Five Years Later
Beth Carmichael sat in the conference room with her work colleagues, face composed, feet together, clasped hands resting in her lap. The idea of such a pose was that her whole demeanor would display an outward calm she was far from feeling. Inside, her heart was racing a billion miles an hour, and her stomach was doing loop the loops. She furrowed her eyebrows in concentration as she waited for Conrad Chalmers, the General Manager of the company where she worked, to take the podium.
The meeting’s agenda was out of the way. It was now time to get down to general business and announce who among them would be making the coveted trip to Columbia to grade and buy emeralds for the company. It was a prestigious honor. Beth wanted it more than she’d ever wanted anything in her entire life, well, except for Zach Buchanan, of course. But their last encounter was a humiliating debacle she never wanted to revisit.
She crinkled her nose, and with a fixed purpose dismissed the memory and refocused on Columbia. She deserved a shot at it, had worked her butt off this past year and a half, putting in extra hours, working weekends, honing her skills. Not that she was complaining. She loved her work as a gemologist, and at her age the trip would be a real boon to her career, not to mention looking damn impressive on her CV. Not that she was looking to switch companies, but hey, a girl had to keep her options open.
Conrad had stepped onto the dais and was in full swing with the “well done team” pep talk. She shifted in her seat, not only to stop her traitorous mind drifting back to a certain ex-Navy SEAL, but also to ease out the kink in her back caused from sitting rigid for so long.
“And so it is my pleasure to announce the two gemologists who are off to Columbia next month are Ed Patterson and Daniel Chalmers. While this is Ed’s first time, I’m sure he’ll prove to be an invaluable…”
Beth was swamped by the wave of disappointment that washed over her. Wave, hell, it was a tsunami.
“Hey, Beth, are you okay? You look a little pale,” Josh, another gemologist sitting beside her asked over the loud applause.
“I think I ate too much at lunch.” She improvised, keeping the false smile firmly in place. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just congratulate Ed, then disappear outside for some fresh air.
“Would you like me to come with you?” There was genuine concern in his voice, and a twinge of guilt sped up her spine.
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. I’ll see you back in the office in a bit.” She pushed back her chair and escaped before anyone else could detain her.
* * * *
One month later
Beth put aside the Spectroscope and Chelsea Filter, satisfied the gem she held was not synthetic. Next, the pleochroic colors and optical properties of the stone needed to be determined, so she reached for the small hand-held Dichroscope and raised it to her eye.
She loved her work, every facet of it. The colors and textures, the radiance of the stones with their inimitable fire, each one unique, spectacular in its own brilliance. She couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying career.
With a methodical hand, she jotted her findings, and then reached for another stone. The gem she now held was worth a small fortune. A six-carat round brilliant diamond, cut with fifty-eight precise facets designed to endlessly reflect and magnify light.
Engrossed in her task and with focus unwavering, she assessed the Hearts and Arrows cut gem through a jeweler’s magnifying lens and gave it due admiration. There were only a handful of cutters in the world with the craftsmanship and expertise required to create a stone of this quality.
Although diamonds weren’t her first choice of stone, she understood the appeal. She much preferred color, was drawn to the richness of the rubies, the azure of a Ceylon sapphire, or the bright green of an emerald.
Thoughts of emeralds brought back her acute disappointment at being passed over for the upcoming trip to Columbia.
She’d done the hard yards, and the trip would have validated her work in her chosen field. Beth sighed and tried not to feel envious of Ed. He was good at his job too, and she liked him, he was always pleasant and respectful. Daniel, on the other hand, was another kettle of fish. A legend in his own mind and being the GM’s nephew he always landed the plum jobs. And he’s good with the stones, an annoying little voice in her head piped up.
“Would you like us to pick you up a sandwich or something?” Josh interrupted her thoughts as he and Kevin got up from their workstations opposite. Creatures of habit, you could set your watch by them. They always left dead on midday for a bite to eat and would return forty minutes later.
“Thanks, I brought mine today.” She held up the crumpled brown paper bag containing her roast beef sandwich as evidence as they left the room.
She wasn’t ready to eat so picked up another gem, but her mind was still on Columbia when Daniel Chalmers, the most un-charming man in the company in her opinion, waltzed into the workroom with all the finesse of a cat that had swallowed a canary. He had news he was itching to share, that much was obvious, and being the only person left in the room it was a safe bet she was the beneficiary of his tidings.
