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3
Manhattan, New York
24 February
Saturday, 4:00 a.m. local time
Aidan settled himself in the rear seat of the limo as it pulled away from his apartment building.
He punched in a secure cell phone number that rang in Lyon, France. When the other party answered, he said, “It’s Aidan.”
“I assumed so. Patience. I just sent you the email,” Simone Martin responded in her lilting voice, her speech laced with that particularly sexy French accent. That, among other things, had been what drew Aidan to Simone from the start. Their relationship was a complicated and torrid one—on-again, off-again at the beginning, very much on-again now.
Ironically, it had been Valèrie who’d introduced them when Aidan was, once again, overseas, having been called back to active duty by the Marines for a specified period of time. Valèrie and Simone had studied together at the Paris-Sorbonne University and gone on to remain friends. As for the introduction, it was classic Valèrie. She’d bid a fond adieu to the month-long sexual marathon she and Aidan had shared, and had become immersed in some intensive journalistic assignment that consumed all her time and energy. As a result, she was unbothered by the obvious and electric attraction between Aidan and Simone.
Life worked in strange ways. At the time, Aidan had dismissed the affair with Valèrie as a pleasant diversion. But that had been before he’d known Abby had been the result. Now? He could never regret a liaison that had given him his precious child.
As for him and Simone, it turned out that, at the time, she was working for Thales, a military contractor, giving the two of them the opportunity to work—and to play—together. She’d moved on to McKinsey and Company, and Aidan’s military assignment had ended, at which time he’d headed home to the States and begun working with Heckman Flax. But their fire still burned, even now, when they continued to live countries apart and saw each other so seldom.
“Aidan?” Simone prompted.
“I’m here.” He cleared his throat and checked his iPhone. “I don’t see the email yet.”
“Un minute, chéri. I included a brief summary of the skills I felt were necessary, plus a list of those people best suited to address a European kidnapping with an industrial espionage component. You’ll find dossiers on each individual attached, as well as a few alternate selections in the event that you disagree with my assessment of the mission.”
Aidan felt himself grinning. “When have I ever disagreed with your assessments?”
Simone was what Aidan affectionately referred to as a “people whisperer.” She knew more about human beings than they knew about themselves. Based out of Lyon, France, she spoke five languages flu
ently. In her current “real” job as a managing partner for McKinsey, she was head of recruiting. Her role was to find the best people in the world and convince them to join the firm. As the Zermatt Group’s human capital expert, she applied the same skills in recruiting talent for them.
Aidan relied on Simone to not only find new talent but, when a project presented itself, to scan their talent pool and develop a short list of professionals with the skills and team chemistry to be successful.
She’d never let him down yet.
“Here it is,” he said, opening the email. “Great. I’ll review it all on the plane.”
* * *
Two hours later, Aidan’s flight took off.
First class on United flight 303 to San Francisco was quiet this morning. Probably because it was Saturday and all the business travelers were already home for the weekend.
Aidan sank back, enjoying his morning cup of black coffee. He needed it after the night he’d had. Poor Abby had woken up at two a.m. really sick. Aidan had prevailed upon their pediatrician, explaining his business dilemma. The compassionate man had met them in his office and diagnosed Abby with strep throat. The twenty-four-hour drugstore had filled the doctor’s prescription. Still, Aidan had been in a major bind. He had to take this trip. But Abby’s fever was high and her throat was horribly sore. Not to mention she was probably still contagious. The nanny had left at midnight and was now visiting her daughter in New Hampshire for the weekend. He just didn’t know how he was going to manage.
So he’d called Marc and Maddy to come over quite early. God bless his brother and sister-in-law. They were dressed and ready before Aidan hung up the phone. Madeline was an ER nurse. She’d assured Aidan that she’d take care of Abby. And Marc would love being the entertainment committee.
Abby had woken up from her feverish sleep as soon as she heard her uncle and aunt arrive. And she’d forgotten all about how sick she was. Not only were they here for what she viewed as a two-day playdate, they’d brought gifts: a gallon of cotton candy ice cream, her favorite, and a get-well present of a brand-new princess doll they’d saved to give her. The doll had flowing golden hair, a pink satin gown, and a crown with tiny colored rhinestones on it. Abby collected princess dolls like baseball cards. This was another beauty to add to her prized collection.
So Aidan had blown out of there with an enormous hug from his own little princess and, just as importantly, peace of mind.
“Mr. Devereaux, can I bring you anything?” the flight attendant was asking. “Breakfast will be served in an hour. Would you like something in the interim?”
Aidan glanced at his near-empty cup. “Just some more coffee, please. I need all the caffeine I can get.”
She smiled, having seen more than her share of business travelers. “I’ll get it right away.”
Aidan spent the next few hours reviewing everything Simone had sent him. All spot on—as usual.
