“I was wondering if I could have a quick word?”
David was confused but agreed. The two of them went down to his room so they could have some privacy.
“I was going to pass doing a college party out of hand, but I mentioned that you would be here to certain people, and they asked me to do it. They wanted me to reach out,”
Tommy said.
David couldn’t help but get a Little Tony—his gangster friend—vibe.
“Why am I suddenly nervous?” David asked.
Tommy quickly said, “No, man. It’s all legit. See, these Dubai guys have more money than they know what to do with. They pay crazy appearance fees to rub elbows with celebrities. I heard last week that Katy Elliott was paid
upwards of a half million to sing for an hour at one of the princes’ birthday party.”
“What do they want with me? I can’t currently accept any money if I want to play football,” David said.
“How much would it take for you to forgo that?” Tommy asked.
David glanced around to see if there were cameras, and he was being either pranked or set up. The sense he got was that Tommy was serious.
“No amount of money would get me to give up my shot at someday playing in the NFL,” David finally said.
“How about this: would it be possible to move the premiere of your Star Academy movie to the Atlantis?”
“I have no influence over those types of decisions,”
David said to see Tommy deflate. “But I know who does. If your people are serious, I can tell them who to contact and have that man take their call.”
“If this connection works out, I just made a lot of bank,”
Tommy shared.
“Since you’re feeling generous, how about you come upstairs with me and let my friends, teammates, and recruits get their picture taken with you and me?” David asked.
“No problem, man. No problem.”
Later, David sent Lexi a text to warn her dad that someone from Dubai would be calling.
◊◊◊
Chapter 39
They were all weary from the flight, which had taken over thirty hours with stops in Tokyo and Jakarta. Cassidy and Greg had been sent to catch the shuttle bus while Paddy rented a car to ‘go scout.’ They were both glad to see the backside of the glowering man.
“I vote that we go to the hotel and shower. We can get together after that and decide what we want to do today,”
Greg suggested.
“A shower is a must, but I’m sleep-deprived,” Cassidy said, pushing back on the second part of Greg’s plan.
“But we’re here to find places for my parents to go sightseeing.”
“Dumbass, that’s your cover for being here. I’m going to be wide awake for my revenge, so do what you want,”
Cassidy said.
If it had been David, he would have joined her in taking a nap. He would have called Lexi and had her plan his parents’ trip. Greg had the same access to having Lexi help with stuff like this. Cassidy had heard Greg talk to her several times to help solve some problem he had. Cassidy had been plotting how she could get David to let her use Lexi for stuff. She could use a PA; she just didn’t know for what … yet.
The hotel turned out to be a resort. Cassidy modified her plans when she saw the pool area overlooked the ocean and had pool boys delivering drinks. She could take her nap by the pool.
◊◊◊
Paddy had been doing this kind of stuff since he was a teenager. Back in the day, it had been more strong-arming people. Some pain went a long way toward getting
someone to change their mind. Nowadays, he could typically get the result asked for with simple intimidation.
One hard lesson he’d learned was to assume nothing.
This situation looked like a straight-up intimidation job, but something about it felt off.
Oliver ‘Knackers’ Shaw was a 25-year-old Australian college football punter who was six-one, 200 pounds, and had a quote ‘punchable face.’ Oliver readily agreed to meet them at a bar so he and Cassidy could have their conversation.
Over the years, Paddy had learned to listen to his gut, which was why he was at Oliver’s uncle’s vacation home doing surveillance. Paddy spotted Oliver out back on the patio with what looked like an older brother and possibly the uncle. He pulled out a directional mic and stuck in an earpiece so he could hear what they were saying.
“No worries, mate, she’ll be right,” Oliver said to settle down the uncle and brother.
“You’re a stubby short of a six-pack. You all but killed the sheila. I had you do the Harry to get out of the States because you said that bloke, David Dawson, had money, and he could be a real problem,” the brother said.
“She’s not alone. My guy watching said she has two blokes with her. One looked to be a poof and is nothing to worry about. The other’s a bit iffy and has my person worried. To be safe, I’m going to gather some muscle to keep an eye on the meeting,” the uncle said.
Paddy was making a mental checklist. Job one was to find the man following them and make an example of him.
They didn’t know to be afraid of Paddy O’Malley. He needed to send a message.
◊◊◊
Greg was exhausted when he returned to the resort.
He’d spent the afternoon getting the lay of the land for his
parents’ surprise trip. He knew they’d love it.
As he walked through the lobby, he glanced out by the pool and saw Cassidy sipping an umbrella drink as a guy sat on the foot of her lounger talking to her. Greg was half pissed that she was enjoying herself while he had gone out and worked this afternoon.
He stomped up and glared at Cassidy.
“Take a walk. Me and the lady are getting to know each other.”
Greg finally focused on the man and realized he was a small mountain.
“Wow! Are you stupid or something?” Cassidy asked.
Both men looked at Cassidy. Mountain Man said, “I’m just going to take this one out to the parking lot and dispose of the trash. I’ll be right back so we can go up to my room to finish our conversation.”
“You think kicking my brother’s ass will get me in the mood to go to your room?”
Greg silently thanked Cassidy for saving his butt while the mountain of a man processed how badly he’d fucked up. Cassidy reached out and patted the mountain’s hand.
“Be a dear and buy my brother and me another one of these,” she said, holding up her glass to show him her drink was empty.
The guy jumped up to buy them drinks, and when he returned, he made excuses. Mountain had somewhere else to be.
“Thanks for the quick thinking,” Greg said.
“Be a dear and give me a massage. My back is tight from the flight,” Cassidy said.
She rolled over on her stomach as Greg sat down next to her. He debated swatting her butt, but the problem with that was Cassidy might like it. Besides, a massage was a fair trade for not getting his ass kicked in the parking lot.
Greg told Cassidy about his exploring. She let him prattle on until she’d heard enough.
“Call Lexi and have her organize the trip. That’s what your brother would do.”
‘Fuck me, she’s right,’ Greg thought.
◊◊◊
Paddy came back to the resort and spotted Greg giving Cassidy a massage by the pool. He didn’t have time to figure out what that meant because he was on the hunt for the man following them. No one jumped out. Usually, it would have been either an ex-cop or an amateur working too hard to blend in.