Chapter 3 - THE FIFTY-MILLION-DOLLAR MISTAKE
Derek recovered first.
Or tried to.
“Mr. Rourke, surely there's been some misunderstanding.”
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
“About my marriage?”
Derek swallowed.
“No, I mean—”
“Then choose your next words carefully.”
Kendra stepped forward.
“Dominic, we were only joking.”
Dominic looked at her.
“About what?”
She hesitated.
“Mallory.”
His expression hardened.
“What about her?”
Kendra glanced at Derek.
Neither answered.
I spoke.
“They were discussing my weight.”
Dominic went still.
Derek laughed nervously.
“It was harmless.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Harmless to whom?”
Silence.
Derek cleared his throat.
“Mr. Rourke, I think we're getting distracted from the important matter.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“And what would that be?”
“The agreement.”
Derek lifted the portfolio.
“Fifty million dollars over three years.”
Dominic looked at the cover.
Then at me.
“Mallory?”
I nodded toward the certificate.
“There's a problem with his supplemental hull bond.”
Derek's face tightened.
“She's mistaken.”
Dominic didn't look at him.
“What problem?”
I took a breath.
“The registration sequence belongs to the Saint Agnes.”
Dominic's expression changed.
He knew the name.
Of course he did.
The Saint Agnes had disappeared during a storm eighteen months earlier.
Its loss had triggered a multimillion-dollar insurance settlement.
Dominic turned toward his legal counsel.
“Hold the agreement.”
Derek went pale.
“Mr. Rourke—”
“Until the documentation is verified.”
Derek stared.
“But the signing is scheduled for ten.”
May you like
Dominic looked at his watch.
“Then you have forty minutes to explain why a dead ship appears in your insurance package.”