A near silent groan escaped her lips as he sauntered over to where she sat, folded his arms and rested his Armani-clad hip on her workstation.
The intrusion forced her to stop studying the gem in her hand and look up from her hunched position into melt-your-bones blue eyes. The guy was a sleaze, but an undeniably good-looking one.
Not that she was interested.
It was evident why other women were attracted to him, though. He had the goods. Six feet tall with jet-black hair, sleek and dark with a modern style cut, so dark, in fact, she wouldn’t be surprised to learn it came out of a bottle. Clear skin, solarium-tanned to honey gold, and a body honed to perfection, sculptured by untold hours spent at the local gym, and with a rich family to boot, he’d be an almost ideal catch. Yes, a nice all-around package was Daniel Chalmers. If he could just get a personality transplant then he might well be the perfect male. Sucking in her cheeks, she controlled a smirk and a giggle.
Daniel leaned his big body over her on the pretext of examining her work, but she wasn’t dumb. His move had been deliberate to gain a better view down the front of her open-necked blouse, so she leaned back into her chair and asked, “What do you want, Daniel?”
“Mm, a leading question to be sure, but I’m always up for a bit if you’re offering.”
“I could have you up for sexual harassment for comments like that.” Her voice was terse, but it served him right. Hell, he deserved it.
His gaze swiveled to the ceiling as if considering the possibility and then dropped back to her, his head shaking from side to side.
“Yes, you could, but you won’t.”
The glint in his eyes was not to be trusted, but curiosity won out. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why won’t I?”
“If you did, then you couldn’t accompany me to Columbia.”
Her eyes popped wide. “Are you serious? What happened with Ed, I thought he was set to go?”
“The pox.”
She gasped and gave two rapid blinks.
“As in chicken.”
When the corner of Daniel’s mouth lifted, she pushed her lips into a pout. Annoyed at giving him the response he’d been fishing for, her appetite was whet just the same. Ed had young children so perhaps there was some truth in it. “Chickenpox, that’s too bad.”
“Yeah, too bad for Ed, but good for you and me, babe.”
She bit her tongue and tucked her arms tight against her body. Columbia was a jewel dropped in her lap. With anyone else for company she’d be doing the happy dance. But with most good things there was a downside, and Daniel Chalmers was it. One day in his company would be trying, three would be torment—but Columbia! “How come me?”
“You’re the one with the current passport, sweetheart.”
Yeah, right. She cringed at the endearment, and his intimation she was the last resort wasn’t altogether true, and they both knew it. Sure, she was young, but her qualifications were exemplary and she had an innate talent where precious stones were concerned. It was that combination that sealed her place on the plane. “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow morning, bright and early. We can meet at check-in. My secretary will e-mail flight details and your e-ticket later.”
Daniel chucked her under the chin. “Columbia can be dangerous, but don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” She widened her eyes and tightened her lips. “Oh yeah, and be sure to pack something sexy.”
The toothy grin and wink he flashed her were not a comfort. Her mouth fell open. Enough. “Not even in your wildest dreams.”
“Your loss, sweetheart.”
“Quit calling me that, my name’s Beth.”
“Your loss, Beth,” he said, making his way to the door.
The instant he was out of sight she reached for the phone and hit speed dial. Loretta Buchanan answered on the second ring.
“You’ll never guess what’s happened.” The words of course were rhetorical. She didn’t give her best friend the opportunity to reply but just blurted out, “I’m off to Columbia. The firm’s flying me there tomorrow.”
*
“Columbia, wow, that’s awesome.” Loretta examined her nails and tried to inject as much enthusiasm into her voice as befitted her friend’s news, but fornication, the penchant Lizzie had for work was as alien to her as Mars.
“You better believe it. It’ll be sensational, a dream come true. There’s one drawback though.”
The uncertainty in Lizzie’s voice prodded the question. “And that would be?”
“Daniel Chalmers will be going too.”
That made her sit up and take notice. “Just you and the sleaze, tell me you’re joking?” Lizzie had her undivided attention now.
“I wish. He came to tell me in person, and do you know what the jerk said when I asked him what he wanted?”
“Surprise me.”
“He said, ‘he was up for a bit’ and then told me to ‘pack something sexy.’ Can you believe he actually had the nerve to say that? Ee-yewh, he’s so full of himself.”
“From what you’ve told me, the guy’s a dirtbag. You can’t go there alone with him. The creep will eat you alive.”
