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  Rachel turned around so quickly to look at me, I thought she’d have whiplash. “What do you mean, Sum?”

  “The way you’re talking about him,” I said. “You are gushing.”

  “I am not,” she denied, turning pink.

  “You are,” Drew got into it. “Rachel, it is obvious. I bet he could even tell, but he’s too much of a gentleman to tell you to back off.”

  “Nice, Drew,” Rachel said. “That’s a nice way to talk to your sister. If you can’t say anything nice about someone, then don’t even open your damn mouth.”

  “Alright alright,” Drew raised his hands in surrender. “I’m just messing with you. I’m happy you found a guy who could stand being in the same room with you for even five minutes…”

  Rachel shot daggers at Drew. “Really? Is that the best you could come up with?”

  “Don’t even get me started,” Drew said.

  “Um, talking about getting started you two, we need to go into the boardroom. I bet they’re waiting for us, and here we are throwing insults at one another,” I said, straightening my pants and shirt. I checked my make-up and hair, making sure I looked presentable. Drew was right. When you enter a professional organization, you have to be professional, especially when we were supposed to represent the founder and CEO, Mr. Donovan.

  Drew came around to me and put his arm around my shoulders. “Come on, Summer,” he said. “You’re right. We don’t need to add to the suspense already.” He looked at me with the most sincere eyes. “Maybe this is closure.” He put his other arm around Rachel’s shoulders and led both of us inside the Donovan Dynamics building.

  Nothing’s changed since the last time I was here with Drew except Rachel was here. As much as I loved Drew, having Rachel here made me feel much better. We were a family, no matter what. As we made our way up to the executive meeting rooms, that bond we had felt stronger and stronger. All this…all the people working at Donovan Dynamics were hoping for the same thing…that Mr. Donovan and Nat would be safely arriving home soon.

  We walked into the Executive Boardroom where Timothy and Karen, along with the other international security team members were waiting.

  “Hi Drew, Summer, and Rachel,” Timothy said, standing up to shake our hands. “Glad you could make it in on such short notice. Since everyone’s met before, no need for introductions so please have a seat.”

  I greeted everyone and then sat down between Rachel and Drew at the large oval table. I looked at the faces of everyone and tried to decipher their expression. Did they know the news already? Was it good news or bad news?

  Timothy came up to us and instead of standing in front of the room as though he was going to conduct a meeting, he came and sat down with us. “Look, I know we’re at a corporate boardroom and all, but this is more of a family matter than anything. I have children close to your age, and I can imagine what you are all going through having your father and brother missing. You don’t have to put on any professional or corporate image with us. We may be a billion dollar corporation, but we’re a family business too. I’ve known your father from day one of him starting this corporation, and have known him even before. He and I were in the same unit. We’re friends and not just colleagues. So I have a personal stake at helping with this operations, too.”

  Timothy looked around the room and said, “We have been briefed with what the situation is. There’s good news and not so good news.” Timothy looked at Drew for a brief moment, and I thought it was because Drew was the Donovan put in charge of the rescue mission. I saw Drew looked down, his hands shaking. Whatever Drew knew, I was getting worried. Did Drew know more than he seemed?

  Rachel, who had never been one to refrain from saying whatever was on her mind blurted out, “What happened? What freakin’ happened to my brother and father, dammit?”

  Timothy said, “The good news is, your father was released from where he was held hostage. He is alive and well. There was another person from military released with him, and she was in good health.”

  “So they’re coming back home?” Rachel asked. “Dad and Nat?”

  Timothy said, “Mr. Donovan is heading back today, along with the other hostage. Unfortunately, Nat’s whereabouts are still unknown.”

  Timothy’s face literally looked more wrinkly and tired, exhausted even as he looked over at the members of his team. He was about to say something when Drew asked, “What about the Special Forces? Were they able to locate him?”

  Timothy’s eyes blew up wide as he stared unbelievably at Drew. He said, “It was not in the Plan, Drew. You knew that.”

