Blood in the Water

Zack stood center stage, where Robert had stood. He grimaced and looked around the room as he reached to adjust the microphone stand, the younger of the men also being the shorter of the two. As he looked out, he caught sight of Heather’s beaming face, watching him, not her father, grinning with a quiet confidence, expectant. Yet, all he could think of was his cock in her throat just moments ago. Now all he could think of was fucking Heather Ravers, the deal to get her pregnant…to fuck his own mother. He closed his eyes and breathed. With his mind distracted, he had to speak from the heart.

“My name is Zack Bishop,” he said clearly. He had some experience in public speaking from school, through various projects and presentations, but looking out at the hundreds of people present, this was something else entirely.

He cleared his throat and continued, “You don’t know me. You’ve been told that I’m Robert Ravers' son and I suppose nepotism says that should be enough. You’re probably wondering what I’m doing, standing up here, and I admit, the same doubt crossed my mind when I was offered this position. Who am I to stand in the shoes of Robert Ravers? I don’t have his name, I don’t have his experience, and I haven’t been raised in this, like Heather, I mean, Heather Ravers, his daughter, m-my sister” His cheeks reddened slightly, unsure with how much familiarity he should refer to Heather. The dark-hair girl quietly chuckled in her seat.

“What I do have is a love for this town. Azure Rocks is where I was raised. My mother and father, that is the man who raised me, are both doctors in this town.” Zack felt a light twinge in his chest, as he denied Gregory’s parenthood. "My sister, Taylor Bishop, was also born here. I have friends here. Friends as close as family. This town is special, and I don’t think it’s special just to me. I’m confident that if I went around this room everyone would have a story or a memory of something special that happened to them in Azure Rocks. This place has a natural way of bringing people together.”

Zack paused, remembering something Miss Moreau had once mentioned during a study of religious imagery in literature. “A teacher of mine once taught us about the possible existence of ley lines, that the world is made up of these invisible tracks where spiritual energy flows. Where these lines crossed where said to be thin places, where the boundary between earth and the realm we can’t see is weakest. Because of this ‘thinness’, the amazing and the miraculous were more readily experienced. For me, that’s what Azure Rocks is like. Being here, more than anywhere else, I’ve always felt that anything is possible.”

“That is to say that I don’t think the reason that I’m here is because I have Ravers blood. No, I have Azure Rocks in my blood, coursing through my veins. And I know that Ravers Enterprises is bigger than one town, but I was always told that before a man goes to work, he should get his house in order.” Zack felt another ache as he used Gregory’s own advice to promote himself as Robert Ravers' heir. Though the words now rang hollow. After all that had happened, it was clear that Gregory certainly didn’t have his own house in order. “My focus, therefore is on making Azure Rocks the best it can be. It’s doing well. It’s flourishing. But I don’t want to settle for well. I want this town to prosper, better than any city in this country.”

“As such, I want to look into continuing the Silver Lakes Project. But for now, there is an amusement park in town. With the tourism and foot traffic that the cabins and lakes bring to this town, it should be a major attraction, but instead it has been overlooked and disregarded for many years,” Zack outlined his vision for the future, noting the satisfied faces of the board, the young man doing exactly what Robert had told them he would. “With some investment and keen management, it could once again be a source of memories and happiness to both the people to live here and those that pass through.” As well as being a source of revenue, though that went unsaid.

“There’s much more that I could say,” Zack lied. “but we came here to learn more about the charity, to support it’s cause and, most importantly, to eat. So, I’ll stop talking now and let’s get on with the evening. Thank you.”

Robert patted him on the back as he stepped away from the microphone. Together they walked from the stage back to the table. Servers had already begun to bring out food by the time the two men had taken their seats. Zack noticed Daniel watching him, but it was Brooke Lakefield who spoke.

“I’m surprised. You’re a better speaker than I imagined,” she said, as a bowl was placed before her. “That was certainly inspiring, to say the least. I think it will alleviate some of the board’s initial fears, I can tell you that.”

“Well, I’m going to be relying on the board to help me in this transition,” Zack replied, aware that Brooke might report anything he said back to other members of the board.

