Ladyfish (7 page)

She dialed a number she knew by heart and waited.

“Yeah.”

“Billy, it’s Oz.”

“That’s Dad, Daddy, Pops, or Father to you, Ladyfish. You hear me?”

“Yes, sir.” Oz grinned as she pictured her dad sprawled across the sofa, phone in one hand, beer in the other, her mom curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest, reading a book.

“That one wasn’t on the list either.” His strong southern accent got stronger as she teased him.

“Yeah, yeah, Pops.”

“So, to what do I owe the honor? This is an unexpected pleasure, little Ladyfish. It’s been a long time with nothing but silence. How ya been?”

“Good. I need some information and I know you still have contacts.”

“He’s your uncle for God’s sake, Olivia. You could call him yourself you know.”

“He might be my uncle, but he’s a busy man. Commanding the base and stuff. It just seems like you should be the one to call him.”

“He’s still your uncle and he’d still take your call. And you damn well know that.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’ve already called you now, so will you ask him for me or what?” She heard him huffing and puffing down the line.

“Tell me what you need.”

“Thanks, Dad. Sterling Enterprises. I need everything you can find out about the CEO. William—”

“William Sterling. Rich bastard and twice as nasty. Not to be crossed. The main company owns several subsidiaries working on weapons development and military software here in the States. Do you need the full breakdown?”

“Yeah. Like you were putting together an op for Junior.”

“Why?”

“A friend of mine might have some problems with him.”

“Him personally or with him in business?”

“Personally.”

“Shit, Olivia, what are you getting into? This guy is a major player. How the fuck are you involved in this?”

“I told you, a friend of mine—”

“Are you screwing his wife or something?”

“Thank you very much, Dad. No, I’m not screwing his wife. I’m friends,
just friends
, with his daughter.”

“So you’ve bedded his daughter and now he’s after you, is that it?”

“Dad, I haven’t slept with her. She’s a student at the dive school. I met her yesterday; we had a meeting and dinner tonight. End of story. I didn’t sleep with her. She dropped me off ten minutes before I called you.”

“So why are you expecting trouble if you didn’t sleep with her?”

“I’m not. She is. Look, Dad, I like her, she’s a really nice girl, and she’s trying to get out from under this asshole. I want to be friends with her and I just want to get some kind of idea what to expect and see if there’s anything I can do to help her.”

“Is she ugly or something?”

Oz felt herself bristling. She knew her reputation. Hell, she’d reveled in it before now, but the possibility her own dad thought she would only help someone in return for sex hurt. “Dad, am I so horrible that you really don’t believe I would do anything for someone else unless sex was involved?”

Her dad paused, obviously hearing the sadness in her voice. “No, baby girl, you’re not. But even you’ve got to admit this isn’t what you usually do, is it?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Are you okay there, baby girl? Do you want me to come over and chat for a while?”

“Thanks, Pops, but I’m fine. I just want to know what I’m getting into.”

“I’ll call Charlie and see what he can find out.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“So is she?”

“Is she what?”

“Is she ugly?”

“No, she isn’t ugly. She’s beautiful. Inside and out.”

“You know what, girlie? Information or not, I don’t think you have a clue what you’re getting yourself into. Night, darlin’.”

William stared at the screen, absorbing every scrap of information he had received about his daughter. Every detail of her research had been forwarded to him, and despite his reservations over her lack of ambition, he had to marvel at her intellect. He felt a tiny flicker of parental pride before he pushed it aside, replacing it with the much more familiar numbness that usually settled in the pit of his stomach. There was no room for sentimentality in his world. After all, he could hire other people to do the work she had done, and take it where he wanted it to go. Develop her work in the directions she wouldn’t take it. His disappointment was just another emotion he didn’t need and couldn’t afford. He’d found power and money were excellent substitutes for affection. He closed the file and checked his e-mails, swearing under his breath as he reached for the phone.

“Susan, get Lyell on the phone.”

“Yes, sir.” He waited until the phone rang. He cleared his throat, tugged his shirt, and smoothed his hands down the front of it before he answered.