  “But we went through all the motions to set up a Special Forces,” Drew said.

  “You did,” Karen joined Timothy. “You wanted it to seem as though we did get a Special Forces team, a second one to go in.”

  “Didn’t you?” Drew asked. “It could be done...”

  “Didn’t you get the message, Drew? It was not in the Plan.”

  Drew got and looked at Karen and Timothy. “Let’s make it in the Plan. This time it is.”

  “Why?” Timothy asked. “We thought that would be the best way.”

  Drew looked over at me, sitting there, not quite sure what was happening except that Nat was still missing. Gosh, Nat was still missing, yet Mr. Donovan and some military person was flying back tonight. I spoke up. “Tim, Karen, everyone…Nat is an important member of Donovan Dynamics and a very beloved member of this family. Is there anything we could do to find him? Anything else? It doesn’t make sense that he was out there to help save Mr. Donovan, had gotten Mr. Donovan released, but now went completely off radar. Someone has got to know what happened to Nat.”

  “We’ll try out best,” Timothy said finally. “If we have to send another Special Forces team, we will.”

  “Good,” Drew said. “We have to at least try.” He came over to me and put his arm around my shoulders. “We’ll find him, Summer. Don’t worry. We will find him for you and for the sake of getting closure.”

  While Rachel and I looked at each other, not sure what they were talking about, Drew walked over to Tim and Karen and talked to them for a while. I think they were discussing what to do.

  I reached over to Rachel and squeezed her hand. Rachel tried to act normal, but I could tell she was upset and worried by the news…Nat was still missing. She looked like she was going to cry, and I wanted to, too. “Rach, let’s stay positive,” I said. “He’s still missing. He isn’t gone, thank God,” I said, dreading and not wanting to say the word “dead”. “If the team over there could get your father and some others out, especially since that was supposedly a very tight and dangerous operation, then they can find Nat.”

  “I know,” Rach said, a tear ran down her cheek. “I missed him so much. When Drew moved down to Malibu to go to USC this semester, and Mom was getting on my nerves at home, I would always go over to Nat’s place and we’ll talk. He’s so grown up for his age, Sum, and so wise. I mean he’s only about two years older than us, but he’s like a father figure to me more than Dad ever was. Plus I could talk to him about everything.” Rach gulped. “Even about Ryan, you, or Astor.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Me?” I licked my lips. “You talk about me to Nat?”

  “Nothing bad, Summer, just about how he thinks Astor would feel about you being with Nat, and what to do to get Astor to notice me.”

  “Rach!” I almost laughed. “You do have a crush on Astor!”

  “Doesn’t every warm-blooded female in America?” Rachel asked.

  “Yeah, true, but…”

  “Don’t worry, Astor still talks all the time about you. He’s still worried about that stalker and checks to see if anyone’s tried to break into the Academy again or if there is vandalism. He really cares about you, Summer,” Rachel said seriously. “I’m a little jealous, but I realize I do like him because he cares about you. If he didn’t, I would think he’s the most heartless arrogant…”

  I hugged Rach. If there was one thing,
Rachel was loyal and got my back, crush on a major heartthrob or not.

  “So Nat and you talk about me?” I asked again.

  “Mostly Nat…he wanted to know how serious you were with Astor that one time Astor showed up at the Academy’s Open House and Astor helped Drew cater it. He also wanted to know how you were doing when the Academy was vandalized. I mean, I know you and Nat are close, and he’s probably the most self-confident guy I know, besides Drew, but sometimes, I feel as though when it comes to you, Nat had some deep insecurities. He would worship the ground you walk on, if you let him.” Rachel took a deep breath. “Oh God, Summer, if anything bad happened to him, I would be devastated. Devastated. I’m closer to Nat than to Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad…they couldn’t care less about me, but Nat…he always cared. He always did the right thing even if it meant he had to sacrifice his own happiness for everyone else.”

