part0021

M y pounding headache is not helped by the ‘futuristic vibe’ of the music in the Hong Kong nightclub. I am forced to push my way through the overly crowded space to get to the obscure elevator, which will descend to the secret basement conference room. Gyrating bodies and flirty looks do not help my mood either. I’ve traveled fifteen hours getting here, spending most of it with my emotions swinging from anger at being summoned, to worry over what will happen with Claire, to confusion about what I am feeling at all. My text messages to Claire have gone unanswered. The last I know of anything, was her drop off in the parking lot at her apartment complex. If I wasn't stuck here, doing this, I could go find her and insist she listens to me. I need to explain, and yet I am not even sure what I would say. That I don’t want to be without her in my life? That I love her? I shake my head in frustration and then wince at the pain. Love is not in my vocabulary.

Before I make any more sense of it, I am at my destination. The elevator doors slide open, and I step out into a space as opposite from the nightclub above as possible. The techno lights and rainbow of colors have been replaced with the tasteful muted tones of dark wood accented with soft grays. A pair of Asian men in black suits stand in the foyer. They might as well have bodyguard stamped on their foreheads, but I get it. The city's underworld is not to be taken for granted. Kidnapping a room full of billionaires, not to mention lesbian ones, is enough to tempt more than one triad. All the more reason to keep this meeting short, and then I can be back on my jet out of here.

The bodyguards know me, but I am still asked to go through a retinal scan recognition. Again, we cannot be too careful. Finally, the double doors to the inner sanctum open, and I walk in to see a half dozen unhappy lesbians around a glass and chrome conference table. All are seated but the hostess, Yuki. This is her building, one of many. The room goes silent as I stop and take in the lot of them. Zena, Val, and thankfully Lila are there, as are three others I have not seen in a while. I swallow hard. This is even more serious than I thought if so many of us have answered the call. Kris, the other American in our billionaire group, a software technology magnate, is the first to look away and clear her throat. This is no surprise. I have not met a more socially awkward rich person anywhere. Because I am angry, her show of weakness draws my fire. “Hello, Kris,” I snarl. “Come for the crucifixion?”

“Be nice,” Zena snaps in Kris’ defense. Her voice is cold, and I have had enough of the woman. This is all her fault. If not for her bet and subsequent ultimatum, I wouldn’t be preparing to defend my personal life. To defend Claire. And my chest would not feel like someone was tearing a hole through it.

“Let’s get this over with,” I say, tired and hurting from the headache, or at least that is all I am willing to admit hurts. I don’t want to explore the rest right now. “Why are we here?”

The woman at the far end of the table, swiveling casually in the highbacked leather chair, snorts a laugh. “I think that’s pretty obvious,” she says, her accent smooth, her overall demeanor charismatic. Chloe. Australian. A close friend usually, but the derision in her tone makes me bristle.

Yuki walks over to meet me and offers a drink. Neat scotch and I am grateful. The petite woman, the picture of her culture's best attributes, nods when I accept it and take a long swallow. “Please, find a seat, Madison,” she says with a wave toward the table. Lila sits to the left with an empty chair beside her, and I go to her as if she is a life raft. The sad smile she greets me with nearly does me in. I cannot believe they are really going to exile me over this. I sink into the chair and wait. My anger is starting to dissipate. Perhaps this group was never the right fit anyway. I am not good at following other people’s rules.

Again, the group is silent, as if no one wants to be the bad guy, but leave it to Zena to step into the vacuum. “Who is the girl?” she asks. I lift my chin, ready to defend Claire and my decision to court her to the death. Zena and the others can go fuck themselves.

“Claire Hathaway. No entertainment connection. She didn’t even know who I was until all of this.” A couple members of the group nod, Yuki in particular, and I feel a spark of confidence that I can sway them. “If you let me, I believe she can be the one to ‘settle me’ as you previously insisted. Assuming she speaks to me again.”

Chloe leans forward in the chair and puts her elbows on the table. “Have you lost her already? The great Lesbian-Romeo? Isn’t that what the tabloids call you?” she grins softening her questions, almost as if she’s teasing me. I furrow my brow. If I’m in so much trouble, I don’t understand why others are shaking their head as if amused by Chloe’s statement. My irritation returns.

Zena raises her hand to refocus the group. “Madison, I’m sorry. I lured you here with a ruse about this being because of your indiscreet photo,” she starts. “I’m not a big fan of how you’re handling your part of the bargain necessarily. The idea is to get out of the spotlight, but I am sure you have a plan.”

My mouth drops open I am so surprised. Val sighs and I look over at her. “Leave it to you to believe everything is about your life,” she says. “But no, we have a much more serious problem.”

Again, I am stunned. This is not about Claire and our affair after all. Perhaps a little, but clearly, this meeting has a different agenda. One I am yet to be privy to, and I look around at the faces of everyone else. I feel my chest loosen at the news. They are not kicking me out or asking me to abandon her. There is still a chance I can woo her back. As my brain races to catch up to the twist of events, I begin to see the bigger picture. Now things make more sense. Nearly the entire group has gathered on ridiculously short notice. “So, does everyone else know why we are really here?”

I raise an eyebrow. Kris having the floor is a twist. She rarely engages in conversation, although once drawn out is an interesting and charming personality. Then, a sick feeling starts to form in my stomach. If our tech member is explaining, I probably don’t want to hear this. “Shit,” I say. “Don’t keep me guessing. What is it?”

Kris rubs her face and the tiredness there registers. “Approximately thirty-six hours ago, my Darknet contacts alerted me to an information breach on one of our members,” she says, sounding technical as always. “A Dark Web faction we have yet to identify used the data to transfer money to an account my team has only this morning been able to trace.”

I feel a hint of embarrassment when I realize her sad smile is not about my situation at all. She is in trouble, and all I did was think about me. I take her hand and hold it giving it a reassuring squeeze. “We can figure this out,” I tell her. In fact, I am not as alarmed as I possibly should be. It seems tracking these crooks down is only a matter of time, especially if Kris has determined their account information, although cyber stuff is not my specialty. “How much money are we talking about?”

I hear a sigh from Chloe and glance over. “Pretty sure it’s been liquidated,” she explains. “The bastards are brilliant. They used the money to buy untraceable diamonds on the Dark Web.”

I sit back in my chair. Poor Lila. It won’t be easy to hide this news from the world. Still, we are some of the richest and most clever women in the world. Zena clearly has gathered us here for a reason other than sharing horrible news. “So, what do we do?”

Zena gives me her small smile, and I suddenly feel like she has been handling me the entire time. “Good that you asked,” she says. “You are going to buy them. We will back you the money, and you will be our front person.”