Triple Diamonds (Mystic Nights #2)(3)
He fixed the tie at his collar. He hated suits. They always made him feel so restricted, but as the lead attorney for the casino, his attendance was expected at these formal meetings. He couldn’t very well go around in a T-shirt showing off the many tattoos he had that his mother never approved of. He’d gotten most of them while he was away at college. Each one held meaning. They were there for a reason. And even though they were covered up nearly all of the time, he knew they were there and what each of them signified. Unfortunately, they did not go over very well on one who represented a major casino like Mystic Nights. Or even when he was at the Youth Center on the reservation. So, he kept them covered, unless he was out of town, or at the gym.
Joseph quickly made his way down the corridor from his corner office. With a beautiful expanse of windows, it overlooked the river with a view of Mohegan’s, their competition across the water.
Their current projects were well underway and they would soon tower above them. His mother and brother, and his family were all proud of that. Passing his brother’s office, and his mother’s, which was directly across the hall, he saw both doors open, but neither were inside. They must have already gone to the meeting, he presumed. So that meant he was going to be late. Again.
He picked up his pace to make it to the conference room before the greetings had been dispensed with. He knew this meeting was important, and felt a twinge of guilt for his delay. But not much. He enjoyed law, but had never seen himself handling business law for long. It was a means to an end. His true passion was his people. He wanted to work for them to better their lives, and pursue politics so he could represent his people more completely. He helped here. He knew that. But it wasn’t the same. After three years with the casino, helping to get it off the ground, he was ready to pursue his other interests. And that’s where he’d been this morning, at the reservation. He’d been at the Youth Center working with the kids prior to them leaving for the public schools for the day. He spent a lot of time there. Sadly, many children who came there didn’t have many male role models.
As he approached the massive glass walls that contained the conference room, currently behind blinds, he knew these past six months that he needed a change. He didn’t want to delay pursuing his dream any longer. He would hate to leave the casino, because it was true he was helping his people here, but it was more paperwork than anything else. His dream had been to serve his people directly. Serve them as a politician at the local level. Not in a suit, reading over food service contracts, and business deals. For now he was still needed, and he could probably continue with the casino part time, but soon he would make the break. The time was quickly approaching. A new opportunity had arisen, and he couldn’t let it pass. He would be breaking the news to his family today.
He rounded the corner by-passing another wall of glass that was still the conference room. The blinds were open on this side, and he could see everyone was already present. Glenna, his brother’s secretary was pouring water into glasses. So he wasn’t too late. They were just getting started. He quickly went in, and his mother gave him a slight frown as he took his seat on her left. His brother Jonathan, was on the right. And he was still glowing. Probably from the honeymoon; his brother and his wife had just returned from Hawaii.
He nodded at the three tribal council members already seated at the massive table that could easily seat twenty-four. They were still informally greeting one another and speaking to some of the other board members of the casino. And not all had taken their seats. He was glad of that. He listened in on a snippet of the conversation as he settled in beside his mother. Myrtle Croaton and Jim Baker, their new accountant, were discussing last month’s fiasco and how they would need to replace the fourth member of the tribal council soon. Peter Sebastien, who was about to stand trial for embezzlement, fraud, murder, attempted murder, and kidnapping, amongst a myriad of other lesser charges meeting, had been arraigned just yesterday. His arraignment and guilty plea had shocked everyone. But at least now, without having to wait for the outcome of a trial, the council wouldn’t be shorthanded for long. They could hold a special election.
That was another reason he was angry at himself for being late. He’d wanted to drop his name to Myrtle as a possible contender, and hopefully have her support. This was the opportunity he hoped to seize and had been grooming himself for all along.
“Glad you could join us, Joseph,” his mother murmured. She didn’t even make eye contact. Her voice didn’t give her mood away, but not looking at him sure did. She hated it when he came strolling in last. Without further ado, she started the meeting. “Now that we’re all here, let’s start. Could everyone find their seats?” She smiled as she spoke to the room at large. Again, she didn’t look his way.
Joseph stayed quiet as his mother settled in to her chair. Across from him, his brother, Jonathan, gave him a slight shrug, and then focused on his mother’s report to the council. She outlined what was going on with the two projects they had underway, and then she went over the financials. Everything looked good, especially now that word had been sent that the embezzled funds would soon be returned to them. It was part of the district attorney accepting Peter’s guilty plea on some lesser charges for some of his crimes. He was still facing twenty-five years, but the plea had been to run the charges concurrently instead of consecutively. He had a chance of being paroled when he was seventy-three. It was the best they would offer him.