Chapter Three: Unsolved Mysteries
"All of our spas and salons are doing excellent business," Elizabeth was saying, "but some of our restaurants are in trouble. We need to cut expenses, starting with our suppliers. That's why I recommend that the board consider a switch from Gascony Farms to Emerald Diversified Foods."
"But we've always done business with Gascony Farms!" Mary McCloud exclaimed. The financial talk had nearly put her to sleep. Now her sea-green eyes flew wide open. "Everyone knows their milk is wholesome and their fruit is fresh. I remember picking apples there as a little girl."
The sensible, practical, profit-driven businessmen gathered around the boardroom table immediately burst into laughter. Mary's cheeks turned bright pink. Her first board meeting and already they were laughing at her! Why couldn't she focus on business, instead of daydreaming about that sexy new masseur at the health club?
Cousin Elizabeth tapped her pointer impatiently. "Numbers don't lie. Gascony has been going down hill for years. Emerald is nation-wide, not local, mom and pop. We need to reach out to them, maybe set up a meeting in the big city." The stunning redhead standing at the head of the table in a fitted gray suit hesitated for just a moment, her blue eyes cold as Arctic glaciers. "At least, I strongly suggest that we consider this course of action."
"And we will consider your suggestion carefully, Elizabeth." Mary wasn't good with numbers, but she was good with feelings. And it wasn't hard to put herself in Elizabeth's high heeled shoes. Her tall, strong-willed cousin was used to giving orders, not making suggestions. The long legal battle had left Mary in charge, but there were a lot of hard feelings.
"Gascony Farms used to be my favorite place as a child," golden-haired Mary sighed to herself, later that afternoon. She had just played a fast-paced game of tennis on the fancy private court at Red Lake Spa, and Marco Maselli was giving her a massage. The man had told her plenty about himself the other day. Yet now he was silent, totally focused on soothing her body's aches and pains with his skilled, strong hands. It felt good, very good. But Mary wanted more.
"You grew up around here," she murmured all of a sudden, lifting her head to look at Marco and resisting the urge to cover herself with a towel. The man was a professional, after all. So far he showed no interest in her as a woman at all. "Have you ever been out to Gascony Farms?"
"A few years ago." Marco shrugged, his huge shoulders dipping slightly in a way that only emphasized their enormous power. "The truth is, boss, Red Lake has really gone downhill in the last few years. All of it has. Old Man O'Hara kept the dope dealers out, and the biker gangs. Back then no-one would have dared to open up a meth lab in this county. Now the farm country is crawling with them."
Mary frowned. "I thought you hated the O'Hara family."
"I do. But I have to make a living. And I'd rather be forced into giving back rubs than forced into cooking crystal meth."
"Is that what's going on out at Gascony Farms?"
Again that enigmatic shrug, drawing attention to that incredible body. "I don't know. You got to remember, boss, I'm on parole. These days I try to keep my nose clean."
"I'll bet you do." Mary smiled, and settled her head back on the cushions. Two unsolved mysteries tantalized her as she drifted off sleep. Mystery number one was what was going on at Gascony Farms. Mystery number two was how to get Marco Maselli to notice that his new boss was a woman.