Mark had to work hard to keep the grin off his face as he walked down towards the clubhouse. As George Yousef suspected, Mark was now sure Sarah's nocturnal visit was definitely linked to whatever Henry was up to. He was sure of it just from Henry's reaction alone, and if he could get some information out of Sarah, then that would help figure out what he was up to.
He entered the clubhouse, looking around for Connor, but he wasn't there, so Mark approached the barman."Yes, Master Mark, he was here a short time ago, sir, but he left with one of the maids."Mark grinned. "Connor getting himself into mischief, is he?""It certainly appears to be a recurring habit of his, Master Mark. Do you want me to call his room for you, sir?""No," Mark said shaking his head. "Although if you could tell me where it is, that would be great.""Turn right as you leave, then left up the hill and it's tMarkchuckled, and led them inside.He showed them through the ground floor of the main house and then out to the pool area where Maddy, Sage, Louisa and Myrawere all sunbathing, all in black bikini's. Markstifled impure thoughts at seeing the four of them lying there, tanning themselves.Samcalmly strolled up and started introducing himself with handshakes and more coolness than James Bond, while Antintroduced himself simply as,"I'm Ant, Mark's buddy. I'm spoken for so don't be trying to tap this fine ass."Marksimply shook his head and showed them to their rooms above the bar, then suggested they chill out at the pool for the afternoon, have a few drinks and he'd see them in a couple of hours at dinner as he work still to do.He got back to his suite, flopped down on the balcony and lit up. The chaotic, noisy and overwhelming arrival of his friends had restored his good mood and temporarily set back his
He chuckled, then moved on. "So what else about recruitment?""Well, I've got a ton of interviews set up for when we get you to San Antonio for a couple of days, before we head out to LA," Jasmineexplained. "That's for a support team for me and Shmi.""Are either of you guys going to have a heart attack if I call you Jasor Shmi?" Markasked suddenly. "I've heard you call each other that. Just wondering?""It's probably better if you stick with our full names for the time being," Jasminereplied. "To encourage others to do the same, but I'm not going to collapse or faint if you call me Jaswhen it's just us."Lakshmi nodded. "Yes, Lakshmi when there's people around, then whatever when it's just us.""Alright," Markreplied. "So what posts are you looking to fill?""Two correspondence secretaries, a financialassistant, a press assistant, information assistant, publicist and media spokesperson," Jasmine&nbs
His workout with Jaydenproved to be a disaster. The impending confrontation with Sarah distracted him so much that he wasn't able to focus properly on his workout, and despite Jayden's unending enthusiasm, he didn't beat any of his own records from the previous days.A few minutes before five o'clock Markemerged from the gym. Henrywas waiting for him on the path and joined him immediately as he took the path up to the helipad."Everything is arranged, Master Mark, and if you don't mind me saying so, I do believe that young Miss Sarah is rather enthusiastic to spend some time alone with you," Henrysaid, winking with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.Markforced a grin. "Excellent, Henry. You're a true friend."Henryseemed almost gleeful. "Anything I can do, Master Mark. Now, Miss Sarah is already on board, the flight crew will take off and leave you undisturbed. Simply knock on the door to the cockpit when y
"So you've been thinking about me then?" Sarah said gently in his ear.Markswallowed and nodded, wishing the tailgate would just come up and block the view into the Chinook. He nearly sighed with relief when he heard the big rotors begin to turn."Yeah. I've been doing my head in trying to figure out who it was in my room the other night, and then yesterday I realized it was you," He explained. "That was very very naughty of you, you know?"She stared at him for a moment, then spoke quickly. "I'm a bit of a bad girl sometimes, Mark. In fact, sometimes I'm a very bad girl.""How are you bad, Sarah?" Markasked, trying to keep her talking. "Tell me some of the things a bad girl does.""I can show you right now." Her hand slid over his thigh, and Markgrabbed her hand, trying to make it appear casual."Once we're up in the air. So, tell me," He repeated. "I like hearing hot women telling me about their ba
"Please. I can't." Sarah's eyes were beginning to fill with tears and rather than look panicked, she actually looked frightened. With a flash of insight, Markwondered if it was him she was afraid of or someone else."Because someone has something on you, and you're being pressured to do as you're told?" He guessed.Sarah started crying, sobbing. Her hands came up to cover her face."Sarah!" He snapped, drawing her eyes back up to meet his. "Tell me.""I.. can't. He'll...""Henry?"She looked at him and then nodded, crying all the harder now.Mark's mind raced. If Henrywas blackmailing Sarah, then he'd sent her to seduce him. The question was why? What was he trying to achieve? Was it a video-recording so he could threaten release of a sex tape? Was it something else? Either way, Henrywas trying to create leverage for something."So Henrysent you to my room the other night,
Mark's eyes widened. "What did you just say?""That he'd keep it in his secret bunker?" She asked. "Yeah, he's got some kind of cave or something that he disappears into a night. I think it's underneath the kitchens." She shrugged. "Is that important?"Markcouldhave kissed her. Not only had she confirmed it's existence, but she'd told him where it was. "Tell me everything you know about it. This secret bunker of his.""Oh, okay. He thinks it's a big secret, but he sneaks in there every night when he goes to the kitchen for his sandwich. Loads of the staff know about it, but no-one's ever been in it.""Do you know exactly where the door is?"She laughed. "That's easy. He prowls into the courtyard, where all the trash is kept, and then he punches a code into the kitchen door and a trapdoor opens in the floor. That's how he gets in and out. It's kinda funny how he thinks it's all secret.""How do you know?"
Markwalked back to the house, trying to appear physically tired but inside he was elated. The conversation on the Chinook with Sarah had yielded more, much more than he had hoped. He knew that Henrywas guilty of manipulating the poor girl, lying to her, sexual harassment, hell, probably sexual assault, blackmail and a load of other stuff thrown in too.Now Markhad an ally, had confirmation that Henrywas a manipulative fucker, and had the location of the entry point into the safe house. He just had to figure out a way to let Connor know where and ask him if he could stake it out somehow.First though, he had to get to his suite, get into a bath or a shower or something and hopefully avoid an argument with Jasminetoo."I could just tell her everything that's going on,"He thought to himself, but for some reason it didn't feel right. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but that he knew the fewer people who kne
They lay there in silence for another few minutes and Markrealized he was nearly asleep. The days events had been mentally draining and physically tiring too, so lying in the bath with Jasminecradling him against her proved to be more relaxing than he thought possible.He sighed. "We better make a move, I suppose.""Good call. Plus, if we have dinner, a few drinks and some fun with your friends, then we can get up to bed all the quicker." He felt her lips press against his cheek."You have all the best ideas."It took a few minutes before Markfinally gave in and got out the bath, stepping into the shower for a quick rinse off and to wash his hair. Jasminedisappeared into his dressing room, sorted out an outfit and then went to her own room to get dressed.By the time she returned Markhad his jeans, sneakers and a sleeveless black v-necked top on, and was sitting looking at the hooded jersey on the b