He was back on Mexican soil for the first time in weeks, but he wouldn’t be staying long. He was back only at Victor’s insistence, and because of a flight delay he hadn’t even had the opportunity to meet up with Mariana yet, taking a taxi directly from the airport to Victor’s villa.
Finn pressed the buzzer by the front door and waited. And waited. His impatience grew. He’d already been let through the outer electric gates, the maid having answered the intercom. She’d said Victor – or el señor – was in, but neither of them had come to greet Finn at the door.
Finally, there was movement from within. Finn heard footsteps. The thick oak door opened and Victor looked out. Red cheeks. Face sweaty. He wore white tennis gear.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘You’re a bit early.’
Finn looked at his watch. Three minutes past ten. ‘You said ten?’
‘I did? I meant twelve. Sorry.’ He looked down at Finn’s cabin bag. ‘Oh. You came straight from the airport?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Oh, you must be so tired! Anyway, you’re here now, come on in.’
Finn held back a response. Victor knew the situation exactly. This was just another in the endless power trips of his. Like having Finn come to his villa at all, rather than meeting in the office or elsewhere.
‘Let’s get a drink in the kitchen.’
Victor led the way across the marble-floored atrium that had a high, domed skylight. One of many extravagant flourishes in the huge and modern villa.
‘Did you win?’ Finn asked.
‘What? Oh, yeah. I guess all the practice pays off every now and then.’
He chuckled to himself.
They moved through into the shiny white-and-grey modern-styled kitchen, the tennis court visible outside in the distance, across the huge lawn from a long, sleek infinity pool.
‘Can I get you anything?’ the maid, a short middle-aged Mexican woman in a blue uniform said, as she scuttled in behind them.
‘No, thank you,’ Victor said. ‘You get on with what you were doing.’
She looked a little put out but was soon out of sight again.
‘Do you play yourself?’ Victor asked as he opened the fridge and took out a carton of orange juice.
‘Tennis? Not really.’
‘Shame. I could have given you a game. It’s good to test myself out against younger, fitter players.’
‘I wouldn’t say I’m that young or fit, really.’
Victor raised an eyebrow at that and swigged from the carton. No offer of a drink for Finn.
‘If you’re not a keen player, I wouldn’t recommend getting on the court with your girlfriend. She’d wipe the floor with you. She’s a real talent. She’s certainly taught me a thing or two over the years, if you know what I’m saying.’
Finn grit his teeth. The guy always had to bring Mariana into everything. And yeah, Finn knew she was keen on tennis as well as other sports, but he didn’t know that she and Victor played together. Not that it surprised him.
‘You asked to see me,’ Finn said. ‘I take it that wasn’t just so we could talk about your, or Mariana’s, sporting prowess.’
‘You’re right. It wasn’t.’
He put the orange juice down and moved to the coffee machine.
‘You want one?’
‘I’m good.’
Victor set the machine going. ‘Take a seat.’ He indicated to the stools at the breakfast bar. As Finn sat down, he questioned more and more what he’d been asked here for. A chat about tennis in the kitchen?
Victor spent a few moments fiddling with the coffee machine until he turned around, little cup in hand, which he took a sip from. The coffee smelled really good; maybe Finn should have asked for one.
His attention was stolen by movement outside as a man pulled himself up out of the pool. He hadn’t spotted him before. Heavily tanned skin and a little potbelly on an otherwise unremarkable frame. He looked to be in his late forties, maybe early fifties, and he slicked back his hair and grabbed a robe from a lounger before heading toward the house.
Finn switched his gaze back to Victor a moment. He looked pleased with himself about something. The swimmer walked right up to the patio doors by the breakfast table and stepped inside, water dripping onto the tiles, not a care in the world.
‘Is he still gloating about winning?’ the man said. His accent sounded Mexican, certainly South American. He was certainly very confident, the way he’d sauntered into Victor’s home like that.
‘Why shouldn’t I gloat?’ Victor said. ‘It doesn’t happen very often.’
‘I’ll take one of those,’ the man said, indicating the coffee machine.
‘Certainly.’ Victor spun around, leaving Finn and the newcomer eyeing each other suspiciously.
‘So, you’re the new guy I’ve been hearing about.’
‘I guess I am,’ Finn replied.
‘Ah, gentlemen,’ Victor said, ‘where are my manners? Finn, this is my good friend Javier. Javier, this is Finn. My new guy.’
Finn and Javier moved toward each other. Javier gave a firm handshake, his stare never leaving Finn’s. He didn’t even blink. There was no warmth in his cold stare at all. Finn wasn’t easily rattled, but a shiver ran through him nonetheless.
‘So you’re the one who put Gonzalez in line,’ Javier said.
