Endangered: A Delecoeur Mystery #1 (3 page)

 “If you mean what you said about
reading the manuscript, let me get you a copy before you leave tonight.”

“Can I read it too?” Max asked.

Chas gaped at Max.

Max grinned. “You never know what you
can learn from a good romance.”

M
adeleine’s
flight to San Francisco was uneventful. Her talk about her last trip to Kenya
to cover a story on bush meat was not. She wondered if Julia had called the
young man who dominated the question and answer session, if you could call it
that. Instead of questions, he accused her of starving people. She explained
the situation to him as she’d done with Julia, but he refused to believe what
she told him.

“Africa was the birthplace of
civilization. For millions of years those people have lived on the plants and
animals living there. Who are you to stop them from feeding their children as their
ancestors did?”

Madeleine didn’t miss the heat in his
eyes although she couldn’t understand the animosity. He looked to be college
age, but dressed like a businessman. Most of the participants that were his age
wore t-shirts advocating animal rights and environmental protection.  But this
young man wore a white shirt, red tie and black pants. Corporations were not
always happy with the work of environmentalists because it cost them more money
to be earth-friendly, but she’d never had such a reaction from a corporate type
in her talks before.

“I don’t want to stop them from feeding
their children. I want them to learn alternatives that will not only feed their
children today, but also their grandchildren tomorrow. Today there are millions
more people with much fewer resources and these resources are not infinite;
they can be depleted. Experts report over 20 to 50 thousand animals become
extinct each year. I’m talking about dolphins, polar bears and gorillas. All
are at risk of extinction during your lifetime.”

He started to challenge her further, but
the MC intervened indicating time was up. Madeleine was grateful, as it was
clear this was an argument she wouldn’t win. Not that she wasn’t interested in
intelligent dialogue about conservation, but this young man wasn’t interested
in a dialogue. She couldn’t help but feel his attack was personal although she
couldn’t figure out why. She was sure she’d never met him before.

She packed her notes into her bag and
headed out to the main lobby of the convention area. She wanted to find a quiet
place to call Max. She turned down a hallway when the young heckler from the
seminar blocked her.

“Do you know that in protecting your
animals, you also hurt families right here in the United States? Companies
can’t afford to run -”

"Companies that invest in
environmental changes are saving money in the long run. And consumers feel good
about doing business with conscientious companies."

"You wouldn't know this because you
grew up and married rich, but it costs money to make those changes and we don't
have that kind of money."

Madeleine bristled at the young man's
comment. While she had grown up and married rich, that didn't mean she didn't
understand money or business. But instead of defending herself, she chose to
respond to his last statement. "Do you own a business? Delecoeur
Technology has grants to help businesses make green changes-"

"You know what you can do with your
grant!" The man stepped forward and for the first time Madeleine felt fear
at the man's tirade.

“Mr. ...uh...” He didn’t volunteer his
name. “I’m sorry that my work distresses you. I assure you that I don’t
advocate letting people suffer. The issue is really too complex to discuss
right here, but if you’d like to come to my discussion group tomorrow, I’d be
happy to explore it further.”

“I don’t want to discuss your issues. I
want to you to know that your actions are hurting people, causing them to lose
jobs and they can’t feed their families-"

A group of students approached and
Madeline silently thanked them for giving her the opportunity to get away from
the young man accosting her.

“I'm sorry you are upset, but there are
solutions that work and my goal is to help people learn about and implement
those solutions.” Letting the young man know she was done arguing, she turned
to the other students. "Did you have a question?"

“A group of us are going to the Don
Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge located in the South
Bay," a young woman dressed in a 'Life is Good' Shirt and skinny jeans
said. "We wanted to see if you want to join us?”

Thrilled with the opportunity to get
away from her heckler, Madeleine agreed to meet them after her last seminar
that afternoon.

~~~

Max looked at the clock on his desk.
Nearly one. Madeleine would be calling any moment.  He set aside Chas’ business
portfolio. Chas had potential, particularly with his experience working at Digiteknic,
a business in Silicon Valley that Max's company used to subcontract with for
electronics parts. Max made a mental note to call Mr. Shaffer the president of Digiteknic
to discuss helping it come into compliance with Max' environmental standards so
they could resume their business relationship. Going back to Chas, Max decided
that the young man needed to work on his business-to-business skills. He was
assertive and smart, but cocky, which would put people off.

“Ms. Devlin is here to see you.” Marie’s
voice came over the intercom.

Max tried to remember if they made an
appointment. “Show her in Marie.”

“I’m sorry to just drop in like this,
again,” Julia said as she swept into his office. “I was in the area and thought
maybe we could have lunch.”

Max greeted her with a peck on the
cheek. “Actually, I’m waiting for Madeleine to call and was going to have lunch
in.”

“Surely you could spare an hour for a
friend…after your call of course.” She smiled sweetly. Max remembered that
smile and how many miles she’d gotten out of him with it when he was a young,
hormonal teenager.

His cell phone rang. “That’s Madeleine.
Excuse me.” Stepping behind his desk, he picked up the phone and turned his
back to Julia for privacy.

“How’s the conference?”

“Good. Having that chat with Julia last
night was a help.”

“Got a few anti-environmentalists?”

“Let's just say there are some people
with opposing opinions who aren’t afraid to express them.”

The tone of Madeleine’s voice concerned
him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, fine. It was a verbal sparring,
but he clearly didn’t like my talk or me.”

“You’re sure?” Max knew that Madeleine's
views weren't always popular, but usually it was her views, not her personally
people objected to.

“Yes. I just hope it didn’t deter the
others from getting something from my presentation.”

“I’m sure you were brilliant. How was
the flight up?”

“It was fine. I was sorry to leave you
so early though.”

“You left me with great memory,” he
said. “I love it when you wake me up like that.”

“I could tell.”

He smiled into the phone as the memory
of Madeleine waking him with sensual kisses and caresses came back to him. The
silence on the other end of the phone told him Madeleine was thinking the same.

“How’s Oscar?” she finally asked.

“He misses you. He likes your breakfasts
better than mine.”

“At least someone likes my cooking.”

“I love your cooking. I love you,” Max
said. “Listen, I left a message with Alan.”

“Oh, good. I appreciate your taking care
of that,” she said.

“I’m happy to do it.” He turned briefly
to see Julia sitting on his couch leafing through a business magazine. “I had
hoped to come up tomorrow, but I have some business still and hopefully I can
arrange to see Alan, so it may not be until Friday that I can get away. I
thought we could go to the vineyard for the weekend.”

“Great idea.”

“I’ll make the arrangements.”

“I’m sorry, Max. I've got another
seminar to attend.”

“I seem to have a date myself,” he said.

There was a pause. “Let me guess,
Julia.”

“You were always a smart one.”

“Well, just keep your reminiscing to a
minimum.”

He laughed. “I love you. Stay safe.”

“I love you too. I’ll call you tonight.
Probably about 6:30. I’m going to turn in early.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

