“I called Lucas Pine when the plane landed. Told him I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow morning to talk to you. Evidently you weren’t answering your phone.”

“The event coordinator made us silence our phones. I wasn’t supposed to be on mine but I got bored and went online.”

“Pine tried your business partner and found out she was in New Zealand.”

“Catalina and her husband, Slater, were married in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, but they never got a chance to take a real honeymoon.”

“Apparently that came as a surprise to Arganbright and Pine.”

“Imagine that. I guess Catalina and Slater forgot that they are supposed to clear all travel plans through Foundation headquarters.”

“More sarcasm, right?”

Olivia gave him a bright, totally fake smile. “You must be psychic.”

“As I was saying, Pine couldn’t get in touch with you or Catalina, so he called your administrative assistant.”

Olivia nodded. “Daniel Naylor. He knew I was attending the speed date event. He warned me it probably wouldn’t turn out well. He’ll want a full report in the morning.”

Harlan got a wary feeling. “What are you going to tell him?”

Olivia flashed another too-shiny smile. “That he was right. It was a disaster.”

Harlan made an executive decision. He would not pursue that line of inquiry. He had a feeling he was the disaster, as far as Olivia was concerned.

“I must say Victor and Lucas are certainly being very helpful,” she continued. “Amazing, considering you’re a Rancourt.”

“As you pointed out, Arganbright and Pine are also obsessed with Vortex.”

“What sparked your interest?” she asked. “And why the sudden urgency?”

There was no more bread in the basket, so he drank some of the wine. After a healthy swallow he lowered the glass.

“Most of the paranormal community assumes Vortex is a myth,” he said. “When my grandfather and father were in charge of the Foundation, they encouraged that notion. The idea was that it would keep the competition to a minimum.”

“Your father and your grandfather tried to find that lost lab?”

“Right from the start. They were obsessed with it, too. They never stopped looking for it. Growing up, I was aware of the legends about it, but I never paid a lot of attention. I assumed that if it existed it was just another lost lab—no different from the others that were part of the Bluestone Project.”

“It’s been decades since the Bluestone Project was shut down,” Olivia said. “Have you considered the possibility that if the Rancourts and Victor and Lucas haven’t been able to generate any solid leads using the resources of the Foundation, then maybe Vortex really is nothing more than a myth?”

“I used to blow off the legend, but I can’t do that anymore. Things have changed in the past year. The rumors are getting hotter, spreading outside the Foundation into the wider paranormal underworld.”