“We need to work on your ending though,” Heather noted, smirking. “I could tell that you couldn’t wait to get off the stage and it just didn’t feel like a natural close at all.”

“It was that obvious?” Zack asked, with a frown.

“Don’t be so hard on him,” Robert interjected. “For his first speech was it more than adequate.”

The discussion moved on from Zack’s performance to the quality of the food and other small talk. Brooke asked Zack about his parents, accompanied by some teasing glances from Heather. After dinner, the representative for the charity took to the stage to encourage those gathered to donate and explained briefly who their money would benefit. Then the night continued with the ballroom finally being used for it intended purpose; dancing.

Robert asked Heather to the floor with him, offering his hand as he led his daughter in her tight blue dress out into the middle of the room. Zack supposed that it wasn’t unusual for the father and daughter to dance together, and certainly no one else at the table or the room took any heed to their being together. Only Zack noticed the tenderness of their touch and the heat in their eyes as the father held on to his daughter, hand on the small of her back, just above her ass.

He also noticed Brooke watching them, and though he was certain that she had no idea what was really going on between them, if she kept watching them he was sure she would become suspicious. It wouldn’t be inappropriate to ask her to dance, he thought, as he stood. She looked up as he moved beside her, taking her eyes off her ex-husband and their daughter, just as Zack had hoped.

“Um, would you like to dance?” Zack asked, almost expecting her to shoot him down.

“I suppose,” she said, rising out of her chair. “Usually the older board members take turns asking me to dance with them. It’ll be nice to dance with someone younger for a change…who can actually move.”

“Don’t say that until you’ve seen me dance,” Zack laughed. He didn’t take her hand, but he did motion for her to lead the way to the floor. He stepped in front of her and was surprised as her arms rose around his neck, his own instinctively moving to hold her waist as they began to sway to the gentle tune.

“I know about you and Heather, by the way,” she said softly in his ear so only he heard.

“Wha? What?” he tensed up, so shocked that he couldn’t even muster the words to deny it. “How?”

“It was clear on your faces when you came to the table what the pair of you had been up to. I’m not mad. You two were friends before you found out you were siblings. I understand. It’s hard to turn off those feelings just because of genetics,” she said, soothingly, though it did little to stop Zack’s mind from trying to piece together how much she knew. “But it would be unwise to continue. If the board were to find out, I mean the other members…they’re already looking for any reason to push you out.”

“They want to get rid of me already?” Zack reiterated, his brow creased. “I thought Robert smoothed that all over.”

“He swung the vote in your favour,” Brooke corrected him, glancing around. “But the board don’t like being pressured into making decisions like that. And this was a big decision. So, the board are out for blood. They won’t fabricate a reason, because that could hurt the company, but they will use any mistake as justification to get rid of you.”

“Does the whole board feel this way?” he asked. “I guess it must be a majority if you’re warning me.”

Brook shook her head. Standing this close, Zack was struck by just how much Heather looked like her mother. Though Brook was older she looked like an elder sister, rather than a mother. She was pretty, and fit, suddenly Zack’s mind picture Brooke sucking on his cock just as the daughter had done, wondering to himself who was better. He groaned, partially from the tension building in his pants, and also due to the fact that, lately, he couldn’t get his mind off sex. Perhaps that was part of the curse of the Ravers blood, if it was Ravers blood coursing through his veins. And if Gregory really was his father…what excuse would he use then?

“I’ve said enough already…I…” Brooke blushed and parted from him as Robert approached.

“Mind if I cut in,” Robert asked, taking up his ex-wife’s hand without awaiting a response from Zack.

He let them go, turning and looking for Heather, wondering whether he should tell her about the board. She’d know what to do. After all this whole plan for him to take over, to protect themselves, was her idea. But she wouldn’t not be able to act. She’d want to know who was waiting to betray them, and that might just cause more problems. Perhaps the best solution was to do nothing at all, and just do a good job. The work would speak for itself.

As he made his way back to the table, an arm pulled him aside. Daniel Ravers gestured for him to follow and said, “We need to talk.”