12. Chapter 12

Sid had barely made a dent in the Kingdom of Tangaroa dossier Emmaline had put together for him, even as the limo approached the park's entrance. He hated being unprepared for a corporate visit of any kind, let alone one as important as this tour of a park remarkably like the one he had just purchased—especially when he had no idea what he was supposed to do with it.

Still, during the ride from the launchport, he'd tried and failed to read the information. But how was he supposed to concentrate with someone like Jayna sitting right across from him?

And not just because she was incredibly beautiful. His emotions were still spinning from their strong, completely unexpected connection during the parabolic flight. It wasn't because she had quoted Dr. Tierney, either—although that had certainly been a factor. Few people were even aware of that silly show, and not even Emmaline knew about his secret fandom.

Sid dared a glance at Jayna, and the intensity of his attraction scared him.

As the limo pulled to a stop, he forced his attention away from her and turned to take in the park. There was an unmistakable similarity between the Kingdom of Tangaroa and the Realms of Neptune, right down to the giant sea god statue towering over the entrance. In contrast to Neptune's three-pointed trident, however, Tangaroa held a flat club in one hand and a straight spear in the other.

Kalani stood at the base of the statue. The tall, broad Polynesian man could easily have been the model for Tangaroa. Jayna's eyes lit up at the sight of him. The second the limo door opened, she sprinted the short distance to Kalani and wrapped him in a giant hug.

Sid's insides tightened at the display of affection, and he ground his teeth as Kalani slipped a strand of white flowers over her head and kissed her on both cheeks.

Get a grip, Hayes,he muttered to himself. She's your employee, and she's off limits.

"Aloha," Kalani said as Sid and Emmaline approached. He looped a flower lei over Emmaline's head, and she subtly turned her face towards him. Kalani responded by kissing both of her cheeks as well.

Then Kalani gave Sid his lei, which was surprisingly heavy and had a rich, musky aroma. Fortunately, he merely shook Sid's hand. "I'm glad you agreed to come. Hopefully you'll see some things that will help you with Realms."

Sid couldn't decide if Kalani's candor was genuine or if he had an ulterior motive in taking them on the tour. "I appreciate your willingness to show us your park. Not everyone would be so open with the competition."

Kalani rolled his eyes. "Realms and Kingdom aren't in competition." Jayna had said the same thing, and it was good to hear it confirmed. "I know Carter thought we were, but that rivalry was always one-sided. I'm hopeful we can develop a working relationship." He considered Sid for a moment before adding, "In fact, if you're serious about selling Realms to the employees, I think I can convince the Kingdom board to help."

Sid fought to keep his expression neutral. His feelings about selling the park were still conflicted, and he was wary of Kalani's intentions. "What kind of help?"

"A loan. Maybe $30 million."

Jayna threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you!"

Sid's jaw clenched at the enthusiastic embrace.

Kalani laughed. "Whoa, easy there. I said, ‘maybe'. The board hasn't agreed yet, and there are still a lot of details to work out."

He patted her back, and Jayna released her grip. She turned to Sid, and the smile she gave him melted his insides. He still wasn't sure how he felt about selling the park, but he definitely liked seeing that smile on Jayna's face.

"Come on. Let me show you around." Kalani led them through the gates and into a tropical paradise. Palm trees towered overhead, and flowering bushes filled the air with their sweet fragrance. Some of the buildings looked like thatched huts, while others resembled gleaming, oversized seashells.

"It's too bad you didn't get here yesterday. You could have come to the benefit show we did as part of the Jubilee Service Day."

Sid glanced at him, confused. "I thought the Jubilee Service Day was the day after tomorrow."

"It is," Kalani said. "But since the show wasn't an official International Giving Tour event, we decided to hold it a couple of days early. If we did the show on Service Day, our target audience would have been too busy with their own service projects. And a lot of our performers expressed an interest in the official Giving Tour activities."

They arrived at a small dock with a narrow double-hulled canoe moored at the end. The boat had covered two-across seating and was powered by a pair of young men with paddles who sat at the back.

Kalani climbed onto the canoe and motioned for them to follow, but Sid hesitated, unsure where to sit. Should he follow Kalani and sit in the front? That's what he would have done if this were an ordinary corporate visit. But this tour of Kingdom wasn't technically for him. Sid and Emmaline were simply tagging along as Kalani showed Jayna the park and Merathlon facilities.

But before the situation could become awkward, Jayna took Emmaline's arm and said, "Let's sit back here so Mr. Hayes can ride up front." Then, with Dr. Tierney's lilting Irish brogue she added, "We daren't do anything that might upset the gentry."

"Too late for that, Lassie," Sid growled in his best Commander Laird voice.

His response had been automatic, and the coy smile that crossed Jayna's face both thrilled and concerned him. Had she been flirting with him? Had he just flirted back?

Watch yourself, Hayes,he scolded himself. But as much as he hated to admit it, the short interaction had greatly deepened his interest.

Emmaline's brow pinched in confusion at the exchange, but Jayna ushered her onto the boat before she could question them.

Sid climbed onto the canoe and was surprised when it didn't rock or wobble. A closer look showed that it was fastened securely to the dock by a series of locking clamps.

Kalani noticed his interest in the clamps. "It really speeds up the boarding process when the boats are held secure. And since we have more waterways than walkways, that's important."

Once they were seated, the boat released from the dock with a loud clicking noise and began gently rocking.

At a signal from Kalani, the paddlers eased the canoe out into the waterway. "The park is laid out to give a sense of the Pacific Islands," he said. "We thought about having canoes as the only access, but that's not really practical, so we added the underwater walkways."

Kalani gestured over the side of the boat. Several meters below the surface, a handful of people gazed up at them through a clear tunnel. Sea life teemed beneath their canoe, as if they were floating atop an aquarium rather than in the lagoon.

