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15
MARGO
As Margo made her way to her room on the second floor of the hotel, her stomach churned with unease.
She didn't like leaving Jasmine alone and vulnerable in that fancy suite, but she had to concede that there wasn't much she could do for her other than make the call she had promised.
Hopefully, tonight's wedding hadn't started yet, or Mia wouldn't be able to help her with anything. To bother the boss in the middle of the festivities would result in a guaranteed refusal.
Margo wondered whether the weddings were of employees who had met their Perfect Match through the algorithm. If so, it could be a wonderful marketing opportunity. The question was whether anyone would let her pitch her idea.
She was supposed to start as a lowly beta tester, and chances were that no one would want to hear what other things she could bring to the table.
So far, she'd gotten the impression that the boss Mia had been referring to was even more intimidating than Mia's fiancé, which was hard to imagine, but since Tom didn't have the authority to approve Jasmine coming on board, the reclusive partners were the ones in charge. Mia hadn't mentioned which one of them was the boss, but since she referred to 'him,' it was a man, and given the tone of her voice when she talked about him, she had a lot of respect for the guy.
Closing the door behind her, Margo locked it as if that was going to keep her safe, dropped her bag on the floor, and sat down on the single armchair in the room.
The contrast to Jasmine's luxurious suite was stark. The room, which Margo had thought was so nice, suddenly looked cramped and basic. The two queen beds and one armchair took up most of the floor space, and the small table by the armchair couldn't even hold her bag.
The bathroom was basic as well, with a bathtub and shower combo, a shower curtain, a toilet, and a single sink.
Oh well, even that simple room, which she had split the cost of with a roommate, had made a big hole in her savings account. That and the plane ticket. The other things were incidentals that weren't too costly.
Pulling out her phone, Margo placed the call and waited for Mia to answer.
When the call went to voicemail, her heart sank. Mia was probably at the wedding already, and it was too noisy to hear the phone ringing.
Maybe she should call Frankie?
Frankie couldn't help her, though. She wasn't close to the boss, and besides, she was probably at the wedding too.
When her phone rang a few minutes later, Margo let out a relieved breath. "Hi, Mia. I thought you were at the wedding reception already."
"No, not yet. These weddings start really late. I didn't answer because I was in the shower when you called, and Tom was helping me. Did you talk with Frankie today by any chance?"
Margo tensed. "No, why? Is she okay?"
"She's fine. She came down with some sort of a bug, and they put her in the infirmary. But that's not why I asked. I didn't know whether she told you that we were going to get to Cabo tomorrow afternoon instead of the following morning. The boss decided to crank up the speed so we can make an excursion to one more port of call before heading home."
"Great." She would have been thrilled to hear that only this morning, but now she was worried about Jasmine. She needed more time to put her rescue plan in motion.
"You don't sound happy," Mia said. "What's up?"
"I met someone who might be in danger, and I need a favor." She proceeded to explain the situation and her suspicions about Jasmine's boyfriend.
When she was done, there was a long moment of silence. "Are you sure that you are not jumping to conclusions? No offense, but you tend to see a conspiracy around every corner."
"That jerk took her passport, her driver's license, and her credit cards. He left her with forty bucks in her wallet. Don't tell me you don't find that suspicious."
"So, the guy is a controlling asshole. It doesn't mean that he's a trafficker."
"What if he is? Do you want Jasmine's abduction and sale into sex slavery on your conscience?"
"Of course not." Mia sighed. "But I would hate to make a big brouhaha about nothing."
"It's not nothing, and even if it is, I'd rather be wrong than sorry. That's how people get killed, Mia. Those who should recognize the warning signs and do something don't want to believe that bad things are about to happen."
After every big terrorist attack, the news was full of warning signs that should have been heeded but had been ignored. Evidently, those in charge of security often suffered from the same idiotic optimism and false sense of safety as the clueless victims in horror movies.
