Chapter 7: Andreza

When I finally left Aunt Jenna’s house an hour later, I had just settled into the seat of my minivan when I got a text alert on the iPhone telling me to head to the Hyatt Regency in Steiners Ranch. Andreza was following me the whole way. Once there, she checked into a two bedroom suite on the top floor. After she got her luggage, I grabbed my backpack and followed her up to her rooms.

“That was pretty amazing,” she observed after we had settled on the couches in the living room between the two bedrooms. “If I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes, it would be even harder to believe.”

“Yeah,” I replied as I just shrugged my shoulders. I really didn’t know what to say to that.

“I mean, I read your file on the plane this morning, but it all sounded so incredible, I guess my mind just dismissed most of it. But now, I am fascinated. Will you tell me more about yourself and all you can do?” she asked.

“Hang on just a minute,” I said as I pulled up the iPhone and snapped a picture. Then I sent it to Reggie with a question mark. Thirty seconds later, my iPhone rang.

“That’s your new bodyguard,” he said immediately. “I would guess that if you’re talking to her, something happened. Put me on speaker.”

I did and he said hello to Andreza and asked her what happened. She quickly recounted my afternoon and why she had revealed herself to me. Then she explained that she had invited me back to her hotel to begin learning about me.

“Okay, Daniel. Andreza’s your new bodyguard. She’s been with the Foundation for more than a dozen years and is very good. Work with her,” he instructed. “And don’t go ditching her and running off. She will find you and probably hurt you if you do that to her. Let her do her job and go about your life there for now. We’re getting closer to finding out what’s going on. Just keep doing what you’re doing and take it easy for a while.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“And Daniel, since Andreza’s there, I’m not coming back on Monday. She can handle everything. Also, Cynthiana suggested that you work on your golf game and call your mom and do a little damage control. Do you need anything else?”

“I think I’m okay,” I said hesitantly.

“You might also call Carina. She’s really worried about you. But use your other cell phone,” he said as he hung up.

Then for the second time that day, I told my story. Except this time, I included much more detail.

We took a break and ordered room service, and then I answered more questions before finally begging off around nine o’clock.

“I have to be at work before six in the morning,” I explained. Then I explained my job to her. “Reggie felt it was probably safe, so you don’t need to follow me all day,” I told her. “I get off at three and will come back here.” We had already discussed staying at the Hyatt until Monday.

Then I made my way to bed feeling pretty drained.

The Hyatt didn’t begin serving breakfast until six, but the attendant felt sorry for me and fixed me up with a pastry, an apple, and a large cup of coffee at five-thirty. I never noticed the Mercedes-Maybach trailing me from a distance.

There was a Ladies Club Tournament today and it was chaos when I walked into the maintenance shop that morning. Once Steve saw me, he had me going with Randy to move the pins on the last six holes (number thirteen through eighteen). Then it was cleaning all the golf course bathrooms and finally, following behind the last tournament group and filling divots. I’ll say this, those ladies can sure tear up a golf course.

At the end of the day, Steve approached me and asked if I could work late tomorrow (Sunday).

“No problem,” I told him.

“Good. Don’t bother to come in until eight tomorrow morning and I’ll try to get you out of here by five,” he told me and then went on to speak with someone else.

I made it back to the Hyatt by three-thirty, still failing to notice the Mercedes Maybach trailing me the whole way, and headed straight to the shower.

“Hurry! We have to be somewhere in less than thirty minutes,” Andreza said when she walked in the door moments later. I was in, and out, and dressed in fifteen minutes and followed Andreza down to the parking lot. Reggie had given her the Mercedes-Maybach, so we headed out in style.

“Where are we going?” I asked her.

“Just stick with me,” she said with a grin. “Cynthiana has a surprise for you.”

We turned in to Central Texas Golf Cart Company right at four o’clock. One hour later, I was the proud owner of a Bintelli Beyond street legal golf cart, fully loaded with LED lighting, a Bluetooth sound system, a reverse camera, hydraulic disc brakes, on-board smart charger, dual USB plugs, head lights, tail lights, turn signals, and a DOT windshield with wiper. It even came with seat belts!

Selecting the color took the longest time. I was partial to the black-on-black, while Andreza kept pushing for the white. She said the I would bake in the black one in the Texas sun. But it wasn’t until the owner rolled out a custom burnt orange and white Bintelli Beyond with Longhorn emblems on the sides and the word ‘Longhorns’ across the front that I got excited.

“That’s it!” I said enthusiastically when I saw it. Andreza just rolled her eyes. “See? It’s even got a white top!” I told her happily.

They said they would deliver it Monday afternoon, so Andreza and I headed to dinner at the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse. It was crowded, which was par for the course on a Saturday night, but the service was good and the steaks were divine!

After dinner, Andreza took me to the Walmart again to walk off our dinner and pick up supplies for the new house.

When we got back to the hotel, we transferred most of the stuff to my minivan so she could use the Mercedes tomorrow for more shopping.

I felt lazy staying in bed until seven on a Sunday morning, But I enjoyed it. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, I still got to the golf course before eight o’clock.

It was another busy day with great weather and weekend golfers crowding the course. I found out that Sundays were all about maintaining the course and keeping the golfers moving. I was Steve’s personal gofer today, running all over the course with supplies, parts, and messages for just about everyone. I did have to help Steve fix the sprinkler head again on fifteen, and got thoroughly drenched in the process. When we finally got back to the maintenance shop, Steve just sent me on home, even though it was only four o’clock.

“Go get yourself cleaned up and dried off. I’ll see you at six in the morning,” he told me.

Andreza had been shopping again and had to show me the sheets and towels she had purchased. She also had Thai carry-out and a bottle of wine for our dinner.

“I had forgotten how much fun it is to be a bodyguard,” she said as we lounged around on the sofas in the living room after dinner. “I’ve spent the last three years doing investigative work for the Foundation and sometimes, it can get really boring!”

Andreza was from São Paulo, Brazil. She had attended the University of São Paulo gaining a degree in Computer Sciences with a master’s degree in communications, and a specialty in Data Encryption. At thirty-eight, she had been working for the Foundation for thirteen years. She had never met Cynthiana, but had spoken with her several times. The latest was when Cynthiana called her yesterday and discussed getting me the golf cart. While Cynthiana had not told her directly that I was the heir to her position, I believe that she at least hinted at it.

Andreza admitted that she had been married in college, but the marriage fell apart when she accepted the position with the Foundation and moved to Zurich. Standing about five-foot-ten, I was guessing her weight around 130 to 140 pounds. She was a big girl, but didn’t appear to have an ounce of fat on her. I discovered that she worked out religiously, and was more than efficient with a whole group of weapons. I would probably call it deadly.