“I don’t have a choice. It’s either go with Daniel, or not at all. I need the experience, and it’s far too important an opportunity to pass up, and please, Loretta, try and remember to call me Beth. Lizzie makes me feel like a ditzy teenager.”
“Okay, I’ll try to remember. And just so you know, you’re not going alone. I’m coming too. No argument.” Sure it was impetuous, but Beth was her best friend. They were as close as sisters, closer than some, and she had no intention of leaving her alone with a guy like Chalmers. She’d met his type before. Lizzie, ah Beth, was so naïve and inexperienced she wouldn’t stand a chance with a guy like him; he’d chew her up and spit her out before breakfast. No, it would be best if she went as a buffer to block any unwanted attention and to support her friend in any way she could. Besides, she had nothing else to do and needed a diversion.
“Seriously, you don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.”
Beth tried to sound convincing, but Loretta knew her well and detected the slight edge to her voice. “No arguments—it’ll be fun! Besides I’ve always wanted to go to Colombia. Hey, you can take some leave afterward and we’ll make a holiday of it.”
“Do you even know where Colombia is?”
Beth was clever putting her on the spot, knowing full-well geography was not one of her stronger subjects. “Sure I do, it’s in Asia. Zach went there last year on a mission.”
“That was Cambodia, you ditz. Colombia is in South America.”
“Cambodia, Colombia, what’s the diff?” She lifted her shoulders and then let them drop; they were all foreign to her.
“The difference is, to quote Daniel, ‘Colombia’s dangerous.’”
“Oh, he’s just trying to scare you, and if it was true then I’m surprised your family agreed to it.”
She wasn’t sure if it was the profound silence following that clued her in or some kind of intuition that prompted her next question. “The family have agreed to it, haven’t they?”
“I’ve only just found out myself. You were my first call, so that would be no. I’ll tell them tonight.”
“And when they say no?”
“Then I’ll just say I’m going, end of story. I’m twenty-four, it’s time they stopped running my life.”
“Good luck with that.” Beth’s parents were seriously old-fashioned and way over-protective, as were her brothers. No way would they allow her to go overseas with a man. “Tell them I’ll be tagging along, that should ease their minds.”
“Um, well, if you’re really serious, I’ll e-mail my flight details and ask for some leave.”
“Sweet, I’d best start packing and calling the airline.”
*
Beth replaced the phone on its cradle as her shoulders slumped. Columbia wasn’t that dangerous, was it? Nah, Loretta was right. Daniel was just trying to scare her. The notion was dismissed, and she relaxed back in her ergonomic chair and grinned at how fate had stepped in. Career-wise this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and with the added bonus of a week’s leave and Loretta in tow, it would be one hell of an adventure as well. Beth had always wanted to travel but hated flying. The trip to Italy for her cousin’s wedding last year proved that, but too bad—this opportunity might never come again, so she’d just have to tough it out.
Just then Kevin and Josh returned and marched straight over to her desk.
“Congratulations, kid, you deserve it.” Kevin, an older man with silver hair and bushy eyebrows to match, beamed and patted her shoulder with alacrity.
“Yeah, Beth, well done. Although I must admit I am a bit green.” Josh added his good wishes. Three years her senior and handsome in a scruffy kind of way, he’d been hoping for the chance to go but wouldn’t ever begrudge her the opportunity.
“Thanks, guys, that means a lot coming from you two. How’d you find out anyway? I just got the news myself.”
“Had lunch with Angie,” Josh explained.
Angie was the personal assistant to one of the directors, and it was common knowledge throughout the department that nothing happened inside the company without the PA’s knowledge.
“Angie said, ‘Daniel delivered the news in person,’ so it wasn’t confidential anymore,” Kevin elaborated.
“You’ve hit the big time now, you must be pleased.” Josh cocked his head to the side and winked.
“Absolutely, I still can’t believe my luck, but to tell the truth I don’t know a whole lot about Columbia other than it’s in South America, and emeralds are one of the country’s main natural resources.”
“It’s a very dangerous third world country, Beth, and you’d be wise to keep your wits about you. Be sure to take extra care and keep a low profile. Bear in mind the kidnapping rate was forty-five a month when I was last there, and murder was commonplace. Don’t let yourself become a statistic.” Kevin’s eyebrows almost met when his forehead creased more than normal as he delivered his usual no-nonsense fatherly advice.
Goosebumps stippled her skin and she rubbed her arms. “You’re scaring me, Kevin.”
“I don’t mean to, but forewarned is forearmed.”
