“Chip! My man! I thought you were dead.”
Chip shook his hand. “Not yet, Steel.”
“Come on in. I’ve got a late lunch coming up. Would you like anything? It’s just lobster, but I can get whatever you like.”
Chip shook his head. “No, thanks. I don’t want to take much of your time.”
He led them into an office absolutely stuffed with sparkling black granite. Even the desk was made of heavy stone, polished and shining.
They both sat down and Steel made a face. “Why do I feel like you’re going to tell me about an exciting investment opportunity?”
“That must be your next meeting,” Chip quipped.
Steel laughed. “Right. You’re here to remind me about the time I almost died at the county fair.”
Almost died.He was such an exaggerator. He’d gotten stuck on that Ferris wheel for forty minutes, tops. He probably could’ve gotten off sooner, too, if it weren’t for his determination to make a deal with the guy who was stuck with him. A deal, as it turned out, that had nearly ruined him.
Chip hid his annoyance. “Remind you of it, yeah. And warn you that you’re about to do it again.”
“Oh no. You’re the ghost of Christmas future?” Steel chuckled, getting up to pick up a bottle of dark liquor. “Would you like one?”
Chip shook his head. “No thanks.”
“How’s the wife?”
“Quite happy. She finally divorced me.”
Steel laughed, hard, going as far as slapping his knee. “Still the same old Chip. Never change buddy.”
Chip wasn’t here to pretend they were still friends. “I’ve got some information about SureFired.”
Steel’s smile lingered. “Do you?”
He nodded. Steel was suspicious of him – he always was – but Chip had no reason to lie.
He cleared his throat. “After the crash, I moved out to Orcas Island. Have you ever been there?”
Steel shook his head. “Can’t say that I’ve had the pleasure. Been too busy.”
“It’s an island not too far from Seattle. It doesn’t get touched by wildfires, at least not yet.”
“That’s lucky,” Steel said, taking a sip of his drink.
“We get smoke sometimes, though. Days where you can’t go outside, where the sun is blocked out. If you crack the window, the air burns in your throat.”
Steel let out a sigh and shook his head. “Terrible, isn’t it?”
“It is, but it’s the rest of the state that really gets destroyed.”
“Hey man, I’mrightthere with you. I agree that we gotta do something about this. We gotta help.”
Chip wasn’t going to fall for that. He knew Steel. The only person Steel ever dreamt of helping was himself. “I heard about SureFired in a roundabout way, and I think it sounds great.”
“Thank you.”
“Which is why I’m sorry to tell you this, but it’s going to ruin you.” Chip let the words hang in the air for a moment.
The smile faded from Steel’s face. “You know, Chip, we still talk about you sometimes.”
