Adrian Winters
The sun was orange the colour of melted copper and gold. The clouds thin veiled across the sky providing a place for the rising sun to seek shelter from on it's ascent through till the middle of the day.
Dressed in my typical attire of black trousers and a fitted button up shirt with the sleeves folded to my elbows I stood on the foredeck of the Skoteino looking around Palm Beach from my perch at the tip of my six hundred forty foot personal cruise ship.
I'd been cautious, people when they lost as much as Kennith Louviere, always made attempts to do things that were both illegal, and life threatening in regard to my family and myself. Thus my PPO's wandered the deck brandishing AK-19's in front of their bullet resistant shirts that were under the typical blazers I got them to wear.
My flagship yacht was now a fortress where Olivia and I were half a kilometer away from Florida. My focus was on my family and keeping them safe. Over the ocean in Marbella too was most of my living family save for those in New York but the Harrington's always came to Palm Beach with Olivia and I.
Half a lifetime of friendship and Nico never leaves, same as the boys. That's the truest form of friendship I could ask for.
"Mon diable" Olivia calls out and I turn around to find her walking over to me dressed in a thick white pearl coloured kimono-wrap dress that flowed behind her. Thirty years with this woman and I could swear she gets more beautiful each day.
Then again I'm a fool to have ever thought angels don't fall for devils.
I wouldn't trade her for anything, but I'd burn down the whole world for her, and she sure as hell knew it just the same as I do.
"Bellissima" I reply reaching out my hand to her and feeling her small nimble hand placed against mine. I wasn't afraid of committing to someone because of this woman who gave me more chances then I ever deserved but none the less she gave me them.
Yet now here we were once again in a similar position to what it was like before Nathan was born, and even during the few years after the event at Lake Como. People were going to hurt my family if given the choice and I couldn't let that happen.
"You've been out here all morning, it's ten and you haven't even eaten this morning" she says looking up at me with those dual coloured eyes that I loved so much.
"I'm thinking about everything" I admit.
"Don't, for once allow your mind to be at peace. You pay for the best security in the world let's go into Palm Beach, we can go visit with Nico and Kate for the day. It'll be good for you to have a distraction" Olivia says rubbing my arm gently.
"I live with you, you're a distraction enough because of how pretty you are" I say.
"Flattery really will get you everywhere in life".
"Didn't get me this yacht, a mistake did" I laugh still remembering the circumstances that led to me.
"I'll tell Elijah that you're going to shore" Olivia says detaching herself from me and walking off towards the halls of the yacht and disappearing inside while I stood laughing lightly at the fact that Olivia just decided on what our day would consist of.
That woman is perfect.
Looking back at the shoreline I saw people walking out on the beach and staying away from the compound that I owned however Palm Beach was entirely owned by wealthy owners so we all knew that stepping onto someone else's property typically meant being questioned or one was already invited and it made no difference.
Walking back to the master bedroom and sliding open the doors I stepped into my room and found a pair of sunglasses to wear along with my chosen watch for the day.
Something classy should be good enough.
Leaving my closet and locking the front doors of my bedroom, I went to find my wife and Head PPO. The sad part will be the day I will have to retire Elijah especially since he has always been so good at his job. The difference is that when I was a child I could remember Andrews who my parents specifically my father had work until I was fourteen; though I was the one that retired him. He had gotten to a few weeks after Nathan was born and I got to see the man who I had tremendous respect for get to meet my son. Later that week he died of natural causes and that was the end of Andrews life.
My problem was that I had a habit of making enemies for my family and I held all of that close to my chest since in my mind it only made sense for me to the one to hold most of that blame. Yet I was married to Olivia Thorne, there was no such thing as letting me sulk in my self deprivation.
As I walked out of the end of the deck I was on I turned and jogged up the stairs on the side of the deck up two sets of the steps to the second helipad on my yacht.
I was spending one-point six billion dollars there wasn't a chance I wasn't putting a second helipad on the boat.
Getting to my EC-155 I pulled open the door to the cockpit and Olivia got in beside me while Elijah was in the back with Prescott who was Olivia's PPO.
"This is Delta Tango, taking off from LP-2 on the Lürssen Skoteino, heading West towards Palm Beach" I call in as I prepped the flight tools and got the rotors going while the other three occupants pulled on their seatbelts and fastened them.
"You are clear Delta Tango, safe flight" the flight operator from the nearest airport replies.