‘Yeah,’ Finn said. ‘That was me.’
‘You did good.’
The coffee machine stopped and Victor handed a small cup to Javier, who downed the coffee shot without breaking eye contact with Finn.
‘And Finn’s been over in Europe recently. Putting together the pitches for the banks, for the restructure.’
Javier nodded.
‘Is that why you’ve been asking all those questions?’ Javier said.
‘Excuse me?’
‘You know what I mean. Digging your nose in where it doesn’t belong. Be careful, new guy. You stick that nose somewhere you shouldn’t, and you might not keep it for long.’
The room fell silent. Finn couldn’t summon a response, and Victor just stood there as though… as though…
‘It was nice to meet you, Finn Delaney,’ Javier said. He tapped his nose and smirked.
Javier moved to Victor, whispered something in his ear, and then they both turned back to Finn.
‘And now you can fuck off,’ Javier said.
Finn didn’t move. He glanced at Victor, as if hoping his boss would say something in retaliation or support. But Victor just stared coldly, to match the look on Javier’s face – although Javier pulled it off a lot more convincingly.
‘Say hi to Mariana for me,’ Victor said.
Finn didn’t say another word before he turned and walked out of there.
* * *
‘Would you like another drink?’ Finn asked Mariana, after tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around to him, looking a bit fed up that he’d interrupted her conversation with their colleague, Ed. She edged toward Finn a little, as though to stop Ed hearing what she was about to say.
‘Do you think… maybe you don’t need any more.’
‘So you don’t want one, then.’ No response. He craned his neck to look around her. ‘Ed?’
He held up his beer. ‘I’m good.’ Even though the bottle was near empty.
Good? Good at what? If he was good at his job, then Finn wouldn’t have needed to be brought to Mexico at all. After his little sojourn to the Far East the clown had been back in the country a few weeks now, taking all the glory as the electronics business flourished.
Where’d he been when Gonzalez needed sorting?
Finn went to the bar, bumping into shoulders as he went. Not unintentionally, but he realized he was becoming more unsteady on his feet. He ordered a beer and a double whiskey and propped himself against the bar as he looked back across the room. Victor had hired out the swanky cocktail bar on the fourteenth floor of his high-end hotel for an end-of-quarter celebration, and Finn was sure that the big man would be making a speech at some point soon. He liked the sound of his own voice so much, after all.
‘What was that all about?’ Mariana said, coming up to him.
‘What?’
‘The shitty tone. The nasty looks you’ve been giving me for the last half hour or so.’
He didn’t say anything. The bartender put the two drinks down in front of Finn.
‘Really?’ Mariana said.
‘This is a celebration, isn’t it?’
He downed the whiskey. It made his head swim. Maybe he’d had too much after all. Still, he necked a good portion of his beer to help wash the liquor away.
‘We can go,’ Mariana said. ‘Maybe we should?’
‘Go? Why would we go? You were all smiles and giggles a few minutes ago with Victor.’
When he had his hand sliding down your back to your ass.
‘What is with you?’
He was about to tell her exactly what when the boss-man himself tootled over like he owned the damn place.
Oh yeah, he did.
‘If it isn’t my favorite power couple.’
‘It isn’t?’ Finn said.
‘Sorry?’
‘Nothing.’
Mariana elbowed him in the ribs.
‘Sorry, I wasn’t interrupting something, was I?’ Victor asked.
‘No,’ Finn said. ‘You go ahead and do what you want.’ Like you always do.
Victor’s smile dropped a little. ‘I heard congratulations are in order,’ he said to Finn. ‘You two are moving in together?’
Finn glared at Mariana. ‘Of course, you told him.’
‘Why wouldn’t I tell him?’ she said.
‘How could she not tell me?’ Victor looked really smug. ‘I was her landlord, so I figured when she gave notice it might have something to do with you.’
What the hell? She’d rented her old place off Victor? How had she never said that before?
‘It’s great news,’ Victor said, putting his hand on Finn’s shoulder. ‘I’m really pleased for you both.’
‘Thanks,’ Finn said. He downed the rest of his beer.
Victor got the attention of the bartender. ‘Can you organize the champagne for the toasts now, please?’
‘Right away, Mr Travers.’ He scuttled off.
‘Perhaps take it easy on the booze,’ Victor said, slapping Finn’s shoulder before he walked away.
‘Was there really any need to be a dick like that?’ Mariana asked him.
‘I don’t know. You tell me?’
She shook her head but didn’t say anything.
‘I’m gonna take a leak.’
He headed to the restroom, handing out a few more shoulder bangs on the way. In the bathroom he washed his face in cold water, trying to refresh himself, trying to clear the cloud in his head.
