Death at the Summit Read Online Free Page B

Then they can market it together as a ready-to-shoot setup.” Mary pointed to each company in turn. “Then at the OIT show next month, they can have literature available and push the full setup with a slight discount to archery pro-shops putting in orders. That’s just an archery example, but something similar is happening for handguns, shot guns, rifles, et cetera .”
    “So one big happy family helping each other sell more products?” I asked.
    “Basically. Didn’t they explain this is all the director meetings you attend every week?”
    Jess had snuck up on us without me noticing. “Di basically sleeps through those.”
    “I do not.”
    “This is Di every meeting.” Jess stared off into the distance, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide and empty.
    “Shut up. You’re such a pill.” I looked around for something to throw at her.
    “Right, Liam? This is totally Di in the weekly meetings.”
    I turned around to see Liam chuckling behind me at Jess’s impression. “Hey, you guys are supposed to be my friends and be on my side!”
    Liam gave my shoulder a squeeze. “We are. Tablet?”
    I handed him his tablet and smiled back.
    Jess laughed. “I’m just giving you a hard time. Everyone knows that if they need something from you, they just need to get your attention and tell you exactly what they need then, bam! —like, two hours later, they’ll have it. Your daydreaming isn’t an issue because you’re so dang good at your job.”
    Approaching from behind Liam was an athletic-looking, thirty-something, handsome black man. He had posture that radiated that he was in charge. He stopped as Liam asked us another question. “Has anyone seen Orion yet?”
    The man behind Liam answered, “Everyone but you.”
    Liam swung around and grabbed the man’s hand to shake before they hugged. They clapped each on the back repeatedly before breaking apart. Liam introduced Orion to everyone with, “This is Orion, the marketing director for Westmound and one of my oldest friends.”
    With an easy smile, Orion said, “Easy with that ‘old’ business. I’m not getting older, only better.”
    Orion greeted me with a handshake. “Di, it’s nice to meet the new computer expert,” he said before turning to shaking Mary’s hand with, “Nice to see you back at the Westmound Summit, Mary.” He moved down to Jess with a, “You’re doing a great job with the center’s archery program, Jess,” then he turned back to Liam. “I can see why you extended your sabbatical. You have a great facility and team here. We may never convince you to return to headquarters.”
    Liam and Orion were so similar that it wasn’t surprising they were close friends. They were dressed not just in the same Westmound polo but jeans with a similar loose-cut, flat-bottom shoes and even slightly similar haircuts. Orion seemed to read all of Liam’s subtle nods with perfect accuracy. “Liam’s right; we need to get going.”
    As they walked off in unison, they slowed down often to shake hands. Orion greeted everyone by name and asked after a spouse, child, or hobby.
    “Oh crap, I forgot what I came over here for.” Jess pulled out a huge ring of keys. “Can you unlock the door over here then go unlock the bathrooms on this side of the range? Lock the rest of the doors, please. Here, Mary, can you hang this sign? Please, hurry. Liam and Orion are supposed to do the introduction any minute.”
    Jess disappeared after putting the keys and a sign marked Bathroom on our table. I woke up Moo and dragged him along. I unlocked the door and propped it open while Mary affixed the sign. This door was kept locked because the last thing we needed was someone wandering into the range from behind the target.
    The whole section was empty for now. Hopefully, over time, it would become an area bustling with offices and programs. I walked through the empty room and out another door in the far end of the hallway, then I turned right and headed down toward