"Always do" I reply and turn off external communications so that I could focus on flying. A few seconds later we were off of the deck and heading off towards the Palm Beach mansion owned by the Harrington's but one property over from me and Olivia's. Kate insisted on looking back at Miami so Nico had obliged and purchased the property across the street from the one Olivia and I had paid for the previous year compared to them.
All but two minutes later I came in minding that others in Palm Beach owned helicopters just not many were splurging quite like how Olivia and I had in our lives. Many of our neighbors were older people who had bought their properties after the financial crash a little under a decade and a half prior. I remembered Winters Group not being at all affected which shocked many on Wall Street but I had no public assets that were settled in stocks, stake in my company that was different and missing ninety billion that years in WGI revenue hadn't even really struck any of us as abnormal since in it's place other industries rose up to counter it.
I could clearly remember the fall of Wall Street legend Bernie Madoff, he had seemed like a kind man, a bit of a people pleaser, but he had his hard moments. The few times we'd met he tried inviting my parents to be apart of his club in Palm Beach which likely would have become a trap to have billions more taken which I could at least say neither of my parents including the father I'd forgiven but still remained scar from hadn't offered any money. The humour in it all was that even decades later some had tried to use it as an attack against me but it wouldn't have worked if they begged every government on the planet to cooperate into that.
Landing the helicopter gently on the grass in the backyard of the Harrington home I shut off the rotors making sure the helicopter remained planted until I could clearly follow the spin, only then did I shut off the controls and get out of the helicopter.
"Where do you get all these toys brother?" Kate asks coming over to greet us along with the dog that Kate and Nico had who Chloe had named Meeko.
"I let my bank account breathe a little and I end up with things no human being should be able to buy" I remark walking up their lawn past the palm trees set in mulch with beautiful flowers growing out from around them. Nico stood on the patio his shirt not buttoned up and hair still not styled.
"Appearance is subpar, six out of ten this morning Nicholas" I muse copying a sentence our old head of house at Rosenburg used to say if we weren't dressed in time.
"Apologies Mr. Jorsenhoff" Nico says curtly before I cracked a smirk while the girls broke into discussion on their way to come inside.
"How are you this morning mate, you look tired" Nico adds leading me into the house that had a lot of classic Grecian features though the modern element wasn't lost as we stepped through folding doors into the Moroccan hardwood floored living room that was attached to the marble foyer through several pillars.
"Just a lot of thinking from my floating palace out there on the ocean" I reply.
"I've seen it out there, it's made many of the other boats look small".
"That was the point of it being so big, and I wanted a boat that could cover every possible need that I could want" I sigh as we went into the kitchen and filled cups of coffee before returning to the living room and settling.
"So just stopping by for a visit or do you need advice".
"A visit, I like being here with you and my sister. It feels like home" I comment enjoying the savory flavour of each note in the coffee.
"Well as both you and Olivia know you are always welcome here in our home. Though nothing is really going on today, just sitting probably with a book at some point, possibly go into Miami for a few food items" Nico then stops and laughs, "sounds so mundane".
"Life isn't always spend, spend, spend. I have enough shit in my homes. The fact I had thirteen tells you all you need to know, besides the one here is in Nathan's name since he enjoys summers here the most out of my kids, the girls would rather travel to Saint Tropez for July, and Monaco for August".
"Chloe wants to move to Monaco, put the head of the Kosmina fashion brand in the most expensive city in the world" Nico smiles while taking a sip from his mug.
I hum back acknowledgment and then glance to see where the girls were before I ask my question. I planned for it to be short, I just don't want to open a can of worms.
"Have you ever thought about how someone we knew once as our friend betrayed our trust to kidnap Kate, and then assault Olivia. We we're so ruthless we were willing to strip everything from even on of our friends, though she clearly didn't deserve it in the end, our friendship".
"You're talking about-"
"Yes Arianna. I hope our kids never have to see one of their friends turn into an enemy not like how we did. Not like the early days when we had to prove we were capable of things that shouldn't have been possible".
"No I don't think they ever will. We did the proving, now they get to prove they can manage, and we get the relax and drink our coffee while enjoying all the things we earned in the twenty-five years of dedication" Nico chimes raising his mug slightly.
"I'll take that one" I smirk before the girls walked into the living room laughing, and chatting before the conversation shifted to one of us being included, though my mind never seemed to fully quiet its paranoia.
That's all for today's update I hope you all enjoy it, comment, vote, and share. Anyways
Peace✌