, I really needed a break. It’ll be fun.” He grinned as he held up his glass to me.
As the two of them chatted I looked over at Jesse, and he flashed four fingers at me. I nodded my agreement. If he felt four rather than five of our security team had what it took to be on this trip, I wouldn’t disagree.
Jesse leaned forward and kept his voice just loud enough for me to hear. “I want to swap out the young one when we land. I’ve already made the call.”
“Good.” I nodded and always appreciated that Jesse didn’t accept anything but the best when it came to our security. I sat back and enjoyed my drink as I listened to Kenna and my little brother chat. It was nice to see Leo relax.
“Well, let’s get down to business.” Kenna reached for her bag. “Here you are.” She handed me a file then passed one to Leo. Jesse looked surprised as she reached over and gave him one as well.
“And what are these?” I had flipped the folder open to a few photos and picked up one of a man with a tattoo gun in his hand.
“These,” she leaned back, “are Chef Trahan’s friends. Well, the ones who have something in common with each of you, anyway.” She was all business. “Leo, Doug loves snowboarding and has a place in Mammoth. He also has a love for all things hiking.” She held up a photo. “You will work your love for this stuff into conversation. You hook, reel, and land. The key here, guys, is to let them do the talking. You just get it started.” She looked at each of us. “People will think the conversation is going swimmingly when they’re the ones talking. You’d be surprised how much people will tell you.”
“I can do that.” Leo started to read his file as Kenna looked at me, “Grim, Peter is mad about tattoos. He’s a fabulous artist and has done many celebrities, so naturally he’ll be drawn to you. However, when I dug deeper, I found Peter’s true passion is bourbon. Just like you, he too is a fan of Old Rip Van Winkle.”
“What?” I held my hand up. “How on Earth do you know about that?”
“I know a lot of things, Grim. It would be wise for you to remember that.” She arched a brow, and Leo chuckled quietly. “Where was I? Oh, yes. So, keep that information and turn it into an asset. I’ve checked, and your hotel has a bottle waiting.” She looked at Jesse.
“Don’t think you’re getting out of this.” She smiled. “I know you have a job to do, but you also see all, and with that, I particularly want you to watch Brent.” She held up a picture, and he nodded at his folder. “He’s the slippery one of the bunch. He’s been arrested a few times, nothing major, but he’s a wild card. If any of them was going to try something, it’d be Brent.”
I caught Leo’s eye, and I knew we shared the same thought; this was one of the reasons Kenna was on this trip. Though we were well prepared for the business end of things, she’d taken it that much farther.
“To me, these are the three friends who have the most input in Chef Trahan’s life. They’ve known each other since college.”
“What about you?” I challenged and was pleased when she pulled out a stack of files of her own.
“I have everyone you do, as well as Trahan, his mother, and his girlfriend of three weeks.” She rolled her eyes. “Girls see dollar signsandgreat food.”
“Impressive.”