“Mr. Sterling, how can I—”

“I am still waiting for the projections on making the quantity of Balor I want.”

“Sir, I’m still trying to locate a supplier who can get me the equipment quickly. It’s a specialized piece of machinery, and the estimates on delivery and installation time are running into months at the moment.”

“Give me a name.”

“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t understand?”

“E-mail me the details of the supplier and the equipment you need. I will see that this matter is expedited.”

“Sir—”

“I expect that information within the next five minutes, or Marissa will not be thanking you.” He paused and listened to the heavy breathing on the other end of the phone. “Are we clear, Dr. Lyell?”

“Yes, sir.”

Sterling replaced the handset and called Susan again. “Get Jack in here, now.”

“Yes, sir.”

He was pouring himself a coffee as the well-dressed young man stepped into the room. He held up the pot and poured a second cup when Jack nodded.

“Jack, we have a situation.” His e-mail program signaled the arrival of new mail. He rounded the desk and printed off the information. “This gentleman needs some persuasion to give us his best efforts. He seems to think I have the time to wait months for a piece of equipment. I expect it to be delivered and installed in Lyell’s lab by the end of the month.”

“Are there any restrictions, sir?”

Sterling sipped his coffee. “What do you have in mind?”

“Sir, it depends on the circumstances.”

“I want you to do what’s necessary.”

“Do what we’ve done with Lyell.” Jack sipped his coffee, looking thoughtful.

Sterling liked the cold steel in Jack’s eyes. He was no-nonsense and did what he was told when he was told to do it. “And if there’s only a wife?”

“I’ll encourage her to be my guest for a while. If there are children too, he may be more cooperative if we make our purpose clear with the wife and keep the children as our guests.”

“And if neither is an option?” Sterling asked, not because he really cared, but because he wanted to make sure all the options were covered.

“Money. I’ll either pay him a sizable bonus for his efforts or find a skeleton in his closet to use as leverage.”

“Why go to the family first?”

“It’s the fastest option and the most reliable. Fear keeps them from thinking straight, especially if a child is involved.” Jack rinsed his coffee cup, dried it, and set it in its precise place on the table.

“Very good. Keep me informed.”

Jack recognized the dismissal and left the room, the page firmly in hand.

Oz sat at one of the tables outside the dive school, sipping her coffee as she leafed through Finn’s file again. She had a small stack of papers in front of her weighted down with her saucer to keep them from blowing away, ready for Finn to fill out when she arrived. One was an application for a house share.
Mrs. Richmond is only three doors down, and she’s mentioned looking for a tenant. That’ll be perfect for Finn. And she’ll be close to me. Close enough to see every day, if I wanted to.

Mrs. Richmond had been a longstanding friend of the family. Her husband was the commander of the naval base before he retired, and both her father and uncle had served under his command. They had all become good friends, and now Oz considered Mrs. Richmond a member of her family.

“Good morning.” Finn dropped into the chair opposite her and smiled broadly. “What’s with the frown?”

Oz felt her tension dissipate at the sound of Finn’s voice. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth.
God, that accent’s cute on her.
“I was just thinking about something.” She moved the saucer out of the way and pushed the stack of papers over to Finn. When Finn had them in her hand, Oz rummaged around for a pen and tossed it over the table. “Are you ready to get started?”

“Sure.” Finn began filling out the forms. “Thank you for last night. I had a really good time, and I’m sorry if I talked your ear off.” Finn glanced up and Oz’s heart stuttered slightly at the warmth in her eyes.

Oz waved her hand. “Not a problem. When I first met you at the airport, I thought you were going to be really quiet, which would make working on this course with you really difficult. I’m glad I was wrong.”

“Does that happen often?”

“What?”

“You being wrong?”

Oz laughed. “More often than I’ll ever admit to.”

“This one looks like a tenancy application.” Finn indicated the page on top. “Do you know somewhere I might be able to rent?”

“It’s possible. It’s a house share, but there’s only one other person in the house. It’s a big house though, with plenty of space for two people. There are four bedrooms as well as the living areas.”