  Talking about Nat with Rachel brought back everything I loved about Nat, and I found myself dripping tears uncontrollably down my cheeks. My nose was stuffed up, and I couldn’t breathe. I stood up and grabbed my purse. “Excuse me,” I said quickly while I walked out of the room and quickly down the hall, looking for the ladies’ room.

  I was composing myself in front of the mirror in the ladies’ room when the door opened, and the strategist Karen Waters walked in. I immediately wiped my cheeks with my hands, and said, “Hi.”

  “Hey,” Karen said, coming towards me with her arms held out. Out of characteristic with her role at Donovan Dynamics, she gave me a quick hug and then stood back. She had a kind but serious expression on her face. “It’s going to be alright,” she said.

  “I hope so,” I replied. “I really hope so…Nat is…well, he’s very special to me.”

  “I know,” Karen said. She took a deep breath, looked away, and said, “He’s a pretty great guy, isn’t he? I’ve known him for a few years now, and he’s always has been respectful, kind, spectacular, and incredibly bright. One of the smartest brains at Donovan Dynamics.”

  “Really?” I said. “You could tell in just a couple of years?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes, quite a genius,” Karen said. “He is pretty much the brains behind Donovan Dynamics’ Cyber Security and Intelligence division. Everyone in that group working on this search was supervised by him at one time or another. Believe me, we want him back just as much as anyone.”

  “But he just started taking on his father’s duties here,” I said. “He has college, his mother’s health, and other stuff to think about, let alone run divisions here.”

  “No, he’s been doing so since he was a kid. He would spend his nights and weekends at the office poring over the computer, helping his father out. Like I said, he was a genius. I have every confidence that he was the one to get Mr. Donovan out safe and sound. Nat’s a hero-type, too. He’d stay behind to make sure everything went smoothly. He wouldn’t leave anyone behind. He’s a real leader and team player. That is why everyone here, despite Nat’s age, admire and look up to him. We will try our best to find him and bring him back.”

  “You mean Nat had been working here since Donovan Dynamics began?” I asked. Why was I so shocked? It was his father’s company so of course he would be part of it, but somehow I was shocked. Nat knew a lot more about cyber security and intelligence than I’ve ever realized.

  “Take heart in knowing Nat is no ordinary young man, Summer. He’s very resourceful, bright, and capable of unbelievable things. Without him, Mr. Donovan could not have built Donovan Dynamics into what it is today…the world’s largest and foremost private security corporation. Whatever is making him stay out of the picture must be something special.” Karen looked at me quizzically. “You and Nat are close, as in more than friends?”

  I nodded. “Had a crush on him since we were toddlers and then we finally got together this winter.”

  “Had any major fights with him?” Karen asked.

  “No,” I said, “we were getting along great before he left.”

  “Knowing how he is such a focused guy,” Karen said, “it would take something very personal and deeply felt for him to disappear from the radar like that…I mean, now don’t take this badly, Nat does have the means to communicate with us, if he choose to…but we haven’t heard from him at all since he left.”

  “Why would he do that?” I asked.

  “It makes me wonder, too,” Karen said. “But looking at you, having met you, having seen you and Drew together, well…there is more than meets the eyes…” she raised her eyebrows in a question.

  I gulped. Then it hit me what was clear and visible to Karen…Drew and I were passionately kissing each other in the lot outside of Donovan Dynamics right before meeting everyone for our first meeting. We were probably very visible for everyone to see. And the way Drew was so protective around me in front of everyone, it was clear he and I had something going on. I wanted to bang my head on the wall, thinking how awful something liked that looked, and of course, if I was Nat seeing the love of my life with my own brother, I would be heartbroken too. Not wanting to go back home to deal with that.

  “I see,” I said. “Well, if he could be here now, he would see how devastated and affected I am with him missing…how much I cared for and loved him. He would see that no matter what appears on the surface, things are not what they seem, and there is always a chance to work something out if we could only sit down to talk about it.”

