7. Chapter 7

Sid climbed into the plush leather interior of the sleek white sky limo and took his place next to Emmaline. The park's wardrobe department had done a decent job drying their soaked clothes, and Sid's team had returned their borrowed uniforms.

Emmaline was combing out her shoulder-length hair, and with each stroke of the comb, more of her hair changed from the chestnut brown she'd worn all day to a more typical electric blue.

Hazel sat across from them in the rear-facing seat, and all three were unusually quiet as the limo's door silently closed. Apparently, the others didn't quite know what to make of the night's turn of events either.

With a soft whir of electric rotors, the sky limo lifted gently from the Realms of Neptune parking lot. Sid glanced at the line of park employees waiting to board the bus with the letters SAPP displayed prominently along the side. He caught a glimpse of bright red hair just as Jayna climbed through the door.

He let out a sigh and shook his head. She was an employee at one of his companies, and he had vowed never to make that mistake again. Yet his unexpected fascination with her had come on so strong, he struggled to suppress it.

He continued to look out the window until the shuttle was no longer visible, then turned his attention to his executive team. Hazel looked as solemn and confused as he felt. Emmaline appeared to be stifling a grin, and Sid worried she might have caught him staring.

The last thing he needed was for Emmaline to catch him showing interest in Jayna and then giving him a hard time about it, so he quickly thought of an excuse to justify his interest in the shuttle. "How many park employees live in housing provided by the SAPP?" he asked.

Hazel took a metal rod the size of a pencil, unrolled it into a thin, flat tablet, and swiped across the screen a few times. "Over half. The San Diego SAPP has re-purposed a retired cruise ship for guild housing. Employees from a number of parks and resorts along the coast live there."

"Several employees I talked to said it was quite nice," Emmaline said. "Should we fly over it on our way to the hotel?"

Emmaline fought against a grin, confirming that she'd noticed him paying attention to Jayna. She was teasing him.

Sid almost rejected the idea, not wanting to give Emmaline the satisfaction. But since he was the one who'd brought up the SAPP housing, it would be suspicious for him to decline such an obviously logical suggestion. "Sure," he said, trying to keep his tone as light and neutral as possible.

Emmaline tapped on her tablet. The limo banked gently and changed direction.

There was more than a hint of frustration in Hazel's voice when she asked, "Is this interest in the employees so we can figure out how to keep them from successfully buying the park?"

Sid could understand Hazel's frustration. She had worked hard to help put this deal together, and his agreement to sell the park probably seemed like a rash, impulsive decision.

"Don't worry about stopping them. If the employees really wanted to buy the park, they would have already tried. Ms. Cooper was testing me to see how I would respond."

Hazel scowled. "That one's going to be trouble. I"d better keep an eye on her."

"It wouldn't hurt to show them some support, though," Emmaline said. "A gesture like that would go a long way towards building goodwill among the employees."

Sid considered her suggestion. "Find out how much the park makes in drips," he said, remembering his conversation with Jayna about the royalty split. "It's money that should go to the employees anyway, so we can earmark it for them to use towards the purchase. And then when the deadline passes, we can give it to them in cash. Win-win."

The limo slowed and banked into a leisurely circle above a massive cruise ship docked at a crowded port. The ship was a natural gas-powered mega-ship from the 2030s, likely one of the last to have been built before fusion giga-ships took over the cruise industry.

As the limo circled the ship, Sid found himself watching for the shuttle bus to arrive from Realms of Neptune. Even though the bus would take at least half an hour, and they had only left the park fifteen minutes ago. His disappointment at not seeing the shuttle bus brought home just how strong his attraction to Jayna really was.

Several minutes later, they landed on the roof of the Grand Emirates hotel and exited the limo. Once inside the sky lobby, they all got onto the maglift and Sid thanked Hazel for her help at the park. "I'd like you to go back tomorrow and keep looking for issues you feel should be resolved. Also, set up an aggregator to gather news about the employees' efforts to raise capital for the purchase. Emmaline's right. If there's anything we can do to support them, we should do it."

Hazel nodded her agreement.

The maglift stopped at Sid's floor. "Thanks again, Hazel. We'll see you tomorrow."

Emmaline and Sid left the elevator and walked towards their rooms, which were across the hall from each other. This was their typical setup, as Sid relied heavily on Emmaline as his assistant and liked having her nearby.

They reached their doors, and Emmaline said, "You really want to help support the employees in their purchase of the park, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. I offered Jayna Cooper a flight to Manutai with us."

Sid felt a traitorous thrill at the thought of Jayna flying with them, and he quickly pushed it aside. This was a mistake. "How exactly does that help the employees buy the park?"

"She's scheduled as a plus-one on a corporate shuttle, but I'm concerned her flight is going to get cancelled. She can't afford airfare to Manutai, especially with the Jubilee this week. We're already going that way, and you have empty seats."

The argument made sense. But Jayna was dangerous. How was Sid supposed to keep his distance from her if she was traveling with them? "I'm still not sure about that idea."

"Giving Jayna a ride is the right thing to do. I know you have concerns, but I need you to trust me."

Sid bit back his objection. He and Emmaline had worked together for a long time. She had earned his trust, so despite his misgivings he would give her the benefit of the doubt. He could always count on her to have his best interests at heart.