Jayna leaned her head forward between Sid and Kalani, and Sid was acutely aware of her closeness. "How do you keep the water so clear?" She asked.

Kalani smiled. "It's easy when the fish aren't real."

"They're not?" Sid asked.

"Nope. We strive for authenticity, but it would be far too expensive to manage an ecosystem this complex. Not to mention dangerous. I'd hate the liability of having this much ocean life so close to guests."

"So, those fish are drones?" Jayna asked.

"Every one of them. Believe it or not, the Kingdom of Tangaroa has more drones than any other organization in Manutai—even the public works department."

Emmaline gestured to a group of mermaids sunning themselves on a nearby sandbar. "The mermaids are all real, though, right?"

"Of course. If a job can reasonably be done by a person, then we hire a person."

Sid shook his head. "Wow. You must pay a fortune in payroll taxes."

Kalani laughed, and Sid wondered what he had said. He had most likely made a mistake that he wouldn't have made had he been able to concentrate on the material he should have read between the airport and the park.

"Manutai was founded to provide homes and jobs for climate refugees from around the Pacific. It wouldn't make sense to have a payroll tax when the whole point of the nation is to increase participation in the workforce. Manutai taxes the automation that puts people out of work, not the people."

Sid realized this was probably why there were two paddlers on the canoe when one would be sufficient—and a small electric motor would work even better.

Kalani gestured to a towering structure made of giant flexiglass tubes that arced high above the park. "Over there is our new ride called Na Paipu Nui—literally ‘The Big Pipes'. It should be open the day after tomorrow. We were supposed to be ready weeks ago, but we slipped the schedule to make sure the Merathlon venue would be done in time."

"I appreciate that," Jayna said.

"You should. Building an aquatic stadium like that was no small project. We had to get permission to attach a double-sized wamo."

Both Jayna and Emmaline responded with impressed appreciation, but Sid had no idea what Kalani was talking about. He again regretted having not read his brief.

"What's a wamo?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry," Kalani said. "Wahi motu. It means ‘island piece.' The platforms that form the foundation of Manutai are manufactured in different parts of the world. Once they're towed into place, the blank platform is turned into a proper island module, with buildings and landscaping and transportation infrastructure. Then, when the island module is complete, it's secured to the rest of the nation."

"I love the way so many of the buildings look like giant seashells," Jayna said.

"That's because it's all recycled plastic and captured carbon. I don't understand the chemistry behind it, but almost everything is made from reinforced calcium carbonate."

Sid looked at the unusual architecture with a new appreciation. "Very impressive."

"And very different from Realms," Emmaline said.

"Carter was always complaining about how Kingdom ripped us off," Jayna said. "But this is nothing like Realms."

"There are obvious differences," Kalani said, "but there are a lot of similarities, too, especially in the shows and behind the scenes. But that's intentional. The original plans for Kingdom of Tangaroa were drawn up by Michael Sterling before he passed away."

"What?" Jayna asked. "Are you joking?"

"No. We were in early discussions with the Manutai development board when Michael died. Fortunately, he had set up everything for Kingdom as a separate company, so Carter didn't know anything about it. We decided to keep it that way until we opened."

"He sued to shut you down, though, didn't he?" Emmaline asked.

"He did. But before we even started the discovery process, he dropped the suit."

Sid's curiosity was piqued. "What made him change his mind?"

Kalani shrugged. "I like to think the ghost of his father visited him in the night and told him not to sue. More likely his lawyers knew they didn't have a chance and made him drop the suit."

Jayna leaned forward and placed one hand on Kalani's shoulder, and the other on Sid's. "You know the real story, right?"

A jolt of electricity ran down his side at her touch. She was facing Kalani, but Sid could still make out her beautiful profile. She was so close, and her hair smelled amazing, and Sid grew so warm, he wondered if his u-suit was malfunctioning.

"I guess I don't," Kalani said, and he looked genuinely confused. "What happened?"

"Gabrielle told me Carter always knew he wouldn't win. He was just trying to intimidate you and damage Kingdom's reputation. But then he realized all his relationships—and harassment settlements—would become part of the public record once the suit went to court. That's when he decided to drop it."

Sid's thoughts immediately went to Crystal and everything she had done to damage his reputation. A knot formed in his chest. The feeling of Jayna's hand on his shoulder was suddenly uncomfortable, and Sid turned to look at the beautiful tropical scenery, forcing his thoughts away from her.

"You and Carter had a thing going for a while, didn't you?" Kalani asked.

The knot in Sid's chest tightened. Jayna had been in a relationship with Carter Sterling?

"Ew, no!" Jayna said, and mercifully she removed her hand from Sid's shoulder. "We had dinner twice, and that was way before he owned the park. Please, give me some credit."

Sid was relieved to hear Jayna and Carter hadn't been in a relationship, but the knot in his chest didn't ease. What had he been thinking? He knew better than to entertain thoughts of a connection with Jayna.

He was certain they had more in common than Aurora 293 fandom, and under the right circumstances they could undoubtedly become good friends—possibly something more.

But she was his employee, and that meant the circumstances were definitely not right for a relationship that was anything other than professional. Especially not after the reminder of how ill-advised relationships could go wrong.

It occurred to Sid that if the Realms of Neptune employees succeeded in their buy-out attempt, Jayna would no longer be his employee. That meant she would no longer be off limits.

The prospect made him catch his breath. Maybe an employee buy-out wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. It would certainly be easier than fighting his growing attraction to Jayna.

The Cerulean Order had a number of financing programs. If the Realms employees qualified for one of them, they would be one step closer to buying the park.

Sid stole a glance at Jayna and his heart skipped a beat. If selling the park meant he could finally explore his feelings for her, then he needed to do everything he could to make it happen.