~~~

“I hope you don’t mind that I took the
liberty to make a reservation at
Chatelain
,”
Julia said when Max got off the phone. “It turns out you are a regular there.
You have your own table.”

Max’s face colored. It embarrassed him sometimes
the favors he got simply because he had money. “It's Madeleine’s favorite
restaurant.”

“Well, I know it won’t be the same with
me, but it will give us a chance to catch up.” Julia linked her arm through
Max’s as they headed out the office door.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Julia,” he
said.

“Thank you, Max.”

Max’s comment wasn’t entirely a
compliment. While she still retained her beauty, Julia also retained the annoying
habit of controlling everyone around her. Max didn’t mind assertive women. He
loved Madeleine’s strength of mind and character. But with Julia, her
controlling always left Max feeling like she didn’t trust him to make good
choices. When they were young and dating, she always chose where they went and
what they did, like she couldn't trust him to create a good date on his own. Of
course, he wouldn’t have taken her to
Chatelain's
if given a choice. It was silly, but it was his and
Madeleine’s place. And it was always filled with nosy people, which is why he
had his own table in a secluded section of the restaurant.

"You look happy," Julia said
after they ordered their lunch.

"I am. Very."

"Good. Not that I'm surprised. You
may have had a rough start, but anyone could tell you would become a
success." She leaned towards him, laying her hand over his.

"Thank you."

"And Madeleine seems
terrific."

Max smiled. Although he had achieved
business success prior to meeting Madeleine, he hadn't ever considered himself
a success until she'd come into his life. "She is. I never believed in
true love and all that fairy tale stuff, but Madeleine proved me wrong."
Max pulled his hand away, uncomfortable with Julia's nearness.

"You don't have children."

"No," he said not wanting to
divulge further into his and Madeleine's private life.

"That's too bad. I always thought
you'd make a wonderful father."

"I was surprised to hear about
Chas," Max said.

She laughed. "I know what you're
thinking. That I'm too self-centered to be a mother. You're probably right,
although I tried with Chas."

"He seems to be doing well."

"Yes. He gets that from his father.
But, as I'm sure you've noticed, he's a little self-centered, which I suppose
he gets from me."

"I hadn't heard about
William," Max said.

"Heart attack."

"I'm sorry."

"Yes well, we didn't have what you
and Madeleine have. Not that it wasn't good in the beginning, but by the end
there really wasn't anything left. He pretty much abandoned Chas and me."

"I'm sorry for that as well. You're
a challenging woman, Julia, but you deserve love and respect."

She looked surprised by his statement.
As if it was the first time anyone had said something kind to her. "Do you
ever wonder... about us...if maybe..."

Max sighed. The truth would bruise her
ego, but he couldn't tell her what she wanted to hear. His feelings for Julia
had run their course long ago. "That was a long time ago. We've both moved
on."

"I know. I just wonder if I'd been
more patient and waited for you-"

Max shook his head. "You did the
right thing."

She didn't look convinced, but he knew
she was smart enough to know that if she pushed the issue he'd be forced to
tell her the truth; that he'd have never made a life with her.

"Madeleine is a lucky woman,"
she finally said.

"No. I'm the lucky one."

~~~

Max checked his watch again….8:15.
Madeleine's call was nearly 2 hours late and he was quickly moving from
concerned to worried. He’d already tried her cell phone and hotel room without
luck. It wasn’t like her to miss a call.

"Where is she, Oscar?" he said
to the dog sitting next to him on the couch. Oscar looked up at his master, but
his eyes held no answers. "I can't wait any longer." He pulled his
cell phone from his pocket and arranged for a private flight to San Francisco.
Then he dropped Oscar off with the neighbor as he headed to the airport.