“So Daniel wasn’t just being a jerk when he said it was dangerous?”
“No, he’s been there often enough to know the ropes, and he’ll take good care of you. He’s a nice guy when you get to know him.”
She parted her lips and stared at her colleagues in astonishment. Daniel did not fit her picture of a knight in shining armor.
“Yeah, but don’t take any shit from him either, if you get my drift.” Josh grinned.
“No, I won’t. My friend Loretta is coming too, and we’re staying on afterward for a week doing the tourist thing.”
“Sounds like fun, but remember what I said about keeping a low profile.” Kevin, the bearer of doom and gloom, reminded her again as both Josh and he went back to their workstations.
Beth shoved a pen into her mouth, chewed the end and frowned as she contemplated Kevin’s advice. If Columbia was as dangerous as he intimated, then perhaps telling her family the whole truth wouldn’t be such a smart idea. She’d envisioned Daniel being the only hurdle. But this being a business trip and all aboveboard, her mother and she may have persuaded the males in her family to agree to it without too much hullabaloo. Combine that with the danger element and she’d have zero chance. It would be no way, subject closed. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, making her own decisions, and in hindsight there’d been a few incidences where she could have defied them, but they were petty and not worth the commotion so she’d let them slide. Now was not the time to defy them either. Telling them the truth was also not an option.
The sigh that escaped came from deep within. She propped her elbow on the desk, and, balancing her face in her palm, sighed again. Nope. Cluing them in about Loretta was also a no-go. In their early teens, Loretta had landed them both in more scrapes than she’d had hot dinners. Although they’d forgiven her for leading their precious daughter astray, their memories were long, none more so than Nicholas’, so as a travel companion in Columbia, forget it.
When Beth’s stomach rumbled, the realization she hadn’t eaten hit like a slap, so she took out her sandwich and started to chew, but her mind was still clogged with the Buchanans.
The siblings were poles apart. Zach was super smart, a high achiever and a great athlete. Loretta had struggled to make average grades and wouldn’t know the difference between a baseball and a football. What they did have in common was a wild undercurrent coursing through their veins. Zach found his release in fast cars, hot women, and his work. Loretta had found hers in mischief and mayhem.
Recalling the past convinced her, now more than ever, to keep the family out of the loop. Her brothers could be so Victorian that sometimes she thought they were stuck in a time warp. Thirty-three-year-old Nicholas was the worst. Strong and intense and all hard aggression, sure, her oldest brother could be unreasonable, but there were rare times as a teenager when she could sway him with a bit of wheedling and cajoling. Those tactics, though, wouldn’t work for something like this.
Beth took another bite of her sandwich. With her mind made up, she settled back to work and the rest of the day flew. Her request for a week’s leave was officially granted. Daniel’s secretary e-mailed the flight and accommodation details, and she forwarded them on to Loretta.
Around three in the afternoon, Daniel ambled in and brought her up to speed on their travel arrangements.
Even though traveling with him gave her no thrills, it was hard to contain her excitement.
“We touchdown in Bogotá at two-ten Columbian time. No need to pack any equipment, it will all be provided on-site.” He paused to check his watch. “It’s only a couple of hours until quitting time, so why don’t you take off, get packed and do whatever other stuff girls do.”
“Thanks, I will.” She smiled, but if Daniel thought his magnanimous gesture of an early release would score him brownie points, then he was out of his skull.
Leaving the building was almost as difficult as getting in. She passed through three retinal scans before reaching the marble tiled foyer. The process was a pest, but with millions of dollars in precious gems on the premises, security was a high priority. Still, it took time, and she was anxious to get home and get her gear together. And break the news to the family. Not. One advantage, though, her dad was out of the country.
She turned her smile into a frown as images of her brothers swam into mind. If only their ideas concerning her weren’t so antiquated, everything would be sweet. Even Brett, the youngest most modern brother, and her senior by fifteen months, would go crazy. And then, of course, there was Christian, just turned thirty and a law unto himself. As teenagers, before Loretta and she conformed, whenever they landed in trouble, it was Christian they’d call to bail them out. He was never biased and gave them both an equal dressing down. Zach, on the other hand, had barred her from his house more than once, choosing to believe it was she who dreamed up their pranks and caused all the trouble. Loretta, hating to be on his bad side, didn’t correct that belief. Beth saw so little of him back then she thought, what the heck.
But in this case if Christian knew the truth, he, too, would be against it. Yes, Columbia was a so do-not-reveal-all situation.