He didn’t want to ruin this night for Mariana, but he was struggling to contain his agitation. Yeah, Victor was right – the two of them should be celebrating. He’d asked her to move in with him a few days ago, over the phone. He’d missed her so much the last few weeks and it… made sense. And he should have been coming back to Mexico for the two of them to celebrate the decision. Get things moving. Instead, he’d come back to that charade at Victor’s villa. Javier. Javier Lozano, Finn now knew. Known to be involved in one of Mexico’s largest drug cartels. To say he was unsettled by the development was an understatement. But tonight… Tonight, Finn was pushing it all to the back of his mind in the simplest way possible.
He was getting drunk.
Even if he knew the alcohol would bring out the worst of him – but perhaps only because he’d bottled up some of these feelings for too long.
‘Idiot,’ Finn said to his reflection in the mirror before walking out.
He paused.
‘What the fuck?’
A group of three guys were at the bar by Mariana. Finn didn’t recognize them. They weren’t work colleagues. And Mariana didn’t look happy.
Finn stormed over. The guys were drunk. One of them had his face in Mariana’s as his hand reached around her.
She slapped him hard across the cheek and his friends guffawed. Finn balled his fists, readying himself. Was about to launch forward—
Four uniformed staff members pounced. One stood in front of Mariana to shield her while the other three pushed the men away.
‘Private party, gentlemen. We need you to leave.’
It looked for a moment like there’d be a confrontation, but then the three men backed away, hurling abuse, shepherded by the staff towards the exit. Towards where Finn stood. The one who’d grabbed Mariana turned to face him. Paused a moment. Finn held his eye.
‘What?’ the guy said, with a horribly pleased look on his face.
Finn was about to show him exactly what when Mariana caught his eye, coming his way. ‘Finn, leave it.’
‘Yeah, Finn.’ Stand-off. Finn didn’t move. ‘Pussy.’
The guy went to barge into him, but Finn instead peeled himself away and moved to Mariana.
‘You OK?’ he said to her.
‘It’s done. Forget about it.’
He didn’t say anything, but apparently she could read his mind.
‘Finn, please, leave it.’
‘Well, that was exciting, wasn’t it?’ boomed Victor’s voice over the speakers, grabbing everyone’s attention.
He tapped the microphone in his hand, messed with it a little – turning it down, hopefully.
‘I’ll wait a moment while you all get a glass,’ he said, his voice now at a more acceptable volume.
Servers rushed around with trays, and within seconds everyone who wanted one had a filled flute of champagne.
‘To us,’ Finn whispered to Mariana. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, and the smile she gave in return – one of genuine happiness? – caused a good chunk of his agitation to slip away.
Until Victor began his speech. It was as self-congratulatory as ever.
‘Six months ago, I never thought we’d be in this position today,’ he began. ‘There was a time when it looked like we’d never get the consumer electronics business running here at all, but not only have we been fully operational for the last quarter, but the figures I’ve been given by our egghead accountants are quite staggering.’
He paused a moment as though expecting a clap or something. Or just building up to a big reveal.
‘The numbers haven’t been fully crunched yet, but I can say with some confidence that on the last quarter results, we think sales across Central and South America have seen our brand storm into third position in terms of market share. And we still have the excitement of the end of year sales rush to come. You can bet your grandmothers that by this time next year we’ll be number one. Isn’t that right!’
There was a whole load of cheering and shouting at that. He waited for the room to quieten and then took on a more serious tone.
‘And yes, this is a business, but don’t forget why we’re doing this. Why I came to Mexico at all. Believe me, I don’t need the money.’ He laughed. Most people did too. ‘I came here to make a difference to the people of this great country, and the countries around us. For too long hundreds of millions of everyday people have been priced out of the market for luxury digital products. We are the change. We are the high-end digital consumer products company that offers truly affordable devices for all, and once we’ve conquered this continent, we’ll move on to conquer the rest!’
Does he actually think he’s a fucking knight in shining armor or something?
‘Sorry?’ Mariana said.
Shit. Had he said that out loud?
Finn finished his champagne.
‘I think I need some air,’ he said. His stomach really did feel queasy, but mostly he just didn’t want to listen to Victor blow his own trumpet anymore.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Mariana said. ‘I could do with a smoke.’
Victor clocked them leaving but it didn’t seem to dent his enthusiasm as he carried on with his spiel.
They headed on down and out. The night-time air was warm and muggy, but at least the sea breeze carried a fresh edge that helped ease Finn’s mind.
They sat on one of the cream sofas, lights twinkling across the sea where various yachts passed by or were moored for the night.
‘I’m sensing tension between you and Victor,’ Mariana said, before taking another puff of her cigarette. ‘From you, at least.’
