Page 89 of Rio

“He should have brought that up with me.”

“But I filed on your behalf.”

She takes her spectacles off, and blinks a few times, pinching the space between her eyebrows.“I’m worried that you’ll get hurt.I don’t want that for you.”

She’s justified in her worries.“I didn’t give away anything about the case.”

“It’s not the case I’m worried about.It’syou.Forgive me if I’m overstepping my boundary, but I don’t think you trust easily, Raquel.Or fall in love easily.”

I laugh.“Love?Who’s talking about love, Alma?”

She stares at me, quietly, as if she’s contemplating something.Maybe she wants to ask me something, but doesn’t want to hear a lie.Or maybe she’s trying to trust me, but she’s being careful.Very careful.

“Look,” she says eventually, “you don’t want to be in a difficult position if this escalates legally.”

“I know I’m not co-counsel,” I say.“But I’m going back today.”I already prepared her for it when I called her earlier.“He’s not counsel either.He’s not negotiating, Alma.He’s PR—damage control wrapped in a tailored shirt.Talking to him off the record is no different than interviewing the construction lead or a local official.”

“With the injunction filed, I don’t want any blowback.”

“He was worried about me, when you told him I’d gone further along the coastline.And what with the storm and everything ...”

She nods slowly.“We trust you to do the right thing.We believe in you.Please be careful.”

“I will,” I promise.I look around me, at the cosy little bungalow that was my safe place of work.I will miss these people.“I’ll miss you, Alma.I’ll miss all of you.”I look at Vilma and Edwin, and remember our night at the lagoon, and I try not to get too emotional.I’m doing a lot more of that these days.It’s not like me.

“You better come back and visit,” Alma says.

“I promise.”

Chapter 27

RAQUEL

I fly back to Miami with a heavy heart and return to my normal life—only this doesn’t feel normal anymore, but being with Rio does.Talk about a strange turn of events.

I miss him already.

We text.We call.We email.But it doesn’t feel the same, because he’s not here.And what complicates things is that ethically, what we’re doing, getting involved romantically, doesn’t sit right with me.

I’m the type of lawyer who always does the right thing.I have boundaries.I know black from white.There’s no grey with me.

But with Rio, I’m slipping into so many shades of grey.

My job in Belize was to investigate and compile evidence, and then I ended up filing an injunction at Alma’s behest.

I tell myself that Rio and me being together is fine.

It’s fine because I’m not negotiating with him.There’s no coercion or bribery or manipulation.What we have is emotional.It’s personal.It’s not professional.We’re not in a lawyer-client dynamic.And my law firm isn’t representing Knight Enterprises.Nor is Rio personally a defendant or a client in my case.

I’m not compromising my legal stance.But I do feel guilty.And I do feel conflicted.

Now that the injunction has been filed, the court takes jurisdiction over the matter.I’m not a permanent in-country legal rep.I’m just a US-based lawyer, an NGO advocate and now I’m going back home while the local court begins its reviews.Anything that happens—any hearings, pauses, rulings—in the following weeks, I’ll be notified of remotely.

When I check in at the office, Pierce’s gaze slides down my body making my insides harden.I’d forgotten how stressful this working environment was.

“Back from paradise already?”he drawls.“Not only did you survive the jungle, but damn, that sun did you good.”

I don’t respond.I never do when he talks like this.It wasn’t just the sun, I want to scream at him.I reluctantly take a seat in the chair opposite him.