Free Risk by Jamie Freveletti Page B

a chemist? He was puzzled.
    Ryan flipped the application pages to the question about the executive’s travel history and if he or she had ever been in a dangerous situation. He gasped as his supervisor, Janet Candar, stepped into his office.
    â€œYou look shocked,” Candar said. “Please don’t tell me that one of our insureds has been kidnapped.” She smiled.
    Ryan shook his head. “No. I’m reviewing a new app and I can’t believe the report. She’s already been kidnapped once in Mexico.” His supervisor peered over his shoulder at the picture.
    â€œOh, I saw that one already. Apparently her job requires her to travel the world looking for plants that may be of use in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. I’m not surprised about Mexico. That country’s blowing up. Did her company pay?”
    Ryan looked at the entry. “It says she escaped on her own.”
    Candar’s eyebrows flew up. “So she’s resourceful.”
    He nodded. “With this string of bad luck, she’d better be.”
    Candar placed another folder on his desk. “Are you going to turn her down?”
    Ryan looked again at the photo. “No. I think I’ll interview her. Find out just why she’s such a magnet for trouble.”
    R YAN SAT IN the open air courtyard of a restaurant overlooking the beach. It wasn’t the perfect place to meet a client, but she’d had no time during the day. He watched as Ms. Caldridge wove her way through the tables toward him. She wore bright red skinny jeans and a white shirt. He tried to still his shaking hands, but it seemed impossible. The shaking was a side effect of the antidepressants. He shoved one hand under the table and gripped his drink with the other. He wondered if she would recognize him from the beach, but her face revealed nothing as she approached. Once she got closer he saw something that may have been recognition dawn in her eyes. She reached him and put out her hand.
    â€œI’m Emma Caldridge,” she said. He rose to greet her.
    â€œSebastian Ryan.”
    â€œWas that you enjoying the sunrise at the beach this morning?”
    He nodded, pleased that she’d recognized him and relieved that she hadn’t detected the real reason for his morning vigil.
    A commotion from the front door caught their attention as they stood at the table. A group of people crowded the entrance, and in the center of it, Ryan recognized PJ Walters, one of the biggest hip hop artists of the decade. A massive diamond stud glittered in his ear and a jumble of gold chains hung around his neck. More diamonds flashed on his fingers. The hip hop artist’s entourage moved to the café’s far corner to a waiting table.
    Ryan noticed Caldridge scanning the restaurant and then homing in on the small group. “That’s PJ Walters,” he said to her. “He’s in town to give a concert. We insure him, though not for his jewelry. If we did, I’d be concerned.”
    She shot him an amused look. “Why?”
    â€œHe doesn’t have enough muscle in that group to protect it all. Anyone could just take it off of him, and this weekend every criminal in the greater Miami area will descend on the beach.”
    She grimaced. “I hope there’s no repeat of last year. It was insane.” She cocked her head to the side as she contemplated the singer. Ryan took the opportunity to check her out. She was quite pretty, he thought. Looking at her one would never think that she’d been through as much as she had. She took a seat then, and he did as well.
    â€œWhat do you insure him for?” she asked.
    â€œPaternity suits.”
    She looked surprised. “You can buy a policy against paternity suits?”
    Ryan smiled at her. “Sure. Anything is insurable. At the right price, of course.”
    She laughed. “Of course.”
    The waitress asked to take their order. Caldridge