Meaghan had just sat back down at her desk when Shilah came to her desk.
"We've got some information from our contact in Guangzhou. Carmen sent us some wiretap information I just translated. En Ahmad wanted to see if any of the information correlates with what you've already reviewed."
Meaghan nodded, happy to be distracted from her lunch with her boss. Shilah gave her several sheets of paper. She read through them quickly, until one passage caught her eye:
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"So is everything in place for the festival?"
"We will have it ready by then."
"That's not an answer. You will have all tasks completely immediately."
"Yes, sir."
"Tell me what is happening in distribution."
"All of our parcels have been safely delivered and payments have been made appropriately."
"Very well. If there are any problems, you will take full responsibility. In any case, after our success you will remove Thailand and switch to the other companies."
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Meaghan rooted through the pile of paperwork until she found the other reports. Nothing seemed to be a link, until the name "Samui Group" showed up. It was a small group of techsperts in petroleum geology and geophysics that had recently been in demand locally for identification of potential oil and gas deposits. Several of them were currently at Compliant Tower # 3, an offshore platform from Rickie's family.
Meaghan mused a bit at the info. "Samui" was the name of a Thai island, and the name in Malay meant "safe haven". Suddenly, she remembered the information emailed from Ivoire. "Chang Mai" was also a Thai province, and meant "New City". She wondered if there was a link. She decided to shelve that for a minute until she had more information.
Booting up her computer, she researched festivals in nearby countries. There were several that were within the next two weeks, and she decided to focus on traditional Malay and Chinese festivals. The research kept her busy until the end of the day.
When it was time to leave, she was relieved that the door to Rickie's office was closed. Quickly stepping out into the late afternoon sun, she shielded her eyes and headed towards the bus stop.
Rickie, leaving the lobby, stopped to admire the view of Meaghan walking away, her hips swaying from side to side as she strode purposefully down the street. He thought about the moment he kissed her hand, her natural scent in his nose as he hovered over her palm, and felt happy. He thought about the phone call he received while driving back to the office, and his grin got even wider. Whistling, he headed back to his SUV.
When he arrived back home, his father was in the main parlour, reading a book with a blanket tucked around his body. He smiled at his son.
After formal greetings, he spoke to Rickie.
"You seem to be in a pretty good mood. Is the job that enjoyable?" Rickie didn't hesitate, and, as he turned to head upstairs, said, "I have a terrific set of employees." He didn't see his father sit up straighter, a thoughtful expression on his face.
After Rickie disappeared up the stairs, the older man reached for the phone by his elbow, and dialed.
"JoAnne? I have a special request project for you…"