It was the day of the annual Protect the Environment conference, which I’d been looking forward to for months. Like most Finns, conservation of the environment was an important topic for me. Growing up going back and forth between countries, I’d found that Finnish people are much more appreciative of nature than Americans, including learning about its importance, and being more concerned about conserving the environment.
As the Finnish Economic Diplomat to the US, part of my job was promoting Finland’s goal of increasing conservation and encouraging American businesses to be more environmentally friendly. I was attending the conference, but I was also scheduled as one of the speakers. My speech was about how businesses could have a more positive impact on the environment.
I walked into the hotel, one of the ritziest in DC, where the conference was being held. I signed in, the volunteers giving me a badge and a packet filled with handouts and brochures, then headed straight to the coffee bar. I was busy stirring cream and sugar into my drink when I sensed someone behind me.
“Hello, Kassidy. It’s so nice to see you,” a female voice said as I turned around. I was shocked when I realized the person greeting me was Karen from Paradise Cruises, and that her coworker Alexander was next to her.
“Hello,” I said, trying to hide my unease at seeing them.
“It’s so nice to see you,” Karen said, but while she was smiling, it didn’t reach her eyes. If anything, there was a look of anger in her gaze, causing my apprehension to grow. What was she upset about?
“I’m surprised we didn’t see you at William’s funeral. Weren’t you two dating when he died?” Alexander asked, a hint of suspicious evident in his tone.
“Yes, we were dating then,” I said, trying to think of an excuse for not attending that asshole’s funeral. “Unfortunately, I caught a really bad case of the flu and couldn’t make it.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Karen said, her voice syrupy sweet.
“It’s terrible that he died so young,” I said, trying to seem sad. I knew my acting skills were sorely lacking, though, especially since I was so nervous. Evan would absolutely lose his mind if he knew that some of Paradise Cruise’s higher-up executives were at my conference, having a conversation with me.
“It is,” Karen said, then changed the subject. “Are you here for the conference, too?”
“The Protect the Environment conference?” I asked, confused. I wasn’t sure why they would attend a conference on that topic.
“That’s what we’re here for,” Alexander said.
“We were so disappointed when our deal with you fell through, because we’d been really looking forward to having a new line of environmentally-friendly cruise ships. Since that didn’t work out, we’re trying to learn as much as possible about how we can help the environment.”
“Oh, wow, that’s great,” I said, trying to end the conversation.
“You should sit with us today,” Karen said, putting her hand on my arm before I could excuse myself.
“Oh. I don’t know if I can. I’m one of the speakers today,” I said.
“You are? That’s amazing!” Karen said. I could practically see the fake enthusiasm coming out of her pores.
“What time are you speaking?” Alexander asked.
“I’m the last one before lunch. Hopefully people won’t be too hungry to listen,” I answered.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll have everyone’s attention.”
I thanked them and excused myself, finding a seat at a table inside the ballroom. The table was empty at first, but a few minutes after I sat down, Karen and Alexander came into the ballroom as well, sitting at my table.
“It looks like we are allowed to sit here. I don’t see anything saying we can’t,” Karen said as she sat down.
“That’s what it looks like,” I answered, biting back my frustration about having to spend the entire day with them. I tried to draw up some of my former argumentativeness, but other than the current situation, my life was too perfect, and I didn’t have it in me.
Throughout the morning, they asked me question after question about every presentation, seeming to think I was an expert on conservation. Eventually, it was time for my speech, which went better than I expected, and people seemed to be interested in what I had to say.
Later in the afternoon, Karen and Alexander excused themselves, saying they had to take an emergency phone call but would be back in a few minutes. I was almost envious of them, since their emergency phone call had happened during the most boring presentation of the day. I tried to maintain my focus, but I found my eyes wandering around the room, suddenly landing on a file at Karen’s seat next to me. I hadn’t noticed it before, but it was suddenly sitting open, and I happened to notice the documents inside. Just from a quick glance, I could tell that they were outlining the advertised and actual pay of their cruise ship workers. I had a feeling they might be useful to Evan, so I flipped through each page, taking photos as sneakily as I could. I was worried that Karen and Alexander would catch me, but it was another ten minutes before they returned from their call, and they acted completely normal the rest of the day.
27
EVAN
“How was your conference?” I asked Kassidy that evening as we sat down at my dining room table. I’d invited her over for dinner and had grilled steaks and vegetables for both of us.
“It was okay. Mostly boring,” Kassidy said, an expression I couldn’t quite name flicking across her face.
“Mostly boring?” I asked her.
“Well, one part wasn’t boring,” Kassidy said, looking guilty. I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever she was going to say. “I ran into Karen and Alexander while I was there, and they asked me to sit with them.”
I had to think for a minute before I realized how I knew those names. “Wait. You mean Karen and Alexander from Paradise Cruises?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you actually sit with them?”
“I tried not to, but they came and sat at my table,” Kassidy admitted. “And there’s more.” When I didn’t speak, just raised an eyebrow at her as I waited for the bad news I knew was coming, she continued. “They left a file open and went to take an emergency call. I glanced at the file while they were gone, and they had documents outlining what they were offering international workers for different jobs, including pay and benefits, and then what they’re actually paying them. It proves that there are some crewmembers on the ship they aren’t paying at all. I took pictures of everything for you.”
“What the hell, Kassidy?” I asked. After growing up like I had, I’d sworn to myself that I would never angrily raise my voice towards loved ones. I’d never had an issue keeping that vow, until Kassidy. At that moment, I wanted to yell at her, to shake some sense into her, and it took all of my will power to maintain my control. “You promised me that you’d stop investigating and putting yourself in danger. I believed I could hang my hat on that. On your word. And how long did it take you to break that promise?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Kassidy asked sarcastically. I hated that she was becoming upset, and that I could see her shoulders curling into themselves with defensiveness, but I couldn’t stop myself.