‘He’s just… He’s a bit much sometimes, isn’t he?’
She stared at him. ‘No. It’s more than that. Did something happen in Europe?’
‘No,’ Finn said. ‘Not really.’
‘You never tell me anything about what you’re working on.’
‘There’s nothing to tell.’
She held his eye for a few moments, the look clearly showing she didn’t believe him.
‘The thing is—’ He paused when noise from the hotel entrance grabbed their attention. Finn rose to his feet when he saw the three drunkards banging through the doors to the outside. So the staff hadn’t thrown them out before, just guided them down to the hotel bar on the ground floor to allow them to get even drunker. Genius.
The one who’d grabbed Mariana did a double-take before he nudged one of his friends.
‘Finn, let’s go back up,’ Mariana said.
The men started toward them.
‘Hello, beautiful,’ the guy at the front said to her.
‘Thanks,’ Finn said, stepping in front of Mariana. ‘But you’re not my type.’
They all laughed. ‘You’re a comedian.’
‘We’re having a private discussion here,’ Mariana said. ‘So please leave us alone.’
‘Fuck off, I think she meant,’ Finn added, receiving a dig from Mariana.
‘Private this, private that,’ the guy mimicked, using his hand as a blathering mouth. He paused and looked over Mariana and Finn for a moment. ‘So that’s Victor Travers up there, right?’
They were American. Tourists, most likely. Mid- to late-twenties. Tall, athletic, well-dressed. Arrogant as hell. Trust fund kids, Finn would bet.
‘Yeah,’ Finn said. ‘It is.’
‘What about you?’
‘What about me?’
The guy looked Finn up and down. ‘You don’t look like much, so I’m guessing you’re just one of his minions. A kiss-ass, begging for handouts. Oooh please, Mr Billionaire, can I have fifty dollars to take my bitch out?’
Another sarcastic laugh from his friends at his pathetic attempt at Finn’s southern accent.
‘She’s with a pussy like you, but she could be with the billionaire? You must have a big dick or something.’
‘Come on, Finn, we’re going,’ Mariana said. Except to get back inside they had to get past the men. Mariana grabbed Finn’s hand and pulled him toward them. ‘Please move.’
Surprisingly they did. But as they passed the last of them – the biggest of the three – he slapped Mariana’s ass.
Finn wrestled out of her grip. ‘You shouldn’t have done that, you piece of shit.’
The guy got into Finn’s face. Three, four inches taller, and definitely bulkier. Finn couldn’t care less. The other two circled.
‘Say it again,’ the guy challenged.
‘You shouldn’t have done that you dumb, inbred piece of shit.’
‘Finn, please!’
Dumb. And he actually was. Because he thought being tall and a gym regular was all he needed to come out on top, but getting up in Finn’s face was his big mistake if he wasn’t going to make the first move.
No, he wasn’t, and he had nowhere to go. Finn burst upward, sending a thunderous uppercut into the man’s chin. Hit fast. Hit hard. The guy’s legs buckled, and he was unconscious even before his head smacked off the wicker side of the sofa as he fell to the ground.
The other two roared as they raced forward. Finn ducked and avoided an arcing right and threw himself at the next man, grabbing him around the thighs and taking him from his feet. He drove forward and slammed him into the windows.
‘Finn!’
He took a thump to the back of the head, spun around and ducked out of the way of another flying fist before retaliating with a quick one-two. He stepped into the left hander and the guy had no chance as the fist smashed into the side of his head. Like his friend, he fell to the ground unconscious, hands pinned to his sides.
Finn, chest heaving, turned back to the guy he’d slammed. The one who’d touched Mariana upstairs. The only one still moving.
Not for long. He stepped that way.
‘Finn, please!’ Mariana said again.
But it wasn’t enough to take the red mist away.
The shout from the hotel entrance, however—
‘That’s enough!’
Victor. Standing with a group of others from upstairs.
‘They’ve had enough,’ he said, glaring to Finn. ‘And so have you.’
Finn said nothing as he sent daggers back at his boss. Why did he want so much to go over there and pummel him too?
A siren and a flashing blue light further down the street sent another wave of clarity to Finn’s head.
‘Mariana, take him home,’ Victor said. Demanded. ‘I’ll deal with this.’
Mariana touched his arm. Finn turned to her and she ducked back as though she wasn’t sure if he was about to attack her too.
‘Let’s go,’ she said.
He took a couple of deep breaths, each one helping him to see a bit more sense – and to feel a bit more shameful. But only a bit, because those bastards had got exactly what they’d deserved.
‘Fine,’ he said.
He turned and shook his head in disgust at Victor before storming off down the street.