  Karen nodded. “Point well-taken. Sounds like Nat didn’t fall for some ordinary girl, too. Talking of which…” she looked at her watch. “If you stay here long enough or decide to come back tomorrow morning, we are hoping to see Mr. Donovan and the other hostage as they stop by.”

  “I’d like to see that,” I said. However in my heart, I was dreading the meeting. For Mr. Donovan to come back safely while Nat was still missing and in danger made me angry with the unfairness of it. Nat did everything for his father, He helped step in for his father to care for his mother’s mental illness. He stepped in to be more of a father figure to Rachel and Drew than his father, He helped covered for his father, kept his father’s dirty secret of having an affair with his secretary from his mother until he finally told her, and now I found out Nat helped build up Donovan Dynamics from the start.

  I was furious to think Nat gave up so much for his father, while his father was coming back safe and sound to Donovan Dynamics and to his mistress. I couldn’t care less to see him now. Not when Nat was still missing.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, “I just realize I have to go back to Malibu tonight to take care of some things at home. Drew might be staying here, though. He could be here to see Mr. Donovan again. I’ll be going back home with Rachel.”

  “Alright, Ms. Jones,” Karen said. “That’s perfectly alright. Life goes on, and of course you have other obligations. You should live your life, think of other things, do things outside of this so you wouldn’t drive yourself insane with worry. Seriously, you should go back home to get back into your routines, go back to taking classes in college, teaching and running your acting classes, play volleyball than worry about this. There is nothing you could do at this point, Summer, but let us handle it. This is what we do, and we will do our very best.”

  I hugged Karen and said, “Thank you, this meant a lot.”

  Then I walked outside where Rachel was gesturing to me. She still had tears in her eyes, but she was surprisingly calm. “The jet’s in the hangar, and my ride to the hangar is here. You want to come back to Malibu with me? All this waiting, wringing, doing nothing is driving me crazy. I have to get back to the Academy, do something else. I mean, I love Nat and all, but I feel so useless in that room while everyone is so busy in discussion planning some kind of Special Forces attack or rescue…something. Drew is right in the middle of it. I think he’ll be here all night.”

  “I’ll have to tell him I’m going with you,” I said.

  “Good, because from the looks of it, if you don’t, you’ll be sleeping on the couch in the lobb
y all night if you wait. He didn’t even have time to wave me ‘good-bye’. He nodded and went back to talking to the team. They are planning on getting some results tomorrow. They have no time for us right now, Summer. We might as well go home and wait to hear about some news tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” I said heading into the boardroom. I peeked inside, and Drew was in the middle of a call, but he saw me. He got up and came to me, while holding his phone, and put his arm around me. I could see how badly he wanted to kiss me, but he didn’t. “I’m going back to the Pad with Rach,” I whispered. “I’ll let you work. I’ll be fine with Rach.”

  Drew nodded and watched me walk out of the boardroom while still on the phone. It was the first time he looked absolutely determined and dead serious about something. He was not the fun-loving Drew I knew last summer, but a man who was taking matters and his life into his own hands. For some reason, seeing him this determined to get his brother back home, despite their rivalry, made me so proud of him. It made me realize that no matter what his situation and relationship with Nat was like, he would survive and be fine with it.

  Nat had told me about his dream regarding Drew. He had told me in great details one night after we made love at the Pad. It was his family’s demon, the darkness that could haunt everyone in the house…those depressed feelings, those repressed emotions, the possibility of mental illness that could be passed down to either of the Donovans offsprings. Nat had dreamed of Drew seeing Nat and I making love and had been so depressed and devastated by that, so heartbroken that in his dream, Drew pulled the trigger that ended his life. Nat was shaking when he told me about that dream. He was so upset that he refused to touch me and make love to me or kiss me whenever he thought Drew was around us. He made that vow to me that he wouldn’t show any pda towards me if he knew Drew was there. He kept that promise too. But now seeing this side of Drew, seeing how he handled all this, made me realize maybe just maybe we had underestimated Drew.

  Chapter 11