“It sounds great. Where is it?”

“It’s the other side of Key West. It’s still a drive from here so your car won’t be obsolete or anything, but it’s pretty close.”

“What’s the rent?”

“I need to double-check with the owner, but last time I spoke to her about it she said two hundred a month.”

“What?” Finn’s eyes opened wide.

“Is that too much? Maybe I can get her down a bit. How about one fifty?”

“Are you kidding me? When I was looking online before I came here, everything seemed closer to five or six hundred a month. What’s wrong with this place? Does it have rats or something? Is it falling down? Or is it a crack house?”

Oz stopped laughing long enough to answer. “No, it’s a nice house, in a nice neighborhood. The owner said that she doesn’t really need the money, but she would really like the company.”
Which is exactly why I was thinking about inviting her to my house first. Why the hell is that? I’m going to be working with her every day. Do I really want to spend my off time with her too?
She looked at Finn as she mulled the thought over.
Yeah. I really do. Shit.

“Oh. That still seems really cheap. What are the extras? Phone, utilities, and stuff?”

“Nothing, two hundred a month, everything included but your food. There’s Internet and everything already installed. You get your own groceries.”

“It sounds too good to be true. Is she an old lady or something?”

“Compared to you, I guess you could say that.” Oz grabbed her coffee cup and took a sip to hide her smile. Mrs. Richmond was preparing for her seventieth birthday party. Everyone and their dog had received invites just last week to the party she was planning.

“Well, if she’ll have me for two hundred a month, I don’t really care if she smells like wee and lavender.”

“What?” Oz almost choked on her coffee, barely managing to get her hand to her mouth and stop it from spewing across the table.

“Maybe old people smell different here, but I always find they smell a bit like stale wee with a strong hint of lavender or rose water to cover it up.” Finn laughed along with Oz.

“Stop or I’m gonna smell like wee.”

“Can you take me to meet her later? See if she likes me? I’ll let you drive the Mustang again.”

“No problem. I’m sure if you let your landlady drive the Mustang she’ll definitely let you stay. Maybe even for free!”

“Wow, it really is more than a car.”

“Yup, I told you that. Now get back to those forms or we’ll never get out of here and on to the fun stuff.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

“It’s admiral, actually,” said a male voice.

They both looked up as a tall, uniformed sailor stopped next to the table. He twirled his cap in hand, a broad grin on his face as he watched Oz jump up from the table.

“Uncle Charlie. What are you doing here?” Oz wrapped her arms around the big man. He slung an arm around Oz’s shoulders easily as he towered over her by at least five inches. His broad chest and shoulders were obviously solid muscle and his blond buzz cut accentuated the open features of his face. There was no question about a family resemblance, and Oz suddenly wondered what Finn saw when she looked at her.

“Well, I got a call from your dad last night and I thought I’d pop down and see you.” He offered his hand to Finn. “I’m Admiral Charles Zuckerman. I have the honor of looking after the base over at Key West, and of being uncle to Ladyfish here.”

“Daniela Finsbury-Sterling. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

They shook hands before he turned back to Oz. “You got a few minutes for your old uncle?”

“Sure. I’ll be right back, Finn.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got more paperwork to fill out. It was nice to meet you, Admiral.”

“And you.” He followed Oz as they headed into the dive shop and into a small office in the back.

“So that’s who all this is for, eh?”

“She’s a friend. She’s doing some training here, and she’ll be here a while. Her dad wants other things for her, and she doesn’t expect he’ll be very happy when she says no to him. She’s expecting trouble, and if I can, I want to help her. There’s nothing sinister going on.”

“I didn’t say there was darlin’. But I’ve dealt with William Sterling myself, and that man is colder than a witch’s tit and twice as nasty.”

“Wonderful imagery, thanks, Uncle Charlie.”

“You know exactly what I mean. What is she expected to do?”

“Marry her gay best friend Pete and make lots of babies.”

“Is he up for it?”

“Pardon the pun, hey? No, he isn’t”